Terried Sake House

So sad it closed and was replaced by a wannabe sushi place… My nobu san will be greatly missed…

I drove by today and Terried has been replaced by another sushi restaurant call «Bad Sushi!!!»
I’ve been going since college, Terried your restaurant will be missed. Sad day

I can’t believe they’re closed for good! Why did the owner have to move to Vancouver? I was getting used to this place. At the advice of a friend, I tried it out and simply loved the small eateries and the variety of dishes. So good that I brought my whole family the next time.
Anyhow, we’ll see how the new owner will do. Will he maintain the authenticity of the restaurant or will he run his business down? Either way, I’m bummed that the original store is at its end.

I Cannot believe this Place Closed
GRRRRRR
It is Like Losing a Best friend
I am Seriously Contemplating Trying To Recreate this Place Somewhere else
BAAAAHHHH
I Am Sad.
Sign Posted July 2010 PIC =
LA Weekly Article =
«Terried Sake House, the much loved hole-​in-​the-​wall Japanese izkaya operating in West L.A., will be closing its doors after 25 years. We spoke briefly with current owner Katsuhiko Terada over the phone, who informed us that a new buyer will be taking over on July 11^th. We were told that the food at the new restaurant would be «a little different,» adding that the name would change, but that he had no idea to what. When asked about the reason for the change, Terada simply said, «I’m moving to Vancouver.»
Terried has been something of an institution for locals, serving up fairly inexpensive, rustic Japanese cuisine, along with beer and sake. The last day of service, says the sign outside (pictured above), will be July 9^th. «
P. S. I Drove by and now a Sign says
«Bad Sushi» Grand Opening on the Front
WTF?

Closed. Didn’t get to go one last time :(
Moving to Vancouver. How cool is that? Old man slaving away all those years had it all planned. He deserves it.
Otsukaresama deshita!

One of the best izakayas I’ve been to in LA. Excellent service, kind and courteous staff, and the food is amazing!
We ordered the following: tofu with egg and bonito flakes on sizzling platter, chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, yakisoba, chicken teba, quail eggs chicken stuffed eggplant skewers, hamachi nigiri… all were excellent.
Sadly, this place will be shutting its doors at the end of this week. You will be missed!

Baby Squid Steak! Baby Squid Steak! Baby Squid Steak!!!
Terried is one of my all time favorites to frequent when I’m in the Santa Monica area. It’s a little hole in the wall Japanese restaurant. Don’t expect a fancy place. This place is purely down to earth.
My fav dish is «baby squid steak». Other than that, I would usually get the tofu steak as well. All of their yakitori are pretty good.
Their prices are just right. Even if you order a lot, you won’t break your wallet.
Service may be slow, but who’s in a hurry?

Have you ever had a waiter point blank tell you «YOU’RE WRONG!»
I ordered the Albacore Sashimi Salad with Garlic Sauce (you can see it in Vicky V.‘s menu photos). The waiter brings out albacore shashimi. I kindly tell him that I ordered the salad, and he says no. I doubt myself for a second, but then I know I’m correct cuz I remember I wanted to get the Seaweed Salad and then moved my finger a few items down the menu to the Albacore Salad when I ordered.
Again, I say I ordered the salad and he says I’m wrong. Dude, chill. Just add some lettuce to the exact same dish and we’re good. Not like you have to throw away all that food. Just add some lettuce. At this point, I was shocked that he’s such an ass, so I just said whatever, I’ll just eat the sashimi. I’m already back to eating my other dishes and ignoring the waiter when he suddenly decides to yank the sashimi dish away and said he’ll fix it.

Japanese food might be known for its sushi, but in my experience, the Japanese love food on a STICK. And so have I grown a love for skewers.
However, this wasnt the best experience of Japanese skewers I’ve had around.
Ambiance is good. Servers are nice. It was hardly populated on the Friday night I went. What killed the experience was all the skewers were too charred. Its nice that you can see the cooks grill the food on the other side of the bar, but I just dont get why it needed to be so blackened. Even their «baby squid steak» which I was looking forward to was overly grilled.
The place is worth another shot sometimes, but there are so many other yakitori or robata restaurants on the westside to try. I prefer Robata Bar during their HH. Much better quality and overall better deal.

