The service from the minute you walk in was amazing. I love that I didn't have to ask for water ,…read moreJade immediately brought it while I browsed the menu. The sushi is fresh, clean with a soft buttery taste. It literally melts in your mouth. Shoutout to Jade for the suggestion! She was spot on! The steamed gyoza was a delicious. I will be coming back , absolutely my new favorite spot . I hate that I am writing this because I want to gatekeep this new hotspot but it was too good of an experience not to share!

4.8 stars huh? Lets see. The interior is clean but lack of interior design elements - like wall are…read moreplain white. Miso soup 3/5 - not a rich flavor, average. Crispy gyoza 3/5 - good presentation, i didnt feel any meat inside a meat paste rather, and the sauce was oily and pretty spicy. Not the best. Just ok Baked salmon roll 3/5 - again weird tasteless balsamic vinegar type of sauce, average rice, good salmon, good presentation Eel sushi 4/5 - good big crispy eel on a mediocre rice Wasabi was not spicy at all, sauce containers were too big. Everything needs polishing here and there The service was good and the food was served quick. Food is 3/5. One and done to me

Our group of 5 people were out on a trip and stumbled into Chubby Cattle. It seemed great so we…read moredecided to get the gold experience. Kevin was great at helping us navigate the menu and how the ordering process worked. When the initial order took a while to come out, Kevin apologized profusely and gave us extra time to order. Overall, the experience was great and we would come back to try another experience soon!

Thanks to our server Ru!!! She was great, the best, better than I've ever seen! If anyone asks me…read morewho the best server is, you know what I'll say? It's Ru! Ru is the best server!!

Food top quality, service sharp and polite, can get loud in a small space, welcome to LA, I didn't…read morefind it bad.

Came here randomly craving sushi and got seated right away. Service was quick and food was so tasty.read more

Whoever did this did everything right the food, the service the ambience…read moreIt seldom these days when I pay for food that I go that was really worth it, but this was worth every penny Thanks for the great experience Oh yeah, I can't forget the staff. Every single person was professional and helpful.

First time here! We were here for dinner and we love the cozy, dimly lit ambiance of the place…read more Alyssa was nice, friendly and helpful. She helped us understand the menu and the size of servings. Everything we ordered was delicious! We had salad, Agedashi Tofu, 6pc Wings, Sweet Potato fries, Salmon, and Steak. The only thing I didn't like is the 4% service charge they added to cover for the medical expenses of their team. And mind you, this 4% also gets taxed! So you're really paying an additional over 4% more (4% + 9.75% of that 4%). They said you can have it taken out and this is not gratuity. I''d rather be generous with gratuity especially if the service was good than help pay for benefits that I think should be the employer's responsibility. Until I am comfortable asking our nice server to have it taken out, which I probably won't, I most likely won't be back! So the low 3-star rating is because of this. Everything else is good. This addtl charge just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I'd give Ototo somewhere between 4 - 5 stars and definitely already want to go back. I've been to…read moretheir sister restaurant, Tsubaki, many times and always love it but opted for Ototo since it's more casual and budget friendly. The parking was awful due to a Dodger game and we ended up utilizing the valet. Service was nice and friendly and very accommodating. There were some standout dishes that I'm still thinking of, let's get to that! Shaki Shaki Salad - 4 stars. This was a fresh and tasty cabbage salad. I personally think a different texture element would have added to this, like crushed peanuts or something, but did enjoy this. Spring Onion Tempura - 5+ stars. Delicious! Tasted like onion rings, but with a lighter texture. Bonus tip, request the bbq sauce like dipping sauce, it creates the perfect balance. Filet-o-fish Sandwich - 4 stars. This was really good, but was definitely improved with the bbq like sauce I had with the onion tempura. Yakinuku Steak - 5+ stars. I'm not a big steak person but thought this was excellent! Rich in flavor, great texture, and cooked perfectly! I need to have this in my life again very soon! They have tons of sake here, but I opted for a glass of Chenin Blanc which was excellent! I love the ambiance here, it reminded me of an Izakaya in Japan. Very elevated but casual and cozy at the same time. Well done Ototo, see you soon!

Was looking at new restaurants to try and came across Ototo. Unfortunately, they do not do…read morereservations, at least not for small groups, as it is a first come, first served situation, so we went around the time it opened and we're able to get seated immediately. Usually we start with drinks, but it was all sake based, no cocktails, so we skipped this time around. But we started with the crudo and the karage. The crudo was very fresh, with just the right amount of citrus, and these little crunchy bits on top to give some texture to each bite. Just very good. The karage was just as good, very juicy chicken on the inside, not overly breaded on the outside, with a nice sauce on top. But the interesting part was the trout roe on top. You might not think chicken and trout roe work, but it have this pop of salinity, like a little ocean that added something different but good. For entrees we tried the burger, fish sandwich and chicken sandwich. The burger sounded tasty, almost like a very upscale Tommy burger, if you will. And while it was decent, it felt like something was missing with it. Just wasn't out favorite burger. The fish sandwich was decent as well with a beer battered cod and American cheese. But this, too, felt like something was missing with it. Finally, the chicken katsu sandwich. Again, perfectly cooked chicken, can't stress that which, so juicy inside but not to where it makes the batter moist. The tonkotsu sauce adds a little flavor but it was a generally good sandwich. Overall, nice place in LA. If you're feeling like saje, definitely go pass by as they have plenty of options. The crudo and karage were delicious, while the entree sandwiches weren't very memorable.

