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"I'm so happy I discovered San Sui Tei. It's really easy to miss this place because it's toward the end of the block populated by the likes…" read more »
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I ate at the location in Tustin a while back, but didn't review it because I forgot the name of the place and I was taken there by my sister. Well I came here because I was in the area. I liked the place in Tustin, good, easy and plenty of options.
So how's the one in Little Tokyo? It's located in a shopping center on the 3rd floor. Most of the mall is pretty quiet except for a little yogurt place that just opened on the 1st floor.
There's a line, we came around 7:30, put our name down and wait for 30 minutes before we were seated. The menu is pretty long, lots of little dishes as well as various helpings on tiny little skewers. I've eaten pretty much anything in my life or would be willing to try something at least once. Being that I've eaten a lot of different things, my friends were more skeptical, but were willing. We ordered some rolls (Spider Roll, California Roll) as well as Spicy Tuna. I ordered the garlic spinach as I love spinach and it was, you guessed it, garlicky. There was also Butter Enoki. The name basically said it all. Very easy to eat.
So then it came down to the skewers. We got scallops wrapped in bacon, okra , sausage, and asparagus wrapped in bacon as well. The bacon gave it a nice flavor so it was good. We also ordered the "Special" heart. I like chicken hearts as it is. The regular option is the same as the "Special" version so my friend decided that we should have a "Special" experience so we went with that. It was like there was some teriyaki flavor to it, not bad, but to me, they couldn't really do wrong with the heart. My friends were OK with it, they thought it was like beef but a little tougher. We also ordered tendon and cartilage. The cartilage came from chicken. I mean I'm sure everyone has eaten cartilage at some point without really realizing it. You get a big chunk of chicken with a little cartilage. I was fine with it. My friends were weirded out by it so they couldn't really eat it. And lastly, we had tendon. I think it was beef tendon. I enjoy tendon, you have it in Vietnamese pho so it's a favorite of mine. It was nice and tender. My friends thought it had a weird texture, but liked how it tasted and was prepared. I think if they didn't know what they were eating, they would be fine with it.
Overall, I enjoyed the meal, had lots of fun, drank plenty of beer too. It got pretty packed between 8:45-9:45 pm and then it appeared to die down a little bit. They are open until 1am though so you have options. It's in a mall that's quiet which is a bit of a downer but you have a fairly decent sized parking structure and the restaurant validates parking for you which is nice. The third floor has a Korean BBQ restaurant and another Japanese restaurant so there are some options. I liked it enough to go back when I went to the Tustin location so I ate it here. Not bad but to be honest, Little Tokyo isn't the most convenient pit stop for me. I like the food, my only request is that they have more sushi options. But still a good experience. Enjoy!
4.5 stars really.
i love izakaya. i was sooo happy to eat here tonight!! =) that tells you a lot already.
it's located in the mall on the 3rd floor. the mall looks empty but when you open the door to honda-ya...it's a happening place!! there was a little line but not bad.
THE FOOD!!!
albacore tataki salad -- delish, just love ponzu sauce dressing.
slices of tataki were a good size. it came in a tostada-looking shell
agedashi tofu -- love fried tofu. theirs was done right. (4 pieces)
yellowtail collar -- tender, meaty piece with lemon and ponzu sauce
for dipping
takoyaki -- omg. such a treat!! dumpling fried ball of octopus.
yakitori sampler -- 5 sticks of chicken, asparagus w/bacon, meatball,
other chicken, etc -- this to me was okay, not great. (taisho in NYC
is much better)
nasu miso -- cooked eggplant with miso sauce. good, maybe a bit
too much miso sauce. (i like furaibo's version better)
think i have to eat there again and again to sample the whole menu. variety, selection...and overall taste of each dish was delicioso!! =)
great ambiance -- good for groups or dates.
We finally got a chance to have dinner with some good friends and they decided to take us to one of their favorite places. I never knew Honda Ya was next to one my fav sushi spots sushi go 55. We were seated promptly, given some menus and an order sheet for "Izakaya".
Our friends started ordering a bunch of items from the list and i got to add a few items that i wanted to try. Each item on the list is sold as a single item, so you have to write down next to each box how many you want in the order.
We ordered:
Seaweed salad & Spinach salad - loved the sesame soy dressing.
Sashimi plate - nice cuts of fish and live sweet shrimp.
