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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Culver CityMon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri. 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Fri. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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The quick and dirty recap: I like this place, it's going into the regular rotation. Still has not usurped Kaya Sushi as my favorite mid-priced sushi joint in LA, but it's a respectable second. I won't go into detail about the various dishes we got, but the spicy tuna is always a winner, as is the yellowtail carpaccio. I will say, and I admit this is a rather weird comment, but the edamame here is fricken phenomenal. I dunno what it was, maybe they use a different salt or something, but the soybeans had a yummy taste and I literally wanted to order two more bowls of just edamame.
Oh, for the love of God, PLEASE save room for the dessert. We ordered a fried banana with ice cream plate, good Lord- it was SO SO SO good. I liked it more than fried plantains. And I REALLY liked fried plantains, so that's a bold statement for me.
And as always, parking in Culver City is ridiculously easy, convenient, and free under two hours. The lot is literally right next door (by the Trader Joe's), and if you feel like meandering around the now uber-hip and "so in" Culver City scene, it's right all there across the street.
It's not easy on the wallet, but if you are a real sushi lover you will really enjoy yourself here.
If you mostly a tuna/california roll/tempura eater this is definitely not your place.
We first came here on the recommendation of Chef Urasawa, as he and Keizo have known each other for more the 20 years. I've been here 1/2 a dozen times now, and it's been amazing every time. If you're adventurous there's probably a dozen or more offerings of fish you probably haven't had before.
I love the way you can have a lot of great diversity in your meal - elegant dressed sashimi plates, interesting small plates of sauteed vegetables, traditional apps such as grilled hamachi kama and sake-steamed asari clams, and a wide array of nigiri sushi.
I loved everything we ordered, which included:
- Miso soup with clams
- Octopus carpaccio with cucumber dressed in a yuzu vinaigrette and accompanied with its deep-fried tentacles
- Eringi mushrooms sauteed in butter
- "Crispy Albacore" seared albacore sashimi with sweet mustard miso sauce topped with crispy fillos
- An assortment of nigiri, including a fantastic seared toro
I'm not much of a roll eater but the few that I have had here have been very good.
Minus one star for a bit of sand in one of my clams last night.
The room is small but well appointed, has a bar area, modern decor, large sake list and plenty of wine options. Oh, and it's walking distance from my house too. What's not to love?
Good food, a bit pricey. :)
I don't know much about nice food but I enjoyed most of what I had. I wish I could eat like this more often though! Really, great quality sushi and well made/presented food.
Service: great, fast, and friendly. They split the check for us (11 or so people) and did not even charge us 20% gratuity that is stated on the menu (tipped more then that anyways).
Tuna Carpaccio: flavorful with wasabi cream.
Kobe Beef Tataki: thinly sliced with pickled daikon... we had to order another plate!
Marinated Ikura (salmon egg) So fresh like eating nemo! ;)
I got a dessert it was special but I forgot the name of it. Vanilla ice cream, maybe a taro almost yougurt liquid, red bean, mochi ball, and berries. Very good.
I liked their decor which is minimalistic yet culture based, lovely table set up, and even the bathroom was clean and there were fresh flowers there (and at the tables).
One problem I had was the fried calamari was too fried. My fault, I shouldn't be having fried squid when there is better food to be had.
i had gold for my birthday piece of sushi, i mean seriously, it doesnt get much better than that. This is the best sushi I have had since I moved to LA in June. Great service, the fish is fresh and proportions are not skimpy. Can't wait to eat here again!
i know its a pretty expensive restaurant in the nice location but,lunch is not so bad if u order combination.
i had chirashi sushi&loved their presentation.
how they offer food&all the decolation in the restaurant r like art.
great survice.
most of them hav been worked there for long so,they r well informed&know wht they r doin.
food was of course pretty good.
heard they hav wide selection of sake&wine.
i went there for lunch on mon. but,yhey had good business.
many businessman probably from sony studio across the street.
i wanna come back for dinner next time.
2.5
The only thing worth mentioning is the fresh live octocpus sashimi that was served with this yuzu oil. The sushi was mediocre. Unfresh. Very Fishy tasting. The omakase ($58) was not worth it.
