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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los FelizMon-Wed. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Wed. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Thu-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Thu-Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Sun. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
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I came here for Happy Hour last night (4-7pm during the week). Not a bad deal! They only offer a few apps and rolls, but at $4-6 each, a dinner for two came to $50.
I'm not the type to usually order rolls, nor am I the type to respect people's reviews when they say, "I had the Rainbow Roll," or "The Philly Roll was great!" just because I'm a sushi snob and don't think those rolls and reviewers really understand what "good" sushi is. That said, I'm reviewing these rolls on the quality of fish and En's take on each roll:
We had:
hamachi and scallion roll - usually their hamachi is much better. perhaps they used some old hamachi sashimi? this was ok
albacore jalapeno roll - jalapenos don't belong in sushi. made me want nachos.
philly roll - too much cream cheese, but the salmon was great
spicy tuna roll - how can you screw up a spicy tuna roll? it was a spicy tuna roll.
salmon cucumber roll - the salmon was very fresh
shrimp tempura roll - not a fan of pickled carrots in my shrimp tempura roll, but hearty
sesame fried chicken - great flavor, a bit over cooked, but still tasty
fried calamari - amazing! love the tempura batter and the calamari was so tender
I've been to En before, and I loved their sashimi (about 4 stars). I was not impressed by their rolls last night however. I guess they use lesser quality fish for happy hour. Considering happy hour and my past dinner experiences at En, I would give this place 3.5 stars. The ambiance is cute, great for a date, and the service is above average. The restaurant is clean and booths are comfy. They have valet next door for $3. Would definitely come again!
Went here for dinner with our dear friends. Sushi is very fresh and tasty. You know it's a great sushi spot when they don't try to pack a ton of rice on your sushi. Definitely will be back. En Sushi has all the popular rolls plus some house specials and exotics offerings. Had a great time. Nice modern dark wood decor. Great vibe from everyone: staff and the locals.
Best part is the $3 valet available next door. Can't beat that in Los Feliz!
Happy eating!
GO FOR THE SUSHI....STAY FOR THE ALBACORE SASHIMI!
I had dinner here when I spent the day with my cousins and overall, the sushi is pretty good! I had the Tataki Tuna Salad, which was ok! Your standard tuna salad. Then had the eel roll, spicy tuna roll, and baked salmon roll! They were good but if you are like me and like to try different rolls you have never had before, you won't find that here! They primarily have your standard rolls and reasonable prices. The one thing I have to say is you NEED to try the sashimi platter. You get tuna, salmon, and albacore! The albacore has a dipping sauce and I have to say the albacore was the most delicious thing I had there! The fish just melts in your mouth and was so good!
I went here for the first time for a friends birthday dinner. There were 7 of us and my friend made reservations for dinner at 5:45 for happy hour. They sat us in the restaurant, which apparently you can NOT order off the happy hour menu. It took a 20 minute argument with the manager to let us move over to the bar area for happy hour. Then they wouldn't let us pull an extra table together so they could make more money off extra tables.
* I honestly have never experienced such horrible service from management and servers in my life.
*NOT a full bar this is a wine and beer bar.
*the food was decent but service out weighs taste and this place put a bad taste in my mouth for sure
*not accommodating for groups larger than 5---pathetic
BALANCE! It's all about balance. Whether we are talking about food, relationships, life...its all about balance! So I'm going to try and balance this not so great review with a splash or a hint of goodness.
When it comes to Sushi, I have to admit that I am picky, choosy...screw it, I'm a straight up snob! But one thing I definitely can say is, I give every place the benefit of the doubt.
Its not hard to make good sushi. You have to choose good fish, make sure its fresh and cut the fish well. There are a ton of places that know how to do this and I would say that En Sushi receives 4 Stars on this. The sushi was fresh and didnt taste like fish. But the rice was only so-so. The rolls were good but I'm not the biggest fan of rolls since they all almost end up tasting like food that I should have gone to a non-sushi restaurant to eat. But that is a whole other story!
En was packed when we arrived and we were seated immediately. That being said, we were seated in the bar area. This was fine with me because the Laker game just came on and I was hungry as hell.
The fact that I was hungry did not bode well for En since we waited 15 minutes to be asked what we want to drink, then waited another 10 for the drinks to show up. Okay Okay, its busy, I get it!