Chicken wings
Chicken hearts
Spicy lamb chops
Asparagus wrapped in bacon
Bacon wrapped tomatoes
Japanese beef with shitake mushrooms
Pork belly
Black cod marinated in miso - very tender, flaky, and damn good.
Baked rice balls with tuna
All the dishes were really good and grilled properly with a nice charred taste. Make sure you use lemon juice on some of the dishes like chicken hearts to add some acidity and give it another layer of flavor.
Overall it was a damn good meal and what made it better was having it with some amazing friends. Oh, plus having really good sake was a bonus. Honda Ya validates for 2hrs.
I wish the mall was still what it used to be...but there are hardly any Japanese left in Little Tokyo so I guess it is what it is....anyway I'm glad Honda-Ya is here.
Honda-Ya is delicious...open late, easy to park, and so many choices for a girl like me. Let me say I love Japanese food...I actually used to live in Japan and defitnitely miss being surrounded by Izakayas..
This is a restuarant where you should order alot, because its all small plates...again choices...
My favorites
Miso eggplant...I dont even like eggplant but this is fantastic
Augratin potatoes...red skinned covered in a creamy cheese sauce that bubbles..Yum!!!
Lamb chop...too good, I am from New Zealand so consider me an expert on the subject
Tongue....grilled , squeeze with lemon..perfect
tonkatsu...panko crusted pork with a sweet savory sauce
yaki-udon.....fried fat udon noodles
bacon wrapped sausages.....anything wrapped in bacon is a friend of mine
black cod....Yum
I usually avoid any kind of sushi or sashimi at an izakaya as its not what its known for....so stick to the yakitori in my opinion
Perfectly seasoned grilled meats, from beef tongue to chicken hearts. Excellent sake available; try the Mu. Ikura ochazuke (tea rice with salmon roe) was a perfect, comfort-food ending.
Service was so-so; they forgot our sake, and the servers seemed harried.
My review is actually 3.5 stars.
I've been to a couple yakitori places before (notably Yakitori Taisho in NYC - my favorite - and Yakitori Yakyudori in San Diego) that were just amazing. So maybe I had unrealistically high standards coming into Honda-Ya. But the place was bustling, with a 15 minute wait, and I saw plenty of Japanese people having dinner. I thought these were all good signs of an amazing yakitori joint.
We came in at 8pm on a Thursday night. Be careful... if you're coming here on a peak night, expect to wait! We were seated at a big common table with a few other groups, which was alright. We had plenty of personal space.
I had the following:
- Beef tongue: Good and flavorful; at $2.25 for a skewer a little expensive
- Lamb chop: REALLY pricey at $3.95 per skewer, but the most memorable skewer I had
- Bacon wrapped asparagus: Disappointing... bacon was thin
- Tonkatsu (deep fried fork): Bland taste
- Rock fried shrimp: OK. More crunch than actual meat.
- Crab shumai: Really juicy and big and yummy, but at $6 for 3 pieces... eh
- Deep fried tofu: Not bad, lots of flavor
- Bacon-wrapped scallops: Very good
Overall, some dishes were a hit while others were a not. The prices were higher than what I'm used to as well. I didn't like their one system of listing down the quantities of each type of skewer I wanted to order - I prefer either just ordering my skewers in small plates or being able to order whole combos of skewers.
Other than that, I guess if you know what to order this place is decent. It'll fill you up, it's pretty chill atmosphere, and once you get past the fact that it's in the 3rd floor of a mall it's pretty accessible (there's street parking AND a parking structure!)
Had dinner there on friday night. we were going to sushi go 55 , but we passed Honda Ya and it was kinda empty, so we decided to give it a try.
What we ordered:
Kobe beef tataki: fatty and good
Albacore tataki: a ok
takoyaki: a ok
nabeyaki: good.
spicy chicken wings yakitori: veeeery good
grilled tongue: yums!
grilled lamb chops: tender. very good (but tiny!!)
enoki bacon + asparagus bacon: a ok.
I will definitely come again...next time, with drinks!!
This is my friend's favorite place to eat. I have eaten here many times. I like the variety and service at Honda Ya. The atmosphere and the service is great. I have not disliked any of the small places I have ordered here.
This is also a good place to enjoy with a big group.
