Tsubaki — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I regret to give Tsubaki a rating of 1 out of 5 based on my recent visit. Unfortunately, most of the food fell short of my expectations. The Japanese Caesar salad was underwhelming with bonito, resulting in overpowering flavors that felt forced and trying too hard. Additionally, the sashimi was a complete waste of money. The fish slices were unnecessarily thick and had an unpleasant taste and odor. The sauces accompanying the sashimi seemed to compensate for the lackluster flavor of the fish itself, rather than complement it. Tsubaki would benefit from improving their sashimi-making techniques and understanding the importance of appropriate slice thickness.

Furthermore, I found their pricing practices to be questionable. The menu advertised the sashimi at $43, but I was charged $45 on the receipt, which felt like a clear case of overcharging. Adding insult to injury, the mandatory 18% tip included in the bill detracted from the freedom of leaving my own tip. While some may find this acceptable, I personally prefer having control over my tipping practices.

Moreover, the A5 skewer priced at $24 seemed like a great deal, but to my disappointment, it consisted solely of fat. It lacked the balance and variety that makes a skewer enjoyable. It appears that Tsubaki lacks an understanding of what constitutes a satisfying culinary experience.

Overall, my visit to Tsubaki was a total disappointment. While they may attract a crowd with their novelty dishes, in Japan, a place like this would likely struggle to survive. I expected more from a restaurant claiming to offer Japanese cuisine.

Also In addition to the disappointing food experience, the parking situation further added to my dissatisfaction. There is absolutely no parking available, and the valet service was barely visible. To make matters worse, they charged a steep fee of $11 for the...

Tsubaki is a small Japanese izakaya serving delicious small dishes that are meant to be shared. It's so small that you should make a reservation because it'll fill up quickly.

Food:

1. Root vegetable kinpira - gobo, parsnip, carrot, walnut miso vinaigrette, chile garlic crisp. I loved the flavor and crispness of the veggies

2. buta shumai - Pork dumplings, dashi-braised bacon, hot mustard. Delicious!

3. chawanmushi - steamed egg custard, dungeness crab, black truffles, fresh wasabi. My best experience with chawanmushi. My #2 dish of the night. Egg was soooo fluffy.

4. tako-ten - spanish octopus tempura, ume shiso aioli. This was my favorite of the night. The octopus was super tender and the tempura batter was pretty light.

5. Yakitori: Tebasaki (Chicken wing) and Hatsu (chicken heart) Very light on the flavor. It was good, but I'd order other items over this next time.

6. Ochazuke - steamed rice in genmai-cha broth, grilled ocean trout, salmon roe, mitsuba

7. Lamb Belly Yakisoba - pan-fried noodles, cumin, cabbage, garlic chives. I always love yakisoba and the noodles were cooked perfectly and the lamb belly was delicious as well.

Dessert: Chocolate mochi was fantastic! The mochi itself wasn't too sweet but plenty of chocolate flavor. Loved the orange and blood orange for the citrus. Hazelnuts of course are always a nice touch.

Service: Excellent! Server was very friendly and helpful. The new dishes were brought out as soon as we were done with ours and gave us fresh plates.

Parking: Valet for $8 either cash or use curbstand app. You can try to look for street parking but it's going...

So many Google searches and this place never hit my radar. Well lucky me I finally found my way to this hip little neighborhood joint. Reservations definitely recommended. Greeted by friendly faces that seemed genuinely happy to see me and my companion.

We were promptly seated at a spacious indoor table. The menu was full of so many interesting plates. It is very much a shared plate type of menu. We...okay I picked about 10 plates. All were so perfectly prepared and presented. The staff announced each plate.

It started with the uni toast. Served with a slice of seared sirloin and milk toast for its base, this was definitely a symphony in my mouth. We then progressed through two sashimi courses, both fresh and delicious. Chawanmushi with Dungeness crab was truly amazing. Reminded me of a version I had in Tokyo.

The meat courses were skewers of mouth explosions of flavor. We had chicken meatballs served with a egg and sauce reminiscent of unagi sauce. Don't skip this seemingly simple but yet totally complex dish. The A5 skewer was also buttery and perfectly seasoned. A5 doesn't need much to make it great and this restaurant nailed it.

The charcoal grilled cabbage is another dish that on its surface seems pretty basic, then it hits your lips and taste buds and you just feel so happy eating this amazing dish.

And lastly we finished with a pork tenderloin with a curry based rub. Another dish that just nails nuance of flavor and seasoning.

We were over stuffed at this point and had to pass on the housemade dessert. Next time...and there will definitely be one...I am saving...