Wa Dining OKAN

First time here last week, we had no idea this place existed!
We walked in at 8pm on a Sunday with 7 kids and 5 adults, they put some tables together and sat us quickly.
We enjoyed all the rolls we had. The tuna nigiri tasted fresh, I was worried about this being so late.
The chicken teriyaki Bento was also really good and the portion size was satisfying.
We will definitely be back!

I have been here multiple times now and what’s not to love? It is a perfect little spot for a weekend date night. My favorites are the beef tongue, carpaccio, tuna and avocado over rice, and their perfectly sweet (but not too sweet) pudding with molasses. If you haven’t tried their food then you should definitely check it out. It can get a little expensive since tapas are smaller portions so be ready to spend some money. I know this is true for dinner but I have not had the lunch here so I cannot vouch for that.

Came here for lunch and the food was delicious. I had the shredded beef with rice and it was so flavorful and made a great dish to eat over rice. It also came with miso soup and 3 little sides. Staff was friendly and food came out quick. You can also substitute the white rice for brown rice or a salad for 50cents more.
I initially wanted the hamburger patty but they only make a certain amount per day and they ran out.
Please note that for lunch it’s cash only.
Parking in that lot can he hard to come by but there also is street parking.

Despite mostly under-​spiced and uninspired dishes, this japanese pub deserves 3.5 stars for one incredibly delicious item: the pork cheek with green onion sauce. Come here for a couple of $ 3 HH brews and some dat piggy and you will capture some Zen-​like contentment and happiness.
Otherwise we were mostly disappointed. Many of the menu items are commonly found in pubs in Japan, but dining here did not gastronomically ‘transport’ us back to Kyoto. The duck meat soba was kind of plain (no lemon rind in the broth?). The gobo salad looked impressive but needed salt and some miso dressing. The salmon carpaccio was not cured enough. Chicken livers somewhat overcooked. Softshell crab — the fryer oil seemed in need of a change. And what of the promised wasabi salt on the crab? It was as if the kitchen had an aversion to spice — thus everything (except the pork belly) was on the blander end of the spectrum.
Happy hour has some $ 3-​$ 5 items, but otherwise most of the small plates here run $ 8+… Decent place for grazing, but we likely won’t be back.

Came here for lunch on a Sunday. The place opens at 11:30 and when I got there around 11:45, almost all of the seats were seated with customers. This place is small and popular. I think it definitely lives up to its hype. It is cash only during lunch time. If you don’t have cash on you like me, you could just go to Nijiya next door to buy something small and get cash back.
We got the miso mackerel with eel bowl and the hamburger patty w/​salmon roe bowl. They all come with three side dishes each and the only side dish we have in common was the pickled vegetables. Talk about variety! The eel bowl was excellent. Too bad you can’t order a full big one during lunch time, it can only be an add-​on with the entrée.
Overall, I love the small and intimate vibe in the restaurant and the quality of the food is exceptional. However, good food comes with a price, so don’t be surprised if the bill is a little higher than usual.

Came here for late night dining on a Friday night, but unfortunately their last call for food is now 10:40 pm. Apparently, it’s just drinks after 11. Luckily we arrived at 10:15, so there was still time to taste a few delicious dishes. Large menu and cozy environment with a diverse group of diners.
Liked the small plates concept so we could try lots of different things, many of which I haven’t seen in other SD Japanese restaurants. On the specials menu, the tempura okra w/​3 salts (wasabi, curry, ?) was really good – the tempura was crisp and very light, allowing the okra flavor to shine and combine perfectly with the piquant salts.
The udon with tempura flakes was fine, and DH wolfed down his chicken gizzards. Unfortunately, he did not enjoy the smelt fish tempura special, but admitted that it was likely a personal preference.
I enjoyed the black sesame pudding to finish off the meal as you could really taste the sesame and it was not overwhelmed by a sweetener. The powdered peanut topping provided a slight crunch and complementary, salty flavor.
The prices were reasonable for small bites, and I’ll likely be back to try creative new dishes on their nightly specials menu.

