ROL Hand Roll Bar - Irvine

All the KEI Concepts restaurants are amazing and ROL isn't an exception. I've eaten here a few times and every time I end up doing an uncontrollable food dance while eating my rolls. This location is very small, with a U shaped counter top being the only available seating. You can see all the hand rolls made in front of you and the cooks place them on your plate as soon as they finish them. The pacing can feel kind of slow at times so make sure to savor each item. Every time I go here I start with a Salmon Hand Roll and then a Shrimp Tempura Hand Roll. I also always get one of the A5 Wagyu Hand Rolls. Its pricey at $25, but the steak is so tender and delicious. Definitely worth it if you want to spoil yourself a little bit. The Crispy Rice Tartare is also a must order. The rice has just the right amount of crunch and the fish is packed with flavor. On my most recent visit I also ordered Yellowtail Hand Rolls, an Unagi Hand Roll, Toro Inari, Salmon Inari, and Miso soup. All the fish tasted super fresh. Ill probably add the Unagi Hand Roll to my list of must order rolls.

The taste of fresh fish with warm rice and crispy nori is unbelievable! If you want to try something different from hand rolls, try cryspy rice tartar, it's good. And my own lifehack for those taking care of calorie intake: I eat miso soup before my meal so I'm not that hungry anymore. Green tea is also a great drink because of its health benefits. Sometimes you have to wait for about a half of an hour to be seated, I believe you can check in on the website prior to arrival.

I LOVE the food here! They have nailed it on quality. The lunch special $15 for 4 rolls & edamame & miso soup is incredible!!! My only kinda complaint is the Customer service is really good but the individual servers could have a lil more warmth imho, they seem very polite but stoic & I’ve always enjoyed that Japanese sushi chef warmth, Would be cool if they encouraged this more with their servers

My partner and I have been to multiple locations and love all of them. We were so happy they opened one in Irvine. This is a smaller restaurant, but the service is wonderful and the food is even better. We really enjoy the quality of the sushi and believe the pricing is fair and not overpriced like a lot of places in Southern California. We love coming here and recommend to all our friends and family. Even strangers too! Thanks for all the hard work and quality service!

We had to wait a while before going in, but that was partially my fault because I hadn't joined the waitlist beforehand. I highly recommend doing so on Google Maps or Yelp. The food was great. I got the hand roll lunch special, and it was delicious. The crispy outer layer of warm seaweed went perfectly with the cool, soft fish and rice. If the owners of ROL are reading this, I advise them to expand the place because so many people want to eat there, but there is such a small seating area. I would definitely eat here again.

A Japanese restaurant. Initially, I didn’t have high expectations for this restaurant since hand rolls are quite a common item. However, their hand rolls exceeded my expectations. The ingredients were fresh, and the vinegar rice was perfectly seasoned. The service was excellent and they serve each hand roll one at a time, allowing you to savor each bite at your own pace. Despite the restaurant’s small size, the space feels cozy and not overcrowded, making the overall dining experience very comfortable.

Joined their waitlist through Google maps, and we didn’t have to wait at all. The restaurant only has bar counter seats for about 20-22 seats total. This place is good for small groups of 2-3. Got the 7 piece hand roll set and the food was really good. But the only problem was there was 2 hand roll makers responsible for 9-10 people each. There’s other workers who prepare other menu options. So it’s a good idea to order from the appetizer menu etc, or you will be waiting like 5-10 minutes between each hand roll. It was a very interesting situation!

The last day in LA :(. Saw great reviews and swung quickly over. The reason I put only a four stars not a five stars review was because it’s strange that all the male workers seems neutral like with no expressions when asking a question or two, it’s very odd and while the female workers were very friendly but with no doubt they have great food.

Went here tonight for the first time, food service was great. The waitresses are on top of it. I also love the ambience and the overall vibe! I ordered the set menu of 6 which was perfect and filled me up completely. I really like that you can switch out two of the rolls on the set list to your preference (as long as it's not a premium roll). I also really enjoyed the dragon fruit lychee lemonade, the waitress even gave us to go cups, which was excellent service and a good touch. The nori was perfectly crispy with a great crunch. My favorite was the spicy tuna crunch roll! (very unique I hadn't tasted anything like it) Food is delish - I am definitely coming back. Although there may be a longer wait that is expected in a smaller place that also has such an exciting/interesting menu like this.

