Beacon

I was surprised that this place isn’t that much different than before. I remember the black cod and black edamame from the original menu.
Parking is still free which is a huge plus. I think Rosario Dawson was walking out when we were coming in.
On to the food… the appetizers like the lamb sliders and ahi pizza were elf size. I expected the Keebler elves to come out of the kitchen to see if we liked them. Tasty, but way too small. The wings were tangy and sweet, normal size.
We were a party of 8 and most got the black cod. The steak and mac n cheese looked good, but kind of small. (Do you see the theme here?)
Finally I got the burger which is on the bottom of the menu and you special order it. That is why this place gets 4 stars period. Good ½ pound burger with bacon (but the bbq sauce was a bit too much). The fries looked normal, but tasted quite good. I’d highly recommend the burger since everything else is like ordering a kids meal.

They sat us outside which is nice! But when they came out to take our order a sewer-​like smell arrived. Ugh! It lasted for a few minutes then it was gone. But a few mins later, the manager came out and asked us if we would like them to arrange a table inside in case the smell comes back. We were positive the smell had «passed» (pun totally intended) but it was nice for them to check on us.
So…Asian fusion… that’s what Beacon is… Asian fusion. There was Japanese flavors, Chinese flavors, Thai flavors, burgers, tacos, and a Cuban sandwich. Yeah… totally random items. I went with the Tofu Mu Shu with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and cabbage. The wrapper is not thin like a traditional mu shu wrapper so it was sturdy but not as thick as a tortilla.
It took a long time for our food to come out. In fact, our one hour lunch break was about 90 mins. And while we were waiting for our check, the sewer-​like smell came back. Ugh.
Good food but maybe it would’ve been a good idea to listen to the manager and take a table inside.
One funny thing (but slightly rude… maybe a lot rude but we were laughing) that happened was while the busboy was cleaning off our table, we asked if he can get our check for us. He did one of those attitude-​y exhales, along the lines of a «pshhhh!», as if he was thinking «that’s not MY job.»

I came here with a friend while waiting for a nearby gallery to open. What a surprise! I ordered the fish tacos and the crispy veggie springrolls. The fish tacos were amazing. Huge slabs of fish with spicy avocado on top. Yum! The veggie rolls were also amazing. Perfectly crispy with very tasty veggies packed inside.
The staff was a little slow, we were sitting there for about 15 minutes with our plates empty before our check came. But overall it’s a great restaurant!

My sis and I brought the cousins out here for one of their birthdays. My cousins are two of the skinniest dudes in the world but they can eat like NFL linebackers. This inevitably led to problems.
I won’t knock the flavor because it was spectacular. The portions and price; however, were obnoxious. This place isn’t quite nice enough to get away with small portions, and def not chill enough to offer humangous portions. Therein lies the conundrum.
We ordered practically everything on the menu, save the red meat, and were still left wanting. I ordered the Cod and was a bit disappointed. While the flavor was amazing, there was entirely too much salt on the tiny slab. They might want to revise the concept to cater to people who like to chow down.