I ordered the Omakase which was decent for 35 bucks. There were a few items that I could have gone without but the Toro was phenomenal. I think the Toro itself is the item that is forcing me to give them a 3 stars. I mean, if you have good Toro, you should do everything else really well...or so I thought. The Omakase also came with calamari, cucumber salad and a clam miso soup. The down side is that you get about 10-12 single pieces. I like omakases that serve two of each piece. More importantly there were only about 6 pieces that I really enjoyed. Oh well!
The part that really bothered me was that I specifically asked to not have wasabi on the sushi and that was obviously not relayed to the sushi chef or else the chef said to himself, "screw it...he WILL like my wasabi." But more then likely it was our waiter. Also, I asked about a few different pieces of sushi and the waiter had no clue what they were. That is just no good.
Overall, the food was good, nothing great but definitely good. The atmosphere was loud. The service was sub par. But the good part was that I got to watch the Lakers Vs Orlando. But just like En Sushi, even that good point was balanced out with a Laker loss...ugh!
When my friends and I have a hankering for sushi, we inevitably find ourselves here. En Sushi passes my five-tier sushi test:
#1 Are the California rolls mayo-free?
Call me a purist, but mayo has no place in, on or near sushi. Thankfully, En does not make this mistake.
#2 Is the sashimi firm and fresh?
Pretty good in this department.
#3 Is there complimentary green tea?
All you can drink, quality stuff
#4 Is it affordable?
As sushi restaurants go, En Sushi is by far one of the best deals. You can get a rainbow roll for $12 that is better than most rainbow rolls in L.A.
#5 Can I see famous people there?
It's reassuring to know that famous people eat just like you and me. My friends and I have seen Christina Ricci (+bf), as well as Shirley Manson (of Garbage) eating here.
When I go to En, I usually get the Rainbow Roll. Tonight, however, I decided to mix things up. For starters, an oyster shooter (with sake, raw oyster, raw quail egg, fish roe and green onions). This was a delicious mix of my two favorite super-foods of all time. (For non-health freaks, i'm talking about the raw oysters and raw egg... but i guess sake could be considered a super-food too) I would have had ten of these, if not for the fact that they cost $7 each.
I also ordered the Fried Mussels appetizer, which was irreverently covered in mayonnaise (ugh!) and cheddar cheese (double ugh!). I peeled off the rubbery cheese covering and just ate the mussels underneath. This was an uncharacteristic miss.
The gyoza was better than the mussels; these gyoza skins are doughy and flaky, almost like pastry. They are surprisingly grease-less, and filled with chicken, ginger and green onion. Yum! One of my friends got the Chinese Chicken Salad with mandarin oranges and crispy wonton garnish. She loves this salad.
There is just one caveat for this restaurant: I have heard that the En Sushi on Santa Monica is nowhere near as good as the one on Hillhurst. A friend of mine took a first date there, and let's just say that it was the last time he went to that En, and the last time he went out with that girl.
*See pics*
A vegetarian take: En Sushi has a delicious green salad, with lots of fresh vegetables, that's a real winner. Other good dishes include their mushroom and tofu appetizers. Their one fault is the veggie roll, which has mint in it and just doesn't taste right. I love mint and it sounds good in theory, but it's just not a good combo with rice and seaweed. I instead ask for my customized CAA Roll (cucumber, asparagus, avocado), which they're happy to make.
This place sucks.
My friend suggested going to this place for lunch and the food was crap.
I love sushi and I like my fish fresh. I will guarantee no fresh fish here.
This place has what I find to be a fatal flaw: two tiers of service. One for "regulars," and one for everyone else. Although the restaurant was fairly empty, we were seated at a small table in the center of the restaurant while booths remained empty (and were later filled with parties of 2). While other tables had tea and edamame brought to them without request, and the manager swooped in at many of the tables, we were merely presented with our roll checklist and had to ask for ice water.
The food was ok, but nothing special. When we walked in, the place smelled like fish, which is never a good sign for freshness. Me and SO both had the Bento Box special. For $20, miso soup, rice, a small piece of grilled fish, 6 pieces of sashimi (chefs choice), some fried tofu, a tempura mix, and either beef or chicken teriyaki, and ice cream.
The beef/chicken portions were absurdly small- we're talking probably 1.5" by 2.5", 4 tiny pieces.
