Tokyo Central. Our favorite here are the Bento Boxes. Who says cheap eats cannot be delicious? Try it! I vouch for the Wafu Karaage Bento! How much yummmm can you get for $8.99? It has Karaage, salmon, Rice... filling and tasty! You can dine in or take it with you. They'd give you chopsticks, Wasabi, soy sauce, ginger if you request it. Employees are really nice and courteous. Parking gets pretty crazy especially during weekends but it is a popular Asian supermarket. @socalweekendwalkaroundals Check out my you tube short on this topic https://youtube.com/shorts/M1x6Z6vCQIU?feature=share read more

Tokyo Central - Costa Mesa - Wafu Karaage Bento. Yelpers! Try this!!!!!! - International Grocery Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

What a cool market, reminds me of Don Quijote in Oahu! And guess what, Tokyo Central was purchased by Don Quijote in 2013! Fresh poke, sashimi, Japanese style self service buffet! Delicious drinks/alcohol from Japan! A must stop before going to the beach! read more

Tokyo Central - Costa Mesa - Lunch for the beach! - International Grocery Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

We don't do much grocery shopping here, but their cooked food and sushi are pretty good at reasonable prices. However, the checkout lines are not organized well and can get messy at busy times such as lunch hour. Thankfully, most fellow customers are pretty courteous, so the experience is still OK. read more

This place you can go to daily. It emulates what people in Japan do culturally, which is to eat fresh food that does not spoil from packaging because Tokyo Central offers that style of eating in this market. If you go to their kitchen area you can grab a Beef Bowl, sushi varieties, Chicken curry, sandwiches, fresh fruits and desserts under $10 for most. This place makes it a smart business because instead of charging high or equal, they charge what you would afford to come in daily to eat. There is a microwave to heat up the foods you buy near the front of the cash registers. Desire to make meats at home? Buy your meats in the back at great prices that allows you to eat as if you were at a Shabu or Sushi restaurant. Facial products here are mostly natural and prices are fair. Your girls into Matcha? This place definitely has all that. The only pricey items are their makeups that are imported, car accessories and Sanrio items because they are brand labels. Yes, you miss out if you haven't been here! And they also have a bakery section for their Japanese breads! There is Lions hot coffee there to eat it with too. read more

Get place to shop for fresh fish and all the great Japanese ingredients for cooking. Love the takeout meals.

Fresh sushi and MORE! Go get some Quality workers Great vibe! Get there early for best selection of take out sushi options! read more

My husband and I stopped in to check the fresh sushi around dinnertime. Turns out the mark everything down at 7 pm at 20% off. So we waited a little bit and grabbed an onigiri, a sushi plate, and a chicken katsu plate. They have microwaves and a small eating area beyond the registers. It was a quick and dirty dinner for us and we were on our way. Tokyo Central reminds me of our recent time in Japan. They had fresh mochi, lots of different Japanese goods, and interesting beverages. If you're looking for a specific Japanese ingredient, they probably carry it. This one is a little out of the way for us but it was nice to check it out. read more

Been to all of the local Japanese Markets this one is by far the best. The have the typical assortment of Japanese products. The prepackaged bentos and sushi are really good. Lots of options for a pretty reasonable price considering how bad California has become. Definitely my go to spot for Japanese Bentos, musubis and other entrees. read more

We came to Tokyo Central to buy a sushi and poki bowl. Always delicious in the past. But now they are sweetening the rice with high fructose corn syrup, which is not healthy. We had to pass on all sushi and poki bowls. Sashimi and side of rice aren't sweetened so we ate those. But we missed the sushi. Service was good, as always. read more

Just when I think Tokyo couldn't get any better, they have fresh brewed Lion coffee from Hawaii!!! Reg $1.69, and I think Large size is $1.99. Amazed ** read more