Baby squid served sizzling on the platter?!? Why didn’t I hear about this place sooner?!? Terried Sake House is a total hole-​in-​the-​wall, but it has so many delicious yakitori for remarkably low prices! This was one of our drinking/​eating stops yesterday and we arrived right after they opened for dinner service at 5. The place is tiny and definitely not fancy. I did like the art on the walls though– the artist is a friend of the owner, I was told. The mostly-​Japanese staff are very friendly and helpful; our server gave us tips on the soba noodles and told us about different preparations for various yakitori. That baby squid was amazing! You get a ton of rings and little legs, sauteed on a stone platter, then topped with diced green onions and nori (seaweed). As for the skewers, we tried the ground chicken (dango), chicken hearts (kawa), chicken skin, and quail eggs. They were all perfectly cooked and tasty. If you like your skin crispy, you may need to request that, because it was served a little more on the soft and tender side here. We also tried the green tea soba noodles, which were unusual but still fantastic. Oh and I almost forgot the avocado tempura– very good, crispy and creamy at the same time. And of course, we had lots of sake– a bottle of hot, and a box of cold nigori, mmm. Even with all the food and drinks, our bill was more than reasonable. I really liked this place and they have so many of my Japanese favorites here that I can’t wait to go back!

Variety. That’s what I’m talking about. «I want one of every animal.»
Came here as part of a St. Patty’s Chug-​n-​Chow mini crawl. I was VERY pleasantly surprised. I used to make fun of this dreadful looking place from across the street. After trying their eats, I’m really bummed I didn’t know about this place during the years I lived a couple blocks from Terried Sake House.
They specialize in Yakitori and all sorts of Japanese tapas (Kozara). My lovely partner in booze and I ordered:
— Baby Squid with Green Onion on a sizzling stone platter. ((This was SPEC-​tacular and reason enough to get your ass over to this little hole in the wall.))
— Skewers of Quail Egg, Chicken Skin, Chicken Meatball, and Chicken Hearts.
— Tempura Avocado
— Green Tea Soba
— A bottle of hot sake, and a box of Nigori.
The baby squid… oh, where do I even start? The squid was sizzling hot, as it was served. It was so tender and flavorful. I’ll definitely be going back soon, if for no other reason, to score some more baby squid.
The YAKITORI was good. The skin was not as crispy as I usually like, but it wasn’t chewy and fatty, either. It was moist and succulent. What it lacked in crispiness, it more than made up for in flavor. Chicken Hearts? This was a first for me. The texture was a little squeeky for my taste, but the flavor was undeniably enjoyable. Perhaps my preconceived notions that hearts taste metallic and minerally helped me enjoy the mild taste of the little chicken heart. Hate to say it, but it really just tasted like chicken. Quail eggs… Just mini eggs. Good for a change of pace, when you’re putting back skewer after skewer of meat. Chicken Meatballs? A five year old would like these… simple, comfort food that goes down easy.
AVOCADO TEMPURA. Is anything not made better by battering and deep frying? Answer: no.
GREEN TEA SOBA. Yes, cold green tea soba. The taste of these noodles was sublime… mild green tea flavor. A quick dip in the broth and you’re on your way to flavor country. :)
BOOZE. The hot sake was very good. The cold Nigori was okay… more of an homage to my friend Circus, who’s obsessed with unfiltered sake. Overall, I’ve only met ONE sake I didn’t like, and it certainly wasn’t here, at Terried Sake House.
SERVICE. Our waiters AND cooks were Japanese. Give it up for some national continuity. Our waiter made sure we knew what everything we ordered was BEFORE we received it; it was a nice consideration and probably a necessary one, in most cases. I felt welcomed and right at home.
Next time: Deep Fried Spicy Tuna. :) Oh yeah. My friend told me that the Mackerel dish served here is über authentic. The menu is HUGE, the service is ultra-​friendly, and the food is enough to make people come back to what looks like a run-​down, lost dream of a restaurant.
I’d say they should remodel, but then everyone would have eyes for this place, and I’d never be able to find a seat again. So, judge this place not by it’s discouraging exterior. Just know this: the food and the PRICES more than make up for the lack of décor.
HUGE FIND. Stoked I found this place. And now that you know how good it is, go check it out. ((Beware: I’m told they close between 2 and 5.)) And get this: They take credit cards! :)

