Golden Fish Meat & Deli

2 stars for the food, nada for service. Dining area was empty. Still there was no waitstaff in sight. One guy to man the counter, prep the food and serve it as well. In fairness, the meal was good. We had the beef luleh and lamb ribs which were tasty. The sides (rice pilaf and fried potato cubes) were great. Meals averaged $ 10 per order. Quite expensive. Disappointingly, it did not come with the usual cucumber– or garlic-​yogurt sauce. Waited more than 20 minutes for the food. It wasn’t worth the wait.

very good bbq fish and shrimp my favorites are the catfish fillet and the shrimp. takes a littile time to prepare so be ready to wait

shish ka bob, shish ka bob, shish ka bob!
words perhaps a young harry potter would not chant for a spell, but he would certainly say out loud as he glided across the skies on his magical broom to the enchanted land of warlocks, posers and harpies, otherwise known as the los angeles-​hollywood area and well, if, you know, he also knew about armenian food to begin with.
this is one of the best kept secrets on the hollywood b-​l-​v-​d. obvious since only two other people have reviewed it and i took one of those reviewers there.
the place is divided in two sections: the market and deli and the restaurant. the first sells all maner of hummus, lavash bread, cucumber dip, baklavas, prepared meats for your shish ka bobs and cheeses among many other items.
the second section is an outdoor patio where upon seating you’re handed a menu consisting of a variety of shish ka bob selections: meat, chicken, fish, and lamb. your appetizer includes hummus and pita or lavash bread. the difference between this place’s shish ka bob and other places is the grilling. they use mesquite charcoal. for all of you smoke aficionados, you know this means very tasty flavor.
it’s all very low key and small but the service is good and like victoria p. said: come hungry. my recommendation? go hiking at nearby runyon canyon and come here afterwards. you’ll need all the appetite you can get!
my only hope now, that i’ve written this review, is that harry potter will come around and cloak this place from time to time to keep one of the best secrets in the 90 027.
shish ka bob, shish ka bob, shish ka bob!

It’s an Armenian restaurant. Oh the beef kabob. I am salivating as I’m typing this. They have great combo plates of potatoes (excellent), salad and your choice of meat. Their appetizers are good, their soups wonderful (or so I’ve been told). The service is lacking something because there is one Armenian lady running around to help everyone. They even have a patio, for all the smokers out there.
Next door, they have a deli where you can order raw meet and cook it yourself, it is very nicely marinated and you won’t regret going there.
Their portions are huge, so come hungry and leave happy.

Golden Fish was my first experience with Armenian food when I moved to LA. Fran D. brought me here after telling me tales of Lavash Bread and Shish ka bob that I would dream about for weeks. Fran D. rarely disappoints me, and he didn’t let me down with Golden Fish either.
The restaurant is connected to a small market selling all sorts of Armenian staples and they were more than helpful in the market when I wanted to ask questions as to what different dishes in the deli case were. The man behind the counter gave me full descriptions (how the food was made, ingredients, etc.) and then told me how to eat it. And I asked about several different things. He was very patient.
The dining area is sort of next door to the market. They have a small indoor area, but it’s mostly outdoors. Don’t worry, there are plenty of heaters outside. We ordered Hummus and I had the Fillet Mignon Shishkabob. Their Hummus is out of this world — and I’m not easy to please when it comes to hummus. The meat was also perfect. It had actual flavor! Most of the Mediterranean restaurants I’ve eaten at manage to kill all the flavor in the meats. But this was exactly right.
About halfway thru dinner a group of men came in and sat down at the other end of the patio. They all smoked and they were drinking something, but we couldn’t tell what. When we asked the waitress it turned out that it was Vodka. Anyway, they were having some sort of traditional dinner and by the end of our meal, they were asking us to join them for a shot. We decided not to, but it was nice not to feel so out of place.
If you’ve never had Armenian food, I think that Golden Fish would be kick ass place to try first. If you’ve had Armenian Food before, try Golden Fish anyway. Because I said so.