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I could easily spend an entire afternoon at Tokyo Central. My friends and I wanted to spice up our grocery haul, so we stopped by Tokyo Central for some Japanese goodies. I went in with zero plan and spent an hour+ slowly exploring each isle. No plan was a necessity considering the majority of the labels are written in Japanese. I ended up taking home a variety of matcha flavored desserts, tasty chips (love the tempura seaweed!) soup dumplings, mushrooms, eel sauce, and gyoza for our next themed dinner. This is the perfect spot to pick up fun/unique snacks, sake beverages, and ingredients for your next hot pot night. read more

Tokyo Central is definitely my favorite Japanese supermarket in Orange County with their wide selection of products, great prices, and excellent service. The store has a variety of products ranging from freshly made sushi, onigiri, etc. to Saks & Wagyu Beef. Most products are of Japanese origin, which is obviously the main appeal along with the great prices. From Tuna Salads from $4 to $1.50 Onigiris, Tokyo Central truly hits. Located in the same Plaza as Book-Off. read more

One of my favorite places to find Japanese ingredients. They carry great brands and have a wide variety of products. Their prepared food section always carries fresh made items and they have a lot of great options for snack or lunch. They start putting out items around 10:30am. Their produce section is a bit pricey. This place is usually busy and it can be hard to find parking. read more

Tokyo Central is my go-to market for Japanese food in OC. This particular location has a huge prepped-food section, with high quality/fresh ingredients and excellent pricing! I particularly enjoy the Poke meal (mixed chunks of salmon, tuna, octopus over a layer of rice, with imitation crab and fish roe on the side). Their sashimi plate (individual size) is also a great buy and will run you about $15. Also for the sashimi/nigiri plates, you can ask the staff to customize if you enjoy specific type(s) of more. I find this market to be extremely well stocked relative to Mitsuwa, and can usually find everything I'm looking for. The store is nicely organized and well run by courteous staff. read more

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Literally in love with this place. It's like a haven for Japanese food. High quality meat and produce for a good price, sushi, international snacks and a self serve hot bar on the weekends. One of my primary grocery stores. read more

Marukai has been improving since COVID. Especially their service is great! Cashers are friendly. Deli corner has so many choices they are pretty good even as Japanese! There are two mainly Japanese grocery stores in Costa Mesa and I always go both on weekends. They have different characters. read more

Subpar service from this business. Tip: Always check your receipt carefully, line by line, before leaving the store. Apparently their system has no way to alert when an item is being charged more than once. The check out clerk by the name of SAYURI G (as stated in my receipt) mistakenly overcharged me for an item. Soon as I noticed the error after my 3 years old daughter and I got home and put away the food into the fridge and freezer, we came back to let her know and she never once apologized. She called over another clerk by the name of NITAYA (as stated on my refund receipt) and said dismissively in a tone like she didn't believe me, while pointing at my receipt, "she claims this item was doubled charged..." Neither lady apologized for the error. Why would I have taken the time to put my 3 year old back into the car, driven back there, and then waited in line to speak to the clerk if I was lying about this extra charge?! Terrible and Rude customer service. read more

If you base it off the products they offer, it's definitely a 5. However, the lines are ALWAYS long and they don't seem to have enough cashiers. You won't see lines this long at Mitsuwa because they always have 3 to 4 registers open. I came here just before 5pm and the lines were already long. I decided to go to Target first and just come back, hoping the lines would be shorter then. Oh boy, I was dead wrong. The line is at least 15 people deep and still only 2 registers open. It's so frustrating. I finished this review before I even got close to the check out counter. Unbelievable. read more

Tokyo Central - Costa Mesa - Looooonggggg lines - International Grocery Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Tokyo Central is a wonderful grocery store with plenty of fresh food options during lunch time, some of the best fruit I've ever had and a fantastic selection of Japanese candy/treats. Kids love the selection of candy/snacks and claw games near the entrance - Be prepared and come with small bills! Note: we originally went in search of Poi as a different Yelper noted they offer it but when we arrived, we learned they only carry frozen and not fresh. read more

