Budonoki is a fine place to go but not sure what all the hype is about it. Nothing was bad but nothing was stand out good Most disappointed in the budo-gnocchi... are we sure they didn't just take frozen rice cakes and put the sauce on it because I'm not convinced The drinks in the cute mugs were adorable & you have to pay if you steal a mug! I had to get that drink just for the mug alone. Service was good and attentive. read more

Budonoki - Izakaya Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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This place is all vibes, the food was terrible! The hamachi collar was sooo dry it was like beef jerky. The salmon oshi was also over done, dry and had no flavor... sweet potatoes were all cheese. If you want real Japanese comfort food, don't come here, but if you want a lively busy restaurant, you could go to feel like you're "out." I'm truly confused why it's on all the LA restaurant lists...I feel duped!! read more

Great Ambiance and extremely good food. One of the few places I actually wanted to try everything on the menu because each dish was amazing. Highly recommend and my group of friends all shared the same sentiment. read more

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First time here and was an ok experience. Service was spectacular but the food was ok and perhaps a bit overrated and over priced Portion sizes were smaller than I expected and the taste for much of what we ate was unusually different We were told that the recommended servings per person should be three plates each For the price the taste and variety it was ok. Cute place cute plates and cute atmosphere and ambiance read more

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It was our first time here and we came with another couple --- needless to say it was a super fun double date night (yay no kids) for us. The food was quite yummy (pork jowl a bit under) otherwise everything else was pretty tasty! We loved the maitake salad, sweet potato, chicken oysters and budo-gnocchi were our top favs! The drinks were super tasty esp the mules in the cute little mugs!! The waitress was super nice and took care of us explaining the menu and the right amount of food to order and try! Fun experience! read more

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Hours not up to date. On google it says it opens at 5pm on Sunday - no one there, and no signage saying they were closed for the day or the hours of operation. Waited until 5:30 because their website says 5:30 - still no one there. Tried calling and no one answered, inbox full. Definitely a bummer as we coordinated our day around trying this place. Updating hours on google or yelp or even just a sign on the door would have saved us a lot of time. read more

Eaten on 9/19 and 9/20: (yes, I came back the next night after my first time dining in lol). The ambience is definitely moody and slightly dark, music is great, and bathroom was clean. Street parking is easy in this area. Food was delightful and yummy, favorite dishes were: pork jowl, salmon aburi sushi, the dragon roll aburi sushi. Would skip the soft serve as the texture was on the softer side. All the staff I encountered there was sociable and helpful, water was constantly refilled when I sat at the bar. read more

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I've been here so many times and have never had a bad experience. The service is always great and the food never disappoints. Make a reservation because it fills up fast. read more

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The food here is so freaking good. I hoped it would be, but it surpassed all my expectations. Oh my gosh Chef Dan! I highly recommend the arugula salad, which was recommended by a bartender at Real Charmer and it blew my mind! A salad! Get this first! I know it sounds like maybe something you'd miss on the menu for more protein-based stuff, but it is incredible. Wow! The sake menu is elite. That salmon pressed sushi! I'm home now and so full and happy but already missing how much this food moved me. I cannot wait to come back. Thank you to the staff and everyone that made this night wonderful! read more

For my first review of 2025, I'm excited to write about Budonoki--a place that truly motivates me to share my love for food. As a food enthusiast, I've had the pleasure of eating all over the world, but these five dishes were some of the best I've ever had at a bar, making this review even more special. -food- The waitress recommended five plates for two people. This is what we ordered: scallop crudo, negima, grilled pork jowl, budo-gnocchi, and aburi salmon. Each plate was an absolute revelation, and I found myself in awe with every bite. The quality of the food was honestly surprising for an izakaya--every dish was so delicious that I couldn't wait to taste the next one. I'll admit, I didn't take any photos of the food (I was just too hungry), but after that first bite, everything else just faded away. These dishes were so good that the experience itself was enough to make this meal unforgettable. If you love food, this place is a must-visit. - drinks - Top tier. If you want the one with the cute cup, you'll need to get Joshikai. We had that and Raba Mule - vibe - Not too loud. Not too quiet. Id also make reservations in advance bc they get PACKED - parking - Just uber. Valet is so expensive lol Overall 120/100 read more

