I've been going there since it was Honda Ya. The transition was a bit jumpy but it is still a reliable proper Izakaya experience. The menu covers just about all of the greatest hits. The Robata is on-point as is the service.
Ellen N.
One of the better yakitori restaurant around the LA area! I usually make reservation before heading over especially during the weekend because it gets packed. It's on the 3rd floor of the Alameda building next to X-lanes and above the Korean market. Service is usually on and off- some days you get great service and some day it takes 15 minutes before you get to place an order or even get water. Food is on the more expensive side but tastes delicious. The sautéed skirt steak with shishito peppers appetizer, however, was not worth and very salty. Parking is free with validation from the restaurants or market.
Tony S
Everything on the Japanese izakaya menu was delicious. The quality was as expected, including cost performance!It may be a coincidence, but there are a lot of small flies that are poorly rated.The fish kama and yakitori were delicious.*The meat of diced steak is tough.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Rudy Villalobos
Delicious food is easy to find here. Along with welcoming staff and a great atmosphere. Strong recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joanna L.
I was going to give them 2 stars, but raised it to 3 because of the great service we had. Food here is average at best in my opinion. I came with a party of 5 and we sat in a small booth. We ordered a lot of food, but I think my favorites were the saba (mackeral), and some of the yakitori. I really didn't like their grilled onigiri or their steak. The side salads that come with some of the orders are really fresh and good. The dressing they use is also nice. They have 2 hour parking validation which is nice - and they're located on the 3rd floor of the Little Tokyo Galleria. There's restrooms, which are a bit small but relatively clean.
Jeffrey R.
I'm giving it 4 stars, because of Jai. (I hope I'm spelling that right. First time I went on a week day. It was an amazing experience. Second time, yeah, not so much, due to the server. Don't know her name, and really don't care to. I ordered otokoyama, and got an Orion for the cooks. Cooks got their beer, and I just sat there with nothing. Served food, still no drink. Had to ask another server, who brought me my food, to remind my server that I ordered a drink. She finally showed up with it, and told me, 'my bad, I was trying to close out tables.' Except for the fact, she served the cooks the beer I ordered them. Kind of a slap in the face. Look, the food is fantastic, and the liveliness on the weekends is awesome, but how are you going to serve your staff, and not your customers? Also, as I'm typing, served me my food and nowhere to put my skewers. She must be new, or having a bad day. Honestly, if it wasn't for Jai, and the food being great, this would be a bad review.
Daniel Seunghoon L.
The tall gentleman Sono? Soma? was perfect. I'm leaving a review in hopes of clearing a possible misunderstanding. He said 'Are you coming back?' and i said 'probably not' as in we are not coming back for the night. Sorry, we had a good night. Give that guy a 5-star shiZzle.
Chris Park
Food was better before gone Okey now just went there for sake
Cleanliness and aesthetic of the place is 5/5 in my opinion. It's a charming Japanese Restaurant on the third floor of Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles. Parking validation is available upon request which is fantastic! One of the staff cheerfully greeted us as we entered and then led us to our table. He gave some recommendations and gave us ample of time to choose what we wanted to eat. Service is 5/5. We ordered a few items plus a hot sake all to share. We did appreciate the taste and the lovely presentation of the food especially the sashimi. However, after paying the pricey bill, we ended up going to the grocery store on the first floor to get more food. Their portions at Izakaya Bizan are on the smaller side and not filling at all and yet, we ended up spending more than a hundred bucks. It was an experience but I don't think I'd be repeating it again.
Masa Kanayama
I just had yakitori only. But it was just ok and not well prepared. But there are good shochu choices. Overall I do not think I come back here again.
Food was good but a bit on the pricier side, service wasn't the best, and they didn't give us parking validation so we ended up paying $16 for parking so be aware but it was quite loud inside as well and space is small but overall it was okay. we spend $250 on food for 2 people
Monica L.
