Izakaya Takasei

Now independent of Tustin’s famous Japanese restaurant Honda-Ya and its Fountain Valley brother Kappo Honda, Fullerton’s Izakaya Takasei caught our attention when local food writer Edwin Goei suggested that this restaurant might be the “most cost-effective izakaya in Orange County.” That’s probably true, but Edwin didn’t mention that it also has an outrageously huge menu covering all of the authentic izakaya bases: raw, steamed, baked, grilled, deep-fried, and even dehydrated dishes, including stingray jerky (pretty good!), yakitori, sushi, and novelties such as oysters loaded with “assorted seafood” and raw quail eggs.

Service? Friendly, quick and attentive. Yakitori items? Go for their spicy pork cheek, yuzu kosho chicken, and lamb chops. Delight in one of the largest blue crab hand rolls you’ll find anywhere in town, and multiple izakaya items (such as grilled whole shishamo fish) you won’t see at most Japanese restaurants.