Sawtelle Kitchen

(310) 473-2222

2024 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025 34.0407 -118.4432

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Neighborhoods: West Los Angeles, West LA

SAWTELLEKITCHEN.COM

Price:

$$

Last updated 9.05.09

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, Family-Friendly Dining, B.Y.O.B., Outdoor Dining, People Watching, Business Dining, Lunch Spot, Date Spot, Dine At The Bar

Cuisine:

Japanese, French, Italian

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Sawtelle Kitchen

Featured Review

Nicolas Rabinovitch

Contributor

In early 2007, this once kitchen-sized Japanese restaurant was converted into a higher-end eatery but still retains the warm, homey atmosphere of the original. The crowd has an eclectic feel, with local businessmen eating alongside artists, families and ladies who lunch. The romantic patio is a couples-favorite in the early evening, when the western sunset dimly shines on its candlelit tables. Blurring the lines of cultural cuisine, Italian and American dishes are prepared with Japanese ingredients. Plump, shell-clad black mussels are steamed in sake and seaweed, and a cold, lemony-fresh whole…

Editor's Tips

Look Good:
When it gets busy, service tends to be rushed. If you are having several courses, ask your waiter to pause between them so the table doesn't get too crowded.
Save Time:
At lunch, they only take reservations for parties of five or more. To beat the rush, arrive right when they open at noon, or when the crowd starts to dwindle after 1:30pm. The small counter usually has free spots even during the rush.
What to Drink:
The restaurant serves an impressive array of domestic and foreign wines tailored to the Asian-inspired food. Corkage is $15. There's also a small selection of Japanese, European, Tahitian and American beers.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “great food, fun atmosphere.”
  2. “Service is good, decent prices, parking is at meters and it is.”
  3. “Very cozy, and tasty.”
  4. “Nice, cozy converted house with a nice patio, with lots of character.”
  5. “Great ambiance in fun Sawtelle nighborhood.”
  6. “Great cozy atmosphere and the food is good quality too!”
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. “Pastas were great and for dessert, I had the blackberry champagne sorbet, which was tasty.”
  2. “Their fried sweet potato (sliced) with spicy mayonnaise is amazing, and I can't ever resist this funky dessert: coffee jello with cappuccino ice cream.”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “The food is decent and you can bring your own wine, bu.”
  2. “You won't find any of the items here from your local sushi bar - no rolls or raw fish, just really great pastas, salads, curries and entrees - especially the fish dishes (all cooked).”
  3. “Their fried sweet potato (sliced) with spicy mayonnaise is amazing, and I can't ever resist this funky dessert: coffee jello with cappuccino ice cream.”
food quality
77.77999877929688% positive
  1. “Great cozy atmosphere and the food is good quality too!”
  2. “great food, fun atmosphere.”
  3. “The food is decent and you can bring your own wine, bu.”
  4. “The food was horrible!”
  5. “Good quality Japanese/American food.”
  6. “You won't find any of the items here from your local sushi bar - no rolls or raw fish, just really great pastas, salads, curries and entrees - especially the fish dishes (all cooked).”
  7. “lunch specials are good value, usually about $8.50 each and include soup, salad and rice.”
  8. “salads were huge; mushrooms were cooked well.”
  9. “have no idea why this place is so popular: poor service, even worse food, completely overpriced and nowhere to park.”
  10. “love the food.”
  11. “The fish tasted and smelled fishy, and the lamb was drowned in a nasty brown sauce that gave the meat the appearance of dog food.”
  12. “Our server was pleasant and the food came out very quickly.”
  13. “Sawtelle Kitchen is VERY reasonably priced and has a great variety of Japanese homestyle dishes served in this little cottage.”
  14. “Their fried sweet potato (sliced) with spicy mayonnaise is amazing, and I can't ever resist this funky dessert: coffee jello with cappuccino ice cream.”
  15. “Pastas were great and for dessert, I had the blackberry champagne sorbet, which was tasty.”
  16. “Very cozy, and tasty.”
  17. “Though it's probably the cutest looking restaurant on the Sawtelle strip, the food is not good.”
  18. “go here for great food and for potentially good conversation.”
  19. “This cute restaurant with terrific food.”
  20. “Good service, excellent prices for the quality of the food you get.”
  21. “It has delicious curries (try the seafood one), interesting noodles, and a good selection of simple entrees.”
  22. “The cold artichoke appetizer was unusual but not necessarily tasty.”
  23. “The garlic french fries were a bit disappointing - thicker and more like potato wedges, but the curries and noodles were fabulous!”
  24. “amazing little potato things.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “It has delicious curries (try the seafood one), interesting noodles, and a good selection of simple entrees.”
  2. “Sawtelle Kitchen is VERY reasonably priced and has a great variety of Japanese homestyle dishes served in this little cottage.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “This is a great place to go to if you want to be reminded of your Japanese grandmother's kitchen.”
service
50.0% positive
  1. “Good service, excellent prices for the quality of the food you get.”
  2. “Our server was pleasant and the food came out very quickly.”
  3. “service is good.”
  4. “The service was terrible; the waitress seemed like she was in a rush to take our order.”
  5. “thought the servers were totally rude, and after our meals when we told them how unimpressed we were with restaurant, they seemed like they couldn't care less.”
  6. “have no idea why this place is so popular: poor service, even worse food, completely overpriced and nowhere to park.”
value
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. “At least the price was reasonable.”
  2. “lunch specials are good value, usually about $8.50 each and include soup, salad and rice.”
  3. “salads were huge; mushrooms were cooked well.”
  4. “Service is good, decent prices, parking is at meters and it is.”
  5. “have no idea why this place is so popular: poor service, even worse food, completely overpriced and nowhere to park.”
  6. “Good service, excellent prices for the quality of the food you get.”
4 Star Rating: Recommended