You order from an Ipad, at the bar. The chef will tell you the freshest shipment of fish that just…read morecame in. You can order Nigiri in one piece. Robert, one of their servers, was super hospitable, and made some solid off the menu recommendations. Tiger, the manager, is also super kind, and always heard me out my requests, like putting quayle eggs on my sea urchin. I am a self-described sushi snob, and have made a point to go to the top spots. I am a regular in Little Tokyo, including Sushi Takeda. But the most important thing I have learned, just like movies and music, is that there is no one single best sushi place. Get off your couch and give Sushi Zanmai a try!

My husband and I moved away from LA, and since then we've been craving quality sushi. Whenever we…read morecome back to visit, we enjoy trying new places, and I happened to stumble across this spot while looking around for lunch. Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by the manager and staff, who were very attentive and happy to answer any questions we had. For our meal, we splurged on two lunch sets and one sashimi assortment. The portions were extremely generous for the two of us, and the freshness of the fish was incredible. I definitely recommend trying this place if you get the chance to visit Chapman Plaza. We'll definitely be back

My friend and I came on a Friday afternoon for lunch and were seated quite quickly outside. I…read moreordered the Uni udon and she got the shrimp tempura udon. We split the eggplant tempura, Agedashi tofu, yuzu lemonade. The udon had a bouncy texture and the normal broth was clear. The Uni udon was creamy and not at all overpowering. I was surprisingly felt lighter than I thought I would after finishing such a creamy dish. I can only speak of the outside environment since I never went inside. It can be a bit hard to wave someone down since they're so busy. We sat near the doorway and there were plenty of people waiting after we sat down but there was a nice waiting area so it wasn't so cramp.

Finally made it to Marugame Monzo and it definitely lived up to the hype! The uni udon was the…read morehighlight of the meal--rich, creamy, and absolutely worth ordering if you're a fan of uni. We also tried the seafood tomato udon, veggie udon, miso carbonara udon, and the fried chicken skin, and everything was delicious. Each dish had its own unique flavor, and you can really tell they put a lot of care into making their noodles. We came on a Saturday for lunch, so we expected a long wait, but it was actually very reasonable and totally bearable. Service was efficient, and once seated, the food came out pretty quickly. Overall, a great spot for fresh handmade udon, and I'll definitely be back to try more items on the menu!

My precious friend Amelia G. treated me to dinner at Tsubaki for my 40th birthday last month. I…read moreloved this place went I went before kids and pandemic, apparently almost a decade ago. It was as good as I remembered, and probably even better. I can't imagine letting another eight and a half years pass without going back. The only negative is that parking is either difficult or $15, which feels bad in a pretty quiet residential area. Better to take a car in any case, so you can enjoy the extensive selection of sakes. We shared a full-sized bottle, I forget which but I think it was a junmai daiginjo, and it was lovely. Tsubaki is such a nice, welcoming little izakaya. Service is great, the atmosphere warm and easy. You just want to sit back and drink at a leisurely pace. The food is excellent, with a robust menu of creative Japanese food. We shared everything, starting with a stellar kanpachi crudo with ume ponzu, shiso, sweet onion and habanero pickles, and furikake. My favorite dish of the night was the tsukune katsu. I love tsukune, the tare-glazed chicken meatballs you'll find in any yakitori place. This was my first time having them in katsu form, panko-fried and served over cabbage with Kewpie mayo and tonkatsu sauce. The chawanmushi was delicious, silky steamed egg custard topped with Dungeness crab, truffle salt, and mitsuba. Likewise the kinoko tempura, an array of maitake, shiitake, and enoki mushrooms fried light and crispy, with yuzu shichimi and tentsuyu for dipping. We got a skewer of bonchiri from the yakitori menu, delightfully chewy bites of charcoal-grilled jidori chicken tail. Finally, a plate of yakisoba, pan-fried noodles with house-cured Peads & Barnetts char siu, pickled green garlic, and cracklin. We got the hojicha parfait, and it was more or less my ideal dessert. Roasted green tea soft serve with sesame black sugar burnt miso and candied walnuts with cornflake dust. Cold, light, sweet. I could eat a whole one by myself pretty much any time. After nine years in business, Tsubaki feels like an Echo Park institution, and the kitchen is as strong as ever. This was a wonderful dinner, one I hope to repeat soon, with more sake, more yakitori, and more hojicha parfait.

Wow, this is the best izakaya in LA. Though the prices are quite high the food is very high…read morequality! Interior is nice and feels intimate, almost reminds me of restaurants in New York. It's quite small inside and they happen to have a few tables outside. I have mixed feelings about the service though but it is what it is, just feel like we weren't attended properly and service was slower. The menu has tons of options, there is something for everyone. Unfortunately the rice balls I wanted to try were sold out for the night- which how do you run out of something popular at a 7 PM dinner? Anyway, we had the fried tempura, garlic fried rice, short ribs, and chicken oysters. Everything was delicious and I would get these dishes again. But my standouts were the short ribs, they were tender and the marinade was light and fresh. The fried tempura was another standout for me because the sauce paired so well with the lightly friend asparagus. And I'm going to to say the chicken oysters- I think they were grilled to perfection with a tiny bit of wasabi. It's so hard to pick, everything tasted amazing and you can tell everything is thoughtfully prepared and well crafted with a beautiful presentation. I really enjoyed the food here and will be back to try more items.