Asia Los Feliz

I moved to New York from Atwater Village, when I went back my favorite place was gone, sad.
You can’t go home again.

Asia is BACK!!! Now under new management… they brought back the original sushi chef and that means all the yummy treats are back!
My insider has informed me that the two previous owners ran this place into the ground (not surprised… these guys made huge mistakes: ie firing any good waiter/​manager/​chef that passed through!) And now it is opening again under new (more competent) management! Grand Opening this weekend!
Hallelujah! Let there be sushi!

They halved their menu and lost all the things I liked– I asked the waiter what was up and they confessed that they get that question a lot, so I tried some new stuff… it wasn’t nearly as good. When the check came, there was a comment card in the folder… I wrote a comment asking to be informed when they re-​instituted their old menu, I haven’t heard back. I may pop my head in there sometime to see if they pulled themselves back together– it looks like they’ve been renovating recently– I’ll post what I find when I get around to re-​scoping the place out.

Sad news, folks. Since my last review, sushi chefs are no longer there and the menu has turned into a butter festival. The chef is very nice, staff is still great, but the place just isn’t the same since and to avoid becoming a load, I can’t eat there as much.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Yes! YES! YES!!! YESSSSSSSSSSS!!! God that’s some good sushi! Phewww! Oh wow. The boyfriend and I can’t tear ourselves from this place. Like everyone has said, it’s pricy, so it’s become our special occassion place. We take all sorts of friends there. My faves? The sashimi salad, tons of fish, worth the price! The Samarai roll is TO DIE FOR! The soju drinks are delicious and a nice change from vodka, etc. The desserts are unreal. Everytime I go I try to take lots of people so we can all try something and share it. Oh yeah, don’t miss the Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese, the Tom Kah Lobster Bisque along with the tofu veggie dish. All really good. The owner is also quite nice and always comes to say hello to us. Check it!

I loves me some food, and this is now officially my favorite restaurant. Yes, it is quite pricey, so I consider it a special occasion kind of place. But every time I’ve gone, there has been no wait, the service is kind and helpful, and the food is fantastic.

Our food was good, but a little overpriced. We tried some sushi and some scallops — both were very good but not great.
The décor is nice, but a little weird — I guess I feel like this place is trying to pretend it’s located somewhere on the west side or something like that. They need to come to terms with the fact that they’re located in Atwater Village (not exactly Beverly Hills adjacent).

Hi! Back from Turkey! :) Yay! Time to write reviews again!
So let’s talk about the worst date ever! I went out with this guy bc a friend of mine said he was cool. And I should give him a chance even though I wasn’t into him AT ALL. But what the heck, I can make a new friend. HE was 38 MINUTES late and 37 minutes into it Buttercheeks was going to call him and cancel for me… bc I was just appalled. When a girl is appalled, she shouldn’t talk to anyone… steer clear homies.
So he pulled up right when I was giving her his digits and I was sitting on the porch. I am awfully punctual. He walked up with a bottle of wine… a Malbec. Warmed my heart a tad. Then we were off to Asia for dinner. Homie complained about everything. The restaurant being empty, the type of food… Pan Asian, and even the quality of the food. Then he complained about being poor. Ugh! Are you freaking kidding me. Just stop being a debbie downer and have a good time.
Whatev! The restaurant was nicely lit, the food was decent, and the service was fantastic. Could have been a nice date if he wasn’t such a whiner.
Oh well… then we went across the street to the Roost bc I wouldn’t dare take him to Big Foot Lodge where I know people. And he ran out of cash to buy me a drink so he bought himself a beer. What a winner!

price price price… that’s the major con. I wouldn’t make a big deal out of the issue of money if I thought it were actually worth it, but this place offered very little for the amount of dollars that left my pocket that night.
After reading the reviews, I know I was forewarned, but I decided that there were enough positive reviews about the quality of food to compensate for the dip in the wallet. However, I wasn’t prepared for what I got. I ordered the seared ahi tuna salad, the avocado crabcakes, calamari tempura, summer tuna rolls, and the coconut shrimp. ³⁄₅ dishes were good. The calamari was cut up into such tiny pieces, the flavor of the squid was lost among all the batter and oil. The seared tuna was cut up into thick chunky slices and ended up being pretty chewy instead of the «melt in your mouth» tuna that real sushi is supposed to taste like. Furthermore, the yuzu sauce was just «eh.»
On a positive note, the coconut shrimp was pretty good — nothing too special — just good. The avocado crabcakes were more tasty to me expecially since you had three different dipping sauces. Lastly, there was the summer tuna rolls — probably the best dish out of the three. The tuna was perfectly spicy and the avocado added a perfect touch to this fresh roll. I probably would have been better off just ordering 4 more of these instead of ordering the other *$!#. Oh well… a lesson learned for the future.
I don’t have anything to say about décor and service because I ordered take out, but it seemed sparse on a wednesday night around 8:30ish in case any of you wondered how packed it gets on weeknights.
Overall Verdict: will not come back unless someone else pays… for everything… actually even still… if someone is going to be footing the bill, I’d rather go somewhere I can enjoy.