Budonoki - Vibe - Izakaya Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Food, service, and ambiance are all solid. None of the dishes blew me away but I would definitely come back to try more things. Yakisoba 6/10 - This one was underwhelming for me. I had seen a lot of reviews online recommending this dish. It was very salty and lacked actual flavor. I feel like all I could taste was salt. Wish the dish had slightly more complex flavors. Steak Frites 7/10 - Meat was cooked at a solid medium rare but was very small (would recommend ordering multiple if you have more than 2 people). I feel like the sauce on top could've really elevated the dish but it didn't do much for the steak. Surprisingly, enjoyed the fries more than the meat. Naem 10/10 - By far, my favorite dish we ordered. Very unique flavors and mix of textures. Highly recommend ordering! Aburi Salmon 7/10 - Fish quality was good. Texture of the rice was oddly mushy to me but maybe it's because it was my first time trying pressed sushi. Don't think I would order this again but glad I gave it a try. Negima 9/10 - Another dish that I think is a must try when coming. Super juicy, tender, and flavorful. Reminded me of skewers I had while visiting Japan! read more

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Such a cute restaurant in a real cool up and coming neighborhood. Drinks are beautiful and delicious and the service is fantastic. Neither me or my friend cared much for the seafood pancake. I think that's what upset my stomach a little. The server will say you need between four and five dishes to share. I would put it three or four to start off and add another if you need. The dishes are rich so you fill up. read more

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Good service. The music was a little loud so not a place I'd recommend for date night. The food was overall average--- loved the Chef's salad and the budo-gnocchi, but the dragon roll tasted rather generic and the yellowtail was good fish but very average preparation. read more

Wow, wow, wow. Budonoki was the definite food highlight of our recent LA trip. We probably ordered and ate more than we needed, but everything was delicious! - Spicy Tuna Handrolls: building our own handrolls was far more enjoyable than we would have guessed, and the tuna with chili crisp was just fantastic. - Naem Thai Pork Sausage: very unusual compared to other thai sausages we've had, much softer texturally - but great fresh flavors, especially combined with the herby slaw. - Budo-Gnocchi: Rich, saucy, great texture, and otherwise exactly as described. The heartiest dish by far. - Aburi Salmon Oshizushi: We weren't sure quite what to expect with "pressed sushi" but this was great, a small twist on a normal sushi roll with excellent ingredients The Daitoshi cocktail was well-balanced and intriguing too, strongly recommended. Our server was friendly and very helpful, and the we enjoyed the general low light but energetic vibe of the restaurant, although the lighting did make it harder to see the food. Definitely a great find and would love to eat here again! read more

Such a fun spot. We had great service, great ambiance. The menu is fun and unique. The drinks are a blast. Honestly, this place is just good tasty fun. read more

This is one of the best dinner spots in town! Everything on the menu is so so good and the service is too. Tried the hand roll last night and it's now my favorite thing on the menu. read more

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Absolutely bangin. We came in without a reservation on a busy night and were able to squeeze in and be in and out in under an hour, which is exactly what we needed! The gnocchi was absolutely incredible. read more

Pass this place as part of my work commute. Googled it, found their IG and noticed the hype. I told myself to swing by one day and try it. Went w/ my girl on a weekday afternoon as a walk in. Super cool of the host to squeeze us in. Said he needed the table back in an hour. No prob. Service is fast. Low lit ambiance inside. We sat outside. It's chill. All servers were nice. Food came out minutes after ordering. Got the tuna hand roll. It's pretty damn good. Got the yakisoba. Mid. I've had better tasting pasta. Wings were so crunchy and tasty. Yellowtail was good too. I drank water and my girl had a beer. Topped it off w sesame ice cream. Bill came and Idk. Not sure satiety levels were reached for the price. Whatever. It was worth it. Street parking sucks. Spent a minute searching. They have valet if you prefer. Can't speak to the cocktails since I didn't drink. read more

