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

Kevin was super helpful it was our first time and he went through the process slowly to make sure…read morewe understood everything. We drove 3 hours to make it here and he made it worth it 10/10 service

I had the pleasure of having a luncheon here with my colleagues and was pleasantly surprised by the…read morewhole experience. Call me a snob but AYCE has never been my thing... until I came here. Chubby Cattle is the best kbbq I've ever had, and our server was amazing. Ru took excellent care of us and was incredibly friendly and knowledgable. I'm surprised Disney hasn't tried to recruit her! 10/10 would come back

Great food and great service. They have rooms for privacy as well. I especially enjoyed saba…read morebouzushi!

I've been a few times and Mentaiko pasta is my favorite…read more Josh is the best. Great recommendations

The food, the ambiance, the drinks...all of it so well curated at Budonoki…read more This restaurant offers Japanese style bar foods with an elevated twist. Everything we ate was delicious. My favorite dishes were the zabuton and sweet potato. For dessert you can't skip out on the soft serve.

spicy tuna handrolls ($15) - im usually not a big tuna lover…read morebecause it's less juicy and fatty than a good old salmon but this was surprisingly REALLY YUMMMY - tuna was well seasoned with spicy mayo and the chili crisp added a fun, crunchy texture - i like the diy hand roll concept - every bite was with a nice amount of flavor, refreshing, chewy from the rice, and crunchy - a must! charred sweet potato ($12) - flavors and texture were not what i expected! - it was nicely mushy, blended with miso butter; abundance of chives on top - sweet and savory - not too heavy and i enjoy it as an appetizer or snack negima 2 skewers ($17) - this was BEYOND my expectations because i always feel like skewers are so expensive for something so short, tiny, burnt, and mid - HOWEVER, this was exactly the opposite; while it is still expensive, everything on the stick was juicy whether it was the jidori chicken or the scallion - skewer itself was already flavorful so i avoided the sauce on the plate as it was a bit too salty for my liking - a must order! It was just so impressively juicy and tender with great flavors scallop crudo ($24) - juicy! Solid appetizer although i feel like the cuts can be thicker and more fresh - i especially liked the slices of citrus pairing; it didnt feel extra but a nice complement to the smokey, strong green sauce on the side - ive had better crudo but this was pretty good still yakisoba ($19) - i love noodles omg although i dont know why the noodles here were cut very short LOL and it is on the softer side - the sauce was really yummy; sweet and savory; i believe it's okonomiyaki sauce or something similar; on the saltier side so itd be nice if they just lessen the amount of sauce - the texture was slightly crunchy with cabbage and veggie which i liked - wagyu was tender - not a must order because you can make this easily at home and for way cheaper! 6 pcs wings ($15) - i got enticed by the soy garlic hot honey flavor but the wings from bbq chicken are lowkey better - still a good, tender, juicy wing, but nothing memorable or impressive than your average wings that you can make at home rating: 4.5/5 - ordered 6 items and everything was solid! Of course there are areas for improvement but they're not anything jarring that would lower my rating for this spot - it is also extremely rare for me to like everything i order at a restaurant so the quality is definitely there - super friendly and genuine service! Server took her time to explain and accommodate us - casual date night tapa vibes; not your typical bright japanese izakaya spots but more so a dark, moody bar vibe, which is cool - would recommend and come back to try other items! IG: @nom.noms.only

I would give Ototo 4.5 stars, but went up because of their great sake selection…read more My friend and I loved this meal. The chicken Katsu sandwich was soooo good. A little messy at the end, but so worth it. 8.5/10 The ode to MOS burger was also great! The bun was soft and pillowy, the burger was perfectly cooked, all of the flavored married well together 8.5/10 Rock Shrimp Okonomiyaki was delicious. HUGE, but delicious. I actually took some home and had this as breakfast the next day. It was soooo yummy. 9/10 Black pepper tofu was also really good. The standout was the Kanpachi Sashimi. Wow was that next level good. 9.5/10 The service was really attentive, really kind. It's a tiny little restaurant but we loved how intimate it was. The same selection is incredible as well. I loved it so much! They had a perfect cloudy sake that I loved. We ubered there, but they do have valet parking for $13, I will say, you'll definitely want to use the valet - parking looked rough!

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!

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

Incredible meal that was made even better by the attentive and friendly service! My boyfriend and I…read morecame for dinner on a Friday night and had made a reservation for 7:30 PM. After finding parking in the residential area, we walked to the restaurant and got seated right away. Note for parking: there is a lot available for all the restaurants in the complex ($10/car) but it may be difficult to find parking here during peak meal times. If you're willing to walk a bit, park up the street near the apartments. We chose to seat at the bar and had a wonderful experience talking to our sushi chef and Tiger, the manager. We were told that our sushi chef was one of the best chefs from their Japan branches, and that was evident in all of the sushi we ordered. Every cut of fish was consistently thin and crafted with expertise. We ordered quite a spread (spicy tuna crispy rice, albacore with crispy onion, eel nigiri, sweet shrimp nigiri, agedashi tofu, wild cod nigiri, etc.), and every dish was on point. The fish quality is unlike anything I've ever had before. In fact, Tiger told us the tuna is brought in from Japan. After ordering from our iPad, we started asking our chef and Tiger what their favorite dishes were, leading us to try all these different, off the menu customizations. Overall, such a fun dining experience and really solid sushi. We will absolutely be back.

Late-ish lunch on Juneteenth. Of course there was a wait. 8…read moreparties down so we had plenty of time to pursue the menu. QR code at sign in. It's a typical sized place for a restaurant on First St. (I.e. small & narrow). They do make use of every space though. Parking is...Little Tokyo...sigh. IF you're lucky enough to get street parking, go buy a lotto ticket on your way home. Parking structures near by. We shared: Agedashi eggplant: Japanese eggplant beautifully "fan" sliced. Dashi was VERY good. Generous amount of grated daikon. Assort. Tempura: Saw this being served while waiting. Looked really good and it WAS! Large shiitake mushroom. Fan cut Japanese eggplant, kabocha pumpkin, shrimp tempura & two (2) shiso leaves. All VERY crisp not oily. Warm dashi side had deep umami rich flavor. Probably made the legit kombu & bonita flake method. #1 ordered the Miso carbonara: garlicky carbonara served with their signature house-rolled out udon. Wonderful dish. Portion sizes were adequate. #2 ordered the Uni carbonara: same garlicky carbonara with uni bits strewn about. Estimating one whole uni broken. This actually works for ease of eating. Plus, uni ranges in the $18/oz on the low end to $60 or more/oz on the higher end. Yes we love & appreciate their gonads. Udon noodles were chewy, bouncy & worth the wait. Yeah yeah....the dough is purchased. Not house made. But, seriously you've seen the YouTube videos of restaurants specializing in Japan? Yes there are places in LA who make their dough & roll it out. It's Hella lot of work! Yamachan produces large scale udon/ramen in San Jose. It's fine. Let them work out the dough to water ratio. Also portion size was decent since we shared a couple apps. Might want to consider the option of extra noodles. The table to our right full of younger male co-workers were there to socialize. They probably all grabbed an afternoon snack. Was it worth the 30-40 min wait? ABSOLUTELY! Michelle 2025 Star. Yes it's worth the wait even with the sucky parking. Got so excited forgot to take photos of our udon. That's ok. Just take a look at the 3,000 photos.

Sometimes you just want a simple well made meal…read more I love coming by to watch the udon masters make the udon, so freshly made! I love getting a kake udon, just great handmade udon with really flavorful broth and some green onions as complements to the noodle soup. Amazing!

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.