Great value lunch menu options at this Japanese restaurant! I visited for a weekday lunch and got the Chirashi Sushi Set and it was great value for $26. It comes with assorted sashimi over rice and your choice of noodle. The sashimi was fresh and great. There was a good portion and variety of salmon, tuna, yellowtail, etc. All the fish was buttery and tasty. For the noodle, I chose cold soba dipping noodles and those were good as well. I have had better though as I feel the soba wasn't as fresh and the dipping sauce was not as flavorful as I hoped. But still great though. I dined inside and the interior was decent, but wish I dined outside which was cute and looked like dining in someone's backyard. They have a bathroom with Japanese toilets which was cool, but the bathroom could've been cleaner. Also, one of the co-worker's I went with was given a sticky spoon which the staff replaced upon request. I think this spot should work on the overall cleanliness of the restaurant. The service was pretty good though and the waiters were polite. They also seem to have some free parking in the back. Overall, a good experience here and I would come back for a weekday lunch special since the value was good for sushi. read more

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Yabu is a rare breed in that they not only make their own soba (tastes like 80% buckwheat 20% wheat, so don't order if you're Celiac) but also serves rarer seasonal items largely only seen in the fancy omakase places where you lose $250 per person. In particular they serve matsutake during fall/autumn--either as a chawanmushi, dobin mushi, or in a soup with soba (or udon if they run out). Talking to the chef, it seems they sometimes get ayu (sweetfish) during the summer where they get broiled, and even hotaru ika (firefly squid) in the spring. I will need to investigate. The chef, Okyo, speaks serviceable English which can be a bit difficult given the loud environment of the restaurant but he is amazingly friendly. He remembered me after nearly a whole year's absence. Yabu is also the progenitor to one of my other favorite Japanese restaurants, Soregashi, in the Hollywood area. Ambiance-wise, some days are quiet and some are loud. Musically you might get anything from J-rock to Spanish rap, to Linkin Park. Not a joke--ever heard Exile's cover of Last Christmas? You get the typical Japanese restaurant shouting when you enter or leave. It's somewhat comforting. You get a discount if you pay in cash and the bathrooms have fancy toilets if you're into that kind of thing. Sushi is a bit different here than most places. Nigiri is one piece per order. The prices reflect this, however. Chef Okyo also likes to add toppings (kelp, wasabi, chili, etc.) on top. You can edit the sushi a bit, say, asking for aburi salmon (my favorite) and if you're sat at the sushi bar he might ask if you want the topping or not. All to your taste. For those who don't want sushi, there's plenty of izakaya fare from bar snacks to more substantial not-fish dishes. Lunches seem more quiet than dinner. Street parking is available and there's a super tiny lot behind the restaurant of 2-3 spots if you can snag it. Speaking of lunch, the value for food is pretty ridiculous. Basic noodles and offerings such as chirashi, tempura, tuna bowl, or sushi, and more for under $30 is pretty amazing. The hours are a bit tight but it's worth checking out. Full dinner menu is available if so inclined. You might have noticed I haven't reviewed specific dishes as opposed to specific (the seasonal) ingredients. That's on purpose--the vibe and quality is where I want to focus. Know that the quality will be top tier and you won't completely empty your wallet, though maybe this is a tier above a week day dinner spot for pricing. Dine at the sushi bar to get the full experience if possible. Basic notes for those who don't want an essay: come here for a great time, especially if you want to talk to the chef, some seasonal items, high quality fish, and other great dishes for anyone who likes Japanese food. read more

What an incredible hidden gem. This restaurant has been here for over 30 years and yes, they make their homemade soba noodles from scratch. Great place for dinner and you can't beat their lunch. Special is out of this world. The fish is so fresh you think it just came straight from Japan. The tempura is light and fluffy, very flavorful and not at all greasy perfect for dipping into the ponzu sauce. All the staff here are very sweet, super attentive and extreme polite . if you want something that's the real deal extremely fresh, very tasty and authentic. I would highly recommend coming to Yabu restaurant.. It's quite easy to find street parking on pico or on the side streets. They are open for lunch from 12 to 2. Dinner hours are 6-9:30. Weekend hours may vary. You can also park in the back. The ambience is cute basic and authentic. read more

