Maia

We had a very good time here,
The place is always full with people and the atmosphere is great.
The food is fresh and very testy,
The customer service is excellent,
I will be back.

Came here for a dinner date with my girlfriend yesterday. This spot was on our list to try since they had their grand opening last year, but we never got the chance to visit until last night. Happy hour is Monday-​Saturday 5−8pm, with specialty rolls and cocktails for ~$ 7 each, We ordered a few things off of the happy hour menu and they were delicious (not sure of the names):
beef tacos with a crispy shell, avocado and tomatoes
rare beef rolls with cucumber
assorted raw fish roll
cod lettuce bowls
All the items were so flavorful and delicious, but do keep in mind the portions are wayy tiny, which, in my opinion, is best for happy hour paired with a cocktail.
Our server was extremely helpful, enthusiastic, and attentive. Will be back soon!

They are getting two stars only because their drinks were good and the ambiance was nice. The food wasn’t anything special. And the portions are extremely small. Would not go back for dinner. Maybe just drinks.

Went here with a big group. Ambiance and the setting is nice. We had drinks upstairs at the bar then sat downstairs outside.
The food was just ok. Nothing really special about it and the portions were small. If the portion was small but super tasty I think it would be great. But portions were small and nothing you couldn’t get at a local sushi place.
I would go here again. It’s a great place to go grab a drink with a friend or a group.

My curiosity… what’s after Yellowtail (
).
Didn’t have reservations. I wasn’t sure if they let us in without reserving a table, but a gorgeous hostess tried to accommodate us. Very nice of her, but we actually decided to sit at the bar.
The décor: Very similar to Yellowtail. Actually the layout was exactly the same. The difference was that they put a huge wood table in the middle of the dining area, which was pretty. The bar was also exactly the same as before. The difference was bartenders. All the bartenders were gorgeous women. They made me tasty cocktails and engaged fun conversation.
Food: it wasn’t bad. It’s between A-​Ok and good. There are other places that serve the same or better fusion sushi in this town. It was good, but I don’t particularly have to come back here to eat fusion sushi. Their cocktails were again, very good though.
Service: Great service. Servers and bartenders were gorgeous and friendly. I always appreciate when I see their effort to provide a pleasant dining experience for guests.
Better than Yellowtail.
3.5 Stars (rounded to 4).

Checked this place out for the first time and had mixed feelings. Love the ambiance, service was great but food was underwhelming. I didn’t have any drinks but my friends said cocktails were pretty good. So my review is strictly for the food.
–the baked crab hand rolls were dry and nothing special
–lobster quesadilla was very greasy and could barely taste the lobsters
–spicy tuna on crispy rice lacked flavor and rice was overly fried
–the only thing I liked were the poke tacos but it was literally a single bite.
I would go back for drinks and ambiance but wouldn’t recommend the food esp given the weho options.

I have been anticipating to try this place for a while and reading the reviews I was very hesitant. I had made reservations on a Friday for 8:00 couple weeks in advance on opentable and I was specific of where I wanted to be seated.
I was running late to my reservation so I asked my cousin to contact them and let them know if we can accommodate anything after my reservation and the woman who answered the phone was so sweet. She was willing to keep my reserved seat until 8:30 (with a full house). We arrived at 8:20 and we were seated immediately.
I was obsessed with the ambience and the restaurant itself!
The food was delicious! I honestly don’t know why their are so many bad reviews.
We ordered:
Rock shrimp tempura
Spicy tuna on
We ordered:
Rock shrimp tempura
Spicy tuna on crispy rice
Edamame
Zen roll
Maia roll
Everything was very tasty and delicious. I will highly recommend this place to anyone who is in need of a good night out and I will be back for more tasty dinners.

Ambiance and presentation — 10 out of 10.
Taste and service — 5 out of 10.
Our reservation was for 9:30 pm, but were told to wait 15 – 20 min for our table. This would have been no problem, had the bar not been packed over capacity. We headed over to the corner of the bar, where the cocky and rude bartender told us we needed to move out of the way for the servers. After we ordered and finished our (divine) drinks, we finally found room at the bar. As we waited a total of 45 minutes to finally be seated at our table.
We ordered a round of Don Julio shots, and the Maia roll, Evening Glow roll, baked crab hand roll, spicy salmon hand roll, roasted corn and basil soup and tempura rock shrimp.
Credit to the hand rolls and tempura rock shrimp (which is universally impossible mess up) for making our dinner worth it. Specialty rolls had nothing «special» about them, and I can’t understand why they serve their soup. It was also unbelievably irritating that our waitress was impossible to flag down, and was running away from us every time we saw her. By the time she brought me the chaser to my drink, it was time for dessert.
I don’t plan on returning. There are some incredible restaurants for sushi in LA, and a pretty ambiance doesn’t make up for awful service and basic food.