06/26/10

Good curries

by SoniKind

The Sawtelle Kitchen was nice enough to sit us even though we arrived right at closing. The food was very good, we all tried different curries, and we enjoyed an interesting bottle of wine from Slovakia. I will definitely go back there.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

11/28/07

good lunch spot

by Tara deLis

never went when it used to more casual, so can't compare but i had a nice lunch here one day with some coworkers and tried diff stuff. lunch specials are good value, usually about $8.50 each and include soup, salad and rice. i like the 1/2 chicken best, very moist, while the snapper was ok but not remarkable. my spaghettin with roe was interesting, not sure i'd repeat, more of a novelty. wine list is very good, obviously someone knows what they are doing. i think corkage is reasonable. it's gets crowded at lunch. i don't think they take rez, so get there early or be willing to sit solo at the bar. service is good. patio is nice on pretty days.

  • Pros: good food, value lunch deals, nice wine list
  • Cons: busy at lunch, not as cheap as it used to be
2 Star Rating: Below Average

11/18/07

Why is this place so busy?

by marpop

I've only been to this place once, but for me, all it takes is one bad impression. Though it's probably the cutest looking restaurant on the Sawtelle strip, the food is not good. I had the chicken lunch special and just as I had feared, the chicken was all nerve-y and cartilage-like. Gross. The cold artichoke appetizer was unusual but not necessarily tasty. All I kept thinking was, why is this place so busy??

  • Pros: Cute exteior with a cottage-like setting
  • Cons: The cartilage-filled chicken
4 Star Rating: Recommended

09/29/07

Yum!

by role

Very cozy, and tasty. Our server was pleasant and the food came out very quickly. Pastas were great and for dessert, I had the blackberry champagne sorbet, which was tasty.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

11/15/06

Great little Japanese/American place

by dmenkes

We were seated fairly quickly on a weeknight and fell in love with the atmosphere immediately. Almost like a house rather than a restaurant, you felt at home and the vibe was warm and conversation not too loud as to be distracting. I ordered the chicken curry with spagetti and thought it was terrific. I'd love to explore their other menu items and come back for dinner.

  • Pros: VERY cozy

The Details on Sawtelle Kitchen

Place Categories:

  • great japaneseamerican food
  • completely overpriced worse food
  • nice patio
  • delicious curries
  • excellent prices
  • totally rude server
  • completely overpriced poor service
  • fabulous noodles
  • great salads
  • great pastas
  • cozy very
  • favorite restaurants
  • nasty brown sauce
  • great cozy atmosphere
  • great entrees
  • warm vibe
  • cold artichoke appetizer
  • great ambiance
  • potentially good conversation
  • nice atmoshpere indoor
  • interesting spaghettin
  • tasty blackberry champagne sorbet
  • nice date place
  • good service
  • great fun atmosphere
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