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Categories: Japanese, Asian Fusion
Neighborhood: DowntownStarting Oct. 1, we will now be serving lunch from 11am-3pm! We will be also featuring all natural Kurobuta Pork Gyoza with no MSG!
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 6:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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Summary: Cool Japanese restaurant serving a little bit of everything. They were tapas before tapas was tapas. Not a sushi place, try anywhere around it for that.
Pro: Huge selection, cute fobby waitresses just like how I like em. Good food.
Con: Service is a bit slow during crowded times.
I went here with a bunch of friends, and had a great time trying their okonomiyaki and other delicious foods, including chicken wings, and various sea foods. The food is great, and that's all I have to say about that.
what I really wanted to write about was this impossibly tiny and cute waitress named Mimi (pronounced Mye-Mee). See, while I was eatign with my friends Jason, Barney, Krystal, we killed a pitcher and started to people watch. We noticed a waitress who would literally dissapear behind other waitresses. I immediately asked her name. I looked at her, and thought she definitely couldn't be over 5 feet tall. My friend Jason bet me beer, and I took the bet. We called her over, and she severely dissapointed me by saying she was 5 feet and a HALF inch. YEAH WHATEVER. Maybe with heels lady. Thanks for making me lose a bet. Who the heck is 5 feet and a half inch?
Awgh. But yeah, still 5 stars from me inspite of that.
My coworker says this is his favorite place in Little Tokyo. I haven't found my favorite place yet, but this one is sure fun!
My favorite part was that the menus were drawn (skillfully) with crayons. They have sushi and the usual, but they also have a bunch of nice skewers and small plates.
My friends and I had a pitcher of beer and a bunch of various soups, sushi rolls, chicken wings, etc. Everything was very tasty, and quite affordable as well.
I love Haru Ulala. Even the name flutters off my tongue. The restaurant is small sized with about 7 tables and a curved bar, but the food is moderately priced and fun to share with friends over sake or beer. I've been back a couple times now and it was consistently good, save for a few items.
#1 Favorite Menu Item: FRIED CHEESE! What a concept. A thick slice of Camembert cheese, breaded, and fried on a skewer, served with tonkatsu sauce. If you are a cheese lover like I am, it's a must-try.
Enough about the cheese, these items were also delish:
- Grilled whole squid
- Grilled salmon and yellowtail collars
- Salmon skin salad
- Fried chicken wings
- Meatball skewer
- Sauteed squid and enoki mushrooms
But these were not so good:
- Grilled rice balls, any variety: small and plain despite flavoring. I've had better.
- Octopus kimchi: weird, small, bead-like pieces in a super spicy sauce. It tasted slimy and crunchy; not my thing.
They also gave complimentary edamame!
Service was okay and I wished they would refill tea or water more often. I was giving them the benefit of the doubt on a busy night, but the second time I went when it wasn't busy was the same kind of service.
Overall, this izakaya was a good value.
i love this place! i'm the type of person who likes to try everything, so the small dishes here are great! the yakitori selection is awesome. i highly recommend the fried brie and the scallops! scallops were so cheap and cooked perfectly. crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside!! the brie is creamy and melty and omg drool... sorry guys im getting hungry now..
the grilled squid, spicy tuna stuffed peppers and fried garlic? i will have to try that next time!!
This is my favorite spot in Little Tokyo. Chill ambiance, fun menu. As a vegetarian, I judge a sushi place on how good their vegetable rolls are (afterthought of cucumber and maybe avocado or a work of art?) and these are fantastic! Cucumber, avocado, carrot, sprouts and probably more. I also am a big fan of the miso rice balls and the grilled garlic. The BF really likes the spicy tuna roll, both regular and tempura-ed.
Sadly, their miso soup has recently gone way downhill, so I had to dock them a star. For some reason, they've been using about half the miso paste they used to, and the difference is huge. But all in all, I still love this place-- definitely worth a try!
If your a fan of Fu Rai Bo on Sawtelle this is in that format.
Not bad prices and decent service.
I enjoyed the variety. I got uni sushi with a quail egg and sweet shrimp sushi, both super fresh and tasty. The chicken wings were delicious. We ate to our hearts content and the bill came to about $50. The place serves solid food at reasonable prices.
