Mitsuwa Marketplace

Category:	Supermarket
Address:	665 Paularino Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, USA
Phone:	+1 714-557-6699
Site:	mitsuwa.com
Rating:	4.6
Working:	9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

nn viekie

I was here on a hot, humid afternoon Saturday, July 8, 2017 at around 14:00. The parking lot was crowded and full of people. There was almost no parking anywhere even on the underground garage. I was lucky that I saw someone leave at a corner spot. Other cars do not even follow the one way arrow on the bottom as that parking should have been mine. So parking here can be hard to find. Now to proceed to the store review, Mitsuwa is one of the Japanese supermarket stores that compete with Nijiya, Marukai, and Tokyo Central. I believe there are 6 Mitsuwa stores around Southern California (at the time of this review) and this location is one of my favorites of them all. Why I like this particular location? 1. This particular Mitsuwa has a lot of mini stores. One of my favorites has to be Books Kinokuniya. I am not going to go on the details, but my friends always want to stop by for this store. There is also a J-style store as well that we look at to see if we can buy stuff like car accessories and other Japanese goodies. That is one of the biggest benefits of this location. There is also a DVD store right in the middle and a cooking ware store as well as beauty store (I believe it is Shiseido). Anyways....there is almost a store for everything and I will review them all on a future trip. 2. The location also has a lot of selection of restaurants to eat. They have this place that sells beers for cheap. My friends took advantage of that while I became a designated driver. There are loads of food that I have yet to try it all, but I have to say that it is always busy. Be warned though that almost all of them are CASH ONLY. So that is the drawback. They also have several good desserts to pick from too. I shall try them one day and write a review. 3. Sometimes Mitsuwa will have food events like a vendor coming in for a limited time to make crepes. At least in the past they did, but that is one of the nice things about Mitsuwa that I like. 4. Now for the actual supermarket itself, there are great selections of Japanese products here. This time, I came here for the drinks and some hi-chew candy. This store did not disappoint. I would go on and talk about many selection of products they have, but I will do that in the future. This trip and previous trips, I would just get drinks. 5. The cashiers are nice and most of them were actually Japanese. They said thank you in Japanese to me. Typical of a Japanese supermarket. It was funny though when I brought a box of hi-chews and there was ten, but the cashier charged me for twelve. I yelled out "twelve!?" She recounted and got ten. Yep, at least she admit her mistake, which was nice. 6. Mitsuwa has its own credit card called JCB Mitsuwa. It has no membership fees and the best perk I believe is that you get nice rewards if you purchase at the Mitsuwa supermarket. The other perk is that if you do travel to Japan, I believe this is the card to get for you to use anywhere in Japan. Overall I want to say that this location of Mitsuwa is one of my favorite. Whenever I make a long drive to OC/LA I would always squeeze time to make a stop here. In my opinion, I like this location over the one at San Diego because the food court, books kinokuniya, location at Costa Mesa, and the fact that there is so much going on here. PS: You can buy alcohol, but you can not drink it in the food court. It tells you on the cash register next to where the credit card machine is at. Just remember that. They also have the beer vendor and maybe some restaurants sell it too and those are the only ones you can consume on the food court.

Enrique Mendoza

This Mitsuwa is much bigger than the Santa Monica location by far. This review will have 2 parts, one for the store and the other for the food court. 1. The store is huge with all kinds of cool Japanese items. Didnt do too much shopping here so I cant really speak to much about this ones store area. 2. This Mitsuwa is the closest to my home in Orange County, but I have not been to it as much as the one in Santa Monica by my work. The food court area is really big with a lot of options that were not in the Santa Monica location. This location had a tempura bar, a crape station, and other food options that were not available in other locations. Note: Parking gets pretty hectic on the weekends and finding a place to sit in the food court is just as bad. Having someone with you gives you the ability to hold a table while someone else orders and then switching afterwards.

Salvatore Coccaro

Lots of variety here. The supermarket is great for authentic japanese ingredients and packaged foods. Fresh sushi too. You also have a tableware shop with both cheap pieces and higher quality ones that are truly stunning. Its fun to see all the variety. The bookstore has a very large book selection. Far more than I expected and a wide selection of pens, pencils, and notebooks. Check out the manga and magazines. Theres another shop with every iteration of cute plushys you could imagine as well as models and anime related items. My go to spot for gifts. After all that theres the food court which has great food for very reasonable prices. The food is authentic and really tastes like your in Japan. I recommend the "Miyabi Bento" at Miyabitei. Now if only they added a clothing store it would be perfect.

Lily Tran

I like this market because it has sushi grade fish, a wide variety asian treats, and lots of good food in their food court. One of my favorite kiosks is Matcha Love! They have a very limited menu, but all you need is the soft serve. Whether you get a cup or cone, the servings are pretty generous. As usual, I couldnt decide which flavor I wanted, even though you only really have 3 options. I opted for the green tea and black sesame swirl. YUMMM, SO CREAMY! I dont know how I felt about both flavors swirled together so next time I will probably just force myself to choose one, but still good nonetheless. Dont be shy to ask for samples before ordering! Cash only for most of their kiosks, but there is a BOA ATM inside! :)

Yayai Lani

The best Mitsuwa in Orange County, this location makes me feel like I am in Japan again. They frequently have fairs where food vendors from Japan come visit with delicious treats. Theres also a bookstore with Japanese magazine, manga, and stationery; a Japanese video store; a skin care store; tea shop; bakery; etc. The food court could be improved - theres a delicious selection of ramen, udon, and beef tongue. The Chinese store is less than mediocre though, and the bento place has a lot of hit or misses. There are a lot of Japanese foods that could replace the two lessee options to round out the food court. Either way, this is my favorite place for Japanese groceries, food, and goods!

Joe Ho

A clean supermarket that specialize in Japanese goods. Prices are fairly priced. Meat selection is great and a lot of pre cut meats for at home shabu shabu or BBQ. There are daily pre-made food like sushi, rice bowls, and rice balls. They have a nice imported drink selection that pair well with these pre-made food to make a great lunch. There is also a food court inside with a lot of delicious Japanese food ranging from ramen, udon, soba, grilled beef tongue, and curry. Along with the food court, there are other shops that sell tea, imported goods, books, cellular services, and travel services.