I really like going to the place... I have taken my coworkers here many times after work and we all rant and rave on how much fun we always have here... the food is delicious and the beers... oh my... so good... the beers are so cold that it forms ice in the mugs... wow you can't get any better than that....
I do recommend making a reservation on weekends since it gets crowded... overall this place is great!
This place was alright. Supposedly it used to be really good, but when I came here we had to wait for awhile, then when we finally got seated our food took awhile to come out (but was lukewarm when we did receive it). Nothing was all that noteworthy (read: I've already forgotten about all the dishes I had) but it was nice to catch up with friends.
The atmosphere is dark and lends itself nicely to sitting for awhile, drinking and chatting. Probably why it took so long for us to get our table.
Parking was pretty easy - they validate for 4 or 5 hours, so just park in the lot.
There were 2 birthday celebrations during the 3 hours that I was there, so I guess it's a popular place to have a birthday getogether?
Been here a couple times now, and its always good! Izakaya just appeals to the greedy little girl in me who wants to try abit of everything.
Last weekend, we went with a big group. It was awesome because we got to order more dishes and try a whole bunch of stuff. We got tons of food and some beer. In the end, the bill for 14 people was less than $300, which breaks down to about $20 per person. Here's some of the stuff that I remember eating, with stars on the ones that I liked.
grilled black cod*
fried baby octopus*
cheese and jalapeno wantons
eggplant in miso*
some other kind of eggplant
sesame fried chicken*
fried chicken cartilage
baked sweet potato*
agadashi tofu*
enoki mushrooms in butter
tonkatsu
some kind of pancake
Not every dish was fantastic. But for offering a great variety of food at really reasonable price, Honda Ya deserves four stars. Maybe even four and a half.
I went here for friend's birthday - surprisingly large amount of space for us!
The food - I'm not sure what I categorize this as -- is it Japanese fusion? Or simply Japanese? Anyway... whichever it is ...the food is pretty good. It's very much like Furaibo, where the dishes are small but tasty. We ordered the tofu (looked like ice cream), squid, plum mackerel, onigeri, sashimi, eggplant, sake, salads...all of which were really good. I loved the eggplant and black cod dishes, the tuna was also very good. Sashimi was really fresh.
The price - It is pricier... I have a hard time justifying eating at these places because most of the time I'm still hungry after the meal! =o And.. I have to share hehe =P About $8/ dish... but split amongst friends, it's not so bad.. :D
The ambiance - it's dark and conducive to after work hangouts!
The service - Very friendly and attentive. Our food also came quite quickly and none of our orders came out wrong! =)
Dunno what happened to this place.
The last few times I visited (3), it was all downhill. With service and food!!
No wonder there was hardly a wait last time I went, which was last Friday 10/2/09.
Everything hot is served room temp.
Obviously, the servers are not quick to serve your food once it's ready.
I like my beef tongue and menmochi hot!
The menmochi wasn't even fully melted in the middle and I had to send it back last time!
There's also inconsistency with the sake pour.
Quite disappointing.
The only thing that saved my last visit was the fresh aji flown in from Japan that day.
It was the most delicious aji sashimi I've ever had and only for a mere $12 for about 10small pcs (1whole aji).
(And I thought I already had the most delicious aji the weekend before at Hide Sushi! Must be mackerel season.)
Just that itself was 5 stars, but less 2 stars for everything else.
Oh my, love this place!! Wish they were open for lunch.
It's just so fun everytime I go and at any of…
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Apparently there is an kzakaya that's better in Weller Court, but Honda-ya is the only location I know of so far that serves heart. I go once a week to get the hot sake and heart yakitori fix. Definitely a bomb place to visit on a Monday night.
One word description: Packed
Pro:
Yummy food
Chicken
Beef yakitori
Spicy Shrimp yakitori
Grilled Squid
Scallops yakitori
Sausage yakitori
Con:
Seaweed salad (where is the seaweed)
cost
Came right at open so we didn't have to wait. Service was fast and the food was pretty good. I really don't remember all that I ordered but the only negative food was the seaweed salad. It was just a lettuce salad with some seaweed on top, I don't think I'd call that a seaweed salad.
Cost (dinner for 2, no drinks)
$65
Well, I have to say I enjoyed my experience overall at Honda Ya. Izakaya style Japanese food is my absolute favorite, and I rarely have friends that understand it, let alone crave it, so I was thrilled to be there. It was a little cramped (we had 14 people, 8 of them very big, inflexible boys attempting the lotus position on the floor).