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Came here with Hurnan and Robert in Sept 2023! This was such a cute little spot. Parking is tough - Robert was able to get a street parking right in front. We each got our own order of soba noodles and then we shared roll (spicy tuna and salmon). Everything was really yummy! I do think I need more food though. So if you have a big appetite, suggest ordering more. Service was great! Nothing wrong. Overall, I would come here for a quick dinner date. This place is better for smaller parties. read more

Yabu Restaurant - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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YUM!! We ate here for the first time and absolutely enjoyed the cozy small vibe, delicious food and sweet and friendly staff!! The miso eggplant was insanely delicious and we were blown away by the absolutely exquisite sashimi assortment platter we ordered! I had forgotten what real sashimi tastes like.. Cant wait to come back and try more! Great green tea ice cream tea as well. Cheers! read more

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Came here with my fiancé yesterday for a quick dinner. We loved the atmosphere. It does give that hole in the wall authentic Japanese feel. I loved the lowered sushi chef bar because you could see the process from a better angle. It was quiet when we got in around 7:30 and we were sat pretty quickly. We ordered the Kitsune and curry nanban as our mains with a blue crab and a lobster handroll on the side. The noodle dishes were delicious and I wanted to drink all the soup I had in my bowl. The curry was light and fitting for noodles but the only complaint was, though the chicken was tender, it didn't have much of the curry flavor. I wish there were more options for the cold soba noodles. The options didn't look as enticing to me as I hoped. I may give it a try next time. We will be back to try more soon! read more

I went there for dinner with a bunch of friends. It was close to the closing time, but they welcomed us and set the table quickly. My husband and I ordered beef tataki, tempura and sashimi combo, blue crab hand roll and halibut sushi. They were so good and fresh. We would definitely go back there to try some noodles next time. read more

Yabu Restaurant - Tempura and sashimi combo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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I've been coming to Yabu, an unassuming Japanese restaurant in West LA, for soba and sashimi for the better part of the last decade. It may not be trendy (Kaz) or high-end (Inaba), but it's a solid spot serving consistently good food. Although the restaurant serves typical Japanese fare, it's known for its soba and udon, which can be ordered as part of moderately-priced lunch sets on Tuesdays through Saturdays. Nowadays, I regularly order the bluefin tuna don set ($26), but I've previously been partial to the chirashi sushi set ($24.50). As part of the lunch set, you have the choice of soba or udon -- zaru (served cold with dipping sauce), kake (served hot in broth), or tanuki (served hot in broth with tempura flakes). The soba noodles are a bit starchier than other soba restaurants, but they always satisfy my craving for buckwheat noodles. The fish served at the restaurant is fresh, with adequate portion sizes. Of the menu options, I've only been (slightly) disappointed by the tempura, as the pieces of shrimp are significantly smaller than what you get at other local Japanese restaurants. Service at the restaurant is decent. Parking is limited, but you should be able to find a street spot on Pico with relative ease. Note that the restaurant's ventilation could be improved, so you'll likely leave the restaurant smelling like tempura -- whether you ordered it or not -- given the open kitchen setup. They do have outdoor seating in the back if it's a concern. read more

Yabu is so incredible. I've been going here for over 20 years, and it's my favorite Japanese restaurant in LA. Our favor dishes are nasu miso, the sashimi platter, the black cod, and the Renkon! The fish is as fresh as it gets, so you cannot go wrong with that. I also love the staff, they are all extremely nice and attentive. I know ordering hot sake is frowned upon at a lot of places, but for a junmai sake, I love it hot, and they didn't give me a hard time for that. You're going to have an excellent time with the service here. As far as the ambiance, they aren't winning any awards for that, but it's very nice, clean, and intimate, and has a traditional Japanese sushi bar vibe. Traditional and understated. It gets really popular, so be sure to make a reservation. This place is a LA gem, and it is the perfect date spot. 9.5/10, definitely give it a try. read more

