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Mon-Thu. 6:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Sun. 6:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
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#1 sign of an authentic restaurant - everyone in the restaurant is of that ethnicity.
I was at Wakasan on a quiet Sunday evening and every single person in the restaurant (except my dining partner and me) spoke Japanese. I was feeling pretty good about it even before I dined.
If you're still a bit incoherent from having too much fun the night before, this is a perfect place for a meal. You don't have to worry about what to order since it's all decided for you by the chef. Omakase sushi is fun but omakase everything else is even more exciting.
If I were doing the ordering, I wouldn't get half of the items that were brought out to me. But the element of surprise kept me on my feet. I kept wondering what would be next. I'm not sure if I remember everything that came out (I wasn't taking notes or anything) but here is what I do remember -
1) Boiled spinach: 3* - It is how it sounds.
2) Sashimi Trio Platter: 4* - the snapper wasn't the best but the sardines were yummy.
3) Egg Tofu with Uni: 4* - Very interesting; but the tofu was a bit bland.
4) Shrimp ball soup: 2* - Uh, no thanks.
5) Trio of Other Things: 5* - The mochi in soup was delicious (but my dining partner hated it) and the grilled yellowtail was quite tasty. Obviously, the third part of the trio was uneventful since I can't remember it.
6) Fried Breaded Tuna Filet: 2* - It was too oily and the mayo-based sauce was just too much.
7) Duck Shabu Shabu: 5* - This was the highlight...not because the duck was so amazing but because of the presentation. You get a little "bowl" of goodies. The "bowl" is made out of paper.
8) Rice and Fish Eggs: 2* - I don't like fish eggs :( They're so orange and they look like little eyes staring at me.
9) Vanilla Pudding: 4* - The waitress didn't call it pudding but that's what it is.
I'm getting full just thinking about it. To summarize my experience, I think the food was good but not exceptional, maybe 3.5*, but service was attentive and the wait staff was friendly.
Besides when you are too drunk to order, I would recommend going there for a special occasion or for when you're feeling adventurous. $35 is not bad for the number of courses you are getting so let the eating marathon begin.
Went there on a Thursday to meet a friend, not expecting too much, but walked away happy and satisfied. The food was very traditional and the chef and wait staff were extremely friendly. We had the omakase for $35 and ordered other interesting sides. Well worth the money... Here's some of what we ate:
Amago tofu with salmon roe and uni
Spinach with bonito shavings
Sashimi plate with yellow tail toro and raw shrimp
Oden soup (beefoodie says yummy for the tummy)
Grilled salmon and sardine sushi
Tonkatsu with vegetables
Beef hotpot
Grilled uni
Toro tataki
Simmered baby sole
'til the next beefoodie adventure!
I'd rate 85%
This is my favorite Izakaya spot in Los Angeles.
The value is unbeatable given the $35, multi-course Omakase that changes frequently.
I've dined here 5-6 times in the past year, and it's been consistent.
Themes of Omakase remain similar.
Expect to get a good deal of fresh cooked fish, sashimi/sushi.
They've made excellent grilled mackarel & salmon, among others.
Occasionally there are also special fried dishes (such as Tonkatsu or Chicken Karaage, etc), mini shabu-shabu, etc.
Quality of raw fish is decent, but not spectacular.
(well, this is an Izakaya so that shouldn't be a surprise).
There is also an 'a la carte' menu with several grilled dishes.
I have not sampled anything from here however.
Service isn't particulary exceptional (as is pretty much all Izakayas),
However, it is prompt & efficient.
The food to come out quickly, and is paced very well.
You don't get the non-sense whereas appetizers take 10 mins to arrive, but the entrees take 30 mins.
The Omakase at Wakasan takes approximately an hour and a half.
Decor is modest, but also charming.
You could come here for pretty much any occasion, bar perhaps heavy boozing.
Opening hours are wonderful.
They are open pretty much 7 days a week and close late.
Parking seems to be adequate in the surrounding streets.
Location is conveniently close to the 405 and 10 freeways.
Cons:
Their beer selection is fairly limited & conservative by today's standards.
Expect to have the basic Japanese beers with the most exotic being Yebisu.
This is a bit of a shame imo, as this food goes very well with a good beer.
When they are busy, they do not answer the phone.
The recording message is in Japanese (which I can't understand).
It's hard to attempt a reservation when they don't answer.
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is to get to eat at Wakasan at least twice a month every year.
Today, I got to taste the "AMAZING" Shabu Shabu/ Hotpot ( thin briskets with noodles, veggies, tofu in beef broth) in a wax paper bowl warmed on personal grills.
I seriously think I am in love.
In love with the never ending scrumpdiliyumptious authentic Japanese dishes.
Over 10-12 varieties of dishes always make my stomach happy and smiley.
The service here is also amazing... I lost an earring last time I visited and the waiter gave it back to me carefully wrapped up in a paper... I am so touched... I am starting to think they are your undercover santa's little helpers!
Santa,
All this amazing over 10 dishes of yummy food and amazing service + awesome sushi chefs only come in $35 dollars prefix.
I know the economy is pretty rough these days...
But I strongly believe in you.
They rarely have street parking,
Never enough seats,
And super difficult to find the location with their Japanese signs,
but it's cool.
I've been good low maintenance Asian girl all year... so far...
I decided not to believe in you at the age of 5 after I found out that you did not have the magical power to shove a Pony down the Chimney.
But it's cool.
I don't need a pony to please me anymore.
All I want for Christmas is Wakasan
Love,
Kwiri San
This Place is great.
I can't stop going back over and over just because
1. proximity to work
2. great…
Read more »
Was definitely impressed with how fresh everything tasted, and if you're a crazy sushi (and ONLY raw sushi fan), this place is for you. They don't have rolls, and only 2 or 3 udon dishes, including soba.