Went back this weekend. Great. Tried a new sake (don't remember the name sorry, will make a note next time) and Keizo sent over some delicious chilled fruit as a surprise at the end of the meal. I'm so impressed with the food, the consistency, the appreciative atmosphere, the calm beauty. Worth every penny.
Man, K-ZO rocks! It's a neighborhood spot with class.
Their master chefs are trained in Japan (the…
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Chef Keizo, you turned my crappy week full of work-stress and sub-par Midori sushi upside down with your amazing food and service!
Came here Thursday evening and sat at the bar to make sure Chef personally cuts and presents our sushi. We had:
- oyster topped w/ uni & caviar: so freaking good. couldn't really taste the caviar though
- sockeye salmon: yum
- live scallop: wow...just...wow. perfection.
- live baby optopus: see above.
- rainbow trout: meh, just okay. tasted like regular salmon
- uni: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
- saba & aji: both amazing.
- seared toro: too seared/salty. it almost tasted like sesame oil?
- hamachi: one of the best i've had
- mirugai: SO GOOD. crisp, not mushy, perfection. and he cut us an extra large piece :)
- monkfish liver: this time it was a miss. i guess it wasn't as fresh as the other fish - a bit mushy
Though the freshness/cut of the fish isn't on par with Sushi Zo, i opt to come here because Chef Keizo actually remembers my name and greets us with a smile. He gives us free appetizers and desserts, too, and prices are reasonable. Love love love this place!
K-Zo is one of the most delicious, freshest sushi restaurants I've been to in Los Angeles. I've only… Read more »
The picture on Open Table dosen't convey the look well at all. It is clean design and contemporary. The food is excellent as was the service. The menu was a bit more upscale than your traditional sushi fare. I would recommend it to anyone.
I would have given K-Zo five stars IF it wasn't so pricey. We go here on special occasions only. The sushi chefs are really cool and fun, and the food is amazing. I LOVE the lobster rolls ($18), and the avacado/crab salad. So tasty! I hear they are open for lunch, maybe I'll check out the lunch menu and see if that's more affordable ;}
Try it, you will have an amazing meal!
Decided to take a friend here for dinner after reading some reviews and I'd say we came away pretty happy.
For starters we had the Wakame Seaweed Salad. The wakame seaweed came on a bed of organic greens with a ponzu vinaigrette. The colors and presentation were beautiful, and the salad was nice and refreshing.
Next came the Whitefish Yuzu. My friend had never tried yuzu and really liked the flavor. The whitefish sashimi was thinly sliced and drizzled with citrus juice and yuzu pepper. It was amazingly light. I recommend trying this.
I ordered the rainbow roll, which I often do to try some of the fish but it was not worth it. I would say it was just average tasting and the fish was not impressive at all. I'm going to stop my rainbow roll test from now on. It doesn't really work. I think I've only had one really good rainbow roll ever.
I intended to end with the Yaki (seared) Toro, but it was surprisingly tough. Not buttery at all. Um, I'd skip it.
We were still hungry and I didn't want to end the meal on that note so I added some orders of sushi: halibut, yellowtail, salmon and unagi. It was all very good. The salmon, in particular, was a "morsel of perfection" as Julia Childs would say. I wonder if she ever ate sushi...?
I also ordered their green tea. It came in a small teapot that they kept refilling throughout our meal. I don't know if each person is supposed to have her own pot, but we asked for another tea cup part-way through the meal and they didn't charge anything extra. It was a really nice, delicate tea and my friend ended up falling in love with green tea for the first time in her life.
K-Zo is conveniently located next to a structure with two hours of free parking. I'm definitely coming back and I'll probably stay away from the rolls and try more of their interesting cold and hot appetizers and stick with orders of sushi.
K-Zo is my favorite place to sit at the bar and order omakase. Both sushi and sashimi dishes will feature fresh, off-menu selections, skillfully prepared either by the restaurant's namesake and owner or one of his skilled companions with a very personal touch.
Service is friendly and attentive. Sake list is varied and custom imported.
