Taberu

Came by here with a couple friends for dinner on a weekday night. Got the a5 waygu uni skewer, tepin yaki, hojicha tiramisu, and the get you high flight. The waygu was definitely the highlight but it was on the pricier end being $30 per skewer. A little disappointed in the flights. They were a bit too sweet and tasted pretty syrupy. The food came out extremely slow as well so expect to be there a bit longer. Food: 7.9/10Service: 7/10Ambience: 9/10

We stumbled upon a gem of a spot during a quick trip to LA for an exhibition. My friend and I didn't have reservations, and while it seemed like you needed them for indoor seating, we ended up on the cozy patio with heaters. Honestly, I think we lucked out--the patio was super inviting! That said, the inside looked amazing, with its dim lighting, great color scheme, and comfy seating.We came for a light bite and left very satisfied. My friend loved her picks, and so did I.I went with the Toro Taku roll on the server's recommendation. While it was delicious, it was smaller than I expected--just four pieces and not a lot of fish. I couldn't help but envy some of the sushi I saw at other tables, which looked amazing. Next time, I'll stick with my instincts and try the roll I was originally eyeing. What I did love, though, was the pork belly-wrapped Portobello mushroom--an absolute standout pick. Note to self: order more of this next time. There was a little mix-up about whether they had matcha iced tea, but our server brought it out eventually, and it was worth the wait--delicious!My friend ordered the A5 Premium Wagyu Uni and the Spicy Avocado Cucumber appetizer, and she raved about both.The only downside? Parking. Like most places in LA, you have to hunt for it and pay. But we found a cheap $5 lot just half a block away, so not too bad--yay!All in all, this was a delicious experience, though we probably should've ordered more since portions weren't as big as we expected. I'm already eyeing the Half Ramen for next time--sounds like a perfect way to start or finish the meal. What do you think? Is Half Ramen a starter or the grand finale?

I'm so glad I got to come here and finally try their food. I've always passed by it but so glad I finally got to experience. We got sashimi, crispy kaarage, skewers (chile relleno, oyster mushroom, and premium wagyu), and a dragon roll. We also ordered the cocktail of the day. The sashimi was very good and melts in your mouth. I really enjoyed the skewers as well. The restaurant has a really nice ambience. It's really pretty inside and it got crowded as the dinner rush came in. This is a really cute date spot in the Arts District!

We celebrated our girlfriend's birthday here with a party of 13 people & it was great!They were extremely accommodating to our large party size and gave us a big long table and service was amazingOur side of the table ordered a Sapporo beer tower along with a 720 ml of Dassai 23 sake which is the best oneI forgot the name of all the dishes we ordered but we ordered the Yakiniku Beef Yakitori, the shiso & pork belly yakitori, the Kanpachi Carpaccio, Spare Ribs, Salmon Maki, Miso Ramen & some other dishes.The Kanpachi Carpaccio was my favorite! It was so buttery & the sauces on top paired so well with the fish.Another favorite was the spare ribs because the meat was so freakin juicy & tender and fell off the bone so easily... WE ATE THAT SHIT UPPPPOur server brought us a dessert for the birthday girl & even sang for her which damn bro had a voice of an angel so thank you for blessing us with that!Hands down a great experience & definitely recommend to anyone who's lookin for some good Izakaya food

I ordered unagidon and it was served in a small hot bowl. For $28 I expected more. There were only 2-3 small pieces of unagi on top of white rice. I can't say I liked the sauce bc it was a little spicy which was so unexpected.. it was just ok for me. The eel could have been more tender as well. I did like the ambiance and the salads other people at our table ordered were a generous portion and totally shareable. I got to try some and really enjoyed the fresh garlic dressing. Our waitress was very informative with the menu selections. But I did notice that service was a little slow. We asked for more dressing for the salad and it came 20 minutes later. :-/ Would I visit again? Maybe if we were celebrating a bday or some other special event, but the prices are pretty high and parking is a challenge.

Nice trendy Japanese restaurant in Downtown LA Arts District. Food is on higher end for smaller portions but I enjoyed everything I tried. Menu was recently changed so many of the items showcased on yelp was outdated and no longer on menu. Here's the rundown:Good* Yakiniku BBQ Beef skewer - Very tender and cooked perfect medium. You can opt to buy additional seasonings but for me it didnt need it and was perfect. Had to get 2. (5/5)* Tonpei Yaki - Tasty omelette. Decent size. Wish it had more meat and less bean sprouts (4/5) * Seadog Salad - Refreshing. Fish was fresh but very small amounts. Some chopped citrus fruit would have been nice addition. Homemade secret Salad dressing was the star. (4/5)* Unagi Hitsumabushi - Standard eel on plain rice. Nothing special. Some avocado or veggies would have made it better. (3/5) Wish there was a bigger selection on menu. Wish they had fried rice. Decor was nice. Seating comfortable. Filtered water. But service was slow for such a small place. Some servers were nicer than others. Parking sucks in area which is expected. I would go back for the skewers if in the area.

The menu looks promising. There were some good hits but more misses. I felt like the skewers lacked A LOT of seasoning. The best one was the yaki soba, but the rest just needed salt at the very least. The tan tan men was really good. The takoyaki was also perfection. The oysters were obnoxiously big, so they just were too much for everyone at the table. No one wanted a second piece. The service was ok, but really slow. It seemed like one server and one bartender but even taking our order seemed slow. He really just had no sense of urgency. The woman that helped us did her best but I'm sure she was stressed having to pick up his slack. It took 20 minutes to even get a drink order in. I don't think we put our food in for 30 minutes and still didn't even have a coke in front of us. They need more staff, or better staff. The restaurant is super cute. They have a community table, but without a break in it.. it was a pain in the ass to get to and they had one gentleman blocking the entrance to go around and he seemed annoyed with us having to say excuse me. It was good, but not my favorite unfortunately, and there are way too many places in town that exceed this.

Visited Taberu on a Friday night! Made a reservation but they were empty when we first arrived. Got really busy by around 6/6:30 though!The food was great! We loved the albacore volcano roll, BBQ beef skewer, & shiso and gari! The shrimp skewer was yummy but not worth the $8 in my opinion. Spareribs were also delicious but I think I'd get another roll/more skewers instead next time! We also got the yuzu cocktail & a beer which were fairly priced. Our server was amazing -- super friendly, helpful, & patient! Service was super quick at the beginning and slowed down a bit as it got busier. Ambiance was great. Not too casual, but not stuffy. Would definitely come back!

Cute Izakaya restaurant in arts district. Street parking only which could be difficult because it's arts district but I like that the restaurant also has a patio and is dog-friendly. They have heat lamps outside so you won't be too cold. It's a little pricy but the food is good. The cocktails were good too. I especially liked the fresh water eel. You can get it as a skewer or as a rice bowl. The kanpachi carpaccio was super fresh and tasty too so I would recommend that. Service was good, they always came to check that we had enough food and drinks even though we were sitting outside on the patio.

I'm still thinking about the Pai Kho Ramen I ate two days ago. The Katsu had the perfect crisp! My friends and I dined here on Tuesday evening, we had made a reservation, but when we got there, it was far from busy! Very lovely modern interior. It was a bit of a challenge ti find because there's no name outside. The staff was very patient with us because we didn't know what we wanted to order. Our server even brought over a box of mock food which was a great visual. As I had stated, I got the Pai Kho Ramen. My friends ordered the same, with a side of yakitori. Street parking is pretty limited. We parked in a lot that was $10/hour. I recommend Taberu :)