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Wakasaya
Categories: Food Specialty Food Ethnic Food Restaurants Japanese Ethnic Food, Japanese [Edit]
335 E 2nd St104-106 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Neighbourhoods: Downtown, Little Tokyo
(213) 621-2121
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Touristy, Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
207 reviews for Wakasaya
Review Highlights
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"Also, you must try their special sauce with the Donburi." In 58 reviews -
"The rice bowls are great and what they do best." In 13 reviews -
"Plus the sea urchin was great." In 10 reviews
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207 reviews in English
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Review from Frederick H.
Honolulu, HI
4/16/2012 1 photo
The lunch combo is very tasty. I had the udon/NY style steak/green tea combination and enjoyed every second of it.
I've read the comment's below before coming here and have to give this restaurant the benefit of the doubt, since the experience i can say that the waitress was friendly/kind, the atmosphere was sorta busy similar to Tokyo, and the crowd was excited to be there.
Great place to eat if your in a hurry. -
Review from Honest A.
Beverly Hills, CA
5/21/2012
Went here for lunch with a few friends since all the other restaurants were packed. Now I know why this one wasn't crowded... (about 3pm Saturday)
Pros -
Big Menu with nice colorful pictures
Food was prepared fast, only took about 10 minutes for everything!
CONS -
Sticky tables, very yucky! Put my phone down and seemed It stuck for a second when picking it back up. Felt like months of built up muck, my elbows felt itchy.
Waiter never gave us straws or soup spoons after coming around the third time we had to ask.
Waiter seemed tired and just wanted to go home, no greeting, no smiles, slow moving, looked sleepy - this equaled a half tip.
We had the Japanese New York style steak dish, which came out a third of the size than the picture, tiny portions, picture seemed misleading. Also we were supposed to get eggs with our steak dish, but it didn't arrive.
All the deserts were overpriced; we can get the same thing within the same Little Tokyo Mall for half the price and only a few steps away.
Not a place to take important guests -
Review from Bernadette H.
Cerritos, CA
3/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
Note to self: Don't ever try a place just because you have to use the bathroom -_-;
I went here with my guy last night, and I was disappointed at how incredibly poor the service was. The young server (I'm guessing she's barely 21 or something) kept apologizing because it was "crowded" in the kitchen with orders. I call bullshit, because the place wasn't even half full! I guess this place caters to the teenyboppers who just turned 21, and plays incredibly crappy pop music in the restaurant.
We ordered the Happy Hour mini special, which was two 10oz beers, some edamame, and a small izakaya dish. For some reason, the edamame had so much salt I seriously had a headache and felt like I was going to have a stroke due to the sodium overload!!
The NY Steak we ordered was very bland, and just a notch above the meat quality of a $1 Chinese Fast Food place. I had to douse the meat with tons of donburi sauce and togarashi to make it palatable. Eesh.
Unless I'm feeling masochistic and want to just annihilate my insides and give myself a stroke, I won't be coming back anytime soon. Quite disappointing for the first US location of a popular Japanese donburi chain. :/ -
Review from Alyssa P.
5/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
Their lunch specials are super cheap! The food is good, and it comes out fast.
-
Review from Jennie V.
Alhambra, CA
4/17/2012 1 Check-in Here
They place is not worth it...the give very small portions. There is so many other places to eat at...the quality of the food is not that good. It is a bit pricey...I would go to Akasaka any day over this place to get the bowl filled with rice and fish.
-
Review from Ben Y.
Monterey Park, CA
3/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
I think your experience will vary greatly depending on what you order. So pay attention!
The combo deals with the ramen + bowl + drink is what you want to get. For 12 bucks you get a decent sized bowl of ramen and a half size of don buri...as for the drinks i think you can get beer, soda or tea.
If you order one of the regular don buri bowls it's a "decent" deal. It's about 12 bucks for a two topping bowl and you can see the size of the bowl at the restaurant entrance.