Ambiance: traditional Japanese restaurant, old fashioned indoor dining and very chic outdoor patio Service: friendly and patient with questions, served food and refilled water adequately Food: numerous items on the menu, with daily special available from time to time, combo items have the best value here Chirashi Sushi - **** Assorted sashimi over a bed of sushi rice, fresh raw fish, recommend Cold Soba - **** chewy noodles with dipping sauce, recommend Salmon Hand Roll - **** smooth texture, recommend Spicy Tuna Hand Roll - *** average Yellowtail Hand Roll - *** average Hot Udon Noodles - *** average taste Price: moderate portions and reasonable prices, 10% discount if paying cash, expect $25 per person read more

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Tried Yabu restaurant on a Thursday after work because I wanted to wait out traffic before going home. Without reservations at 6:30pm, there was no wait. Plenty of street parking too (if you're willing to look around/walk a bit). I got the oyakodon because that's like my ultimate japanese comfort food these days. The one here didn't hit as much as I would've liked, but it wasn't bad. The rice bowls come with a bowl of miso soup. The oyakodon quantity was generous and I had leftovers to take home. I found it less good (compared to Ducks) because the eggs weren't a little runny and they use less mirin maybe? Regardless, service was great. Food came out quickly and the ambiance was very cute. read more

We went here for dinner and the food was absolutely delicious! I loved my chirashi bowl and the presentation was beautiful. The servers were very kind and always there if we needed anything. I have gone many times and would totally go again!! read more

Yabu Restaurant - chirashi bowl - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Love the food at this place. Such a classic the service is always fast and they always have the right game on. They do everything really good love the broth they have here and of course the sushi. read more

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Love this place for a celebration or special occasion. The sushi is always great quality and the outside patio has the best of vibes. Plants hanging from the over head awnings and scattered all around the corners of the space. This time around my date wanted soba so we embarked on their soba menu. It was refreshing and delicious. I got the duck soba while she got the shrimp tempura soba. We got the picked veggies as an appetizer and a bottle of their yabu hot sake. After we cleared our plates we wanted to try something else. She got the chawan mushi. An egg custard with white fish and ginko nuts. This was so light and flavorful. I would get this for myself next time I go. The texture was so soft. I wanted to try the uni from Japan. This was a beautiful bite of clean uni with a kick of wasabi. I love this place and decided it was time to write a review and share my thoughts. read more

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Traditional Japanese Soba noodles and Sushi. Great services and a nice ambiance. It could get very busy at peak times, recommend to make a reservation. read more

Yabu is like a neighborhood Japanese spot serving lots of hot and cold noodles - soba, udon as well as some raw fish. Overall I love soba so I wanted to like this place but it fell really short. This ambiance is a nice grungy Japanese eatery with nice wood paneling. I ordered the soba with tempura and felt that overall the flavor was fine but not special. Soba unfortunately doesn't taste fresh made but rather from a package and they're super soft with little chewiness. Tempura was nothing special to write home about. The tororo soba is interesting, it's inaccurately described as yam but is rather mashed up and stringy Japanese Mountain yam. I had a taste and it was solid but the dish lacked something due to the uninspiring nature of the noodles. The sad thing is that it took 40 minutes after ordering for our food to come and a ton of time after we put our cards down to pay. All in all a 40 minute meal turned into an almost 2 hour affair. read more

Yabu Restaurant - Tempura Hot Noodle Lunch - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Great food. Got seated at the sushi bar and ordered all my sushi dishes directly to the chef. It can get filled fast on a Saturday night so you should call ahead to reserve a table or come early. When it gets full they have very few wait staff so it can take a while to get orders in or the check. Food was great though read more