I truly enjoy venturing out to Tokyo Central. They have such a variety of shopping needs from household items, beauty, alcohol & gifts. Aisles are visibly labeled, store set-up is pretty clean & organized. There is even a "Hawaiian section" too! I typically come here for their great assortment on sushi, sashimi, poke, desserts, take-out Japanese style snacks, cold & hot foods! Prices are pretty good here. I find there is more selection here than Mitsuwa. The drive out here never disappoint me. This Tokyo Central may seen a little small, but it definitely has a lot to offer & is so worth checking out! What I have noticed from couple months ago is that they no longer ask for membership/shopper's card when you check-out. Guess it no longer makes a difference?? read more

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Went for some poke and it was really good! The staff was very friendly and it didn't feel too expensive. Super local spot for this food. The store was super exciting to be in! I will be back to try more. read more

Tokyo Central - Costa Mesa - Poke! - International Grocery Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

// first review of 2021 I never realized there is a Tokyo Central store here in OC. Well I've been to the South Bay location which is 2 stories! I love love that store, it's basically like the Japanese Walmart! So with that said, I had high expectations of this store. No doubt this place has lots!! However I was slightly disappointed when I got in there & started looking around. First off, the store doesn't have a second level like the South Bay store has. So that was a buzzkill! The skincare aisle is popping & definitely take your time in there. The plush section was cute but picked over. Actually that whole area seemed to be picked over tbh. I also was kinda hoping for more selection in the dish section but again there wasn't much here. I don't think I'll be a regular customer here, as I like Mitsuwa better. read more

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Tokyo Central is amazingly big store. They have variety of ready to eat food from sushi, shashimi and rice bowls of goodies. Ive been to Japan Asia so they have legit food items they sell from japan. Its like going back. I love coming here, its clean and nice staff. read more

Little Japan! It's like my Disneyland when I come here. Looooveee the freshly cooked food cafeteria on the right. So many selections and all tasty. I never get disappointed with their katsu or tempura, or what not. Always delicious. The space for the groceries is a little cramped, but it is what it is. The fresh produce, meat cuts, and fish selection are all great. Freshly looking. The attendants are kind and gracious. But again the hot Japanese food selections here are AMAZING. Sushi is great too!!! Love. read more

I used to work for the sister-company Marukai Wholesale Mart when I lived in Hawaii, so I had to come check out Tokyo Central. I remembered them being called Marukai, back in the day. I had to see the difference, so I came to this store. They are very much the same, but different set up. My husband and I loved browsing their store for unique import gifts to the variety of foods and prepared foods. The customer service was great and that's always a plus. They are different than the Hawaii store, because the Hawaii store does cater to the locals there, while this store carried more Japanese foods. I can't wait to go back for strawberry sake. read more

First time here! Actually, first time in an Asian supermarket in a while and I'm so happy I went here. My neighbor prefers this market over Mitsuwa and recommended it when I asked about a market to buy fresh fish. I felt like a kid in a candy store! They have a great product section, so many variets of fish, and they have a bunch of Hawaiian products as well (pancake mix, shaved ice syrup, hurricane popcorn, and more!) The food court is amazing. So many options for sushi, sandwiches, bowls, appetizers, literally everything. The fish looks so fresh and there's a good variety of items in their food court. They even have some deals on meals with 20% off stickers. I came for just ginger, kimchi, and seaweed salad. I left with that and so much more. They also have Fugetsudo mochi from LA. I got to try a new type of donut from Chikara Mochi in Gardena (donut filled with red bean) which was tasty. $2.29 hand rolls - got spicy tuna and it was simple, spicy, and fresh. $2.99 seaweed salad - perfect for our make at home poke bowls I am coming back here weekly if I ever need to restock my pantry or grab lunch/dinner. read more

Tokyo Central - Costa Mesa - Hawaiian section - International Grocery Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I am sure my opinion is American but I have tasted some very fine sushi and sashimi in Tokyo and other major cities in Japan and this place can compare with the best of them for take out. Generous cuts of fish especially the scallops and hamachi. I would not go for the hot food though but then I am very particular about having hot food hot so not their fault they can't keep the food at that temperature or it would be ruined. Check out staff is friendly and makes sure you have everything you need to eat your food wherever you decide to do so. Prices are not give away but sure beats the sushi restaurants around the area. There is an area with tables for you to eat too so that's super! I just can't go there often enough since I don't live in the area. Wish we have one where we live! read more

Great place to grab some sushi and coffee. After 6:30 the sushi is at 20 to 30% discount. Love the snacks too.