I only wanted 5 of the sushi listed on the menu, so I got a special which had shrimp, white tuna, regular tuna, salmon, fatty tuna, and pieces of seaweed with rice on the bottom. I pretty much ate the whole thing with no problem and was pretty full. My other friend got a bigger bowl which had 5 varieties, but was still a little hungry after that.
Draft beers are only $3, and on a Friday night, got seated immediately. Service was really not needed since everything you need (wasabi, soysauce, EVERYTHING) was already on the table. It was pretty spacious inside, but the decor was nothing to rave about. I liked how everyone was so friendly where I literally turned to the next table and started talking to them. Good place to hang with friends!
Absolutely fantastic.
I was very impressed with there quality and the price.
Everything was so fresh and authentic I thought I was in Japan.
I seriously recommend this place to everyone who is a connoisseur.
Great Sake selection and more than reasonable price as well.
What an incredibly delicious and pleasant place! I took my dissertation advisor and her husband here for dinner, and it was absolutely delightful. Course after course of small dishes, all fantastic and also well-sized. You will leave here full if you have their set course. A mini shabu-shabu, a sashimi plate, izakaya...sigh, sigh...chomp.
I love this place- for the price you get a really fun and yummy meal and I generally leave feeling pretty stuffed. The menu changes frequently, so half the fun is wondering what your next course will be.
After coming here a few times and getting the standard $35 omakase, we decided to call ahead and arrange for the $95 omakase for a friend's birthday dinner. It was delicious! Some of the outstanding dishes were:
- Sweet shrimp topped with uni served alongside 2 giant oysters on the halfshell.
- Haf a lobster served in the shell, topped with grilled uni and drizzled with clarified butter
- Tender slices of abalone on top of some sort of fried lotus root cake (tasted like a potato pancake) sitting in a delicious broth. This was my favorite dish of the night.
- Japanese crab legs, served chilled with ponzu- the meat was exceedingly sweet and tasty
- Snapper shabu shabu
The presentation for the upgraded menu was gorgeous and it turned out to be a perfect birthday dinner. In the future I'm looking forward to going back and seeing what the $55, and $75 menus have to offer.
Always amazing and fresh. I've been here probably over 6 times now and each time it's just as good as the last. The menu changes seasonally and they always serve up the freshest and tastiest little dishes. It's a steal for the price!
Went here for the first time for my brother's birthday, with his wife and one of his best friends, who recommended this place- and this friend knows his Japanese food!
Loved the fact that it's omakase, so every time you go it's a different experience! I also believe, that in this day in age and even though we have so much variety, we rarely get to really experiment or try something completely new. So I'm very happy to have places like this to go to.
We went through a dozen dishes on the omakase menu for that night, but we also ordered an additional 4 dishes which we either saw (or rather smelled!) around the restaurant. One of those dishes was also the clam miso soup, which our friend HIGHLY RECOMMEND. And we were not let down at all. It might come with your dinner that night or it might not, but either way give it a try, it's very very tasty.
Sake was also reasonably priced. Bonus!
Definitely heading back there again... And soon!
Amazing Omakase!
Came here after I got fitted for a tux for a friends wedding. We notices this place from across the street, where we were getting fitted.
We were suprised it was Omakase ONLY!
Since we decided to stay for dinner, we were all amazed at all of the courses and the flavors.
Service was fair to decent.
The only thing that sucked was when I got home, pardon me, my stomach exploded and had issues.
Don't get me wrong, it was great, but something didn't settle well.
All of the food tasted fresh, and no one else in our party got ill. I figured it was jus me.
But, still can't find myself comin back anytime soon...
O-my-kase! I didn't know what I was eating half the time, but it you're a foodie, or at least a wanna-be foodie, GO! NOW, if you can.
Wakasan is a treat and real dining adventure! They only serve omakase, which basically means "chef's choice." For a fixed price, you get a bunch of dishes at the discretion of the chef. In this case, it's $35 per person for 12 courses. Yeah, 12 courses. But before you start looking for those big pants, the courses are mostly small plates a la izakaya cuisine (think Japanese tapas). If you're a picky eater, be forewarned. Part of the omakase experience is trusting the chef to serve you a good meal, and the chef in turn gets to be creative and serve you dishes that you may never have had before. Most dishes you'll like, some dishes you'll love, and maybe some dishes you'll never want to try again, but that's part of the fun. So suck it up.
I came here in March 2009 and this time around, with the exception of 1 dish, everything was completely different from my previous visit. We had:
1. chilled green salad
2. seaweed salad
3. cold jellyfish salad (i think)
4. sashimi: tuna, Japanese yellowtail, mackerel
5. crab and cucumber sunomono
6. grilled or seared tuna
7. pork and tofu broth
8. some deep-fried skewers: taro root, shrimp and mushroom, beef wrapped zucchini
9. egg custard with mushrooms
10. uni (sea urchin) and salmon roe over rice
11. miso soup
12. grapefruit jelly
I hope I got that right, but check out the pictures. My favorites were the seaweed salad, sashimi, and seared tuna. Some of the dishes were a little too salty for me. I also tried another yelper's recommendation and had the Kurosawa sake. I don't know anything about sake, but it tasted pretty good, and I turned red, so it was probably a good sake.
Everyone was really friendly. Our waiter was great - refilled our water and tea regularly, explained all the dishes. It's a small place, so if you have a big group, make reservations. They're closed on Tuesdays. Street parking only, but it's not too bad. Probably not a good place if you're vegetarian. I'll be back.
This might go down as the longest post-dinner dinner I've ever had. After a couple pints and some snacks at happy hour, I would have been happy finishing my night with a good nap, but when Wakasan was all Mr. Simon C talked about just the week before, I couldn't resist saying yes when it once again came up as a post-happy hour option. Ok, I lied, it wasn't the ONLY thing talked about, but it was the only $35 omakase, and my memory has priorities.