Though I thought it was good, I prefer Furaibo on Sawtelle. I usually get tired of a dish after a couple bites, so the dining style of Honda Ya was perfectly suited for me - if you didn't like the dish you just tasted, you can pass it on and have something else in a matter of minutes. Allows you to be experimental while not worrying about being wasteful. Someone else will definitely eat it.
We had a large group, so luckily we were able to sample a wide variety of what they had to offer. Stop trying to decode the menu and use the cliff notes version, which I've graciously provided for you:
MISO BLACK COD: MUST GET
Always a good choice at any Japanese restaurant. But here, you'll find it for a much better price than any sushi joint.
DEEP FRIED CHICKEN CARTILAGE: GET
But don't expect it to be meaty. It's decidedly all bone. And the salty dip on the side is suspiciously MSG-tasting.
MISO GRILLED EGGPLANT: GET
Pretty yummy. You can get this just about anywhere though.
EGGPLANT WITH DAIKON: SKIP
Easily the grossest thing I ate that night, and I'm obsessed with eggplant. It was pretty bland and unflavorful.
SCALLION PANCAKE: SKIP
It tasted alright but I've had much, much better. This one comes with bonito flakes, so be prepared if you were expecting something vegetarian.
FRIED BABY OCTOPUS: MUST GET
And keep the lemony, citrusy, aioli that's served with the dish, cuz it makes a good dipping sauce for anything else fried that you might get.
DEEP FRIED JALAPENO CHEDDER WONTONS: SKIP
I was taking a gamble and it clearly did not pay off.
SALMON WITH CORN AND ONION: GET
I liked the sauteed stuff it sat on top off. But the salmon itself was just okay compared to the other fish dishes.
TONKATSU: GET
Breaded pork is always a hit among a big group.
BRAISED BEEF YAKITORI: SKIP
It comes with nondescript gel cubes that are beefy and almost delicious.
ENOKI MUSHROOMS WITH BUTTER: SKIP
Biiiiiig skip. It was way too buttery and dry. It should have been more like a broth than straight butter.
AGE DASHI TOFU: MUST GET
Never met an age dashi tofu I didn't like...
HONEY BAKED SWEET POTATO: GET
It doesn't need the butter on the side. It's perfectly cooked on it's own.
SESAME FRIED CHICKEN: SKIP
Didn't really taste the sesame. It's a safe choice, but the octopus is better.
Two words: GOOD TIMES!
The food is always on point. The staff is friendly and charming. Great for groups and parties.
My go to spot for comfort food. Their takoyaki and nasu miso are the best this side of the Pacific.
For dessert, make sure you ask if they have their sesame seed ice cream. A unique treat and quite "oishii"
Somehow when you go to Honda Ya you tend to forget about the outside world. Time seems to suspend and when you look down at your watch to see it's 10 and you've been there since 6. Maybe it's ice cold beers that has ice crystal on the surface or the delicious little bites that comes out slowly and constantly. Even the simplest thing like deep fried garlic taste good. Go figure
The only negative it's too far from me!!!!!!
We went here for a friend's birthday and it was a great experience. We had a party of 14, which was rather large (we suggest to go there with a smaller party, just because it got a little rowdy with alcohol). The waiter was excellent. He took some sake bombs with us and didn't mess up on any of our orders.
The food was different, but really good. The bacon wrapped asparagus was excellent, along with the bacon wrapped tomato. The mushrooms, squid and cheese & jalapeno wontons were also on point. We had a a ton of other things that I can't remember, but the the majority of the food was good. Overall it was a great experience. It was a little pricey due to the alcohol, but we will definitely be eating here again.
I came here a few months ago for a friend's birthday party. She invited me and would have been angry if I didn't go, so I went. Parking was pretty easy as they have their own structure and this establishment is located in like a mall.
Upon going in, it's kind of crowded, and kind of noisy, and not very comfortable. Whatever. I guess some people like it, but I'm the type of guy who likes to just sit at home alone, have some Jack, and watch a movie.
For your extroverted party loving freaks, this is a great place for you. I can't tell you how the food was because I didn't eat any and literally just sat there for two hours drinking nothing but water. However, based on the reactions of others, it seems pretty standard. Nothing superbly delicious and nothing disgusting. Just A-OK. Go here for the environment if you're into that kind of loud atmosphere.
