KAPPO HONDA
Address: 18450 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Type: Japanese Izakaya, Yakitori, Sushi, Good for friends and family
Reservations: Yes. Must be made 2 hours prior to dining
Price: $30/person +
Traffic: Usually crowded with longer than 1 hour wait
Outstanding: Iced cold mugs- Sapporo Draft
Kappo Honda gives a neighborhood feel with a comfortable energy for a night out drinking and eating good foods with friends and family. As a part of the Honda-Ya family, Kappo Honda serves yakitori (parts of chicken on a skewer), many meat skewers, sushi, and a great izakaya menu. With daily specials and a limitless menu, any visit can be the day that you try a new item on the menu. This is a good spot when you want to feel that night out vibe without wanting to work too hard (to go out). It’s casual setting paired up with countless sake and beer offerings allows you to eat, drink, and laugh comfortably. If you order a large 750ml sake bottle and larger, Kappo Honda will save your bottle for you up to 3 months.
One of my favorite pairings is an iced cold Sapporo draft beer and their cheese meatballs (chicken). Just like the way they do it in Japan, Kappo Honda’s beer mug is ice cold and refreshing!
Some more favorites here are:
Skewers: pork belly, chicken meatball, pork cheek, chicken liver, chicken breast with yuzu, chicken wings, smelt fish
From the menu: Chawanmushi
Sake: Dassai 50, house sake (cold Hakatsuru)
SHIN SEN GUMI ROBATA & YAKITORI GRILL
Address: 18315 Brookhurst St, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Type: Japanese Izakaya, Yakitori, Good for friends
Reservations: Reservations can be made for 6:00PM daily, Yelp waitlist is also available
Price: $30/person +
Traffic: Usually crowded with longer than 25 min+ wait
Outstanding: Chicken rump skewers, chicken skin
Located across from Kappo Honda, the Shin Sen Gumi group has 2 restaurants in this location: Robata & Yakitori Grill and Ramen. The yakitori grill restaurant is next to Corner Bakery. Each restaurant has their own wait list and does not serve each other’s menu. Don’t be mistaken to believe that you can have the goods in both worlds (eating yakitori and enjoying ramen in one sitting).
SSG showcases a livelier environment than Kappo Honda, offering in-the-spotlight bar seating in front of the grilling station. The environment reminds you a bit of yakitori restaurants in Japan, but the seasoning is adapted to the American taste. The staff is friendly, lively, and cheerful. Come here on your birthday month for an eventful dinner!
The restaurant offers great happy hour and daily special discounts that make weekdays social days.
Mondays & Tuesdays: Happy Hour until 8:30PM; all skewers on the bottom half of the yakitori menu is at a discounted price
Wednesdays & Thursdays: Skewers on the top half of the yakitori menu is at a discounted price
SSG will save your shochu bottles for you, but not your sake bottles.
Some of my personal favorites:
Skewers: Chicken meat ball, chicken skin, chicken rump, chicken liver (very moist and slightly undercooked), kobe style beef, japanese yam wrapped with bacon, chicken wings, shrimp (very big and moist), marble kobe beef (premium beef skewers are on discount on Wednesdays and Thursdays!)
Drinking Snack: Takowasabi (raw squid with wasabi)
Anaheim Packing District MAKE - Unsung / Jav's Barbeque / Pali Wine Co
Address: 500 S. Anaheim Blvd Anaheim, CA 92805
Type: Beer, Wine, Barbecue, community seating
Reservations: No
Price: Varies
Traffic: Moderate, not too busy
Outstanding: Enjoy moist, tender bbq (recommending day time only) with beer or wine
As part of the Anaheim Packing District, MAKE currently houses 3 drink and dine spots: Unsung, Jav’s BBQ, and Pali Wine Co.
Unsung Brewing Co. offers selected beers from blondes to stouts, while Pali Wine Co. offers affordable selections of wine with the addition of wine of tap. My favorite bottle is their Jetty, a Syrah, and The Swell, a red blend. Whether you choose wine or beer, you can still order your favorite Texas BBQ meat cuts from Jav’s BBQ. I recommend their beef ribs and briskets. When it tastes amazing, their meats are moist, tender, and hits every right spot (I find their quality most consistent in weekends during the day time.)
This area is a great place to hang out as you can bring your wine, beer, or barbecue to any area within the vicinity. They do not sell the same items and are not opposed to sharing tables. The middle of MAKE, though, are community tables that are meant for sharing. While there are hustles and bustles from the main side of Anaheim Packing House, you can still enjoy the social vibe without feeling suffocated.
GOLDEN ROAD BREWING
Address: 2210 E Orangewood Ave, Anaheim, CA
Type: Brewery, bar foods (fried)
Reservations: Yelp Waitlist available; open seating in patio area and at the bar
Price: $8/person +
Traffic: Usually crowded in the weekends but large seating area
Outstanding: Mango Cart michelada style, good beer selections
The Golden Road Brewing, a large brewery across from the Angel Stadium, offers a good amount of beer selections and plenty seats to accommodate large parties. The bar and the patio/ outside are open seating, but the tables inside are not. You can order beers and foods from the bar and seat yourself at the bar or outside. For inside seating, the staffs will seat and take your order for you. Don’t expect much from the service though, it can be pretty neglectful. I usually order at the bar and sit there or enjoy the view outside. One of their most popular beers, the Mango Cart is offered in cans that you can purchase and enjoy at your leisure. One of my go-to beers here is the 329 Lager –light, crispy–summery vibe.
On Tuesdays, they offer taco and Michelada special discount.
WURSTHAUS
Address: 305 E 4th St, Santa Ana, CA
Type: Beers, Gastropubs, Bratswurst
Reservations: Self seating
Price: $10/person +
Traffic: Moderate
Outstanding: Sausages / Beers
Located in the playful area of downtown Santa Ana, Wursthaus serves beers, sausages, and soft pretzels. The restaurant itself is so chill that you order, take your number, walk down a short hall, and seat yourself. There, you will also find a small bar seating area where you can just enjoy beers if you’re not up for sausages. The seating area is lit up enough to create a night-out-relaxing with your friends vibe or an after-partying-I-need-to-sober-up with sausages vibe. Depending on the crowd, it can get loud and a a bit too loud for children. It’s a great spot for a chill, sit down, talk, munch, and drink with some friends that you’d like to catch up with.
