California Teriyaki Grill

This place is a solid teriyaki place. The portions are pretty generous, the meat is good quality and the food taste fresh. Personally, I prefer the chicken over beef. I’ve only gotten take out but they do have some tables avaliable and from where I stood, they always looked clean. One downside is that service is sloooow. If you order your food, it takes like twenty minutes at least to get it… even if they’re not busy. I’m not sure why it takes so long. So if you are in a rush, order ahead and give them time. Also, sometimes the people working the cashier are very friendly, other times they are not. Not rude, just not friendly. I still like the food though and it’s pretty decently priced so if I’m in the area, I’ll still swing by.

I had been a big fan of California Teriyaki Grill. Up to today, it would have garnered a 4 – 5 star from me for the maybe 10 or so visits in the last year. Like the other Unilocalers, the food is cooked well — not overcooked — and tastes really healthy. I love their teriyaki chicken over salad — great combo. But their shrimp and steak is also very good. If you want additional sauce or dressing, just ask. They’re always friendly.
But my issue today? I found an inch-​long bone sliver in my chicken. Yes, this could happen anywhere. But it ruined the lunch for me. I kept looking for additional bones and that ruined the enjoyment of the meal. I did give this to the young lady behind the counter (in a napkin, of course) and she gave it to someone. But that was the end of it. I’m sure they just said «oh well, stuff happens» and tossed it.
I’ve never had this happen here before but I’m either going to be very cautious next time or find myself another similar restaurant.
Just want to pass the word that maybe sometimes the chef isn’t as careful as you hope they would be.

love it! Unlike other teriyaki bowl place, they don’t burn their meat!!! Their food is delicious =)

Great lunch special. Food is good and very clean eating area. Bathrooms very clean as well. Would definitely eat here again.

I gave two stars to this place only for fast service. Beef, chicken, and shrimps all were tasteless, and like a half cup of water was in the vegetables that I asked instead of rice. The worst food I ever had. I won’t go there again.

This place has improved over the years. I use to get the combo plate, beef, chicken and shrimp. The shrimp was over cooked and dry everytime. The chicken was the best thing to order in my opinion. But they either payed attention or it wasn’t too busy but the shrimp was good this time around.
Less than 9.00 for the combo plate with a beverage. Good portions with a salad and an orange.
I’ll come back again for sure.

For the most part teriyaki here is good… I do not have any complaints… But have been coming to this location since back in the day when it was Mos!

I really like this place. It’s your basic meat/​veggie with rice bowl with some teriyaki sauce but for some reason, their food here tastes better! It’s made to order so it tastes fresh. The last time I was here, I had their grilled shrimp with veggies. Yum! You can also get your dishes with brown rice for only $ 1 more. They have a good lunch special that comes with a drink but you need to get there before 3pm to get the deal. They also ask that you use cash for any transaction under $ 10 but will still accept cc if you don’t have cash. They are politely asking is all.
Their restaurant is clean and the service is very friendly and speedy. I would definitely recommend this place!

I honestly thought this place was going to be some food that would be barely edible but convenient but I was presently surprised. The food was very edible and tasted pretty good. I don’t usual like to eat at these sort of place but I would go back again for sure.

Food was great but unfortunately because of the little chunky rude complete arrogant cashier working there I will never go back and do not suggest anyone go there I ordered a teriyaki chicken bowl with a drink and as eating noticed they have a lunch special until 3 p.m. Cheaper I then asked how can you charge me so much she stated because I didn’t ask for the lunch special even know what I ordered was the lunch special Justin asked for it so I was charged $ 2 more

Catering review:
We order food every Friday at work and this place is in our rotation. We order from here about once ever 6 weeks. We are able to feed 40 to 45 people for about $ 300 to $ 350. Food is pretty good for catering. Most of our employees prefer the chicken over the beef. The rice portions are big (both white and brown) and it’s nice that the owner adds egg rolls and gyoza for us. We also get some steamed veggies and salad with our order. We get the food in catering trays but you can also get individual boxes.
If you’ve had to order food for a large group, you know the goal is to satisfy the masses and stay within your budget. You will never be able to get something EVERYONE likes but as long as the majority enjoys eating then you have a winner.
CA Teriyaki Grill is something our employees look forward to each time we order. This is one of our go-​to places for catering. If you’re looking for a catering option, definitely call Justin (the owner) and ask him about placing a catering order.
I am giving this place four stars:
Food: 3 stars, nothing amazing but enjoyed by almost all of our employees
Service: 5 stars, Justin is very friendly and had the order ready at the time we request. Also provides plastic silverware and extra hot sauce and teriyaki sauce.
Cost: 5 stars, great option and pricing per person.

Was craving teriyaki and decided to give this place a try. Pretty good reviews on Unilocal and their was quite a line so I thought it would be worthwhile. While the place has great deals and service, the food NOT so great.
I ordered a combination plate with shrimp, beef, and chicken. Everything except the salad was horrendous. How could the meat come out cold when as your waiting, they have meat burning on the grill? The shrimp was the size off a peanut and overcooked. The teriyaki was sliced up into bity pieces dried and overcooked. Beef same outcome. Of all three protein I got, it was all crap. Will never return.