If you didn't have a Wakasan expert with you to yell STOP!, you'd blink and miss this place. In fact, you'd even stop, get out of your car, search the area with bloodhounds for 20 minutes and still completely miss this place. In an eensy weensy strip mall off Westwood Blvd, the eensy (but not quite weensy)sign is still in Japanese with an eensy weensy translation of Wakasan at the very bottom. Only the true foodie geniuses must have been smart enough to sniff this place out.
The theme continued inside, as we got seated in an eensy weensy adorable little booth and were fed a series of eensy weensy omakase dishes - something like 12 of them! Every time we thought we were done more would come out. It was like the treasure trove of Japanese eating!
Okay, Veronica has the worst memory known to man, but a few things did catch my fancy:
Chilled spinach salad: served cold - like from the frozen tundra!
Seaweed Salad: yum!
Eel with mushrooms: yum!
Sashimi: one of them was tuna?... see, I'm horrible
Chilled King Crab Leg: it held the meat hostage in that stupid spiky shell, but we came out victorious!
Octopus: nooooooooo thank you. pass!
Beef-wrapped something or other vegetable: yum!
Various fish cakes in broth: ehh.. lil chewy
Chawanmushi: you can egg me any day baby! yum!
Ahi and salmon roe on rice: yes ahi, no roe
Miso soup: standard
Strawberry(?) ice cream: standard, but you earn extra credit for the piroulines!
All in all, some dishes were great, others were um.. interesting, but really such a foodie adventure for $35 absolutely deserves another visit! And obviously, four fabulous stars!
My family is Japanese and we are often dissapointed by popular Japanese restaurants because of the lack of authenticity. This place is real Japanese food the way its supposed to be! Its the real taste of Japanese cooking you would get if you went to Japan. Delicious, such a good deal and I love the quaint little atmosphere. I've become a regular here and have never been let down. The BEST in Japanese cuisine.
This was delicious, authentic and reasonably priced. Someone reviewing an izakaya in K-town and mentioned they thought that's what a restaurant in Tokyo would be like. I disagreed. Wakasan reminds me very very much of several restaurants I went to in Tokyo. Not in Shinjuku, Ginza, Akasaka, or Roppongi neighborhoods, maybe. But maybe near the fish market in Tsukiji, or the quieter Asakusa, or one of the many small residential neighborhoods with twisty streets that wind around in between the many busy high streets of the central neighborhoods. If you spend days walking all over Tokyo (the bottoms of my feet were bruised for weeks after coming home from all the walking), you will find many little restaurants so reminiscent of Wakasan in these quiet neighborhoods.
Wakasan is smaller than I expected and we were the only Caucasians. The price is right. They charged us $35 for a long omakase meal, which we accessorized with a couple different sakes from a well appointed list with different price levels. Everything was a treat for the eyes and taste buds, and although not everything was pleasant to my western palate, everything was fun to experience. I found the food to be authentic and fresh. The service to be friendly and swift (although not too swift) and the experience to be divine.
I would gladly take someone there for a meal that is an experience. Trying to cut back expenses during this recession this was probably one of the best restaurant treats I have had in months, mostly because of the balance between value and experience. We spent the entire evening reminiscing our Tokyo adventures.
If you go, hope you get the roe & uni dish at the end of the meal. It was jaw droppingly good. I wish they had served it earlier, although palate-wise the strong flavors made sense at the end. Tummy wise, I was too full to eat every single morsel in the small bowl.
It has been a while since we last visited Wakasan. We've been wanting to come back here forever. Finally came back for our 2nd visit. At the door, there was a sign stating that Wakasan only serves omakase style dinner. The price is $35 per person for 10~12 dishes. Since the restaurant does not take reservation for 2 people, we arrived at 6pm right when they open to grab a table. Without reservation, it's best to arrive right when they open or go a little later.
We chose Kurosawa Sake to go with our izakaya omakase dinner. This sake is medium dry, very smooth.
For the omakase meal:
(1) Spinach with Bonito Flakes: Three dishes of cold appetizers were brought to the table immediately after the sake was served. The first dish was spinach with bonito flakes. The spinach was soaked in a flavorful stock.
(2) Squid with Miso Sauce: Two slices of squid were topped with a thick miso sauce. BF liked this one a lot. Under the squid there were sweet and sour daikon salad.
(3) Green Bean with Peanut Sauce: The sauce was made with real nuts and you can still bite into the little pieces of it. The bean was fresh, but the sauce didn't really have much taste to it.
(4) Sashimi: There were three kinds of sashimi that night: mackerel, amberjack and grouper. The best one was the grouper. We've never had grouper sashimi before. It had that melt-in-your-mouth texture and was very delicious. Amberjack and mackerel were both very good, too.
(5) Miso Salmon: The salmon was marinated in miso before grilling. My salmon was grilled perfectly. I especially like the part near the skin. But BF mentioned that his piece was a bit dry.
(6) Okra Wrapped in Wagyu Beef: An okra was wrapped with beef and grilled. The beef was tender, but could use a bit more salt. This was a great idea. Maybe I'll try to make it at our next BBQ. This meat dish was served with some potato.
(7) King Crab Legs: Big pieces of king crab legs. Each of us got three pieces. The fresh crab meat was sweet and delicious.
(8) Simmered Chicken Meat Ball with Pumpkin: We LOVE this meat ball dish. The huge chicken meat balls were tender and so flavorful. It was simmered in a very tasty stock. The sweet and almost creamy pumpkin was delicious. I was really tempted to drink the stock out of the plate.
We were out of sake by this point. So ordered a large draft Sapporo beer. Best Japanese beer!