An old friend of mine from when I went to high school in Japan lives in LA. So whenever our band roll through town, we get to hang out for one day. There's tons of places to go and it's usually hard to pick just ONE place to hang out in. He's picked some really awesome Japanese places before. Oh yes, it would always have to be Japanese. This particular night, I was jonesin' for some shochu. The high school we went to was in Kagoshima, known for their potato shochu. So that's what we would normally get. This place has a pretty large selection of shochu. I looked through each one, pondered, examined, and asked the waitstaff--who were really great-- for advice. Then I came to the last one on the list: Kurogoma. Black sesame. YES, black sesame liquor. I LOVE black sesame. And I love liquor. It sounds like marriage made in Kagoshima heaven. So I ordered it. Straight.
It came in a fairly large glass with ice. Hm, I thought I said straight. But I didn't mind it as much since it was a hot day. And then I also noticed...this is a lot of liquid, did they water this down? I drank it. And no, I was wrong. It was just straight on the rocks. Which meant they pour a MEAN portion!! For normal price too, compared to most. $6!!
Jeezus, I thought. This can't be right.
I ordered another after I downed the first, this time I made sure "no ice." Sure enough it came in a short glass, over 3/4 full. Just straight up shochu. I was happy.
Then my friends felt a bit hungry, and ordered a few things, mainly yakitori, or grilled skewers. Chicken liver, chicken balls--no not the chicken's balls, just meatballs of chicken meat--pork belly, and veg. Everything was pretty good. Not mind blowing or anything, but definitely yummy.
All the servers were so nice and friendly. Though unfortunately, it might have to do with the fact that we're a group of Japanese-speaking people. But they seemed nice enough to the non-English speaking table next to us, aside from a little bit of communication difficulties. Language barrier, or whatever they call that bullcrap.
We sat in the tatami room, which was really cool and had an old traditional Japanese tavern vibe. Old vintage ads. Even a samurai armor displayed in a glass case!! Totally my kinda place. We ended the night with a stomach full of food and good liquor. Good times.
The only sad thing is...I don't know when I would get a chance to come back to this place, just cause there's so many other places to go to in LA that I still wanna try. And I visit L.A. a maximum of 4-5 times a year, each time spending only a day.
What they need to do is open a place like this in Seattle.
The food itself was pretty good at a reasonable price - 4 stars. The rare slices of kobe beef, uni sashimi, and albacore tataki were winners in my book.
Unfortunately, seeing that my cousin had put in a lot of effort and planning for my birthday, I feel obligated to call out the bitch of our waitress who served our table. Unfortunately, I don't know her name and wasn't paying attention, but hearing his story made me absolutely livid.
Although he had made reservations for 15, the server initially tried to seat us at the main table...except she only allocated half of the table to our large group. If you have never been here, half of the largest table could probably seat no more than 8 people; the place settings that were laid out were practically touching each other. The place wasn't even super busy, and I would have refused to sit on someone's lap on my birthday, unless he was hot and half naked. Then again, complete nakedness might be cool too.
When my cous asked to speak to the manager, she finally relented and allowed us to spread out to take over the whole table...except she refused to move anything for us. "I already put all the stuff there...you have to move it over yourself." Had I heard this with my own ears, she would've found herself drowning in the urinal.
The rest of the night, our waitress continued to be difficult. We had one extra person show up and she refused to bring him a plate so we had to ask a busboy instead. Her response was "you made a reservation for 15 people only." In other words, "Despite the recession, I am a total bitch who doesn't need your tips and should run into the middle of the 110 freeway."
F*cking seriously? F*cking seriously.
8:00am
3.5 stars, to be fair.
With the palm of my hands covering both eyes, I awake.
"Oh... no.... Did that really happen?"
Yes.....
yes, it did..
This is why I normally stick to one type of alcoholic beverage in an evening. When you start mixing spirits, it quickly turns from being a soothing potion to a deadly toxic poison that makes you wake up and say.....
"Oh... no.... Did that really happen?"
Yes...
yes, it did..
The evening started out perfectly normal. A couple of glasses of vino with neighbors, then dinner with the usual gang at Honda Ya. Then...