If you just want cut rolls and tuna sushi, it's probably not worth the dough, but if you're after something different and adventurous, then K-Zo is the place to go in Culver City.
This place was pretty good. I came here with my girlfriend because it's within walking distance to where she lives and since it had a pretty good review on yelp, we decided to check it out.
I had the albacore salad, which I really enjoyed despite the fact that I don't like salads. It's albacore tataki on a bed of greens with a garlic ponzu sauce. Tasty.
We then shared the tuna carpaccio, which was tuna in ponzu with a wasabi cream on it. It was good, but not the greatest thing in the world. We also got a salmon collar (kama) which was pretty tasty.
Lastly we got some sushi which was good quality and they sure didn't skimp on the portions.
Overall it was really good albeit a bit pricey for a grad student budget, but I'm glad we tried it
so i went back today...
(i know i know...i went like two days ago)
and i had the pinetree omakase. (78 vs. bamboo's 58)
i figured, 20 bucks more, it has to more amazing.
nope.
there's an added amuse.
it came out in a flat, gelatinous form, with specks of cooked tuna and veggies in it. it was an expensive, edible rectangle. there was no depth to it, no surprise to my palate.
everything else after was the about the same. (except for added caviar on my oyster YUMMMMM).
no apple tartini this time, so we had to ORDER it. meh. 10 bucks. we had a bottle of sake, it was huge, and only 28 bucks. really yummy too. Suigei. very sweet, cold, sake.
the experience was underwhelming compared to just a couple of days ago. : ( maybe i should sit at the sushi bar next time? who knows....
remember a couple of years ago?
culver city was where food came to die. there was marginally edible…
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I had to try out this place since it had such good reviews and it was walking distance from my apt. The crab cake would have to be my favorite, but then again everything we got was good. It's a little on the pricey side but well worth it. The portions were small but very very tasty. Highly recommended!
I have been having a bit of Japanese overload. En in San Jose, ramen in Japantown, then K-Zo- three days in a row. All totally different experiences.
My friend raved about the "rice krispie" treats at K-ZO. It is simply known as the spicy tuna rice crispy, this brown rice square delights all parts of your mouth- warm, crunchy, chewy bottom with cool, slightly spicy, chopped tuna on top. You order by the piece, so you can decide if you want to try one and then immediately order another. I think two of these (ok, 3) + salad + soup would be a perfect lunch.
The o-toro was smooth and velvety. Not inexpensive at $28 for four generous slices.
I told the chef to surprise us with a roll. totally underwhelmed... TOTALLY. Partially my fault- should have left him with some direction.
My suggestion: sit at the bar. Place yourselves at the hands of the chef. Order the rice crispy treats. Let him know exactly what you like and you will not be disappointe-d. Super nice and polite staff make this place even better- the difference between three and four stars in my mind.
Not the best I have ever had, but a solid positive experience.
I probably wouldn't get the green tea Arnold Palmer again. My boyfriend and I ordered clam miso soup, goma wild chicken [if you have to try this, save some wasabi for it], and seafood ceviche. He drank green tea which came in a clear little plastic teapot. Seasoning is subtle. Spicy tuna crispy looked great.
The best part of the meal for me was sushi (fatty tuna, shad, Spanish mackerel, and wild salmon). The chopstick rests are smooth river stones. The sashimi specials for the day included ocean trout, sardine, and toro with truffle but you have to write them in on the slip. We chose ice chocolate parfait for dessert but the waitress said they changed the name on her so it was actually chocolate mousse with raspberries or strawberries. We'd go back for sashimi.
My favorite sushi chef, Hide from Izaka-ya, has moved to this restaurant, and as much I frequent and enjoy his previous station, K-ZO is definitely a better platform for him to showcase his culinary talents.
I recommend going straight to the bar and letting him freestyle - giving him free range to serve the freshest and best of the season. Definitely ask for the kumamoto oysters with uni and caviar -- it will completely blow your mind!
Needless to say, the fish is sublime and the service is impeccable.
PS - if Hide is booked, ask for K-Zo (the owner) who is usually right at the sushi station working away...