Maia is a beautiful spot on Sunset Boulevard. You definitely want a seat on the covered patio with a view of the strip. My expectations for the food were low, and I was pleasantly surprised. My friend and I shared the tempura rock shrimp and black cod both of which were pretty good. Not anywhere near the best I’ve had, but good enough. It’s more about the ambiance and cocktails here, which they nail perfectly. So, no, don’t expect to be blown away by the food, but it’s good enough.

So I was was looking for this magical Hollywood vibe that I found at Maia. For someone who lives in New York City this place made me feel like I was at a trendy Hollywood spot mingling with the cool crowd. I imagine that trendy places in California don’t always feel inclusive if you’re not spending a lot of money but not this place. The staff actually made my friend and I feel like we belonged there. We were greeted very warmly and even complimented on our outfits by multiple staff members.
The vibe here is plush. Especially when sitting outside with all the beautiful plants and the view of luxury cars driving down sunset. We’re talking about prime photo op real estate here. It was a PERFECT backdrop for my snapchat story that night. The service was really good as well. Our server was extremely conversational with us. She did a great job of balancing being sociable but still making sure we had everything we needed.
To drink I had their Moscow mule. The Mules here are PERFECT. Served in the appropriate drink ware (copper mug of course). These mules tasted like the perfect ratio of lime vodka & ginger beer. Not overpowered by bitters or cucumber like a lot of places use now. This actually might have been the best mule I’ve ever had in a restaurant/​bar.
To eat I had the salmon sashimi, the Maia roll and the short rib. The salmon sashimi was very fresh in appearance and in color. Definitely tasted like it was caught very recently. It was plated in some type of citrusy sauce that went well with the salmon. If you’re looking for big fish flavor this is a dish for you. The Maia roll was very good as well. I don’t even remember what was in it but I do remember that it was a excellent sushi roll. The rice was the perfect consistency and it was rolled very tightly and neatly. It had nice large chunks of fish that I tasted in every bite. Lastly was the braised short rib. This was served at top a bed of mashed potatoes. Perfect combo, can’t lose with meat and potatoes. The short rib was tender and savory. I would certainly order it again.
I have to give Maia 5 stars. The food, drinks, service and ambiance were all flawless. I expected a mediocre expensive experience in an upscale environment. They delivered in excellent experience. Let me not leave out that the prices were very reasonable. Maybe that’s because I’m used to NYC prices but I expected things to cost more. I will be back at Maia the next time I visit California. And I understand that their ownership is opening up something in NYC very soon. I plan to check that out.

Let me explain. The rating is because the food was really really disappointing. We came here on a Friday for my friend’s birthday dinner. Reservations were easy to make.
The atmosphere is upbeat and fun.
DJ is really good. He plays empire of the sun, kaskade and other songs that take you back to the days when there were only a hand full of clubs in Vegas.
Place had an overall good vibe.
Good service.
Decent prices.
Not much of a hang out at the bar type place but good spot for tapas if the food was good. And that’s were the disappointment sets in. I love love love sushi. I’ve never had sushi I didn’t like… until now.
Albacore sashimi with crispy onion: seared (who Sears albacore sashimi?) not only was it seared but very bland
Edamame: had tajin like spice on it (the Mexican spice medley they normally but on fruit)-I didn’t like this at all. It didn’t go with edamame. Tajin belongs on fruit and edamame is either garlic or plain.
Lobster quesadilla: tasteless. Not enough lobster. The cheese didn’t even taste good.
Maia roll: had a smokey Gouda aftertaste and was bland at the same time.
Spicy tuna on rice cake: decent. Nothing to rave about. Cute that it comes in a circle and is cut like pizza
Blue crab hand roll: only thing that was good and worth ordering
Cookie and chocolate cake dessert with vanilla ice cream: I didn’t eat it but it looked good.