This restaurant is truly something special. The team is incredibly dedicated and hands-on, making sure every detail is perfect. The food is amazing - full of bold, creative flavors that really stand out. You can tell they put a lot of thought into every dish. The atmosphere is fantastic too. It's low-key and relaxed, but still feels very special. It's no surprise they made the list of the 14 best new restaurants in country. They absolutely deserve it! If you're looking for a place that combines outstanding food, a great vibe, and exceptional service, this is the spot. Ive been here over y times since I found this place, they don't disappoint! read more

Budonoki - Izakaya Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Great ambiance! Finally a restaurant that gets the perfect dark lighting. Staff was amazing, menu was full of high quality options with just enough choices making it enjoyable to see what we wanted rather than too many options. As a walk in we had to wait 40min so grabbed a drink down the street until our table was ready, making the night more of an event which was fun. Can't wait to go back. read more

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food is great. excellent ambiance, and definitely a date night, or maybe 2nd 3rd date kind of spot .

Came out from west hollywood. Wasnt sure what to expect. But to my surprise the food was very good. If come out again for sure. We had alot of food and everything was great. The noodle/gnochi thing was great. The hand roll was good. The empanada looking thing was good. The chicken skewer thing was amazing. read more

Came here a few weeks ago and love how cute the outdoor seating is! Fun place to come with some friends or on a date. A little pricey but not too crazy. Service was great and music was good. At the time we thought the food was pretty good. But to be honest, now that some time has passed, when I look at pics of the food we got, I don't get that excited or remember it tasting that great? Bad sign. I still look at pics from meals I've had years ago and get excited/remember how good it was. So wouldn't say I need to come back here for the food. But totally would come back to support my Thai people (one of the owners is Thai) and for a nice place to catch up/hang out with people. read more

Budonoki is such a cute, intimate izakaya--perfect spot for a date night. The vibe inside is cozy and food was overall great. Service was as great as their food- very welcoming and attentive. The naem (Thai pork sausage) was a favorite. It comes with crispy rice and a herby slaw--definitely eat it the way they recommend, with a little of everything in one bite. The Budo-Gnocchi was super rich with truffle flavor. Definitely recommend this if you like Korean ddukbokki! They also had a special salad that day with crispy rice, arugula, and seaweed--surprisingly really good. Loved the texture and flavors. Downside: they were out of a few things like their ice cream, so maybe call ahead if there's something you're really craving. read more

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Came here for a birthday dinner and left disappointed. Food is very overpriced especially for what you get. We ordered the spicy tuna hand roll, agedashi tofu, scallop crudo, yellowtail sashimi, chefs salad, budo-gnocchi, naem, curry pan, charred Japanese sweet potato, char siu, salmon pressed sushi and dragon roll pressed sushi. We enjoyed the salad and char siu. The gnocchi/rice cakes and pressed sushi were inedible - rice cakes were hard and the rice on the pressed sushi had an odd texture and taste as if it had gone bad. Everything else was just mediocre and ingredient proporations were consistently off. Sweet potatoes were over-seasoned/too salty. Curry pan didn't have enough wagyu filling in it. The spicy tuna hand roll dish is mostly rice and contains enough spicy tuna to make 2 hand rolls only when you're supposed to be able to make 4. For dessert, we ordered a milk tea soft serve for the birthday boy. It was closer to a froyo than soft serve. The table next to us was also celebrating a birthday and received complimentary soft serve with candles. Our table did not despite being a similar party size and noting the special occasion on our reservation. They also charge a 4% service charge on top of their high prices as well as gratuity. Was hoping this could be a go-to spot in the neighborhood but we will not be returning. read more