Went there on a Sunday afternoon and it was pretty quiet. Since it was the lunch hour, there were no skewers available. This place specializes in Udon, Sushi/Sashimi, and Sake. We had a really large group of 13 people and most of the food came out at decent time. The Mentai, Tarako, and Uni cream udons took by far the longest to come out but everything else was pretty fast. Food was delicious and I enjoyed the variety they had. Menu was really large and I would love to come back to get some skewers and other little tapas.
Winnie T.
An amazing hidden gem in little Tokyo. A TOTALLY authentic Izakaya from Japan! Definitely not the common Izakaya that are mostly westernized. This restaurant is for real and have the same taste as the Izakaya in Japan (even the environment got that feel too) It's about 6 minutes walk away from the central part of little Tokyo. BUT they have their own parking for the mall, with validation from the restaurant, you can get 2 hours free!! Not bad when all parking around little Tokyo are expensive As for the food Baklake Udon: what a refreshing way to eat udon, it's cold and you mix it with the sauce that they provided. Kind of like cold noodle soup, the toppings are all great and the udon is on the chewy side which I like it the best Katsu Don: smaller than regular restaurant but with great flavor. Rice cooked just right. Pork tastes perfect. Ika-Maru: best fried squid that I ate for a while, not overcook and slightly seasoned Tofu salad: love the combination of tofu and mushroom in the salad Yatitori: we tried quite a few. I liked the liver the most. Service is pretty great as well. The servers constantly come around and check on you. Definitely would come back for more.
Andy L.
A bit of an unlikely 5 stars, but I can't find much fault to grade otherwise, this place delivers: the food was good , variety plenty, prices reasonable , parking plentiful , service attentive , food made quick... only slight ding is their clientele could get a tad rowdy and the place a bit loud.
Juan H.
Usually go and always have a good experience but the day I went for valentines it was one of the worst service. Literally my table and the tables around us didnt have no server tried to help. Took 30-40 mins for someone to finally entertain us. Probably not going to go back. Prefer shinsengumi 100x more
I've been going there since it was Honda Ya. The transition was a bit jumpy but it is still a reliable proper Izakaya experience. The menu covers just about all of the greatest hits. The Robata is on-point as is the service.
One of the better yakitori restaurant around the LA area! I usually make reservation before heading over especially during the weekend because it gets packed. It's on the 3rd floor of the Alameda building next to X-lanes and above the Korean market. Service is usually on and off- some days you get great service and some day it takes 15 minutes before you get to place an order or even get water. Food is on the more expensive side but tastes delicious. The sautéed skirt steak with shishito peppers appetizer, however, was not worth and very salty. Parking is free with validation from the restaurants or market.
Everything on the Japanese izakaya menu was delicious. The quality was as expected, including cost performance!It may be a coincidence, but there are a lot of small flies that are poorly rated.The fish kama and yakitori were delicious.*The meat of diced steak is tough.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Delicious food is easy to find here. Along with welcoming staff and a great atmosphere. Strong recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was going to give them 2 stars, but raised it to 3 because of the great service we had. Food here is average at best in my opinion. I came with a party of 5 and we sat in a small booth. We ordered a lot of food, but I think my favorites were the saba (mackeral), and some of the yakitori. I really didn't like their grilled onigiri or their steak. The side salads that come with some of the orders are really fresh and good. The dressing they use is also nice. They have 2 hour parking validation which is nice - and they're located on the 3rd floor of the Little Tokyo Galleria. There's restrooms, which are a bit small but relatively clean.
