Kenbey Sushi — Restaurant in Los Angeles

After a lunch there, and after reading quite similar experiences to mine regarding service and numerous mistakes on tab, here is my honest review (being not a friend of neither the staff or owners): 1 star for the quality and the freshness of the products served. 1 star for the menu that offers a wide range of things (from bentos, chirachis omakase à la carte..) +1 start for the easy parking (being on a plaza was def helpful on that one)

-1 star for the over demonstrating waiter who obviously is very proud to showcase his skills in Japanese. But he ended up making my lunch stressful and restless with his hysterical approach of the job. -1 star for the 2 mistakes on my check this same man did (even tho it was not busy that day). I addressed the 2 mistakes to him and he refused to amend the second mistake he did. It’s not a big deal much to me it was 2 USD difference, which I deducted from his 20% tip. Being alone and paying a 230 USD Lunch I would have appreciated to be listened to more and not having to deal with a white man trying to appropriate Japanese culture. I won’t come back, and will state that Osawa in Pasadena is one of the best Japanese restaurant you can find in this city. And for the same price they serve you Uni from Japan, and not Santa Barbara. If you want to have a less presumptuous experience, with better products, a real professional service, and fair prices, I would suggest to go have a pick to Osawa over this place that he’s more so a hipster trap. But I’m sure they will do better one day, so...

My family and I were profiled, disrespected, and intimidated by the person in this photo.

We came here wanting to try the place out. As we parked, an employee stood there staring at us. He then began shaking his head repeatedly while smirking.

I greeted him politely and asked, “Is everything okay?” He responded aggressively: “NO, YOU CANNOT PARK THERE.” I asked if the spot was reserved, and he snapped, “IT’S ONLY FOR CUSTOMERS. YOU CANNOT PARK HERE.”

I replied, “Yes, we came here to eat.” He said, “Oh, okay. Because people try to park here and go.”

That’s how my entire family was treated—before we even stepped inside. We did nothing but park and get out of the vehicle, only to be met with hostility and suspicion.

We couldn’t then eat where we were made to feel unwelcome from the start.

Maybe it was just a transgression by one employee—but when that transgression involves profiling and disrespect, it raises concerns about the environment the business allows or fosters. The experience made us question whether this establishment has a pattern of discrimination.

We ended up eating at the pizza restaurant next...

We really enjoyed our dining experience at Kenbey. The sushi is fresh and you can tell the chef cares about each piece he serves. I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because of 3 things. The first is that I didn’t like the sauce that came on the hirame and the sauce on the albacore with the slice of garlic. Second, we tried the Hokkaido uni, it was a very dark orange (so not the freshest - we should have gone with the Santa Barbara uni) and so bland and flavorless. Third, for the prices they could add some decoration. I would still recommend trying Kenbey. The service was excellent and overall...