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Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
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Spicy tuna on crispy rice, YUM. Seared albacore with crispy onions, YUM. Baked crab hand roll, Yum. Creamy rock shrimp tempura on spicy tuna roll, YUM.
yum yum yum yum yum yum yum.
Went with four other people last night and this place was delicious. And, after tons and tons of these delights came out, our check came and totaled $118 for 5 people. We all ended up paying about $28 after tip and tax.
I am hooked.
Are we in a recession? I don't think of patrons of Izaka-ya realizes that! This place was hopping for a Thursday night. Made reservations for 7:30 but was not seated for another 20 mins so be prepared to wait.
Everything at this restaurant was YUMMY! Will definitely be back when I am in LA!!
Order the Rock Shrimp Tempura, Izakaya roll, fried chicken, spicy tuna roll, rainbow roll, Robert roll, Hamachi belly sushi, Fried Tempura Ice Cream and my favorite the Kobe beef with Foie gras- quite delectable!!!
I love the vibe of this place. Trendy yet laid back...
Tip= Make reservations!!!
Only drawback was that our credit card was charged $5.00 over the total bill. So review your credit card statement to make sure your charges are correct.
This is one of my favorite restaurants in LA. Great food, fast service, fun atmosphere, and cozier than the SBE-owned Katsuya restaurants. It's always busy during dinner so make reservations or go early.
Try these:
Yellowtail Jalapeno
Albacore w/ Crispy Onion
Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice
Red Snapper w/ Shiso Leaf Sushi
Seared Salmon Sushi
Baked Crab Hand Roll
Rock Shrimp Tempura
Their lunch specials are also pretty good.
This place get ABSOLUTELY packed during lunchtime on weekdays. I highly suggest making a reservation. If you don't have a reservation and get seated past 1:45, eat FAST, because they close at 2:30pm and will have no problem letting you know you needs to scoot on out.
I come here because it is convenient and because they offer fresher sushi/sashimi than the nearby alternatives. It, IN NO WAY, rivals Katsuya. Not in freshness nor taste. Not even close.
They offer quite a number of similar dishes to that of Katsuya (e.g. albacore sashimi with crispy onion, spicy tuna on crispy rice, baked crab roll, etc.), but Izakaya's versions clearly pale in comparison. The most disappointing of these has to be the spicy tuna on crispy rice. Izakaya's version is pink, almost milky. I don't know what it is, but I prefer the traditional version I've been accustomed to, a la Koi, Katana, or even Sushi Roku across the street. Same thing with the baked crab roll & blue crab rolls -- they aren't NEARLY as buttery and sweet as Katsuya's. The key to ordering here is NOT to order any of Katsuya's signatures. Stick to classic sashimi (halibut carpaccio, yellowtail), sushi, and rolls, and you'll be set.
I am all about great sushi and this place is all that! Most sushi spots do all the same rolls and it is tough to screw up Sashimi but this spot has unique dishes with great flavor! It really is worth all the reviews! And the hot "house" sake is actually good! They have great cold green tea! Grab one to go after a great meal and sake! O:) The crispy rice with spicy tuna on top is awesome! The crispy onion with tuna underneath is so good! The place is very busy but they do take reservations, you will need it. We waited over an hour for a table that was suppose to be 20min? Small place with not too many tables, so if you live there or have enough time before figuring out where you are going, I would suggest a reservation. Service is pleasant but they are busy, although we were not disappointed in any way! Enjoy!
Came here on a friday nite after finding out Ronin was closed for renovations. The wait was horrible! we had no reservations and were told there was a 30 min wait, we gave our name and waited...after over 30 minutes of waiting we checked how much more we had to go, the host had crossed of our names because his english wasn't great and they miss-prounounced my name ;( Well we finally got seated at the sushi bar which as good! We had the Yellowtail Jalapeno, Albacore with crispy onion and baked crab hand roll, everything was exceptional! Also had hot sake, edamame, and tempura veggies. The food was worth the confusion and i will come back!
Still awesome!! Haven't been back in months since it is always crowded. I thought this place would slow down but just went on Monday night at 7 PM without reservation and we had to wait for more than 30 minutes just to get seated at the sushi bar. The place was super crowded! That was my first time sitting at the sushi bar...the sushi chef was awesome. He was busy, but he held conversation with us and gave great recommendation. My favorites are still the same thing: Yellow Tail with Jalapeno, the Okinawa pork ribs, kobe beef with foie gras, and grilled king crab leg.
If you can contain yourself, you can limit the spending to less than $30 per person....but most likely you will go over.