If you order the small side dishes it's going to be a pretty bad deal in my opinion. The portions are small for the price.
The donburi sauce isn't all that great, it's just like a semi sweet soy sauce in my opinion. The mayo soy sauce was good though, especially mixed with the wasabi sauce.
Overall food quality is not bad. And this would be a great lunch option if you worked in the area. I think if you had 3-4 people it would be a good deal to order the giant don buri bowl (that they use for the challenge) and split it. It's 49.99 -
Review from Lori B.
Torrance, CA
5/12/2012
Spent an afternoon in J town with my son. He and his friends ate here and liked the deal on the combo's b/c beer is included. It's a very simple place, don't expect a lot. I picked the combo with the least amount of raw fish. The chopped salmon was pretty salty and I didn't care for any of the sauces on the table. The ramen was something else. I don't know what the soup base was but it was really good. Worthy of ordering a big bowl the next time. My son ordered a side of uni and the large broiled squid in addition to his combo. Both sides were huge and he was on his own with them. Would love to come back with his friends and see if one of them can attempt that huge $50 bowl. 4 stars for the staff, the girl were very sweet and helpful.
-
Review from Winnie H.
12/17/2011 2 photos
Wakasaya averages 3 stars with my Yelp friends so I decided to give it a try with a colleague for lunch.
We stepped inside the restaurant and found a big open space with tables and benches arranged in rows. The ambiance felt sterile and odd. There's not much decor except for tons of food photos plastered all over the walls. It's like a menu exploded in there. If you can't decide on a dish from the menu, look at the walls instead. Something will catch your eye sooner or later.
I ordered a Wakame Udon and mini Spicy Tuna Don combo. The bowl of udon came piping hot to the table. The broth was delicious but there wasn't much udon. I finished the noodles in about 4-5 spoonfuls and I was still hungry. http://www.yelp.com/bi...
The Spicy Tuna Don can be best described as a "smidgen of fish with a little bit of rice". http://www.yelp.com/bi... This pic requires a warning like your side view mirror...object is smaller than it appears. The bowl is a regular size bowl filled 1/3 with rice. They smeared a small gob of tuna in the bowl to make it look like you're getting a lot. Look at the tuna from the side and the layer was almost paper thin. Other than a hint of heat, the flavor of the bowl was anorexic. I needed a little soy sauce to help finish the rice and guess what? I was still hungry.
I give them one star for the broth and one for the tuna being actually spicy. With many nearby places offering similar fare at much better quality, quantity, and value, I will not be returning to Wakasaya.Listed in: What's for Lunch in DTLA?
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Review from Connie M.
1/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Wakasaya...let me just say...it's okay?
After New Years the boyfriend and I went to DLTA looking for a place to eat. We were going to get something soupy but the place he wanted to go wasn't open. So, after passing by Wakasaya and looking at the pictures in the window we decided WHY NOT? He had gone to the one in santa monica? or whatever the branch closer to where he lives and was like it's not bad.
We walk in and get seated...TINY TABLE but it was okay. After examining the menu I decided on 1/2 tuna (the smushed one) and 1/2 seared salmon. That combination was pretty good when it came out! The boyfriend ordered just a bowl of the seared salmon. Decent enough. And we ordered the squid/cuttlefish. THAT was pretty damn good.
The only thing i have to complain about this place is the bowls are i swear 80% rice with a few pieces of fish on top. But i guess that's okay right? it's not ridiculously expensive...but i'd rather go to mitsuwa and eat their little premade sushi boxes.
All in all it was a decent meal that wasn't too ridiculous. Not sure if I would go again unless other people really wanted to eat it...but it wasn't disgusting so it was just OK! -
Review from Jade T.
Los Angeles, CA
4/2/2012 1 photo
Very good! A bit pricey but I did order a side of Ikura. We had Niku (beef) udon, spicy ramen, and spicy ahi over a bed of rice. It was delicious!
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Review from Somnus S.