I came here for lunch with my fave client on this gorgeous Friday afternoon. The sun was out, but we had the perfect shady umbrella covered spot on the front patio! My client brought her dog, and the waiters were super sweet about making sure he had fresh water. Nice!
We ordered and the waiter served us all our food so we could share easily (halved sammiches, separate plates for us to eat from):
5 Spice Chicken Salad ($ 9.95) — shredded napa cabbage, purple cabbage, tender 5-​spiced chicken slices, crispy wonton slivers plus a sesame dressing — so nice, so light!
Curry Chicken Salad Wrap sammich with baby field greens salad ($ 9.25) — a chunky wrap sammich, cut in half — the curry chicken salad had a nice tangy curry dressing, and bite sized pieces of chicken, grapes, pecans and dried cranberries. The pecans were a really nice touch! A great portion of protein in this wrap, and the balsamic dressing on the field greens was light and tangy.
Grilled Half-​Pound Burger ($ 10.95) — ok, now THIS is a great burger! A burger so great, in fact, that I’d have a hard time choosing between this one and the one at Father’s Office a few doors down! The soft, fresh baked ciabatta roll perfectly sammiched a juicy, smoky burger patty with caramelized onions, a thick slice of bacon, gruyère and arugula on top. A little pile of fresh leaf lettuce with slices of perfectly ripe tomato was on the plate, as was a generous handful of skin-​on french fries with parsley sprinkle.
THIS BURGER is going on my best burgers list!!!
For dessert, we ordered:
Coconut Panna cotta ($ 7.25) — a dome-​shaped panna cotta, lightly coconutty, lightly sweet, with toasted coconut on top and ripe strawberry pieces and lychee pieces alongside. A delicious surprise was a chiffonade of fresh basil leaves! The combo of tropical flavors plus the bit of fresh basil with the creaminess of the panna cotta was heavenly!
Along with dessert, we were also brought two complimentary mini lemon tarts that were crowned with a gooey meringue. THESE little babies were AWESOME! Tartlets of pie crust, filled with lemon curd and a couple fresh raspberries, and then a browned meringue. FABULOUS!!!
Overall, we were super happy with the service — attentive, gracious, detailed — and we LOVED the food! The lunch menu today even offered some dim sum (including xiao long bao) — so next time I’ll be coming back to try them!
Vicki Fan, one of the owners, walked over with her DARLING little girl Olivia to pet my client’s doggie. She was SO cute, and Vicki was very sweet.
I’m definitely going to be back for that burger, and to try the short ribs on the dinner menu that my client raves about!

I would actually give this place 5 stars, except that the seating is not very comfortable. The owner used to be the chef at Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois in Santa Monica. It’s sort of a small-​plates kind of thing, where you share easily with others. It’s noisy when crowded and some of the tables are a little cramped.
My favorites are the 5-​spiced chicken salad, the fried oysters (dinner only), the pad thai, and the short ribs were fabulous but for some reason they’ve taken them off the menu. The only dish I didn’t care for was the cod. They have a Japanese-​style Bento box as well as a Bento box dessert selection (which I didn’t care for, lots of that gooey, gumdrop-​type stuff.) The ice cream dessert was really good, though.
The location is at the old Helms Bakery location, down the street from the Jazz Bakery, with a walking street in front. There is outside dining in the back, along Washington Blvd., right under the artwork commemorating the old Helms bakery trucks. It’s not a place to linger, because the seating is uncomfortable, but the food is absolutely grrreeaat! Open lunch and dinner, closed at lunch Sunday and dinner Monday.

Juicy Fusion!!!
I thought this place was cool. Had the braised short ribs which I thought was delicious! It was so tender and the sauce that went with I thought was great, I think it was around $ 23 Also had the tuna pizza which was delicious and it was around $ 9. The tuna was fresh and it went great with the wasabi sauce on the pizza. A little small tho (only 4 pcs) and the bread could have been softer but the taste was great. They also had a $ 10 beer which is the fancy premium Ichigo Japanese beer. I thought that the place was good overall. I want to come back here for the Beacon burger since it has caramelized onions and bacon. I will want to come back here and try other things. It’s pretty good and the food had a little twist on the taste.

