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Small Japanese based restaurant, great selection of Japanese dishes, great customer service and the atmosphere was exactly like the movies, authentic. Very delicious and food items came out rather efficiently. Any alcoholic beverages to choose and indulge.

+2

AS

I've been here a few times over the last few years. It was a great experience everytime from the food, service, and overall atmosphere. The menu selection is pretty varied so everyone in my group was satisfied. I'd highly recommend the two entree dinner item as well as the shortribs. The sushi and yakitori is also great.

+3

Kelly Haynes

Kappo Honda in Fountain Valley is one of our favorite authentic Japanese restaurants and sushi bars. From the decor to the waiters and waitresses, you feel as if you could be in Japan. They have an extensive menu that, honestly, can be a little overwhelming but in a good way! Kappo Honda has a unique beer menu where you can order a selection that is often found in Japan to complete your Japan dining experience! The food and service are both excellent and worth having to wait a little longer on some nights and weekends.

+4

Vinh

It was my first time here again in quite some time, maybe half a year. The service seemed much more attentive than it's ever been in the 7 years since I started coming here. For example, when my gf and I sat down, someone got our drink order immediately. Then in the next few minutes, 3 more waiters came by one at a time to ask if we had our drinks ordered yet. What a refreshing surprise. My original review said that the food is great but the service is quite slow most of the time. This was definitely not the case last night! One random thing I noticed was that all of the servers were guys. Usually it's been mostly female waitresses over the years. This was the first time I saw all new faces and they were all make waiters. Not sure if that has anything to do with anything but the service sure was fast. They were about to close in 40 minutes when we arrived. Maybe that had something to do with it. *Shrug Conclusion: Food still tastes great. Prices still relatively high on many dishes especially with the recent inflation on all things across the board. Service was better and more attentive than ever.

+3

April Manalo

Everything was wonderful, the staffs and the food. Found my go-to place for Japanese food in CA during my visit, it was perfect because I’m almost always hungry at midnight lol. I got the yakitori - chicken skin, gizzard, meatballs with cheese, miso soup, grilled salmon belly, dana point roll and the baked green mussel, I was never disappointed to any of it. I would definitely come back to this restaurant if I visit CA again. And would try different dishes from them.

Mario D.

This is one of our favorate Japanese spots. Great Yakitori and sushi!! Cool for date night and now our kids love it so it’s a family affair. Everything we have ordered has been amazing. You have to finish it off with some sherbet! Great service as well.

+6

Gunjan Kumar

I do not have a lot of understanding of Izakaya-style food but I do know that I like eating it. Since Covid, one of our favorite spots closed its shop. We have been looking for a place that could give us a similar kind of dining experience. This place fits perfectly in that frame. Food is good as expected. One star just for the Servers who are very courteous, attentive and make sure that you are well taken care of. They have tried to decorate their interior to closely match with their theme, including how booths are designed. Overall a good experience, you wont be disappointed.

+1

Nikki Permchom

Food is on the salty side but overall i like them all except Ramen that was way too salty. I know izakaza places tend to make things salty so you order beer/drinks to wash it off. Our server is not that friendly but at least she is not that mean like some places. The wait was not too bad. Parking can be tough. Japanese beef skewer is so delicious.

NiCHA KONALO

Kappo Honda serves authentic Japanese cuisine with rich flavors. Some dishes were a bit salty, but overall well prepared and satisfying. The warm, inviting atmosphere makes it ideal for dinner with family or a gathering of friends.

+6

Lingling

The food here is legit, although the uni isn't the best. The ume skewer is a definite no-no; none of us liked it. On the flip side, the drinks look pretty, but even with alcohol, they taste more like water—don't expect too much. They're more on the juice side. Everything else falls into the okay category—not the best but not the worst either.

+3

Brian Stambaugh

A difficult experience to rate. The service and atmosphere here were great, but the food was hit or miss. The grilled salmon belly, avocado tempura, and roast garlic skewer were quite good, and I'd have them again, but I'm not sure I'd order anything else again. The beef teriyaki was a steak covered in teriyaki sauce, which as an idea isn't bad, but not what I was expecting, and not a particularly great cut of beef. The flavor on the beef short ribs (galbi) was great, but they were incredibly tough and chewy. The pork belly skewer was only okay, not being as fatty as I was hoping for. We had an "orange sherbet" for dessert, which was a hollowed out and filled orange with whipped cream. I do not think the term "sherbet" is correct here as I don't think there was any dairy in it, and I'm not sure it's sorbet either since it really just seemed to be frozen, unsweetened, orange juice.

+2

Nick B

Have to admit that this is one of the decent yakitori place around town. The sushi here is ok. The service is not that great anymore.

+17

Hazel Diuri-Lee

So disappointing! My husband and I came here because we are frequent patrons of their sister restaurant, honda-ya, in Tustin. We recently discovered this fountain valley location and thought we'd give them a try. This was, by far, one of the most disappointing places I've been to in a long while. Almost everything was overcooked. The chicken yakitori with cheese and jalapeno were dry and overcooked with very little seasoning. The jalapeno slices were so thickly sliced, I just took them off. The beef tongue was sliced way too thick and extremely tough and chewy. Honda-ya does theirs much thinner and theirs is tender and easy to eat. I will say that Kappo Honda seasoned the tongue well, but it's not enjoyable if I have to chew it until I have TMJ. The negima (chicken thighs with green onion) was okay. The seasoning was lacking, though. The kabocha and saboro was pretty good. It's definitely different from most dishes. And the grilled corn on the cob was very good. I do love corn. The duck was actually pretty decent. It was prepared well and didn't have a very gamey flavor. It was surprisingly one of the best yakitori skewers we had, tonight I got the chawan mushi and was seriously disappointed with the 1 ginko nut, 1/2 slice of extremely thinly sliced fishcake, and tiny piece of salmon that laid at the bottom of the cup. It was pretty much all custard. The salmon piece was about the size of a nickel. (I think that's even being generous). The scallops yakitori were far overcooked and chewy. The chicken skin was burnt on the ends and required some chiseling to separate it from the skewer stick. We ordered the red house gyoza which was decent. I thought it lacked seasoning in the filling. My husband thought it was okay so our decision on this one is up in the air. My husband also ordered tempura lotus root. He felt it was way too undercooked. The root was really hard and crunchy. I tried a piece and have to agree. We've had far better at other restaurants. The agedashi mochi was on par with Honda-ya and other izakaya we've been to. I'd be a little concerned if anyone was able to screw this one up, though. Ah, and finally, the salmon belly nigiri sushi. This was our last order and what dropped what would have been a 3 star rating down to a 2. This was overall unpleasant. The whole thing. The rice was extremely hot underneath, which made the fish very warm. On top of that, the fish left an incredibly unpleasant taste in both our mouths. I don't know how to describe it, but it was kind of foul. Sushi rice must be a certain temperature before laying fish on it and I would expect this place to know better, especially for the reputation and other reviews I've read of this place. The overall theme tonight was overcooked and disappointing. The staff was very friendly, though, which kept this review from sinking down to a 1. They were on it and always picking up plates/checking on us. Our table was extremely sticky, though. Like, the whole table. Not sure if it's from the cleaner they use or what, but it was a little gross.

+8