Even though I was sitting at a table next to a lame Karim Rashid want-a-be, the weekday lunch vibe was serene and chill... right down to the bathroom which is modern, handsome and comes complete with the awesome Dyson Airblade.
I think it's a bit of a cop out to say this place is pricey... I mean of course it is expensive IF YOU ORDER EXPENSIVE THINGS. My lunch (feast) was a mere $55 w/tax and tip for 3 people... here is how we did it:
1- Skip the drinks
2- Share every dish
3- Love your veggies
We began with the Sunomono (Cucumber/seaweed/vinegar $3.5) and Kinpira Gobo (burdock/carrots $3.5). Now let me pause here to say the GOBO here is absolutely STUNNING like the BEST I'VE EVER EATEN; if you have never had K-Zo's gobo then you can't possibly understand how obscenely delicious food can be.
We then shared the Tempura Appetizer (2 pcs shrimp/3pcs vegetable $6), the Vegetable Tempura (7 pcs with steamed rice, tofu miso soup and a small salad $10.5), the Gyoku sushi (2 pcs Tomago $4), the surprising large Vegetable Maki ($5), Yellowtail sushi (2 pce $6), and Spicy Tuna maki ($6.5).
The only slightly disappointing item was the Vegetable Maki, but I'm really not surprised considering an outstanding vegetable roll is as rare as a Yangtze River Dolphin. Everything else was expertly prepared to maximum deliciousness, but all pale in comparison to that scandalously delectable Kinpira Gobo.
(I think I've sufficiently built the gobo up... you're probably going to be disappointed with it now... oh well more for me!)
Incredible selection of food. I come back to this place often, not just for the food, but for the service. If you have a small group of people (less than 4) I suggest you sit at the sushi bar for they can offer the best dishes. K-Zo is one of the sushi chefs and his recommendations are always spot on delicious. Totally worth the price of admission!
I came here because of all the good yelp reviews and I ended up leaving relatively pleased. Downtown Culver City is lacking in the sushi department - way to many gastropubs - and not much of anything else... so I was excited to try it. Overall, I'd say this is a pretty good place, the service was very good and attentive and the atmosphere is comfortable and cool. The food was also quite good, nothing really blew me away except for their spicy tuna over crispy rice - this seriously put Koi and Katsuya's versions of this to shame. MUCH much better and MUCH cheaper. Otherwise, I can't say their menu was exceptionally original or inspiring. They only had a handful of special rolls and their menu did not describe the food options very well. I'll definitely consider coming back here.... pretty good, reasonably priced and convenient!
K-Zo's decor can be described as chic. Hip. It seems like there's even a bar in the front, though I do think they only serve shochu cocktails. But unlike what comes to mind when I think of "hip sushi restaurant" (*cough* Katsuya Hollywood, Sushi Roku *cough*) it isn't crowded and loud and, as K-Zo has been known for, the prices are quite reasonable.
But really, my main reason for finally checking K-Zo out is a Yelp review that mentioned their sinful molten chocolate cake. I've long been searching for a good sushi joint that also offers good dessert (I mean, beyond your mochi ice cream and tempura ice cream).
But I'm ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.
We started with a "seafood salad" ($16) - Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, whitefish, shrimp, and albacore on a bed of lettuce with soy mustard dressing
A bit heavy on the dressing, but otherwise good. Fish and green ingredients are good and fresh and the dressing works well for both.
Wakame (seaweed) salad - $8 (hey we wanted our greens and minerals)
Nice, light and healthy. Unlike the previous salad, the dressing here is not heavy and was just perfect.
Besides the standard sushi menu, K-Zo also has a specials menu featuring the rarer/seasonal fishies. I ordered some wild salmon.
The color is much darker than your regular salmon, and as you can probably tell from the lack of thick white stripes, this is a much leaner piece of fish. It was fresh, the fish/rice ratio was just right. The fish cuts are narrow so the portion isn't huge, but it's fair and big enough for a bite. A nice first impression of K-Zo's sushi.
As a comparison we also got the regular salmon sushi ($5/2pc order)
A fattier cut (but I like fatty too). Again, a good and fresh piece.