HOLY COW THIS PLACE IS SO GOOD! My friend and I decided to come here for dinner on a Thursday night at around 7pm and there was no wait. The restaurant is pretty small but it has a very cute atmosphere/​vibe to it. The restaurant basically has both bar seating and table seating. Since it was only the two of us, we sat at the bar.
Taking a look at the menu, there are a lot of dishes that I haven’t heard of or tried before or imagined myself ordering because of its price. We ended up ordering the udon, the thinly sliced beef (sorry I forgot the name), the scallop and sea urchin carpaccio, the whole squid, and the salmon and salmon roe rice. Everything came at a timely manner and everything was so delicious! All the fish were very fresh and flavorful. I love each dish we ordered and I was so impressed with every bite. The scallop and sea urchin carpaccio was super tasty and fresh. You can definitely taste both seafood in it and it just melts in your mouth! The udon was very good and the broth was super flavorful! I really love the salmon and salmon roe rice. It takes about 20 minutes for it to come out so be warned! It comes in a little clay pot and it’s absolutely delicious and fulfilling! The beef was really tender and delicious. So sad that the portion is small, but it is a tapas restaurant. The whole squid was good, too! It was cooked really nicely and it had a good chewy texture to it.
Overall, I really enjoyed dinning here. The food is delicious. The staff is very nice. And although the price is a little up there, it’s pretty worth it. I recommend all the dishes I mentioned up there. I can’t wait to come back again!

One word: Scrumptious. Everything I had here was delicious! Next time I’m in San Diego, I’m definitely coming back here.
–Salmon Carpaccio: Perfectly seared salmon, superb flavor. So good, we ordered 2.
–Scallop/​Uni Carpaccio: Decadence in a spoon.
–Braised Pork Belly with Egg — Delicious pork belly in broth. Get this. *Avoid the Dijon mustard — WILL clear your sinuses (learned the hard way, thinking it was miso paste… lol).
–Monkfish Liver: Like foie gras of the ocean.
–Pudding with Molasses: When I didn’t think it could get any better, this happened.
–Seared Beef: Cold, tender, thin slices of beef.
–Black Sesame Ice Cream: Bits of black sesame seeds in the ice cream itself. Subtle flavors, not overpowering at all.
These were also good, just not quite as amazing as the orders above:
–Fried Sting Ray: Served with a lemon wedge & mayo. Tasted like a normal fried white fish…
–Chicken Wings: Good, simple flavor.
–Fried Shrimp: Popular, you’ll have to manually remove head/​legs/​tail.
–Chicken thighs on a stick: Good, but pretty generic. I prefer the wings over this.
Can’t wait to come back and try more!

What you need to know:
1) The best authentic Japanese restaurant I’ve tried so far.
2) Arrive early! And I mean before the restaurant even opens. People are already waiting outside the door 10 min before the store opens, and it usually fills up within 30 min of opening. Reservations are limited. Arriving early also means you have a better chancing of getting a parking spot in the often busy lot (especially on weekends).
3) Get the Braised Pork! Tender portions of the most flavorful pork I’ve tasted. Dish comes in a soup or rice version with egg.
4) if your party is greater than 4, you may have difficulty securing a table. Biggest table there I believe sits 6, and there’s only one of them. There are other tables that seat mostly parties of 2, otherwise, rest of seating is at the bar.
My highest recommendation, will come back here often.

It’s a small dining place next to the Japanese supermarket. Atmosphere was nice.
As for food, the presentations were nice, but everything was too salty for us.
We ordered:
Real crab meat rice in a kettle (1 star): not so good. It has that seafood smell and flavor in a bad way.
Duck ramen (3 stars): I loved the chewy noodles and juicy and tender duck meat. The egg would be so much better if it were soft-​boiled. The broth was SOOOOO SALTY! Ah-​ah, not drinkable.
Rice balls (salmon and cod roe) (3 stars): again, way too salty. But the rice was hot and tender, and I liked that. (It’s actually my first time to have a hot rice ball.)
Probably won’t come here again.

Parking:
It is relatively hard to find parking in this plaza. Come early for the happy hour specials: 5:30 — 6:30pm.
I always come to OKAN for lunch. Their lunch menu isn’t that pricy compare to the dinner menu. The lunch combo comes with two daily sides, soup, and a main dish. Price is around $ 10 – 15 per person for lunch and it is cash only. Highly recommended the lunch here!
— — — –Recommendations for lunch:
Simmered mackerel.
The mackerel is a little too sweet for me, but it goes great with the rice.
Braised pork belly with eggs.
This is similar to the dinner Braised pork belly w/​poached egg in a kettle. The flavor is similar and the price is around $ 11. Dinner Braised pork belly w/​poached egg in a kettle is $ 17.5.
— — — –Recommendations for dinner:
Happy Hour Menu:
Chicken Liver (I could literally lick the plate. Yes it was that tasty)
Salmon carpaccio (Really good. $ 5 for 4 pieces hmmmm… Its better than the regular price at least: D)
Regular Menu:
Braised Pork Belly w/​Poached egg
This comes with rice. You can see how the waitress mix everything together. Unlike the poached egg that is mixed with the white rice, the pork belly would still be together as a whole piece (small pieces). (One of my Fav dishes here!)
Scallop and Sea Urchin Carpaccio
This makes a good Instagram picture. It tastes just as good as it looks!
Sashimi Salad
Healthy choice. Vegetables and fish! What else could you ask for?
Dessert:
Black Honey Pudding.
One of my fav desserts YASSS

