Curry House
#200
Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 479-8477
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 12:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 12:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
Sun 12:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Garage
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
192 reviews
West Los Angeles, CA
"A couple of yelpers were disappointed with the warm rice served with the sushi. Funnily enough, that's actually the traditional way to…" read more »
112 Reviews for Curry House
It's been our weekend dinner fall-back option for several years, so I'm very fond of this place. It's like visiting an elderly Japanese aunt for dinner ... who then charges you money.
How can you NOT repeatedly visit a restaurant that serves a teppan hamburger steak covered with cheese and gravy? I dare you not to fall in love with this dish. If you don't, you clearly are dead inside. Or a fascist.
The corn potage is another favorite, especially with Tabasco. To this day I'm still not sure if potage is a real word.
Ok, so my cousin and I came here on accident. The plan was to try Hurry Curry of Tokyo. Driving north on Sawtelle, we thought we'd reached our destination when we saw a big red "Curry" sign on the right-hand side of the street.
We both ordered the chicken curry which was tasty and pleasantly filling although it wasn't anything to rave about. We made up in our minds that Hurry Curry was a cool place to try but not spectacular enough to return.
After our meal, the waiter gave us a survey to complete about our dining experience. One of the questions asked how many times the waiter came to our table to ask if we were ok. My response was "too many times," because it seemed that every other second, the waiter was asking if we were ok. There's an art to making customers feel that they're being attended to without making them feel overwhelmed. The staffers at Curry House need to learn this art.
Anyway, as we walked to the car, I saw Hurry Curry across the street. That's when it dawned on me that we'd just eaten at Curry House. So, it turns out that we're a little slow. Whatever the case, we now have the perfect excuse to keep the curry craze going since we have to go try Hurry Curry.
My recent visit to Curry house was not a pleasant one.
I've always noticed a decline in service everytime I come here and always dealt with it.
This past visit was so bad, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I had to bust out my Japanese and complain to the manager...what did he have to say??? He simply looked at me with his puppy dog eyes, and nodded his head...mumbled the words "I'm sorry"...WTF???
I told him I was disappointed in the service, and that I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon...he kept knodding his head up and down.
Quite frankly, I don't think he understood ONE word I said in Japanese...
I think he was Korean-
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Now that I've had katsu in Japan, it's hard to compare anything in States to quality you can get on the other side of the Pacific. But for LA, Curry House is pretty good. I think the sauce is a little better at Hurry Curry but the katsu was a bit more moist at Curry House. Plus I went on the day that they returned to their 1983 prices so I got my fill for around five dollars. Of course, it's not a bargain like that every day, but if you're craving donkatsu, you couldn't do much worse than Curry House.
I did the unthinkable today. I WALKED TO LUNCH. Bye bye SUV. Hello concrete streets.
OK before you get too excited and start recruiting me for relay races. It was only a half a mile. Yea yea. sounds easy but if you know me, then you'd know that I'm not big on physical activity. As least none that requires putting on tennis shoes. Unless it's some kinky gym teacher/volleyball player fetish scenario but i digress.
See thread - http://www.yelp.com/to...
Yah me! btw. i even passed up an old lady on the way there and TOTALLY passed her up. HAHHAHAHAH! IN YOUR FACE!
Anywayz, I really worked up an appetite and luckily wait time was not bad at all...considering they are doing 1983 rollback prices at the moment.
(btw. does 5 bucks for curry in 1983 sound super high to you? WTF.)
The food came out quick. I mean scary quick. Less than 3 minutes after we ordered quick. Which indicates to me that its 1) its not super fresh and 2) they hire super efficient robot midget slaves.
I had the chicken katsu curry which was huge. Flavor is ....normal. By normal i mean homemade. and by homemade i mean out of a box.
But you know me.. i have pretty low standards. It was good. Definitely would have gotten at least 3 stars but unfortunately once you get your food, service completely falls off. After being promised our check for 20 minutes, it still never came. I'm sure we coulda totally walked out but I didn't want to get gangster on them.
