I had an amazing meal at U Zen. It’s a true family run restaurant, and you can feel how much care they put into every detail. The fish was incredibly fresh, the kind of quality that stands out right away, and the rice was perfect—light, balanced, and never overcooked. I grew up in a fishing community, so freshness is something I really appreciate, and they absolutely deliver. Southern California has plenty of Japanese restaurants, but this one has become one of my favorites for its quality, consistency, and the heart the family puts into every dish. If you appreciate food made with pride and real craft, this is a place worth seeking out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alix Gillespie
The food was amazing and the staff were super friendly! Definitely worth going there!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
rslyn
This is the kind of restaurant I’ll keep returning to. We walked in for dinner at 9, the atmosphere is nice and cozy, and there’s jazz playing in the background. There’s a variety of dish choices ranging from skewers, sushi, hand roll, tempura, and ala carte.
We got vegetable tempura and a large plate fried shrimp & spicy tuna sushi as our appetizers, and a set dinner that came with salad, miso soup, rice, and two main courses (we had chicken teriyaki and salmon teriyaki). The salad was refreshing, love the sesame dressing. The fried shrimp & spicy tuna sushi was SOOO GOOD❗️the spicy tuna along with the fried shrimp just paired perfectly with the ginger and wasabi. This is literally my favorite dish of the night😌 really couldn’t have enough, and I wish I could try more of their sushi plates!
The salmon teriyaki and the chicken teriyaki are also delicious and both generous in portion (you get two main courses with about 36, which is a really great deal imo)! It also came with three pieces of tempura, including two veggies and one shrimp tempura. The fry coating was crispy and the meat texture of fried shrimp was sweet and tender. Their teriyaki sauce has just the right balanced taste of sweet and savory, and it never goes wrong with rice.
The service was excellent. all the staffs were friendly and approachable, and they gave us a lot of ginger and wasabi when we asked for some more.
Overall, I really enjoyed the food and the ambiance of the restaurant. A true hidden gem in the neighborhood. It definitely has become one of my fav Japanese/ sushi spot around here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Olya Minasian
The food is quite tasty. The place for visitors is not very conveniently organized.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Jared Mike
The food is very good the service is fast. It has a nice environment. Shout out to Andy for the free shots on the house. And it has convenient parking. It's a great place to dine with your friends and family.
trd detecting
My favorite Japanese restaurant of all time. I have been going here since I was a kid, and when me and my brothers would act up, he was very accommodating. And for the food, don’t even get me started. The food is made of the highest quality ingredients and perfect 100% of the time. It’s good for anyone looking for the most interesting dishes, or someone who is picky. Anyone would enjoy coming to Uzen and Andy is so nice. If you’re reading this thinking about going, go don’t think.
Sloane *
Our favorite sushi restaurant in all of LA! Highly recommend the blue crab hand roll, all sushi and sashimi. And Andy & the chefs always make us feel at home. Highly recommend this gem of a restaurant.
Reina Strauss
This is the most cozy, down-home Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood! Everyone is so nice, the vibes are cozy and homey and not pretentious, and everything tastes authentic. The dinner combination is a large amount of food and has amazing variety. The tempura is crispy and fresh and the sushi is delicious. Cannot recommend this place enough!
Kimberly Loy
Their salad is so good 😍, their sesame dressing is so tasty and the sushi is out of this world.
Alex Y-Moto
local legend for the quality and service. this is the cheers of neighborhood sushi restaurants. I'm a lifetime fan of this place.
Service is good. Food disappointing . Most of the fish, sashimi and rolls were ok. Fish tasted very fishy-not fresh. Will not return.
sarah morgan
I got the jj Roll and it was absolutely amazing. The flavors combined very well. The flight of sake pairs well with a nice atmosphere and wonderful sushi. The servers were all smiling and in a happy camaraderie with each other. All in all a well experience. Worth a visit if you are an out of town sushi connoisseur.
Parking: It’s behind the rest private lot for this business and coupe others.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
sarah m
I got the jj Roll and it was absolutely amazing. The flavors combined very well. The flight of sake pairs well with a nice atmosphere and wonderful sushi. The servers were all smiling and in a happy camaraderie with each other. All in all a well experience. Worth a visit if you are an out of town sushi connoisseur.
Brandon Okumura
An awesome old school Japanese restaurant in Santa Monica. They have a daily lunch bento and great lunch specials. I had a tempura and sashimi combo, while my partner had a bento. The inside is nice and quiet with lots of room to sit. There's also a parking lot behind the restaurant. Service was very nice and fast, and of course, the food is excellent! In particular, the sashimi was thick and fresh. We are lucky to have so many good Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles!