Wow, I am so glad I found this place. Their interior is very modern and minimalistic. It's a small place, so there aren't many seats. There were no private tables; instead, you sit around a C-shaped bar, so get ready to sit next to a stranger. Their hand rolls and maki rolls are great. I love their crispy nori and various special sauces. I tried one sauce that has yuzu in it, and it was surprisingly good. The only caveat is that when I tried that sauce last time, it seemed like either MSG or another ingredient gave me dry mouth and a headache--my typical bodily reaction to MSG. Otherwise, I will definitely go back again. Just keep in mind that, just like every restaurant in this plaza, there's a long wait, and parking is challenging. Overall, a great place, and I liked our server, too.

Tried this place for Sunday lunch and it was totally worth the wait! We waited about 30-45 minutes, which is pretty expected for a busy weekend, but everything moved smoothly. We ordered the High Roller set and loved it -- such a great balance of flavors, especially with the caviar, and every piece in the set felt well thought out and fresh. You can really tell a lot of care goes into the presentation and quality. We also tried the yuzu guava spritz, and wow -- super refreshing, light, and the perfect complement to the meal. Everything we tried hit the mark and left us wanting more. This spot really lives up to the hype and is definitely worth the visit!

I am a fan of the KEI Concept restaurants and I frequent Nep in this same plaza. I have tried ROL in Huntington Beach so I wasn't in a rush to visit their Irvine location until I saw they had a High Roller Set ($55) for limited time. For those not familiar with ROL, this concept specialized in hand rolls. The High Roller Set includes the following handrolls: Truffle Mushroom, Toro-Taku, Lobster, Surf & Turf, and Uni & Toro. The set also comes with miso soup and your choice of truffle soy sauce or yuzu kosho, in which I opted for the yuzu kosho. They will give you one handroll at a time so that the seaweed paper is still fresh and crunchy. I actually like eating here alone more because when I ate with a friend, the timing of our handrolls would never align. Be patient if you decide to come here, because it may take a while. 6:02 pm - Miso Soup 6:04 pm - Truffle Mushroom - Open faced roll. Very impressive start to the meal. I was very impressed at how flavorful this handroll was. The textures were also great with the fried mushrooms. 6:09 pm - Toro-Taku - Closed roll. Lacking filling. Tastes okay. 6:17 pm - Lobster - Closed roll. Not too impressed. 6:21 pm - Surf & Turf - Open faced roll. Very impressed. Wow! So flavorful. It even had caviar. 6:29 pm - Uni & Toro - Open faced roll. Designed to look better than function better. The uni and caviar are all centered in the middle. Nevertheless still pretty tasty. I was still hungry after this so I ordered a Spicy Salmon Crunch ($6) handroll, which came out surprisingly fast, and a Cookies & Cream Panna Cotta ($7). Tasty but the container had a small opening and topped with whipped creamed and oreos, making it hard to dig in without spilling stuff and making a mess. If I were to come back I would order a la carte, but I would only go when they aren't busy. Service was really slow in the sense that I had to flag staff down for more ginger and water. It was because they were clearly busy, but still does hinder the dining experience. One other suggestion for improvement is having handwipes for customers who order hand rolls. Similar restaurant concepts would offer me a towel or hand wipes prior to eating when I eat hand rolls. Pricing is about the same for other handroll specialized businesses, so their normal sets cost about as much as another business nearby, but the other business is a little more quick getting me my rolls even when they're busy. I would come back if there's new menu options or limited specials that intrigue me. I don't mean that in a negative way, but there's a lot of strong competition in the area for this meal category.

Came here for lunch! Got seated right away because it was still a little early. Fills up fast though later in the day. I ordered the 5 roll High Roller set. I think next time I'll just get a lunch set and add on some of the premium rolls I enjoyed. It came with truffle mushroom, toro taku, lobster, surf & turf, and Uni toro. Truffle mushroom was great but wouldn't go to it again. It's a deep fried enoki mushroom, very crispy and flavorful. Toro taku is toro with pickled daikon radish. Nice combo. Eat it fast because the sauce drips out from the other side. Surf and turf had A5 Wagyu in it, not my favorite. I'm just not a fan in general but this set would be great if you love lobster. The last roll was the best: Uni toro. $24 on its own though. It was so good I wanted another one. The Uni was buttery!! Sweet, not fishy. And the toro was creamy and fresh. My bf enjoyed the rolls he got, he ordered the lunch set and added a toro hand roll. I'd probably get that next time and add the Uni toro. We were a little sick and it was still really early in the day so I didn't order any cocktails but the Tokyo cocktail with shochu green tea and melon looked really good. I wanna try that next time!! Service was great. Not too long between hand rolls and water was always refilled! seating is only bar seating and you get the rolls served fresh. They recommend eating within 10-15 seconds.

