Katana

09/18/2008 Posted by AngelenoFoodie

Check out the review of this and many other happy hours at: happiest hours(dot)blog spot(dot)com - no spaces between words, but City Search won't allow it any other way. First, the important stuff - the atmosphere here is great, and for a Tuesday night, it was a decent crowd. Young professionals, friendly bartender, good decor. The downside is that for two people having drinks and food, the total was $74 (after tax and a hefty - as always - tip.) The upside is that there was PLENTY of meter parking on Sunset at 5:30 mid-week. Plenty. Drinks on the HH menu include sake, wine, well drinks and a Katana Fusion (vodka and fruit juice) for $5. There used to be beer as well, but they no longer stock the happy hour beer and haven't replaced it with another selection. My companion wanted a beer, so we paid menu prices for two of those ($6 each), plus we had two Katana Fusions, which are mighty tasty. The awesome bartenders topped me off with club soda after that and generously kept my glass full, gratis. Thanks, guys! Let me start by saying the food was outstanding. Among the best I've had on the Happy Hour gauntlet. Everything is $5 a plate and was so good it was easy to not realize how small the portions were until -- eight plates later and we weren't full. That might not seem like much, but your favorite foodie here has the appetite of a budgie and usually can't split five plates with my fellow revelers, much less eight. Now, eight orders of sushi are also going to be pretty small, but if it's Happy Hour, or "Red Sun" hour, prices should be reduced, and these seemed like standard $5 appies from a regular bar/sushi menu.

07/06/2008 Posted by mhb1954

Four of us went for dinner, promptly seated, decent table, very dark inside. The place was slow but it quickly filled up. The service was generally good until they got busy. We liked some of the food a lot, and hated some of it a lot... we sent back a raw tuna that was fishy smelling and then later, we had a shrimp tempura roll that was completely inedible. I mean, it just tasted like over fried pork rind! It look a long time to get that sorted out, and by the time we were done, we wanted out. Not planning a return. I've had better sushi in less pretentious places. Most of the staff seem congenial, but many of the hostesses look a bit overly Beverly Hilled.

Pros: Nice atmosphere for the most part

Cons: A little too snobish and "Hollywood Scene" for me, nothing, "real," or down to earth about it.

06/26/2008 Posted by Buster0102

I've been here several times for "date nights" and am always impressed by the great service and the good sushi. My fav is the spicy tuna roll and the asparagus wrapped filet! Oh, and try the infusion drink at the bar - it's great as a martini or over ice. Yum.

Pros: the infusion drink at the bar!

Cons: the parking lot gets full easy...but if you make a reservation, you should be fine.

06/15/2008 Posted by dms365

I went with a friend for her birthday and we had an amazing time. Our waiter was polite and made great suggestions based upon our personal likes. We loved the kobe, sea bass and shrimp wrapped with bacon from the Robata menu. They had a fun sushi menu although I've definitely had better sushi before. I'd suggest dining outside (at least while the weather is warm) because it adds a new dimension to the already great ambiance. This place attracts a fun crowd...great for people watching, too.

Pros: Outdoor dining, plenty of options on the menu

Cons: It was kind of tricky finding the valet parking

05/25/2008 Posted by bowersmt

My wife and I go here about once a month to enjoy the food, the drinks, the ambiance and each other. The food, to me, is better than anything else I have ever eaten. We love the robata, especially the black cod, the chilean seabass and the ribeye. Green beans are a must. They have an appetizer that has fresh crab stuffed into soy paper which melts in your mouth. Try the pear martini -- it's perfect: fresh pear, parmesan cheese...strange combo but works sooooo well together. We have also had sushi and sashimi from Katana. It's super fresh and delicious. And the service is prompt with really cool ambiance. Katana is a must!!

