Yori Modern Japanese Cuisine

This review is solely on the service — the food was excellent, but as you know, even the best food in the world can ruin the experience if served with proper amount of rudeness. Tonight was my fourth visit — each visit with good food but overall bad experience.
1. The menu itself is structured in confusing ways — it has some «additional» items, such as small rolls, if ordered with noodles. Today i ordered «bulkokoi pots,» which sure has noodles, but the additional items could not be bought together. The «noodle» dishes were $ 7 – 8, and bulkoki pots are priced around $ 13, but the menu does not specify exactly at what condition, one dish qualifies as «noodle.» Oh, and if asked to verify this detail? Be sure to be greeted with rude replies (explicit rejections).
2. This is a funny one — I am Korean and I could tell that all employees were Koreans as well. But it was strange to see that there was a definite racial bias when it comes to their mannerism of serving when they serve Caucasians vs all other races. Each visit I feel it, and each visit I come away with confusion and bitterness.
3. We were there till 8PM — got there around 7 and stayed till 8. During the entire course of the meal, they visited my table ONCE, which was right after we got the food, and this visit was the first and only visit of asking if everything was okay, and leaving the check in the middle of eating (???). The store was not crowded at all (it was Monday), and it was not even close to the closing hours.
Overall, this is going to be my LAST visit to this place. Avoid if you cannot stomach the horrible customer services.

I ate here at around 8pm, and it was really busy, but service was still fantastic and the food was great! Highly recommend.

The raw fish here is not the best quality and the sushi chef’s knife skills could use a bit of work, so I really come here because I like the cooked items. The risotto in particularly is really good. Also good value on the lunch and dinner specials.
When I first noticed Yori, I thought it would be a chic little fusion restaurant, but the actual look of the restaurant is more fast casual with an attempt at modern. It’s also not the cleanest, but not dirty either. Just that the floors need to be sweep, dingy-​ish walls, and majority of the time you have to brush some food crumbs off your seat.
Overall if you’re looking to eat sushi or sashimi, Yori is only okay. If you’re looking to try Japanese food with a twist this place has good options and especially if you find yourself stuck on the 57 during rush hour and you see the Imperial Hwy exit coming up.

This place is not Japanese at all in my opinion.
I got the pizza roll and dragon roll. They are good but I don’t like I’m eating Japanese food. All good.
The service is good even though they are busy.

SOLELY REVIEWING STAFF:
Make sure you don’t arrive at 9:23pm for a quick order even though they close at 10PM! –This chef will make it obviously known he is NOT HAPPY you came by. Looks like they were packing up to close up shop earlier than hours posted; then my husband & I came in for our FIRST TIME!
Saw one of the chefs (hispanic) vigorously shaking his head in disappointment that patrons were arriving (or perhaps hoping we’d see and turn away?!)
Then it got worse as another couple walks in to dine as well. (Don’t think they noticed but I saw him give them mean looks too)
The other asian staff (ladies) seemed okay & tried serving w/​a smile. I did ask if they were closing (gave them a chance to be honest if they didn’t want customers) but they said they closed 10 still.
I do have to say how UPSET & HURT I felt for being a patron who was Excited to try this place out – only to have such a RUDE WELCOMING!
When I asked for more green Ice Tea the waitress gladly obliged and another male staff member intercepted and asked to give her the drink (maybe to help her and get the drink refilled?) But feeling uncomfortable because he was one other staff member who had weird stares that I’d catch; I decided not to drink the refill when it arrived. (By that time it was 15min closing – I just didn’t trust it)
I suppose the management is okay with allowing staff to show such unprofessional character as well as allowing a few other male individual staff members linger around the chef area NOT in uniform but in jeans & a tshirt with Hats on speaking & laughing loudly.
Hope the owner has another location; WILL NOT BE RETURNING; SOLELY BASED ON RUDE DEMEANOR. LOST 2 Customers plus whoever we share this with

Wowowow this place is delicious!!! Took my mom here for dinner and it did not disappoint! I’ve been looking for a place like this!
We got the bento box with grilled salmon, Korean fried chicken and crunch dragon roll!!! Everything was fresh & the flavors were unreal! The table next to us for some sushi pizza roll that also liked amazing!
I would highly recommend this place! Really bummed I don’t live closer!!!