Sensational food and I do mean sensational. every dish we tried was a taste sensation.
My favourite was the Rib Eye beef red curry and the Samurai roll (spicy but so delicious!). We also tried the Kobe burger and the Lobster Mac and Cheese… soooo gooooood!
The super friendly staff and great food will keep me coming back time and time again.

This place has been a popular lunch spot for me lately. Every time a vendor wants to take me out, I take them here and nobody has been disappointed yet.
Since I’ve only been here during lunches, I can’t really comment on the dinner crowd. The lunch crowd is always fairly sparse though. Generally only 1 or 2 other tables are filled when I eat here. It’s a nice place though with some kind of waterfall thing in the front.
The menu is awesome to say the least. I get those coconut shrimp appetizer things every time. So good. I’ve had the rib-​eye special with curry sauce, the sexy roll, the sea-​bass… all excellent choices! All are presented in a nice artsy fashion. The staff is always really nice and friendly. The last waiter I had was hard to understand though. Some kind of heavy foreign accent. He looked good though. One of those people you just kinda look at, smile and nod.
Every time I’ve gone I haven’t had to pay, so I forget how much everything is. If I’m judging by the taste and the atmosphere though, I’d say its a $ 15 – 20 a plate establishment. Highly recommend!

Our first stop in our Los Angeles tour is one of Matt’s bookmarked places. This restaurant is located inside the Atwater Village Plaza. The name of the restaurant sounds like a combo between two ethnic groups.
Matt heard this restaurant is very lively and one of the hottest venue in Southern California. Matt relies on fast-​food and quick-​eats, but him coming to a trendy Asian-​fusion place like here? Never in a million years.
The cute waitress gave us warm and soothing Green-​Tea and we started with sushi as appetizers. All the sushi’s prices ranged from $ 8.00– $ 12.50. We ordered an usual sushi named: the M-​80. The $ 8.00 sushi contained 6 pieces and comprised of tuna, salmon, deep fried yellowtail and baked and topped with scallops, and packs an explosion like the name of the missile.
The two adults ordered the Kitchen’s stir-​fry lunch special. The $ 12.00 lunch special gives you a choice of chicken, beef or tofu: and comes with Miso soup, tossed greens and choice of white or brown rice. Matt ordered a Mongolian-​Chicken over brown-​rice. Wife ordered a Spicy Eggplant over brown-​rice. Both our meals were spicy, and amazingly tasty. Wife did the driving from San Francisco, and deservingly ordered a $ 8.00 Lychee Martini, which complimented very well after the meal.
Kids split a combo Bento special. The $ 15.00 special had sliced up pieces of Chicken Teriyaki, 2-​pieces of Califonia Roll, soup and tossed greens. The meal is more than enough for the kids and all of our meals were presented very nicely.
We weren’t disappointed with our lunch from here and we’ll definitely be back soon and maybe on our way back for maybe dinner.

I’m not sure if the lunch experience is completely different from the dinner experience, but I had an unpleasant lunch experiences here. Firstly, the service was really not up to par. We were the first table seated and the server gave us the lunch special menu. After we placed our orders, more customers trickled in. We were definitely not given the treatment that the others were given. The food was nothing too exciting. Simple Thai food that is all gussied up to look gourmet.

the lobster bisque was SO good.
as was the steak on top of the bed of coconut rice and broccoli…
the mac n cheese with lobster and five kinds of cheese was just too rich for me. thats actually what i ordered. had to bust out with the rolaids later.
han vodka is surprisingly good… its kinda cheap too.
NOTE: found out han vodka is way less proof, hence the confusion on it being «smooth», ha nice try asians.
will go back. too bad no one goes there and i think it might shut down.

A really cool, aesthetically pleasing place. MInimalist décor on the inside, and open feeling glass windows at the front.
Parking is super easy, a valet lot right there (or you can go cheapskate and park on Los Feliz Blvd.)
The menu is wide-​ranging with tons of options. It is definitely asian-​fusion style with many different regional-​type options. When I ate there my dining partner and I shared some salmon nigiri, a mixed greens salad with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing, a delicious asian pepper steak with taste-​o-​taste coconut rice. We also indulged in the sushi roll menu with the obligatory dragon roll and a fantastic concoction called «monkey brain» which was mushrooms stuffed w/​spicy tuna & what tasted like mayonnaise but find out later it was cream cheese. So yummy though!
They have a great sake menu (I tried Nigori unfiitered sake for the first time, delicious!) and even serve a good selection of red & white wines.
Friendly staff too. Plus, I was there on a Fri night at 8pm and it was not even busy! I hope they stick around…
Tasty, elegant, and pleasing in every way. But it is not cheap, hey man, you get what you pay for!

DELICIOUS! We had a seared tuna with yuzu mustard that has been haunting my dreams! The onions were a bit greasy, and another sushi roll was just so-​so, but that tuna — do you think it could possibly be Jewish so I can marry it?
Cool but laid-​back atmosphere, good service, great cocktails. A definite find!