Pros: Food, Ambiance, Drinks, Service -- EVERYTHING

Cons: None that I can name -- pricey, but it's expected with such high-quality food

05/10/2008 Posted by bonnie_mcbride

The entire wait staff thinks they are better than the diners- all waiting to be discovered. Periodically, this isn't such a bad thing as you get to be around beautiful, want-to-be-liked, early twenty-somethings, but generally speaking, they tend to want to please so the service industry works for them (hence all the actor/waiters in this town). It is as sadly typical of Los Angeles as we've found, having moved here from San Francisco two years ago. We arrived at 6:30 and asked to be seated outside- there was nobody seated there yet, same as the inside. The hostess said, Oh sorry- all booked up for outside. 2 hours later and a very mediocre meal with TERRIBLE service later, the outside was perhaps a quarter full. The "creamy" baked crab roll was incredibly dry. The lobster baked roll was over cooked, and the drinks were unbelivably watered down. If you do go though, get the tuna over "baked" (clearly fried) rice. It was good. Prices were over the top for what they are serving. They are going on location, location, location! But I am not buying a house....I just wanted a decent night out with my husband. In any other town this place would be out of business. Oh, and the tables on our right and left were eagerly griping as well. I realize this site isn't accurate as restaurant owners/staff tend to write them - so, I'm submitting this with a gain of salt.

Pros: One dish- tuna over "baked" (aka: fried) rice

Cons: service, service, service, drinks, rest of the food

04/25/2008 Posted by green666

so yeah there's a scene... but can you say yummmmyy!!! during the summer outside is a plus but be sure you call at least a week in advance and request it.. if outside is not possible sit in the tea garden room inside.. you are inside but you feel like you are in this magical sushi garden..... almost private.. very vip like area. last time i was there we were sitting next to tyra banks .. i dont know if thats a pro or a con. the staff is friendly and the food is delicious! you have to order the tuna carpaccio with the soy truffle sauce.. it has tuna, truffle oil, soy, shaved parmesan, arugula and avocado... it literally melts on your tongue! the king crab legs robata with drawn butter.. the lamb chops.. i can go on forever.. a must go place.

Pros: NOT A PLACE FOR KIDS! great people watching, very hip and on the sunset strip if you want to go out after. love the outside area. fresh food

Cons: if you dont have reservations you will have to wait forever. but overall very cool place to go

04/18/2008 Posted by rathashley

I dined here alone - in town from work. It was kind of funny that they have a guy manning the "red rope" yet they don't ask if you have a reservation or anything. It's a cool building and is right on the strip. I sat at the Robata bar. The food was good and the staff was attentive. I had the tempura vegetables which come as a large "brick" of sorts. They tasted SO good though - good appetizer. I also had the California Roll - not that exciting, but tasted good. Overall, it looks like this would be a fun place to come and have a drink outside on their patio and then dine - or just drinks. Fun atmosphere.

Pros: Cool building, good staff, fun atmosphere

Cons: Appears to be very busy - thursday night was packed

04/14/2008 Posted by jasminblue

I love katana...great atmosphere and the best sushi in town. Spicy tuna rolls are amazing and so is the filet mignon wrapped around asparagus. The drinks are great..the service is a little slow but its worth the wait. Try to go during the week as it gets really packed on the weekends and theres no seating outdoors. call in advance for outdoor seating reservation. its definitely pricey but worth every dollar. Great for a night out with your friends or a date.

Pros: Sushi and drinks

Cons: Service

04/03/2008 Posted by susuredfern

My friends and I have always heard great things about Katana and decided to give it a go. From the moment we walked in, we liked what we saw. Very stylish decor, a lil' dark (what restaurant in L.A. isn't), cozy feeling in a weird way. We got sat about 20 min. after our reservation time in a cozy corner area and was greeted fairly quickly by our server. He explained to us how the restaurant works and suggested the most amazing dish to get us started, order the lobster with scallops and shrimp, amazing! Everything we got was fantastic and tasted sooo good. The robata is the way to go, trust me! The cocktail list is pretty good (pear martini), although wines by the glass aren't the best. If you happen to be there on the right night, get the fried cheesecake, insane!! The service was amazing, ask for Adam?, made us laugh a lot. Make a reservation and order a lot of the robata,so yummy. I'll be going back!

Pros: fantastic waiter, food, and people watching

Cons: wines by the glass, strange music