Ok this is my favorite sushi place! I know it’s a bold statement because there are so many great places but hear me out.
1. The sushi is great! I always order the blossom. The fish is great and the sauces… The bomb! It’s a bit spicy which is fine by me.
2. I love their noodle and pasta dishes. The Uni pasta!!! Wow! I have had Uni pasta at other spots but they have it down here, it’s not overwhelming but just right and the texture is perfect not to liquidy. I also love the bulgogi yakisoba! It’s a must I ask for the veggies on the side and they always do it for me without giving me a stink eye! (Thanks guys).
For variety, taste, price and service this is a 5 star spot for me. I lived in Rowland heights and would come all the time. I now live in downtown and I still drive out for this spot.

In all honesty, their food isn’t bad. Which is probably the only reason why I come here. If you’re in Brea and want a quick sushi fix other than going to Kabuki’s, this place is convenient. But EVERY TIME I come here, something happens that makes me so upset. So this time, I just had to write a review about it.
The wait staff? They’re okay. They’re not super attentive but they bring your food and have smiles on their faces. It’s not the type of place where they see that your water cup has been empty for 5 minutes and take the initiative to fill them up. But you can usually find someone to get you what you need.
The sushi? Hit or miss. Some days, fish is fresh, other days, it’s poorly defrosted or just bad all together.
The last time I went, there were these huge flies buzzing around during my meal. I spent the whole time trying to swat them away from my food. Also, their tables and menus were sticky. And that was enough for me to leave that place in a gross mood.
Again, I was here this past weekend. It was Mother’s Day so we tried to avoid the bulk of the lunch crowd and went in for a late meal around 2pm. We were seated immediately at yet again, the table was sticky. I’m starting to wonder if the wash cloths they wipe the tables with have honey in them. The menus? Still sticky.
My husband and I ordered the 10 piece sushi combo, a dinner bento combo, and karaage. Just a note, none of these come with miso soup — it’s extra. So as we’re waiting for our food, the sushi chefs decide to take a break and watch golf on the big screen TV. Don’t mind that there are customers here: it’s not like we’re hungry or paying for the food or anything. So we wait, just sitting there watching them watch TV. And then, this is the part that really bothered me. I’m not sure if this is in some way a health code violation, but I found it most uncomfortable that one of the waiters started to refill the soy sauce bottles during business hours, on a table in the dining room, from a larger pitcher of soy sauce which looked like it had been covered with a thin layer of saran wrap and sitting in the fridge, and then he left the bottles opened for an extended period of time. I watched these open soy sauce containers sit out there on the table for over 10 minutes while the server went on to serve tables, collect the bill from other guests, seat new guests… and in that time, I could imagine with my OCD eyes the dust and particles of germs just landing and creating this bioculture on top of each of the open containers of soy sauce.
That did it. No more soy sauce here. I’m going to bring my own soy the next time — next time? Will there even be one?!
Lastly, I currently can’t eat egg. It’s not like I’ll die or anything, but it makes me feel gross, so for my 10 piece sushi combo, I asked if they could substitute the tamago (egg sushi) with something else. It didn’t have to be with sushi– I know that toro is not the same price as tamago. But it could have been anything else: seaweed salad, regular salad, $ 1 miso soup — a freakin’ garnish even? But they don’t accommodate to the customer, not here at Yori. So I just asked them to leave it out of the combo — so I got 9 pieces instead of 10. No substitute for the left out tamago and I was still charged full price. I guess customer satisfaction is NOT their primary focus. Making money, cutting corners, and saving a dime where they can is what matters to them.
I get it, they’ve got to make a living and that ONE tamago that they save money from can now go towards teaching lil’ Yori how to wash his hands after going to the restroom — but honestly, it was just one too many disappointments for me to ever want to go back.
So let me save you the trouble, perhaps some questionable health code violations and recommend some other places in Brea that I will be going to next time INSTEAD of Yori — Shark Sushi, Sushi Art, or Fuji Grill.

Fancy sushi at its finest!
$ 40 for two will get you a full meal leaving you completely satisfied. There are a few items I’ve tried on their menu from the sushi rolls to the yaki udon. So far, nothing has disappointed, yet there’s nothing that really blasts off to the status of «unbelievable.» I like the fancy item names like the «heart attack and the «rockstar», the modern look and feel on the inside, the quality of food is all there, they do a lot of things right, but still its missing that main ingredient.
Sushi rolls you will not go wrong with, its a smaller list of options compared to traditional sushi restaurants, that could be good or bad depending on whoever it is that’s doing the ordering, its a preference thing. I like there’s lunch/​dinner combo orders, decently priced for a few options. Overall, its a very cool, hip, modern beat. Parking is spotty at times, so organize your visit accordingly.