Aside from the trendy vibe and décor, I’m Not sure why this place has such great reviews.
Came here for a friends birthday party on a Tuesday night, and the place was quite dead. Sort of a bad sign if you ask me…
I ordered a mescal drink, which the waitress recommended, but sent it back because it was terrible. My friend said that is smelled like Vegas! It really did… lol
We were a large group and ordered a bunch of app’s and dishes to share. Most everything was very bland and uninspired. Bison burgers had ZERO flavor, Lobster quesadillas were OK because of the ranch sauce, but the sashimi was actually pretty good. My wife ordered a blah caesar salad etc.
Main dishes were served family style. Miso butterfish was ok, but nothing compared to nobu. The steak had absolutely no flavor, short rib was fatty and gross, and chicken was over seasoned with some type of jerk flavor.
The best part of the meal was the cake that my friends wife brought!
1star for the food, 3 stars for the service, and 4 stars for the vibe. I likely will not be returning.

After having to call 3 – 4 times to even get someone to answer I experienced horrible customer service when ordering for takeout.
Most of the call was spent discussing how many people were eating there and how it would take 50 minutes for a ravioli, avocado roll, and hummus for take out. Three very simple and easy dishes.
Honestly I’ve let it go several times for their lack of customer service but that was enough. The lady was extremely rude, ridiculed us for ordering at 10:40 PM on a Friday night, blamed us for not being able to hear, & etc — you get the picture.
I’ve been here three times with below average to average customer service — lets just say I won’t be returning for a fourth visit. Bye Maia!

3 out of 5!!! Why? I would say mainly for the vibes and atmosphere of the restaurant. This «hot spot» of LA was extremely popular a few months back when I first went with my girls. The only reason I would come back here is for the young, hip, and upscale vibes of this dark restaurant.
The food, honestly is not too great and it sure did not make us want more. The service was pretty fast, with the food and drinks and our waitress was really attentive to our table. We literally just paid for the quality of the atmosphere and not the food. Most of the food came out extremely spicy (even though I love spicy food, it was too much). The drinks looked amazing, right? key word *looked* however they did not taste as well, which was pretty disappointing when you go out wanting to have a great night. The menu did not have such a wide range of options, which was dissatisfying. The prices were also a bit high for the quality and the amount of food that was given.
Overall, we had an OK experience, would probably not be back, maybe just for the intimate vibes and the environment itself!

This is the kind of place you come to for a fun night out at a trendy restaurant with awesome drinks, great music, nice ambiance, and beautiful people. It’s not a place you come to for the food. Some of the food was good, but most of it not so much. Also the prices are pretty up there for the portions you get, so you might need to plan an In-​N-​Out trip for after. I suggest sticking to the sashimi, that seemed to be what they do best. I also highly recommend siting in the outside/​inside hybrid area. It’s beautiful!
YES:
Spicy yellowtail poke bite (⁵⁄₅ stars): possibly my favorite thing we had. Light and super flavorful. The fish tasted very fresh. The taco «shell» is a shaved piece of daikon, so it’s light and healthy. Order a few, because you won’t want to share.
Yellowtail sashimi and bluefin sashimi (4.5÷5 stars): substantial portion, fresh fish, very delicious.
Baked crab handroll (⁴⁄₅ stars): I didn’t try this but my brother loved it!
Sangria kit (⁴⁄₅ stars): get it because it’s fun! The sangria isn’t the best ever, but that didn’t really matter. Comes with ginseng soda, lychee purée, and white peach purée so you can make your own customized sangria. Everyone in our party had fun with this even though they initially didn’t want to order it.
MAYBE:
Truffle fries (³⁄₅ stars): good, but how can fries not be good? Nothing out of this would. Good to add some bulk to the meal, but honestly not really worth the calories.
Lobster quesadillas (3.5÷5 stars): delicious! So cheesy and gooey. But where’s the lobster!!! Needed bigger lobster pieces and not just some lobster flavor.
Albacore sashimi (3.5÷5 stars): great sashimi, but there’s like 3 pieces. The whole thing is crispy onion. Not sure if it’s worth it.
Spicy tuna rice cake (³⁄₅ stars): an average spicy tuna. Good rice cake, but a bit too much wasabi flavor.
Maia chop (³⁄₅ stars): an average salad. Get it if there’s nothing else you want. Sounds awesome but the whole thing is pretty much romaine. The toppings are skimpy.
SKIP:
Evening glow (²⁄₅ stars): I had one piece, which is unheard of when it comes to me and sushi rolls. Sounded like it was full of all yummy things and looked cool, but the fish tasted a bit too fishy (I think they save the high quality stuff for the sashimi) and the whole roll was just tasteless. We couldn’t even taste what was supposed to be in it!
Veggie curry (²⁄₅ stars): overly spicy (and we love spicy!), overly watery, and all around not great flavor.
Chowder (²⁄₅ stars): I didn’t try this, but my sister absolutely hated it.
Overall, cool and fun night out. Just don’t expect too much from the food.