This spot lives up to the hype. Great unique menu expressions, service was spot on, recommendations were perfect, sake delicious. We had the scallops, sweet potato's, salmon sushi and seafood pancake. Wonderful each of them in their own right. Ambiance is like stepping into Japan with a club like atmosphere but in a great way. Will definitely be back. read more

Budonoki - Black sesame seed ice cream! - Izakaya Near Me - Los Angeles, California

For a better experience, simply make a reservation. I made the mistake of arriving unannounced with a party of four at 7:30 pm and wasn't seated until about 9:15 pm. I get it: it's Friday, dinner time, reservations are priority, but I understood the bar top to be "first-come-first-serve" when, in fact, it's more "arrive-and-we'll-put-you-on-a-waitlist-to-sit-at-the-bar." However, the owner, probably sensing our frustration, approached and was very apologetic and understanding to the situation. Upon seating us, he won us over by offering everyone in our party a complimentary lychee-flavored frozen cocktail, Hyoketsu, that was dangerously good. All together, we tried about seven dishes from the crispy brussels to the aburi salmon (both of which happened to be my absolute favorite), and our bill came out to just over $300 with drinks included. All of the dishes were shared amongst us, which worked out great, as we were able to try many things we would not have otherwise asked for had it just been myself and/or another. So if you're thinking of coming, do so correctly and make a reservation before it's too late! read more

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We walked in and loved the ambiance! They do have an outdoor seating area too but we were seated inside and loved it. The vibes are on point. Food was even better!! The scallops are SO GOOD that we ended up ordering it again at the end. The charred Japanese sweet potato was also DELICIOUS! We also got the Aburi Salmon Roll which was also incredible. We also had the coolest and kindest waiter. He answers all of our questions and was so friendly that it enhanced the experience even more! We think his name was Nic so thanks Nic! Also, had to talk about our drinks in animal mugs which is just so fun!! I would highly recommend this place and can't wait to go back myself! read more

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Still thinking about it a week later. Steak frites, curry and pan the naem plate were my top three. The only things that I thought were alright were the sushi rolls. Everything else was good. And the strawberry milk and black sesame soft serve were good. read more

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My husband and i decided to try this spot because we had the Red Dining Book (also highly recommend) The ambiance is vibey and its very dim but not too dark. The service was normal and we got everything we needed. The food was very very good. First was the spicy tuna handroll - you have to roll it yourself which i loved because i can put as much or as little as id want of the tuna and or the rice. Its well seasoned (spicier than normal which i love - just a warning) the chili crisp though!!!!! we got the budo-gnocchi i really liked this dish just got caught off guard as the "pasta" was actually rice cakes (think tteokboki) i didnt read carefully and missed it. However, it was still very good. I do thing they could maybe make the rice cakes smaller so that it could absorb flavor more. The sauce was amazing its just the ratio was a bit off. We had the steak frites and that was decent - a bit too pepperrrry but the steak was cooked perfectly. We also got the chicken wings which was my second favorite. The aburi salmon sushi was good it was pressed sushi and not rolled. that was also very interesting but very tasty! i will be back! read more

This is a super cute place to go to if you're feeling small plates and drinks! The servers do a good job of explaining how many plates you should get per person and what the favorites are. Out of the dishes I really liked the pork with sticky rice. It was cooked so well and was super flavorful. It's amazing how they can pack so much flavor into small dishes. It's also a nice place to eat at if you're looking for some cute drinks. The drinks come in cute cups. Would definitely go again. I recommend for a cute date night but not as a place to go if you're looking for one large plate read more

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Budonoki was excellent from start to finish. The food was unique, flavorful, and beautifully presented. Service was quick and welcoming, and the ambiance was modern but comfortable. One of those places you want to bring friends to, highly recommend. read more

If Bladerunner was a restaurant, it would be Budonoki. Half izakaya, half brasserie. Killer vibe but not pretentious, with great cocktails. Best steak frites in a post apocalyptic LA, but I think about that sweet potato and I get lost in time, like tears in rain. read more

