Katsuya Hollywood

09/30/2008 Posted by sushi33

I had to try this place after hearing numerous coworkers rave about it. We waited for our table at the bar where I had to try the mandarin drink which was surprisingly delicious. The food was REALLY good. People complain about overpriced, but like I've said before you have to pay a bit more for quality food in an atmosphere like this. The albacore with lemon sauce was amazing as was the kobe beef dish. I loved the eggplant but my girlfriends didn't. The rolls were pretty good nothing to talk about, but the sashimi was definitely very fresh. Dessert was mediocre (have to mention....nothing compared to Geisha house desserts). The service was a bit snooty, but at the same time the waitress was very helpful and attentive especially considering how busy it was (we went at 9 on a friday night). The decor is beautiful and overall we had a great experience. I will be going back again.

Pros: Drinks and Food

09/09/2008 Posted by danieldavidson

Another master piece by Sam Nazarian, probably the best sushi restaurant you can possibly take your date or a friend to. The interior designs are amazingly well-done and the staff are very friendly.

09/03/2008 Posted by candymac5

I made reservations at this restaurant on a Friday night at 9pm, I showed up at 845pm and ended up getting seated at 9:50pm. Mind you yes they were busy, but there were several people that walked in and got seated right away or within 15 minutes. I felt like this location was discriminating and choosing people with a certain race to be seated right away. I get that it is a trendy restaurant and fairly new, but to wait that long for a table when I had made reservations there is absurd. I have eaten at the Katsuya in Brentwood several times and never had an issue when I made reservations. I would suggest if you like Katsuya go to the one in Brentwood or Studio City stay away from the Hollywood location it SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pros: i have nothing nice to say about this location

Cons: dont bother making reservations it doesnt guarantee anything

08/27/2008 Posted by sweetlee

Had a great time. All the food was really good, and the service was great. The specialty drinks are delicious. Will be going back very soon.

Pros: Food, Drinks, Food

08/20/2008 Posted by alexmagana

The food is good and I had good service. The only problem I had was with the arrogant manager Terrance. I can’t believe someone like that is able to manage a high end restaurant. His fake smile and sarcastic charm is absolutely appalling. I would eat here again but I would avoid conversation with this peice of work.

Pros: the rest is beautiful... service is good

Cons: Avoid Terrance the manger... he is awful

08/10/2008 Posted by jakefin

This was the worst experience I have ever had in Los Angeles. The hostess was so rude, the bar was full of angry people, and the food is not worth the trouble. Will never return, nor will anyone in my party of 4. TERRIBLE!!!

Pros: none

Cons: parking, reservations/front staff, everything

08/04/2008 Posted by Tamsinash

By far, the WORST experience ever! Upon entering, the scene appears buzzing and a fun LA restaurant, however the music was so loud we had to shout to be heard. Our reservation was for 815, a party of 5. We were told our table would be ready in a few minutes and to wait at the bar. We all had cocktails, which attempted to be new and interesting but were in fact less than mediocre. Half an hour later we were still not seated, and a growing number of people were accumulating at the front desk. An hour later, we were still waiting and watched as several people would enter and be seated straight away. The hostess was dismissive and condescending, she had over 6 different parties waiting to be seated most of whom had been waiting over an hour. However, for the entire hour, there were three empty tables, able to seat 15 people who she reserved for a large party. Why not split up the tables to seat half the people waiting around?! After waiting a further 15 minutes, we informed the hostess we were leaving and would never come back. She was not apologetic in the slightest, and seemed almost relieved to have us out of her hair. 2 more of the parties waiting with us left after never being seated. It was 930 and one group had been waiting since 8. It appeared to me that this restaurant was more concerned for their image than for their customers. The music was so loud it could be heard on the street, no one was being seated and the bar had no chairs so someone walking outside would see through the huge glass doors and think it was fun and a 'happening' LA scene. Speaking Spanish, I could overhear the head valet telling 5 valet guys that it was time to get some cars once they had accumulated a large enough crowd outside the restaurant. All these people were just waiting for their cars, but again to a passerby would make the restaurant appear more hip and happening. I will NEVER return and will make sure no one i know will ever go either.

Pros: It appears hip and happening.

Cons: It is all for show, hostess and managers are rude and still hadn't seated us after 80 min!

08/04/2008 Posted by plebre

We were a party of 5 with reservations for 8.30 pm. We arrived a few minutes early and were told to wait at the bar. After about half an hour we started to realize they did not follow at all who had reservations, who came in first or whose turn it was next. The hostess was rude, had no clue and was most unhelpful. We tried to talk to a manager, who seemed totally lost and confused. It was total chaos. We were there for nearly and hour, before we gave up and left. At the valet parking there were several other groups complaining of ill treatment, who swore would never go back. Terrible experience!!

Cons: Loud, terrible service,

07/24/2008 Posted by sberkel

Our party of 4 arrived for our reservation and we were directed to the bar. Not thinking much about it, we waited for about 15 minutes as we saw numerous friends of the front staff being seated. When we inquired we were told they were being seated at the sushi bar. ALL LIES!! When we finally were seated, both of the "friends" seated before us were at tables. Horribly mismanaged, and the front staff is a collection of idiots. We average about 4 nights out a week for dinner. There are far too many places that are gracious to their customers, and recognize we are the reason they are in business, not visa versa. Won't be returning, nor will anyone in our party. I give this place maybe 6 months. There were two other people who were sitting by us at the bar who had been waiting that were so angry they left.

Pros: none

Cons: reservations don't matter if their friends come in.

07/16/2008 Posted by awelch

NOT VIP!!! That is what i was told the reasoning was for our 40 minute wait for our table. I approached the hostess behind the counter and she informed me she had the tables she had seated who had just walked in because they were reserved for their VIP's. I quickly asked for the manager and she promptly held her hand up for me to stop talking and walked to get the manager. He remedied the situation by seating us and apologizing, but to the cute little minimum wage seater, that is why you will always be seating people and we will be eating. I don't expect any sort of special treatment, but nobody deserves to be treated like that. Our waitress was great, the food is good, and after the front experience, was generally ok. Oh, and for the record, after the delight in the front sat three of the hip-hop honeys (extras) from 3 of the music videos i produced, by definition of their VIP rule, and we simply asked when our table would be ready, and why the delay, and given the not VIP answer, the #1 german tennis player, who just returned from wimbledon, one of the founders of CNET, and most sought after consultants all things technology based, and me, who works as an executive at one of the largest entertainment companies in the world, were allowed to be seated. Thank you so much Katsuya. Next time, we will call ahead and ask who is on your VIP list.

Pros: good food, wait staff great.

Cons: front hostess, dismissal of reservation, ridiculous and unneccessary attitude upon arrival.