My bf took me here for my birthday, and boi was I swept off my feet.
From the first step into the restaurant to the booth at the back I was in a blissful state. The ambiance at Asia immediately transports you from the traffic it takes to get there to the culinary zen garden of the chef’s creations. But that’s just the beginning. Once you’ve settled your body and soul in, it’s time to nurture it with some spirits. I was very happy to find a listing of house cocktails made with soju and thus ordered a soju lychee-​tini that was strong enough to last me the evening. (I am a light weight unfortunately.)
We then treated our palates to the famous queen’s tower, literally a three-​tiered tower of seafood delights; singha battered coconut shrimp with a sweet and tangy mango sauce; salmon cakes with aioli; and to top off the tower Atlantic blue crab tartlets in tomato philo with avocoado and mango. The tower fell in no time!
My entrée consisted of a pepper ribeye steak topped with a cabernet sauce and served with coconut rice (my fave!) and brocollini and asparagus. The bf dined on filet mingon with a pinot noir sauce topped with seared foie grais (which he hid under his rice in protest for the poor ducky) and a French truffle. I should have opted for the same dish as his as I was unable to finish mine. But the coconut rice was so appealing and perfect it was hard to resist.
Our server/​friend Kenny brought me a triangle chocolate soufflé topped with a candle. Tres cute! I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday dinner. I can’t wait to go back to this retreat from the bland to the tasteful sensations that is Asia.

I have to also give this gem 5 shining stars. Friends brought us there and we had a booth in the back — they must have sense that we were loud because ofter the unfiltered sake and beer we were catching up on old times and laughing. This tells you the atmosphere is ideal for boisterous crowds and intimate settings.
The music was better than most and not chiche asian themed or overbearing noise. It was more experimental electronic but non-​invasive. Enough to make you notice and feel good when you take a few seconds to look around and soak in the olive and brown tones of the building. The main gold-​leaf wooden artwork on the wall was the main centerpiece of the restaurant. So massive and complimentary to the interior, it is almost unnoticeable unless you are the couple sitting underneath it. I was facing it from the booth and enjoyed the view towards the door — try to get the booths in the very back — best seats in the house.
Okay, the food. Intense and perfectly balanced. Nothing overly seasoned or drenched. I recommend tasting as many starters as you can. Sashimi was very good but if you are used to getting more for your money you will not be impressed. Go for the tuna tartar, satay, ceviche, coconut shrimp, etc.
The spicy mango chicken is like crack. You may not be able to share this with others if you are going family style. The fusion of various asian flavors has been mastered. I was not expecting to be blown away by the entire package this place offered. Service, food, atmosphere, and intangibles all done to make for a good social setting for groups.
This is a B rated restaurant and we joked about that when we walked in saying that we do not eat at B rated joints. I said that B restaurants are trying really hard so it’s okay. They might be an A by the time you go, the place appears very clean and I was surprised it was rated a B.
The scoop: Four people with lots of drinks and food staying for three hours of dining and it was a bit under $ 250 including tip. Valet parking.

Happy Birthday parties welcome!
Executive Chef Visanu came to the table before we ordered and told us about some of his newest creations. I was all set to have something «dietetic-​ally responsible» then he mentioned the Mac and Cheese. Five kinds of cheese, truffle oil, lobster chunks and a topping of seared foie gras! I asked if he could include a few shavings of Lipitor!
First thing out was something he called the Queen’s Tower. (We sorta resembled that remark!) It was pretty much a tasting of all the starters. The crab cakes were my favorite.
All six of us ordered something different and when the plates hit the table you would have thought you were in the Amazon watching piranhas go wild! We had the Asia Steak Rossini, Kurobuta Pork Chop, Chilean Sea Bass Papillote, Lamb Chop With Spicy Mango Sauce, Glazed Macadamia Nut Shrimp and the afore mentioned Truffle Mac’n’Cheese. The forks were flying all over the table as we shared bites.
Our happy ending came in the form of The Green Tea Tempura Iced Cream With Orange. That finished us off, or was it the ever flowing lychee martinis?
Now about the staff. Them boys are as yummy as everything Chef Visanu cooked up in his kitchen! Kenny will always be my favorite server (had the night off) but Andy sure worked it for us like he really wanted the five stars! RIFI! Any other place we would have been kicked out for harassing (one word) the staff.
Cheers for a job well done guys!
Two things though.
1) I would like to see a valet parking service that gives you a better car than what you drove in with.
B) Come on guys, with that many Marys working and so many «family» members dining there can’t you lower the light levels a bit?
Who wants some gay lighting? Ummmm table 10!
Just kidding! (about the car thing)

Beautiful Décor, Great Friendly Service and most importantly Great Food!
My friends took me here the other night for my birthday and it was fabulous!
The forks and spoons were reaching over, back and forth, left to right from one dish to another, we couldn’t stop the frenzy.
Our compulsions took over and we had to try something off of each other plate. Everything was cooked to perfection. The presentation was just fab.
A Recommendation? Of course!