Taisho — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Taisho stepped it up once again!

We just had a fun dinner night at Taisho this past weekend on Sat. Feb 1, 2025.

It was the first time our group of friends got together after the fires finally stopped burning our special beautiful city of Los Angeles.

This was also my first time coming on a Saturday night...and let me tell you... Taisho was PACKED! I'm very glad I was able to solidify a reservation on my handy dandy RESY APP (thank you Platinum Amex ha).

Having this app makes it rather convenient to add, change, modify, your reservation time and number of guests. I originally made my rezzie at 8 pm for 8 people, but last minute I had to add 2 more. So I called the hostess at 5 pm and she was kindly able to accommodate 10 people thankfully. So she modified the rezzie and I received an updated notification on my end via RESY APP.

Upon arrival, Taisho resembled the feeling of pulling up to a Sunset Blvd nightclub or vibey lounge....and ironically, it kinda felt like that too. However, this time it is Ventura Blvd baby.

The valet was bumper to bumper as I was waiting to get parked . Valet is $13 now.

When I arrived to check in with the cute sweet hostess, I informed her that we might be 12 now instead of 10...oopsies. Well, she said I can try and talk to my server... maybe she can add little chairs.

So after being seated, I asked Katrina my server. She was actually very nice and allowed me to charm her into adding 2 more little chairs. I would also give her winks and smiles to express my appreciation.

Katrina was rather patient as she tried to manage and juggle 12 high maintenance, loud, slightly buzzed guests who can also be needy.

Katrina gave us different recommendations surrounding the menu options. She was highly knowledgeable about the different items and was really on top of it!

If you are in a large party, definitely order the following for everyone: Garlic Green Beans...wow wow!! Crispy Brussel Sprouts -- I might not get this next time. It was a bit too crispy and stringy for me. Short Rib Asparagus...amazing Cucumber kimchee..I'm getting this every time now for starters. Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice Spicy Salmon Crispy Rice Popcorn shrimp Albacore Onion Roll -- the truffle soy is sensational. My favorite roll at Taisho hands down. Spicy Albacore Roll Yuzu Kosho Roll

At the end they accidentally brought us an extra popcorn shrimp bowl. Tom happened to also be by the table and must have overheard me....because then he came over and said "don't worry on the house." Aww Tom -- you shouldn't have. Sending hugs.

Also, please don't expect to have a long conversation with any of your friends at the table as the restaurant gets EXTREMELY loud -- especially in the back. It is even harder to converse with a large table because you it is very loud so you are basically just chatting to the person next to you or directly across from you lol but I guess that happens when you are in a party of 12.

I also suggested to Katrina that Taisho should think about doing "dancing night" in the back --- and allow people to mix/mingle since the music they play is already pretty lit and always playing the best hip hop dance music from early 2000s.

Next time I'm trying the Gyoza and want to experiment with sashimi...

FOOD: Appetizers and sides had standouts (wagyu gyoza, mushrooms in the tofu-tobanyaki) but mains were just alright. Good enough, but not impressive or memorable considering we’re in LA.

PRICING: Overall felt a bit overpriced for what it was and food/drink options/quality. Weirdly, some dishes felt overpriced, some felt cheap. On the flip side, it wasn’t a classy enough environment and menu to convince me I should try my luck with their $65 A-5 Wagyu, rather than at a truly Japanese place. We still very easily spent over $125 per person.

EXPERIENCE: Robatayaki is Japanese small dishes served directly from a grill, and traditionally the chef is directly in front of you so that you can order conveniently as you eat. The robatayaki items were tasty, but with 20 things on the list (13 of them in the $3-10 range) it felt weird to order a huge list of things from a waitress rather than the standard setup or some other format (like maybe a sushi list style with pencil).

The least pleasant part was the atmosphere, likely because it’s new and celebrity-involved. The whole vibe was loud, party restaurant, people not in their seats and/or standing camped around the bar and taking shots, etc. This is all ok if it’s what you’re looking for, but probably wouldn’t be a great date spot unless you’re seated far from the front or go at quieter hours. Had to scream our food and drink orders. So crowded that many people didn’t even have seats. Watched while bartenders and staff took at least 4-5 shots with customers throughout time we were there. I was expecting high-end sushi restaurant, but it really seems unclear on whether Taisho wants to be a full-on bar or a quality restaurant, and it seems like they themselves don’t know either. There was no clear divide between people that are at tables/booths versus flow of traffic, tons of people just standing around to drink and not eat.

BAR/DRINKS: The bar wasn’t quality or big enough to only be a bar by itself - cocktail menu options are limited and a bit far-reaching, forced to be Asian inspired (green tea mules, lychee mojitos). A $17 margarita (“Ventura Heat”), should taste and look that way, and these didn’t. Lastly, whoever decided to put tons of horrendous gaudy lamps directly on the bar counter made a huge design mistake! They make absolutely no sense, cluttered our eating/drinking space, and made it really awkward ordering trying to look over/around them.

CONCLUSION: Nothing was completely wrong or night-ending for us, and a few dishes were great, most just fine.. but group agreed we probably wouldn’t return. We, like probably many others, went because Anderson Paak’s name is attached to it. It’s new, so maybe Taisho is still figuring itself out - hopefully they address some of the above...

Issue has nothing to do with the restaurant more with the valet. Jose was rude, not helpful, and quite frankly borderline aggressive. They “claim” they have contracts with other businesses in the area to park cars there at night. Today, I caught a valet red handed parking in a PUBLIC METERED SPOT. They claimed that was theirs too. At the time, a security guard for the restaurant said they can park in public spots, but I indeed looked it up and that is FALSE. As a valet you CANNOT park in a PUBLIC metered spot. You can apply for a permit to do so, and at that point you would have to display signs saying after x time this is a valet zone. However, NONE of that was clearly displayed and therefore that does NOT belong to them. They may have ownership of the metered spots directly in front of the restaurant, but not around the corner. It is unfair to other businesses WHO ALSO ARE ON THE SAME BLOCK, to not have parking for their PAYING customers but said restaurant can claim the entire block and behind it as well. Please note, I go to the boxing gym next door twice a week. I usually park in their assigned spaces behind the building, but when that is also full, what options do I have left? I just ask to leave the non demarcated metered spots for the PUBLIC, and don’t be a jerk about it. At this point, it's not a matter of ease. I'm perfectly fine parking a block and a half down the road in a metered spot. This is about the principle of the matter. That, I cannot let go. I know my rights legally vs what Jose was saying was clearly bluffs that I can easily disprove. The restaurant already has the lions share of ALL the parking on the entire block, be a good neighbor and allow the PUBLIC to park in the PUBLIC metered spots. Suffice to say, I will not let this go, and if this does require multiple complaints to the city, in which once again, I know what is legally right vs wrong, I will...