First and foremost: Free Edamame (who does that nowadays?)
My bf and I always come here when we want an eclectic mix of small plates. Yesterday, we brought my girlfriend here with us just to play catch up over a few drinks. After throwing down a few shots of sake, Haru Ulala's magical powers seemed to take a stronger hold on us.
Next thing you know, we're ordering things left and right... Seriously the plates just wouldn't stop coming. First it started off with Kumamoto oysters and tempura. Then there was the HUGE grilled oyster and then the salmon roe onigiri (which I was totally mortified by... it's definitely an acquired taste.. just ask my bf). And then there was more sake and more shots. Then four orders of salmon sushi appear (how the heck did that get there?!) and then an entire deep fried garlic (which was DELICIOUS!). What another order of garlic... I think as another order of deep fried garlic appears, but this time in individual cloves on a skewer ("I ordered it for comparison purposes," says the bf.) And now when I'm already overwhelmed with the amount of food and tea and sake I've jammed into my body another plate of agedashi tofu appears followed by a gargantuan plate of deep fried peppers stuffed with spicy tuna. All I'm thinking at this point is, what the hell happened here?
Well, what happened was the three of us were so into our conversations that we didn't consult one another and just started ordering things individually. And so when things started coming out we thought there was no end to this madness! It finally did stop at the spicy tuna stuffed peppers (which are SOO good) and we knew that it was time to get out of there. What I anticipated to be a quiet, easy-going MONDAY night turned out to be a non-stop $150 night of gluttony. Don't get me wrong, it was definitely fun but omg... I guess that says a lot about the great food and atmosphere here. Especially when you're the only customer at 11pm and they're waiting for you to close up shop.
Service was great and I think the staff had a blast watching us indulge our inner fatties.
Oh, My Goodness. I Love this Restaurant!! Good quality and good taste. I heard everything is handmade. My favorite food is Pechange which is sttuffed Japanese bell peppers with Spicy tuna ,Kakuni, Grilled Yellow tail collar, and Fresh Oyster!! So good. Sooooo good!!!
And Sushi's quality was sooo good and totally fresh!! You should check it out!!
One of my Little Tokyo favorites - everything but sushi (well, almost - they have a few pieces/rolls), but they have some really tasty small plate selections that you don't see on most menus in the area. The food is not super-refined but the price also reflects that. Some of my fav's:
- Hamachi collar
- Spicy tuna stuffed peppers
- Spanish mackerel
- Grilled squid
- Scallops
- Salmon Skin Salad
- Kirin on tap
Let's just say that I've been to better izakayas in my life. Haru Ulala is clearly geared toward non-Japanese eaters (I didn't see a single Japanese person in the restaurant while I was there). The food was not bad but it is not as refined and delicious as Sasaya or Musha (granted, the price is lower).
My friend and I each had a beer and we ate until we were stuffed. The total with tax and tip was $63. We ordered some sort of fried cheese which had a foul taste (Yuck, I had to ask for water to try to rinse out the flavor). Also, we ordered a salmon skin salad which was super-small and not that great. I did enjoy the shrimp tempura roll, the porridge with salmon and grilled rice ball with miso. I don't think I would ever go to Haru Ulala again. I'm sure there are better places in Little Tokyo. Even if it costs a bit more money, it may be worthwhile to try a different restaurant.
I had their Takoyaki and Spicy Tuna Rolls during last night's Nisei Week parade. I'm thinking maybe I ordered the wrong thing at the wrong time because it was just okay and I didn't finish it (I gave it to my family).
I may give it another try and actually eat inside to be fair to the establishment.
Some things are definitely better than others on the menu. The fish on the sushi was good, but the rice fell flat. I thought it was too hard, but my bf said it wasnt seasoned enough. The grilled skewers were dry, they absorbed all the saliva in my mouth with each bite (especially the sweet potato, which was barely cooked).
The grilled asparagus, gyutan and tempura were all good. I think the best thing we got were the hama hama oysters. All the taste with less of the price! I was too full to try the okonomiyaki by the time it came out, but we got the noodle one and it didn't look as good as the normal one.
