05/16/08

Best ASIAN FUSION

by mj1523

Tastes out of this world!!! Awesome service...HIGHLY RECOMENDED!! This has got to be TOP 10 RESTAURANTS in the WORLD!! It was recently named TOP 75 restaurants in the Los Angeles Magazine(APRIL ISSUE) coming in at #7. I've been to many many amazing restaurants all over the world and this is up at the top of my LIST!! Thank you CHEF MAKO.

• Pros: CHEF MAKO
• Cons: None that I know of...

12/04/06

Mediterranean melds with Asia at Makoto Tanaka's swank Beverly Hills boite.

by Contributor

The Scene
A gleaming marble bar skims the tan-walled room, and a black grid floats above diners' heads, providing geometric definition to the space.

The Food
Flanked by an airy mini-salad of jicama, tangy baby back ribs arranged in a crisscross layout are lean and tender under a crispy black bean glaze. A sashimi sampling of yellowtail and maguro is pliant and every bit as fresh as it should be under its shower of white sesame seeds. Tanaka knows how to make a clever play, too. Age-old cliches like duck a l'orange get a New World resurrection as duckling confit and grilled duck breast with port-tangerine sauce, tempered by the bitter snap of Chinese broccoli. Marinated New Zealand roast lamb with plum wine and black olive sauce is superlative.

09/05/06

Best Food in LA

by aprendergast

Mako never disappoints. I've been coming to Mako almost monthly for several years now & it never ceases to be a great dining experience. Mako is a very talented chef & does amazing things with French technique and an Asian twist. The food is so very good & every item on the menu is executed beautifully. Some of my favorites are the sashimi combo, crispy oysters, the chinese chicken salad, the baby lamp chops & the duck. The service is just as good as the food. All the servers are so friendly & I'm on a first name basis with Mako, John the host, & most of the waitstaff. I love sitting at the counter so that I can watch everything being prepared in the kitchen. Mako also does an amazing sake tasting menu at certain times of the year when really top-grade sake is in season. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to know where to eat in LA & will continue to eat here as long as it's open.

• Pros: Explosion of flavor, Beautiful decor & ambience, friendly & knowledgeable waitstaff
• Cons: none

08/10/06

Salty sauces overwhelm any potential subtlety in food

by snootyfox7

Mako restaurant is a chic, "shi-shi" Asian fusion restaurant in Beverly Hills aiming at "Foodies", but their intent falls short, due to the salty sauces drowning any potential subtlety of flavors.

Saving graces are a very friendly waitstaff, and stylishly minimalist atmosphere. Portions are "appetizer" size, as the menu is considered a "tasting" menu, however as is predicted, the bill adds up as diners order enough dishes fill up.

Mako restaurant will suit those with high budgets who wish to cohabitate with a stylish foodie crowd in a chic minimalist environment and consume myriad tasting portions of very salty Asian fusion dishes.

• Pros: Friendly, attentive waitstaff and stylish, minimalist atmosphere
• Cons: Overwhelmingly salty sauces mar any subtely in flavors

03/01/06

We loved everything...

by ladis

Very good place that we ll recommend to everybody

Good job...

• Pros: location, food, service
• Cons: none

02/14/06

it was... okay...

by bluelulu

i just went to mako for valentine's day, and i have to say i was underwhelmed. perhaps it was an off night (although it shouldn't have been!) my boyfriend and i shared the calamari salad, shrimp spring rolls, pad thai with shrimp, and snow crab tempura. every single dish was waaaaay too salty, which was very disappointing. honestly, it was comparable to greasy chinese take-out. the ambience was severely lacking as well--the restaurant is just too small! our experience had two saving graces: our waitress was wonderful, and the dessert (chocolate cake with raspberry sauce) was fantastic! however, i simply cannot recommend this place. what a shame.

• Pros: pretty inexpensive, chocolate cake, attentive service
• Cons: salty, salty, salty

03/01/05

A Great Restaurant in a Food Lover's Paradise

by krazy310

Another great restaurant in Beverly Hills! I visited Mako on a date and was impressed with the cusines. All the dishes are served 'tapas' style........for sharing. Service was excellent, as was the atmosphere of the restaurant. Too bad my date didn't end up matching the quality of the meal.

• Pros: Food , Service, Atmosphere

02/09/05

Fantastic Fusion

by russkar

Mako has taken Japanese Style and Mixed it with French and Chinese concepts for Unbelievable Flavors. Don't miss this treasure in BH.

05/13/03

Just right

by tinymimi

Finally good food on the west coast! The portions are just right! Great food, fun sharing menu, wonderful desserts. Need I say more.

• Pros: great food

06/29/02

GRAZING HAS TAKEN ON A NEW MEANING!

by TASTE_TESTER

Casual fine dining is finally fun! Mako's creativity still flourishes with his new concept changes. The tasting plates (single servings-to taste and share)- the variety of choice (loved the Asian Insalata Tomato Salad, the Lamb OssoBucco with 5 Spice Braising Sauce, the Mako style Pad Thai, Killer Green Beans, and Chinese Black Rice Gomoku Vegetable Stir Fry) and the flavours and textures coming out of this kitchen continues to impress - Mako is a master of sauces: Sweet, Spicy, Tangy, and Tasty. The price point is fair:. No longer is Mako "over-priced" (price ranges from $5.00 - $18.00 per dish) Costs are based on how much you want to taste/chow down and wash it down with. Pace yourself! The Wine List still rules! Good selections of Cal, Euro and New World wines. The "Premium" Sake additions to the wine list are a nice touch for this new "plate" style cuisine.

• Pros: Chef is in control, Fab Food, Good Wine/Sake List
• Cons: You'll want more!