Terried Sake House is hard to find because it is sort of hidden among a bunch of other restaurants, but it is my new FAV. Really affordable, great new choices of japanese items that I have NEVER seen at other places.
My bf and I went with my best friend and her bf (nice couple date haha) and we LOVED it. We tried a bunch of different items including: steamed pumpkin (sooooo good), spicy yellowtail, this tofu egg dish which was also new and so delicious. We also got these chicken skewers for 1.30 each! Really fair prices so that you can try a bunch of different items on the menu!
A great choice for small groups. Kinda cramped, but worth it.

UPDATE: TERRIED SAKE HOUSE IS CLOSING JULY 9^th FOREVER AFTER BEING OPEN FOR 25 YEARS!!!
SOOOOOO SAD!!!
I love this place! This totally reminds me of my visit to Japan. The little grease joint with open kitchen where you sit for hours drinking and eating and drinking. Tofu steak, baby squid are their most popular items and they should be cuz they are damn good! Their yakitori rocks too. So does the bbq’d shiitake mushrooms. Damn everything here is pretty good and washing it down with Sake, Nigori AND beer (yes all of them) makes it a joyful meal. This is true japanese izakaya! oh yea its cheap too :) I tried many izakaya places and none are as good or as authentic as terried (except Musha in Torrance)

Came back here with a friend, he totally enjoyed it. We ordered the right stuff, except for one. The caterpillar roll was a disappointment. The rice was like overcooked, too wet for my taste. Service this time was top notch, Nobu was there to attend every need cause we were the only customer there for lunch.
This time we ordered:
— Monk Fish Liver
— Yakitori Skewers (3 Gizzards, 1 Liver, 1 Chicken Wing, and 1 Quail Eggs)
— Mackerel Saba Lunch Set
— Salmon
— Halibut and Albacore Sushi
— Sweet Potato Tempura
— Deep Fried Spicy Tuna Tempura
— Caterpilar Roll (don’t order this!!!)
We finished them all, and it’s really GOOD! My friend wasn’t disappointed at all and I was pretty satisfied, the service was definitely much better this time.
Also be reminded, this place actually closed between 2pm and 5pm, so don’t come here for a snack/​tea-​time. We barely made it when we walked in at 1.15pm, for some reason the restaurant was empty already at that time, so good for us, to get personal treatment.
There’s public parking in the back and I will definitely come back again. Coming for lunch is better cause the menu is cheaper =)

The story behind my trip to Terried Sake House is typical for those of us on Unilocal.
Me: «Hey man, I know I owe you a couple of drinks. Wanna get some sake?»
Friend: «Sure, but not at _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​, I’m sick of that place.»
Me: «Well I don’t know anywhere else… where should we go?»
Friend: «There’s this site called Unilocal.»
Me: «Ha ha asshole.»
So after a furious search on said friend’s blackberry, I am given the directions to Terried Sake House.
Friend: «Sake is in the name… so that’s a good sign, right?»
Upon entering the casa de sake, I was relieved to find a sweet little mom and pop/​hole in the wall sushi place. Usually a mark of a great place to get a drink.
Friend arrives to collect on the owed libations and I am even more relieved to see, listed on a menu made out of old cardboard sake boxes, a large variety of sakes for the price of $ 3.50 a bottle.
That’s right folks. What could have been a 26 $ loss to buy my friend the drinks he rightfully was owed, cost me a bargain 7 $ plus tax.
I’d call him a sucker. But this place was so good, everyone made out a winner.