I feel like with all the misses I shouldn't want to go back, but I still would. I guess it's just cus the ambiance was so cool. Like those trays of vegetables sitting on trays on ice. Or the menus that are written in crayon.
The biggest disappointment was that the soft drinks do not come with free refills. Pace yourself.
This was my first time here and I really enjoyed it. I don't remember where I heard about it, but I remembered that they said to try the specials menu and I did. I had tongue, mussels, calamari, sausage, and other stuff. Everything was delicious, small and very inexpensive.
They had so much more on the menu that I will definitely go back to try their wonderfully exotic menu. Beer and Sake made it all taste even better.
I just love this darn place. Friendly staff. Good food. Great place to meet funny drunk people who share the same love for fried squid lips as you do.
So SO yummy... they have a great selection of top line soju labels. Okay so I am going to admit that… Read more »
The crew and I use to always come here, typically late at night. They are closed on Sundays. We use to hang out here on the weekends maybe after 11pm. Parking is typical street parking. Sometimes you get lucky and park somewhere on 2nd street. If not, then try looking around the cross streets.
The food here is pretty good. You order a few items off their menu or their signs. Everything comes out in a smaller portion so this way you can order a few random dishes and just share. The beef tongue is really good here. The soft shell crab is also another winner. This is the perfect place to sit down, order a few beers/sake, and a bunch of little dishes to compliment the drinks. If you're looking to get super full or looking for big meals then this place isn't for you (not unless you order and spend a lot).
The atmosphere here is really relax. Although, the joint next door sometimes is banging with a live band of some sort. The service here is great. You have a few chefs up in the front, so you see them in action and where they can interact with you easily. The staff is friendly.
It's been a while since I've hung out here. So after writing this review, I may go visit this spot in the near future.
I've been here probably every other time I go to LA. I love this place. I must admit, though -- I tried Honda-ya the other weekend, and I think that place may be slightly better than Haru Ulala. Certainly looks nicer than Haru Ulala; food is a toss up.
SUPERB!!
Costs about the same as Furaibo, but is nicer and more delicious. Costs far less than…
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Haru Ulala (...is it "Ooh-La-La"?) is a cozy little place in the heart of LT. Its an izakaya which is good for those who like having a little bit of everything. We started firing off orders the minute that we sat down and the food started coming out pretty quickly. Everything we got was okay, but nothing really impressed unfortunately. My favorites of the bunch were the enoki mushrooms and the beef short rib. The fried cheese was pretty good too...gooey and yummy! We got other stuff like sushi, fried scallops, grilled eggplant, asparagus and something that was just big chunks of cumber with lumpy miso paste. All were pretty forgettable and nothing lived up to the hype in previous reviews. Also, I know it's an izakaya, but the portions were kind of dinky for the price IMO. The two of us came out to $50 and I still had plenty of room for a giant Fro-Yo afterwards.
The restaurant itself was cute, but lacked energy and ambiance when we were there. It was pretty empty when I went so that could be the reason, but turn up the J-Pop or lights or something when it's slow. The service was good and the waitresses were really nice and attentive however...always a big thumbs up from me!
I might give this place another try, but would definitely suggest Honda-Ya instead for Foodies who want some really good izakaya eats in the area.
Still a delicious place to go. It took me almost a year to get back but had some out-of-town guests staying downtown so I thought this place would be perfect. And it was. We had much more sushi this time. Tempura Shrimp roll and Eel/Avocado roll were the highlights. The seafood okonomiyaki is soooo good with shrimp, squid AND beef topped with a few sauces and bonito flakes. Daikon salad and grilled asparagus were our vegetables. We also had salmon and bluefin sushi. I turned them on to the unfiltered sake and found some new fans. This place never disappoints, but I was surpised it was not busy on a Thursday night.
This Izakaya restaurant is perfect for those loving all different kinds of Japanese food because… Read more »
Ooh lala, Haru Ulala!
I'm not going to lie, I've been here three times. I -always- walk out happy and I am NOT exaggerating, I wonder if it's just the atmosphere or whatever, but something about the restaurant itself is just...wow. Good vibes, I guess.