Rosemead, CA
4/20/2012 2 photos
i don't remember what the name of that big bowl for $ 44, it's huge and can satisfied for 3 people, but the rice is too much than toppings.
-
Review from Jeff M.
Beverly Hills, CA
11/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
I like this one compared to the one on Sawtelle. The ramen noodles are good. The best is the lunch specials. Ramen noodle a side and a drink for $11.99.
If you are brave they have a extra large bowl of rice, sushi, beef and soup which you have to finish under 15mins and it'll be FREE otherwise if you don't it's going to cost you $50.00. They have a wall of winners and the wall of shame. =) I knew someone who tried to take that challenge and he's a big guy. He's in the Wall of Shame.
I believe there's a method to it but I'll try it one day.
What's funny is that the White guy that works there (The only one) never smiles every time I've been there. He's not rude, he just never smiles. -
Review from Lloyd B.
It was unusually quiet for lunch. After all, it was barely 1pm. There was only one other person eating here and this is a sizable place.
Well, the menu is huge, to the point of being overwhelming. It's all over the walls with all kinds of specials and combos to choose from. A lot of happy hour deals with pictures too. I'd consider this place akin to a mediocre fast food joint.
I finally settled for one of the combinations - a light beer (Sapporo), wakame udon, and tuna don for $11.99. The tuna bowl had three slices of tuna in it. Maybe it was the low grade fish or the old rice but it just wasn't appetizing. The udon was decent though. It tasted exactly as you'd expect it to. And between soda, tea and beer? Well, I chose the Sapporo as part of my combo and I think that made everything better than it actually was.
The food was seriously lacking in quality. I would rather pay more for better food. I was hesitant to eat here at first, but hey, at least I get to write a new Yelp review! -
Review from Yunie C.
Los Angeles, CA
11/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been a fan of this place for some time. I finally decided to write a review. Sometimes I'm surprised that this place isn't as packed. Unfortunately perhaps due to the small volume, the sashimi hasn't been as fresh during my last visit 3 days ago. My mom may have gotten a stomach flu from it too.
Pro:
1) wasabi is especially soft here. It's still spicy like it should be.
2) great negatori (tuna belly)
3) a range of combo you can choose from
4) they have their own donburi sauce which is pretty good when mixed with the rice
Con:
1) still kinda expensive (12-13 bucks a bowl if you wanted uni and sweet shrimp). I dropped 80 bucks the other day for 3 bukuri dons (rice bowls) with uni appetizer.
2) the appetizers are not so good (except for uni in a shell)
I will probably give this place a chance again considering that I've been here many times before and it's been good....hopefully it won't let me down again. -
Review from larry r.
San Francisco, CA
12/3/2011
4 stars for the $11.99 combination that includes beverage(including draft beer), ramen or udon dish and a starter of salad or many starter don buri dishes.
Everything was good and what a deal! -
Review from Kathy V.
Orange County, CA
This place isn't bad for a ramen spot. I've been here a few times and haven't been disappointed. My most recent visit disappointed me when the server brought green onions in my ramen when I told him specifically no green onions. However, just when I was about to just pour all the onions on my bff's bowl, he took it away and brought me a new one.
Service is really good here and the place is really spacious. I am not really a fan of Takoyaki, but this place made it pretty good.
I'll only be back if all the other ramen places around are packed. -
Review from Edward H.
Diamond Bar, CA
3/13/2012
This place is whatevers. If you're craving raw fish there are plenty of places that are much better than this place. If you want quality go to sushi gen. If you want bang for the buck go to sushi asahi in corona. This place gives you a couple slices of I guess kinda decent sashimi on a bowl of rice for a average price. Around 12-13 dollars? While sushi gen has a sashimi lunch special that's 15 dollars...hmm. You're mostly eating rice, and in the end you're still pretty hungry. The ramen here is horrid. Tasted like top ramen or something. So all in all there's almost no reason to go to this place. I thought about doing the challenge before, which was like 45 dollars for this huge ass bowl of sashimi and rice if you didn't finish it within 15 minutes and realized that there was no point to it because most of what you'll be eating is rice...