It was a wonderful time at Tokyo Central Market. It was a long, long time ago when it was called Marukai and you had to be a cardmember. Today was a great day for memories of all the things we yearned for..fresh produce and all sorts of fish..but really we were here to check out sweet stuff. Mochi and chocolate snacks and Pocky cookies. Yeah, we shopped for items that are unique and probably won't find at your regular market like Vons. We also picked up some prepared and packaged to go sushi items. That and items like tofu and frozen Bao buns and Fried Rice. I think we agreed to come back to Tokyo Central with a better shopping list. It was a day of relearning a market that we frequented a long time ago. read more

Tokyo Central - Costa Mesa - Definitely wanted to try the different mochi... - International Grocery Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I'm always highly satisfied with my Tokyo Central visits each time. The freshness of the ingredients says it all. This is my go-to grab-N-go lunch destination. Affordable prices and high-quality meals are what makes Tokyo Central stand out. I always come home with the chicken karaage, poke, the onion crunch roll, spicy salmon hand rolls, octopus balls, and Japanese pudding. Of course, there are so many other options to choose from. I recommend coming around noon, because that's when the items are freshest. It can get a bit crowded too. read more

Tokyo Central - Costa Mesa - International Grocery Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This is my favorite Tokyo Central store. It seems to be more of a real grocery store than some of the other ones that concentrate on too many toys. Everyone is helpful and pleasant. Security was a little heavy handed and rude but store management has dealt with that issue when I brought it up. The store is clean, neat and has sufficient products for my needs. read more

Reminds us how lacking we are in the bay area, this Tokyo Central is the S. It's much better than the one in Cupertino. This one in Costa Mesa is located at the former Marukai location and in the same plaza as Book-off. On the right you will find the most insane selection of takeout it's almost large enough to be it's own store. This is because Covid shut down the restaurants and now all of them are to-go and sold in the same area as the other takeout items. They have the refrigerated section and also a warm section, you'll be able to find anything you want here as well as a few rarer items such as dessert mochi. The sashimi section is impressive and for a great price the quality is also very high. They have chu-toro and o-toro if you want to treat yourself well. Big thing to note is today the line was insane, there were at least 5 cashiers but we waited at least 25 minutes, it may have been last second holiday shopping because it was never like that before! read more

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I love this Japanese grocery store! My boyfriend took me here last weekend to show me their sushi options. Walking in I smelled fried food, haha! It looks like they used to serve fresh ramen and other Japanese food before covid. Everything is pre-packaged now, they have many options, from Japanese curry, chicken karage, pastries, takoyaki, etc. and everything looks so good! They have pre-made sushi packages at the front or you can go in the back if you want to make your own sushi at home, which is what we normally do. BF heard about this place from a coworker years ago, I don't know why I never asked him to take me until Last weekend. There's always a line out the door to get in but it goes by really fast. This place has mostly everything but banchans, which is understandable since it's a Japanese store. This is one of my favorite Asian grocery store for sure! read more

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I was referred to Tokyo Central by my hair stylist. She said there was some really cool Japanese hair products here. She was soooo right. I fell in love with this store as soon as I arrived. Lots of cool hair products that I used to buy online and get shipped from Japan. But now I can buy it here. Lots of Japanese snacks and drinks. I found Hawaiian products too. Great prices too. They also have a food court where I can box my own food and pay by weight. There's sushi and little rolls. Lots of "choose your own" food and then just pay at the register. There's little tables to sit at and eat. They even have little claw machine games for the kids. Everyone is friendly and courteous. It's just how I imagine shopping in Japan would be. I've been here 5 times in the past 2 weeks. I just love all the goodies they have. My kids said they if they could live in this store they would. read more

The food court has authentic Japanese foods for a good price and perfect if you are looking for a quick bite.