I thought this would be too much food, but it wasn't. Not so hot for $20.
It took forever for us to get change, as the waitress was more concerned with regulars.
Best sushi in Los Feliz
Great happy hour
Laid back bar--cool bartenders
Those that say its pricey, not sure where else in the neighborhood you are eating sushi.
Go every week for sushi, I have honestly never had a bad experience.
We've been here twice now, once for dinner and again for lunch, and I have a feeling we will be back several times. The prices aren't cheap (it is Los Feliz, so it is pretty much expected), but sushi generally isn't. The fish, however, is fresh and the portions are fairly generous. The toro and hamachi sashimi was almost buttery, the type of food that I could easily gorge myself on.
The service on both occasions was great, and the restaurant is clean and pleasant. Not the place to go if you are looking for a quick, cheap sushi fix, but you can do far worse.
By the way, if you are doing lunch, go for the sashimi sampler for $13 (I believe) - well worth it...
I first fell in love with En Sushi at their West LA location.
My personal faves: 6 piece Sashimi platter (albacore is melt in your mouth fab)
The tofu salad. My friends and I call this "Crunchy Pockets of Goodness" because between the fried tofu chunks and the cold silky chunks and the little pockets of lettuce in a thingy (I don't remember what this pocket is called!) all delicately flavored with a sweet sesame dressing, it's divine.
The Seaweed salad is fantastic, they have 4 varieties! it's delish!
Their rolls are on par with just about any other sushi place. I particularly love the Crunch Spicy Tuna Roll. It's a basic spicy tuna roll but with the tempura flakes drenching it. Yum.
The waitstaff can be hit or miss, generally not bad though.
Their happy hour is boring and pointless though. Miss it in a hurry. Cucumber rolls? I can make those at home.
Rating: 2.3
Soggy mediocre sushi rolls. If you must, come for happy hours only.
I've been a customer of the Los Feliz locale since, well, since they opened. I have a preference for non-traditional sushi, which is to say, I like the spicy-tuna roll, the Philadelphia rolls, and other such fare; never tried sashimi.
I love this place. I usually go during happy hour (thursdays or Sundays) because the food is a bargain, but the quality is still good. In recent months their prices have edged upward and I don't know why.
Good: the dining atmosphere is awesome. You can take a date there or you can take friends. The staff is is SUPERB. If they make a mistake, tell them, they don't take it personally, they do their best to make accommodations. The food itself is fresh, the Kirin draft beer is a great compliment to sushi rolls, the hot sake is great for cold nights, and the appetizers are tasty (fried calimari or edamame).
Bad: parking is tight. The premium rolls can cost upwards of $15, yikes! They don't really have any good desserts. Like any restaurant, it has its off nights, and a handful of times I've gotten sushi that is not fresh. If the fish doesn't smell fresh, don't be afraid to ask for something else, they won't get mad.
I've been here over 50 times now (and probably more than that) and honestly, this is just a great place. It is laid back, fun, excellent service, and it is all reasonably priced.
Quaint little Japanese & sushi place in the heart of Los Feliz. The staff is quite accommodating, especially the knowledgeable sushi chef.
Most importantly of all........Yes, the fish is fresh. For those who thoroughly enjoy the real sushi experience, this issue is priority one. Those of you who stick with the California rolls can stop reading now. The fish is so fresh, I recommend doing your preferred fish either sashimi or nigiri style. This way, you'll be fully able to embrace the wonderful flavors of the fish without all the fillers.
If you get a chance and there is an open seat at the sushi bar, take it. The sushi is handed directly to you from the sushi chef, as well as coming faster. Its also nice to get recommendations from the chef himself. You'll also be able to get specially made chef creations not on the menu.
The real gem lies within its value. The food is memorable and is appropriately priced. Make sure to try the white ono nigiri sushi. The white fish practically melts in your mouth.
Bon Appetit
Arrived at about 8:30pm with a party of 4 and was greeted with th typical "Irashimasen!", we didnt get a booth but were seated right away. Was very pleased with the Lychee Martini, pleasantly strong.
Ordered a bunch of rolls, sashimi and a few cold appetizers. Won't mention every item that we neither the cold sunomomo or seaweed salad stood out, however the baked scallop (diablo), blue crab handroll and yellowtail were the highlights. We easily had 8 items between the 4 of us, so needless to say it was almost a $200.00 bill (it could have been more) at the end of the night.