Good food for a good price. The food is pretty nice ordered the California plate. That’s with beef, chicken and shrimp. Chicken and shrimp was good, beef was a bit chewy. All in all a nice teriyaki place.

Pretty good food, fast service, BETTER & CHEAPER than rip off flame broiler who OVER cooks their meat…
Food comes out fast, and they don’t charge extra for brown rice UNlike flame broiler.
They also provide green onions by the side bar so you can provide as much as you need/​want on your food.

I checked this place out on a whim. Ordered a California Plate (chicken, beef, and shrimp). I don’t think this place is cook-​to-​order. When I walked in, there was cooked chicken already sitting on the grill, and no beef in sight. The cook did throw a skewer of shrimp on the grill after I ordered. I’m not sure where the beef for my meal came from, and I’m pretty sure the chicken that was already cooking landed in my to-​go box.
The chicken and shrimp seemed really undercooked – almost just «warmed up» instead of grilled. No grill marks in sight. The salad tasted like they just poured vinegar on it.
I am shocked this place has been around for a while. They really should update their signs, most of which have misspellings. When you have a combo meal advertised for one price in the front of the store, and the same meal listed for a higher price on the wall, there is a problem.
This is not the worst meal I’ve ever eaten, but I should have kept going down Muirlands to Waba Grill.

Similar food and selection to Flame Broiler but way better. Chicken is not dry and you get brown rice as an option for no extra cost. Portions are also very generous for the price. Can’t beat the lunch specials which includes a drink.

working in irvine, finding a fast, affordable and some what healthy place to eat has become a mission.
california teriyaki grill is one of those places that provides all three. never takes longer than 5 minutes for the food to come out, never spend over 7 bucks, and it really feels so much healthier than a lot of the things i’ve consumed in the past 2 years working in irvine.
they have a special plate that comes with chicken/​beef/​and a shrimp skewer on top of rice, with side salad and oranges. you can upgrade to brown rice for FREE! and you get a small drink all for 5.99 seriously, you can not beat the special.
the staff is super friendly and all smiles all the timeeee. they have tables inside and outside. it’s not super big, but it really works for people on the go, or people who are on their lunch hour.

I’ve only been there one time, but I’m def going to be back again! They have this special that comes with beef, chicken, shrimp, rice, salad, oranges, AND a small soda for $ 5.99! Plenty of parking, nice staff, and got my food really quickly. I’ll definitely be back on my lunch breaks because you’re in and out of there within 10 – 15 min. Food was good and fresh. I love that they have brown rice with no extra charge. :)
Also, they accept AmEx, which is really convenient for me.

Simple, clean, and tasty! I ordered the Beef Bowl; the flavors marinated into the beef, teamed with their teriyaki sauce, and served over white rice, was very tasty — and satisfying! I was somewhat surprised that they didn’t offer any spicy sauce (s), if desired.
The service was pleasant; the facility was clean — both, positive qualities in my eyes. I just wish they’d provide regular-​sized, less-​flimsy forks (perhaps I’ll bring my own plastic fork on my next visit).
I’m eager to try their chicken next!

This unassuming little restaurant is nestled in a lonely strip mall where it literally feels like a ghost town. Most stores are vacant and the few that are still open in here, seem to be screaming for business. If you listen closely, you could probably here them scream «eat here, eat here. bring us business, please, please, please!».
I’m trying to go more healthy in my food consumption as of late. No more fast food for me. No more burgers and fries. More salad and food that’s more on the healthy side of the spectrum so I can feel better about myself. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a Teriyaki Grill, so here I come!
California Teriyaki Grill has Plate Options, which is: your choice of brown or white rice, your choice of meat (they have about 5 options to choose from), a small salad and some orange slices (prices range between $ 6-​$ 7 a Plate). They also have Bowl Options: your choice of brown or white rice and your choice of meat (prices range between $ 4-​$ 5)
I ordered the Chicken and Beef Plate with brown rice. Holly cow, this was delicious! Meat was cooked perfectly. So good, that the meat literally fell apart in my mouth. It’s like I didn’t need my teeth to chew! Rice was equally as good; fresh and served in a huge portion. Salad was small, but decent. Orange slices where big, juicy and fresh. They also have Teriyaki Sauce here too – in bottles if you’re eating in the restaurant, or they have in in little to go packets if you’re taking your grub home. They also have onions available if you want to put some on your food too.
My only gripe about this place was that it was so HOT inside the restaurant. Yesterday was hot enough outside (around 80−90* all day) and I was expecting this place to have their A/​C on so we could eat in a more cool area. But, no A/​C in this place. It was just as hot inside as it was outside. Not sure if it was broken or they were trying to conserve money, but either way, it was hot! I won’t hold this against them since I’ll make this place a regular stop for lunch or dinner, I just wish they’d turn the A/​C on… especially when summer is right around the corner!
All in all, I’m happy with this place. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed! Trust me on this one. Happy eating!