My co-workers and I had lunch at the newly open Hollywood Katsuya that’s walking distance from our office. It’s been awhile since I went to “scene” trendy type of restaurants that emphasis on decor, celebrity sightings and beautiful, beautiful waitresses whom my male co-workers could not stop raving about. 🙂
To be honest I’m not that impressed by the interior designed by Philippe Starck. I found it rather uninspiring and the blow-up “oh-so-exotic-it-is-soooo-Japanese” geisha-sque eyes and lips on the wall to be quite cheesy.
We went all out and got the Kobe Filet w/ Foie Gras with Plum Wine Soy Sauce $29. The pieces were a lot smaller than we expected. The taste was average-good, I expected better with the price. The foie gras was a bit over cook and the Kobe beef was not that exceptional (taste like normal beef). The plum wine soy sauce is tasty though.
The Kanpachi, Salmon and Uni sushi were very good. Fresh! I especially love the uni.
Crispy Rice w/ Spicy Tuna is just so-so. I’m never a fan of spicy tuna to begin with though. The guys were still hungry so they ordered O- toro (ultra premium toro) and Tuna sushi.
They have a $12 lunch special which I heard is pretty good. In fact their lunch menu is surprisingly affordable. Maybe lesser people will go to Kabuki now that Katsuya is only 1-2 blocks away.
Tags: fashionable, Foie Gras, Sushi, Uni
yeah, I understand your sentiments about Philippe Starck…
To me, that Suntory building in Tokyo that he designed is an eyesore…
So weird to have foie gras and sushi on the same table…Kobe beef should be the “melt in your mouth” kind…Crispy Rice w/ Spicy Tuna is something you will never find in Japan…
I went for dinner once and wasn’t impressed at all either. When there’s such great sushi at little hole-in-the-wall places here in LA, I see no need to pay triple just for an atomsphere that some people would find “hip.”
Yes Anne I would never go there for dinner. There are much better sushi place out there and like you I don’t find Katsuya all that “hip” at all. The vibe feel so Vegas and cheesy…^^;;
However the $12 lunch special is not so bad at all. Esp. for people who work around there who craved average-good Japanese food. but it’s definitely not worthy to take a trip to.
Yeah Seat, the Crispy Rice w/ Spicy Tuna thing was recommended by the pretty waitress so that’s why the guys got it -_-;;;; She said it’s their most popular item…so that shows you what kind of people go there. I really don’t like spicy tuna at all, the mash up meat just taste gross to me. They don’t have that in Japan right?
I’ve been curious about this new sushi joint since it’s in the hood. Thanks for the review! I checked your restaurant list and didn’t see Hirozen on it. It’s great little sushi restaurant in a mini-mall on Beverly and Orlando (by LaCienaga). Tip: make a reservation and be on time – you will never have to wait for a table!