Yabu Restaurant - Toro sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Read great reviews and I live close by so I decided to come give it a try. My favorite soba I've had in West LA is at Takuma, and I was hoping Yabu would be a closer option. Although my tenzaru set was fairly good, the price wasn't worth it. The soba noodles didn't have that fresh buckwheat taste that people eat soba for, and the tempura, although quite tasty, was very oily and the taste coated my mouth. It's clear this place caters more to the people in the neighborhood, and isn't the freshest or most authentic Japanese restaurant I've been to. The prices are enough to scare me away from coming back. read more

Yabu Restaurant - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I came here on a Saturday for lunch, after learning about their lunch special. It's a bit hard to see from the street, so definitely be careful if you're driving here. There is a small parking area in the back. We opted to sit outside, which has a covering so it isn't too bright. I ordered the Chirashi set, which is 20.5 as of February 2022. It comes with a bowl of sashimi and rice, and a bowl of noodles. I ordered cold Soba Tanuki. The food came out relatively quickly and is honestly so good for the price. The food taste so fresh and the portions are very filling. A bowl of Soba is at least $10 at any other restaurant, so for $10 more, you'll get a bowl of very fresh sashimi and rice. The server checked on us often even though we were the only one sitting outside. Sadly this place is pretty far from me, so I won't be coming by often. If you live nearby or in this area for lunch on Mondays to Saturdays (they're closed on Sundays), definitely give this place a try! read more

Yabu Restaurant - Chirashi lunch set with cold Soba Tanuki (dipping sauce is hidden under the plate of green onion) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

The food is always fresh and good. Lunch or dinner. The staff is always friendly and food comes quickly. Small and cozy place which is clean. Parking is a little tuff but it's worth it. read more

The black cod is awesome and I would highly recommend it! This place is very standard Japanese fare. It was good, not stand out great, but very solid overall. It's a small restaurant on a busy street. We were lucky to get a parking spot right out front. Unfortunately it had some leaks because of #larain. It was a bummer and I hope they fix it. The kake udon was great. I really liked the broth. I wish they had more than one fish cake but the udon was good. The sushi combination was pretty good and fresh. The black cod was hands down the star. It was mouth watering good. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. With the lemon, everything tasted perfect. I would come back for the black cod. Come early if you can though. The place is rather small and when we left there was a wait out the door. The food was good and maybe with a few upgrades to the interior they can step up the ambiance. read more

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I've been looking to find a good soba/udon place on the west side for a very long time and finally came across Yabu. They offer both hot and cold soba/udon which can be hard to find north of Torrance. Service here is fantastic and feels like you're really stepping into japan when you're dining here. They also have other food if you're not in the mood for noodles such as rice dishes and tempura. Honestly everything I've ever had here is fantastic and I've been her many times since I discovered this place. Highly recommend for anyone that enjoys authentic Japanese cuisine! read more

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So you want good Japanese food you say? Say no more for Yabu Restaurant is here to stay. But only if you eat here multiple times, which I fully intend to do. I hope you do too. It's got a hole in the wall vibe but is extremely warm and welcoming especially their outdoor dining setup during the covid era. I was feeling soba and Ten Zaru is my favorite. So what did I do? Get Ten Zaru soba obviously. The soba is nice and refreshing, the tempura was made to perfection, and the overall dining experience was fantastic. The waiters regularly check in on you and I just felt like I was eating in a loving family's home the entire time :') Anyway, soba and udon is the name of the game here but I feel like everything else on the menu is just as good so you can expect me to try everything else in the near future. Like tomorrow. read more

Yabu Restaurant - Ten Zaru Cold Noodle - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Love the chirashi lunch special with hot udon. The broth is delicious, udon chewy, fish tastes fresh. Beef tataki is the best I've ever had. The sauce is something special. Would like to try more dishes here but I like to stick to what I like. read more

