Yess Restaurant

Saw a video about this yesterday and had to try it. Let me first start by saying to readers, if you're looking for a place to eat fast this is not it. This is not a bad thing just with some of the reviews you can tell people wanted lots of food fast. Now, the food was absolutely amazing. We sat at the bar watched every dish be made. The chef pays VERY close attention to detail and you can tell this is a passion and an art for him. We ordered 7 different items. 4 of them we chose and the other 3 we took staff recommendations. All of them were delicious. You can taste how fresh everything is. The restaurant is very clean. You walk in and it's so quiet in the kitchen you'd think the kitchen was a screen. Everyone so calm and collective it runs like a well oiled machine. The dishes take a bit of time to come out but nothing to really be upset over. It's actually one thing we pointed out that we liked. It gives you time to enjoy your food and be social. My biggest pet peeve is restaurants filling your table with plates so you feel rushed. Honestly, I could go on and on about what I like about this place.

Visited to celebrate my wedding anniversary with my husband. I'm Japanese, little picky for Japanese food in US. I do care the cleanliness, freshness and detail and even equipment what the restaurant use. My experience was FANTASTIC!!All the detail, sensitive and elegant palette perfectly harmonized, especially vegan chirashi was blown away. Chirashi without seafood sounds like boring but it wasn't, it was the best chirashi I ever eat. Thank you chef, your dedication and passion shows in the dishes. Please keep it up and let us enjoy your meal. Mahalo! This is become my favorite restaurant in California. Will return for sure!

I feel so catfished by this restaurant. The ambience is very clean cut however, the staff and its coldness reminds me of an asylum.. I almost felt like I was in a movie. The service was not great. Firstly, we arrived and our table was not ready, of course this is always a possibility. Once seated, we were greeted by a rather strange server who answered our questions very sarcastically, unknowingly and cold. Upon asking for bottled water, she blankly stared at us like we were crazy for asking and stated they dont don't do bottled water in a tone id prefer my server not to have. When we asked questions about food items, she answered them very vaguely, without any explanation.. I'm not sure if she was new, or just ill mannered, but it was very awkward. We were almost ready to walk out. Nothing was worth noting and we ordered much of the menu. The lobster katsu was good, but our waitress told us it could be split by 4 and I really don't recommend that. It is $$ so I understand people will want to save here. I also don't think its price tag matches the dish. Overall, I have zero interest in returning to give it another try. Unfortunately it seemed like much more of a catch on YouTube!

Terrible, do not go here. Nothing on the menu from the Bon Appetite video and the worst service I ever had for a $300 meal. Take your money elsewhere. I never write bad reviews but I am absolutely furious about this. We spent over $300 for 2 people and I can't believe how terrible the service was. Do not get tricked by the Bon Apitite video, the service and flavor is not there!! There's no bone marrow martini, no tuna steak frites, no vegetable tempura. We ordered drinks first and it took over 20 minutes to arrive and I had to ask for my barley tea twice before they told me there wasn't any barley available and they only had turmeric. We ordered the tofu - which was good and the market salad which was so sour we couldn't even eat it even though we were starving. I ordered the lobster katsu sandwich that came a good half hour before my partner's even dish arrived. The pepper that came with the sandwich was excruciatingly spicy, it should've came with a hot ones warning. As tears literally rolled down my face, the staff hardly even seen to care, they refilled my water once and didn't even bring me tissues until I asked. The chef from the YouTube video was there, and let me there you, he didn't notice either. And we sat at the bar a few feet in front of him. We were the first people in the door that night. Attention to detail? That's BS. The lobster sandwich was good, but not $98 good - especially after the nonexistent service and the fact that my food didn't even come out the same as my partners. You wanna eat as your partner watch you? Then this is the place for you.After that ordeal, my partners main dish still had not arrived. I tried to cancel that and they conveniently told me that they had just finished plating. Of course they couldn't cancel a $80 dish. Also, everyone wore this matching white karate/chef uniform that felt more cult than fine dining. The way they all deferred to the chef was like something out of The Menu. Hated this experience from beginning to end. Never again.

Yess is a beautiful-looking restaurant, housed in a circa 1920's bank building retrofitted with a lovely custom wooden door (alas, marred by graffiti when I visited). The dining room has a long cypress wood counter facing the open kitchen with tables along the windows. The staff wear catchy uniforms that are a cross between a judo uniform and a spa staffer/massage therapist outfit.The Japanese menu focuses on seasonal ingredients, sometimes using a charcoal grill or wood-fired stove. The restaurant alternates between a tasting/omakase and an a la carte menu; it was only a la carte when I visited. I had read about their "Monk's chirashi sushi " (vegetarian), but is was not on the menu. They did have a similar "Summer Vegetable and Fruits" sushi which was unique but bit meh and less substantial than the chirashi photos I've seen. The silken "Tofu Hiyayakko", a chilled dish, was refreshing. They did have their famous Lobster "Katsu" sandwich, which was generous and delicious. It's a katsu breaded and fried lobster tail on a brioche bun that also has a lobster claw meat salad (with mayo) underneath. The "Citrus Enzyme Kakigori", very finely shaved ice with fruit, almonds, fruit syrup and whipped cream was a perfect ending to a summer dinner. I would have like to have tried a grilled tataki dish, but it would have been too much.Overall a very nice meal. When I went, the place was definitely quieter than some of the other Arts District restaurants I've visited, but the menu has many other things I'd like to try.