Came here last week for a girls’ dinner. 6pm on a Tuesday night was pretty empty, though it was more than half full by the time we left at 8pm.
Good:
— one of the newer, trendy spots in LA.
— cute space, especially the patio area.
— on an absolute basis, the prices weren’t too high
Bad:
— on a relative and value basis, the prices were quite high for the size and quality of food you get. I mean, the «pizza» was about 4″ in diameter!
— really more fusion food than true sushi. I knew this coming in so it’s no surprise but kinda still hoped for decent food.
— for some odd reason, most of the food came out so spicy that we couldn’t finish many of the dishes. The tuna truffle pizza had so many pieces of jalapeño or some other hot chili pepper. Some of the other sashimi and poke dishes were extremely spicy as well!
— the pink cadillac cocktail that I got tasted horrible. Not the bartender’s fault as he seemed to make the drinks well; it’s just the flavors didn’t seem to go well with each other. It literally tasted like a plant that’s not meant to be eaten.

Great dinner spot. Very trendy on sunset. Definitely rivals the other restaurants that are on the block.
Atmosphere– sophist acted but chill and laid back. Very outdoor indoor feel with intimate tables around a beautifully lit tree.
Service — amazing service, fast and on point. Our waitress was sweet and recommended dishes that were more to our style and was extremely helpful in is picking the right dishes for our specific palate.
Food — this is where it loses a star. Started with the carrot hummus which didn’t have much taste and a bit bland. My partner had the crispy rice and loved it. For my main entrée, I ordered three sides. Cauliflower — highly recommend. Street Corn– interesting and unique taste with the tofu tajin. Mushrooms — EXTREMELY SALTY to the point where I had to send it away cause it was a salt stick. My partner ordered short ribs and truffle fries which he said were outstanding and the truffle fries were life changing.
Overall — great Saturday night date night dinner spot and I highly recommend for all my gluten free vegan friends out there. TONS of options which is rare at a Asian fusion restaurant.

I came on a Tuesday night with 3 friends for a birthday dinner. The ambiance here is great, with natural wood throughout but still a hip & trendy feel. The restaurant was pretty busy for a weeknight, but we were seated right away by the friendly hostess. She put us on the patio, which has a very open-​air feel with the high ceiling. A large heater kept us plenty warm. The only downside is that right outside the window is a driveway for the adjacent restaurant, so we’d get occasional headlights shining on us, or exhaust fumes if a car was unloading.
We started by ordering some drinks and a few appetizers. I ordered a glass of their Malbec, which was a real disappointment. I was hoping that it would eventually open up, but it never did.
Everything is served family style here, so be prepared for sharing.
We started with the edamame, which has a nice spice dusted on top. I recommend eating these with chopsticks, or your fingers will quickly become covered in the spice. Next was an order of the oysters, which were popular with our table, but were a little «over dressed», covering up the taste of the actual oyster.
I’d read good reviews about the lobster quesadilla, and our waitress recommended it. After one bite, you really get a huge rush of spicy flavor, but if there was lobster in there, I couldn’t taste it. It’s served with a ranch dressing for dipping, but it really doesn’t need it.
Next we ordered a selection of the specialty hand rolls. I had the baked crab & king crab roll. It was a bit salty, and I would have enjoyed it much more it the chef had taken the time to remove the shell. My friend who ordered the same roll also commented on having shells in his.
We moved on to a couple of the sushi rolls. First we had the Evening Glow Crispy Shrimp. This reminded me of the Las Vegas roll served at Ra Sushi — too much going on, and no particular flavors stand out. The waitress recommended the Zen Salmon Roll, which is served with no rice and wrapped in thin cucumber. The presentation was great, but again, not much flavor going on.
We decided to try some of the baked dishes, so we had the Baked Cod first. This was our favorite dish of the night. Great flavor with the miso glaze, served over bok choi. Next we tried the King Crab Fried Rice, which we all enjoyed, but we also agreed that it would be difficult to screw up on a dish of fried rice.
The only offer 2 desserts, so we opted for a dish that was ice cream, on top of chocolate cake, on top of a chocolate chip cookie. The portion is huge, and even with 4 of us sharing it, we barley made a dent. It tasted great, but we were all pretty full at this point.
The service throughout the evening was great. Our waitress was always around to make sure we were doing OK, and the busboys did a great job of clearing the empty plates as we finished each dish and making sure water glasses were kept full.
Overall, the food was just OK. Only one of the many dishes we tried was really memorable (the Baked Cod). I’m not in any hurry to dine here again.