Sake #1
Meatballs (yum)
pork belly
bacon wrapped asparagus (emm)
bacon wrapped tomato (ehh)
chicken heart (not going there)
Sake #2
spicy tuna (not great)
california roll (seriously?)
boiled quail eggs (perfect bites)
Sake #3
deep fried sqiud legs (crispy emm)
deep fried baby octopus (so far, my favorite)
grilled scallops (surprisingly awesome)
Now, I'm feeling full, happy, and warm.
Honda Ya has been here for as long as I can remember living Downtown. Ol' skool decor. Woody, homey and simple. Located on the 3rd floor of a mall that once housed my favorite market, Mitsuwa. Till my people took over. Thank baby Jesus we had enough respect to leave some of the old Downtown favorites.
*After dinner.....*
Me: "Let's go to Tony's and grab a drink before meeting the rest of the gang."
Big Mike: "Les do this thang."
Eddie: I'm in."
Yukio: "Nah.. I gotta jet"
*Tony's.....*
Ah... Barman knows me now.. I have become 'that' girl. Skyler... is awesome. Altho, I think my lil joke about his name and my name being a great title for a porn movie like "Skyler and Sunny do Sunset" made him a bit uneasy. Oh well...It's happened before.
Gin #1
A lil pool...
Gin #2
A lil ping pong...
Gin #3
Yukio shows up... then exits like a ninja.
Me: "Yo... we gotta head out. We're late."
Big Mike "Yah.. yah... Let's have a shot first."
Fighting Cock #1
*Redwood... Meet up with more friends...*
Me: "Wow... this band is amazing... "
Feeling light headed.....
Kettle Cran #1
Now it's getting fuzzy.... Lots of small talk and laughter... Why am I always the only girl in the gang?
Kettle Cran #2
Love Amy.. The Barkeep.. cool ass chick. Too bad the doorman hates me..... fu*ker.....
Eddie and Big Mike exit.
Kettle Cran #3
*Alone with one other 'friend'....*
Me: "Wow... you smell great... "
Friend: "So do you..."
8:00am
"Oh no... Did that really happen?"
Yes...
yes, it did.
I've learned there are good food and Not-so-good food at Honda-Ya after visiting a few more times.
This place is 3.5 stars, if you are drunk, 4 stars.
Good food:
All the skewered meats
Onion slice
Sesame Fried Chicken
Asparagus Bacon
Golden Honey Sweet Potato( comes with Butterrrrrrr)
Deep Fried Baby Spanish Mackerel
Not so good food:
sushi, sashimi, rolls,
Grilled rice ball
Not-so good drinks:
All the mixed drinks( weak, weak weak)
I think the price is pretty reasonable.
I am surprised that Honda-Ya got 4 stars.
I wish I could put 1 and half stars, so here I give it for…
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Good food and a nice, authentic Japanese izakaya feel. I can't remember what I ate right now, but my friend's Oolong Hai was pretty good.
I was first introduced to Honda Ya down in Costa Mesa and was pleased to find one in Los Angeles when I moved to Silverlake. I have not had a single thing on their menu that I did not like. Some things I LOVED some were just ok. This is a place where you come with friends and share all the small dishes. Kinda like Japanese Tapas
The bacon and tomato screwers are excellent. It is the prefect blend of warm salty, sweet, bacony goodness. The bacon wrapped asparagus is also excellent as was the chicken yakatori. The white meat chicken comes with a little dab of wasabi on each bite that gives it a really nice kick. The deep fried tofu is an good palate cleanser and the enoki butter is very tastey. The pork kimchi is EXCELLENT. So excellent that my partner loves it and he HATES non-bacon pork. This is the only non-bacon pork dish he will eat anywhere.
One note about parking. There is normally plenty of parking in the garage attached to the mall however it is really easy to miss the turn and start traveling down Skid Row. Drive passed slow to not miss the entrance.
This is my weekly eat. Food is good and the waiters are super nice.
It gets pretty crowded but their service is pretty quick for the amount of people they serve. It's very similar to izakayas in Japan so the way you want to eat here is to order a few small dishes and a beer. drink/eat while you talk, and order some more dishes with another drink and eat/drink those while you talk some more... the time you spend chatting will fill you up more than the number of dishes and the money you spend on your dishes.
I'd recommend it if you have a long time for dinner.
nice service, very traditional Japanese restaurant. I love there.
Food is OK, cool decor and good price. I feel like I'm in Japan.