The fish is very fresh and the rolls were nicely made.
Very accomodating staff, nice atmopshere, warm and dim lighting------ perfect for groups, a date you are trying to impress--- unless your date doesnt eat raw fish, then you are screwed.....
I would definelty go back and next time go for the Omakase, life is too short to limit your palate ;)
Amazingly good sushi.
Normally you shell out $$ for sushi and after your meal you kind of shrug and say to yourself "delicious, but it tasted like any other sushi"
En Sushi is suberb, you realize it was well worth the money. Fresh ingredients and the best quality cuts of fish. Prompt service and really excellent atmosphere.
I took my girlfriend there for Valentines Day. Really friendly, promptly seated, excellent food. What more can there be to say?
Parking can be tricky....but...the side streets provide a good chance of finding a spot, give it 5 minutes of driving around and you won't have more than a block walk...but there is always the valet service.
Overall, Highly reccomended. Excellent food and service.
Crap. Absolute rubbish.
Seriously, I see there are some great reviews on here, but DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. I assure you, I am correct in all things.Ok, maybe not everything, but sushi. And this, is not even casually good sushi.
I have had better sushi in a grocery store. In Wyoming.
First, it wasn't fresh at all. I would expect that if i went somewhere on a weekend- that is a risk you take. But, on a week day?! At lunch?! This makes no sense.
Seriously, the fish wasn't even cold/moist- it smelled "fishy", which fresh fish shouldn't. The rice was inedible and obviously from yesterday. I ended up making a face and leaving without eating hardly anything. And, they didn't even ask me if there was something wrong with my meal! Obviously they are used to their customers leaving pissed off...
If you really need sushi- go somewhere else. This is not passable for food in most restaurants.
This place depressed me. I was craving some fluffy sushi rolls for dinner and decided to try this place out. It was so disappointing and very overpriced.
The sushi rice used in the rolls was overcooked and had too much rice wine vinegar in it. The rolls were gummy and flavorless. The spicy sauce they used for spicy tuna also had no flavor, just spice.
The dining room was far too loud - there were a lot of couples there on dates but it was nearly impossible to hear what the other person was saying!
I did like that the edamame came out warm and the waitress was very nice and attentive but that's about all I can say for this place. I definitely will NOT go back. I'd rather pick up sushi from the Hollywood Vons on Sunset. Really...they make a mean blue crab roll...
it be aight, dawg.
"I'm not sure why everyone gives this place such rave reviews. It's really not that amazing if you ask me. And I'll just say I'm a pretty generous reviewer. Anyway, my girlfriend and I met here for dinner last night. We were rushing to make Happy Hour by 7, although it turned out to be completely useless.
The Happy Hour looked impressive, but the minute you ask for something like: Can I get Brown Rice instead? Can you skip the tempura batter on the roll? It automatically becomes a special request and all happy our deals are off! SO RUDE! Additonally, the miso soup during Happy Hour is $2 - last I heard, that was not a deal. And to top it off - it was cold when they served it. And lastly, they only had HOT sakes available for the happy hour schedule. Seeing as to how it was 90 degrees in LA yesterday - I wanted nothing more than a cold cocktail.
Ok - onto the wait staff. He forgot our waters TWICE, tried to deliver rolls to our table that were not ours on multiple occasions, didn't pick up plates after they were clearly empty. WOW, talk about service in a near empty restaurant.
It's likely I won't be coming back. The parking was convenient; I was able to get parking on the street and the sesame chicken was good... so 2 stars for that.
Check out Sansui up the street; it looks much cuter from the outside... Or better yet, just save sushi for any other day than Monday and head to Koda in Silverlake :)"
It's places like this that remind me that I am a sushi snob and most likely, a sushi pain in the ass.
Now, don't go and throw salmon at me, but I really wasn't impressed with the fish. It wasn't bad, mind you, in fact, if you didn't pray to the Sushi Gods daily to bring the best of what the ocean has to offer, you would probably think this place is yummy. But since I am down on my knees often (wait, what?), the Sushi Lord has blessed me with some choice spots around town and sadly, En Sushi just isn't one of them.
