Geisha Tempo
In Brea, this Mexican-Japanese restaurant has a confusingly shifting name and very good food
Tempo Geisha? Geisha Tempo? Geisha? Mr. Tempo? Depending on the website, social media account, sign, or menu you read, the Mexican-Japanese restaurant located at 101 East Imperial Highway in Brea may be called by any of these names. As of mid-August 2025, it appears to be just Geisha, with bar and menu references to Tempo, the owner’s several related restaurant concepts. Regardless of the name, this location offers Mexican and Japanese dishes under the same roof with some fusion overlap, and they’re actually very good.
It’s worth a brief note up front that Geisha isn’t the only local restaurant to attempt a Latin-Asian fusion; from Peruvian restaurants Akashiro and Rocoto to Sinaloan sushi and seafood restaurants Culichi House, El Yaqui, Emporio, and Sushi el Sinaloense, there are many places in Orange County to experience the always delicious and relatively healthy overlap between Japanese sashimi and Latin ceviches. Geisha’s formula is different from the others in a number of ways: The menu is more traditionally Mexican-American and balanced in meat and seafood dishes than most of the Sinaloan restaurants, while the restaurant itself is a sight to be seen, with upscale decor, service, and pricing.
Beautifully decorated with obvious Mexican and Japanese cultural inspirations, Geisha could fit as easily inside Las Vegas’s Resorts World or Fontainebleau hotels as its externally nondescript brick building – paintings, trees, spot lighting, umbrellas, neon, plenty of wood, and barrels evoke Mexico first, Japan second, nightclub/bar third. With similar priorities, the first half of Geisha’s three-page main menu covers typical Mexican appetizers, tacos, and entrees before transitioning to American and Mexican steak and seafood options. It’s followed by a “Tour of Japan” collection of sushi rolls, tiraditos, and sashimi – most with the serrano chilis and/or citrus tang expected from Sinaloan sushi – plus several Mexican and American salads, a dozen inexpensive sides, and a handful of desserts.
For dinner; expect to pay about $50 per person before drinks, desserts, tax, or tip; a brunch menu offers a smaller selection of items (and more American choices, including eggs, pancakes, and burgers) at closer to $40 a head. You’ll certainly be tempted to order more, as Geisha’s main menu includes three full pages of beverage options spanning cocktails, mocktails, margaritas, martinis, yards of beer, tequilas, sakes, aguas frescas, and soft drinks. Don’t expect craft cocktail-level sophistication or presentation; a ginger mojito mocktail ($11) and gin-and-tonic-like Una Lady cocktail ($14) were served in large but surprisingly plain glasses, each packing more than enough flavor to satisfy us, but little nuance.
We enjoyed all of our Geisha dishes equally: There were no losers in the collection, though the prices tended to be at least a little steep across the board. A fusion-inspired Ceviche Roll ($26) nicely combined tuna, salmon, and albacore ceviche, vegetables, and a pool of central sauce that divided the eight-piece roll into two distinct halves, one with soy paper-wrapped rice on the bottom, the other tempura shrimp. Three small but intensely flavored Stuffed Oysters ($18) combined albacore ceviche with fresh oyster meat – a dish that was finished by two people within two minutes, but enjoyable in every bite. Far stronger in value was the Surf and Turf Tacos ($18), a plate so covered in bacon-wrapped shrimp, sliced ribeye, cheese, and pico de gallo that the two corn tortillas weren’t visible (or easy to close); a bone full of marrow sat in the center with a spoon, ready to scoop and add extra flavor. If you’re visiting Geisha, make sure to order this.
The most expensive and magnificent of the dishes was a Mixto Molcajete ($55) – steak, chorizo, octopus, shrimp, panela cheese, verde sauce and and various peppers in a (surprisingly non-sizzling) volcano rock bowl, enough food for two to share, except for its inclusion of four almost pointlessly small tortillas. From spicing to textures and ingredient temperatures, the Molcajete was basically perfect even before we got to the sauce layer. We ended with a Cheesecake Banana Foster ($16), served with a generous dollop of thick dulce de leche but none of the promised mezcal or a traditional flambe, small disappointments for an otherwise delicious dessert.
Our meal at Geisha wasn’t perfect, and it was fairly expensive, but we enjoyed almost everything about it: The food and drinks were each very good, the service was kind and attentive throughout, and the dining room is one of the most visually impressive we’ve seen at a Mexican restaurant locally. We would certainly return again, and given the broad local appeal of the Mexican-Japanese hybrid concept, would love to see more locations outside of Brea.
Stats
Price: $$-$$$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2025
Addresses
101 E. Imperial Hwy.
Brea, CA 92821
714.983.6764
Instagram: @geisha_tempo