KADO

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KADO - Los Angeles
Sushi, Teppan, Lounge

website

Location:
6333 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Hours:
Sun. - Thurs. : 11:30 am - 10 pm
Fri. - Sat. : 11:30 am - 11 pm

This is yet another sushi/teppan grill place and will be the last place of this kind we will review in a while. Kado features Teppan style dining, a revolving sushi bar and a full service lounge.

Food:

We ordered grilled salmon, with a wasabi and herb rub, served with chinese broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes.




We also ordered the roasted half chicken served with roasted herb potatos, japanese mushroom/basil sauce and asparagus.



The roasted half chicken was really delicious. It was moist and flavorful and probably the best part of our whole dining experience. The grilled salmon was "alright" but it didn't really have much flavor and I didn't really like the balsamic vinigar sauce underneath. We had also ordered salmon sashimi which was mediocre. For the price, I would expect the cut to be better and the fish more fresh. On a positive note we did get free dessert and we chose the creme brulee.

Ambience:

It has an Asian-Fusion trendy upscale decor. They have a revolving sushi bar which would be more interesting if it had interesting items placed on it, but it had you're normal spicy tuna roll, california roll, etc. type of sushi. For a Thursday night this place was very quiet and only a few customers. On weekdays they have all you can eat sushi lunch for I think around $20 per person.

Service:

It was okay...our waitress was courteous and helpful, but considering they had verrry few customers it's hard to judge the service.

Price: $$-$$$

Expensive for what it is. We don't mind spending a bit if the food is worth it, but this place unlike Tuna Town is one of those trendy, expensive Japanese restaurants with mediocre food. The only memorable thing about it is that I thought the roasted chicken was really delicious.

Recommended?

Well, the place was not bad in itself but there really wasn't anything to set this place apart from other Japanese restaurants. As much as I liked the chicken, I don't think it's enough to warrant driving all the way out to L.A. and facing that traffic so that I can eat here. It was also expensive which the food does not justify enough for us to eat there again. So next time we'll pass on KADO and spend our money elsewhere.

GYU-KAKU

GYU-KAKU, Pasadena





website

Location:

70 W. Green St.
Pasadena, CA

Hours:
Mon.-Thurs. : 5pm - 10:30pm Dinner only
Fri.-Sun. : 11:30am - 3:30pm (Lunch)
Fri. & Sat. : 5pm - 11:30pm
Sundays : 5pm - 10pm






This is a Japanese Grill type restaurant that I ate at with my family and we had a really good experience here :) If you've ever been to a Korean BBQ place where you get to cook your own food this place is similar to that. However, unlike those places you won't end up smelling like BBQ and smoke. Why??? Because the special Japanese style grill that they use sucks down the smoke rather than have it moving up and blowing towards you. So here is my take on the following subjects:

Food:
Really High quality meats, seafood and vegetables! You basically order this stuff raw and cook it on the grill. They offer combinations that range in price starting from about $20. While they don't serve sushi or sashimi there are some items that use tuna sashimi. Definitely try some of the appetizers. My favorite is the Hawaiian poke (marinated tuna sashimi) and the crispy seaweed with cream cheese. Also, the spicy tuna avocado salad is a good way to go if you're trying to eat light.
I had my first taste of Kobe beef here. So for meat eaters this is something you should definitely try once. But because it is KOBE beef which is like the most expensive beef it is not cheap and don't expect huge portions. 8 oz. of kobe beef is roughly about $40 for the prime cut. You can also get rib eye kobe beef for about $20. I also recommend getting the pork toro ($6 for 4oz.) , rib eye (regular beef) ($10 for 4 oz.), garlic butter lobster
Though I didn't try it, this place also serves a few Japanese rice dishes and noodles of bibimba (in hot stone pot), udon, and ramen. These are pretty affordable about $7 to $8.

Drinks:
They serve a variety of Japanese beers and sake so it's an ideal place to go with a group of friends to drink and celebrate a special day. They also serve shochu which is a japanese alcoholic drink similar to korean soju. The place also has a nice wine list comprised of mostly northern California wines. Free refills on soda and tea.


Ambiance:
Since this branch I went to is in Old Town it tends to be very busy on weekends. However, if you go during weekdays that won't be much of a problem. It's typically a good place to go with a group of people. Seating is comfortable and the decor is nice without being too trendy. It's a pretty relaxed setting.

Service:
Service was very, very good. The wait staff was very attentive what you would expect from a nice Japanese restaurant. Our waitress checked on us often and was very polite.


Price: $$ - $$$

Depending on what you order, how much you eat and what you drink, typically you should expect to spend at least $20 per person and up. They have happy hour where meats, vegetables are about 20% -50% off excluding Kobe beef and a few others. They also have All-You-Can-Eat available during certain days. This is about $35 / person.
All in all, I think it would be a good idea to hit up the place during happy hour.

Recommended ?

Yup! I'd definitely go back again. It's definitely not a place I can go to everyday but a nice place every now and then and if you go during happy hour it is quite affordable.