It was SO difficult to choose what to order last night. I came prepared with my 30% off code from BlackBoard Eats and really hungry tummy. I wanted to order almost everything on the menu!
3.5 stars for:
Kaki Fried — 3 delightfully fried oysters sitting pretty in the middle of large lettuce cups and a salty creamy yuzu-​tartare sauce. These were by far the highlight of the meal. We ordered 2 plates to split amongst the 5 of us and I had to restrain myself from gobbling up the leftover oyster on the plate at the end of the table.
Mushu duck bao — Jess and I both thought that this would be one bao but it wound up being 3 fairly large bao-​tacos (similar to what Take a Bao serves I think). These were a special on the «New Year’s Menu» Lunar aka Chinese New Year that is. A much bigger order than I wanted but they were my 2^nd favorite dish of the night.
Ahi pizza — this was just weird for me. It’s a small «personal» size thin crust pizza with a thick slab of tuna covering most of the surface and wasabi mayo in between. the first bite was pretty yummy. Then after a few more bites I realized it tasted strangely familiar. It tasted like animal crackers! I nibbled the crust alone — sort of an animal cracker taste. I took a taste of the ahi alone — totally animal cracker taste! How did they make RAW FISH taste like animal crackers? Whatever sauce or seasoning was used to make it taste so sweet was not really vibing with my taste buds. So sad too because I really wanted to love this pizza.
Broccolini with tofu — another small plate with a couple spoonfuls of tiny diced tofu cubes and nicely sautéed broccolini. A rather unremarkable dish but it was nicely prepared and if you’re in the mood for some cooked veggies this is a good dish to go with.
Yellowtail Scallion roll — 5 cut pieces makes it difficult to share but I was too stuffed from all the other goodies I had ordered to want to fight for that last piece. Nice fat rolls and the fish was fresh. Also nice that the nori was not sticky and once could bit right through it with ease (I guess I frequent crappy sushi places too often).
Lychee Sake — $ 12 for this little cup and I barely tasted the alcohol in it! It had a thick but nice flavor but reminded me more of juice.
After the discount our shares were about $ 20 bucks each! Not bad for a filling and satisfying meal. I wasn’t terribly impressed by any one thing that I ate though so I won’t be rushing back. I do love the location and ease of parking and might stop by again to check out the rest of the menu.

Amber B was nice enough to extend an invite out to dinner here tonight to take advantage of her 30% coupon and I was super excited to try it.
The inside space was pretty nice, clean modern lines but still small enough to feel cozy and pretty easy to have a conversation with your table mates. The first waiter we had for drinks wasn’t the friendliest (I got the distinct impression that he’d had a really shitty day), but our main waiter was very nice.
We started with the kaki fry, which I liked a LOT, mainly because it involves lots of stuff that I’m very passionate about, including seafood, deep fried goodness, mayo and a tonkatsu sauce-​type tanginess. Yummm…
Although this place clearly wants to be known as an Asian place (All of their logos say: Beacon: An Asian Café), I kept reading rave reviews for the Beacon Burger and just couldn’t resist. Although the burger was nicely pink as requested, I felt that it was a bit dry. Cody P theorized that perhaps it was because of the bread it came on, a big English muffin type bun that I liked but the others thought was not a good fit. I liked the Gruyère in there and the bacon was nice and thick, but the combination of it all left me a bit underwhelmed, as did the sweet potato fries. It was a fine burger, but really nothing special… and in my opinion it didn’t hold a candle to Father’s Office across the street.
Asian fusion is a really tough thing, and Asian fusion with a specialty burger is even tougher. It’s hard to nail down what this place is going for, and I guess with so many places to try out there that are so good at certain things, it’s hard to want to give this place another try. BUT! I’m so glad I went because I had a wonderful night and great conversation with my Unilocal buddies!

*** Burger + fries + beer + tip = $ 20. ***
I met a few friends for a quick bite tonite.
I have been to several Asian fusion joints.
What have I learned so far? Most suck. ;(
Being creative does not yield great results
many times so be selective when ordering.
Here I went ultra safe with a Beacon Burger.
It was huge (½lb), covered in cheese, two
strips of applewood bacon, on an English
muffin type of bun (white, dry and grainy).
Burger was delish except for the bun. (lol)
Of course they had to getta lil creative, uh?
I’d also recommend ordering the cod as well.
Located just across from Father’s Office, it’s
positioned well for a more subdued kind of
dining experience that is better for couples.
It’s contemporary, cozy and relatively quiet.
*** I’d ret’n for a date; nice spot to listen. ***