I hate to give it a positive review because too many good ones will make it harder for us to get a reservation the next time. However, a real effort was made by the owners to provide a better dining experience and those efforts deserve respect. Everything was amazing. The service, food & ambiance made for a fantastic time. We were with some close friends and so it made for a perfect evening. We will definitely be back soon. Thank you Budonoki! read more

After hearing all the hype decided to finally try Budonoki - the spot all over social media I should've known better overall everything was oddly flavored and seasoned, the server let us know at the beginning he had a concussion and might zone out and apologized in advance (the hell?). It was cute though. Just 2/10 on execution Scallop crudo - with a cilantro vinaigrette - can't taste anything but the sauce which is wildly unbalanced Hand roll sets just a bowl of mush and some pieces of nori also over sauced Sweet potato - participation award Chicken oyster skewers with negi - not bad Yakitori - was more like when you want something vaguely Asian and you have noodles and leftover steak and various condiments read more

I really wanted to love this place, but had more misses than hits of what we ordered; and for this price point I was a tad disappointed. Came to catch up with a friend, starving, and definitely over ordered. We had the Thai sausage (5/5) which was so fresh with the herbs and sauce, and crispy rice! Seafood pancake (3/5) was quite oily but tasty, yakisoba (3/5) too heavy on the sauce and also quite oily. Salmon pressed sushi (3/5) also a bit heavy on the sauce, thought this was a tad fishy. We also had 2 drinks each which we both enjoyed. Overall this is a decent spot, albeit more expensive than I would have liked. Might be better for a happy hour type of deal rather than dinner! read more

A neighborhood gem that serves Michelin-quality food and service! Either show up early when it opens, or make a reservation, as the seats fill up quick. read more

So good!! I came here with a group of friends for my birthday and they were so accommodating to my reservation request and I had the best time! All the food came in smaller shareable portion sizes and we ordered half the menu to try. Most dishes exceeded expectations with a few being just okay. My favorites of the night were the tuna handroll, the cod special they had, and the pressed yellowtail sushi. The restaurant itself had a really cool loungey vibe which I really liked and I can't wait to be back! read more

Came across Budonoki as of one the new up and coming spots in LA, it did not disappoint. The patio has some dope wall art and the inside gives chill dive local dive/sushi bar vibes. I like the music selection as well, 90-early 2000s hip-hop and R&B. We started off with some drinks: the mango slushi drink (Hyoketsu), old pal (their version of a Negroni, and the martini. If you are into sweet drinks, the Hyoketsu is the move. Mango masks the alcohol taste and you get to finish the sweet coconut cream on top. The other two are solid. Food wise we got the pork jowl (Smokey grilled pork, really good combo with the mint), Naem (they encourage making an open faced sandwich with the crispy rice), curry pan (think Japanese curry empanadas), and dragon roll (solid, a lot of rice though). Loved the food experience here, a lot of flavors and creativity with the small plates. Great for a night out with friends or a date. Service was great, staff was attentive and social. Parking may be an issue, we were lucky to find side street parking. Overall, really great asian small plate experience would come back again and recommended to anyone. read more

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Budonoki was suggested by a friend, and I'm so glad because we had a great time. The main room is dark and cool although bright enough to see. There is a patio dining area that is also very chill. The waiting area is also outside and they kindly serve drinks while waiting for your table and just add it the reservation so no need to lay twice. The service was super friendly and attentive. Everything we ate was exquisite. I was skeptical because it was a little pricey and the menu descriptions didn't make it sound like anything special. I couldn't be more wrong. Each dish was unique, flavorful, and fresh tasting. We had the oshizushi dishes (aburi salmon and dragon roll), curry pan, spicy tuna hand roll set, naem, and negima. The tuna hand roll set was probably my favorite and also presented the best value. It's a make your own hand roll and comes with enough to make 4 hand rolls. read more

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