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Review from Chris P.
Los Angeles, CA
10/11/2011
First time I was here, I liked what I found. The food was good, the prices were decent, and I was hungry.
However, second time through my expectations dropped significantly. The prices were the same, but that was about it. Service seemed to have diminished significantly. The food took forever too arrive and it wasn't as good as I remembered it.
What I annoyed me the most was when it was time to pay. We carefully explained how we wanted to pay for our meal. We even repeated it twice and the server seemed to acknowledge that she understood everything. However, when she came back with the receipt she completely screwed up. It was such a simple task that we thought was impossible to mess up. Definitely killed my already bad mood that day. -
Review from Tony L.
The large pictures on the door with cheap prices is what brought us into this place. Not to mention the huge 15 minute rice bowl challenge in the window! But walking in to a practically empty restaurant should have been a indication of what's to come. The menu is more fast food style with the large selection of combo selections. The best value is definitely the 3 selection combo with drink, noodles and rice bowl for $11.99. And they have Calpico as a drink option! For those unfamilar with this drinks it's the japanese version of the yogurt soda drink you find in the asian markets. Definitely a YUMMY treat on a hot day!
The food sadly was pretty mediocre... the highly recommended Negitoro bowl was tiny and bland! It was literally a bowl of rice with what seemed like 1 small piece of ground tuna. Where's the flavor too?? We ended up having to add the donburi sauce on top to pretty much eat plain white rice... sadface! The regular ramen was pretty plain as well. It almost felt like they just reheated one of those prepackaged ramen packs from the super market and put a spoon full of spicy ground beef in the middle. The broth tasted like straight up hot water with the spicy oil from the ground beef.
The service here was also very mediocre especially with a empty restaurant. We literally had to wait a good 15 minutes before the waiter came to take our order or even ask for our drink orders for that matter. Sadly i would not be back to this place with the large selection of authentic Japanese cuisine in the area. -
Review from Laura S.
So my friend heard good things about this place so we decided to try it. I was SO hungry, I was hoping for a good amount of food...
I order three items on a rice bowl for $15 (around that price) and they were SO little. I only got three slices of each thing (yellow tail/ tuna-salmon / eel). That is SO little... and a bowl of rice. I ate the whole thing and was STILL hungry. I also ordered soft tofu on the side and STILL hungry. Soft tofu $3...
It was pretty expensive for the amount you get... VERY little.
They have a competition for a big bowl costing $49.99 and many items and you have to finish the whole thing in 15 minutes.
"The challenge: finish a large bowl filled with assorted raw fish, octopus, sea urchin, sweet shrimp, and what seems like 3 cups worth of rice, plus a bowl of miso soup, in 15 minutes or less. If you manage to finish it in time, the $40+ meal is free."
Not many people finish it... if it was 30 minutes... I think I could finish it.
AMBIANCE:
Lots of photos on the wall of people attempting to finish the bowl and those who did. I dunno... this place is really trying to be a "IT" restaurant.
LOCATION:
Parking in structure outside $4
or street
SERVICE:
Alright.
OVERALL:
Not worth the hype. Not worth the price. -
Review from Lin G.
10/11/2011
For Little Tokyo, the Japanese food here was uninspiring. We got in seconds before they closed for the night and they were nice enough to serve us.
My friend got the ramen and I got uni/salmon bowl. The ramen was not that great, the quality of the noodle, the broth, everything. way beneath Daikokuya though I'd still rather eat here than wait in line for 2 hours.
My uni/salmon bowl was sooo small! It was really disappointing. I eat a lot and was still hungry after I finished my food but luckily, all my friends eat like hummingbirds so I finished her ramen. The uni was good and large quantity for what it was. I think the whole bowl came to like $10 or something. The salmon was really disappointing. Not juicy, not moistly oishi. Mediocrity, why won't you leave?