Went here for a birthday recently. I'm not sure if it was the company or the service or the food...but I had fun. Our party of about 20 people were setup in the long table in front of the chefs behind the glass. Hubby and I shared the the Yakitori sampler and his two-item combo that came with salad, miso and some pasty white concoction that we had no idea what it was. The service was horribly slow. You'd think that for a Friday night there would be more servers on board. A neat thing is that there was a personal cake the hubby of the birthday celebrant brought in advance and the servers were happy to dim the lights and sing a celebratory birthday song. Pretty entertaining if I must say so myself.
All in all, I didn't have an OUTSTANDING experience but I would probably come back to dine on the mats in the back room. I've always been wanting to try that.
I love coming here any and all times--food is always good and pitchers of Asahi or Sapporo nice and cold. Service excellent.
Also, the guy who works here, Go, is super hot. He makes us all blush with excitement.
ew...umm... not a fan...
I LOVE trying new restaurants and experiencing different things... but I just hate it when it turns out to be worst than a disappointment, I like to refer these experiences as walking into landmines! Why? Because it absolutely blows to pay someone to ruin a meal for me.
Kobe beef tataki was soooo chewy and tough without any flavoring, it was like chewing on a piece of old tire! An order of shishamo (grilled smelt fish) comes with 2 tiny, unevenly cooked fishes... 2?!?! (geez, how generous...) And don't even get me started on the yakitori items... dood, why even have yakitori when you're not gonna spend the time to grill and perfect the tasting of the meat. Everything tasted like it was rushed out and flavorless.
I would give the food 1 star but I added another 1 star for the ambiance of the restaurant and the service, our waiter was very attentive and helpful (even when I wanted to return something, haha... how ironic)
Fun place but just so-so / pretty good food. Gets pluses for easy parking and late hours. Food choice in LA after 10PM say is quite thin, so this is a good standby for that reason alone.
It has all of the usual izakaya dishes, but nothing really shines. Nice atmosphere though - tatami room, etc. So perhaps the atmosphere makes it a good choice for gaijin friends?
Probably the best in terms of food quality is the yakitori type stuff, but even with that, I'd go with a place like Shinsengumi (I know, different part of town, etc., shoot me).
Wow, what a great spot. I can't believe I have been eating at the Sushi Go 55 next door for years and hadn't bothered trying this place. I have really been missing out. Four of us ordered plate after plate after plate of food including the whole LIVE Japanese mackerel sashimi, fried baby octopus, fried rock shrimp (you pop the whole thing in your mouth, yum), black cod, crab croquette, spicy tuna on crispy rice (crispy rice was more like a stale rice cake but the tuna made up for it!), udon, miso soup, and more. We each spent $20. I need to come here again, sit in the tatami room again (on the ground), sake bomb and eat plates of that rock shrimp and baby octopus! I felt like I was in Asia, reasonably priced GREAT food. So much more to try, I just can't wait to come back--- maybe hit up Max Karaoke afterwards!
MY FIRST TIME was yesterday after a week long volunteering session at NATC '09 all around little tokyo and man i want to take everyone i know here. It's such a cool eating/drinking atmosphere....and they have various YAKITORI (AKA things on sticks). Plus you can see them making it behind a glass box. Pretty cool.
This place reminds me of the Japanese bar I went to in NY but w/ a different decorative style. Instead of graffiti and urban Japanese flair.. it was more simple w/ wooden benches and tables... I'm not doing this place justice. Just go.
I didn't want to spend too much so i just bought a chicken heart skewer, salmon onigiri, and some chicken soba and it was definitely enough. I was very pleasantly surprised.
Why not a 5 then?... i think it's just an excuse to come here many more times and try more things before I give it a 5.
Fun and decent Izakaya spot, which makes up for its inconsistent food with tatami rooms, samurai outfits and drunk Japanese women - ;)
Honestly, this is a cool place. It deserves 4 stars for having a Tatami room similar to ones in Japan but the food is just pretty good, not amazing. I would go back again and again just because where else can you get smashed, fall over, and land in grass?
We ordered lots of different plates. The takoyaki (octopus balls) were good but not "wow". The kalbi was ok. Chicken meatball was mediocre.
