Osawa — Restaurant in Pasadena

This place is my favorite restaurant. Osawa Restaurant consists of a sushi bar where you can enjoy shabu-shabu and regular tables. If you want to enjoy shabu-shabu, I recommend making a reservation in advance because the shabu-shabu seats are limited and always in high demand. One special thing about this restaurant is that they have a daily special menu, with each dish vividly representing the taste and atmosphere of mainland Japan, making diners feel like they're actually there. I've been here dozens of times, and each visit brings a pleasant surprise with different dishes, especially the seasonal fish and ingredients. Currently, Japanese snow crab is in season, and I enjoyed a delicious dish featuring Hokkaido snow crab as the main ingredient, along with other seasonal crab dishes, in a cozy atmosphere. The interior and pictures in frames exude a Japanese ambiance. The staff are all friendly and welcoming, recognizing and remembering my face whenever I visit, which always makes me feel welcomed and warm. Especially the manager, Mr. Shinji, is always friendly, professional with every menu item, and dedicated to the restaurant. This is my favorite restaurant, and I'm confident that anyone who visits will create good memories with good friends. If you're a foodie, want to experience the taste of mainland Japan, or simply love Japanese cuisine, I highly recommend...

I came to this restaurant for dinner with my family. We called a day before but they said they didn't take reservations. When arrived, we told the hostess that we don't mind being split 3 and 4. We were party of 7, my mom, husband sister and my kids. After waiting for almost 40 minutes, freezing cold outside the restaurant, I asked the host again to just give us 2 seperate tables since people who came before us (party of 2 or 4), got the table. They said they were just waiting to combine the table, 1 table is set and cleaned, just wait for the next table to leave. She said it will be soon coz they are paying already. She asked us to wait for another 15 to 20 mins. I told them, my mom is outside, hungry, freezing and had been standing for 40 mins, can she at least let her sit on the empty table that she said is ready for us. She said can't, it's the company rule to make sure the table is ready before they can let the customers sit. What a heartless and inconsiderate person/rule. I believe the reason they didn't want to give a seperate table was because they aiming for higher tips as the party of 6 or more, customers have to give higher percentages of tips. Very poor service! The food is also not as great as we expected. It is said omakase, but they serve all at 1 time in one plate! "Fake" omakase. Spending more than US$950 here is so...

The Pasadena Restaurant week meal I had here turned out to be not a very good deal. I may have saved $1-$2 by ordering the set restaurant week menu rather than the regular price. Regardless, I did enjoy my meal but wish that I had ordered off the regular menu instead.

I didn't try their shabu shabu as it was a crazy hot day. One of our friends did though and it looked decent. I had the wagyu beef bowl. The meet was cooked through and even though it tasted pretty good, I didn't feel like cooking the beef all the way it's the best way to really enjoy the tenderness of wagyu beef.

My friend had the eel wrapped in sweet egg. It was super delicious. The salmon with ikura bowl was also delicious. Their other sushi selections tasted pretty good as well. The restaurant is a little bit on the pricier side though.

The best part of the meal was actually the dessert. They have this Yam Brulee thing. It's kind of a mixture between a creme brulee and a tart made out of yam. It's just sweet enough and tasted amazing. I could eat like 10 of those.

We wanted to try their Soy Black Sesame Panna Cotta but they ran out. Supposedly that's the best dessert they have here. I may have to come back just to try it.

The service was pretty good. I made a reservation by phone and we were seated right away. They also didn't rush us even though they were...