The food? Yeah, the food is good. Tonight I had the salmon sushi, fried cheese, fried banana, edamame, Pachan...pachanga? It was spicy tuna stuffed into a japanese pepper thingy (I'm tired, forgive my bad memory), battered and fried in AWESOMENESS.
The only thing I didn't enjoy was the cheese. I don't know why but it rubbed me the wrong way. The rest was positively delish!
I rate this place four just for the fact that Okonomiyaki is only served on thursdays, fridays, and saturdays. It's sunday. :( Also, the parking kind of sucks. I had to park on a rather dark side street and if I wasn't surrounded by three guys I would have felt nervous.
(Oh, and I love driving by and going "Haru! OOH LA LA!" really loud. It's fun, try it!)
Fun place and good introduction to Japanese food for people who have never had Japanese food before (i'm not kidding, they exist). This is a drinking place and not a sushi bar, so you can definitely avoid ordering any.
To highlight, we had the Shochikobai nigori sake (sweet), White Beauty nigori sake (medium), and okonomiyaki (japanese pancake).
The okonomiyaki is an off-menu item, so if you want the pancake topped with bonito flakes waving with the steam of the pancake, you can definitely have here!
Other items are self-explanatory (see pics) on the hand-drawn menus. Go with a fun crowd and you'll definitely have a great time!
3.5 stars
I like this place for what it is. It is not a sushi joint, though there is sushi available. It's a place to go and drink and eat. The truth of the matter is that if you're not drinking, I think this place is a miss.
It's a lot like eating Japanese tapas. Unfortunately, I don't find this food terribly inspired.
However, there are a number of dishes that are great. In particular, I suggest the miso glazed rib meat. Delicious. Other solid options are the grilled asparagus (who doesn't love grilled asparagus?) and fried anything.
The atmosphere is good. Park across the street at the Office Depot.
I ate their takoyaki while I was at a local festival. It was okay. Not bad-not the best I've had. I do want to try their their okonomiyaki one day though as it has been recommended to me before.
This is a fun Japanese bar. I haven't been there for a while but I remember all the good food, fun atmosphere, cool crowd. This is one of my favorite places in Little Tokyo/ Downtown.
I am not much into drinking, but if you a drinker you will like this place even more. I used to know the owner of this place who is an unique (bit grumpy) old Japanese man who also owns SushiGo 55 and the saloon next to Haru Ulala. I once asked and he told me Haru Ulala is the name of a race horse. I guess it was a lucky horse for him.
There are so many things on the menu and they are written in both Japanese and English (not much description- so go figure). The thing I like about this place is there are so many small plate menus that you can try many dishes at once. But the bill can add up. The food is prepared right away over the bar or in the kitchen freshly cooked. Most of the dishes are yummy. All the menus are beer/sake/soju friendly.
Hhhmmmm... I miss the sake-steamed clams, grilled shishito pepper, sauteed mushrooms.....yummmm~*
The one negative thing is the waiting for service and food. I think they need to add one or more staff on weekends.
2 dollar kirin draft + edamame happy hour!... very nice... happy hour ends at 730, so i perfectly got there at 7:15, so I can order a round, finish it and order another round, right at 7:30...
if you like shochu, aka japanese soju, you should try the Awamori... i got it on the rocks with lemon... not bad...
foodwise ordered the: spider roll, gyuutan, spicy tuna, negi hama, karaage, some roll that was entirely fried, buta kakuni... none really blew me away...
all in all, not a bad place, i'll come here once in a while for the happy hour
This place is more a 3.5, but I rounded up because:
1) Their menu is as long as a Manhattan phone book!
2) When we left, the entire staff turned to say good-bye to us, which I thought was pretty damn cute! (I waved back to them.)
3) They never rushed us while we were taking forever to read their never-ending menu; and
4) How can you resist a place with "ooh-la-la" in the title?
Seriously, I HATE when people working in restaurants don't greet you and don't say good-bye. I find that very rude. But Ulala was great regarding hospitality.
Our favorite dishes were: the fried camembert (which was presented to us in the form of a lollipop), the kumamoto oysters (yum!), the grilled eggplant, and this soup that was made out of seaweed and miso (can't remember what it was called though).