Ambiance — high ceilings, somewhat stark and minimalistic setting, and a little chilly. I like it though. It’s comfortable but nice. A good choice for a laid back evening and/​or dinner.
Food — We ordered several dishes.
Lamb sliders $ 6– these are two baby sliders. Literally bite-​size.
Kaki oysters $ 6.50 — Fried, battered oysters for 3 oysters.
Angela hair pasta $ 11.95 — Surprisingly addicting. I kept going back for more. This tasted like a home-​cooked hearty but still somewhat healthy meal.
Black Miso Cod $ 18.95 — nice and light dish served with green beans. Simple but good.
Braised Short Ribs $ 22.95 — this is served with kabocha squash, which I am a sucker for. So naturally, I loved this dish.
Ring Ding $ 7.75 — What a pleasant surprise. I loved it. Most desserts I’ve had recently when dining out have not been memorable until Beacon. I am not a fan of chocolate cake. If it’s there, I will eat it but I am not one to order it usually or ogle over chocolate ganaches or molten lavas or mousses or 7 layers of chocolate cake, you get the idea. I can say that this is the best chocolate cake I’ve had. Again, this is coming from a It’s so simple yet so good. The cake comes with a BITE-​size scoop of chocolate chip cookie ice cream. I don’t see what’s the point of giving a scoop THAT small.
Location — near Father’s Office 2 or on Helms & Washington.
Parking — street on Washington or free parking lot.

Beacon is a small and unpretentious restaurant with good food but small portions. My friend and I each ordered an entrée. I got the duck confit, which was surprisingly tender but not oily like a lot of duck I’ve had. It had a sweet brown sauce with cooked cranberries and slices of uncooked grapes atop some greens. Oh, and it came with four potato wedges. Everything tasted good but I wish it came with more duck. I also got a side of Chinese Broccoli with Tofu ($ 4.95) which was cooked perfectly — it was nice and crisp and the tofu was seared a nice brown. My friend got the Organic Chicken, which was really tender and moist and came sliced. It also came with a buttery green sauce and sliced green papaya salad. The salad was too bitter for my liking, however. Afterwards, we were not quite full but not quite hungry either. We skipped dessert bc I had some mini bundt cakes in the car.
The bill came to about $ 41 w/​out tip, but I had a 30% off discount, which saved us about $ 12. The food is definitely on the more expensive side considering the portions but everything was well prepared. At first, I was thinking I could have ordered duck, chicken, and Chinese broccoli at any Chinese restaurant for a lot less, but after tasting the food, I realized that the quality of the food was probably better at Beacon. Our server was also friendly and came back a few times to check up on us.
There’s a free parking lot on Helms across from Father’s Office, too — but I think this fills up quickly at nights.

Overall the food was lacking and the ambiance tries to be cool, but it isn’t.
Beacon is a small restaurant that attempts to pull off that modern, organic earth look but fails to because of how exposed the kitchen is. Some restaurants do show the kitchen when it looks nice but here you can see the pick-​up counter and it just clashes with the ambiance completely.
As for the food, I had the black edamame, the ahi tuna pizza, and the spicy tuna roll.
I asked the server what the black edamame was and he said that it was edamame with a smoky, nutty taste. Ok, let’s try it. Honestly, it was nothing special. It tasted like regular salted edamame. Nothing unique about it.
The ahi tuna pizza was very good. It was large pita bread with wasabi mayo, thin sliced ahi tuna, with small shreds of ginger and green onion.
The spicy tuna roll was crap. It looked well-​sized and a good amount of pieces but the fish was disgusting. I understand that spicy tuna rolls are usually made with the worst parts of the tuna but it didn’t even taste fresh. Not only that, but I found a piece of bone or plastic in my roll. GROSS.
I would never come back here nor would I recommend it. Sure, the ahi tuna pizza was good but I just told you what was in it so you can save yourself $ 9 plus tip and gas and just make it at home.