The server was really friendly though and kind of awkward in a dorky way. -
Review from Steve O.
Los Angeles, CA
1/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
great concept, great fish, but horrible portions. you literally get like 6-8 pieces of fish and a full bowl of rice. if you like paying $13 for rice then i guess this is your place.
got the fatty salmon, the few pieces i got were delicious. rice was hard though.
service was okay. -
Review from WhereMonkey T.
Long Beach, CA
Couldn't wait 1.5hrs for something good, so we came here. Combo meal included something over rice, choice of noodle soup and drink. Not bad, but also not great.
GRILLED SQUID was a bit salty, but nothin' a lil mayo couldn't fix. Prime example of how quantity is no match for quality. Service was friendly, so that was nice. -
Review from Bing L.
Hacienda Heights, CA
9/12/2011
HORRIBLE SERVICE!!! Our waiter had an attitude problem. He didn't seem like he wanted to work that day. When he brought us our drinks he didn't give us the straws so I asked him for some straws and he just rolls his eyes and drops it on the table. Anything you ask him he just gives you that look and walks away. Worst service we've ever had. He just made us feel very unwelcome. So if you decide to get some Super small donburi make sure you don't get this server he's about 5'6 bleached blonde hair thats gelled down, skinny and he has a piercing on or around his lip.
Super small portions compared to their menu pics. When we got our donburi the rice was hot which really ruined a good donburi. Also they don't use sushi rice just regular plain rice. If you're hungry make sure you order 3 of them.. -
Review from Seena A.
8/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
Is it obvious yet that I've been spending a lot of time in Little Tokyo? Yeah....
I know this place isn't the fanciest and the service by the awkward, frail looking dude with the bleached hair wasn't the best but what are you expecting when you walk into a store like this? It's not the Ritz!
I was looking for a cheap + quick lunch and got just that. The negitoro bowl and ramen combo was great although I wish I got more of the bowl and less ramen... that's where they get ya! I remember the total being less than $10. I would eat here again. -
Review from Ryan C.
Oakland, CA
2/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place is amazing! The atmosphere is great. The food is pretty cheap too. What more can you ask ?
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Review from Jayne L.
Not bad, not bad at all. Wakasaya can't obviously compete with the other local ramen spots, but it definitely hits the spot and the prices are perfect for the amount of food they give you.
We ordered the following:
-Takoyaki
- Spicy Ramen combo + Salmon mini rice bowl
- Spicy Ramen combo + Negitoro mini rice bowl
PROS
- Delicious TAKOYAKI! I LOVED it here! Waaaay better than other J-spots I've been to in Torrance, J-town, and Hacienda Heights. The takoyaki here makes the takoyaki at Honda-ya look like garbage!
- EXCELLENT service.
- Spacious dining area
- Great deals on their combos
CONS
- Not the best tasting ramen, but it filled us up!
PICTURES
Takoyaki:http://s3-media2.px.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/Th IGAQc0InRj2PJrkfNBog/ms.jpg
Spicy Ramen:http://s3-media2.px.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/ydqaP yY38dvsVXiCktYERg/ms.jpg
Salmon rice bowl:http://s3-media1.px.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/bn7ONB w5Z122bhdWYQgTzg/ms.jpg
Negitoro rice bowl: http://s3-media1.px.ye...
Honestly, I don't mind coming back here again. I really want to try their uni next time!Listed in: RAMEN, It's a -yaki thing~
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Review from Michie K.
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA
10/17/2011
It was a must in my list to eat at least something next time I Went to little tokyo and Gawd did I have a hard time picking out where I wanted to eat, in the end the decor and interior design got my eye and I walked in, it was empty that day so service was awesomely fast and the waitress was nice, since I was a newbie, she reccomended the spicy ramen with the eel side dish so I ordered that, sat down and quickly felt at home, even though it was empty the environment alone felt amazingly relaxing for some reason. Might have been cause I am a set designer, but, it was so cozy I forgot that I had already ordered when 5 mins later the food came out and I came back form my reverie. Geesus just by looking a the food being served I knew this was goign to be like eating with Buddha himself, and so it was!.