This is one my favorite restaurants in LA. Anytime we have out of town visitors, I will take them… Read more »
Excellent Excellent sushi. Reminds me of my favorite place, Brother's Sushi. The fish was fresh and the rolls were yummy. I would recommend getting the ceviche and the baked crab roll.
Trendy place but definitely not a club vibe like in Hollywood. Down-to-earth sushi place with experienced sushi chefs
Word of advice: make a reservation :-)!! This is place is always packed.
In a world where good sushi equals snob places Ikaka-ya succeeds by offering a relaxing yet trendy atmosphere and great quality sushi!
Try at least one of their specialty sushi, the waiters are really good in recommending you rolls, just say what kind of fish you like and they will impress you.
Good prices and great people watching.
My boyfriend and I are still looking for our favorite sushi spot in the area, something local, reasonable, and good quality. This is a good contender. We didn't try much, but what we did have was good.
Uni with quail egg sushi - Fresh, creamy, and sweet
Sweet shrimp sushi - We actually got to see the live shrimp squirm as our sushi chef pulled him out. The way they fry the heads makes the whole thing edible.
Kinme snapper - Very tasty.
They also had great service. Our chef looked over our bill in the end to make sure we weren't overcharged and took off $9. Pretty awesome.
We'll be back to try more. The food is still on the pricey side though, but then again, we did get two orders of uni.
I'm still baffled by the magnificence of the sushi I had here two weeks ago.
My friends and I sat at the sushi bar on a MONDAY NIGHT because it was so packed, we were going to have to wait 45 minutes. That right there should tell you something!
We decided to try new things, and after every bite, we all looked at each other in astonishment. EVERYTHING was unbelievably delicious.
The price was a little high, but we did order quite a lot of food.
I highly recommend the crispy rice with spicy tuna. My vegan friend ordered it without the fish, and they were happy to serve her.
OK they are no longer a B. I saw the A hanging in their window had dinner and it was perfection. They have redeemed themselves : )
I would normally give this place a 4 star. I have been going there before it was trendy. All the… Read more »
With the Katsuya name but the ambiance of a small, local Japanese restaurant you'll taste the deliciousness of the fresh sushi here but not feel the pretension of a Hollywood hot spot.
With a small space you might have a hard time just walking in and getting a seat here but once you do the wait is totally worth it. With a huge menu that they bring to your table to read you'll be dazzled by all the choices and the unique dishes they serve up. Try out their sweet shrimp that's so fresh they chop the heads right in front of you (if you're sitting at the sushi bar of course). Their spicy tuna on a rice cake melts in your mouth and leaves your mouth feeling a little tingly after the spicy kick.
With a wide array of Sake you'll feel like you've stepped into Japan itself. Small and cosy this restaurant makes you feel comfortable and filled to the brim with Japanese delicacies. Of course, where they loose a precious star is the prices. The name Katsuya attached to it makes it astronomical. You aren't paying for a cool night spot or fantastic drinks and while the food is fabulous the pricing is depressing. On top of that, the small space makes for a loud eating environment where you might straining to hear or screaming to speak.
Go here when there's money in your wallet and you're in the mood to feel some good Asian flava.
Izaka-ya serves sushi, as it should be. None of these generic Philadelphia rolls nonsense. In my opinion, sushi should be focused on the fish, not the rice or the other ingredients. The other stuff should just compliment the fish slightly, not overpower it. My absolute favorite is the spicy tuna on crispy rice. The smooth and rich flavor of the tuna against the crispy rice was such a perfect combination. The sashimi were all very good, as well as the hamachi, and the Japanese pumpkin (cant recall the exact name) was amazingly good. Tempura was very very light and crispy.
Minus a star since I didn't think the rolls were very good. Too much rice and the rice was way too soggy and soft. Could have been just a fluke though.
By the way- I just read in People, that Eva Longoria and Tony Parker love Katsuya, their sister store.
First meal in LA on last weekend's mini-getaway trip and it was fabulous!
I can't remember the exact names of everything we got, but you can take a look at my pictures -- they speak for themselves! The most memorable things were the salmon sashimi (SO FRESH! melts in your mouth like butter) and seared tuna w/ fried spinach (really different in a good way -- a must try!).
Tip: It's a small restaurant and can get really crowded! Either come early and hang out w/ some sake or make a reservation.
good food! really cool so if someone you go on a date with doesnt eat fish get the KOBE BEEF burger and FRIES sooooooooooooooooooo good!
I love this chef!
way better than katsu-ya much more intimate!
yum yum yum
yes yes yes yes.
honey hand rolls and baked crab rolls.. are what sushi dreams are made of.
i really have experienced bettter... service sucked and i was not impressed at all... the only things i liked was their agedashi tofu... i was very good... but honestly, we asked for the bill and went to cafe sushi instead. Katsuyas restaurants usually are top notch... ive been to all of them, but this one fell short for some reason. maybe i went on an off nite (tuesday)...