I certainly will be returning again, I really enjoyed my experience here.
We came on a cold night, so we decided NOT to take advantage of the outdoor seating. However, had the weather been nice, I can see this as being a great place to sit for dinner.
Instead we took our chances inside where it was much more crowded. We decided to sit at the bar and I’m glad we did!
There was a great young guy as the bartender/​server who had a pleasant personality and great recommendations. He welcomed us immediately and made us feel at home. As soon as we sat down he suggested some great drink specials.
We started with a Miso Soup and the Ahi Tuna Pizza… Both great! The Miso had big chunks of tofu in it, and the ahi tuna pizza was just straight up delicious. My boyfriend and I agreed that the crust could stand to be a little thinner, but that didn’t matter. It was a great flavor. The ginger on top really pulls you in.
My boyfriend ordered the Beacon Burger — then he proudly announced it was the best bacon he’s ever eaten! It looked and smelled phenomenal, and it was cooked to perfection.
I decided to order the Kim Chee Fried Rice… There were quite a few things on the menu that I wanted to try, but for some reason I kept going back to that one… So I went for it… Aaaand I probably won’t be ordering it again any time soon.
Kim Chee usually has some kick to it, but their fried rice was really bland. My tongue kept waiting to be stimulated but nothing happened. I added some soy sauce, then dumped a whole little bowl of chile sauce in there, but there was still something missing. If I was you, I’d skip the Kim Chee fried rice and go with something else. You’ll thank me.
It did suck that my main course was so disappointing… However, my boyfriend and I agreed that we are really interested to return. They have a LOT of great things on their menu, and the service was top notch… I’m sure that the next time I visit, I’ll be able to re-​review Beacon, and hopefully add another star or two!

I dined here last-​night and enjoyed the food very much. The menu was simple and not to overwhelming in what you could choose.
We ordered the Ahi Tuna pizza 5 stars, spicy tuna roll 4 stars, shrimp tempura rolls 4 stars, Yellow tail fish taco’s 5 stars and the chocolate ring ding dessert 5 stars! of course the champagne was tasty however do not know the brand of the bottle we bought.
Our server was Brian and he was very nice and helpful. 5 stars for you Brain or whoever hired Brian! I will be back for more and will most diff try some of there large plates and that rice krispy dessert everyone is going bonkers over, shame on me… It was a close call. Chocolate always wins me over!
Took one star away because of the outside bathroom which was shared with the other businesses and not maintained at all. The restaurant could use a face lift in décor, my ass hurt after 30 minutes of sitting in the wood chairs they had but the food was great!
Hope you found my review helpful and not to picky lol

I know this is an Asian Fusion restaurant, but the only time I came here, we didn’t have any asian food. Instead, we had the burger. 3 words… O — M — G.
Burger is frickin amazing there. We actually were headed to Father’s Office for a burger, but found out it wasn’t even open yet. So we walked down and saw Beacon. We’d heard of it, but never tried it, so we figured, why not. Once we saw the burger on the menu, we wanted it; since that’s what we originally went to get.
It’s a juicy half-​lb burger from heaven. It’s made with this special bacon and gruyère. Wow. Even my company was impressed and said that it rivaled FO’s burgers… and that’s quite a compliment.
Locale is nice, really close to where I grew up. Parking isn’t plentiful, but it’s not impossible to find either right in front of the place, or on the street somewhere. Service was good, nothing out of the ordinary, and the price is decent. Ambiance is very chill at lunch, it’s deceptively small (wait, I’m not sure if I’m expressing that right… it LOOKS big, but it’s not really =p).
So this isn’t much of a review if you’re looking for my Asian Cuisine evaluation, ha ha ha. But just because the burger was so good, I’m definitely curious about their other food.