Speaking of fatty, I of course got my o-toro fix. I was very happy with the prices of toro here, which I think was only ~$10.
That long tail just means more fish for me ... This was a pretty fatty and smooth, melt-in-your-mouth toro. While not the best o-toro I've had, this was definitely one of the good ones, and at this price point, I was perfectly happy.
The chocolate molten cake I was looking forward to finally came. It was pretty small though! As you can see, it was only the size of an ice cream scoop.
It's small but packs a punch. Definitely rich and sinful. I also like the sesame ice cream quite a bit, but by itself. In this case the whole is less than the sum of the parts ... This small ramekin dish of chocolate cake is definitely enough. For one person, that is. As we were sharing, we're glad we had another dessert coming.
The lychee tart's portion was also pretty small.
Richer and denser than what I was expecting for a lychee tart, as it was a bit eggy. An enjoyable dessert, though I thought the taste and freshness of the lychees got lost in the rich eggy tart base.
Overall a very reasonably-priced sushi dinner with high quality and fresh ingredients. The dessert selections are much more interesting and varied than most of its counterparts (especially with the disappearance of Jinpachi's famous desserts). The dessert portions are on the small side, but might as well ... I shouldn't be eating so much anyway :P
Add on top of that free parking in the public structure right next to the restaurant, K-Zo is winning lots of points with me!
photos: http://tinyurl.com/d7uakv
really nice ambiance. All the food is solid. Didn't have anything that was unbelievable....
But fun place and good sake selection.
YUmmm
Oh yeah....Oyster + Caviar + Uni is delicious.
The fish was meaty with generous portions
The teas we were served came individual presses/pots which…
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Yay, my 100th Review! I saved it just for you, K-Zo, that's how much I liked you. I can't believe I had never been to this little gem in Culver City before Thurs night, and it's so close to my place. It really is tucked away, behind Trader Joe's and alongside the parking structure. But at least that makes parking very easy, and it's free for 2 hours! Anyway, on to the restaurant.
The decor and ambiance appealed to me, even though the place is small. I liked the clean white lines and dark wood of the decor. There are numerous candles on tables, and recessed lighting that give it an intimate feel. The sushi chefs all seemed to be Japanese as well (yay). While waiting for my dinner date, I ordered a green tea. I like that they give you your own little clear teapot, and they don't charge to refill it either. The tea was good quality too. I also really loved the edamame here! One thing I hate when you order edamame is if the restaurant just boils or steams it, then throws kosher salt on the outside. You're not eating the outer shell right? At K-Zo, they must boil the soybeans in salted water, and so they were cooked to perfection with the best flavor I have found in edamame in a while. For dinner, we shared a couple rolls- spicy tuna, unagi, Spanish mackerel, and the Lobster Roll. I rarely get lobster rolls but it was a good choice here. It comes loaded with sweet chunks of lobster meat, asparagus spears, and tiny dabs of a lobster mayo-like sauce, all wrapped in soy paper. Yum! The spicy tuna was very fresh and tasty, the unagi was second only to the Hump in broiled perfection, and the Spanish mackerel was fresh and fishy, although I prefer the Hump's preparation. The service was attentive and friendly, and they were meticulous about checking on us, clearing things away, and providing refills on water. It is rather pricey, almost comparable to my favorite the Hump. However, I noticed the Omakase was listed on the menu as only $58 or $68 (I think) depending on what you wanted, and that seemed very reasonable for LA. So on my list of favorite sushi spots, K-Zo just landed under the Hump, and it definitely beats all for convenience and location.
I have been here twice. The first time I went with Jackie and the food was pretty good. We ordered a lot more small bites and sashmi specials than typical sushi. The second time I went here I went with John, and we ordered mostly sushi.
The sushi had rice that was over cooked and squishy. It wasn't very good. We also ordered a "special" roll that came wrapped in cucumber with no rice. It was a good idea, but it didn't hold up very well at all. We should have stuck with the sashimi and small bites.
This is one of those sushi places that you look down at the bill and think that you've paid too much. Not because it's more than you normally would spend at a good sushi place, but because it is more than you think you ought to spend at a mediocre sushi place.