The yellowtail collar was just okay. What I didn't like was the rice ball (super-bland) and the fried eggplant (equally dull).
I have to go back and try the 150 other items on the menu. Like the pork belly, short ribs and black cod. "Ooh-la-la..." Indeed!
This place is great!!
We made a reservation and had a nice table waiting for us, even tho we arrived a bit early.
Service was overall attentive and friendly :)
The order:
Tomato Salad: AMAZING, 5 stars!!
Robata:
Asparagus (average, 3 stars)
Shittake (average, 3 stars)
Meatball (good 3.75 stars)
Squid (average, 3 stars)
Gyu-tan (great; 5 stars)
Yellowtail collar: GREAT, 5 stars
Fried Camambert: 4 stars, I'm a fan
Pork Katsu: Standard, but good, 3.5 stars
Cold Grean Tea Soba: a great palate cleanser, but lacked "something," 3 stars
Overall, this place is satisfactory....the service, coupled with the fare hit the spot....and, of course, the sake, yet overpriced, makes it even moreso enjoyable.
Come here is you want to dine on multiple items while exploring your own palate...
YUM!
WILL BE BACK.....
xo-
andrea
After making the trek from CH to OC to Chinatown in Friday night traffic, the plan was to have some dinner before the night of non-alcoholic fun began. I haven't eaten since 12:30p so I was left feeling hungry as a hostage, that's right you heard me, hungry as a hostage.
Lucky for me, Izakaya Haru Ulala proved to be a good captor. I understand the idea of Japanese Tapas, small portions served up at cheap prices, I get the concept. Believe me, the people who worked here were very nice but when it came to the amount of time it took to get the food, sheer torture. Speaking of torture ... we were sitting at the sushi bar so I had to watch all the food being prepared in front of me but not being able to eat it. Kinda like being tied up and uh .... nevermind, that's not torture I kinda like being tied up.
Enough about that ... yelp's a foodie site. So here's the review about the food ... lucky for me one of the things I ordered was the sashimi combo so no cooking involved so that came up right away. But I also ordered karage (deep fried chicken) and tsukune (grilled meat balls) The one (thanks Lawrence) sitting next to me heard that I was hungry and offered up his karage, I didn't take it right away, I asked "are you sure, no really are you sure" before I did. I think he kinda regretted it because as he was waiting for mine to come up, he ordered tempura, which also took forever.
Come here for the good food, yeah it's good ... but make sure you have some snacks in your pocket or beer at your table to keep your stomach from grumbling louder than the drunk dude behind you.
My friend and Yelp both hyped this place up. I came here expecting to indulge, so my date and I were so excited that we ordered about 10 dishes and a pitcher of beer. To my disappointment most of the dishes were not tasty at all and the rest just average. I like Hondaya and even Shin sen gumi in Monterey Park MUCH better. The fried brie is comparable to Hot dog on a stick's cheese on a stick. Their yakitoris were so dinky, and I rarely complain about quantity because I value taste over quantity anytime, but their dishes were just overall unattractive and lacked in flavor. I was very disappointed but the 2 stars are for the good company I had ;)
After having been at other Izakaya places including Hondaya and Musha, it's hard to find new places that "out-do" the last. Haru Ulala is at par with the other places including the typical skewers and sushi.
Went on a Saturday night...wasn't too crowded actually. Whimsical menu "written" with crayons, maybe one too many choices available. Memorable dishes include:
- Green soba noodle salad (unique and different with yummy light dressing that dances in your mouth)
- Sauteed eggplant in miso
-Tomato Salad: beautiful tomato slices top of field greens drizzled with their special dressing
All other dishes were alright...but nothing to write home about. They have a big freezer on the hallway to the bathroom...made me think - how much of their stuff is actually FROZEN??? Not a bad place to go but not super excited about...and i wanted to be - i so much liked the name.
First time i went there was like a month a go good experience, little slow on the service but good. Second time was ok. Great selection of food love the grilled conch and the yakitori.
This is the place to go have a beer or sake and eat appetizers while chilling with friends.
