11/03/09

The drinks are good at Yamashiro but the food isn't worth it

by Valerie Lazdan

Yamashiro has an awesome view of LA, there is no denying it. We spent a good half hour taking pictures in their garden. Our drinks tasted pretty good but the food!! Ugh. I got the Darth Vader sushi roll which looked like a brownie and tasted awful. I took one bite and ate at McDonald's later. I'd come here for drinks again but I would eat dinner beforehand!

• Pros: The gorgeous view and the sangria.
• Cons: The food and the prices.

02/18/09

The Food ...The View.....The Service....OH MY!

by ScottGarrison1

My wife and I went to Yamashiro a couple of weeks ago and had a great experience. The view was amazing and the service was great.

We shared a few dishes including a variety of sushi, filet mignon, and the grilled seafood. Everything we had was incredible and our server was very helpful in helping us decide what to order.

I appreciated that the filet was cooked to order AND the server came back about a minute after the filet was delivered to make sure it was cooked properly.

We each had a martini and they were mixed PERFECTLY. For dessert we shared the Smores...fantastic!

I can't wait to go back! It's rare to find a restaurant that has everything going for it....but Yamashiro does.

• Pros: Quality of food, service, location
• Cons: There isn't one in my backyard.

01/05/09

Fake!

by misterirked

Yamashiro is just another example of selling out Asian food to make a quick buck. The views and architecture of the restaurant are amazing, along with the koi pond. However, the food? Not only it is overpriced, it tastes as plain as eating at a fast-food Yoshinoya's! I suppose the reason for the expensive food prices is so that they can pay for the location and the staff. If you like great views with mediocre (overpriced) food, this is the place for you. As for me, let's just say Siyanora Yamashiro!

12/27/08

Go for the view

by sammietorino

I think the primary thing that should encourage one to come here is the ambiance. It's a neat location up in the hills. The food itself is good but nothing special. My favorite thing about this place is the bar. One of the bartenders did some magic for us and it was really impressive and entertaining. I would recommend this place if you have never been before.

• Pros: view, magician bartenders
• Cons: food is only average

12/02/08

great sushi!

by Janelle15

love the sushi and the view! The place is expensive but it's worth it! The service was good as well.

10/11/08

yummmy unique rolls

by guest100

i went here with 2 friends of mine for my bday dinner. we were supposed to have come before but we were too late. so we can here last nite and had a fanastic time. 1 friend had a lemon-zen and a pom pom martini. the lemon zen was light and delicious. i for some reason thought it was too lite but then later my friend was all " woow thats strong" i only had a sip so i didnt get the full effect hehe. my other friend i think had something called a raspberry stoli and sprite! that was really good! and a bushido martini which was good too. tho i found that light too. i ended up with stuff i kinda knew what it tastes like. who could go wrong with mango mountain martini ( it has mango and orange juice) heheh on to the rolls, we had the darth vader roll it wasnt one of my favorites but my rest of the party liked it . on top of the roll had flying fish roe and the whole thing was black!! it looked like a chocolate brownie in the dim lit room! lol however the hawaii-five o i think was probably one of my favorites of the nite. the reclining budha was ok/ crunchy was alright/rainbow and caterpillar and the smoked salmon roll was the same at any sushi restaurant but wont have to pay $14 each. i guess the best part of the restuarant was the views i had thought my friend made reservations esp on a friday nite but she didnt and i got there 1st. so i ran to the hostess girl and said i know i was already here but i didnt realise my friend didnt book reservations. i thought friday nite at 8 pm OMG WE'LL NEVER GET A TABLE!! or we'd have to wait for 2 hrs. but she said oh thats ok you can have anything on the left side of the room take your pick. to the left you had the view of the japanese garden but it was outside with heating lamps or to the left you have a view of hollywood. 2. the drinks are pretty good and unique and some of the items on the menu certainly sound interesting. i dunno if the service was slow in general or cos it was a friday nite but it seemed forever to get serviced

• Pros: view / drinks / interesting items on the menu
• Cons: pricey for some things you can get at reg. sushi place/ pay for parking

08/22/08

Great ambiance, nonexistent service in the bar

by ArtheaL

For such a lovely and romantic setting, I've never had worse service. We went for drinks on a Friday night and found a table in the bar. A host came and suggested that we'd be more comfortable in the "lounge" a dark room without a view, with a huge screen tv and blaring music. I don't think so. We returned to our table and were eventually visited by another host who took our order and told us a waiter would bring our drinks. The waiter didn't arrive but the host was nice enough to bring our drinks. For the next 1 1/2 hours, we were never visited by another employee even though we were about 15 feet from the bar. We were enjoying the ambiance and slowly sipped our drinks and weren't too concerned until it came time to get our check. They had to find who was 'assigned' to us who would have the ticket and since we'd never seen that person, we were of no help. I had a first time visitor with me and I was embarrased at the service in such a stunning looking bar and restaurant.