(9) Tempura Shrimp: Then came the fried dish, perfect with the beer we just ordered. Two big pieces of tempura shrimp and one shiso leaf. BF usually doesn't like fried food and he liked this tempura shrimp. It wasn't as oily and heavy.
(10) Egg Custard: Smooth and creamy egg custard was served next. There were shrimp, chicken, fish cake and lotus seed at the bottom of the custard.
(11) Salmon Roe Rice: The rice dish that night was salmon roe over rice. I like how each salmon roe burst open in my mouth.
(12) Clam Miso Soup: The final savory dish was clam miso soup.
(13) Grapefruit Jello: Dessert was grapefruit jello. There were big chunks of grapefruit in it. Yum!
We had 13 dishes this time. Almost all of them were different than the last time we were here. Everything was delicious. We were really full, but didn't feel heavy. We really like Wakasan and want to come back more often next year.
The two Japanese girls sitting near the wall know the people who works in the restaurant. And they were served a completely different omakase menu. I saw sizzling plate with BBQ meat. They also got individual shabu shabu. That must be the VIP omakase menu. I wonder how do you get on their VIP list? Maybe if we go there every week?
The home cooking style Japanese omakase for $35 is defiantely a good bargain. The food was… Read more »
I feel silly doing this, but I got an ROTD on my previous Wakasan review today. I actually visited here few weeks ago and was thinking of updating the review last night to mention that it ended up being not as great as I remember.
Don't get me wrong, it was still quite a feast considering the price, and I still got my fix of Japanese home-made soul food (which is always great!!), but the course line up was not as exciting as first 2 visits.
Wakasan's menu changes quite often as their menu is full of seasonal goodies. Maybe my last visit was one of their "off" times. I will still come back here in a few month to see how winter menu is like.
ABSOLUTE 5 STARS!!!
I came here last night (Sunday) with several friends (happened to be yelpers!).…
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I really wanted to fall in love that night, but I just couldn't do it. Wakasan was hyped up to astronomical proportions from the girl and it sadly didn't deliver.
Granted their menu is seasonal and ever changing, but out of all the 12 dishes I got, not a single one wowed me. Even the girls die-hard love of the place was shaken by the lackluster meal. I took pictures but even those were seemingly meh so I won't post any. I won't go into details for all 12 dishes either, I just get waves of meh when I think about describing the food.
But really, 12 dishes for $35?! Great deal! Even if the food was nothing special. None of it was bad at all, it was all par. I'll probably have to come back and try again next season when the menu changes again, but I'm a bit wary. We'll see...
I will be maaaaddddd if I had to pay for this dinner but it was Mom's turn (to pay) so I can let it slide.
I won't call it "omakase". It was just a bunch of side dishes, all mediocre. Sashimi was fresh and I prefer that tuna sashimi over tasteless boiled crab legs really!!
I could not get excited over what they offered because I can cook all these dishes myself?
I wanted to be "WOWED!!" like everyone else but I couldn't.......
Wait staff was so friendly, she will get 5 stars though....
Wakasan is one of my favorite recent discoveries. Why? Well, 1) they're open late - 11:30PM M-Th, and 12:30AM F-Sat. I don't know if you remember my ordeal on finding late night places on Mondays, but, well, this about fixes it all! 2)It's a great deal. They prefer you to do their prix fixe menu that's $35 - when I did, I ended up getting 12 items and was stuffed - probably too much so for 11pm on a Monday ...
Photos of all 12 dishes are here: http://tinyurl.com/57twms
Thanks to Mattatouille for pointing this place out to me!
1. Cold bean sprouts
2. Bean curd - before it's formed into tofu with vegetables, and
3. Ankimo with ponzu sauce, cucumbers and salmon eggs
The tofu curd had a very interesting texture and the dish overall was great.
The ankimo was also good, and I really like the combination with the cucumbers!
4. Sashimi: Tuna, old yellowtail, red snapper
They're not the best quality sashimi, although it wasn't bad. I wondered why the "old yellowtail" - because, yes, it tasted pretty "old". Anyway it wasn't bad and for $35 for this and a lot more I wasn't going to complain.
5. King crab legs
Yum. They're king crab legs, I don't know what else you want me to say O:)
6. Grilled items: Miso salmon and green beans wrapped in wagyu beef
Pretty standard, salmon's a bit overcooked and hence, dry, for my taste, but overall everything was solid, even though not remarkable.
7. Braised Skate wings
This was my first time having skate. It was pretty fishy, but also pretty meaty. The braising has made it tender, so it was quite tasty - although I wasn't able to finish it because I was full and also because it was too fishy for my taste.
8. Shrimp with sweet potato fried rolls
This was served with cocktail sauce, which I wasn't too keen about. Overall this was pretty bland in my opinion, although it did have nice textures.
9. Chawanmushi
With ginkgo, small shrimps, etc, this was one of the best chawan mushi I could remember having.
10. Miso soup
11. Chirashi with tuna, scallops, uni.
Again, the fish quality is not the best, but the uni is not bad. I didn't really like the scallops as they were not fresh, but I thought the other two were decent.
12. Vanilla ice cream
I can't say for sure but this tasted very much like Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream. Which meant it was good :)
Overall we had a great variety of dishes, and some of them very interesting ones I've never had before, and all for $35. Plus they're open late daily. I'll be back here, and I think you know when :P
Me likey! Went with my man at 9 on a Wednesday night and was seated at the biggest table in the place. Another couple ended up at the other end but no big deal. Barely even heard a word of their conversation.
First off we were the only non-Japanese in the place. I think that means it's pretty authentic. The food was good-simple, comforting and lots of it. I ended up just so happy. Not stuffed at all. Good sake menu too.
As for the bill, well, it's never a good sign when the alcohol is almost half the cost of the total. If it weren't for the fact that we drink like fish, it would have been very reasonable. It's still $35 pp for the omakase.
I'll be back.
Okay I'm going to give you the honest review of this place.