This is a fun place to be with friends and or significant others. The waitresses are fun, and you can drink with them. Aiko in particular is one of the waitresses, it's a blast having her as your server. Altogether, the waitresses are all fun and friendly. And of course the food is fantastic. Needless to say, the service is exceptional, considering that it gets busy during peak hours.
My sister and I stumbled upon Haru Ulala on a late friday night, looking for late night sushi in Little Tokyo. We walked around Japanese Village and almost gave up before we spotted this little joint. First time there, never heard of it, and we LOVED it! Feels home-like, and definitely a lot of unique dishes to choose from. It was a bit small, but was not crowded at all for a friday night. We started with the Mushroom Miso soup which is soooo much better than your normal Tofu Miso. The flavors from the wild mushrooms made the whole dish. We ordered the Daikon Salad which was very very delish and a huge portion of it too. What screamed out to us was the dressing, if you like that vinegary taste as we do! The Salmon Skin sushi was also very good. Love that crunchiness of the skin once you bite into it. The Fried Oysters were also yummy... crunchy on the outside, gooey in the middle... and came with a spicy mustard and sweet sauce. We did order Sake... but the cheapest one, so I'd want to check out a different one. Only thing is, you tend to order a bunch of dishes since they are small and cheap, but it all adds up, so be careful if you're on a budget =)
I definitely would love to go back to this place to try the rest of what's on the menu. Once I try it all, I will give that extra star! It's a cute place to hang out in Little Tokyo late night. Servers were very sweet. Oh yeah... and you know it's the real deal when the other customers around you are speaking Japanese.
Haru Ulala was to me, the average japanese dining in LA. Food was good and fairly cheap, but nothing special..I didn't like how the tables were real close together and how the waitress that worked there didn't smile at all and was not very friendly. The daikon (radish) salad we got had too much dressing on it so you should probably get dressing on the side. But I would suggest going to Hondaya for a better Izakaya experience!
Killer secret menu item: Takoyaki! I don't get why they keep it off menu..
We only realized they have Okonomiyaki after we finished eating. Another annoyingly off-menu item, but totally getting it next time.
Other things you must order: fried camembert cheese, Kakuni (braised pork belly), braised short-rib with daikon, and um, hamachi collar? Shark fin special was pretty good, but tiny and expensive. The Chicken Karaage needed some dipping sauce, but was otherwise not too bad.
Don't get the stupid daikon salad (unless you want fiber), get a soba salad instead. Also don't bother with the fresh oysters, not worth it. Might try some fried next time.
Service was spotty, but friendly. Crowds aren't too bad anymore, my friend didn't have to wait for a table, though he still had to wait for me to get there.
I like this place. But the service is consistently on a scale between weird and bad. The food is good. The atmosphere is okay. And if you're downtown and have some time it's not a bad spot to eat.
Last night after a show at the Music Center my sister and I wanted a nibble. I had been to Haru Ulala a few times before but it was always with too big of a group and it was hard to keep track of ordering and if you got what you ordered and did we get charged for what we ordered and all that. The very last time I went there the service was so bad that we had to go out for a pizza after! So, I vowed to never go back there regardless of how wonderful the scallops and butter were!
But, last night I told my sis that we would do a drive-by and if there was parking we would try it again. As the spot appeared right in front, we were in!
We ordered a few things to share:
Lotus Root Tempura - favorite!
Philly Roll
Veg Roll - they made is special for my veggie sis with tempura veg - so good and fresh, tempura was still hot from the fryer!
Shishito peppers grilled
Rice ball with miso
and a little bottle of sake
The food was all really great. Even better than I remembered. But one thing stayed the same, weird service. We DID get everything we ordered and they sent out some edamame on the house. BUT if you don't order the first time they come by, you might have to wait a while. And then, after they turned the open sign around to read "closed", it was like we no longer existed. In order to get the check we had to go to the bar and ask for it.
Now don't get me wrong, everyone working there is totally sweet, but something is missing.
You can't always have it all.
My cousin introduced me to this place last night. I always walked by and never thought twice about going in and boy am i kicking myself in the ass now. Its SOOOOOOO good! Right when you walk in, its like if you went through a door and was suddenly teleported to Japan. It felt so real...so Japan. The servers were super hospitable. IT can get pricey cuz you just want to keep ordering. Its THAT friggin delicious! I think we ordered about a good quarter of the menu last night and it was ALL bursting with great flavor! Major kudos!!