On the flip side, the staff was very very nice. Our server recommended a terrific cold sake, and the shishito peppers were definitely good. The yellowtail however, was a bit mediocre and that is what I tend to judge my sushi like or dislike on. The toro was super stringy and I didn't even really want to eat the second piece (when does that EVER happen). The halibut was a bit chewy and the green beans tasted like they had dried peanut butter sprinkled on them. The spicy tuna on the rice cakes were okay, but the rice cakes were too hard. The rest of my party ordered a bunch of rolls, but I don't really eat rolls (see, what did i tell you, sushi pain in the ass) so I can't really judge those.
Not sure if I would go back and at $60 a person, hmmm, me thinks, not so much.
I came here because of the reviews and wasn't disappointed. Even though it's not a stand alone sushi joint, it doesn't feel like the overcommericalized Kabuki's. The sushi here is decent. They have a page full of sake and beer selection.
I had some sushi and ordered the California tartare with tuna and salmon. I would definitely prefer the traditional tuna tartare, this California tartare had a wasabi mayo mixed in with it. It was good but not as refreshing as a traditional tartare, my friends got pretty addicted to it. We also ordered some noodles and cooked dishes. The udon looked great, it had extra goodies in there, I think veggies and some seafood. One friend asked the owner if there was an eel donburi bowl and the owner was kind enough to put the order in to the chefs even though it wasn't on the menu. It was a bit funny when the waitress passed by and we asked on the progress of the donburi and she had never heard of the kitchen making a dish that wasn't on the menu. She was quite friendly, we had an extra sake glass and tried to invite herself.
Parking is difficult, go around the neighborhood.
I think this is a good place to go if you're in the neighborhood but it's not necessarily a destination sushi place. The sushi is solid but not notable in any real way, unfortunately ... with the exception of the TOFU SALAD. It's KILLER.
I was a vegetarian for a while and I basically ate this salad at least once a week and thought about it the other six days. It might just be me but I thought it was awesome.
This was my second sushi experience in LA. The neighborhood was really nice but the parking sucked booty. The interior was really beautiful but because of the noise level I would not consider this a "date" place. It's fine for an after work sake and sushi stop. I had an edamame appetizer that was waaaay to salty for normal humans but once a month I could eat a salt lick and be happy (the girls will feel me on this one).
I would rave about their service either. We didn't get ice water until we were almost done with our meals. I should also not that I think their tea cups are made out of some kind of lava stone that keeps tea at a molten level of heat for about half and hour, nice.
My friend and I ended up ordering a bunch of rolls and sharing. I was really craving sashimi so that may have led me to believe that the sashimi was really good. The sushi was nothing super spectacular, I mean i wouldn't drive out of my way to get to this place. I noticed that all of their sushi was slathered in sauce which is good occasionally or maybe it's a SoCal thing. Most of the sushi I have eaten in my life is pretty straightforward. Bottom line, it wasn't too expensive, a bit loud but nothing I would drive out of my area for.
Love this place. A tad expensive but overall worth it. Very good sushi. Service is decent. Our kids dig the miso soup, california rolls and the chicken teriyaki dinner (great veges, salad and potatoes come with it) I can't resist those potatoes, either. YUM.
You know what's really annoying? Grabbing a piece of sushi with your chopsticks and having it fall apart on its journey from wasabi to tongue. This seemed to happen to me repeatedly last night and I swear I wasn't that drunk.
And I recall the rice not being sticky enough the last time I went to En either. Maybe they need to reevaluate their rice recipe, because if I can't eat one piece of sushi without having my soy sauce dish littered with grains of rice after just one piece of unagi, well damnit, it's just not a very enjoyable sushi-eating experience.
The fish was pretty meh. I've had worse but it was nothing to write home about. We got a spider roll that severely lacked spider (it was like a goddamn salad - all asparagus and carrot and very little crab) and the spicy scallop roll was just okay.
I'm not gonna be back here. This was my second trip, and in fairness I recall the first trip being very good, but there's just way too many sushi places in this city that are a.) better and b.) less expensive. Not much bang for your sushi buck at En.
If you're in the area, just go to Yuca's instead. ;)
swanky...but kind of lame food.
Overall an above average sushi joint that runs some good sepcials. 4-7 is their happy hour where you get half off appetizers and certain rolls. It's really the only time I would go here aside from their lunch specials which are also a good deal. You can sit at the bar and they have a plasma tv where they usually play sports at night. The sauted mushroom appetizer is amazing. They don't carry some of the exotic stuff such as toro or grilled octpus.
