Nirvana Sports Bar & Grill

I came here with a group of friends that I haven’t seen a while and Nirvana strikes me as the closest thing to my favorite bar that had closed down back in Sept 2015: Oiwake. The prices, the atmosphere, the crowds are more or less the type of crowd that you would have found had you been a regular of Oiwake. It’s the type of crowd that’s more homey, more laid back and casual. This place is not for the hipster crowd, the business casual crowd, or any of the more upscale crowds.
In fact, almost all the bar regulars, both the old and the young, who used to frequent Oiwake on the reg have all transferred their business to Nirvana. Fancy that.
All the old farts hang out at the front of the bar (basically, right when you enter) and all the youngsters hang out in the back of the bar nearest to the karaōke machine with tables and chairs scattered throughout the back space. There are restrooms in the far, far back and so far as I could tell, they were clean.
This place serves the typical Japanese beers: Kirin, Sapporo, Asahi (I think?), plus their pitcher equivalents. Domestic beers are a bit cheaper, I believe, but don’t quote me on that. I’ve only been here once and am currently undecided on making this spot my regular go-​to bar in Little Tokyo. The reason being that I find Wolf & Crane (even if it is a bit pricier) more appealing at the moment.
Service was adequate. No complaints there. I can’t really comment on anything else as I haven’t tried anything else.
For now, I’m giving this spot 3-​stars. I’d have to visit this spot a bit more to get a better idea of what this place is like during their later hours but despite that being the case, I’d recommend this spot, if you’re looking for a casual atmosphere, cheap drinks, and karaōke.

This bar is great if you don’t like crowded places. The service is reasonable and they have daily drinks and food happy hour menus. Karaōke starts at 9 pm and was free. This is a casual environment, not your typical flashy-​type bar. The only downside is that it sucks to sit next to a TV because the volume is loud.

Horrible service, They are VERY under staffed. There is literally 1 bartender, 1 chef, and 1 waiter. Took 45 minutes to get our food. We were the only customers here. Took 20 minutes to get 2 glasses of beer. 6 tv screens and they said they couldn’t show the soccer game, that we were «lucky» they were showing it.

I usually go in here drunk to sing. I feel like I annoy the servers sometimes but they’re always super nice and they’ll turn on the machine even if I’m the only person there singing. If you have a large group, it’s a good place to consider coming to on a weekday to karaōke. Not a lot of people come here to sing most nights, so it’ll be like having a private booth in the form of a huge bar serving reasonably priced beer.

So a group of friends And I were at the nirvana bar last Saturday we had a good time seemed to be a event going on it was pretty packed when we got there immediately I noticed how freaking HOT! It was in there! It was great music it seemed like there was 3 different DJ“s the set up was awesome good sound and lasers which is always fun!, good drink menu too they have variety and even the Adiós my girls kept ordering were good! but I think they were charging taxes on the drinks which is weird a lot of people in my group weren’t happy about thatl… anyway we couldn’t even enjoy dancing because of the heat it seemed like everyone was gathered by the doors to try and stay cool… all in all I would go back since the music was so good on Saturday night hopefully next time I go back they have the AC on lol.

Went to this place a while back in April during happy hour! Its from 4 – 6 pm and they have both food and drinks on the happy hour menu. I’d stick to the beer for the real deal though.
It was kind of empty but we got there almost as soon as it opened, (not that weird! Haha) except for the bar up front, they seem to have some regulars there. A few people were by the karaōke stage besides us, it seems local shop owners come here too to enjoy a drink and talk business before it gets packed with drunk singers.
Our waitress was very nice and dealt with us as we ordered quite a bit of snack type foods. All of it was very delicious !! We got sushi and fries and mochi ice cream. Just a few things they have. there’s like six flat screens all around and I guess if there isn’t a game on, they play Japanese TV and music on them!
This place was still a fun chill time !

I’m going to start by saying this place had a great vibe and wonderful guest. The karaōke was a great way to get the night started, but it obviously took a turn after being seated. I ordered a sprite, wine, and an assortment of sushi. The price point was great, however, the sushi was cold (extremely cold almost frozen) and the miso soup took forever to come out. The sprite was overly sweet and taste strange. The server was nice but a little forgetful, as it was extremely busy, so that is not a complaint more of an observation. The other sushi pieces were just ok.

Great happy hour! Randomly stumbled upon this spot and stayed to watch a laker game. Our tab was less than $ 40 for about 16 beers and a few appetizers. The bar tenders were friendly and tentative.

This place was awesome! Come on Eileen?, True, My Prerogative. This place had all the classics. Including The Humpty Dance! The service was top notch as well, Amy and Yumi made sure our table was never without drinks. There is plenty of space inside and the crowd was pleasant. All of the karaōke watchers were supportive. Too bad they closed at 2 am we would still be there. Unleash your inner rock star and have a great time. Happy drinking!

It’s pretty slow right now, it’s just me a two older man in here. It’s looks like it’s a lot of fun when they do have a crowd. Nice set up, comfortable sits, the waitress is cool she made me a nice stiff one. The only thing that I don’t like is that you have to spend 20 dollars to use a credit card. I’m here just for a boost and I should be able to use my card.