Thanks to a dear friend (Niki), I've been dining at this awesome, authentic (best homemade soba noodles) Japanese restaurant for nearly 5 years!! & EACH & EVERY time, the food has been consistently outstanding whether it be their bluefin tuna bowl, assorted sushi bowl or tempura & their lunch sets can NOT be beat (be sure to call ahead to make reservations)!! read more

Yabu Restaurant - Chirashi sushi & I believe hot soba/buckwheat noodles - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Yabu has been one of our go to spots during pandemic. They have really reasonable prices for lunch time and the fish is super fresh. Definitely treat yourself because 2020 sucks and Yabu brings us happiness They are highly underrated in my opinion, and deserve a lot of support and love during pandemic. read more

Yabu Restaurant - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Yabu is one of our local Japanese restaurant we visit when we want delicious soba or udon. We also enjoy the small dishes we can order to accompany our meal. The service is always friendly and welcoming. The restaurant is clean and simple. read more

Came in for lunch and glad to find this place. The food was solid, authentic, and clearly made with good-quality ingredients. Every dish had great flavor, and portions were just right. The service was friendly and attentive. Definitely a place I'd come back to and recommend for anyone looking for a reliable, satisfying meal. read more

Came on a weekend night, and luckily were able to snag a street parking spot and head into the restaurant and get seated almost right away. We ordered soba combo plate, which came with a choice of either cold or hot noodles, as well as 6 pieces of sushi. The soba was light, refreshing, and filling with a very savory yet not overpowering broth. There was good variety for the sushi, which were all fresh, flavorful, and nice and chewy. The total was approx 38$ per combo plate. I left feeling extremely stuffed! Overall, highly recommend and would come back again! read more

Yabu Restaurant - Yabu Soba Combination Plate - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

We waited over an hour and still did not get our food. They hadn't even started any of our food when we were getting ready to just leave. We were one of three parties in there, so it's shocking they were struggling to get any of our order out. read more

This has been a favorite of ours for many years. The food is amazing and generally the service is very good. Our favorite is the curry nanban with udon noodles. So delicious and comforting. The sushi is very good. Give it a try! read more

Yabu is a place that is a staple in my LA experience. When I was a college student, this place used to be a weekly treat for me. This was 10 years ago. Now I come back as a mom with my family and my picky eater toddler loves the Niku udon, the tempura is still best in class, the spicy tuna roll is hands down my favourite thing in the world. If you come in for lunch, it's mostly older Japanese people so you know this place is legit. I have many happy memories of Yabu in the past decade and I hope that this is ab establishment that stays around for a long time. I don't understand how this place only has a 3.9 rating when it deserves the full 5 and more. read more

- Locale Destination - It's on W Pico Blvd and Granville Ave in West LA. Ambiance: Quite old school, simple pop & mom shop. Not so big. Menu: sushi, sashimi, appetizers, noodles, rice bowls etc. Quite wide selections. Service: Decent Parking: street parking - Gluttony Expedition - Chirashi: Fish quality is pretty good. A lot better than I expected. Karaage: fried chicken was good - Japanese style. Nasu miso: not bad! Very homey taste. Kimpira gobo: good but very small portion. - Conqueror's Deduction - I didn't think this place was existed and this good. Very homie, good Japanese food for good quality sushi. I like here! read more

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I love the chirashi here. Fresh, generous portions, beautifully put together. Service is attentive and I appreciate the authentic vibe. We have been going here for years and they never disappoint. Other favorites include the udon, and the oyakadon. read more

This restaurant is a hidden gem. Amazing hand made soba. Fantastic authentic sushi made by the master. There are few that can match the food in this place. read more

Food here is consistently good. My guests and I had a good time until a freaking lantern fell on us after we finished. BEWARE of outdoor seating. It's very hazardous when it's windy outside. The outside tent was very shaky due to strong wind and every wire was getting loose. The lantern fell directly on our table injuring my friend's head and his elderly father. He fell from the chair and almost hit the heater which could have resulted in fire. I am glad he was not hurt much but we were just so shocked. Other customers were terrified too. And I regret so much for recommending this place for visiting guests. I was also very disappointed how staff handled this. He did not seem to know what to do and just apologized minimally. Since we were already on our way out we just paid everything and escaped the place. Hope no one else got hurt after we left because it still looked insecure and dangerous. We will never forget this traumatic night... read more