Wakasan's $35 Omakase = $8.99 Lunch Special at ANY Japanese restaurant broken down in to a course meal.
The food sucks. If you think I am being harsh, wait till you pay $140 (including tip) for dinner for 3. I don't want to sound like a slob but I've had my fair share of Japanese food to know better.
Wakasan is an all-or-nothing, where "all" is "omakase" -- because other than drinks, there is nothing else on the menu. From what I understand, the omakase here is more authentic Japanese so it appeals esp. to Japanese clientele, so don't expect any fancy presentation here. Still, I couldn't help but compare this to my only other omakase experience (Makato's in DC) -- HUGE difference (service level, presentation, ... and PRICE). I didn't know it were possible to get omakase for just $35 -- what a great deal! I went last Friday and we got 9 different courses.
1st course: 3 small dishes of 1) mountain vegetables 2) zucchini & eggplant 3) conch in wasabi. All ok, nothing extraordinary. I had some sand issues with my conch though.
2nd course: egg tofu in crab sauce. Nice comfort food.
3rd course: skipjack, scallop, & red snapper sashimi. I never had skipjack before - my friend said it's a poorman's tuna. I really liked the flavor - it was seared and tasted kinda smoky. Snapper was very fresh.
4th course: salmon in miso, and sprouts & beef. Salmon was pretty good, but the beef had a funny taste like it was spoiled or something.
5th course: steamed king crab w/ vinegar sauce. Crab had a nice sweet taste but couldn't take full advantage -- wish they provided a tool to crack the shell & a tiny fork to help pull out the meat. Chopsticks didn't quite help with this one.
6th course: fried chicken. Nice ginger flavor.
7th course: egg custard soup. Another comfort food. Bottom of custard had shrimp, mushroom, scallions, fish cake, and chicken.
8th course: clam miso soup, and vegetable steamed rice. Very very bland.
9th course: red bean ice cream. Refreshing.
Check out my photos if interested.
I liked the variety but I felt like I was missing an experience. While service was friendly, I wish they waited until I finished my course before bringing the next course. I was also missing sushi ... surprised it wasn't one of the courses. Not so sure I'd come again but enjoyed trying many different "authentic" Japanese dishes.
How the heck can they manage to offer a 10+ course prix fixe omakase meal for $35??!?! Great price great food great service and unpretentious atmosphere. Thumbs up up up!
Oh so the complaint is that this place is prix fixe only?
Givem a break.... if you want a fancy menu you can choose from be prepared to pay a lot more.
Wow! I'm surprised that there are haters of this place. This must be one of those divisive restaurants. To be honest, when I first checked it out, I wasn't in love, but after a few visits, it became a little like going home for a meal.
Now, I'm enamored with it. I have been for about half a year.
The facts are correct, $35 for a fixed-price omakase. On average you are served 10 dishes, so that comes to about $3.50 a dish. Great deal, especially when you consider some of the delights: Crab legs. Ankimo. Sashimi!
The courses are always the same. Two salad dishes to start. Appetizer. Sashimi. A grilled piece of fish. Crab legs. Fried oysters or friend shrimp. Egg pudding. Donburi. Soup. Sometimes dessert.
If you're feeling adventurous, see if you can order from the secret menu, seemingly reserved only for Japanese. The truth is, anyone can order, but they figure most people don't "get" Japanese food, so they force the omakase thing. Case in point: A friend of mine started asking questions about the sweet shrimp in the tank, and soon we were invited to order from the Japanese menu instead of ordering the omakase.
Authentic, home feel. Great for conversation, laughs, and sake. Plenty of sake. This place won't blow your mind, but it's good, honest food.
The non-descript exterior made it easy to miss. I'm still curious why the sign says Japanese charcoal cuisine. Of my twelve course, only one may have been grilled. There's a podium outside that explains their omakase-only philosophy. However, when I think izakaya, I also think that part of the fun is having a choice. While getting a sampling of many things is good, there were some things I wouldn't have ordered given a choice. I would probably come here again with my Japanese friends and seeing how they like it. Only a few dishes stuck out in my mind. On the plus side, the restaurant was all Japanese, patrons and servers. That's always a good sign.
I posted pictures and descriptions of each course on my blog http://www.gildedpalat...
I was so so ready to give this place a 5+ star after reading all the reviews. I REALLY was!! I was about to make it my 100th review too....bah. I took my sister and my boyfriend to try a highly recommended Omakase meal for only $35. If you want to get a short summary, I'd like to say "I was sorely disappointed"
one star for the great service and half a star for decent pricing for an 'omakase' but don't call it 'omakase' if you can't let it live up to its name!
I re-read some of the reviews once I got back to check if there was something wrong with my eyes........
ok, so here goes:
(may not be in order)
first dish i get are some cold stuff in three small little bowls.. excited to try it I immediately grabbed my chopsticks and tried the first of the three.. then the second.. then the last.. not one of them tasted special... it's obvious they had everything in the fridge and just served it, but if that's their philosophy, i'm fine with that. so ok.
Grilled fish, mackerel (this was decent), sashimi (2 types: 3 of one and 2 of the other.. it's interesting reading other people's reviews since they seemed to have had more that were 'fresh')- this was horrible. It was dreadfully fishy and felt old.. Ok, maybe they only get fish delivered once a week.. uh, DON'T SERVE IT if it's going to be so yucky!!
Fried tempura (shrimp) was the better out of them all, yet again, I believe the breading on the outside should be yellow to golden yellow if they used clean oil... mine was not.
frozen crab legs with barely any meat... egg drop soup that tasted like the miso soup powder you add water to (plus some egg) and some weird rice that I really thought looked like left overs.
I love traditional Japanese food, but this place? Oh dear, no!
