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.

  This spot is one of the best sushi restaurants in South OC. Their fish is always fresh, the rolls are well thought out and taste fantastic, and their service is wonderful. Love the Dana Kai yellowtail roll and albacore carpaccio.

  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

  I don't eat seafood so I can not comment on the Sushi but perhaps my review could be of use to people like vegetarians or picky eaters. There are other options on the menu which is a good thing.

I like the vegetable Udon noodle soup the best and it is probably the healthiest option anyway. Udon, veggies and broth. Simple yet yummy.

The meat dishes I tried were mediocre and a bit artificial tasting, probably due to the sauces. I don't think there was MSG in the food but the sauces seem suspect as they taste highly processed and from a jar/bottle. Unfortunately without them the food was way too bland as it is perhaps the opposite of Thai food, lacking natural spices or flavors to really excite you. While the food is not low quality and not nearly as artificial tasting as in Chinese restaurants, I do think there is room for improvement.

  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!

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

  Incredible sushi the best ive had in southern california. The complete experience miso soup and all.

  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.

  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!

  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!

  We are sushi lovers and this is by far the best sushi we've ever had! The presentation is amazing and unbelievable and the quality of the food is great. I love the colorful flower pedals used in their presentation. It also has a beautiful and open atmosphere as well. We have been to over 50 sushi places but this one tops them all.

  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.

  Always a winner.  Dana Kai is a go-to lunch spot.  The lunch specials are great, the rolls are good and the price is reasonable.  You can't go wrong here.

  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 some of the best sushi that I have ever had. We ordered the Tuna Kai Special Rolls, Fire Crunch Rolls, and the Tempura spicy Tuna Rolls. Everything was fresh and presented well.

Kim our waitress was outstanding! She was patient and gave us great recommendations on what to order. Did even have to ask for refills on our drinks.

Absolutely will send all my sushi loving friends here.

  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!

  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.

  I've enjoyed sushi for many years. So I've eaten at some of the best sushi houses in LA and Orange County. Last night Dana Kai became my all time favorite!
From the staff, the menu, the decor, an awesome choice of sakes, and of course the fantastic sushi, sashimi, and rolls Dana Kai has it all! Don't waste your time or money going any where else.

  This is my favorite sushi place in town.  It's in a small strip store area off Del Avion.  
I go here 2-3 times a week for their lunch special.  You get soup, salad, and a choice of 3 rolls off the luncheon menu all for only $14.00.  
We also always add the lemon salmon roll which is amazing and so delicious.  
The waitresses are wonderful and the sushi chefs shout out a welcome when you come thru the door.  
If you're celebrating a birthday at dinner be sure to let them know.  I won't spoil the surprise but it was priceless.

  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!

  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!!!!

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

  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.

  ok folks you know that thing where you eat with your eyes?
well this place is art that you can eat
fresh fresh yummy fish artfully prepared and delish.have an ice cold Sapporo with it and ENJOY

  Had an awesome meal here the other night! Under new ownership and the sushi is great ! Snow crab hand roll was beyond!! Had some bluefin tuna sashimi and some salmon. Fresh and delicious. Really happy with all their offerings that night. We will be back for more of that snow crab hand roll for sure !! Hospitality and service was great. Will be back!

  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!

  The place can be casual and fancy with a very Asian feeling. Dark features inside and clean. No outdoor seating. Super clean bathrooms! Nice service! Fresh food with bold flavors! Bubbly, sweet soda with Japanese soda. I'd come here again.

  This place was great.  The service was great and we really felt welcomed there.  It was just myself and my 2 year old daughter.  They lay paper out across the table and provide them with crayons, so my daughter loved drawling all over the table.  We ordered edamame and it came out piping hot and was fresh.  The miso soup came out right away as well and it was delicious they brought a bowl for myself and my daughter and we ate the whole thing.  My daughter got the teriyaki chicken plate with rice, a salad and fruit with a little umbrella.  My daughter loved this.  I got the California roll and the tiger roll both with spicy mayo.  They were rolled very nicely and didn't fall apart and the texture was great.  Most of all I loved the service.

  Pleasant find in Dana point!! Fresh and delicious! Ordered poke roll, it was spicy but good. And sashimi combination which was $22 and came with 12 pieces of very fresh fish! Came with 2 kids and they were happy too!

  Great Restaurant. Food drink, service, ownership. Great chefs , great people, great crowd.