Hot and new!
I had dinner here for a friends birthday and it was just marvelous. The beautiful patio was unfortunately booked, but we had a great big booth inside so it made up for it.
Any place that has French fries and sushi is a favorite of mine. My friends and I split several dishes — all which were delicious! Here are some of my favs:
Spicy Tuna on Thin Crisp Rice — good for 1 – 2 people. Comes on a circular rice cake, spilt up into little triangles. Fish is so fresh!
Truffle Fries — thick cut potatoes, flavored perfectly. You should ask for a side of their ranch dressing to dip these into — it’s SO good.
Lobster Quesadilla — four little quesadilla triangles that are so good. The ranch dressing comes with this dish and compliments this dish perfectly.
Yellowtail hand roll — a little small, but the fish is so fresh and delicious.
Favorite drink — Ghost Writer — yes, there’s a ghost pepper in this drink, but it wasn’t too bad. This drink was tall and refreshing and had about a medium spice level.
I’m definitely coming back here to try more dishes. This is a great date or girls night out location.

I was excited to try this new sushi joint! Cute outdoor patio venue (that is the rage these days) and sushi, why not? Let me tell you, I have been raving about this restaurant since I came home last night. I have already told my boyfriend and all of my coworkers. Maia, you have done an amazing job: you get fresh, quality sushi and for those who don’t want sushi there is American food, even a burger. Also if you prefer gluten-​free items, they have lots of delicious gluten free entrees! On top of it all, we had an amazing server that I would like to personally recognize (Alexandra) She definitely made it to one of my favorite top servers in my books! Very attentive to detail and was super pleasant. Thank you for being so great to us.
Most restaurants that try to attempt two different types of cuisines and usually fail. I have yet to go to a restaurant that is able to offer different types of cuisines and make it all salivating at once, also to offer gluten free items and have a beautiful patio. This is as amazing as it gets! Food time:
+ carrot bean hummus– Yes, I know hummus right? You are crazy if you don’t try this. It’s slightly sweet from the carrots and it doesn’t have that bean tasting ingredient. It is paired so perfectly with the lavash chips. Crunchy and a swirl of creaminess.
+shishito peppers– these were good, but not «OMG, I just fell in love.» They are simple shishito peppers that do have a nice light glaze to it. The peppers are not as charred as I am used to having it and enjoyed it more on the fresh side. Surprisingly the peppers weren’t too spicy either.
+Maia roll– this roll stopped me at spicy salmon, scallop and strawberries. Weird? No, it was to die for. You get a crunch from the asparagus, then a fruity essence from the strawberries, then a savory explosion from the tobiko. Oh, and of course the hint of fire from the spicy salmon. The raw fish is fresh and definitely not smelly at all.
+Salmon sashimi– The salmon here was quite mind blowing. The texture of the fish was somehow extra soft. The sauce that it was soaked in wasn’t too special and could have used more of a wow factor. It was simple but the fish here was «melt in your mouth» delicious.
+chocolate layered cake– To tell you the truth, I was bored when I heard about the description of this cake. It seems like your typical cookie cake with just layers, but boy was I wrong. With each bite, you wanted more. It wasn’t overly sweet and the ice cream was the perfect balance with the soft and warm chocolate cookie cake.
I am thoroughly impressed with Maia and can’t wait to be back. Seriously, complements to the chef and management for such an innovative concept, but also making sure that quality isn’t comprised!