I really like how Culver City has reinvented itself. K-Zo just adds another reason to visit. Much of the success of these sushi places seems to hinge on the quality of their fish. K-Zo does have some really good cuts. The salmon was the best I've had in a while as well as the uni. My yellowtail was a bit heavy on the acid (citrus) but mostly all else was good. We spent about $50 each, but that was mostly on beer and sake. (Which was priced reasonably.)
The decor is nice. Sleek and a little industrial, but warm as well. I'd pay it a second try.
Go here if you want sushi that's served creatively, tastefully, and still healthy. The chefs here really know how to blend flavors to enhance the taste of the fish. Spicy Tuna on Brown Rice....Really good. Yellowtail collar - amazing. Good for the die hard roll/sushi person, and great for adventuresome type looking for different ways to try raw fish. Put your hands together for K-Zo.
Now, this is sushi made with TLC.
My boyfriend discovered this place after searching for a good sushi joint that we can go to after the upcoming night's art show. He was right on the money when choosing K-Zo.
We arrived there around 9:30 on a Friday night with our friend who also attended the show. Everything about the establishment appeared to be well thought-out - from the decor, to the menu design, to the table setting. Their sake list was nothing to flinch at either - I had to try the cold sake of the month. The glass came in this big wooden box, overflowing with sake: http://static.px.yelp..... It was kind of messy because of the box, but went down nice and smooth. I immediately felt a buzz coming on...
While the boys loaded up their order with hand rolls, I had to try their Seafood Salad (Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, whitefish, shrimp, and albacore on a bed of lettuce with soy mustard dressing). This salad contained an impressive collection of incredibly fresh fish: http://static.px.yelp..... Vlad captured my giddiness perfectly: http://static.px.yelp.....
As for what the boys ordered, they really hooked themselves up: http://static.px.yelp..... If my memory serves correctly, the platter includes Spicy Tuna, Dragon Roll, Albacore, Rainbow, and something else. Our friend is somewhat of a sushi aficionado and totally loved it. Success!
Adrien Brody was there the same night as us, if that means anything. Kind of random, considering that I'm never in Culver City.
My only issue was the wait time for each order to arrive, as well as the bill. It was a busy night, so I'll give them that, but I've been to busier restaurants and received faster service. I had to knock a star off for that.
If you ever find yourself in Culver City and are looking for an intimate, high-quality sushi spot, visit K-Zo.
Great place for a group of 4 - 6 people. (Try and get the booth with the metallic beads...) The menu is varied enough to handle all tastes (even those who don't eat sushi) and sophisticated enough to handle the discriminating. Highlights included the "live" octopus. This was a first (didn't even eat it in Japan.) The "live" shrimp were excellent too, and came with the traditional fried head (first time I was able to eat one without gagging--that's worth an added star alone.) (I wonder if the shrimp came from a tank?) We also had an excellent ankimo sushi (monkfish liver atop rice wrapped in seaweed.) The salmon sashimi was excellent. The trout was unique. The maguru was good, but not as good as everything else. For the non-sushi friend, the Japanese chicken wings motivated us to order another batch and the ribs were decent. Salmon skin salad was good-n-healthy. Enjoy! Nice to see (another) cool spot in CCity!
I love butter... Everything I put in my mouth at K-Zo reminded me of butter!
Miso Black Cod melted like butter..
Yellow Tail Collar was soft as butter...
Yellowtail Nigiri tasted like butter...
Chocolate Fondant with ice cream you knew had a lot of butter...
We were looking for a place open for an early dinner (5:30pm) with good reviews that took reservations today and found this place. We left them a message asking for an rsvp for 8ppl, and they called and confirmed it as soon as someone came to prep the restaurant to open.
I loved the location (easy to find) and the ambiance of this place. Verry cool & modern, even down to the bathroom sink.
We were seated immediately. We started off with edamame and drinks. My personal hit was their shochu cocktails. I tried their lychee infused shochu with grape syrup ( I think it was called Purple haze or something) which was quite yummy and gave me a bit of a buzz going.