And cuz of that..being on a time crunch, I damn near strained a pelvic muscle power-walking back (!) and ANYTHING that affects the use of my lower regions definitely only deserves two stars.
My parting words for the day - walk a block. hug a tree. world peace bitches.
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A tragesty has occurred today. A curry depot I once held in high fanfare, dropped the ball so severely that it shook the very foundation of who I am.
Curry at 1983 prices sounds great doesn't it? DOESN'T IT?!?! Well it did to me. But at what cost? Well, for 5 people we got:
Chicken Katsu Curry x3
Pork Katsu Curry x1
Chicken Curry x1
Iced Coffee x3
Corn Potage
---------------
$32
Poor Simon got ripped off on his chicken portions, but I still think it's okay for something that cost $3.75. The food was how it always is, decent enough for a quick lunch. But sadly the Andromeda Strain killed all the servers in the place and we were left twiddling our thumbs for over 20 minutes after we'd finished eating.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
I'm not even going to mention that they forgot my soup and I had to ask about it, or that I also ordered a seafood curry to go (for second lunch) that they completely forgot and then tried to charge me for. No, I won't go into that.
Because Simon mentioned that he likes Hurry Curry better about 50 times during lunch I'll try that soon to see for myself because it will be a while before my soul recovers from this debacle.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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01/22/2008
(damn, i had this posted for hurry curry for months!)
here's what you do (at least what we did once)… Read more »
3.25- not bad, not great, just ok.
Came here for lunch the other week to rock some Japanese Curry.
Ambience- pretty casual. Mix of 20-30's and families.
Menu- two main things to look at. Curries (of course) and spaghetti. Spaghetti???? Yeah I was kind of shocked but, as a separate section of the menu, there it was. Clearly not like the Italian style spaghetti, but still kind of unusual they called it as such. Prices were under $10 for most dishes (unless you got some add ons).
Service- our server was friendly and attentive
Food- My sister ordered the beef katsu curry, and my wife got the pork katsu. I ended up trying a special dish (seema or something like that), it was basically ground beef curry, and vegetables served on rice. We all liked our dishes, though when I requested medium spice, it tasted pretty mild to me. Maybe next time I'll have to get hot to see what that is all about. Portions are pretty decent, though if you're that hungry, for an extra $1.50 you can go large (though it's just extra rice and curry).
Overall- Good not great. A quick lunch for sure, if I happened to be in the area I'd come back, but wouldn't come just for this place.
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Whenever I'm in the mood for Japanese curry and don't want to cook any myself, I come to Curry House. Far superior to Hurry Curry, the curry actually has depth and complexity. I taste hints of what I can only describe as a black currant after taste. It's refreshing and satisfying. The service is also prompt; they always refill my drinks when I run low.
Oh man, who can resist getting the chicken katsu curry! I simply can't (actually, my mouth is kinda salivating right now as i write this review)!
My brothers, friends and I use to frequent this little spot at least once every two weeks when we all lived in the valley or westwood. We could never get enough of that curry sauce, or the little tiny condiments from there!
We all moved back to our homes, which is almost 45 min away, and later learned that they opened a Curry House in the city of Industry (which was so much closer). I actually went there when i was last in SoCal coz they don't have that up here. Closest curry HOuse is San Jose, and I'm sorry - the place is good, but not for an hour's drive. hahaha
Anyway, my sister didn't like it the first time. When she went the second time, she actually enjoyed it because she actually got the Curry this time. I don't know of any other dishes there, but if you don't try the curry, then why'd you go to a place called Curry House?
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I used to love coming here, but on my last visit Friday night, they've deceased the size of their rice portion and maybe it's bc I've gotten older and less indignant of cooking at home, but I no longer like paying $10 for a single service of curry. I won't be coming back here for a long time.