Really love this place.
The husband loves their chicken karaage and orders it every time. I go between the ramen, sk bob (pork belly bibimbap in their clay pot), the baked spicy lobster roll, and when I’m not pregnant, my favorite is the spicy tuna don buri. We’ve also had the rockstar shrimp salad (the portion is huge!) which is really good.
We frequent this place often since our church is in the neighborhood (yay, Ambassador!), but also because it’s a solid meal every time.

I love Yori!!! Seriously, what’s not to love? This place can get crowded on the weekends but believe it or not, I’ve never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table.
The service:
Everyone is super nice and I’ve never had bad service here. They’re all attentive and the food comes out quick.
The food:
I’ve never had bad food here. I can understand why some people wouldn’t like this place if you’re some sort of sushi snob but they offer a wide variety and speciality food so I think it caters to even the pickiest eaters. Their appetizers are all bomb! I think I’ve had every one but the sushi blossom is my fav!
Their noodle plates are delicious and the udon Alfredo… sooo good! You can’t go wrong with the chirashi, sashimi salad or sashimi roll (some of my favorites). They offer brown rice if you want that option but it’s an additional fee .50 (I think). Make sure to try the avocado tempura… it’s amazing!

Had the go Alba roll and crunchy roll, both were very good and filling. This is a great place to try when you want non-​traditional Japanese food. It’s a little pricy for some dishes, but it is worth it. Come during happy hour and it’s buy one roll, get the second 50% off!

3.5 stars for fusion japanese/​korean cuisine
Pretty popular at the moment so we had to wait for a table on a saturday night
the sashimi quality isnt the best but for the cheaper prices, i guess you get what you pay for
–complimentary edamame before your meal comes
–sashimi combo: you can get it «plain» or «yori style» which comes slathered in sauces. i decided to get the plain with yori sauces on the side so that I could DIP instead. not bad. the salmon and albacore were much tastier than the other 2 fish
a pretty casual dining spot for a sushi restaurant

Third time here with the girls for dinner. I’m pretty in love with the Oishi roll cause it’s wrapped in a thinly sliced cucumber and doesn’t have any rice… It’s my healthy option, lol :)
But this time it didn’t taste like it normally did, it was soggier then normal, which was weird. It’s a shame the consistency of the food isn’t there.
The miso soup was good, it’s only broth though, no tofu or green onions in it.
The service is always great and everyone working there is super nice. Just bummed about my fave roll.

Came here for the first time and I enjoyed everything from the customer service to the food.
The waitress girl was so nice and attentive of our needs. The food came out pretty quick and was delish!
I saw previous reviews were it says they dont greet and they are rude, well… Thats a lie!
Very nice place to eat

This is an Asian fusion restaurant. I came here on Friday evening around 7pm and there was a 20 minute wait for 2 people. There is a parking lot which was a bit crowded when we got there.
I got the pork belly bop which is Korean bibibop but with spicy pork belly. I highly recommend getting that! I also got yakisoba with a Korean style meat called bugolgi, which I thought was okay. It wasn’t bad, but nothing special about it to me. Each table gets their own bottle of water so we can refill our cups whenever we run out. We also got complimentary edamame and miso soup before our food came out! The miso soup was in a little small mug, which was super unique and cute.
The restaurant is very family friendly. I saw a lot of parents with their kids. They played a lot of edm music, which I thought was a little bit odd because the restaurant is very Asian and there were a lot of families there. I like edm though, so not complaining :)

Came here for dinner with my boyfriend and it was good. My boyfriend ordered the bulgogi yakisoba and crunch roll. The crunch roll was actually pretty good.
I ordered the chirasi bowl and it was a pretty decent size for $ 18. It came with a little cup of miso soup, however, all it was was soup. That’s it. What happened to the tofu & seaweed?! Anyways, there was a good amount of fish & tasted pretty fresh too. But I’m docking a star cause there was a HAIR on one of the fishes!
Gross.

My only experience here was lunch takeout on a Sunday– so I have minimal comments on venue and service. I called in my order, was given total price and time till pick up (10 – 15 mins). I was actually running late and got there 25 – 30 mins after I had placed my order, but it was not ready yet! No Bueno– so docked one star. I think the food was pretty good but had I arrived after the quoted 10 mins I would have been disappointed to wait 15+ mins for a simple single lunch order.
For the spicy tuna donburi– it has rice, spicy tuna (mayo style), wonton strips, pickled tsukemono, and avocado, with a sprinkle of shredded seaweed and pickled/​grated ginger. I thought it was actually quite good, but if you don’t like ginger it could be quite overwhelming. It came with a plain miso broth that didn’t have any seaweed or tofu in it. Portions were decent for $ 12, but I might have liked a little more rice.
Overall, it is a modern twist on Japanese and I liked what I ate, but the wait time and lack of rice/​plain miso makes it a three star first experience.