Parking: There's a free parking lot behind the restaurant and lots of metered street parking.
I had an amazing meal at U Zen. It’s a true family run restaurant, and you can feel how much care they put into every detail. The fish was incredibly fresh, the kind of quality that stands out right away, and the rice was perfect—light, balanced, and never overcooked. I grew up in a fishing community, so freshness is something I really appreciate, and they absolutely deliver. Southern California has plenty of Japanese restaurants, but this one has become one of my favorites for its quality, consistency, and the heart the family puts into every dish. If you appreciate food made with pride and real craft, this is a place worth seeking out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was amazing and the staff were super friendly! Definitely worth going there!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is the kind of restaurant I’ll keep returning to. We walked in for dinner at 9, the atmosphere is nice and cozy, and there’s jazz playing in the background.
There’s a variety of dish choices ranging from skewers, sushi, hand roll, tempura, and ala carte.
We got vegetable tempura and a large plate fried shrimp & spicy tuna sushi as our appetizers, and a set dinner that came with salad, miso soup, rice, and two main courses (we had chicken teriyaki and salmon teriyaki).
The salad was refreshing, love the sesame dressing. The fried shrimp & spicy tuna sushi was SOOO GOOD❗️the spicy tuna along with the fried shrimp just paired perfectly with the ginger and wasabi. This is literally my favorite dish of the night😌 really couldn’t have enough, and I wish I could try more of their sushi plates!
The salmon teriyaki and the chicken teriyaki are also delicious and both generous in portion (you get two main courses with about 36, which is a really great deal imo)! It also came with three pieces of tempura, including two veggies and one shrimp tempura. The fry coating was crispy and the meat texture of fried shrimp was sweet and tender. Their teriyaki sauce has just the right balanced taste of sweet and savory, and it never goes wrong with rice.
The service was excellent. all the staffs were friendly and approachable, and they gave us a lot of ginger and wasabi when we asked for some more.
Overall, I really enjoyed the food and the ambiance of the restaurant. A true hidden gem in the neighborhood. It definitely has become one of my fav Japanese/ sushi spot around here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is quite tasty. The place for visitors is not very conveniently organized.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
The food is very good the service is fast. It has a nice environment. Shout out to Andy for the free shots on the house. And it has convenient parking. It's a great place to dine with your friends and family.
My favorite Japanese restaurant of all time. I have been going here since I was a kid, and when me and my brothers would act up, he was very accommodating. And for the food, don’t even get me started. The food is made of the highest quality ingredients and perfect 100% of the time. It’s good for anyone looking for the most interesting dishes, or someone who is picky. Anyone would enjoy coming to Uzen and Andy is so nice. If you’re reading this thinking about going, go don’t think.
Our favorite sushi restaurant in all of LA! Highly recommend the blue crab hand roll, all sushi and sashimi. And Andy & the chefs always make us feel at home. Highly recommend this gem of a restaurant.
This is the most cozy, down-home Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood! Everyone is so nice, the vibes are cozy and homey and not pretentious, and everything tastes authentic.
The dinner combination is a large amount of food and has amazing variety. The tempura is crispy and fresh and the sushi is delicious.
Cannot recommend this place enough!
Their salad is so good 😍, their sesame dressing is so tasty and the sushi is out of this world.
local legend for the quality and service. this is the cheers of neighborhood sushi restaurants. I'm a lifetime fan of this place.
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious, friendly, old school west LA sushi.
Service is good. Food disappointing . Most of the fish, sashimi and rolls were ok. Fish tasted very fishy-not fresh. Will not return.
I got the jj Roll and it was absolutely amazing. The flavors combined very well. The flight of sake pairs well with a nice atmosphere and wonderful sushi. The servers were all smiling and in a happy camaraderie with each other. All in all a well experience. Worth a visit if you are an out of town sushi connoisseur.
Parking: It’s behind the rest private lot for this business and coupe others.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I got the jj Roll and it was absolutely amazing. The flavors combined very well. The flight of sake pairs well with a nice atmosphere and wonderful sushi. The servers were all smiling and in a happy camaraderie with each other. All in all a well experience. Worth a visit if you are an out of town sushi connoisseur.
An awesome old school Japanese restaurant in Santa Monica. They have a daily lunch bento and great lunch specials. I had a tempura and sashimi combo, while my partner had a bento. The inside is nice and quiet with lots of room to sit. There's also a parking lot behind the restaurant. Service was very nice and fast, and of course, the food is excellent! In particular, the sashimi was thick and fresh. We are lucky to have so many good Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles!
Parking: There's a free parking lot behind the restaurant and lots of metered street parking.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Miso Soup, Mixed Tempura
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