This place is a great addition to the food court. Now my daughter likes getting their takoyaki to go with her Santouka ramen. We've tried the combo as well as their hot stone rice dish. They are delicious. NOTE: The same owner as the Mochill Donut & Cafe. On some days, I see only 1 employee per store. Sometimes 3 employees in total, so please be patient. read more

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A small, casual food kiosk in the food court of Mitsuwa Marketplace with a few tables directly in front, and more seating further inside. THE FOOD. - Sukiyaki Maze Gohan. This rice bowl featured slices of beef in a sweet-savory sukiyaki sauce that soaked straight into the rice; delivering umami flavors with a touch of sweetness. It was topped with green onions for added crunch and a mildly herbaceous taste. A hard boiled egg, seaweed salad and radish slices come with this dish (packaged on the side in small condiment cups). THE PARKING. Surface lot parking in a busy shopping plaza, so finding an open spot can be challenging. However, parking is free, so there's that. Pro tip: For direct access to the food court, park at the back of Mitsuwa Marketplace where you'll find another entrance. THE VERDICT. Although a tasty rice bowl, there are other places in the area serving a similar dish at probably better pricing. It's more likely a place to stop by if you're shopping at Mitsuwa and want to pick up food afterward. read more

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I tried the new yakisoba... 2/10 would not recommend. Super long wait since they only have 4 stoves and looked like 2 pots. The dish was very underwhelming... Way too sweet and wasn't spicy at all when I ordered the spicy yakisoba. 5/8 people in my group ordered yakisoba and all of us agree we wouldn't get it again. Didn't order the takoyaki because the wait was so long. read more

TLDR: fix the layout, the attitude, the packaging, and the god awful ad jingle Holy shit, 6 takoyaki took 45 minutes. And I heard their Takoyaki! Yamachan! ad jingle for 45 fricking minutes. There's one small opening in their plexiglass storefront where they both take and give out orders, which is also right next to their only takoyaki grill on the inside and a table for eating on the outside; it's so crowded, it's honestly a safety hazard. I got their cheese takoyaki, in which they they place piping hot takoyaki in a paper to-go box, cover it with shredded cheese, and then torch the cheese in the PAPER to-go box, and then immediately hand it to the consumer by the handles. Why you ask? Because the bottom is so hot that it WILL give you second degree burns - I wonder how I found that out :D All that to get soggy takoyaki that are underseasoned and lackluster in flavor. Yeah, I don't feel a burning desire to be back. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - cheese takoyaki - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

I've been wanting to try this place for a while, and today, after coming back late from exercising, we finally decided to give it a shot. We ordered the Maze Yakisoba and an 8-piece Takoyaki combo with toppings. The Yakisoba came in a stone pot, topped with minced pork, seaweed, ginger, tenkasu flakes, and green onions. The portion felt quite small--especially for a main dish--barely covering the bottom of the pot. I usually enjoy bold flavors, but I found it a bit too salty for my taste. The Takoyaki was decent, with a nice moist center, though I wish the outside had been crispier. I'm torn between giving this place 3 or 4 stars--probably a solid 4 if the portions were a bit more generous. I might return if I'm craving Takoyaki and don't feel like driving far. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Yakisoba + 8 pieces Takoyaki combo with toppings - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Decent Takoyaki Place tucked away in the corner of Mitsuwa! A bit pricier than expected but the pieces are a lot bigger than most places. I'd recommend getting 10 pieces of the same flavor or a mix and match for $14! Takoyaki was very hot, cooked well, & tasty. I would have loved to have a bit more consistent crispiness but it was still good. Parking is the same as Mitsuwa, which is always busy & may get worse as Tokyo Central opens. read more

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Visited during their grand opening weekend. Everything was 50% off. The first thing I noticed was the huge line. It moved very slowly. Probably took around 1hr total to order and receive. I've been to their San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Honolulu locations before this visit. The maze yakisoba is a new addition to their menu. While conceptionally cool (with their hot stone plate and all), the taste didn't quite impress me. It tasted like a mix of takoyaki ingredients on top of yakisoba noodles, and the pickled ginger was too overpowering. The takoyaki, on the other hand, was much soggier than the other locations. The service however seemed ok and it seemed like everyone was doing their best. I'm happy that they opened their first location in SoCal, but they need to work on delivering a better product (at least closer to the NorCal locations). It is their grand opening week, so maybe it'll get better over time. I might come back after some time. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Store front! - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Ordered some fresh takoyaki. The staff warned me that it may take a bit longer since he just started making the order. He was not kidding it did take a bit long to wait for my order to complete. It was worth the wait. The takoyaki had a crunchy exterior and the soft interior with the chewy octopus . It reminded me of ordering these treats in the streets of Japan. Just be ready to wait for a bit if the food court is busy. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