I can’t say I was impressed at all. Came in on a Friday night and it was at around 30% capacity. My friend and I were immediately seated and given a small bowl of edamame.
I ordered the Sashimi Roll ($ 11), which had various types of sashimi rolled with seaweed. It was light and healthy, which is why I got it, but the fish didn’t stand out to me. And I was still hungry afterwards… my fault for not getting rice.
Btw, the menu posted online is not the updated menu. The prices have changed and there are items missing and added.
My 2 star review comes from the service my friend was given. Mind you, she doesn’t know much about Japanese food, so she asked the server about some takoyaki noodles. The server said it was fried octopus and gave my friend the impression that it was like calamari.
My food came out at least 5 minutes later then hers. Weird for only 2 people. Anyways, my friend realized the octopus was super chewy and salty. They literally looked like testicles lol. She really didn’t like the consistency and realized she didn’t enjoy the dish at all. My friend asked if she could take it back or get something else and the servers immediately gave us attitude afterwards. Even if she would still be charged for the dish, there’s no need to be rude about it.
My friend ordered a baked lobster roll instead, which was fine. But at the end of all of that, we were kind of over it and ready to leave. Won’t be coming back.

Have been here a couple of times now sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with another couple celebrating a casual birthday. They have always been friendly to us and I find that the menu is appealing if you want to go somewhere casual with a modern Japanese/​Korean fusion twist that won’t break your wallet (hey wait a minute, that can be us all the time…) This time it was our turn to treat our close friends and celebrate a birthday, our excuse to go totally gluttonous and over-​order for the sake of trying a bunch of things…
First up, bring out the sake. Cold, cloudy, unfiltered, very smooth — dangerous on an empty stomach because it goes down so easily. Shot glasses were chilled, a nice touch. I was popping down the edamame with it…
Appetizers:
Soft Shell Crab w/​Chinese Buns — crispy, crunchy, sauce was sweet like orange chicken, cucumbers lightly pickled but thick like poker chips, I think I would have preferred if they ran them over a Benriner. I miss the steamed buns and welcome any chance to have any…
Yori’s take on Cold Tofu was busier and more complex than what I was expecting, more salad than appetizer I think. The crunchy elements offset the soft, thick tofu and all the various flavors and textures sort of meld together for an interesting combination. Heavier than I thought…
Avo Tempura — I loved it but wifey thought it was kinda weird. We both like avocado but I like tempura more than she does. As long as the tempura is done well and it’s not soggy, I’m down for most veggies…
Yori’s Sampler was a mixed bag. The picture in the menu looked splendid but when it came out it didn’t look nearly as fancy — kinda like AYCE style if you know what I mean. Everything looked a bit over-​dressed, flavors were muddled. The plate looked like a fry-​bomb, everything is fried and covered up with sauce — not the kind of plate that makes you think of fresh and healthy. The poki nacho chip didn’t work for me, I’ll stick to poki rice bowls for my like. One bite of each was all I wanted…
Entrees:
My friends ordered the Umami Toban and the Unaju, each of which looked really good. The Umami Toban is a vegetarian bowl technically if you discount the beautiful sunny-​side egg topper, earthy grilled mushrooms and veggies line the bowl over rice which you have your choice of brown or white. I would have ordered the Unaju for myself but I’ll save it for another time. You get a generous piece of grilled eel and assorted pickled veggies over rice, plus a nice spoon of masago to boot…
Pleasantly surprised by the generous amount of fish in my wife’s Chirashi bowl. Honestly Yori’s is not the first place I would think of that would have the highest quality of sashimi, but they do a very decent job with the Chirashi, and for $ 16 it’s an ok value call. I might come here and order it for lunch for myself…
The Uni Risotto rice was just a hint under-​cooked, the grains haven’t completely released all their starchiness, all it needed was a few more minutes of stirring for my liking. But the components were all there — a dab of uni on top with some masago, green onions, and nori, and I’m cool with it. It wasn’t the most awesome uni risotto that I’ve had, Café Hiro does a pretty nice job. I almost ordered the Uni Pasta instead but I felt like trying the risotto…
When I come back again there are more than a couple of dishes that I would order and I would probably prefer lunch (or happy hour) for myself, but I wouldn’t be opposed to coming if others had dinner in mind…