Absolutely delicious sushi / hand roll bar in Irvine. I had bookmarked this place for months and finally had a chance to try when I came up from San Diego. Our party of 3 were on the waitlist for an hour and still had to wait about 30 minutes outside the restaurant before being seated. Seats are definitely limited in here so make sure to add yourself to the waitlist early! This is a typical hand roll bar where you're seated around the chefs and watch them make your rolls. If you order the hand roll sets they will make it for you as you eat so the seaweed stays fresh. My party came during lunch so I ordered a spicy tuna don off the lunch menu which also included miso soup and edamame. I think this deal was very well worth, they do not skimp out on the spicy tuna here. We also ordered a lot of different hand rolls, all very fresh - sushi rice was perfectly seasoned as well. Highly recommend! I will be coming back soon (hopefully!)

Came on a Sunday night with a gf. Super happy that there was not a wait for us with the bar full. Interesting and cool concept with hand rolls in a bar setting. It was a nice treat. We both got the 7 roll meal and full after the 5th roll --packed the rest. Fresh and delicious handrolls! The edamame was the best with garlic spice. They forgot about our cucumber salad but brought it out when we address that. Cocktails were good. Service could have been more attentive. Sometimes the roll would get undone as they set it down.

I love the hand rolls here. If you can make it in on a weekday for their specials, it's a great deal. I'm still willing to come and pay for the high quality rolls. I would recommend making a reservation or coming when they first open. The place is small with only bar style seating and fits maybe 20 people. Not a great place if you have large group. The servers are awesome and tentative keeping the rolls coming and waters constantly filled. Easy to order with QR code menu and cashless system. It's a great place for a quick lunch as the rolls come out pretty fast.

part of Kei concepts PRO TIP ** join the wait-list via Yelp ahead of time The layout is that the seats are "bar" type where the seats wrap around the chefs. The chefs make the rolls in front of you and served down the line rather than all at once. They recommend to eat the roll within 10-15 seconds upon receiving. The price is reasonable. The hand rolls are made with high quality fish. They have value sets that include several rolls. Currently they're offering the "High Roller Set" which includes premium rolls with wagyu, Tori, etc. I recently tried the truffle mushroom and that was a burst of flavor!

I lived in DTLA when Kazunori first opened and I swear my friends and I were obsessed with the fast hand roll game. So imagine my delight upon finally feasting at Rol, another banger by Kei Concepts (who are responsible for so many of our favorite restaurants in OC). Rol has quickly become one of our favorite lunch spots, offering a set menu of 4, 5, or 6 hand rolls, each served immediately after being rolled in front of you to maximize freshness (they recommend eating within like 15 seconds so you get the optimal experience: crisp seaweed, warm rice, fresh fish - yummm). You are also able to order your rolls a la carte if you prefer, and we always order the crispy rice tartare which is one of my favorite preparations for this dish I've ever sampled. They also have the stuffed inari I've become obsessed with, and have premium options like Wagyu and uni. You can keep it PG with green tea or they also offer beer and wine or shochu based cocktails. So happy to have Rol in the neighborhood

I ordered online for pickup which was a quick and easy process. This ROL Hand Roll Bar location is located in Heritage Plaza right next to SUP Noodle Bar. My boyfriend and I are fans of many of the Kei Concept Restaurants and ROL is one of our favorites. Pickup was quick and easy. The service here is great and they greet you right as you walk in. I ordered the lunch bento box which came with two maki rolls of your choice, two inaris of your choice, and a side salad. I also got the crispy rice tartare. It was my first time ordering the lunch bento box and everything was delicious. I especially liked the inari! It was so yummy and came with a lot of fish. I love ROL and can't wait to come back again soon.