My stomach was growling as I am writing this review. It's very hard to find a store that just sells takoyaki. It's very crispy on the outside and hot/soft in the inside. Sooo delicious. They served my order really quick. My new go to spot for Takoyaki! read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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I really liked the cheese flavor! It was sooooo delicious! The service was good and the size of the balls were huge! I was so full after 3 balls. I also liked that there was a lot of toppings in the balls and not just batter. I will be back! read more

Tried this place for the first time, disappointing :( the takoyaki was mushy inside and out. Staff were friendly. It's located inside Mitsuwa in a food court. read more

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Their yakisoba ain't that great to be honest. Lackluster and a bit salty. I wasn't too impressed and would want a bigger portion as well

Eh, I was a little disappointed in the Takoyaki here: it was a little too gummy and runny and didn't hold together well and it was difficult to eat. I think we were lucky that we came here on 4th of July for a quick snack and no one was around, so the wait was essentially none, but I think I would have been upset if I had to wait any longer than 15 minutes for subpar Takoyaki. For convenience of a casual restaurant, I think this spot is "fine", but fine it is as I have to just give it three stars. read more

I just love trying different eateries in this food court, and this is one of them. If you enjoy Japanese street food, I recommend trying the takoyaki at least once--just remember that the inside is very soft, which is normal. If you want to be less adventurous, their yakisoba is delicious too. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Takoyaki original flavor - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

I came by on a Sunday afternoon after getting brunch at Nep (review to come!) and it was pretty crowded at Mitsuwa generally but we only waited about 5 minutes. Check in process was easy and efficient. The staff seemed busy but were still moving the line quickly. We ordered the original and waited about 5 minutes and took ours to go since we planned to eat at home. I don't think these traveled well which was definitely our mistake haha by the time we got home they were pretty soggy. We liked the flavor but unfortunately the texture was just a big goopy mess by the time we were digging in. If we come again, I think we'll eat them fresh and probably try another flavor to get some variety. Thank you, Dia and Takoyaki Yamachan!! read more

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So yummy! Love that the glass display allows for customers to watch as the food is getting made. Watching the takoyaki get flipped around in the mold is so cool. Per the employee's suggestion, I got the yuzu mayo flavor and I'm so glad I did! My mom and I were pleased with the generous addition of the toppings, which included fish flakes and green onions. Best of luck to you guys for your business' success! read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Yuzu takoyaki - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Opens at 11am. 4th in line to order, didn't get to order until 20mins in due to what looked like some big orders ahead of us because of the 50% of deal. We ordered the garlic shoyu yakisoba combo with 5 piece regular takoyaki, sukiyaki maze gohan and spicy miso chicken maze gohan. Took maybe 10-15mins to get our food. The sukiyaki was a little dry but not bad. Garlic shoyu yakisoba was the best out of the things we got. I would prefer my takoyaki a bit crispier but I'm sure the rush factor came in there. The spicy miso is spicy which I think if we can eat everything there it's probably tastier vs in the to go container. Overall not a bad addition to the food court and I'm sure they'll get quicker as time goes on. Also, I think there's just way more people than normal due to the deal. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Grand opening weekend where all menu items are 50% off from 6/27 to 6/29! Great chance to check out all the different takoyaki flavors which come in 5 different choices: regular, negi-mayo, cheese, kimchi and garlic soy source. There are also stone pot maze yakisoba: original and garlic shoyu, as well as combo options with takoyaki in 5 or 8 as regular or with the special toppings. As well as stone pot maze gohan that comes with miso soup and sides. Since there was a long line for the opening weekend, the service was on the slower end but the workers were working as fast as they can to move along the orders - taking about 15-20 minutes after you order. Located inside the Mitsuwa Marketplace food court, the ambience is pretty casual and fast food service. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Grand Opening Promotion 50% Off - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

This is going to be my "go-to" place for tasty takoyaki and garlic yakisoba. I got the combo that comes with 8 pieces of takoyaki (several choices but I got the original-octopus) and yakisoba (2 choices). The takoyaki was super hot (heat) coming right off the grill and the yakisoba was pretty with the ground chicken, carrots, red ginger, green onions, cabbage and seaweed on top (you mix it all together). What I really liked was that the noodles they use were like thin fettuccine (not the usual noodles you get in store-bought yakisoba kits). I will have to try their other dishes ie. spicy chicken maze gohan in the stone pots. Service was friendly and polite. This place will do well (inside Mitsuwa's Food Court)! read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Right before closing time. - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

The good takoyaki i have been too soo much! 10/10. Was craving for Takoyaki and my Japanese friends from Japan that was just visiting they loved it so much that they said its similar in Japan read more

This is the best place for Osaka takoyaki, more delicious than Tokyo's Gindaco 関西人には、銀だこよりこっちの方が絶対美味い read more

This an excellent place in Irvine to order takoyaki. I am happy that it opened. It is located inside the food court of the Mitsuwa Market. The takoyaki itself tasted extremely delicious. The place is relatively new, so the wait might be long. read more