Goes without saying I had never felt so satisfied in my whole life!! I left happy and my stomach was beyond itself with joy as well. The joy faded only after a few weeks. Now THAT is what I call good soul food!. I will be back again to share this bliss with my family. Bless Little Tokyo!. -
Review from Lucy N.
Berkeley, CA
6/22/2011 7 photos
This place is infamous for their ridiculous Bikkuri Don + Soup challenge, where if you can consume a gigantic bowl of rice topped with a variety of seafood + a bowl of miso soup within 15 minutes, you get it for free. If you can beast through this challenge, I bow down to you. If you're gonna attempt this, I recommend you bring $44.80 just in case your stomach fails you, which chances are it will. I was not on a suicide mission, so I went with one of the regular sized donburis since that's what they're known for.
Tuna + Grilled Eel + Sea Urchin Don: My cousin raved about how amazing the uni (sea urchin) was and insisted that I get it in my don. I was expecting some mind-blowing experience, but was fairly disappointed. I dont think it was the uni's fault, but rather I'm just not a fan of the taste. The tuna was pretty standard. I dont eat raw seafood often so im not really sure how to tell if it's fresh or not. The unagi (eel) however, was grilled to perfection. I feel like I'd prolly give this place a 5 if I had nothing but the unagi.
Next time im in Little Tokyo, I prolly won't be making another visit here since the food was decent, but was nothing spectacular. -
Review from Garth E.
8/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is just okay. I was excited when I walked in, because they had an ABC combo that seemed like a huge amount of food for an okay price. Turns out the food was just okay. Definitely not bad, I enjoyed it, but not amazing.
The ramen was pretty good, not as flavorful and complex as others I've had but it was also significantly cheaper so that should definitely be taken into account. The rice bowl wasn't bad, but I think it was almost all rice with a small amount of fish on top so I ended up covering the plain rice in soy mayo and hot sauce once the fish was gone.
Also have to note that I'm pretty sure our waiter hated us. For some reason he acted as though he would rather be anywhere else besides taking our order. Maybe he was just having a bad day (we all have them), but service is an important part of the dining experience and this was pretty bad. -
Review from Marvin S.
6/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
My GF and I had previously visited the Wakasaya on Olympic and Sawtelle, and had a great restaurant experience, but had a not so good post-dinner experience later... brrrrrrttttt.....!!! LMAOOOO
At this restaurant, there wasnt too many people, yet with a staff of 2, all the tables were not cleaned, and the food took a while to get out. Which is a bit much since it just prep time and no cooking time.
a Bowl of rice, with Tuna and Eel on top, my gf got a combo which consists of Udon, a small Salmon bowl with rice, 2 drinks and a side of grilled squid with sauce and japanese mayo... pretty good.
But im not too fond of their rice. It was too light (weight) and a bit mushy, which isnt your normal Japanese rice. besides that i dont think the portion matches the price.
and this time... no BrrrrrTS... LOL -
Review from Alek C.
Los Angeles, CA
I love little Tokyo.
This place is nice the service sucks but the food is very fast and good.
The rice bowls are great and what they do best.
Plus the sea urchin was great. -
Review from Stephen K.
Los Angeles, CA
9/22/2011
My co-workers and I stopped by for lunch. All the pictures outside the restaurant and lured us in. We contemplated doing the Bukaki challange (what's with all the innuendo at the restaurants I've been going to lately?), but decided it was too much to finish off in 15 minutes. (Zing! Again.) Apparently the Bukaki packs six times the stuff as the normal size (Zing!).
The restaurant was almost empty, so the service was good, and the food came out very fast. Our first server spoke little English though, and he misunderstand Amy's question as an order and forgot her green onion.
What I Ate:
Wakame Udon + Salmon sushi bowl.