The curry here is always consistently good. Waitresses are always very nice and quick refill drinks. I've only had one thing here, the chicken curry. Seems like everyone has only one dish they order. If I come here again, I'll have to find a new favorite. Parking is actually pretty OK with a private lot that you don't have to pay with validation. Worst case scenario is parking on the lower level, but I've always gotten parking. You can walk across the street to get boba or Pinkberry afterwards, so the location is good..
Really the portion size is just too small now. I used to go home thinking I ate too much. But now I have to stop at Jack in the box to get some more food as I scarfed down my meal in no time flat. It seems that this location is now continually overrun by little kids. I'm not complaining, it's fine. But it's not a positive when you just want to get some grub with some friends and not have to worry about loud and crass behavior or conversation. That's what curry house was always good for. Maybe all those people grew up and had kids? The hosts here used to be pleasant and greet you warmly, now they say the obligatory hello through distant indifferent faces. Busboys are sloppy. Our first to go box had his thumbprint in curry on the inside. The second box, was broken. I hate to do this, but I'm giving it 1 star bc I think they've been spiraling in this negative direction for a while now and I don't see it improving.
Price: About $12 per person with drink, tax, and tip
Food: Good
Service: Fabulous
Ambiance: OK
Location: Great
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I like Curry House. I like it ALOT. Hell I almost love this place. I've been browsing through some of the reviews and overall it seems a bit mixed, so i figure I put in my own input. Yes, first of all this place does taste like the Japanese curry your mom used to make. Quite honestly, I find the kinda ghetto boxed yet homemade taste the entire appeal to this restaurant. I'm also reading alot of complaints about the spice factor of this establishment. I don't know about you but its my understanding that Japanese curry isn't supposed to be eye tearing spicey (at least not the stuff I grew up on). Instead its supposed to be savory, a tad spicey and a bit sweet. If you do need to spice it up, you can bombard it with tabasco (i guess) and add tons of chilli oil to it. Although, im pretty sure if you abuse both those items, the curry will taste pretty gross.
Anyways on to my favorite dish. I recommend the stone pot curry. Any bonafide asian should know that rice is always better when cooked in a stone pot. Plain rice in a rice cooker is usually well....plain BUT cook in stone and something magical happens you have damn tasty rice. The same goes for curry. Stone pot rice, sauteed veggies with some form of katsu or protein mixed in with gooey curry make this ish of the hook. Oh, and always ask for pickled onions, and raisins. (might have to pay more) They add a pleasant sweetness to the curry.
Good service to btw.
Their curry is watery. They seem to be very focused on improving their service which is nice but i personally don't like being given surveys at the end of my meal. Its just annoying!
Mmm... I've had better.
always up for a bargain, the westsiiiiiide party of five (kinda like the show, but with more asians and less drama) descended upon curry house hoping for good companionship, good food, and a good deal from curry house's 25th anniversary special.
with a party of 5 during a special (prices lowered to 1983 levels), i expected to have to wait for a bit, and curry house met expectations on that front: 25 minutes.
service at first was very good, with the waitress taking our food and drink orders immediately, and the food miraculously appearing on our table no more than 3 minutes later. everyone else at the table got a chicken or pork katsu curry, which looked like a decent value for around $5.25.
my regular chicken curry (not fried - $3.75) came in a bowl of curry as it should, but it literally had 1/3 the amount of chicken that the rest of my table's dishes did and a 1/4 of the amount that hurry curry gives you! maybe it was just a tragic ladling error, but i got screwed! on hindsight, i should have asked if that is really their portion size, hoping that they'd make amends. instead i tried to order a curry pan (fried dumpling with curried meat inside - $1.80) to at least have a shot at getting full, but they weren't serving them today!
what little chicken curry i had was mediocre as well, tasting like that boxed curry you can get in the grocery store that looks like a hershey bar before you cook it. i actually admit that i use boxed curry at home, but i'll add vegetables, potatoes, and more seasonings to make it taste better and a bit more substantial.
to add insult to injury, we had to wait at least another 15 minutes for the check. why do i say "at least?" because i had to leave to get back to work, and eli g. kindly volunteered to stay and wait for the check.
for all i know, he's still there...
