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!

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

Izakaya OSEN in Silver Lake brings that intimate, late night Tokyo vibe with a menu that actually…read moredelivers. The space is cozy, dim, and stylish perfect for a slow, flavorful night of yakitori, small plates, and sake. The sushi is clean and high quality, the skewers come out smoky with that perfect char, and the wagyu dishes are the kind that make you pause mid conversation. Their sauces and marinades lean bold, and the plating always feels intentional without being pretentious. Service is warm, pacing is smooth, and the whole experience feels like a neighborhood gem that knows exactly what it's doing. A refined but relaxed izakaya with standout flavors, great energy, and a menu worth exploring bite by bite.

If you're ordering skewers, the scallop, sea bass, and prime beef kushiyaki are absolute standouts…read more The scallop is incredibly tender, while the sea bass is the must-order. Even if don't like seabass, you must try this one! it's buttery, perfectly charred and melts in your mouth. The prime beef is equally impressive: tender, packed with rich umami flavor, and cooked to perfection. For a larger dish, you can't go wrong with either the sea bass or blue crab hot pot. It's so rich and comforting, the fish is always perfectly cooked, and it's more than enough food for two people. Be sure to order a side of seaweed and make your own hand rolls at the table. The kabocha salad is also unexpectedly delicious and pairs well with the other indulgent items in this order. They recently moved next door and they may be overbooking themselves so expect to wait quite a while- even if you have reservations.

Food and drinks were great and it wasn't packed at all for a Saturday night. My favorite was the…read morehoney shrimp hand roll.

Parking!! I believe it's mainly street, but we found parking straightaway on a Monday night. The…read moreinside is super clean and tranquil. Note that you can join waitlist remotely, but be sure to check its the right location!!! I decided against the set this time and got individual handrails. I splurged on the soft shell crab and it was so delicious and crispy. The Yunomi special was also fresh with a little crunch from the shrimp tempura. These two premium rolls came with a special seaweed (which I preferred) and did not get as soggy and chewy as other standard seaweed do. I also ordered a scallop handroll (standard seaweed) and the scallop was super fresh and plump. Finally, I ended on a spicy salmon (mine came with the special seaweed). The food was filling and super fresh. I definitely will want to come back and try some apps too. Service was very attentive. I did enjoy the little touch of the hand towel for before/after the meal. I noticed they were burning incense, which triggered some sneezes. Just beware, for those more sensitive to smell.

POV: you found a Tokyo-style izakaya in the middle of Koreatown…read more Hidden inside Madang Mall, Kopan Izakaya is giving low-lit, cozy, authentic Japanese vibes... the kind of spot you accidentally stay at for hours What we ordered: Ginza Sushi (12pc chef's choice) -- fresh, buttery, melts instantly Yuzu Miso Black Snapper Crudo -- citrusy, light, perfectly balanced Negitoro Donburi + fresh uni -- rich, creamy, elite combo Crispy Rice w/ Spicy Tuna -- crunchy + spicy = no notes Geisha Roll -- seared salmon + shrimp tempura, packed with flavor This is your sign to level up on your Ktown sushi

Ambiance is as described, modern and cozy. The 18pc sashimi plate look as if it was decent quality…read more The Ramen was tasty but lack luster. There are many more flavorful authentic options throughout LA. The service was, well, nonexistent. The server never checked up on our table after the food was served. There's a strong possibility we would've ordered more food, definitely more beverages, had he checked on our table. At one point, a woman who appeared to be manager/owner walked into the restaurant, and her and server went to a booth at the back of the restaurant, closed the curtains and left the restaurant with no discernible servers for the duration of their "meeting". It took over 20 mins to simply pay for the meal. Overheard a table over confronting the server over a discrepancy over the tip amount, the 20% amount on the pay machine actually being more than 20% of the bill. This tracks with what others have cautioned. Location and ambiance is lovely, but not enough to warrant a revisit.

pretty perfect! I get the 5 roll set usually and I wouldn't change a thing…read more The price is great for what you get tbh My fav is the crab roll Better parking than koreatown

After having lunch with my peers today, I was met with rude Customer Service from the…read moremanager/supervisor of the restaurant. It started off with me observing the way the ankimo hand roll was being made right in front of me. I saw that they added some type of sauce and once it was placed in front of me, I politely asked if this roll contained any soy sauce, which I am allergic to since I have celiac disease. It was confirmed that this role had soy sauce, so I refused the roll, and at first the manager/supervisor was able to rearrange my order to regular 6 hand rolls. The ankimo that wasn't touched by me I asked her if I should give to my peers instead of throwing the handroll in the trash. She said yes. After my 5th roll they asked if we want to order anything else. I said I am still missing one roll. And she said you had 5 and the ankimo. I said I didn't eat the ankimo. And she said your friends did .... So she charged me the extra one that was going to the trash because I didn't want to waste food ... Throughout our conversation, it was not confirmed that the handroll I gave to my friend was supposed to be a part of the six hand rolls upgrade that the manager had offered me. It would've been best if she gave me some clarification so that I was not kept waiting for an extra handroll that I was able to eat due to my medical condition. I thought they would have been understanding, but unfortunately, I was wrong

Amazing food I love it here so much!!! Me and my bf always go here and there service is impeccable…read moreI would recommend this so everyone. I will be returning!!!!

Classic Japanese style restaurant with quick service and great food…read more I got their Daikokuya ramen combo with teriyaki eel, the ramen was easily the best I had in my life. If you like spice I highly recommend adding the miso spice bomb. The price is decent, around $30-$40. The only downside is the ramen only came with 2 slices of tonkatsu.

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