The salmon was sub-par sushi quality, but tasted ok. The rice for the bowl was bleeeeh. The udon was excellent, and the soup base was one of the best udon soups I've ever had. They had gochujang (spicy red pepper paste), but oddly it was very sweet.
We all left a bit unfulfilled, but the overall experience was ok.
The BOTTOM Line: Fast service, cheap prices, passable taste. Might go back for a quick+dirty meal, but wouldn't go for a special occasion. -
Review from Patrick P.
Monrovia, CA
5/26/2011
I came here on a whim. I've passed by the place all the time while in Little Tokyo, with the outside walls plastered with their variety of "donburi" (more on that later) served there, so I finally decided to give it a try.
This past Tuesday afternoon at 2:30pm, I came to an empty restaurant, but by the time I left, there were 2 other parties there. The ambiance inside was rather inviting and warm. Contemporary Japanese pop played in the background. Two televisions are mounted to the walls: one was showing Japanese programming, the other ESPN's PTI. Various condiments are provided on the table: vinegar, wasabi (in a squirt bottle), soy sauce, mayo-soy sauce, Ko Chu Jang (hot sauce and vinegar).
Their entire menu is simply all the variations you can order, and the specific pricing for each. Decided to order the typical salmon & tuna, but also tried the zukemaguro (tuna marinated in soy sauce). Total $11.90. I found the entire thing rather so-so, and think that they use the tough parts of the tuna for the zukemaguro... The entire time I was eating it, I thought to myself, "Man, Taisho (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) is better than this!"
I suppose I should have looked up what donburi, or "don" for short, meant before coming here. I was expecting a chirashi bowl, sashimi over sushi rice, so I was rather surprised when I took a bite to find standard rice. But donburi literally means "bowl", and is simply a Japanese rice bowl dish.
Soda comes in a can. $1.50. Meal came with miso soup.
Two clean restrooms for male/female.
To sum up, I like the environment. Didn't like the donburi. They do offer udon and some desserts here as well, so I might give them another shot. But with so many other options in the area, that may not be anytime soon.Listed in: A rating, Set a screen!, Sushi & sashimi
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Review from Sheree P.
4/28/2011 3 photos
It's extremely silly, but when I hear the name Wakasaya, I get the flash image of Shakira dancing to Waka Waka http://youtu.be/pRpeEd... Africa..Japanese food...totally irrelevant and random, I know.
Kagayalover brought me here for the first time a few months ago and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the sashimi in the donburi and the quantity of food in the set menu. Since there is another Wakasaya on the Westside, I've been meaning to pay a visit just to compare. (haven't done so yet) Last night after a conference in little tokyo, we were going to get Daikokuya but when we saw the crowd waiting out the store, it was pretty apparent that instant hunger satisfaction would not be met. Time for Plan B: our old trusty spot Wakasaya it is. (I wonder how much business they get from customers who doesn't want to wait for Shabu House and Daikokuya...hum)
I got the combo set which consists of:
a) udon of my choice: Nikku Udon http://www.yelp.com/us...
b) donburi of my choice: Negitoro don http://www.yelp.com/us... and
c) drink of my choice: Calpico Water.
There was so much food, and I couldn't finish the negitoro so I ate just the good part (top layer) =p
Kagayalover, per usual, got the donburi with ikura, uni and negitoro. http://www.yelp.com/us... I stole a couple of pieces of uni; they were sweet and fresh. YUM!
We were the last patrons there, I'm a slooooow eater so they get brownie points for being patient and not making me feel rushed. I will say tho, I really really really wanted to see someone try the Bikkuri don challenge in person someday. http://twitpic.com/19g4po The bowl looked like I could bathe in it...*SWAN DIVE* I wrote to Adam from Man VS Food to take the challenge and have yet to get a response. Keep you posted. -
Review from Daryl K.
Los Angeles, CA
7/4/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Been here a number of times. Service is never great, but today's experience helped this location to lose a star.
