Hands down the best sushi restaurant in the area, in my opinion. Its prices have recently gone up (my wife and I can easily spend near $100when we go) but you get what you pay for. If you like cheep sushi then don't bother. Go to Ralph's or something. But if you're looking for high quality, fresh fish then you've found your sushi home!

Note: I care way more about the food than the service/ambiance etc. If the food is top of the line, I'll usually give the establishment I'm reviewing high marks, even in spite of its other failings, if any, unless it's extreme.

  I like the authenticity of Dana kai compared to many of the fusion restaurants around. I am purely a sashimi water, and more of the exotic types are my preference. The uni is fresh and amazing, and the bluefin with uni sushi special is to die for. The prices are pretty high, but you get what you pay for.

  My favorite sushi place in south Orange County. The food is fresh, they do an awesome job! I have moved and still make sure to stop here at least once every time I visit!

  This place is amazing as soon as you walk in they give a warm welcome. They are very attentive, the food was delicious. I would definitely recommended.

  Read the reviews and had to give them a visit. Easy access, lots of parking and very nice interior. We thought the menu was excellent, serving size and presentation great. Our waitress was wonderful, explained menu choices, made friendly conversation as this was our first visit.
Finally found the quality sushi we've been searching for!
AC was not up to par this day but can't blame staff for that. We'll be back!

  Stopped  by this sushi place while on my way back from the beach and I was pleasantly surprised on how good the sushi was.

Service here was great. They were fast and very attentive. I ordered a spicy salmon roll and one of their speciality rolls and they were both really well done.

I definitely recommend this sushi joint if you live in the area or just passing by.

  I love this place .We go there really often with my family. They have  always fresh and delicious sushi, very good green tea and good service.

  I love great customer service!  They accidentally brought out a chicken dish instead of the delicious Yaki Niku dish I ordered. The staff quickly fixed my order and brought out extra dishes on the house! I wasn't upset or mad.. everyone makes mistakes once in a while but this caught me off guard. Such a blessing!

The food was really delicious and definitely much more quality quality than your usual japanese restaurant. We both came in for lunch and ordered bento boxes. He got the pork Katsu and liked that it wasn't drowned in gravy/sauce. The seared salmon roll sample they comped us with was a mouthful of flavors! I also liked the freshness of my veggies and the light ginger dressing.

Give it a try!

  Ended up here by accident when we forgot to make reservations on a busy Saturday night. I am a sushi snob, and was delighted by the quality of the food. The fish was fresh and very tasty. Had the yellowtail and salmon sashimi which was delish. The seared tuna carpaccio was a wonderful surprise.  Service was spot on. She was extremely polite and attentive.  The chef was a bit quiet but kept his eye on us and kept the order spaced appropriately.  Will definitely go back again.

  My husband, little girl and I came here when we visited CA last week! One of the best Japanese restaurants we've been to and we've been to quite a bit! The sushi is so fresh and the food is delicious! The staff is so friendly and very welcoming! The servers kept coming over and playing with our daughter! They're so nice and the restaurant is very clean! Wish we had this restaurant in Chicago, but we will definitely be back when we visit! Thanks for such a wonderful experience!!!!

  This is - by far - the best sushi restaurant we've ever been to. And we always consider sushi  wherever we are.  We've never been for lunch, only for dinner. The sushi chefs, especially the more experienced ones, are real artists. So creative. The way they manage to decorate your plate and put flavors together, you are in heaven. Another one of their forte's is doing all that with brown rice. Not many sushi places serve brown rice, and if they do, it's often overwhelming. The Dana Kai chefs succeeded in cooking it to perfection, so their brown rice just ads a balance, a base, to show off the delicate fish even better. Since we started eating sushi there, several years ago, other sushi places can't seem to get it right any more with their white rice.

  Went there first time last night. I loved it. Decor was great and made me feel like like I was in Japan .  Sushi rolls were delicious and  I can't wait to go back in there and taste more from their menu.

  Chris our sushi chef was awesome!!! He recommended the Dana yellowtail roll to us and it was amazing especially for 14$ we will definitely return

  We decided to give this restaurant another try and was extremely surprised how good the service we received compared to our last visit!  They have won back our business!

  My girlfriend and I love right around the corner from this place and we love it. The restaurant is full of welcoming staff and they serve you QUICK! You will not need to search for a server because they get to you in a hurry. I would strongly recommend the mountain roll. All of their rolls are really delicious though and frequently they will offer some edamame on the house. If you are looking for a sake bomb, you can get one but you have to buy a miniature carafe of sake and individually order the beers. The effect is the same just a little less straight forward. They have many specials to choose from and the classics as well. They are somewhat pricy but I would say fairly comparable to any other true sushi restaurant.

  I'm a little bit of a sushi snob because I grew up with fresh seafood in my house (my dad fishes and dives). When I find a sushi restaurant that serves FRESH fish that you can taste for a reasonable price, I'm hooked (no pun intended). Even after I moved from Dana Point to Tustin, I still make the drive whenever I am craving sushi.