After many months I returned for lunch (cash only) and devoured a bowl of udon & beef (see pic). My goodness I forgot how special and authentic OKAN is. Such a gem.

Maybe my new favorite restaurant to eat at in San Diego. Besides Sushi Ota. But Wa Dining OKAN is a lot more affordable than Sushi Ota, so I mean…
I called when they opened for dinner service to make a reservation and I’m glad I did. It’s a tiny place, and seating can be hard to come by. The boy & I got the fried shrimp, salmon/​scallop, and two versions of the udon. The appetizers were great — the light flavors of the salmon & scallop were so so good.
But the udon. Man. I burned my tongue on my udon, and it was so worth it. I got the kitsune, which is maybe the most basic, but I love good basic food, so it’s good. That egg though. Omg. Greatness.
We also got the honey dessert and the mango panna cotta. While good, the star of the show was definitely the udon. Craving it already.

Wow such a cute place but quite expensive. You definitely get to experience a good japanese vibe though. Not too many tables so if you go on the wrong day, you’ll wait a while. Got the chicken wings, chicken udon and nabeyaki. 3 chicken wings for $ 6? Chicken uson $ 9 and nebayaki $ 13. Make sure youre willing to spend a good amount for other food. I wanna come back for their skewers!

I loved everything we ordered here: fried gobo salad, which I ate like potato chips with my hands, scallop and uni carpaccio, monkfish liver, beef tongue skewers and fried baby octopus. Everything was seasoned just right, not too salty which I really dislike.
I was in heaven over the tofu pudding dessert with molasses syrup. It tasted like a Japanese style flan, with the same consistency. My only gripe with this dessert was the minuscule portion size and the fact that I had to share this with my husband, but that’s not Wa Dining’s fault.
Service was very friendly and food came out really fast! We made reservations for dinner so we didn’t have to wait for our table but for those who didn’t, wait times vary between 30 minutes to an hour.

Absolutely in love with this place. For lunch they have specific dishes that differ from dinner but definitely captures the essence of a hearty lunch in Japan. I ordered the tofu with mushroom sauce and opted for brown rice. You probably couldn’t imagine tofu being that amazing but it was the best tofu I have ever had!
For dinner I’ve had the avocado tuna app which was quite tasty. Then had the duck udon. I didn’t favor the duck too much it had a strong smoky flavor that overtook the flavors of anything else, however the udon noodle itself was extremely decadent and the absolute perfect texture.
Beware that this spot is extremely small and not appropriate for large parties. For lunch they do cash only and they close in the middle of the day.
I love OKAN!

Amaze balls.
And I don’t say that ever.
Octopus wasabi — never thought you’d like octopus? Try RAW octopus, with that special kick in your mouth. Surprisingly delicious, not slimy, just this refreshing tender crunch.
Salmon scallop carpaccio — so fresh, I could order like 5 of these, my two favorite sashimi put together!
Beef and poached egg soba — PERFECTLY poached egg, Beef is pretty potent and the soup is a little salty and thick, but it’s a delicious combo. Make sure you have something light or sweet to drink to wash it down.
Hamachi Kama — Good, pretty standard hamachi.
For the longest time (like 8 years ago while going to UCSD) I didn’t think San Diego had good sushi, nor was I impressed by the available Japanese cuisine, which bothered me because there’s plenty of Japanese there! It turns out I’ve been missing out. This little cozy spot would have made me try harder to stay in San Diego! Will definitely be coming every time I get to make it back in town. Great service, try to make reservations (know that they’re very strict on it though).