We've come to expect a moderate wait, even when the place is empty. This time my wife's bowl came out first. She waited for a bit, then proceed to eat when it became apparent that my food wasn't coming right away. I waited patiently as my wife finished her bowl. When we caught up to a waitress (who of course never came back to our table) we asked where my food was. She went to the back and a bit later came out with my bowl. My wife asked why it took so long, and after some coaxing, she admitted that they just forgot. That was bad, but it wasn't the end of the world.
So at the end of the meal we pay our bill and ask to have our parking validated. I sign the check and we start getting ready to go but we realize that we don't know where the parking validation went. After looking through all of our pockets/purse/wallet I go and ask the cashier about our validation. She looks around, then goes into the TRASH and finds it! Again, I get a bunch of apologies and a smile. I guess that just happens sometimes.
I'm not one to give a bad review based purely on service, so let me tell you about the food. It is really hit or miss. If you're feeling lucky, give it a shot. Sometimes the fish tastes fresh, sometimes it feels like leftovers. Sometimes the uni will be nice, sometimes it'll be a bit gritty. Sometimes the broiled salmon is cooked nicely, sometimes it's chewy.
We'd go here and take a chance every once in a while, but now I think it's going to be a long time before we return, if ever. There are too many other consistently good restaurants in the area. -
Review from Sophia L.
Los Angeles, CA
8/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Disclaimer: I didn't pay for my food.
If I did, this would have been 1 star. Simply: it sucked.
More elaborately: Expensive prices for a bowl of crap mushy rice and over-salty, over-fishy-smelling toppings the size of anchovy poop. If you're gonna give me a huge bowl of $11+ white rice, at least make the dominant component of the dish right.
I understand that mantaiko and raw salmon is expensive, so you'll cut back on that, but don't cut back on the rice-cooking skills, yeah? Bland, overcooked, pasty rice is just unforgivable in a place specializing in rice bowls.
The star dish of the meal was the complimentary lukewarm miso soup they served before. -
Review from Hk B.
Sunland, CA
This was the second stop in the Little Tokyo food tour that I participated in. We got an appetizer size portion of tuna belly donburi and udon. The donburi was delicious! The rice was perfectly cooked, so chewy and moist. The udon was also delicious. The broth was a little bit fishy but good nonetheless and the noodles were perfectly cooked.
I am so glad I got to try out this place. I will definitely be going back to try the variety of items that they offer!! -
Review from Yesenia A.
Los Angeles, CA
9/20/2011 2 photos
I was really excited to eat at this place. i had seen it tons of time and wanted to try it but usually people i was with werent too into it. so i had to go alone.
i was excited cause one i love fresh sashimi and cheap beer (2 dollar Sapporo)! second cause i could choose whatever fish i wanted to go on top. i got sat and waited on pretty quick. i ordered just a regular Donburi with Uni, Salmon, Negitoro and Hamachi on top, a beer and for an appetizer some calamari.
the calamari was AMAZING! super crunchy and the octopus super soft. freshly fried. it didnt taste like it was ever frozen. I'd go back just for the calamari.
The Donburi it self was kind of a let down. the bowl was a lot smaller then it looked. even though i was pretty full when i left. and when i asked for some Ponzu (my favorite sauce for sashimi) i was told that all they had was Soy Sauce and "Donburi Sauce" which is their own home made sauce which tasted like sweet soy sauce. i just couldnt get into it. it was ok food but i was expecting more.
but like i said i would go back just for the calamari. also they have whole grilled squid. i havent given up on this place but next time i might steer away from the Donburi. -
Review from Daisy P.
Westminster, CA
7/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
I got the ABC combo for 13.99. which comes with a drink, ramon or udon, and a small rice bowl.
I've never had this before so i didn't know what to expect. I got an iced green tea, beef udon, and seared fatty salmon rice bowl. There wasn't much meat on the food but it tasted good.
overall, everything was ok. Nothing spectacular or bad.
