RICE Healthy Japanese Dining — Restaurant in Manhattan Beach

No flavor. My husband and I were super excited to try RICE after seeing reviews and pictures. The restaurant was so nice to accommodate us and our baby in a stroller in the outside dining area. However, everything we got was really underwhelming: 1) crispy rice sampler (sampler was the best of what we got and the rice was good but fish flavor was lacking), 2) Dragon roll (no real distinct taste; toro didn't pop), 3) Rising Sun roll (not special), 4) 1 order salmon sushi (it was so so small for $9), 5) Hokkaido scallops (just ok...), and 6) truffle potato (just ok; they're potato chips with truffle flavor and a sauce).

We didn't order the mushroom fries but they brought it out and we thought it was the truffle potato; since its coated in batter, we couldn't tell what it was. We ate one stick per person and said something to them, so they went and got the Truffle Potato. However*, they still charged us for the mushroom fries that we did not order. They weren't even that good (again, lack of flavor).

It was around this time, the service started to fall apart because the patio was full.

With 2 beers for my husband, all that food came out to $137 and both of us felt like we ate half a meal, because truly, the items were so small. We stopped by a random taco place and got a second meal.

Super disappointed. We wanted to like this spot. Way too expensive for leaving...

Best meal I've had in years. Every once in a while you stumble upon a place like this. This hits my sweet spot for a restaurant. Nothing pretentious or fancy for no reason. Just super high quality food, prepared with care and creativity. Every dish we had was excellent. Just the right balance of flavors and textures: not too salty, sweet, or strong. Everything cooked to perfection - fried mushrooms were just cooked enough on the inside but not overcooked, and perfectly crisp on the outside. The kabocha squash was the perfect texture. We loved the chunky cut cucumber dish, unique! Lobster miso ramen was so delicious and creative! Who has ever heard of that? So much I want to learn from this chef. Even the plain brown rice was perfectly prepared. You can taste the quality in the ingredients, probably local and organic. Service was perfect, just attentive enough without ever interrupting. Top 3 most memorable meals I've ever had. I get the sense the chef here could have Michelin stars if they wanted that, but have opted for a less stressful and pretentious operation. I'm so glad they chose this path. Truly fantastic experience. Had a wonderful date with...

Excellent, freshly prepared food. Worth the wait. They ask for reservation but they squeezed us in even tho we didnt have one. I had mushroom ramen with several different types of mushrooms served with crispy kale and green onion slices. For appetizers we had sauteed brussel sprouts, edamame, and vegetable tempura. Delicious! Their lemonade is fresh squeezed served with an eco friendly wooden straw. They gave my granddaughter kiddie chopsticks. They had a rubber piece in the middle to help use them. I had a refreshing Asahi Japanese draft beer. Service was excellent. They checked on us frequently to make sure we didnt need anything. Parking was a crunch because its by the beach and All the parking meters are limited to 24 mins! I didnt understand that. What can you do in 24 mins? We managed to find a public parking lot nearby that allowed us to park for 2 hrs. We went at night so I couldnt see the beautiful view of the beach. This place is on top of a hill, literally 1 block from the ocean. Over all, I highly recommend this place for good food and ambience. It was awesome. My family and I...