I wanted this place to be fantastic so I gave every dish a chance, I rarely do, but unfortunately, not one of the dishes lived up to my expectations. Sure, you could say $35/omakase is decent.. but I would like to disagree from the bottom of my heart. I didn't think it was even worth $20 because it was a very poor combination of dishes that was just 'called' Omakase.
I never leave food unless my belly's about to pop... I left 70% of the food......
If you think about it, it's not that cheap.. I mean what ingredient was there in my meal that cost more than $5? There weren't any uni, roe, sushi.... maybe my 5 pieces of fish sashimi was worth $30 and $5 for all the rest.. so sad.
To summarize, for 35$.. the amount, quality and the taste of the food, go to Todai or Onami!
Sure, everything here is what your momma (assuming she is Japanese) would make. But would she charge you $35?
Where did I learn how to cook from? I got it from my momma.
I feel like I, too, can make a few of the dishes (not being Japanese and all).
Spinach starter. Check.
King crab legs. Check (fresh from Costco).
Broiled fish (we had 2 different types - salmon & white cod?, each pretty bland). Check.
Steamed egg w/ mushroom/fishcake/etc. Double Check. I ate this everyday for bfast growing up and totally perfected this dish.
They did have really good red bean & green tea ice cream, but I doubt they are made in house so I might just need to explore the ice cream department at Marukai more.
Don't get me wrong. I think the restaurant is cute. Way cute. Authentic too. Perfect date place. Perfect friends place. But I think my home cooked meals accompanied by grocery store sake are cute too. And much much cheaper. No wait and no reservations required! I just get annoyed going to places knowing that I can make at least a few of the dishes at home with comparable quality.
So if you are feeling really nostalgic for home cooked Japanese food, of course this is the place. But when I'm feeling really nostalgic for home cooked Chinese food, I am lucky to just go home to my momma. Doesn't get better than that.
Had dinner here last December with fellow yelpers, the audacious funny yelper bff of mine (you know who you are babe AND thank you for dinner!!) and the very charming & beautiful Christie.
This is an authentic izakaya and I found all the chef's choice plates ( omakase) superb. My yelp bff was amazed that the japanese eat so many small-portioned varieties of complex creations. Yes, we do eat this way at home if we were in Japan.
Some Japanese cultural lessons here.
In December, Japanese people gather in restaurants like Wakasan and celebrate what is called "Bo nen kai". It is a group of friends and co-workers eating together and consuming large amounts of shochu, sake, and beer. "Bo nen kai" means to forget the bad things that happened all year.
In January, we get together again for a celebration called "Shin nen kai". Yes, you guessed it. We all get together with friends and co-workers to welcome the new year and eat and consume large amounts of shochu, sake, and beer....
I noticed many Japanese natives at Wakasan. (The Japanese drink...probably rival the English, Germans, and Russians. Plus, most Japanese are drunk at these social functions daily in Dec. and Jan.)
Wakasan might be busy all January with "shin nen kai's".
I am definitely planning to go there again soon with a good Japanese yelp friend.
What do you expect? We're drinking since December because keeping the Japanese tradition is oh so important...
"Ofukuro no aji" , directly translated in old school Japanese as, "your mama's palate" (err... style of cooking) pretty much sums up the menu of this place. Every course presented in our prix fixe meal is something typical I would eat when visiting the parental units. Ultimate comfort food that literally makes me miss home...
After the worst week where everything seemed to have gone wrong, I almost pulled a number like Michael Douglas did in the movie, 'Falling Down", about an Engineer who literally snaps and walks off the job without saying a word. That would just be hysterically awesome. Well... that may be quite an exaggeration, and I'm sure all of us at one point have fantasized about doing the same... but I sincerely haven't had one of those days in a super long time. In fact, I am blessed with a job I love & am very passionate about, but just this day, I was internalizing being a raging b*tch on a rampage and almost cracked. Although I left the office late, the BF convinced me that some comfort food and much needed sake & beers would be the correct therapy I needed. (They close at 12:30a.m.!)
The ambiance here is tastefully quaint (although I did spot Ikea purchased lighting throughout the place, but that's okay) it reminded me of a little tavern we used to hit in the Minami Azabu neighborhood of Tokyo after work on my last job. I could tell you that every dish served last night just hit the right spot. I would say this is one of the best values I've seen in a long time... $35 pp for a truly authentic, comprehensive, delicate, utterly fresh ingredients utilized, 'mama's palate' cooking is something I completely look forward to coming back to again and again, since the menu changes daily!
Who would of ever guessed it? Stuck in the heart of Little Persia is an authentic Japanese restaurant that instantly brought me right back to Japan with just the opening of a door.
What I mean by that is exposed wood beams, plenty of red drinking faces, lots of cheers, lots of bowing, and Ken Watanabe. Yes, the most handsome Japanese ever ate dinner next to us with his family. My friend needed a moment to herself when she spotted him...yes think dirty please.
The 14 courses were simple "home cooking" type Japanese food according to my Japanese friend. Salmon egg on rice, king crab (who eats this at home though), little potato dishes, mackerel...more more more food..brought out in a fury almost putting panchan dishes to shame in a Korean restaurant. At the end, we were full, but not stuffed. And I like that feeling....about not being stuffed.
We ordered a bottle of shochu (which tasted DISGUSTING but my friends are champs and drank with me anyway) and they have a storing process in place. What that means is if you don't finish, you write your name on it and you can drink it next time. I love that! No more tipsy driving now!!!
It's a destination eat boys and girls. Make it happen soon. You want an "out of the country" experience, Wakasan provides it. 30 bucks for omakase is the best deal ever. But of course, we rang up a drink tab double our meal anyway....what do you expect?? I"m the food slut.
I'm here to confirm that Wakasan is usually good, occasionally spectacular, and occasionally disappointing. But I've been here about 10 times in the past three years, so they're doing something right in my book.
