Shin-Sen-Gumi Robata & Yakitori

We’ve loved Shin-Sen-Gumi’s Fountain Valley locations for over 20 years, starting with our first lunch at their authentic Japanese hakata ramen shop, and continuing with many dinners over the years at this neighboring robata and yakitori location. Though there’s now another, larger Orange County location of Shin-Sen-Gumi in Irvine, the menu focus there is a little different, and the ambience can’t match Fountain Valley’s in authenticity.

The Robata & Yakitori restaurant offers true Japanese izakaya cuisine in a very small space that was historically fun and loud, making up for fairly long waits for the few tables (and robata-side counter) inside with attentive, friendly service once you’ve been seated. In the past, this restaurant only served dinner, but now serves weekend lunch as well.

This is the closest thing to Japanese small plates dining around; everything is served a la carte, and you build a meal from multiple robata grilled yakitori skewers and appetizers. A Japanese binchotan-burning grill enables you to sample individually skewered vegetables, pork belly, chicken meatballs, and beef skirt if you’re not super adventurous; go deeper with pork intestines, chicken hearts, and beef tongue; or try virtually every part of a chicken from rump to tail, gizzard skin to cartilage, thigh, and liver.