It's so good I got the $10 pieces for $14 choose 2 different flavors. The wait was short . You get a beeper after you order your food. First come first serve table . read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Negi-mayo and Garlic soy sauce - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Takoyaki was completely underdone on the inside and very soggy. The stall seems to be run by two high schoolers that don't know what they're doing (not their fault - I'm assuming management did not train them). It looked like the cook was having difficulties with turning the Takoyaki in the pan. I also had to wait over 10 minutes to get my food even though there was no line. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Soggy Takoyaki - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

I feel bad for the workers as they can only take a few orders at a time and the order and pickup is the same place. They should make another window for pickup since it gets crowded. But takoyaki is good has a nice gooey inside with 1 octopus in each. The actual batter is a little bland but overall with the sauce its pretty good. I got 8 pieces but 5 is pretty filling so I'd go for that next time. read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Reg 8x takoyaki - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

This place is very authentic Osaka Style takoyaki shop. Some reviews said the inside is soft and soggy, but it's the authentic Osaka style takoyaki in my opinion. The service is not fast, but I went to 2 times and I got fresh takoyaki for both visits so I'm satisfied. The octopus is too small for me, but the taste is great so I gave 4 stars. Their yakisoba is new for me and delicious too! read more

Takoyaki Yamachan - Negimayo and normal takoyaki - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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This place is located in the Irvine Mitsuwa next to Mochill in the food court. I wouldn't be surprised if they were a sublease since the transaction log on the credit card indicates their merchant name is Mochill. The line was very long over the weekend but not busy during the weekday. There was a long pause between sets of customers though and I had to wait at the cash register for a while before being able to place an order. I believe they could only take 3-4 orders at a time. This was also noticeable on the weekday but not as much. Over the weekend the line went out the door. The line was tolerable as the Mitsuwa is a Pokémon GO gym so it was possible to entertain oneself. However I estimated the amount of time I waited in line at about 30-45 minutes during a weekend. They provided a pager for when the order was done. I'm pretty sure it took me at least 15-20 minutes to get my food. Something I didn't like seeing was an employee using a torch on takoyaki while it was inside one of those thin plastic takeout boxes, which could melt. When I was there I got a paper box, so I didn't know what it was used to serve, but reporting this to my friend made her concerned for my order before they finished it. According to their menu one of the flavors they offer is "garlic soy source". I would sure like to know what the source of this soy is. There was available seating in the food court (unusual for the time) but I had a PoGo event to deal with during the week so I got it to go and ate in the parking lot. The food tasted good. The takoyaki was chewy. read more

Terrible experience. We waited 30 minutes for a single bowl of stonepot yakisoba. What's worse is that they only started preparing it after we'd been sitting there for 20 minutes. My son was beyond hungry. Disappointing and I will never come back again. read more

terrible service, long wait even without a line or crowd. The lady there was rude and was impolite

Pleasantly surprised by how good their takoyaki is. Not too salty like other places.

Takes a very long time to get the order. The place to receive and order are in the same squished spot. Once I got the food after 30 minutes, I already finished another full meal from the other stall nearby. It was cold and soggy and a bunch of other people were lined up trying to get their order. They share with the donut place next door. That should be the order side and the other one for pick up. Sadly the takyokaki is nothing like the yummy one I got in Osaka let alone even the random restaurants here in Irvine that don't even specialize in it. I'd give it a pass. read more

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Placed a sold out sign in front of us while we were looking at the menu...we were the only ones in line as well.... Insanely RUDE. I had to call out to the worker to ask why and he said he forgot to put it up (occurred 3/9/26 around dinner time) read more

This place was awful, great price but not the food. We order 5 of each and only the original was so so but we didn't eat the rest. Service was great and prompt. read more

The workers are clearly not trained and super confused at what is going on. Waited 30 minutes and they realized they did not have enough pieces for our order. I would not recommend this place at all. read more

This weekend is their grand opening weekend. They have 50% off on all menu items so it attracts lot of customers. We waited for nearly 1 hr in line to order the regular takoyaki. I have never seen this brand before and interested to try out. We ordered Togo and when I tried at home, the quality and taste of the takoyaki has no favor. The octopus is tiny in each takoyaki. I always love takoyaki but I won't return to visit this place anymore. However, I had tried the takoyaki from Tokyo central in Costa Mesa and i liked. I will definitely try out when they open the location in Irvine (less than 500 ft from this place. I am disappointed and felt like I wasted my time and money (even it is 50% off). read more

Was buying 6 piece for my friend and they told me it was a 10-15 mins wait which I didn't have problem with that when it comes to waiting but I waited for almost 45 to 50 mins just to get the 6 piece with only 2 customers ahead of me. I see the workers talking to each other and basically taking their time and that's what got me annoyed. It wasn't even busy and having to wait that long for 6 piece is horrible. read more