They also had the Osechi sampler and a few new years delicacies, which was great for me as we spent new years with my husband's side relatives (all white, some of them not too into international gourmet) so I didn't have the chance to prepare new years food myself this year.
Other things we ordered that I recommend:
Clam miso soup (it has Mitsuba leaves in it like it should and many restaurants here don't use it)
Blue Crab handroll (I feel that you get more crabmeat this way than the cut rolls. yum!)
Negi Toro handroll
Catapiller roll
Spicy Scallop sushi
Kanpachi sushi
Spicy tuna cutrolls
I would have ordered more but this was already getting pretty expensive as the other side of the table were ordering a whole bunch more too lol.
Oh and for non-sushi items,
try eggplant with miso. we also tried the braised kurobuta, but that was not as soft and melty as I would've liked it, so that one isn't my recommends.
Due to time interest we skipped dessert and got the bill. the bill came up to about $45 a person. Not bad for decent sushi!
Overall, for sushi, the fish quality was really great, the rice was a tad too soft for my taste, but otherwise still great. I cannot say sushi here is to DIE for... I've had better... however it's definitely a place on my list.
Very contemporary/fusion type sushi.
Nicely prepared and nicely plated.
Sushi chefs are very friendly, I felt like I was in Japan!
Their sake tasting was good and fun.
Good stuff...
-Amaebi-It was alive! But sadly it tasted like it was missing something...not sure what it was...but still good. Had the head in miso soup...yummmm =p
-Uni
-Yellowtail collar...my friend said it was Salmon, but I'm not too sure about that...hehe
I can't remember anything else so this must be it.
Their mint green tea and the omakase looked interesting...maybe I'll try that next time.
I just had a good time which was even better!
I've been going to K-Zo regularly for a couple of years now, and it's my sushi home! I like the upscale but relaxed atmosphere, and the staff is usually prompt and polite. The sushi chefs are warm and friendly... I once saw them all boisterously toasting a special occasion. I can't say much for K-Zo's hot dishes like the Salmon Collar, but the sushi is fresh and yummy. Since every sushi restaurant serves either yellowtail nigiri or spicy tuna rolls, I use that as my yardstick of comparison. Both are quite top-notch at K-Zo.
Try the Popcorn Shrimp Jalapeno roll! It sounds blasphemous but it's delicious. Even more decadent is the BSC (Cali roll topped with a spicy mayo-based mushroom and scallop sauce). However, my usual favorites are the Crunchy Roll, yellowtail nigiri, and the asparagus rolls which have that tasty grilled flavor I like. Every time I go, I also feel compelled to order the peach infused sake cocktail. All this at a fair price and in a good location!
On a tangent, I often strangely hear my favorite songs while I'm here, sometimes even things I just downloaded. I laughed when I read another yelper's review that said the music is from Chef Keizo's iPod! Cool personal touch, eh?
I live in Culver City so when I'm craving sushi, I usually go to K-Zo, founded by Keizo Ishiba , one of the former sushi chefs of Sushi Roku. Like En in Los Feliz and Isshin in Westwood, K-Zo is one of the few reasonably priced sushi places I've been to where the fish tastes really fresh. Among my favorites:
Salmon sashimi (like butter!)
Spicy Tuna Crispy (Tuna Tartar on warm brown rice cakes)
Unagi roll
Hamachi Kama (Broiled Yellowtail Collar)
Ankimo (Monk Fish Liver)
Oyster Half Shell with Uni & Caviar
Dynamite Green Mussel (Baked mussel w/ cheese & mushrooms)
Oyster Shooter (a shot glass containing a little sake, raw quails egg, oyster and green onions) it sounds crazy but it's crazy good
The ambiance is really classy. They always have a great acid jazz playlist on- which apparently comes from Chef Keizo's iPod. The location is in the heart of Culver City so after your done eating, there are plenty of other venues to explore in walking distance.
The following is a selection of random thoughts/quotations taken from my dinner the other night at K-Zo, in chronological order:
"Ohhh private booth...Bead curtains! Sake wine chiller thingamabob. Fun!"
"Mmmmm, it's like this edamame is infuuused with salt. Sooo gooood."
