05/17/09

Overpriced and overrated

by californiafoodiegal

Having been to most of the Japanese restaurants in the area and in SoCal, I was very disappointed with the meal. We were a party of 4 and spent $400 on dinner and were all hungry even after dinner (we are skinny people too!). I have been here before, and the service and the food has definitely dropped in quality and portions. There are much better options in Studio City. We are planning never to return to Asanebo.

• Pros: good sushi
• Cons: microscopic portions, poor service

02/08/09

I Would Actually Rate It With Half A Star

by PrimeBeefLover

My wife and I love Japanese food and frequently passed by this restaurant vowing to try it one day. Sadly, that day was today.

It's a nice little place and we found the staff to be friendly and courteous. The menu was different than most Japanese restaurants we go to so we were looking forward to this nice change.

The portions were small and the quality of the meal we received did not warrant the high prices. The edaname ($6) portion was smaller than what you get as a freebie at Kabuki. The cucumber salad ($5) was good but you get a larger freebie portion at Sushi 101. The $6.50 we spent on the two miso soups would normally be funny to me but my entree eliminated my sense of humor. I ordered the "Free Range" Grilled Chicken with Sweet Soy ($16). It looked very good when it was served to me but biting into raw chicken doesn't exactly tickle my fancy. I sent it back and watched my wife eat her Chilean Sea Bass with a creamy pepper sauce ($18). If there was an award for the smallest portion in the culinary arena, this would definitely contend for it. She did not dislike it, but, she wasn't exactly doing cartwheels over it either. I know when my wife is really enjoying her meal- and believe me I had plenty of time to observe her while waiting for my chicken do-over- and this was not one of those occasions. After she finished, I waited a while longer for my entree. It was obviously cooked more thoroughly but very fatty and just not good. I ate what I could and conveyed my disappointment to our waiter. Thankfully I was not charged for it and received very sincere apologies before I left hungry.

• Pros: Friendly Staff, Sincere Apologies
• Cons: Food

05/05/08

Solid!

by filmbuff2

Micheline Guide was right about them. Asanebo is a great restaurant. In my mind, they are one of the few restaurants in LA that have class. They are traditional but not pretentious in the way Nozawa is (I'm talking about their attitude, not the decor.) Asanebo chefs use fresh sozai (materials) and yet the prices are not so high as, let's say, old Ginza Sushiko. In terms of innovativeness, they try just about enough to surprise us but won't go into the degree of banality. I like Matsuhisa too, but I think you need to think of their food as totally different category from Japanese cuisine. And nothing wrong with that. But when you are really craving for Japanese food like I do sometimes (because I'm Japanese,) I'd go to Asanebo.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Some dishes are better than the other, but isn't that the case with any restaurant?

08/08/07

Small plates of raw and cooked gems share the limelight delicately and deliciously.

by Contributor

The Scene
Knowledgeable servers will explain (if you don't already know) that ordering is a gradual process; just keep going until you're full, and they'll keep parading out the plates. So what if the room is straight out of 1984 and Michael Bolton is playing? No one cares--the food is that good.

The Food
Despite the fact that Studio City is peppered with first-rate sushi joints, Asanebo is a stunner. Look foremost to the daily specials listed on the board--that's where you'll find mini-masterpieces like baby abalone seared in a buttery, briny sauce with garlic and shiitake mushrooms. Don't pass up ethereal eel tempura, or toro (fatty tuna) and green onion hand roll. The topper? A splendid platter of sashimi-style, intricately carved Dungeness crab.

05/29/07

Wouldn't waste my time or money, sashimi was not good, OVER PRICED

by aylebow

I went on a Tuesday night, so the restaurant was not very busy. After all the reviews I read, I expected an amazing quality of sushi. Well, I was extremely disappointed. The sashimi was sub par at best and for the price, it should have been to die for! I've been to all you can eat places where the quality of sushi was better. The portion sizes were terrible and the fish tasted less than fresh. I don't plan on going back. The valley has a wealth of sushi restaurants, where I can get top quality sushi, generous portions and not think I got ripped off. I don't recommend this place at all. The only positive thing I have to say is that my server was very nice.