My husband and I had a great first visit! We made reservations online (which I recommend because there is not a lot of seating) and were seated promptly after our name was called off the wait-list. Our server was super friendly and recommended for our first visit to do one of the preset meals. We were hungry so we ordered 2 of the basic sets and the crispy rice appetizer. The restaurant has a really neat set up: it's basically one large bar. No tables, just bar style seating. The sushi chefs were making the rolls right at the counter in front of us. I loved all of the hand rolls included in the set. The fish was super fresh and it was neat to eat the hand rolls seconds after they were made. They all tasted equally good. I'm always a fan of salmon and scallops but the other rolls were also very tasty. I recommend going with one of the sets and plan to eat at least 4 rolls. Enjoy!

I recently went here and ordered the lunch set, and it was absolutely delicious! The spicy tuna roll quickly became my favorite, but honestly all of the rolls were tasty and full of fresh flavor. I really appreciated how affordable the lunch menu was for the quality you get. Luckily we got seated quickly since we arrived as they opened but I would recommend getting there early as the seating is very limited and they are very busy. The service was friendly and attentive. It's a fantastic spot for a casual lunch, and I'll definitely be back!

Rol Handroll Bar in Irvine has been open for a little over a year and it's made an appearance on Yelp's top OC restaurants in 2024. It's not a surprise as their quality has remained consistent. They're still offering really good handrolls at a fair price point. The handrolls are simple; however, what makes it special is in the small details. Definitely dine in and enjoy your roll as they hand it to you. You get the warm seaweed and the cold fish on the warm rice. Some of the rolls have surprise crispy textures from chives or crispy onions. I also recommend splurging on their yuzu kosho sauce if you prefer citrusy sweetness or their fresh wasabi if you prefer spicy/savory flavor. I don't prefer their premium handrolls; however, at $33 for 6 handrolls, I think it's a still great deal. Wait times can be long on a weekend, so I recommend waitlisting on yelp as early as you can.

Came to ROL on a rainy Saturday morning before opening to secure a seat as the restaurant is bar seating with limited seating and this place can get busy! We were first in line and were first to be seated promptly when they opened at 11am. They have lunch specials every day, and the kaisendon is so worth it for $19. It's basically all the good cuts of seafood that you'd usually get in their handrolls, except it's presented in a bowl without the seaweed. Near the end of your bowl, you can place your bowl back up on the counter and they fill up your bowl with a fish broth to end the meal. I think this is a great touch as it helps wash everything down. The restaurant is all bar seating, so it's nice to see the staff hard at work, either wrapping hand rolls, or making drinks behind the bar! It's always so lively!

Was curious about the lunch special here and it didn't disappoint! ROL offers lunch until 4 pm from Mon-Fri (excluding holidays). For $15, you get miso soup, edamame, and 4 hand rolls (salmon, spicy tuna, scallop, and blue crab). It's a great deal! Everything is made right in front of you and is served one at a time, so it's always super fresh. The rice is warm and the nori is crisp if you eat it right as it's served to you. My favorite roll was the spicy tuna, I thought the crunchy garlic inside was a nice touch. My only criticism is that the blue crab hand roll was very wet and mayo heavy compared to the other 3 rolls.

I wish this spot had more seating and less of a crazy wait. The lunch special here is so worth, you have to get the kaisendon here, fish is so fresh, and they give you so much food. And the broth at the end is the perfect touch to end the meal with. Pro tip: get on the waitlist when you're 3mi within the restaurant or come right at opening on a weekday. Otherwise be prepared to wait 1hr+ because seating is limited

At this point, I'm convinced Kei Concepts can do no wrong. I've been to almost all their concepts at this point and have never been disappointed by a single morsel. ROL is obviously no exception. I am especially thankful that ROL introduced me to the ube coconut beer that has now become my favorite bevvy. So yummy and nutty and creamy and delicious. We got the 7-set roll and the salmon inari. The fish was very fresh and even though it was busy the small kitchen team worked efficiently to get everything out in a timely manner. I also liked that the staff genuinely seemed to get along and enjoy each others company, it was definitely good vibes in here on a Saturday night. Highly recommend using Yelp waitlist to get seated efficiently. We joined the waitlist on our drive and didn't wait at all despite it being crowded and somewhat cramped.

