Yamakawa Restaurant

i miss this place :(its torture every time i walk by my old sushi joint :(

This place has been reopen with new management. One of the best sushi chefs that I know went to work for them. We went to the sushi restaurant that he worked before at least one a week, never disappointed. If you like sushi, you should go try. I think Yuzu is the new name.

I came here with my GF one evening. I believe the name has changed. Katsu-​Ya or something like that? We got here rather early and were the only customers. I had not been here before the new management took over so I didn’t have any expectations. I found the place to be nice with good service (of course, if you are the only one there, the service had better be damn excellent!) They had a good selection and it seemed well prepared. Now, I’m not a Sushi Connoisseur and I don’t consider myself to have an educated palette. They had a good selection, it tasted great, it didn’t make me sick, and it is close enough to where I work that I could walk there. That’s worth 4 stars to me.

This used to be my neighborhood go-​to sushi joint. The owners and staff were warm, friendly, and attentive. The sushi was very good and reasonably priced. That was then.
This is now. It was bought by some clueless new owner who has taken a delightful and propserous business and turned it into a craphole.
The décor, formerly simple but warm, has been replaced with a turd-​brown palette and out of place neon lights. The sushi bar has been replaced with a sake bar, and now all sushi is prepared out of sight (based on the taste, this must be for good reason).
My wife and I went there several months ago, not knowing that the ownership had changed. We almost cried at the loss of this local gem and were angry and depressed over the decour, staff and menu changes.
The food is shockingly bad. The staff looks shell-​shocked from all the customers asking what the hell had happened (and seeing customers turn around and walk out). We had some miso soup and a spider roll (because were feared to eat anything raw since the changes). Bad, bad, bad.
I expect and hope this place will be closed within 6 months. Even if they replace it with a Republican campaign headquarters, it would be an improvement.
To the former owners wherever you are: Thank you for your years of great dining and service. I hope you sold the place for a boatload of money and are living it up on a beach somewhere.

Yamakawa in Toluca Lake used to be one of my favorite places to go for sushi, and even the occasional celeb sighting. This is true, no more. The place has totally changed… rumor is new owners have taken over and the changes are quite clear. They painted the walls black, lost the sushi bar (thats right! A sushi restaurant with no sushi bar!), and have installed bright neon lights around their new sake bar. I don’t know what the new owners were going for, but a good sushi place clearly wasn’t their goal. The sushi is not as good as it used to be. The rolls looked like they were thrown together, cut unevenly, and easily fell apart. I don’t know who their sushi chef is, or even he is actually is sushi chef. My guess would be «no.» All the charm that came with walking into Yamakawa is now gone. While we were sitting there, we saw several people walk in, then turn right around and walk right back out. I wish I had made that same choice. The prices are still good, but it’s too bad the food isn’t.

I don’t know if maybe we came on an off day since the other two reviews of this place are stellar. However, my sushi was not all that fresh looking, the rolls kept falling apart. It was inexpensive, and I did see you can get a box lunch for either $ 8 or $ 8.50 which is a good deal. I don’t think I’ll be coming back anytime soon though. Disappointment.

No nonsense legitimate (Japanese chefs) sushi restaurant. Everything tastes good here. Good quality fish and good presentation/​preparation.
If I lived closer to Toluca Lake, I would be there every week.
I saw Wilford Brimley there once.
**UPDATE — My review is for the restaurant that USED to be at this address.