• Pros: Service was ok
• Cons: Bad quality sushi, too expensive for type of quality and portion size

03/24/07

Mixed Review

by paulinask

This is a place for sushi purists. The decore is very authentic and representative of sushi bars we visited in Tokyo. So is the food - it's delicious, high quality & very expensive, as is the sake selection. There's a higer percentage of Japanese customers than we've seen at other sushi places. No "novelty" rolls here - we inquired about shrimp or salmon rolls, and the waitress told us that the owner refuses to serve them! Since people are constantly asking for them, she hoped that the owner would eventually change his mind. Most of the food we ordered (yellowtail roll, tuna tartar, oyster shooters, cali roll) was off the hook, but we weren't impressed by the sashimi. One annoying service issue put a damper on our evening: when making the dinner reserveratin for 6:30 we were told that we'd have to be done by 8pm (I've seen other reviewers comment on this). We were fine with the time limit, but when we tried to place our last order of large sake & cali roll at 7:40, the unfriendly waiter gave us an attitude! He reminded us about the time limit (though we'd already been reminded about it when we first arrived) and he actually had the gall to tell my husband that he wouldn't bring a large sake, only a small one! This despite the fact that we still had 20 minutes and were sure to finish everything while settling the bill. The waiter actually wasted about 5 minutes of "precious" time arguing about this with us, but finally brought out the order. As expected, we wolfed it down and still had time to spare while we waited for the bill, etc. This incident will make us think twice before coming back here - when you're dropping serious change at an expensive restaurant (there were 5 of us, by the way), you don't want waiters breathing down your back and copping attitutde! We're adults, and I think we can figure out how long it'll take us to finish up...

• Pros: Excellent quality sushi
• Cons: Unusually pricey, poor service, small space

03/18/07

amazing grazing

by milonakisface

I've been to about 100 top notch sushi restaurants in NYC and LA.. Don't be jealous of my playa status....Asanebo had the best and most inventive omakase out of all of them. I think the THC in my brain maybe intensified the flavors a little bit but jesus christ on a crazy stick this sushi was so fresh and amazing. Squirming live shrimp? Sure. Homemade sesame tofu? Of course! Everyone likes toro, try it here and give your tastebuds multiple tastegasms for a millenia.

• Pros: everything
• Cons: nada

03/03/07

biggest rip off

by groveandrea

Our sushi chef commented on the wonderful saki we ordered, so we shared some... and he took not a modest cupful, but filled up a huge glass to the rim. The chef's special was abstract at best, leaving us to order (and handsomely pay for) normal pieces of fish. This place is not worth the $350 bill we paid for 2 people. Stick to Nozowa for the real deal and get what you pay for.

• Pros: none
• Cons: over-priced, weird service

09/26/06

Best Sushi I've Ever Had

by scinla

This sushi is amazing. Best sushi I have ever had. I highly recommend going here at least once. Small restaurant, so make sure you make reservations. Enjoy!

• Pros: Sashimi

08/11/06

Delicious fresh sushi

by copsgirl77

We read about Asanebo in Zagats 2006 edition and just HAD to try it. Having gone to some of the best sushi restaurants all over L.A., we wanted to see if this place lived up to the review written in there. It did just that and MORE!! We always sit at the sushi bar, and Chef Koji is the greatest chef out there. The waitstaff and hosts/hostesses are friendly and completely on the ball at all times. Your drink is refilled before asking & if you drop a chopstick new ones are brought to you in seconds. We especially love their Spanish Mackerel sushi, unagi, and spicy tuna rolls (I actually DISLIKE spicy tuna rolls at most other places). Oh, and the soft shell crab roll is to die for! Their wasabi is fresh & seems better than most. It doesn't leave your soy sauce murky. Oh, and if you happen to be from out of town or have guests in town, they will love the celebrity sightings! You MUST try this place, don't believe the other reviews. We go weekly, despite the prices. It is well worth every penny.

• Pros: fresh sushi, friendly knowledgable chefs
• Cons: valet parking only