Katsuya Laguna Beach

I had never been to any of the Katsuya restaurants in LA so the new (and 1st) Orange County location Katsuya Laguna Beach was much anticipated.

Valet & Restaurant. Packed.

I started off with a 'Kiwi Envy' cocktail which had: St.Germain Elderflower liqueur, gin, hand-pressed kiwis, fresh lime juice and sparkling water. It tasted like... Kiwi Juice but with an artificial aftertaste. I didn't taste any gin or the carbonation from the sparkling water.

As a starter, we shared this:

Special Katsuya Roll.

It had some fish (salmon, tuna, scallop) and avocado wrapped with soy paper and cucmber. It sounded better than it tasted and at $16, there was nothing special about this roll.

My friend knew the managers so the manager gave us 2 of their most popular appetizers on the house:

Seared Tuna with Japanese Salsa ($18)

This was a disaster... it was straight up salsa (nothing Japanese about it) on top of 6 or 7 pieces of dinky tuna, poorly decorated with a hideous orange flower on top. And for $18? I would never order it. 

The 2nd was: Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna ($14)

So the caption on the menu reads "Our most flavorful dish on the menu and the one Katsuya is most famous for... a can't miss dish."

It was very unoriginal to say the least and if this is what they are MOST famous for and their MOST flavorful dish... I have nothing further to say.

We also shared this: Shrimp Tempura Roll ($12.50)

I expected some Eel Sauce atleast or other fillings (cucumber, yamagobo, etc.) if I were paying $10+ for a shrimp tempura roll. Fail.

Sushi Sampler Plate ($30)

Again, nothing special. My friend ordered this so I didn't eat any of it, but the fish didn't look too fresh.

I think this may have been one of the harshest posts I've done (I prefer not to blog negatively) but for being the new "hot spot" of OC, the interior, vibe and most importantly the food/presentation... everything at Katsuya was a disappointment, over-priced and beyond over-rated. My first and definitely last visit.