I've always heard that the sushi in Texas can't beat Cali, and I always suspected that, but this place just put the nail in the lid! Having lived in Japan for some time I also have my own idea about what is "good sushi."
Izaka-ya is for the most part a "traditional" style restaurant. The sushi chefs behind the bar are Japanese, as are the waitstaff. You won't find as many fusion rolls or things like that but they do have them and they can do them well. Nigiri, sashimi, chirashi zushi, and even traditional appetizers - this was the first time I saw cold tofu on the menu, you have no idea how much I missed Japanese style tofu!! My host mom used to serve it to me that way!
We went with the cold tofu, hamachi with jalapeno, crab and mozarella tempura, maguro nigiri, sake sashimi, live octopus, arugula salad, izakaya rolls, crab rolls, and the lobster rolls. All of it was very good, exceptional for the price! The house seems to be known for fried cruncy onion things which could very well be habit forming.
If you're in the area for lunch do stop by. The lunch prices are very reasonable. The waiters are quite good and accomodating. It took some time to get seated because of the crowd there for lunch but I would definitely eat here again. Authentic, delicious, fast.
newsflash: there's a new hostess on the block and boy is she a piece of work. What a B-I.
hey lady, the Japanese mermaid perm is not a good look. take that asshole!
Yes I do like:
Spicy tuna on crispy rice
Seared albacore with crispy onions
Kobe beef burger
Mushrooms…
Read more »
This place definitely seems like the place to be on a Friday evening in Los Angeles. I was recommended this restaurant by my roommate who had been here a few times just recently, and it definitely lives up to its seemingly good reputation. I'm not a huge fan of sushi, but my friends are, and I can say with certainty that they serve very fresh cuts of fish and have a wide selection for you to choose from.
In terms of their best item, the four of us thought that the spicy tuna on crispy rice was no doubt the best item for appetizers. The rolls were good, but nothing special. The sashimi and sushi were very good-- fresh, and it wasn't that expensive. Don't get the duck, as that dish was disappointing with its gamey flavor.
All in all, with only two alcoholic drinks ordered, it was $58/pp with tip. Not too bad, but not cheap either.
Ok, so honestly, I think that the quality of the food at this place is distinctly superior to the "real" Katsu-ya... and Katana... and Sushi Roku... and all those other expensive go-to-be-seen circuses that happen to serve raw fish.
This spot has creative, delicious sushi in a totally digestable atmosphere. The albacore and eggplant in sweet miso? Divine. Hamachi with jalapeno? Heavenly. So it hasn't been run through a cloud of Lindsay Lohan's perfume on it's way to the table, so what?
Just... trust me.
I have been here 5 times in the last 4 weeks...
The best laid back vibe with the freshest sushi in Hollywood :)
You will always see a celeb but throw on your skinny denim, tees, and ACTUALLY chill out. BEST sushi in Hwood....
Obviously order the sake, and any roll you get will rock your world!
I absolutely love Izaka-ya!
First time that I was here, I had no clue what to order. I wanted to order something that was ranted and raved about. Their baked crab roll was divine! Once in awhile, I do crave it - more so than other foods. Their spicy tuna on crispy rice was good as well. I loved their creamy rock shrimp tempura. So yummy!
I was only disappointed with the Kobe beef steak w/ sauteed mushrooms. It seemed like they gave us a lot less steak than mushrooms. Other than that, I have no complaints with Izaka-ya. The food's quality is great for half the price of Katsuya. This is the place to go!
Ever since eating at Izaka-ya over a year ago I haven't stepped foot inside another LA sushi joint. This place is THAT GOOD. The prices seem reasonable enough, and the special board is the way to order.
Personal favorites: Albacore w/crispy onion, spicy tuna on crispy rice, and the baked crab hand roll (one for each person at your table). It never fails to impress.
Expect to wait a half hour unless you get lucky. I've never made a reservation.
My two friends that once lived in Chicago, (now in LA), my bf and I, dined at Izaka-ya by Katsu-ya this past Sat evening. They eat here a few times a month, so we put our lives in their hands and they ordered their favorites for us. I was hesitant at first, but after tasting everything that was brought to us, I must say, my friends did a fantastic job!!
We were promptly seated no more than 5 mins after our arrival, and handed our menu's, sans prices. I found it strange they weren't listed, but later when the bill arrived, I was shocked at how inexpensive our meal was!! The place is super loud, so prepare to shout! Here's what we had -
4 1/2 honey hand roll - tuna and baked crab I believe. Loved these!! A unique, soft outer wrap, so good!!
