Santō

Yet another amazing experience at Santō! We came in without a reservation right at 5 and were able to get a spot. Food was amazing as always. Fish is high quality and service is great. Water glass was never empty and I never had to ask for a refill. Riley was so amazing and helped me put together a little birthday surprise! Thank you for making our evening extra special.

The first time I came here, I thought it was absolutely amazing. The second visit was still good, but it didn't quite match the initial experience. The restaurant is small, which can lead to longer wait times, but sitting at the sushi bar is the best way to get the full experience.I specifically came for the white fish with chocolate on top--definitely a must-try! Some hand rolls lacked flavor, while others were excellent. The salmon roll was delicious but had a spicy kick. I also tried a variety of sushi, all of which were solid.Service started off great but declined toward the end.As for parking, it's street parking only, which can be tricky depending on the time and day you visit.

I am struggling as to how to rate this wonderful gem of a sushi spot. Let's start with the excellent: we met an owner, nickname Rocky. He has great energy, passionate, and cares about his community and restaurant, that really came across. Yesi, our server, recommended we try an off label nigiri item, The A$$hole, it was my favorite bite of the night for sure. The sushi is interesting- it is high quality cuts with a twist. One piece actually tasted like a S'more! I am somewhat of a traditionalist with sushi but I definitely did like the Oaxacan chocolate char on the fish- it was so interesting, like a pleasant puzzle.I enjoyed our meal. The space is tiny. I would have preferred sitting sushi bar but I guess we booked on yelp so no such bookings get to sit at sushi bar. There is no real Omakase, well sort of, there are 10 piece fixed items, but not daily specials. The vegan options were outstanding - I love that about the area in general. We did not at all feel comfortable when we came in, we had a long drive and the hostess told us we had 30 minutes to eat before we sat down, she corrected herself to 90 minutes but I just think they have some kinks to work out. Not with her specifically, she was very sweet- just generally, It's a hot spot, very popular and super hipster. Feels kind of neighborhood-y which could be long term excellent. Unfortunately, it also felt a little like walking into a high school cafeteria in terms of the clique vibes from staff, might just be so small and intimate that they just plainly serve people differently- service felt like they were tolerating outsiders- which is just weird. Rocky turned it around for us, he is from Mexico City and knowing the creative inspiration and what was going on with the direction made everything fall into place in terms of the menu and overarching vibe. They also ended up letting us relax through our meal but we didn't really until he came in. The ube ice cream with shiso furikake was yummy! Basically, for me it is a low four because the service needs to be more professional- no shade on our server specifically - it was across the board ( except owner). I think it will be a five in the long run, so am rating for the direction. I worked in service for years in France, LA and SF. The best places with the most longevity have the talent of making everyone feel welcome, even within confines of turning tables. Sure, there is a vibe- but good customer service is timeless and international. When they nail that, which is so clearly important to the owners, they will have the perfect je ne sais quoi quality that makes a great idea a powerful success with nearly every guest.i might add we were there for my birthday, which my husband noted on the res and it well, would have been nice if someone said happy birthday. I mean, a holiday birthday is always a tricky one but it would have been thoughtful.

A pleasant evening sitting at the counter with a coworker-friend, we decided to try a few items on the menu that was recommended to us by the chef and server. Here is what we ordered:Crispy tortilla with spicy tuna - this was a great shared appetizer and a nice way to kick off the meal. It's not out of the ordinary and didn't surprise me too much, but still a lovely beginning.Seared o'toro - YES! This was my favorite on the menu. The presentation was mesmerizing as the chef seared the fish in front of us with burning coal. Flavors were delicious - would recommend!Crispy soft shell crab hand roll - also very good, and quite a treat on the palate! I liked the amount of crunchiness to the rice / crab ratio. I was sad that it was gone lol!Vegan fysh handroll - my friend was a former vegan so she wanted to give this a try. Honestly it tasted exactly like fish and was mind-blowing to know that it wasn't!5 piece nigiri - this could've easily been eaten without sharing. 4 out of the 5 were good, the 5th was a mushroom one which I didn't enjoy too much. I found it strange that this was one of the items on the set. For dessert: we got the matcha brûlée and the matcha ice cream. The brulle was by far my least favorite thing we ordered. Neither of us finished it. Thank goodness that the matcha ice cream turned out to be good!Overall, it was a lovely experience with my coworker. I think it's slightly overpriced but, what can you do, it's LA! The restaurant is quite small so definitely make a reservation whether on a weekday or weekend!

Overall consistently fresh fish, good flavors, and some interesting takes coming from the Mexican influence. A bit pricey but I'm glad I tried this spot, and would come back for the hamachi with chocolate nigiri. Santo tiradito (hamachi): 9.5/10 Otoro sashimi: 8/10 fresh and the seared element was interesting and smoky. However it's not really the best quality otoro I've had. 5 piece nigiri: the best by far is the smoked hamachi with Oaxacan chocolate. Absolutely delicious and unique. This was my favorite bite of the night. Others are ok. Chutoro and shiitake are solid bites as well Salmon w skin, ikura, yuzu: 8/10 it's fresh Chutoro tostada: 9/10 bc this was one of my husband's favorites here. Good flavors Soft shell crab roll: 9/10 my second favorite of the evening. Crab is light and crispy Soft shell crab and unagi hand rolls: 8.5/10 fresh and nicely made, exactly what you'd expect

Santō is a sushi & sake bar serving up fresh Japanese favorites with a Mexican twist like their torched hamachi nigiri with Oaxacan chocolate. The original Santō in Mexico City is known for its party atmosphere while their Silverlake location is more laidback and chill.

Had a birthday dinner for my boyfriend's family. For starters I had a miso soup which was nice and warm because we were sitting outside and it was a bit chilly so that helped. The food was delicious. I was surprised the mango sushi was actually really good. You just have to try it and see. The tostadas were my favorite like it was light but filling. The crispy soft shell crab hand roll was my favorite like it was so good and savory. Double dragon roll was crunchy and you can taste the taro sauce. San Shake was also my favorite as well. Our waitress was nice enough to guide us how it worked and recommended some stuff as well.

I kept pushing this place off because it seemed hard to get the reservation spot I wanted. We decided to try a walk up experience, and to our surprise we were quickly sat at the bar.We didn't know that majority of items were raw/seared so that was a new experience. We decided to follow the host recommendations and we enjoyed dinner!

Bruh. Delicious. I'm dreaming about coming back here. Vibe? Unmatched. Food? Unmatched. Dessert? Unmatched. The margarita was also so good. Hamachi sashimi & matcha brûlée are must haves. Great place for a special occasion or date night! But also will be returning casually bc the food is too good to only have a few times a year.

Absolutely the best sashimi I have ever had in my life. Tastes like what you dream sushi should taste like.Drinks were excellent too. I cannot recommend this place enough, and I eat a lot of sushi.