Go horse go!!
A couple of weekends ago I had a date coming up. And since the days leading up to the date were rather busy, I was at a loss for where I was going to take the young lady. Enter Chad...not only a co-worker but a wise one. After discussing my weekend plans with him and speaking of my predicament, he instantly recommended Haru Lala... a joint that both he and his wife regularly frequent. It later came to be known by it's formal name Izakaya Haru Ulala. Over there on 2nd Street in Little Tokyo. Man, what a great little town. I mean, I'd been there countless times before but I always forget how good of a community Little Tokyo is.
Aformentioned date and I walked into Ulala's and were immediately seated by a cheerful and smiling waitress. We were both handed curious menus where the dishes and prices were all written in crayon. +8 I liked that!!! After a quick perusal, I ordered a bottle of cold, unfiltered sake and a couple of Kirin lights off tap. The beer and sake choices on the menu were more than adequate. Whether you wanted, cold, hot, filtered, unfiltered sake you were set. The drinks arrived, I poured, we toasted and the night was on it's way.
Haru Ulala is an authentic Izakaya style restaurant which in Japan is a specific style bar where the townsfolk go to relax at the end of a hard days work. In these style bars, there is usually a little more variety of food than associated with the local sushi establishment. While we didn't order Izakaya style, the choices on the menu were impressive and definitely not of the variety I was used to in a Japanese sushi restaurant. I ordered for us - a usual fare of sushi and rolls - and in about ten minutes all that I had ordered was in front of us. That put a smile on my face. In true Japanese style tapas, we were able to take a bite hear, take a bite there and enjoy some extremely fresh and well portioned pieces of sushi. I was happy.
The decor of Haru Ulala is of a typical sushi restaurant with a sushi bar off to one side and a smattering of tables throughtout the place. Horse specific art work hung throughtout the Ulala's as the place is named after a famous Japanese racing horse. It was a good first experience and with a 50 dollar tab after all we ate and drank, I'll definitely be back for more.
After dinner it was off to Cosmos...
Love this place.
Deep fried brie.
Spinach with sesame seed dressing.
Whatever sushi you want.
This place is delicious but sadly not open on Sundays.
Don't come here. You won't like it. Or I just don't want anyone else to come here.
In my greatest search for a great place to dine had me thinking I've finally found the one. Each time I drove by this place, I've been eye'ing it each time I pass by. So I finally stopped in at this place especially getting a parking spot right in front.
Coming right into the door where the door way is lit up with red lights and very nice ambiance inside if you want to bring a date. Greeted and seated at the counter, this place has beer and sake and a pretty good sized menu. I was ready for a huge meal coming my way.
I didnt feel like drinking beer especially if I need to drive home on a St. Patrick's Day for a Monday. So I ordered iced green tea instead. I then proceeded to order, small fish with grated daikon radishes, cold green tea soba noodles, and a shrimp skewer. Oh boy am I going to feast now.
Everything sure tasted great and I even ordered one of the specials after, grilled giant clams. That tasted even better than I imagined with a tid bit of green salsa like saltiness of sauce. Spicy as hell but went well with the clams on a skewer. As this place was getting packed by the minute, I'm beginning to think to myself that this place was meant for drinking rather than dining. The portions of the food I've ordered seems like appetizers to me even though I didn't order appetizers. A refill of iced green tea before I leave got me a bill of $19.68 or so. Tipped them well and glanced at all the dates in this joint and groups hanging out.
I must say the hospitality from the 2 waitresses are certainly excellent. Although, I must admit, I have failed to recognize the fact that in most Japanese restaurants is the same as tipping when you buy your server a drink as well. The 2 waitresses were drinking like fishes as there were a few regulars kept on pouring for them and others behind the grill.
Certainly will come back as a place to hang and drink and snack but now I must find another place to fill my half filled belly before hitting the sack. While I'm still wondering why I hear people still saying not to order sushi on a Monday, which I didn't this evening. Looked really good though from what others ordered around me. Until next time, happy dining.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Karaoke
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
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