"Yay, beer! Let's toast"
"Okay we need like six orders of the crunchy tuna thing. It's award winning you know..."
"What award?"
"I dunno... uhhhh"
"Hooooly crap well it just won an Oscar in my mouth"
"Yay, sake! Let's toast!"
"The octopus is....chewy. I'm chewing...."
"Oh gawd the salmon...so buttery...it's like it's infused with butter. Is it infused with butter?"
"Mmmmm.... the salmon....mmmm....butterrrrrr"
"Yay, beer! Let's toast!"
"The octopus... I'm still chewing...."
"I think the yellowtail just disintegrated in my mouth. It's magic tuna!"
"Yay, sake! Let's toast!"
"Eeeee.. the snapper! The snapper!! Oooooooohhhh!"
"Okay I think I'm done chewing the octopus."
"Yay, beer! Let's toast!"
"Mmmmm...this soy sauce is like...the BEST soy sauce ever."
....okay at that point it might have just been the beer talking. Needless to say, this place friggin ROCKS. And rolls. And I want more butter salmon! Oh and the mochi? Well... you could wrap that octopus in some mochi and I'd still give it five stars.
Well done, K-Zo, well done.
This place was over-priced! But the sushi was decent and the only really good specialties were the sake sampler, the Kobe Beef Tataki, large slices of Albacore in pozu sauce, and the black sesame ice cream. i have a new LOVE - black sesame ice cream. I've been on the hunt ever since! Service wasn't so great, but it's a cool, hip atmosphere.
Thank you Yelpers! I was looking for a new sushi restaurant to try and after reading reviews opted for this and it was not a disappointment.
This is a small place and we got last minute reservations. Service was polite and prompt. Extensive and very good sake list. We sat at a table (by the window) rather than sushi bar but will try the bar next. Started off with selection from their daily specials...Albacore with sweet miso and Abalone Daikon...turns out the latter they were out of so we got Abalone Sushi which was so-so. Followed by Uzaku? (Pickled Cucumber with Unagi) and that was very good along with White Fish Yuzu which was delicate. Then came Tuna Carpaccio (Tuna Sashimi with ponzu and wasabi mix cream) that was very good and flavorful. We followed that up with thin sliced Halibut Sashimi with salt and lemon and that was delicous...Most of these sashimi plates ranged from $12-16. Our favorites were the Tuna Carpaccio, Halibut and Usaku.
Looking forward to coming back and trying some more. We didn't have room to try any of the hot dishes. All was well prepared, fresh and tasty. There were a couple parties of 6 there but that's about the max they can probably fit (1 in the main dining area and they also have a table that has a curtain that can section it off). Most of the other tables are for 2 or 4 persons.
All those dishes with green tea and a large bottle of sake came to about $150 (not including tip).
I went here for my birthday dinner and completely macked on soooo much sushi. The fish was very fresh and beautifully presented. The restaurant itself doesn't have an amazing ambiance or anything and so I would really come back here just for the food.
Went here for lunch with work friends. The service was great and the vibe of the place is very very cool. Kind of industrial warehouse loft feel :)
I think I might have ordered the wrong dish-I got the lunch combo with chix teriyaki & tempura...the portion was small and just ok. However I started with the spicy tuna on the crispy brown rice cakes and those were really delicious. I will definately go back probably for dinner when I have more time and order just sushi dishes.
If you have ever truly enjoyed sushi, you haven't tasted anything yet. I am suprised at my fellow yelpers that gave K-Zo less than a 5 star rating.
Breakdown
- The sevice is amazing.
- The sushi is fresh and not fishy at all.
- If you love chocolate, the Chocolate Fondant is the most sinful thing I've ever tasted.
- Everytime I have been there, the food, the servers, the sushi chefs and even the bus boys are kind, eager to help you and overjoyed to be able to provide such an amazing dinner experience.
Please go, try the Sunrise Delight. Its one of my favorite rolls, Tuna, Asparagus wrapped in a thin slice of cucumber dressed in the house dressing.. Delish!!!
All Drinks Half Price Thu. &…
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Happy Hour and Tapas Menu
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: Italian
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