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LOVE LOVE LOVE
I recommend this to anyone!!! Its so tasty My favorite is Anything in a stone pot.
YUM YUM YUM
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You can't really mess up curry rice, ESPECIALLY when the company who owns the place sells curry products in Japan. Therefore, food at Curry House should never be a problem. If you thought the curry was bad, then you should go there again as I'd say you just got REALLY unlucky. If you thought the curry was bad on your 2nd try, then you must not know what Japanese curry tastes like.
However, the curry here is plain average. It's not great. It's okay. It's something that I can probably make myself. But of course, I go there because I get lazy to cook it myself, and I have no time to do that on a short lunch break from work. Pasta is average, the Hamburger Steak is average. Although it got a little better than before, I'd wish that the curry was hotter (not the sizzling hot, but the spicy hot) than it is now.
Service varies. I don't know the night staff, but at least during lunch. There's this one Japanese girl/lady, kinda tall with long black hair, who is AWESOME. Fast, precise, and always checking up on the table. She knows how me and my co-workers roll...we'd sit at the table, order within a minute from sitting down, food comes and we chow down, she'd come check our drinks every 3 minutes, and give us the check when we're done eating. Perfect timing as we're not the type to just sit around. We're usually in a hurry, and she knows it. The other people? Hmm...average?
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i love this place. having been to japan recently, this is the closest it comes to being real japanese curry. wayy better than the overhyped hurry curry across the street.
the pickled radish is a perfect compliment to a pork or chicken katsu curry. the service is pretty nice to you too. i think its a good quality meal that makes you feel pretty good afterwards- like soul food.
Green iced tea is the good stuff here, $2.25 w/unlimited refills. Shoot, I didn't even have to ask for refills, dude came by like 6 times and I easily had my antioxidant fix for 2008. Thanks!
The food: I had chicken curry w/spaghetti. Interesting concept. I saw much more tantalizing options at the tables surrounding ours, maybe I just played it safe and ordered the wrong dish. It was rather forgettable. I think the golden curry packets taste comparable.
My companion had seafood curry, it was better than my chicken. But again, wassup w/the generic curry for every curry dish? Flavor it differently, add some color, fool me into thinking there was more than one big pot of curry back there being poured into anyone and everyone's bowl.
The spaghetti is decent, but nothing I would come back for either.
Prices: ~$9 and up for dinner. It's not too bad, but the food isn't good enough to justify it.
Atmosphere is cool. It's cozy, kind of like an intimate nook w/several tables packed on the floor.
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Mmmmmm Curry House!!!!
This place is freakin good! Try whatever, it's good. One of my favorites is the Menchi Katsu, very good!!
My other favoriter is the Seafood Gratin, but the Curry House in J-Town makes it much better.
Hurry Curry will love you longer time.
I LOVE IT!!! I'm a big fan of japanese curry so I'd say this place exceeds the star rating that is given on yelp! Everything is good here but there's a caveat - When you order the light entree with fruit salad...don't set your expectations too high because you get half the size of the curry with rice and half of an orange! My cousin ordered the meal and was highly disappointed but overall this place was yummy!
The food here is pretty excellent and the service is really good as well. If you order a bottomless drink the waiters are very prompt about walking around and refilling your beverage. Also, if you order one of the stone bowl curry dishes, they can even mix it for you.
Overall, the food is really good but a little tough on the average college student's budget. Be prepared to pay $10-$20 for dinner.
I've never been disappointed with the food at Curry House. But at the same time I don't think I go because it's extraordinary.
You can't really go wrong with anything on the menu either - so next time you're there, try something new.