Friendly staff, cheap drinks, and lots of fun. Always seem to say here longer than we intend to but that is easy when you have an engaging group of bartenders that like to chat with customers. Not a pretentious place, totally down to earth but not a dive bar. New menu offers some pretty good food… Never have had a bad time here, love this little place.

I was looking for a place to watch the 2013 BCS Championship game (War Eagle!) and enjoyed myself thoroughly. Really good, homey Japanese food. I had the Shrimp Tempura Udon, Kinpiri and Furikake Fries. All of it was delicious and the wait staff was friendly and responsive but mostly just let me enjoy the game.

We came here for NYE pre midnight celebrations. First off I’m kind of sad that Randy the owner wasn’t there, but I guess most of the big bosses of promotion companies were probably off at the big event in Hollywood.
Anyway, my friends got their drinks, plus a big pitcher of beer, they chugged it down, and then we were off to grand park.
I still have yet to try the food here, maybe next time!

Love this place great food cheap prices. Always a very chill environment no matter what day it is.

I am little concern… more peps keep showing up. A diverse group of mixed L.A. locals. Always room for 1 more. Welcome friend! No doorman, just a chill spot.

Wait, this place is a restaurant? I absolutely had no idea and that’s probably because the first thing you see is a circular bar table with pitcher beers in front of the entrance. Very smart Nirvana, Bravo. You deserve a slow clap (Not being sarcastic).
Anyways, this place is the joint where you’ll see a couple of things:
1. Depressed Business men during lunch drinking their sorrows away.
2. Drunk people trying to hook up with you after telling you about their ex relationship (It happened to me at this place).
3. It opens late night, so expect a lot of crazy things happening
4. Karaōke
5. Karaōke and Alcohol is a very deadly combination
Despite people disliking this place because of how ghetto it apparently looks or feels, I actually kind of like this place. It seems everyone needs to unwind after a long day and this is the place to do it. Everyone has a misconception about alcohol where their mentality is to drink until they can’t remember. That shouldn’t be the case because alcohol is meant to be shared, enjoyed, and accompanied with someone by your side.
Regardless of that, I don’t have any bad things to say about this place besides the random crowd. Sometimes there will be random jackasses or annoying people trying to «entertain» their night. My best advice to you is this: ignore them. But looking past this, I kind of enjoy watching people sing songs while they are drunk or even when groups of friends hang around to have a good night. Because ultimately the goal of the night is just to have a good time.
P. S. Alcohol is cheap, dirt cheap.

Came here to see my boyfriends band. I’ve been here a couple of times and the sound isn’t great but it wasn’t terrible. Service isn’t bad, one of the waitresses likes whiskey and normally pours heavy when you order a whiskey coke. Its not the worst venue in LA.
Until tonight. Again my boyfriend had a show. It was something for a post Animé Expo event. Immediately after sitting down an older waitress gave us a menu. She came back quickly and asked for our order. When we said wet didn’t know yet she said Uh this is a bar there is a 2 item minimum, you need to order or leave. My friend asked for a second and the waitress asked if we needed a half or whole second. After we ordered and got our drinks the waitress gave us random numbers and asked for payment immediately. At this point we hadn’t been in the bar for 10 minutes. She then explained the $ 20 credit minimum, and pretty much said again, my friend and I could pay or get out. She then sat down and chatted with a few friends before leaving.
I asked other friends and band mates and they all said they didn’t know anything about a minimum. My friend and I watched the waitresses walk by other tables and not talk them, or give them a menu. This woman singled us out and made it clear we are not welcome in this bar.
We had no problem getting a couple of items to watch the bands and actually considered getting food before our waitress was so rude. We got the minimum and left once my boyfriend was done playing.
I’m never coming back again.

I dropped by to visit some friends watching the Kings game, and upon entry, as is most of Little Tokyo, it is mostly stuck in the old glory days of the 80s and 90s when Japan’s economy was roaring. Not much has changed, I’m assuming from the décor, arrangement, and furniture, other than extra flat screen TVs. I just got a New castle off the tap, and the service was great. The food is mostly Japanese fare, of which my friends attested to as being quite good. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have a reason to come back but it was a fun time. Kings won!
Just a note, they charge $ 20 min on the card, my bill was $ 13 but I just gave a big tip, our waitress was very nice.

I used to come here a lot, when I believed it was actually worth it. The drinks are cheap, I usually just get a pitcher of sapporo and some sake. At first, singing in front of the whole restaurant/​bar can be a bit overwhelming, but with some liquor courage and witnessing everyone else making a fool of themselves, you’ll get over your fears.
The service used to be great, but lately I’ve been seeing the servers drinking on the job and completely forgetting orders I’ve put in. The way the karaōke service works is that the servers bring the karaōke book to you, you write down the number and name of the song, and you give the paper to your server. If the servers aren’t doing their job and completely forget about you, whats the point of even coming here? The last time we were here, my friends and I were forced to manipulate the computers ourselves in order to sing.
Service has been getting progressively worse with every visit. They need to do something regarding their staff and the way they organize the karaōke service.

Service was EXTREMELY POOR! My waitress sat down, started eating a meal with other patrons and would only return to help my table unless I flagged her down.
It took 25 minutes just to get fries and forget about getting a refill on beer, especially if happy hour is winding down. The service all around was awful!
Each experience here has gotten worse and worse. So no point in coming back.