Rock shrimp tempura - heavy, but I didn't mind bc they were bite sized and very tasty
Seared tuna w japanese salsa - very tender, delicious
Crispy rice spicy tuna - w a spicy jalapeno on top - so fiery I turned red
Overall, every dish was unique to what I've had before and quite fantastic. The sushi was tender and had that wonderful buttery consistency. I was hoping I'd get to try some West coast white tuna but they didn't have any. If I lived in LA, I'd be ordering those hand rolls all the time. Izaka-ya by Katsu-ya is a sushi spot I will definitely stop through on future LA visits.
My favorite sushi in LA. It's really casual and loud. It's not about presentation, it's about great sushi. That's all. They run around with a big chalkboard of specials. Pretty much everything is small plates. All of them good. Fish is crazy fresh and melts in your mouth. Prices are incredibly reasonable for LA. And there are lots of bars in the area to have drinks before and after. So it's all good.
I was in LA for the day and didn't have time to make it all the way over the hill to Studio City. A girlfriend told me about The Izaka-ya. Since it's the same owners of Katsu-ya, it's pretty much the same quality food. We came for lunch and the service was quick. I got my Katsu-ya faves: Seared Albacore Tuna with Crispy Onions and the Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice. These are staples here so you pretty much can't go wrong if you order these.
The one thing I did notice is that the prices either went up for the Katsu-ya chain or maybe this particular location and the portions of the food didn't accordingly. They've definitely down-sized. I can't complain. I love their signature specials so I'll gladly pay what their charging...hopefully this trend won't continue though..otherwise they'll be Recession-ya pretty soon!
The Cluster F*ck by Katsu-ya :)
All that waiting around and scooting and excusing and mild elbowing biznizz was quickly forgotten after my first bite. The food tastes rad, (see suggestions below, I ordered a good amount of them and was very pleased) and with quickly developing lip-reading abilities my friends and I were able to converse freely. Its a good sign when you spend 1/2 of your time or more talking about what you're eating. Price? No idea cuz its not on the menu and my friends picked up the tab cuz twas me birfday :D
Get a reservation, show up, go to St.Nicks for a quick drink then come back. Thats prob the best idea.
Its a small place with a really cool mini telephone pole in the center. Sparse but interesting decor. They should totally put fake pigeons on the pole that poop out wasabi or something.
If you take that idea, Katsu-ya, I want credit, dammit!
I'd go back on a Tuesday at like 6pm or something.
5 star absence is due to the cluster f*ckiness.
;)
kampai!
Definitely worth trying... It has many unique dishes for an affordable price. We ordered the creamy rock shrimp and the spicy tuna on crispy rice and it is very good. The crispy rice was soft inside and crunchy outside as promised, unlike some places where the rice can be tough and stale. The rock shrimp is a bit heavy as it has lots of mayonnaise but still good to try. We also ordered the sashimi bowl which was like leftover sashimi bits with a vinagarette. The kobe burger was yummy! I definitely will return to try all the other dishes!
Since it gets crowded, I would recommend getting there before 7pm if you dont want to wait.
When a restaurant has a line out the door, we can't be but a little intrigued. When it serves Japanese food, we can't help but wait for a table.
Across from Sushi Roku, the Izaka-ya is a small bare bone looking sushi restaurant with a sushi bar surrounded by wooden tables and chairs. On a saturday night the place was packed and the host told us 30min-1hr wait which isn't too bad on a Saturday night anywhere. This place attracted all kinds of diners, young and old, those on dates and those on big group outings.
Although no official bar, someone actually came by to ask us if we wanted drinks or cocktails. That was a nice touch and we were definitely seated in under one hour.
The menu has a mix of Izakaya type items but also has a good selection of rolls and a ton of sushi specials. We ordered a mix of everything: miso cod (cooked to perfection! more cod please!), scallop sushi & dynamite special (scallops were fresh but seemed to be thinly sliced, the dynamite was pretty heavy on the sauce), creamy rock shrimp over spicy tuna (it was on soy paper wrap and they were sort of skimpy on the tuna) and the Izaka-ya roll (albacore on top, crab tempura inside) which was really tasty but it cost about 2x as much as the other rolls.
The prices here are all over the map. Some items are in the single digits whereas some of the specials and entrees were $30+. The place is also really loud but we liked it, seemed like people were having a great time sharing food and talking. It's definitely more casual than Katsuya and we liked it better, at least here when they greet you "Irasshaimase" (welcome) it's by real Japanese chefs and not by some wanna be actor/actress hostess or sous chef!