I've added this grocery store to my regular food rounds. They are very good at limiting the number of people shopping, cleaning carts, requiring masks, etc. The other customers shopping here respect the social distancing and mask rules as well. They are key in providing me with everything I need to make Japanese and Hawaiian dishes. My family has been shopping at Tokyo Central aka Marukai since forever. There are so many things you can get here and nowhere else. The prices are more reasonable than the other bougie Japanese market. They have a large selection of ready made foods that have a discount after 6 pm. I'm not sure if this is forever or for a limited time only, but I try to time my visits to hit the deals. As far as quality goes, the sushi is hit or miss. I've never gotten sick from it but I can definitely tell the quality is slightly above borderline. The bento foods are great, and an upgrade to eating bowl noodles for lunch or getting fast food. read more

Tokyo Central - Costa Mesa - That salmon plate is damn good. And everyone loves discount mochi - International Grocery Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I have been shopping at Tokyo Central the past few years since it opened and took over Marukai. I enjoy their vast selection of snacks, grocery, and produce. They even have a dedicated aisle for Hawaiian snacks/food and Hawaiian Poke next to the sashimi/sushi! I'm grateful that Tokyo Central is doing their best during this pandemic. They wipe down all shopping carts and have a limit on how many people can be inside. Social Distancing is being monitored here. The good: 1. Huge variety of Bentos! I've tried most of their Bentos and loved every one of them! I'm glad they change the Bentos around now and then. 2. Sashimi - Super fresh and very good presentation. They have quite a selection with different cuts. I like how they have different size platters for you to choose from. 3. Selection - I have to stay their selection of everything is more than that of Mitsuwa (though I love Mitsuwa too!). 4. Service - I have always felt welcomed here and everything is always clean and tidy. The alright: 1. They do have a hot/cold prepared food selection that you use to be able to self serve. Since the pandemic, they are now all prepackaged. I have found the hot foods hit or miss. The Baked Salmon and Teriyaki Chicken are pretty good with the others being a little bland. The bad: 1. Aha! One thing I finally realized, they have no Uni! I use to dislike Uni with a passion but over the years have began to enjoy the taste and texture of Uni. (Update 6/08/2020, they do carry frozen Uni and will carry fresh Uni towards the end of the year!) read more

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My family and I always go here for Japanese products. I love their matcha products section right in the middle, and I especially love the sushi section! It's always fresh and delicious. The prices overall aren't too bad, and the customer service is fine. It's not as spacious inside regarding aisles and open spaces like American supermarkets, but I don't mind. They even have a section by the windows with tables and a microwave so you can eat there. I've gone at different times of the day, and the parking lot seems to always be crowded. read more

I love going to this market whenever I need to restock on my Japanese groceries or when I am craving for some warm food or sushi. I used to shop at Mitsuwa, but I stopped going there since the prices are much better here and they usually have sales on top of that as well! This store has a good selection of sushi and various heatable Japanese food (beef bowls, takoyaki, spaghetti, katsu sandwiches, etc.) near the entrance of the store. They also have a 30% off deal after 6 P.M. for a limited time due to the pandemic which makes it quite a steal if you are willing to wait in line and manage to grab an item before someone else does! They have such a wide selection of goods that you can't really find elsewhere all in one place! I like to buy their sliced ribeye meat, boba milk tea ice cream, chips, candies, curries and sauces (they have frequent 2 for $6 sales on these items!), etc. You don't really need a membership card to get the card special deals since the cashiers usually swipe their own card anyways, but if you want your own card you literally just ask for one and they will hand it to you without having to sign up or anything. Overall, if you are fortunate enough to be within the area and love Japanese goods, then you really have to check this place out! Just make sure to avoid noon and evenings (especially near 6 PM) on Fridays and the weekend as that tends to be a popular time for people to go to the market and with the pandemic, you will have to wait in a line to enter the store. read more

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Tokyo Central is an offshoot of Marukai Markets. We didn't browse around too much, because we got there shortly before they were about to close. There is a wide selection of Japanese goods. There wasn't much selection left for prepared foods, but they are discounted 20% off at the end of the day. read more