I've been to the Fountain Valley location and always had a great experience, but it's a bit of a drive for us. So when they opened the Irvine location, we were thrilled! We've gotten takeout from here multiple times. For to go orders, we always get Maki sets as it's easy to eat while watching a movie at home. When dining in, their hand rolls are always fresh and delicious at the bar. This spot is definitely my go-to whenever we're craving hand rolls or maki.

There was a long wait even on a Tuesday for dinner. They make the rolls fresh in front of you. I got the 6 rolls set and it was $34 so about $5.50 per roll. I also got the crispy rice tartare which came with 3 small pieces and it was really good. Attached are pictures of the 6 rolls my set came with. My brother said he wishes the fish had more seasoning but I didn't mind it.

so welcoming and so good with recommendations. I truly enjoyed every bite into the seaweed, rice and fish/crab. Whichever one I ordered has a different satisfying feeling. You just gotta go and try!

A great deal for weekday lunch. The handrolls are pretty good, but I think KazuNori is better. The rice here has been inconsistent and sometimes a bit too wet for handrolls. My favorite here is actually the kaisendon, which is available for $20 (more with add ons) every day before 4pm, including weekends. It has most of the fish I like in one, and I love the miso salmon broth option. I go here more for this than the handrolls.

We love ROL and every other Kei Concept restaurant! They really know what they're doing and they do it well. ROL is a fairly small place with all bar seating except for one area that has chairs against the bar. When you order your hand rolls they are made individually right in front of you and handed directly to you to ensure the best eating experience. The rice is warm and the nori is crispy and the fish is extremely fresh and flavorful. We usually get the 5 set and it is plenty of food. Love this place and would highly recommend for a different kind of eating experience!

Items are served slower than usual places but its mainly for avoiding excessive moisture building in the seaweed. Also gives some time between each roll for conversation which makes it compliment date night chatter. Simple rolls for ~$5 a pop, the Yuzu Kosho and Kizami Wasabi add some spice to the bites of rolls. Either the variety set for $26 or just build your own assembly of rolls, the pricing is about the same. Pro tip: instead of pouring soy sauce in the small sauce holder, you could lightly drip some from the bottle into the roll instead to avoid a messy dipping session

I visit Rol Hand Roll Bar as often as I can and the quality of food and services just never diminishes! As usual, it's busy around dinner time and I put my name on the waitlist for a party of 4 at 5:15 and didn't get seated until 6:15 (to be fair, that was the estimate we were given). The reason why I don't visit more often is because my dad absolutely hates bar seating and there's no option for table seating - if that's a deal breaker, I guess you'll have to find another place but these handrolls are so good that I'd be impressed if you could find any better! It can also be dark and noisy in there but the servers do a great job giving you plenty of attention. Also, the non alcoholic mocktails are refillable and you can take an extra home, which I highly recommend!

I had a wonderful lunch dining experience at Rol recently. I have heard so much about ROL for quite some time in Irvine. I used to frequent the one in Fountain Valley and Hunting Beach but not the one here before. Parking was free and easy and I didn't have to be put on a waitlist when I arrived. The server assigned to me was very friendly, efficient, and observant. He had perfect timings for refilling my water, taking my order, adding lemon zest and soup to top off my kaisendon, and I didn't have to flag him down just to checkout and get going. The kaisendon I got to taste was marvelous. Every bite I had a perfect ratio of rice and fish. Everything tasted fresh and flavorful. At no point I thought, jee I can't eat this because it's too fishy. And I am a picky eater too! Given the price point, service excellence, and the quality of food I enjoyed, I am looking forward to returning again in the future!

Came on a Friday night for dinner and got on the waitlist from home and was seated around 7pm when we arrived. Very accurate seating time. We got the set with 7 rolls and my faves were the salmon, yellowtail and unagi. They also had really great tasting water like 9/10 water taste. Vibes are fun since you get to watch them make the hand roll and you eat right away.

We were in the area and decided to try this place and it was amazing! This place and the food quality makes other hand roll bars disappear as options for me! There are variety of rolls to try and choose from but I also like that they have other non-roll items on the menu! Service was great. We went back another time and the quality of food and service was consistent. Loved this place and it will always be on my list when in the area!