Yabu Restaurant - Outdoor area not secure enough for windy day. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Service (4/5 stars): We were quickly seated. Our orders were taken quickly. Our orders took some time to be made, but not unreasonably long. Our check was settled quickly. Food (3/5 stars) Overall the food was ok. Nothing in particular stood out to me, besides the shrimp tempura, from what we ordered. The tempura was quite good, the shrimp specifically was very soft almost buttery in texture. I personally did not like the salmon sashimi. The salmon belly was a bit fishy, and the marination retracted from the experience for me. Additionally, I was hoping to try the Yabu Homemade Tofu, but each time I have gone (during dinner) they don't have any. Given the higher price range and that the dishes I have consumed haven't for the most part stood out to me, I personally would not eat here again. read more

Yabu Restaurant - Fried Tofu & Salmon Belly Sashimi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Yaba daba do We walked in after looking for a 5 star sushi bar in West LA. This is a 3 star, mayyyybe 3.5 stars for the nice customers at the sushi bar who are regulars The hostess needs a few tips on how to smile We ordered a cold bottle of much needed sake and it was great even though I swore off It's a love hate thing with me and wakatake daiginjo is the devils playground Japanese pickles aka oshinko were the top choice tonight https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/guide-japanese-pickles-tsukemono.html Yellowtail was tender and melted in my mouth Salmon with dill was a nice touch!! Halibut was fresh with with yuzu paste on top Scallop sushi was a solid C+ We had a lobster handroll and there was too much rice and not enough lobster:( I can't decide what to give as far as a 3 or 4 star review. Let's go with 4 stars!!! Another star for the ATE (awesome toilet experience) read more

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I would say this place is more of a 3.5 star joint...you know, some place that you can rely on to be decent time and time again but never really knock your socks off. We came here for a later lunch on a Saturday (a little after 1pm) noting that they shut down at 2:15pm for a pre-dinner break. We weren't concerned with the timing since these places tend to push food out fast. We weren't wrong. We all went with their lunch specials: Tempura and Sashimi Set Soboro Set Toro and Tuna Set (special) Spicy Tuna-don Set Overall, everything was pretty okay. I was the only one in our party who opted for the soba and I could have used a couple more ounces of noodles. The udon looked more plentiful but it could just because they're thicker noodles. Portions are pretty dainty and if we hadn't ordered some other stuff, I probably would have still been hungry when we walked out. We also ordered the homemade tofu (nothing to write home about but fresh), egg omelet (not bad either) as well as two orders of amaebe/sweet shrimp and uni. I realized as we were eating the sweet shrimp that we didn't ask if it was live. They weren't. Rather than the hard-to-describe "crispy" texture of just-offed seafood, the shrimp was mushy, especially towards the tail end which to me means they were frozen. They were huge, though, and the heads well fried. Mom thoroughly enjoyed the uni so I guess there's that! Not a cheap lunch, by any means. But solid and not disappointing at all. read more

Yabu Restaurant - Spicy tuna don set with soba - Sushi Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Old School Japanese restaurant specialized in soba and udon. As soon as you step in the restaurant, you will know that this place has been here for a long time with the way it looks. There is also an outdoor seating which is newer and cool too. In a place like LA, I feel like I experience less and less of that so I immediately appreciated the restaurant. I think they have sushi but I've been busy with eating their udon with Kansai broth, which is the style I grew up with. I'm glad I found this place. Oh, actually, I did try a little bit of their lunch special that did have a bit of a donburi and that was excellent. I imagine the sushi is equally wonderful too. Dishes came very fast for work nights and I appreciate it very much. Been here like 3 times in two weeks so I imagine I'll come again soon. Lol. read more