Awesome little place that serves «Japanese Tapas» along with some solid rice and noodle dishes (plus sushi). The restaurant is intimate and casual with seating at a few tables as well as the bar, which is u-​shaped and in the center of the room.
For a party of two on a Saturday night we waited for ~30 min. I would suggest going with a smaller group if possible. They have specials every day and dish recommendations. The special tapas for the day are displayed on the bar and served cold. We ordered 4 items to share:
Gobo salad (4 stars): So what is gobo? It’s a tubular root that is used often in Japanese cuisine. The «salad» is a huge pile of fried thin strips of gobo sprinkled with black sesame seeds on layer of greens. This is all then dressed with some sort of mixture with sesame oil and soy sauce and sprinkled with salt. The gobo is crispy with a slight savory note — it tastes a bit like sweet potato chips. Quite delicious and despite being fried you still feel like you’re being healthy!
Chicken Karaage (fried crispy chicken) (5 stars): Boneless crispy chicken with a light breading on a bed of fresh greens. The wings were fried just right and didn’t taste overly greasy. They were then dressed with a green onion sesame dressing that was really refreshing.
Nabeyaki Udon (5 stars): This udon comes with two shrimp tempura, chicken, shiitake mushrooms, poached egg, and some of the best noodles ever! The broth is savory and not overly salty. And the udon soft and chewy without being over cooked. Just be careful because the clay pot that it comes in is very hot.
Pork belly cooked rice (4 stars): This rice is cooked in a small kettle and brought out hot. Our waitress «prepped» the rice upon arrival. She poured in a raw egg and some sauce on the steaming rice and stirred it in before serving in two separate bowls. The pork belly was the perfect balance of fatty and lean meat so that every bite was juicy and flavorful. The rice itself could have been saltier but the waitress did give us some chili powder and soy if we wanted more flavor. It would have been great if there was more pork belly as well. While the rice was pretty good, I wouldn’t get it again for the $ 17.50.
Overall though, I will definitely try to come back again and hopefully for happy hour. If you want to get more variety of yourself, there are also bento boxes.

There’s usually people sitting outside the restaurant, waiting for seats. I’ve seen it a few times and been wanting to go, but tried it for the first time. We got there at 545, just in time for happy hour and no line!
Their HH is 530−530pm, with drinks and most appetizers priced at $ 3 – 5 each It’s tapas style Japanese, comfort food that includes soups, and flavored rice in a kettle. I liked the flavors, the casual ambience, nice people and good service, and the tapas food options on the menu. Wasn’t a fan of the salmon/​scallop carpaccio-wasn’t as fresh (maybe Bc it’s a Sunday), and was covered in soy sauce which made it salty and eggplant in miso was oily. Shitake mushrooms, Fried soft shell crab, were great. I’d like to try their flavored rice in a kettle next time and udon soup looked good!
Must be the odd one out with a 3 star review here, but gotta be honest… I’m used to fresh, delicate Japanese food, and the dishes just weren’t consistent here. Some great, some eh. So it depends. They were cheap on the happy hour menu, but ended up ordering off the regular menu also because happy hour menu is limited compared to a more extensive regular menu. It had the perfect cozy, authentic feel on a rainy day and the waitresses were real nice, but nothing outstanding here. Will probably have to go for round 2, but as it stands, not rushing over to wait for a seat.

Working the night shift has its advantages. After five years of eating here with family and friends for happy hour/​dinner, I was able to finally try their lunch service. Lunch is served daily from 11:30am-2pm.
Okan’s lunch menu is quite different from regular dinner service. Whereas dinner focuses on small plates with a few larger dishes (izakaya-​style dining), lunch is limited to bento sets or noodles that come with 3 small side dishes that vary every day. Bentos come with miso soup and a bowl of rice, which can have toppings for an additional fee. Bentos are priced from $ 8.50-$ 10.50 with the noodle sets being a little more than that. With the generous portions this is a steal and could be the reason why the restaurant’s full or close to full whenever I’ve eaten here.
I’ve had 2 dishes: the crispy chicken and and the Japanese style hamburger patty steak. The patty steak is limited to seven servings daily. What I like about the steak is that it is the closest rendition to the hamburg steak in Japan, which is done quite differently than the steak cooked here. It tastes more like a steak and less like a burger with the higher quality ground beef (fattier and denser). I also really liked one of the side dishes that day, a wild corn that is slightly sweeter than regular corn. The crispy chicken was perfectly crispy and I could’ve eaten it as is. I also gotten my rice bowl topped with salmon roe and tempura shrimp — not necessary for a good meal but is similar to the rice served in a kettle — makes the rice stand out.
With this experience I can easily recommend Okan as one of my top 10 all around restaurants in SD.