TANAKAYA Japanese Soba Restaurant image

TANAKAYA Japanese Soba Restaurant

Restaurant Japanese restaurant Soba noodle shop

Japanese soba & udon noodles are the draw at this popular, compact eatery with a casual atmosphere. People often mention soba, good, wait, noodles,


Address

654 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92780

Website

www.tanakaya-soba.com

Contact

(657) 231-6245

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

4.50 (237 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Friday: 11:30 AM to 2 PM, 5:30 to 8 PM
  • Saturday: 11:30 AM to 2 PM, 5:30 to 8 PM
  • Sunday: 11:30 AM to 2 PM, 5:30 to 8 PM
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: 11:30 AM to 2 PM, 5:30 to 8 PM
  • Wednesday: 11:30 AM to 2 PM, 5:30 to 8 PM
  • Thursday: 11:30 AM to 2 PM, 5:30 to 8 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: soba (19) good (11) wait (8) noodles (7)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 4/5 kevin x. 1 year ago on Google
    Food is great, soba is absolutely tasty. But couple things I want say that makes it not perfect. It’s quite slow, portion is small and also pricey. Soba and udon is around 17 ea. quality is good but considering the price, may not come again unless I’m super craving for soba or udon.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Anthony P. 10 months ago on Google
    Absolutely delicious traditional Japanese food. My lawyer found this spot while looking around Google earth and thought we should give it a try. The food here is the closest to Japanese quality I've found in socal. Soba was top notch and so was the udon. The combination was well worth it and we found the staff to be excellent and helpful.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Alvina T. 1 year ago on Google
    Authentic Japanese soba! You won't find anything similar anywhere nearby. I ordered the sampler and wasn't disappointed. The subtle differences in taste for each type of soba was interesting. I enjoyed it a lot! Arrive early because the wait-list is always long! You'll need to wait for good food!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Cynthia T. 6 months ago on Google
    My boyfriend and I decided to give Tanakaya a try for dinner, arriving just 10 minutes after they opened. We waited for about an hour to be seated and an additional 10 minutes just to place our order. It appeared that the staff were more focused on cleaning tables than taking orders. When our food finally arrived after another hour of waiting, it was disappointing. The cold soba sampler was the best of the worst. The kashiwa soba was overly salty, and the kaarage soba was a major letdown. The chicken kaarage that came with it was dry, flavorless, and came without any sauce. Even the broth for the soba lacked flavor. We used a lot of pepper flakes, but even they lacked any kick. The service was friendly, but it was incredibly slow and somewhat neglectful. The ambience was boring, with plain decor and no background music to create any atmosphere. In the end, our experience at Tanakaya was underwhelming. It's hard to recommend this restaurant when the overall dining experience was ruined by long waits and bland, uninspiring dishes. We left feeling that our time and money could have been better spent elsewhere.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Ben P. 5 years ago on Google
    The place looked nice and the staff were kind. There was a wait and it looked busy. People really seemed to enjoy the food. For our family, the noodles and the taste just weren't the best. The rice dishes were a bit too sweet and the texture of the noodles were a bit too soft for us. I'm sure others might love it. It just wasn't for us.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Allen V. 1 year ago on Google
    Their soba and soba-yu is good, katsudon flavor was good but its very thin and barely any meat. They are very stingy with the sauces though and don't give you extra. Their prices are fair. Overall I think this place is fine, I likely wouldn't come back on my own but wouldn't say no if someone invited me to eat here.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 raymond o. 2 years ago on Google
    The soba here is delicious. I had the cold soba sampler because I needed to try them all ^^ favourite was the ume soba highly recommended!

  • 4/5 Jamie C. 1 year ago on Google
    i like cold soba more than hot. the broth is a but heavy to me but the noodles are good.

  • 4/5 Evgeniya Bozhko (. 1 year ago on Google
    We came to this spot twice, only the first time we didn’t get seated because there was a long line. After the visit we had some mixed thoughts because the wait time was very long, even though there were at least two available tables inside. Still it took a while to be seated and at first we were somewhat disappointed, good thing we weren’t in a rush. There was only one waiter/host at the spot and he didn’t even come to the waiting list to check up on people. In the end, we waited for about 15-20 minutes to get a table, but after that the experience was quite pleasant. The waiter was very nice and respectful, and the food was pretty good, even though it also takes a while to be prepared. The prices are more than reasonable, so overall the experience was decent.

  • 5/5 Alan D. 2 years ago on Google
    Udon texture is great. Soba is good. This is always my go-to recommendation when someone wants soba. I really love this place.

  • 5/5 Mad R. 2 years ago on Google
    This is a very good soba place. They make their own soba and udon. Karaage (fried chicken) is delicious here. The lunch special is very good and very generous. It’s a small place and it’s crowded, so you might need to wait. ♿️ accesible. Cash and cards.

  • 3/5 Jacelyn C. 9 months ago on Google
    Tried this place a few months ago. Be warned that there is usually wait times during dinner hour. Service was ok and food was decent. Tried the chicken soba noodle and it tasted alright.

  • 5/5 Robert 1 year ago on Google
    The place doesn't look like much inside and outside, but the food is good. Everything seems fresh. Come early as it can get busy.

  • 5/5 K L. 1 year ago on Google
    One of my favorite place in town. Soba Udon KatzuDon Curry everything is so tasty. Specially shrimp tempura is so delicious and crunchy.

  • 5/5 Eric C. 2 years ago on Google
    Waited almost 40 minutes before getting a table, though the restaurant decoration is very simple, but the taste of the foods are very authentic! I love the broth of the udon and their tempura is quite fresh!

  • 5/5 Nick 2 years ago on Google
    What a wonderful place to get some quality noodles. They handcraft their noodles daily and your order, all of it, is made only when the server turns in the ticket. I got the soba noodles with karaage and the texture of both was perfect. The broth was devine. We split the assorted tempura and each piece was delectable. Parking is easy and plentiful. If you are going for lunch then get there early otherwise wait 10-15min.

  • 5/5 Vance N. 2 years ago on Google
    Super authentic Japanese Soba if you are willing to brave the wait. Believe all the horror stories about the wait, but this is the price to pay for authentic handmade soba noodles. Chef is from Japan with over 40 years of experience.


Call (657) 231-6245 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Comfort food
    • ✓️ Small plates
    • ✓️ Healthy options
    • ✓️ Happy hour drinks
  • Popular for
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Solo dining
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible parking lot
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✓️ Takeout
    • ✗ Delivery
    • ✓️ Outdoor seating

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