Best Restaurants that are Worth The Drive in Echo Park

The food was delicious, the restaurant is beautiful and the server was terrific. The restaurant was a bit cold, and as it filled up it got disproportionately noisy (lots of hard surfaces).

I’ve been here several times and have also ordered takeout. Each time is a wonderful experience. The food is great, the service is great, and the ambience is wonderful and warm. When the owner is there, he’ll make his rounds to each table to say hello/welcome and make you laugh. I love this place.

Overrall, great experience, flower package was a plus for anniversary celebration

I took my mom here for her birthday who is half Japanese and she had a wonderful time! We all really enjoyed experiencing flavors that were unique and fun to share with each other. We all ordered the omakase and ordered the almonds and chinmi separately. Maybe the only ding in the experience was the servers mispronounced omakase, which was weird considering it's a high-end Japanese restaurant. They don't put the emphasis on "ma", rather they make it sound like kamikaze which is off-putting at the ordering stage. I loved the Grilled California Holstein Beef Strip the most. It was so simple to look at, but the flavor of the beef with the salt crystals was divine. Loved the fresh seaweed shot with grapes! This made all of us say Wow! The omakase came with a mackerel sushi roll which wasn't on the menu, but it was a flavor bomb. The steamed rice was beautiful with the pork jowl. I could eat that rice on its own though! The miso soup was super tasty! I would skip the shiitake tempura but it's part of the omakase. Too oily, don't eat the whole thing. The new katsu with wagyu beef is a huge amount of food. My mom ate 1/4 of it and had to take the rest home, but my boyfriend ate the whole thing! The cocktails were fantastic, along with the sake pairings throughout our meal. The bartender was stellar. Loved the Yuzu Reviver (vodka) and the Old Fashioned. We left feeling full and satisfied, but not stuffed. It was all delicious! Expect a 2 1/2 hour delectable experience! Enjoy!

Worth a visit for breakfast whether you're shopping the LA Flower Mart or not! I changed up and went with the shrimp n grits. The grits were better than most in town and the dish was flavor-packed! I could go for more grits in the serving though. My date had the crab benedict which she loved, with the exception of the biscuit. I had to agree, it was a little too dense. You can't miss with the chicken and waffles here. I also tried the Rose Mojito for the first time and the second time, lol! Really good, so be careful!