I tried ROL Hand Roll Bar today and enjoyed my experience. I tried the lunch special which came with 4 hand rolls, miso soup, and edaname. The hand rolls that it it normally comes with are blue crab, scallop, spicy tuna, and salmon. I substituted the scallop with the salmon due to an allergy which I appreciated. All of the hand rolls tasted delicious. I also enjoyed the spicy salmon hand roll with crispy flakes. I just wish the hand rolls were bigger. The normal price for the rolls are a bit high. The employees were very friendly and helpful. The ambiance is very nice but cramped. I would have liked it if there were more low level chairs.

first time at rol and my friend and i were completely blown away! first of all, service was fast and awesome. everyone was super nice too! the overall vibe of the restaurant was a little intimidating because of the "bar" setting, but cozy at the same time. spicy salmon don: to die for! 10/10 would get again. fish was so fresh and the rice was beautiful cooked and seasoned. the sauce that comes with the don was yuzu-based (reminiscent of kumquat to be honest) that paired very well with the salmon. blue crab hand roll was recommended to me by the waiter and it was good! a bit on the salty side but tasted very fresh. crispy rice was crispy crunchy & the fish on top was delicious too. the furikake fries taste the same across all of the kei concept restaurants i've been to: thin & crispy, also good definitely coming back to try their lunch set next time

Been wanting to try this place for a while now as I heard about the $15 lunch set and it is worth the price! The lunch set came with miso soup, edamame, and 4 pre-selected hand rolls (salmon, spicy tuna, scallops and crab). My personal favorite was the spicy tuna handroll and the crunchy bits inside the handroll definitely added some much needed texture to it. I also got the crispy rice tartare which was $9 and came with 3 pieces. The sauce used in that dish made the tartare a bit sweet. The service was super friendly and there was a worker that made the handroll fresh and right in front of you. The space of the place was small so there will be a wait. Overall would come back again to get the lunch set!

I love this place! It's another concept by Kei Concepts that just hits. I particularly love their lunch special deal. For 4 handrolls, edamame, and miso soup, you can get this all for $15. The service and ambiance are always good here. I just had a birthday celebration and they gave me a birthday cheesecake which was a nice unexpected surprise! WHAT I LOVE: - Scallop Handroll: amazing, but I love scallop! - Spicy TUna Handroll: has crunchy bits that complement really well. ** The seaweed is roasted, so just tastes so amazing with the rest of it. I love it! PARKING: easy parking as it is in a plaza PRICE: amazing if you come for lunch - $15 for 4 handrolls! Overall, yet another hit by Kei Concepts! I personally love handrolls and sushi so I'm biased, but it just hits. If you love Kazunori, think very similar to this.

There's a reason why this place holds a near 5 star rating with over 1k reviews. The hand rolls here are very exquisite. I got the 6 hand roll set which comes with salmon, tuna, scallops, yellowtail, blue crab, and toro. The nori is some of the freshest, crispiest you'll ever try, and the fish tastes very fresh. This location in particular has bar seating only and the wait can be pretty long during peak hours given thr number of seats inside. However, it has a nice, cozy ambiance inside and the service here is friendly and quick. This place is a must try!

I heart Rol!!! I've gone to Rol too many times to count and each time has been perfection. I've had their hand roll sets which are decently priced. The least expensive set comes with five hand rolls and is around $26, I've also ordered hand rolls separately which could be less expensive than the sets if you stick to the less expensive rolls like the Spicy Tuna Crunch Roll or the Salmon. I love their concept which is 100% bar seating where they make and serve you one perfect hand roll at a time. You need to eat the hand roll right when they serve it to you for the best crispy crunchy bite of nori that you will ever experience. It is absolute perfection. The rice to sushi ratio is perfect and that crispy crunchy nori is divine. But you must eat it right away as that nori does not stay crispy for long. I have also had their chirashi bowl which they only offer for lunch which is actually a very good deal. And husband has had their eel bowl which he loves. Their salmon don is also quite good and very well priced. It is always busy because people know it's good and consistent and decently priced. But if you go during off hours like in between lunch and dinner between 3 - 5:30, or later after 8pm, you will have a better chance of getting seated right away.