I approach this review with a mixed heart. The reviews had all been so glowing but our group found it to be ok.
It’s a nondescript building with minimal décor. I do like the long communal bar table in the front of the shop where we sat. Great for groups.
Since it was our first time, we asked the waiter for recommendations. We got the slightly older gentleman and I don’t think he liked all the questions I asked «what’s nasuyaki?» «what’s momo?», etc. He had a look of a like, why did you come here if you don’t know what to eat. But he eventually gave some good recommendations. We tried a host of items:
Skewers (averaged $ 1.30 per stick)
— Ground Chicken (kinda like meat balls) — very tasty
— Momo (dark meat skewers) — among our favorites
— Teba (chicken wings) — 3 per stick, good too but a hassle to eat
— Nasuyaki (eggplant wrapped with chicken) — needed more flavor
— Shishito (or something like that, green chili peppers) — Not spicy but ours were burnt/​charred so not good
Sushi Rolls
— Dragon Roll, Rainbow Roll, Spider Roll. I lump these all in a group because they were all — meh -. I wouldn’t come here for sushi. Pieces were small and you don’t get that much fish.
Special: Crispy rice with Spicy Tuna
I liked this a lot b/​c I’m a fan of really really crisp rice. I love the texture around the outside. That chewiness. The spicy tuna itself was ok. Wasn’t really spicy, sat atop a layer of nori and then the crispy rice.
Veggie Sides:
— Spinach with goma (sesame) — very simple and nice
— Lotus roots — again simply prepared with a little sauce. Very good for you.
Noodle: Yakisoba (big portion and tasty, mix of chicken and squid).
Mixed Tempura: average with 3 pieces of shrimp, a carrot, yam, and green bean slice.
With a bottle of Sapporo, total came out to about $ 84 pre tip for 4 people. Again, it was ok. Not great. I had a better time at the izakaya next door.

Baby squid, mmmm. Yakitori, we had chicken breast, hearts, gizzards, chicken with eggplant (I think), blue crab hand roll, uni nigiri, mmm.
Sushi isn’t great but it is good, the yakitori is excellent, the tofu steak is solid… crap I just just got back from here and I want to go back!
So much stuff to try too. Didn’t even touch the udon or soba or anything else…

Finally, a quality Japanese place that doesn’t charge you an arm and a leg. I ordered their noodles, which came with vegetables, chicken and baby squid. Now, I’m not usually a fan of squid (too rubbery), but this was really delicious. Not rubbery at all. Spiced and cooked perfectly. The chicken was just ok. The noodles were really good, but I’m a noodle man (why does that sound wrong?).
I call it a Japanese place and not sushi place because I wasn’t a fan of their sushi. I tried both their a scallion roll and a spicy tuna roll. Both were good, with fresh fish, but neither fish really stood out too much. What I didn’t like was how much rice they put around that fish. Too much rice in sushi overwhelms the fish and gives it a heavier overall feel.

I’ve been to Terried twice and I was quite disappointed both times. Perhaps my expectations were too high after reading the reviews of other Unilocalers. The one positive I see with Terried is its price. Although I wouldn’t call it cheap, it is definitely one of the more affordable Japanese restaurants I’ve been to. Other than that, the food is just mediocre and they really need to work on cleanliness.
On my first visit, I only ordered small dishes. The yakitori was ok and the tofu steak and baby squid were good. The sushi, however, was nasty (and not very fresh). On my second visit, I also ordered a set meal which included tempura. The tempura was cold and tasted very oily.
If you have a bit more $, I recommend going next door to Sasaya.

Mmm, come here for a cheap and down to earth Japanese home cooking style meal. It’s nondescript outside and inside isn’t fancy or anything but that’s the way I like it.
If it’s still on the specials menu, get the KABOCHA pumpkin dish. I need to find a recipe to replicate it because it’s so satisfying and tasty, unlike its bland cousin the potato. The way Terried simmers (or however they prepare it) it makes this the perfect appetizer. The grilled chicken gizzard is also very good. Just don’t do the mistake my friend did where she held it close to her face to smell it and then couldn’t bring herself to eat it.
Tofu steak meal combo is such a steal. Egg tofu topped with a ton of bonito flakes with a ton of tender baby squid with scallions and seaweed powder. Comes with salad and miso. Yum yum yum.