Some things were not too good at all - mostly the fishy stuff. Worst was the liver yakitori. I couldn't actually eat it and yet at Kokekokko I down 4 in a row. The fries are superb and I mean it! Actually, all the deep fried stuff was quite decent but not in any way something to write home about. Liked the fried oyster a lot. Very tender although just a little too fishy. Karage chicken was good but not that good.
Service is above average but not quite at the standard Japanese level. Depending on who you get, you can have a lot of fun. Alex and Meiko are the best.
You will notice no senior manager around. When we left, the host did not say thank you although my guest bowed and thanked him. He was busy chatting up some girls.
Crowd consist of many young LA Japanese hipsters and wanabees. Sort of abnoxious but still better than a regular LA set. We were next to a huge crowd of drunk College age Japanese and while they were loud, they were also pretty calm and respectful as compared to their American counterparts.
Sake and beer is decent. Not quite cold and not quite hot enough, depending.
All in all, a hard 6/10 rising to 10 at times and falling to 3. Try it out. Absolutely worth a visit.
I love this place! Not the best area cuz the mall really has nothing else, but it is such a fun kick it spot to just eat, drink and catch up with friends. I would def go here for a birthday if I lived in the area.
I've been here twice and both times was a different experience, but both of them good. The service is good, there is one guy that I think is a hostess and server but he was awesome at trying to get a group of 9 in last minute and they were still really nice when only 5 showed up for the dinner.
The food is really good and perfect with an ice cold beer(s). Everything I've tried here is good even the the odd parts of the chicken they serve. The last time we even got some of their sushi and their rolls are decent but can be a little too saucy for my taste.
Great place to go before going out clubbing or bar hopping to get the party started. I wouldn't really recommend this place for a group of 4 or less though, def a place to go with a decent sized group.
I dug it. Rolled with the homies last night for one of our pals had a birthday, and it's the one late-night sushi joint that can accommodate a party of 20 at the last minute. There's this great communal dining table with benches, none of that party-of-twenty-?-sure-we'll-throw-together-some-r andom-unlevel-four-tops kind of shit.
Open until one am and pitchers of Kirin for $14 - strange, high-tech pitchers that keep the beer nice and ice cold. it was love at first pint.
Three stars because I didn't sample any food, but the pals seemed to dig it, as they kept ordering shit. Atmosphere was pretty cool, a lot of people showed up after we did, from the 10pm - close hours, and staff was amazingly friendly and prompt on the pitcherage.
This place just became my second favorite Izakaya in Los Angeles Area. My favorite is still Azuma in Gardena but Honda Ya came very close.
I went there for the first time with my husband and our best friends last night. The place was packed but the food was good, we ordered some Yakitori, Ramen, Fried Cheese, Nikujyaga, Kanpachi hand roll, Crab Cheese croquette. Everything was good. The service was good. Love the atmosphere. it reminded me of Izakaya in Japan.
It was all about liver and hearts when I went with my friend Sunday night. An animal's vital organs skewered to near perfection. Well, perfect enough for bar food. And that's what one can expect from HYI, good ol' Nippon bar food.
The pork katsu was too dry and the yellowtail yakitori was way too fishy even for being...um... a fish. Tofu Agedashi was reliably tasty but the beef satay was forgettable. Usually the food is much better but maybe it was an off night for the cooks.
We toasted to each others' health and prosperity with some ice cold junmai ginjo sake - uber smooth and spectacularly clean.
On the tatami mat, we discussed the TV/Film industry, politics, the many quirks of Asian cultures. We sorta got loud... domo, sake... and arigatoo, Honda Ya for making us kick off our shoes and enjoy your tasty morsels of comfy food.
I was supposed to meet up with friends at Shojin for dinner but Shojin was throwing an art party. Though we could join in the fun for $5, we wanted something dinner-y so we stopped by here.
Honda-ya is cool to throw back a few drinks with friends but the food made me reminisce the other restaurants that could make those dishes better.
House hot sake: good
Seaweed salad: good - the white soy paper cup is edible! how cool is that
Deep-fried octopus: nothing special - any restaurant can make this
Short ribs: nothing special - go get it at K-town
Takoyaki: i've made better octopus balls myself at my friend's house
Okonomiyaki: Ask for it at Haru Ulala (it's off-menu)
Menmochi: Order the mochi cheese gratin at Tokyo Table (Beverly Hills) or Shokudo (Honolulu).
Overall just A-OK. See pics for the complete menu
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
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