Solid sushi, nice lunch specials. More of a specialty rolls place than nigiri sushi.
came here for dinner on a sunday night and the place filled up pretty quickly. they have that service workers happy hour so i suspect that that was the culprit. the restaurant itself is pretty small but it makes for a cozy, intimate feel.
the happy hour food is basically a beginners sushi menu. spicy tuna roll, california roll, chicken yakatori, etc, etc. nothing special about the menu. i checked out the regular dinner menu but again, nothing unique and quite expensive for such a so-so japanese place. although en sushi satisfies the conventional criteria of a sushi joint, way too many more spectacular sushi restaurants downtown and points west. but for a quick fix, it'll do.
2 words: HAPPY HOUR
7 days a week, from 5-7, and Thursdays and Sundays after 9 En Sushi offers a happy hour menu full of $4 appetizers, $4 sushi rolls, and cheap drinks. You can spend $15 and have a meal that feels like it should be costing you a lot more. You have to sit in the bar area, but there are tables and a cool vibe, so it's really no big deal.
At regular prices, I wouldn't be too into this place, but the happy hour value is pretty unstoppable. The fact that their rolls are so much better than anywhere else in the neighborhood, yet still cost less (happy hour) is a real clincher.
The service leaves a lot to be desired, as does the food. I went for a birthday party, and only the birthday boy was happy... that's because he didn't have to pay for the expensive, tiny, and less-than-fresh portions, and he was too drunk to care about the service.
UPDATE: I've now gotten take out from here several times. I think I need to start eating in, cause everytime I get sushi to go, it looks less than appealing. The Kanpachi was decent despite not being on the menu, and the spicy yellowtail roll was okay.
The weird thing is, it took them less time to bring me the clam miso soup which was good, than it did to make me sushi. Its just odd.
All in all not bad. Upgrading a star...
En Sushi just opened a second restaurant right below my apartment. Having opened on Monday August 7th they are still working things out.
However, Mina the manager remembered my name from when she worked at Shin (the previous Tenant) which surprised me to no end.
The space is clean and on its way to swank. The bar serves only Wine Beer and Sake, but has Soju in flavors ranging from Rum to Tequila. So be aware when you order your tequila sunrise to go with your salmon Maki (um....gross) its actually a tequila flavored Soju sunrise.
I'd give this place a little time to get itself settled, the food was okay, but my tuna maki magically became a spicy tuna maki when i think the sushi Chef managed to get a serious dob of wasabi in there. Yummy but a little bit of a surprise.
This is my favorite sushi restaurant in Los Angeles, and I've tried them all. Cheaper than Nobu, more interesting than Ike, like Shintaro you don't need a reservation but the food is a zillion times better. The quality of the fish and expertise of preparation is on par with Katsu-ya or Nozowa. Like those places, En Sushi has a great selection of 'cold appetizers' in addition to your ordinary sushi/sashimi menu. Yoshi the sushi chef is a genius, and given free reign he'll create fantastic, innovative gourmet rolls for you. Lively atmosphere, but still quiet enough that you can hear yourself talk.
En is a chain, and it's seriously WHATEV. It's not bad, but not good enough to warrant the $15-$20 roll price! At least the soba is cheap. Nothing special on the menu here. Someone please recommend me a decent / interesting sushi place in Los Feliz!
I have worked in restaurants as a manager, bartender, server, etc for well over a decade. And dined in hundreds throughout NY and LA. When sites like Citysearch (and now Yelp) came into existence, I thought they were terrific. "Wow, real reviews by real people". However, over the years, I've learned to be very skeptical about reading online restaurant reviews (or any other kind of online reviews); whether good or bad. Reason being, most are skewed toward the negative. People tend not to write a review after a positive experience nearly as often as they will after a negative experience. The other reason is, you really don't know WHO is writing the review. (Although, one great thing that Yelp does, is show you all the other reviews the person has written. So it at least gives you a some sense of who they are.)