They have their anniversary specials on July 4th, which have the katsu combo for about 6 bucks. I will order many of these and eat them for lunch and dinner the next day.
I know they are know for their curry, but I like their pastas much more. The seafood marinara and chilli shrimp pastas are quite good. I also like getting the curry pan as an appetizer.
Curry House is THE place to get curry in the West LA area. They cook everything to perfection and have a wide variety of choices (including a menu of Japanese spaghetti) to keep you entertained. The waitresses are all really awesome and make an effort to be really friendly and keep your table happy. The friendly atmosphere of the restaurant really shows through in this Curry House much more than the others (I've been to five in total).
If you want something tasty, try the menchi katsu curry. It's not something you'll find at just any curry restaurant and it's very tasty (ground beef).
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I totally agree with procter. can't compare japanese curry to indian and thai, but if you ask me, i'd rather have the latter (2). first off, i was advised to get their special: curry, rice and katsu. the curry here is creamy and tasteless, then topped on rice and FRIED meat?!? i felt like i was going to clog my arteries. anyway, that was my WHOLE meal. for the price, i was hoping for a little more pizzazz...some flavor, maybe a light appetizer, or dessert to follow. nope, not much on the menu for that.
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I had katsu curry , sea food curry and guratan set were pretty good
but their hamberger steak ( wafu sause) was not good.
Overall , I think it is OK .
I like japanese curry. it's comfort food. the curries here just come with the meat that you order, white rice, and a small side salad. you can add veggies in the curry for an extra price. the katsu gets a little oily near the end when your meal cools down.
i hate paying for parking in the underground parking below. you can only get it validated for a short time. if you don't mind a little walk, circle for street parking.
this place reeks of curry when you enter the place, which can be a turn off, but don't leave; be adventurous and try the food! the food and service was great! don't dress in you nice clothes becz your clothes will smell like curry.
their curry pan was delicious and had a great spicy kick at the end. the miso soup was very delicious and flavorful. the stone dish was great if want carbs and liltte protein. it lack a little bit of seasoning, maybe a tad bit of salt would have made the dish great. i'd order it again and go back again.
order the green tea drink, that was great! it's a bottomless drink.....really!! you get a refill before you even have a half empty glass.
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Service is excellent, food is great. I love getting the beef curry combo, comes with a little side salad, that has lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, and corn with some great dressing. You can't really go wrong with beef curry and rice, you have the essential sauce for the rice and the great tender beef to go along with it. The gf loves the chicken and ginger curry.
Their katsu that they serve is very good too! I much prefer this place to Hurry Curry, portions are bigger here and seems less prententious than the other joint.
Curry House is really close to my house but I've only gone a few times in the 3 years I've lived in West LA. It's not to say that it's not good, but I rarely crave curry... But anyways, it's good and not expensive. The servers are really nice and it's also nice that you get seated quickly.
Definitely worth checking it out.
I'm a big fan of the curry here. Enough so that during my pregnancy I ate here nearly 4 times a week.
Even when you order the "Spicy" plate, there's no heat. Nonetheless, the flavor of the curry is mighty tasty and you can't go wrong with ordering the katsu chicken curry.
I'm sure I'll get some e-mails for this but Curry House is truly overhyped. First off the 'curry' is Japanese style and at least in my opinion nearly as robust or flavorful as Indian curries. Yes, I know how can I compare across different ethnic cuisines? Well I just feel that if you're the type that likes robust flavors you'll find this weak curry poured over any type of fried item as incredibly disappointing. There is no thought to the food. Go ahead and try it, you'll see immediately that they take rice, then put katsu on top of it, and then take a laddle of the curry and pour it all over. For the price and lack of thought put into presentation I can't give it more than two stars. To further my arguement go to the Japanese supermarket on the bottom floor and buy a package of their pre-made curry, microwave it and you have exactly what Curry House uses.
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I love me some Japanese curry. This is way better than Hurry Curry of Tokyo, across the street. Curry House, seriously, I think I love you. It's been a great relationship. I hope it never ends.