My visit to Yess Restaurant left me with mixed feelings. I was anticipating traditional Japanese cuisine with raw fish, but the experience fell short of my expectations. Perhaps it's because I'm not fond of vegetable-based dishes, which seemed to dominate the menu, leaving me feeling a bit disappointed. Additionally, the only meat option, pork, was disappointingly dry. Overall, I wouldn't highly recommend it, especially if the price matches the test menu. It didn't quite hit the mark for me.While the decor at Yess Restaurant is sleek and trendy, The overall ambiance felt a bit empty, which detracted from the dining experience. Unfortunately, the lack of customers seemed to impact the professionalism of the waiter. When asking questions, I found the responses lacking in knowledge and confidence, which was disappointing. While the setting may be stylish, the service could use some improvement to match.

Wouldn't recommend this place :( Food wasn't very good. Service was so slow - we waited forever for each course to be served. Main course took the longest. It was as if they just opened but it wasn't... we went in September. Would only go for the interior/vibes/aesthetics but that's not a good enough reason to visit a restaurant.

This was the most disappointing meal so far of 2023. Full disclosure I was told only once I complained that there was a massive staff shortage for my service on 10/6 but that doesn't excuse the massive gaps between dishes (especially on a prix fixe menu) which were 30 minutes between the last 2 courses. Total service time was over 2 1/2 hours for a 6 course meal - NOT including dessert, or any special additions (as they were "out" of both additions) - truth is I suspect they didn't have the staff to make the additional dishes - which would have been fine if they have said that. Every single dish after the Boiled Peanuts which was the starter had some issue and overall the meal was very flavorless. The space is beautiful and while the intense music and the cult like uniforms take some getting used to - all would be acceptable if the food was good. The price at $110 per person is more than fair if not cheap for the LA dining scene but this menu needs a serious overhaul if this place is to succeed even if it means raising pricing. Some lowlights for the menu:- Fig Miso was overly bitter- Main course of pork shoulder was served cold - both the beans and meat. I suspect this died in the pass while waiting for my date's Steak main to arrive. - Rice on Monks Charasi was cold and flavorless as a dish- Two different courses were served without even clearing the previous courses- When I informed the server about my cold main I was offered "new beans" - I refused and wasn't about to wait 30+ minutes for a new main course. I left it uneaten and left after paying the bill. This place is a tough reservation to get and has all the hype but absolutely nothing about the meal impressed. I wish them the best but this was a strong 1/5 experience.

I was super excited to try Yess, but was sadly disappointed on so many levels by my experience here. The space is gorgeous! Beautiful architecture and open kitchen. 5 stars for space!The staff was nice, but the all white outfits were super weird. We joked around that it looked like they worded in a psych ward or were straight out of the movie The Menu. The food was beautifully plated and had some great flavors and textured. Everything was good, but nothing was great and it was mostly forgettable. One of my dishes has nuts that were so badly burned that they were inedible. I pointed this out to our server who didn't seem to care and simply took the dish away and never followed up about it.Pace of service: RIDICULOUSLY SLOW! We were there 3.5 hours and didn't even have dessert. It was both frustratingly and comically slow. UGH! Doesn't make sense to see a restaurant mess up on timing this badly when a set prix fixe menu is your only option.

I recently had dinner (reservations are a must) here in Downtown L.A.'s Arts District and was blown away by the entire experience from the moment I walked through that giant heavy wood door. With an evolving menu dependent of local California produce and focusing primarily on wood-fired and charcoal-fueled grill and stove cooking, Chef Junya Yamasaki and Team take you on a journey for all of your senses. This is progressive Japanese cuisine at its best! We had: Brown rice sake sangria; Passionfruit/sweet potato shochu & tonic water; Crispy Japanese Eggplant Fritters w/hot chili honey; Blue Fin Tuna Tartar w/cured egg yolk, breakfast radish & potato crisps; Grilled Saikyo Mido Marinated Black Cod, Mochi Rice & Sweetcorn-wrapped in fig leaf; Grilled Matsutake Mushrooms W/ roasted whole baby pumpkin stuffed w/an egg; Grilled Peads & Barnetts Pork Collar, mashed cannellini beans & charred peppers; and Irish Coffee Kakigori (shaved ice served w/coffee & Irish whiskey syrup, dates. & whipped cream)