It was my first time visiting the Irvine ROL and was definitely not disappointed! I saw their happy hour menu and thought it was a pretty good deal, so I came with my brother. It was like 2pm on a weekday, and I'd say there was about a 30-45min wait. The inside has a dark, sleek interior and basically an all-bar seating arrangement with nice service! I got the spicy tuna salmon donburi and my brother got the kaisendon - both of which were super refreshing and flavorful, with good quality, soft but still succulent (mashed?) sashimi, and the dishes themselves looked very vibrant :) For the kaisendon, they recommend leaving about 1/2 or 1/3 of the bowl so that they can add salmon broth and some lemon to the remaining rice, which was quite the culinary experience for our taste buds. I think we'd both agree it was a new flavor profile that we couldn't tell if we liked or not lol...but we kept on eating it so that's probably a good sign! I think it was because the lemon is pretty prominent, and it gave the dish a very sweet citrusy note. Would love to come back to try out their rolls next time and the rest of their menu!

This place is soo popular so hoping the waitlist on yelp! Great feature for sure! They have great rolls and love their lunch specials. We come once every quarter or so. Yummy rolls. The spicy tuna rice crisps seem to have shrunk a little bit for the same price. Oh well. Yummy lychee lemonade and they help you celebrate birthdays which is nice. Must try!!

Okay so I've been to all of the ROL locations consistently for the last couple years except Irvine. Popped in for lunch on a Friday -- 30 mins wait but not that bad. Food was good as always, but the service was very off tempo and not in sync at this location. Miso & edamame came out mid meal, literally in between the hand roll rounds. Probably like 6-8 pieces of edamame in my bowl, not sure if they were running low or something. There were more than enough workers but they all seemed to be focused on one task only. Two sushi chefs but one left to the back midway through and there was only one chef working on everyone's rolls (and it was a full house). Would probably stick to the other locations in the future.

This is a small restaurant co sist of a L shape sushi bar. There's always a long wait to get in. We were there around 1:30 pm, so we were able to ordered their Lunch special on the hand roll. 4 hand roll for $15, it came with Miso soup and Edamame. The hand roll are small hand rolls. Unfortunately it was not enough for us, so we ordered additional hand rolls and a Kaisendon bowl. Actually the Kaisendon bowl was pretty good. It's like a Poké bowl, but at the end they will pour broth into your bowl for you to finish up the rice at the end. It was rather interesting! The servers were attentive! We definitely will come back again.

Tried their $15 lunch special! Even on a weekday with typical dead hours there is a 30 min minimum wait so be sure to join on yelp early on. The set menu is a pretty good deal since it comes with 4 rolls, a soup, and edamame for only $15 (enough to fill you up), but after trying rol so many times, I think I like the spicy tuna the best. The set meal is also good because you can try the crab one where you can distinctly taste the rich crab flavor. I will say my experience was a bit off this time maybe due to the lunch rush, but also because there was only one chef. It became more quick service meal than the intimate experience I enjoyed before. Before, I felt like the chef watched to see how you were eating/pace before placing new hand rolls on so that when you ate the seaweed remain crispy. But this time, I felt like it was just being pushed one after the other, even though we were also sharing a kaisendon leading it to sit while i caught up and become soggy. Some of the rolls appeared inconsistent in filling size. It may have been my one experience, but it would be sad if deals/profit was switched over for experience, which i felt was the highlight of rol specifically from the other kei concepts. They also have a $19 kaisendon, which I remember when it came out looked really grand. It ends up mostly being spicy tuna and imitation crab. You put the bowl on the counter after eating the raw toppings ( only rice left) for the broth. The broth is rich but not super creamy. Its pretty filling for the price. Overall, the ingredients seemed to remain consistent . I'm not sure why I didnt get the same hit as I did before. $15 for a set meal thats decently filling is a pretty good deal. Id recommend the spicy tuna crunch hand roll / sets for first experiences and to opt for the donburi with a side of seaweed for the ones used to it.

Been here a few times already. We got lucky and try to go before the rush hour traffic. Driving down to the fountain valley location is a bit too far now. I love how quick they are when I need to be rushed out. There's always parking and the ambiance is quiet. It's definitely a smaller location so sometimes there is quite a wait. We love coming back for lunch or early dinner time only.