This is by far my favorite in Orange County!! First off, the staff is incredibly friendly and helpful, even when they are busy. Secondly, if you have never tried a sushirito you are missing out and you need to try theirs. I get it every single time. I'm seriously getting hungry just thinking about it. It's rice paper filled with rice, krab, spicy tuna, avocado, and shrimp tempura served with a trio of sauces and it's DELICIOUS! Also, the "Ya Ya Roll" is a must-get if you like spicy food as it's topped with sriracha and jalapeno, complimented by cilantro.

Yummy!

  I'm not a sushi eater but I love their tempura and I come here whenever I visit the area.  I've been coming here for years and the tempura is always great.  I'm disappointed they changed the menu and an "all tempura" dinner is no longer offered; the combination dinner restricts you to two items, one tempura and one teriyaki etc.  They won't let you get two tempura items.  Not good for a vegetarian/fish eater like me.  So I order two tempura appetizers:  one shrimp and one vegetable and I get a side dish.  My niece says their salmon teriyaki is the best.

  If you want fresh sashimi, this is the place to be. They also have better oysters than some Dana harbor restaurant that I am not going to name. Order these early as they sell out quickly. We usually go as date night on Friday or Saturday and that's our experience anyway. And all their sushi chefs are artists. Love this place and I can't find another place like this.

  Very friendly customer service. Pricey but worth the price. Very presentable staff constantly checked up on us. Seafood Udon Noodles was a little bland so we mixed it with salmon and pork katsu, it was delicious 🙂

  Great sushi with excellent service. The fish was fresh and well priced. Will visit this place again.

  Best Sushi.  Popcorn Lobster Roll is the best.  Visited 3 years ago and loved it.  Came back a few days ago and its still great
Friendly service Good Food and Nice Restaurant

  My daughter and I came here for lunch and the lunch specials were super reasonable and every detail was spot on. Clean and fast, friendly service.  My daughter ordered the $13.99 lunch special and got a ton of food. I ordered the Tuna sashimi and the crunch roll and they were perfect.  Beautifully presented and fresh and delicious.  Love this place.  Will come again.

  This is my favorite sushi place in Orange County. Service is incredible, always can get a reservation, and the food is great! There is literally something for everyone on the menu. Even if you don't like raw fish, there is something there you will find which will work for you. Such a good place!

  Great choice for sushi! The service was excellent, the food was great, the drinks were flowing and everything was well priced. Not the cheapest sushi joint out there, but I generally avoid those places anyways. You get what you pay for.

My girlfriend and I went last night and got 2 specialty rolls, one cut roll, 2 miso soups, spicy edamame (which was excellent btw), sake, large beer, and 2 oyster shooters. Total came out to $84 after tax.

Yes, I would recommend DanaKai Sushi. Get the spicy edamame and some sake to start.

  Dana Kai is hands down the best sushi restaurant I have ever been to. It's not cheap, but the fish is incredibly fresh, and the rolls are made with the utmost skill on top of using fresh ingredients.

I'd order any regular sushi without hesitation, but if you really want something fun and delicious be sure and try their rotation special rolls.

  This is hands down, the best sushi I have ever eaten! They are consistently delicious and fresh. All the menu items I've tried I've been very pleased with, but it's their off menu specials that are to die for! Try the Jeff, Daniel, or Adam rolls. I don't know who these guys are, but I love them

  The sushi is amazing! It is always really fresh! The restaurant is very clean and the service is great:) I highly recommend Dana Kai!!

  One of the best sushi places in SOC!  The Jeff Roll is amazing and Daniel roll!  Too many rolls to name but delish!   So happy this place is close to home and In Laguna Niguel and Dana Point!

  A perennial favorite. Both an amazing sushi bar, and an atmospheric Japanese restaurant, Gen Kao delivers. Fish is always impeccably fresh and delicious, and the restaurant puts out some wonderful Japanese cuisine.

This restaurant has been an institution in Dana Point for decades. They survived a recent fire and rebuilt coming back better than ever.

  It's tradition for my father and me to go out and eat sushi for us to bond. I've been to many sushi restaurants in my life with him, and we both agree that this place beats them all. In fact, he swears this place is better than the sushi he's eaten in Japan!

Let me tell how much we loved this place: I've been a regular customer for 10 years (wow I didn't realize it's been that long!).

The owner is so nice and he treats his customers well. He always greets us personally when he's there. His wife is so kind as well! The staff is sweet and the sushi chefs are brilliant. The best thing to do is to sit at the sushi bar and let the chefs pick the freshest fish for you that day. Never once has that let me down!

Ten years ago, the rest of my family would rarely eat sushi, and order teriyaki or gyoza. Slowly over the years, they've come to love the sushi there just as much as we do! It's just that good!

They are more expensive than some places, but the food is worth it. Their lunch special is a great deal! Sometimes I want to order one nigiri too of something fresh but I'm just too darn full! I definitely recommend it here. It's delicious, the people are great, and it's just a fun time for everyone! おいしい!