I'm giving it 4 stars, because of Jai. (I hope I'm spelling that right. First time I went on a week day. It was an amazing experience. Second time, yeah, not so much, due to the server. Don't know her name, and really don't care to. I ordered otokoyama, and got an Orion for the cooks. Cooks got their beer, and I just sat there with nothing. Served food, still no drink. Had to ask another server, who brought me my food, to remind my server that I ordered a drink. She finally showed up with it, and told me, 'my bad, I was trying to close out tables.' Except for the fact, she served the cooks the beer I ordered them. Kind of a slap in the face. Look, the food is fantastic, and the liveliness on the weekends is awesome, but how are you going to serve your staff, and not your customers? Also, as I'm typing, served me my food and nowhere to put my skewers. She must be new, or having a bad day. Honestly, if it wasn't for Jai, and the food being great, this would be a bad review.
The tall gentleman Sono? Soma? was perfect. I'm leaving a review in hopes of clearing a possible misunderstanding. He said 'Are you coming back?' and i said 'probably not' as in we are not coming back for the night. Sorry, we had a good night. Give that guy a 5-star shiZzle.
Food was better before gone Okey now just went there for sake
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Pork Belly Yakitori, Liver, Monkfish Liver, Okonomi Yaki on Sticks
Cleanliness and aesthetic of the place is 5/5 in my opinion. It's a charming Japanese Restaurant on the third floor of Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles. Parking validation is available upon request which is fantastic! One of the staff cheerfully greeted us as we entered and then led us to our table. He gave some recommendations and gave us ample of time to choose what we wanted to eat. Service is 5/5. We ordered a few items plus a hot sake all to share. We did appreciate the taste and the lovely presentation of the food especially the sashimi. However, after paying the pricey bill, we ended up going to the grocery store on the first floor to get more food. Their portions at Izakaya Bizan are on the smaller side and not filling at all and yet, we ended up spending more than a hundred bucks. It was an experience but I don't think I'd be repeating it again.
I just had yakitori only. But it was just ok and not well prepared. But there are good shochu choices. Overall I do not think I come back here again.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was good but a bit on the pricier side, service wasn't the best, and they didn't give us parking validation so we ended up paying $16 for parking so be aware but it was quite loud inside as well and space is small but overall it was okay. we spend $250 on food for 2 people
Went there on a Sunday afternoon and it was pretty quiet. Since it was the lunch hour, there were no skewers available. This place specializes in Udon, Sushi/Sashimi, and Sake. We had a really large group of 13 people and most of the food came out at decent time. The Mentai, Tarako, and Uni cream udons took by far the longest to come out but everything else was pretty fast. Food was delicious and I enjoyed the variety they had. Menu was really large and I would love to come back to get some skewers and other little tapas.
An amazing hidden gem in little Tokyo. A TOTALLY authentic Izakaya from Japan! Definitely not the common Izakaya that are mostly westernized. This restaurant is for real and have the same taste as the Izakaya in Japan (even the environment got that feel too) It's about 6 minutes walk away from the central part of little Tokyo. BUT they have their own parking for the mall, with validation from the restaurant, you can get 2 hours free!! Not bad when all parking around little Tokyo are expensive As for the food Baklake Udon: what a refreshing way to eat udon, it's cold and you mix it with the sauce that they provided. Kind of like cold noodle soup, the toppings are all great and the udon is on the chewy side which I like it the best Katsu Don: smaller than regular restaurant but with great flavor. Rice cooked just right. Pork tastes perfect. Ika-Maru: best fried squid that I ate for a while, not overcook and slightly seasoned Tofu salad: love the combination of tofu and mushroom in the salad Yatitori: we tried quite a few. I liked the liver the most. Service is pretty great as well. The servers constantly come around and check on you. Definitely would come back for more.
A bit of an unlikely 5 stars, but I can't find much fault to grade otherwise, this place delivers: the food was good , variety plenty, prices reasonable , parking plentiful , service attentive , food made quick... only slight ding is their clientele could get a tad rowdy and the place a bit loud.
Usually go and always have a good experience but the day I went for valentines it was one of the worst service. Literally my table and the tables around us didnt have no server tried to help. Took 30-40 mins for someone to finally entertain us. Probably not going to go back. Prefer shinsengumi 100x more