Oh and your tofu sundae dessert thingy. The best! You can't go wrong when you add the cornflakes. The crunchy dessert goodness. It's orgasmic.
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My first time ever trying Japanese Curry was here. I had it on good faith that this was a good place to try. I had the Pork Katsu Curry lunch special and was totally satisfied. I'm ready to go back and try the different combinations they have!
I'm really tempted to go and buy some of the dressing they use for the bit of salad they give you with the plates it was so tasty!
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Bad. Not what REAL Japanese curry/food tastes like.
Please, don't waste your time/money here
I love this place! I used to go here all the time when I was a student at UCLA. The prices are decent and range from about 6-12 dollars per meal. I love the red sweet radish condiment they have in the little containers on their tables. It tastes really good with the curry and rice.
Their croquettes are good, all of their curry dishes are good, and the chicken salad is ok. I also like their gratin dishes. The toasted rice onigiri that comes with the gratin sets can taste stale sometimes. Definitely worth checking out when you are craving curry.
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the curry is not as good as hurry curry.
it's more buttery. and watery.
the beef curry was ok. not the best.
the chicken cutlet was not dry which was a good thing.
i think it's a bit more pricier too.
Hungry or not~ you will dig this place as soon as you step into it~!
Like curry or Hate curry~ it is always a great place for fantastic meals~!
The combination of sensational curry aroma and with the warm-cozy in-store setting/services hemisphere~ it can truly awake the internal hunger of anyone, starts up the stomach in the full gear and set to chow down the feast~ (can stirr-up your internal hidden "Cookie Monster" appetite)
The varieties~ GOOD
The food~ GOOD
The quantity~ GOOD
The quality~ GOOD
The services~ GOOOD
Over all~ it's a superb place to have a casual dinner date~ or with your close friends!
Two things I will not recommend!
ONE - if you DO have large # of a group~ call in first, and try to see if you can make reservation or checking on the current in-store availability. Because, tonight, when we were leaving, there were two large groups had to wait outside of the door (8+ people per group)
TWO - Since the restaurant setting and services quality are truly elegant, but IT IS still a family-type of restaurant, don't even bet on scoring a perfect first romantic dinner date with the girl in your dreams~ it's not a candle-night-dinner spot.
I love "Curry House" and remember to try their "Tofu CheezeCake"
www.house-foods.com
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It's where I go when I need my Chicken Katsu Curry fix. Wife likes the dog and beans. Service is top notch. Prices are fair. Nice folks run this place. I'm going there this Saturday with some friends. Head downstairs to Beard Papa's after for some cream puffs and you'll have done well.
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A restaurant that only serves Japanese Style Curry!! For whatever reason, finding a Japanese restaurant in Northern California that even SERVES Japanese curry is hard to come by, let alone one that has multiple varieties and add-on toppings galore!!
This place is heaven to my hubs. When in Honolulu, we hit up Cocoichibanya, when in LA, we hit up Curry House.
The menu itself is almost overwhelming - there are just so many choices!! Do I get it in the sizzling clay pot? Do I order it with katsu or something else? Which flavor do I want? How spicy? Or do I want Spaghetti (no, not really, but they do have it if you're into that)?
Their homemade dressing is delicious and I wish I had purchased a bottle before we left....
I ended up ordering the tofu and ground pork with clove spiced curry. SO good. The hubby got the ground beef katsu (breaded and fried like a cutlet) over curry...don't remember the name of it, but it was one of their 'special' dishes. He also got a curry pan to take on the road ($1.89) which is like a Japanese piroshki with a fried katsu breading on the outside.
Service is efficient and friendly. The place is very clean. I have no complaints and look forward to eating there again on our next visit to the area.
The restaurant is on the 2nd floor of Sawtelle Plaza. The plaza itself has an underground parking garage, but there seems to be some street parking as well.
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