• Pros: Ambiance
• Cons: Service

07/05/08

Yamashiro - My Favorite L.A. Restaurant

by westsidefoto

Yamashiro is a rarity in L.A., because it's a pre-1950's building that has actually been appreciated and preserved -- not torn down and rebuilt like the rest of the city. The unique, Japanese-style structure has quite a history (read about it at the Yamashiro restaurant website and take a very cool virtual tour); originally a private mansion, then an exclusive club for the Hollywood elite, and a military academy before becoming the beautiful restaurant it is today.

The Hollywood hilltop views are amazing, and (unlike most "view" restaurants) the food is great, too! Every time I've been there, I've had nothing less than excellent service.

Despite the Japanese name and architecture, the menu is currently Cal-Asian. I prefer this menu to the all-Japanese menu they had years ago. I like to start out with the crab cakes and tempura shrimp & vegetable appetizers, followed by the filet mignon & lobster. Wonderful!

For all of the above reasons, Yamashiro is my first choice for treating my out-of-town guests to a one-of-a-kind, memorable dining experience. So far, everyone I've taken there has loved it.

• Pros: Amazing views, ambience, food, and service
• Cons: None

06/09/08

Totally Surprised

by tovie8752

I went there on a Wednesday night with my husband and found out that they have a movie night every Wednesday. I asked someone how much it costs and they said it was complimentary. The movie was set up in a separate room off the bar area. After talking to the hostess we found out they where playing Caddyshack (which is totally one of the funniest movies ever) and that there were two showings. We were going to eat before the movie until the hostess said that there are table set up for you to eat during the movie. How fun is that. We went to go have dinner and ending up seeing dinner and a movie. We had so much fun and we ended up hanging at the bar after the movie for some more drinks. This is our new date night location. We have to do it during the week because we both work weekends. The food was really well put together and delicious. I am a Vegetarian so I have the Vegetable and Noodles entree. It came with tofu and was really good. My husband got the Black Angus steak (obviously not a vegetarian) but he said that it was super tasty and came with a truffle polenta that was really good. Overall this restaurant is amazing not only does it have a really good view but the food, service and movie night were amazing. I was super impressed and I do not impress easily.

• Pros: Movie Night, Food, Service
• Cons: Almost got lost (I think that was more my fault)

06/09/08

A Night to Remeber

by Tahlia99

After reading the reviews on some of the websites I was skeptical about going to this place. but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the bad reviews were full of it. As soon as I got there the Hostess smiled and said hello (very genuinely, not Hollywood fake). It was a Saturday so we did have to wait about 10 minutes for out table. But if you have ever eaten out in this town before that is short compared to most places. We waited in the bar and got some cocktails I got one that I think was called a White Eye martini (not sure if that is correct) it had godiva liqueur, vanilla stoli and cream. That was the best drink I have ever had, made even more special by the bartender who does magic tricks (and he is very good). I almost didn?t want to leave the bar area. Once we got seated we had a very nice waitress I think her name was Jenny. She was so nice and made some very good recommendations. Also the manager came and visited out table to make sure everything we were comfortable and taken care of. First off we ordered some sushi they have specialty rolls so we ordered three of them and I was totally surprised at how fresh the sushi was and the flavors went very well together. We got the Crunchy Roll, the Darth Vader (which had tuna, black rice and a spicy mayo sauce), and the Reggae which has prawns, cucumber pineapple and plantain sauce. They were all very well put together and quite tasty. For out entree, I ordered the Special which was the Alaskan Crabs and OMG it was delicious. It came with corn and potato?s which was perfect. My boyfriend got the Filet Mignon and Lobster Tail which was cooked perfect. It came with twice baked potato?s which melted in your mouth. Over all the food and service were amazing. I was surprised at how the staff were not stuck up and "Hollywood". Even when I asked to go to the bathroom they gladly walked to it. So I give this place five stars because there wasn't six available.

• Pros: Service, Food, Ambiance, View
• Cons: Not any to report