The omakase, of course, varies from visit to visit, but there are some things that stay fairly constant:
1.a cold 1st course, usually featuring several small dishes of cooked greens, seaweed, et al.
2. An early sashimi course, with consistently excellent fish.
3. A grilled fish plate, which has always been very good.
4. A variation on nikujaga, good, but never the highlight of the meal.
5. Chawanmushi, which they always do well, but not my favorite dish.
6. A couple of heartier dishes (broiled fish, or a katsu of some sort, a stew, croquettes, etc.)
So most of the variation, and what makes or breaks the meal for me will be in the entree-ish things that come in the middle of the meal.
Last night was disappointing: there was a relatively boring fried chicken dish, and the sashimi was not as good as usual. The previous meal was fantastic, as we had several different grilled fish dishes, and really good skipjack and scallop sashimi.
Itadakimas - means, I am grateful for this meal I am about to receive. Starting our meal with the traditional phrase that you say when you begin a Japanese meal was very appropriate for tonight.
Contrary to what some reviews say, I didn't feel like this restaurant was izakaya style. From my experiences in Japan, in an izakaya, you usually share dishes in a sake based establishment. I didn't get to see the sake menu, as we shared many pitchers of beer. Wakasan reminded me more of the koryori style, where you alone are given many servings of small side dishes (not shared tapas) that focus on fresh ingredients based on what's in season. There isn't too much done to the food, because the purpose is to bring out the flavor of the ingredient.
If you rate each dish on its own, you can find better sashimi or chawanmushi elsewhere. But as a whole, the entire experience was very traditional and enjoyable.
My favorites tonight were the fried oyster (kaki fry), miso soup with clams (asari miso), king crab (kani) in a vinegar base, and this dish that reminded me of oden, but it was covered in a sweet miso paste. The price for omakase (chef's choice) has gone up to $35 for 2008, but that's not bad considering you are given about a dozen dishes.
Gochisosama - means, thank you for this feast. It's the phrase you use at the end of your meal and this most definitely was a feast!
---------------
I've been trying to figure the best description for this type of dining and I think it's similar to kaiseki, although it's a steal compared to Kappa in SF where they serve koryori
Wakasanchi is my favorite place to eat on a Sunday night when everything else is closed. It's a little hidden on Westwood Blvd, and I myself would never have found it if it weren't for my hair stylist's recommendation. I asked her what her favorite Japanese restaurant is.
"Wakasanchi...yasuishi oishiiyo," she said, meaning that Wakasanchi is cheap and good.
Japanese food is always pricey so I don't mind the $35 omakase. If anything, it's cheaper than my usual sushi fare. You get seven different courses, and they're all variations of dishes that my mother might make on a given night.
It's comfort food and it's the perfect way for me to relax before facing another Monday.
I went here last night purely on Yelp recommendations, and was pretty bleedin' satisfied. I have a love for home-style Japanese cooking, and have been a purveyor of said local home-style Japanese cooking establishments for a few years now. Some of my favorite haunts are Terried, Sasaya, Torafuku, and a place on Olympic that I can't recall the name of. Wakasan earned a place on that list last night. List last lost lest lust. That's right - every vowel, eukaryotic bitches.
First off, I have to say that Wakasan is a great date restaurant. The decor and size of the joint are pretty much perfect. We sat at an oddly angular dark wood table, cozy and comfy. You feel like you've been invited to someones home...dark and easy going, Kurosawa posters in the back, and friendly-as-all-hell waiters. You do not feel like you are in L.A., which is a huge bonus for me when eating out.
Just in case you think that the style-over-substance disease that many restaurants in our city seem to catch has germinated here, you will be pleasantly surprised to find out that this is not the case. It's mostly Japanese clientele, and the feel is genuine. The fact that it's in an area of L.A. not known for its style or fashion is even better for a place like this.
Onto the food. There was quite a bit of it, which ends being a pretty good deal at $28 per person. We had everything from a crisp-tasting marinated bean salad to a flan-like seafood situation to sashimi to slightly sweet-marinated Japanese squash. The sashimi was the only weak thing in the menu - not quite up to par for me, but I am an immense sushi snob and have incredibly high standards for it. The waiter had a perfect sake recommendation, and the food just kept on coming, in perfectly portioned lil' sizes. Almost everything was flavorful, subtle, and fresh tasting.
Like others here have said, if you're looking for a syrupy sweet Americanized thang, then I wouldn't advise going here. You will likely eat some things that challenge your taste buds, which is what I love about places like this.
We walked away perfectly satiated, and not once did they force either of us to wear a clown outfit and recite passages from the Upanishads - a huge plus in my book.
I really like this small restaurant. My family and I ordered the omakase course and everything was really good. It's super traditional Japanese food and it was delicious. If you're not use to the simple traditional Japanese cuisine, it might be a little "boring or bland." It's not a place where you can get salty teriyaki chicken.
A PHENOMENALLY GASTRONOMIC IZAKAYA!
Who would've thought that a little hole-in-the-wall I have been walking past all these years, would be oh so amazing & great?
A small bantering between Yuko Y. & I turned into a date at Wakasan, joined by the gorgeous Marc S. & beautiful Zalina L.
Reservations were made for 6 pm, and the place was half-filled 5 minutes after opening...and mostly by Japanese people. The best litmus test of its goodness! Yuko would not even dare repudiate the taste of the dishes or their authenticity to Japanese home-cooking. Wakasan is true to its approach and technique in serving light but flavorful food.
The small bar's decor is minimal, earthy, modest, yet comfortable, furnished by warm dark wood tables and banquette seating, culminating to a bar-seating sushi station. The menu offers "only" libations of various sake, beer, wine (though not such a good selection...a white & red from the 2-buck-chuck Charles Shaw), soju, & tea. Dining here requires a great deal of TRUST on the chef, since the offerings are OMAKASE style, dependent on his mood & generosity, or lack thereof. However, fret not! For I'm sure you won't be disappointed! For $30/per person, the meal comes in 12 courses of savory + 1 course of sweet (dessert), not including drinks, taxes, & tip.