I had been wanting to try this place out! I think it's really good for what it is. I came specifically because I don't love seaweed and I know they do soy paper so I was excited about that. It's just a LOT of seaweed when you get it so I liked that soy paper has less flavor. They were out of soy paper which was disappointing because I came on a busy day which was a Saturday afternoon. They did make up for it by giving us the crispy rice tartar on the house. This place can get pretty expensive because honestly it can kind of take a lot for you to get full haha. You have to eat quite a lot and it's terrible but I was still kind of hungry after haha. The rolls are kind of expensive since each one is at least $5. Really liked the dragonfruit lychee lemonade. The edamame was tasty and was more charred style! The crispy tuna tartar was nice because the rice came out the right crispy but I didn't like it had mayo on it. Other than that it was great! Each hand roll was good but I liked the inari better which is tofu skin! If you don't LOVE seaweed, this is a great option.

An amazing experience per usual. The Irvine location does not take reservations but you can get on their Yelp waitlist if you're within a 3 mile radius of the restaurant. My go to here is their lunch kaisendon (offered until 4pm) but their salmon crunch roll and lobster roll are also some favorites. Overall Rol does great with their textures and sauces with an elevated atmosphere. A bit of a twist to your usual hand roll bars that I'd highly recommend.

Value lunch hand roll set. $15 for 4 hand rolls along with edamame and miso soup. Bar seating around the restaurant. Ordered via QR code and you can see some of the rolls being made. Server was nice and recommended us rolls as well as what's coming next. The crispy rice tartare was simple and the rice was crispy. Furikake fries were extra crispy due to them being shoestring fries and had a good amount of furikake seasoning to it. The sauce goes well with the fries. The donburi tasted fresh and had a balanced mix of rice and the different fish. Near the end of finishing the bowl they add a yuzu dashi sauce with the rice. Strong yuzu flavors and enhances the dish. Would definitely come back if I'm craving some hand rolls.

Always enjoyed their various rolls. Great & friendly service and love their miso soup. As usual busy ambiance and fresh rolls

Amazing lunch special! I brought my mom here and she approves. She's the hardest person to impress because every place is "i can make better at home." But here, she ate all her food and was so impressed by the special price. Big win!

There are plenty of parking spaces. We did a takeout order, so it was much faster than dining in. We ordered the 5-set (salmon, spicy tuna crunch, and yellowtail) and chili garlic edamame. They get your number, but you receive no text messages on whether your order is ready. Once we got the order, the sushi was tiny, but they were good. The Chili Garlic Edamame was not spicy and was okay. Overall, the sushi was good, but didn't expect the rolls to be super tiny. Recommendation(s): - Salmon, Spicy Tuna Crunch, Yellowtail Service: 5/5 Tip(s): - Plenty of parking spaces - Accept Apple Pay - The set sushi were tiny

Came here a few weeks back and had a great experience! Limited seating but it's super fast pace service. Our server was super cool and very attentive. Enjoyed the whole concept and loved the dragon fruit lychee juice. I did the 6 hand roll combo. They let you choose your 6 fish and you can substitute also instead of their standard choices. Super fresh and prepped quick! Crunchy seaweed with some fresh fish! Yellowtail and spicy tuna was my favorite. We had spicy tuna rice cake and probably the best I've had of this appetizer. I also really enjoy their inari options. I recommend the toro inari and salmon inari. Mhmm!

So busting. No wait when we went on Sunday 4pm. Ordered the 5 hand roll set, and all of them were so flavorful. Amazing service, everything came out super fast!

A relatively new Kei Concepts spot in Irvine! They specialize in hand rolls while offering inari, donburi, and some appetizers and desserts as well. We shared one of their pre set menu items, a 6-set hand roll combo with salmon, spicy tuna crunch, scallop, yellowtail, albacore, and toro. They are best eaten within 10-15 seconds of being served, so they hand them to you one by one, and they make it on the spot Eating it immediately allows for the best experience because the crunch of the seaweed on the exterior is still there when you do! It definitely makes a difference. They were all really good!!The 7-set also included eel, I wish I got to try that, but maybe next time. We also shared the toro don, basically a bowl of rice with toro on top along with some other toppings. This was pretty simple, but refreshing and good. Honestly, I think I'm just not the biggest fan of toro, it was my first time having it and the flavor wasn't really there or hitting for me. My other friends also really liked the salmon don! The wait time was quite long around dinner time, but as I walked inside it made sense why. It's a pretty small space with only "bar" seating, largely due to keep the quality of hand rolls the best it can be from the time it's being made to when it's eaten. The lights are dim inside, creating a chill and almost upscale ambiance in a simple way. The staff was also very nice! I'd recommend