For example, if you see a review that is absurdly glowing, mentioning too many specifics on "specials", and how wonderful everything is, from the service to the food to the trash compactor in the back, it was probably written by the owner. Conversely, if you read an overly negative review, or the now infamous, "we went there with 25 people on a Saturday night for my boyfriend's birthday party, and the service was awful. They didn't even offer us a cake!", or "the doormen are really mean. He kept saying I was too drunk and wouldn't let me in", it may have been written by the type of Paris HIlton society girl that you most likely wouldn't want to be seated next to while trying to enjoy a pleasant dinner.
Restaurants are loathe to respond to a negative online review for the same reasons professional ball players don't respond to the inebriated fan in the front row calling their mother names. However, if a patron has what they perceive to be a negative experience, they have every right to express that. But a very lengthy, and extremely innacurate, review was written below titled "Now Hiring: no prior knowledge of sushi required", and I would like a chance to respectfully respond to it.
First, I do remember the gentleman, and I will say that, in general, he was polite and well-mannered. The Happy Hour at En has become extremely popular (as anyone who has happened to come by, now knows). The reason being that everyone loves a bargain, and it's an understatment to say it's a bargain.
Second, edamame is not offered on the Happy Hour menu. Never has been. It is on the regular menu for $3, not $4 as stated. Second, the happy hour menu consists of a selection of various wines, sakes, cocktails, all for $5, pints of beer are $3. There are 6 different quality sushi rolls, and 6 appetizers, all available for $4. The shrimp tempura roll (normally $8.75), is offered for $5.50 because, well, it's shrimp. The same reason filet mignon tends to be a bit pricier than sirloin. I have rarely found a happy hour menu anywhere near as extensive or that is a better value than this one. A 64-ounce pitcher of Kirin will set you back $9.
As for the (lenghty and detailed) "convo" sections outlined below. Convo #1: The person who was referred to as the "waiter", was, in fact, the food runner. Food runners should indeed having a working knowledge of the food they are delivering. This, unfortunately, was the runner's first night. But it is always best to ask for your server if any questions arise. You're server will always have a strong knowledge, and if unsure, be willing to find out the answer to any questions you have immediately. The bar manager did indeed explain that yellowtail sushi will occasionally have a reddish tail. I have found this at many sushi restaurants. It depends upon the cut of the fish. The belly tends to be a bit paler.
Convo #2: The person referred to as "manager in training" was in fact a bartender on a training shift that was called over to the table. She was gently reminded by mgmt to always say, "I'll get your server" until her sushi knowledge is complete. All En managers have full sushi knowledge. If the staff has any uncertainty concerning one of the 200+ items on the menu, they will quickly find out for you. A little patience is all that is asked.
Convo #3: When the actual bar manager noticed that the gentleman did not receive his beer promptly, he was apologized to (a new bartender was being trained), and a fresh beer was offered; I believe on the house. When the gentleman requested a water instead, a water was brought immediately.
The reason En's Happy hour (offered 7 days a week with 2 late-night Happy Hours on Thurs and Sun), has been so successful is that a pair can come in, have 4 large sushi rolls, a calamari (delicious and tender), and a sesame chicken (fried to perfection) and more beer or wine than the legal driving limit will allow (please have a designated driver), all for about $30. And if you can't get "full" on that, well there are always restaurants that will supersize you...but I'd stay away from the sushi at those places.
This place used to be great, then they did some remodeling and I think a name change and apparently replaced all their meats with rubbery plastic dipped in "bad taste" sauce.
I'm really disappointed and saddened by this, I used to love this place.
When the sushi craving hits, it must be dealt with. We headed to our fave cheap-o sushi place and were greeted by a "B" in the window. NO THANKS! a "B" for Mexican or Chinese or American or Thai food is acceptable. Not so for raw fish. So we drove around the 'hood until we saw a sushi place that looked open and this was the one. Ended up at their happy hour (which really only serves to get you cheap beer -- the prices aren't that great and the selection is very limited) and ordered sashimi and a few rolls. The sashimi was perfect and the albacore was served with a little bowl of ponzu and a pile of green onions which was a nice touch. This is definitely our new favorite place, but unfortunately it's a little more expensive. But I guess maintaining an "A" isn't cheap!
Went on a Sunday night for the "happy hour menu". Sure, it was cheap, but the fish was not fresh. The service was mediocre. I will never go back, at least not for sushi.
Open for Christmas Day & New…
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
$ushi $pecial!
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los Feliz
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los Feliz
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los Feliz
Category: Sushi Bars
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los Feliz
Category: Japanese
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