Los Angeles ｜ Irvine · Izakaya Osen 🏮🍶

Izakaya Osen (Seriously, so good it almost made me cry!!! 😭✨) Wait time: Went to the Irvine location — originally planned to visit the LA one, but spotted this branch on the way back from "Little Kamakura"! The space is modern and the vibe is great. We walked in around 5:30 PM on Christmas day — only bar seats were available. So yes, better to reserve in advance! Highly recommend: 🍚 Omakase Bowl (comes with special organic seaweed) 🍚 Toro Uni Bowl (regular seaweed — you can ask for extra!) 🍣 Miso Crab Salmon These three dishes deliver on looks, flavor, and value! I thought the bowls would be small, but they’re actually quite filling — definitely enough for one person. My first bite of the Omakase Bowl literally made me tear up — no exaggeration! (Probably helped that lunch at Chinchikurin was a bit of a letdown 💔) The Crab Salmon is salmon wrapped with loads of crab meat + truffle oil — total flavor explosion. Dessert: 🍧 Amato Special (not really recommended) Ordered based on reviews — persimmon was fine, matcha ice cream was the best part (not too sweet, very refreshing). The matcha bread was the weakest — kinda greasy, so don’t order that alone. Other dishes we tried were just okay — nice to sample, but not standouts. Their menu is huge with tons of options — definitely worth revisiting 2–3 times. So jealous of LA folks — you guys are spoiled with amazing food! #FoodShare #LAEats #LosAngelesFood #LAJapanese #LAIzakaya #IrvineJapanese