Yummers for sure. My favorite is still Katsy-Ya in the valley but since I live on this side of the hill, I like Izaka-ya. Same delish specials and my faves, but there's something about the original Katsu-ya that I'm drawn to. Maybe it's the chef's touch... who knows.
Faves:
Spicy tuna crispy rice
Seared Albacore w/ crispy onion
Cucumber salad
Baked crab roll
Hmmm...I'm getting hungry
The food was decent, but I was really overwhelmed by the frenetic energy of this place. I felt like I needed a yoga class afterward...and I don't even really like yoga! (Namaste!) I rolled in at 9:15 on a Friday and was told that there would be a 30 minute wait. Normally, I'd protest, but I was too tired from my abusive personal trainer and still dealing with the euphoria associated with being touched by Joel McHale. My party of 3 was seated at a 4 top at 9:40, which was nice because I saw them seating parties of 3 at 2 tops (and that would've made me really upset).
Long story short: we ordered a bunch of stuff: salmon carpaccio, yellowtail tasting, rock shrimp tempura, spicy tuna on crispy rice, some assorted rolls, shrimp tempura, and uni. The quality of the fish was pretty good, but I didn't really enjoy the menu with no prices on it. When the bill came, I found it a little surprising that the salmon cost $13. It was literally four slices of salmon over a bed of marinated onion slices. The salmon was good, but the onions overpowered the dish. I thought the creamy rock shrimp tempura was a waste of time. It was basically japanese popcorn shrimp. We also got a bottle of sake and the total came to $44/person incl tax and tip. For a big meal and a bottle of sake, I thought that was very fair, but I think they should put the prices on their specials menu.
N.B. this place is a scene...an annoying scene. Lots of fat slutty girls in tight dresses, LOTS of douche bags, and hipsters...
I am honnestly a huge fan of this place, the sushi is always super great and comes out of the kitchen/sushi bar very quickly. They did use to have these awkward white bords with their menu, but have since reformed and now use plastic ones which are must easier to read.
Their spicy tuna on crispy rice is amazing, I DIE!
The only caveat that I most recently noticed on my 4th time there, is that they have a B rating....cleverly hidden by a chair in the window.
A true Izaka-ya. Everything fabulous. Just don't go there without a reservation after 7:30 pm. You'll wait awhile.
Ate here with a date last night. The sushi was great and the place had very high energy. Accompanying the energy was an extraordinarily noisy environment good for the average college aga patron but a little distracting for someone "slightly" older like myself :-)
The food was really excellent confirmed by the 20 or more people outside on 3rd St awaiting a table. Make a reservation, wear comfortable shoes and dress casually.
I went to Katsuya for lunch.
But nothing was special, over priced and boring menus.
Even lunch I dont want to wast money.
i tried some sushi but rice was too warm for sushi, but fish was fresh. their menu was interesting.… Read more »
This may just be my favorite place on earth!
In fact, I come here every chance I get.
Top Tier: Cannot live without
* yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno
*spicy tuna with crispy rice
*baked crab hand roll
* love their iced green tea!
*the green tea ice cream tempura is always the most perfect ending.
2nd tier notable dishes:
-miso cod
-king crab
-albacore with crispy onion
-snapper sashimi with kumquat prepared 4 different ways- this is a special and not always available.
beware though, this place is addictive.
* Not a good place for quiet conversation. It's a bit noisy in here.
i dont really know what the fuss is about this place! its always packed and quite honestly i think its just the in place right now and once people realize that their food sucks and there are waaaay better sushi spots out there, then the hype will die down. ya i get it the tuna on crispy rice is good but a) thats the only good thing i had here and b) you can get just as good tuna on fried crispy rice about anywhere else these days. this place was just blah not to mention the nasty after taste i had for days after eating their soft shell crab roll! ewww just the thought alone wants me to drop this to 2 stars... anyway point blank there are better sushi spots out there in LA with better prices!
If I were grading this place simply on food, it would get 5 stars! The sushi was delicious. The fried ice cream was amazing.
Too bad you don't just go to a restaurant for food. You also get a long wait and an EXTREMELY LOUD ROOM. Sorry for the caps, but no one else seems to have commented about this. My friends and I, sandwiched into a small table, couldn't hear one another. If you're looking for a place to take a date, bear this in mind. It may work to your advantage if you want to impress your date by having your finger on the pulse of tasty restaurants with gorgeous clientele and you want to hide the fact that you can't hold a conversation. If you prefer a place where you can actually talk, find another spot.
All Drinks Half Price Thu. &…
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Happy Hour and Tapas Menu
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Category: Japanese
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