The courses came in small individual plating of dishes, staged from light (vegetable) offerings to heartier fares of fish, eggs, fowl, & beef. Each one had a light but distinct flavor that will make your mouth go "ooooooooooooooooooh!" & "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!". T'was enough of that going on around our table for the evening :D
Below is the list of dishes cribbed from Yuko Y.'s review (she was taking notes, & I was too busy inhaling everything while making "ooooooh!" & "aaaaaah!" noises!!!)
1st course:
HOURENSOU OHITASHI
spinach soaked in stock
2nd course:
MOYASHI NAMURU
marinated bean sprouts
3rd course:
KANI SANBAI-ZU
king crab legs marinated in vinegar
4th course:
RENKON, GOBO, & ENOKI NO NIMONO
simmered lotus roots, burdock, & hackberry
5th course:
KABOCHA NO NIMONO
simmered kabocha pumpkin
6th course:
YAKI ZAKE
grilled salmon with lime
7th course:
KAMPACHI, MAGURO, & HOTATE SASHIMI
8th course:
TAI NO ARA-NI
simmered red snapper with daikon
9th course:
GYU-DON
beef bowl rice with slivered ginger
10th course:
KAI JIRU
miso soup with clams
11th course:
CREAM CROQUETTE & EBI FRY
croquettes filled with creamed potatoes & deep fried shrimp over a bed of slivered cabbage
12th course:
CHAWAN-MUSHI
egg custard with slices of fish cake, shimeji mushroom, & chicken meat.
13th course:
AZUKI ICE
red bean ice cream
Kudos to the Chef! Arigato!
I came here last night for the first time for dinner and had the $35 omakase. The place is really small and can be easily missed if you're not looking for it. It's on the same side and street as Sushi Masu if that helps.
Here is a list of the courses we had:
1) Assortment of vegetables: Being that I'm Korean, the flavors were very reminiscent of 'panchan' (the assortment of tapa-sized sides in Korean cuisine).
2) Assortment of sashimi: snapper, tuna and yellowtail.
3) Eel with pickled cucumbers and spinach: The flavors in this dish was very mild and delicate.
4) Shrimp with tomato cocktail sauce/ Grilled Mackerel with Daikon/ Boiled Crab Leg (not whole leg): We were instructed to eat the entire shrimp without peeling it. It was delicious! The mackerel was also very good, especially with the daikon. The crab was a one note and I could have done without it.
5) Beef & Tofu with Noodles: Sweet, just like you'd expect it to be.
6) Chicken Katsu w/ Sauce: It was really crispy on the outside, which I loved! But, the chicken was a bit dry for me on inside..
7) Chawanmushi: Cream Egg Custard. This also reminds me of another Korean dish minus the cream (Gwe-ran Jeem/Egg Jeem), but this had ginko nut and other surprises inside. It was lovely!
8) Miso soup and Tuna Rice Bowl: Standard miso soup, but I could have eaten a big bowl of the tuna and rice. I love rice bowls.
9) Tea
10) Japanese Panna Cotta w/ Blackberries: I loved this dessert! It also had bean powder on top. I don't know how to explain this, but it's the flavor of my favorite kind of Korean dukk (mochi)!
I think $35 for omakase is a great deal, however I thought some dishes were just lacking in flavor and quality. Some dishes were really great and tasty, while others did nothing but fill up my stomach. It didn't give me the ooohs and aahhs. But, I'll definitely be back because I know that the items for omakase change. I'd recommend this place to those who want to try a new dining experience and for those who love Japanese food.
I keep losing my notes these days, so annoying, as I recently started the habit of jotting down my impressions, to keep them fresh in mind. But this time, they are not really necessary, as plate after plate of food came out, and I kept being underwhelmed.
I guess that's the price for high expectations; a few of the more sophisticated palates I know have loved it here, (that doesn't sound right) and I was excited to try the cuisine. We walked in, and I immediately liked the decor, the size, the layout. All very tasteful and put together in a simple yet precisely thought out fashion. Because it was a Friday night and we had no reservations, they seated us at the narrow bar facing the kitchen. That was alright by us, and we got to study the lone inhabitant of the aquarium up close, Larry the Abalone. They move slow, folks, really slow. Sometimes all their little feeler/sensors are out, sometimes they are retracted. In the hour or so we were there, I think Larry moved an 1/8 of an inch. Must have been exhausting.
Of the 12 or so plates we had, I thought only 3 were interesting and particularly good. We had a variation of the famous baked cod in miso sauce, but with pike instead, and some mirin doused over it. That was an interesting combination of flavors. Other than that, a beef and vegetable deep simmered broth (lost my notes, forget the Japanese words, drats) was rich and redolent of winter, and the egg custard here, something that never does much for me, generally, was really quite nice, with a shrimp hidden in it, very smooth, with a nice mellow flavor. The rest, I have had better of everything in various izakaya around town. It certainly was not bad food, but overall, it was average, not the inspired family style home cooking I was looking forward to.
That said, for a prix fixe price of $30 that cannot be beat based on the amount served, coupled with the cozy feel of the place, the odds are that I will return someday, maybe in the spring, to see if the variations served are seasonal, and what they may be. And perhaps, to see my dear friend Larry the Abalone, though I fear his days there are numbered. Sayonara, Larry-san! May your final lap around the fish tank of life be glorious!
Happy Hour 3:00- 6:00 PM
Neighborhood: Hollywood
$ushi $pecial!
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Sushi Bars
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Japanese
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Japanese
West Los Angeles, CA
Category: Japanese
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Japanese
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