Beacon is a local lunch spot. This is where you’ll find most of Sony Studios at lunch, or at least that’s how it felt to me when I stopped by. The seared ahi burger is excellent, and the only reason I go to Beacon if I can during the day.
Had dinner here on Valentine’s Day; it’s casual and had mediocre food including the «fish and chips» and the Beacon Ring-​Ding (their version of a ding-​dong). The standout dish was the black cod. It MELTED in my mouth.
So I say Beacon is a great lunch spot, has a few standout dishes, but that’s it. There are far greater dinner choices in the area.
Also, service is decent but I was served by someone who hilariously resembled John Malkovich. It was awesome just because of that.

just came home from eating dinner here.
when J offered this place for dinner, I was down to try something new but i always wonder what asian fusion really is. Is it like a half asian, half white kid who wonders if he’s white or if he’s asian? Would the food be Asian-​flavored French food, or French-​flavored Asian food? Let’s find out.
We got here past 9:30pm and there were still many parties dining indoors. I had the DUCK CONFIT with Fingerling Potatoes, Frisee, Grapes, Pinenuts, Plum-​Ginger Glaze. Plum sauce is famously paired with roast duck in Chinese cuisine. Chinese flavored-​flavored French food.
J got the FISH AND CHIPS: tempura battered fish with sweet potato fries. The crispy batter of the fish survived the five seconds of swimming in the tempura sauce when i accidentally left it behind. Now that’s crispy. Japanese-​influenced English/​American food.
Bento Box of Sweet Treats for 2. This caught our eyes on the dessert menu, and even though J threw out one other idea, I was attracted to this from the beginning (watch out though, it’s $ 12.50). Sitting nicely in the long, black, rectangular Japanaese bento box were:
–Tropical fruit jellies (passion fruit and guava)
–Lemon Meringue-​raspberry tarlettes
–Chocolate mandarin orange truffles
–Ginger cookies
–Coconut macaroons
–Handmade Moonpillows
–Mochi Truffles (green tea mochi with a green tea center)
We were most fascinated with the moonpillows. Everything in the box was delicious. The coconut macaroons rated lowest, at OK.
Vicki Fan (General Manager) served our dishes to the table and Kazuto Matsusaka (Executive Chef) brought out our dessert. Kazuto had his chef uniform on, but for some reason, I thought he was a bus boy. Oops!
Overall, a nice date place. There’s a parking lot in the back (behind the bed/​furniture store).
(I don’t get why Father’s Office is so packed. I didn’t think the $ 13 FO burger was THAT great, at least not worth the long wait.)
As with all my reviews… see pics!

I came here again last night. possibly just to update my Unilocal review but of course, also to reconnect with my friend who i used to come here with (a few years ago). it was our spot cuz we knew the guy who knew the guy who was related to the owner or something. i’m not personally connected to them and they don’t know who i am so i’m going to write this review very honestly and i hope they read it.
once, long time ago, beacon was the shining star of culver city.
beacon was edgy, new, and a place where i felt like i was hip and in the know because i frequented there. Also, there were no competing restaurants in its vicinity. it was like a destination restaurant for most of us.
3 years later, I came here last night to find that… they haven’t changed their menu at all. meanwhile, now there’s restaurant row a few blocks away, and helms is boasting of new «hip» restaurants like father’s office.
but i think the thing that doesn’t work for them the most is that their menu doesn’t seem like it has evolved at all. they also don’t have the energy they had before. i hope that they can figure out what the customer wants and give more of it.
my biggest complaint is that the portions are way too small. this is not a tapas place. in the past, i was able to overlook that because i felt like i was having a fine dining experience. but now, being in such a horrible economy, you pay more attention to that kinda stuff. for the same amount of money, i can go to a tapas place or FO and feel more full.
i ordered the short ribs cuz i always get the black cod and i knew that black cod would be good (and it was. my friend got it. the chicken salad was okay too but like someone mentioned in another review, it was basically coleslaw with asian dressing and chicken pieces). the short ribs were $ 16.95 and considered a «large plate». it was in a «large pot» but the thing that was inside was pretty small. it was like the meat between two rib bones. also, i got the peach sake cuz they recommended it to me. it was $ 13.50. i would have rather gotten three beers for that money.
anyway, the food quality is still good. i think my gripe is about the portion and i wish that their menus would evolve more with people’s changing taste buds.

Who knew this quaint, clean, yummy restaurant was in the middle of the antique area of Culver City? Well, I guess 62 other Unilocalers did. But, my friend took me here on Sunday night for dinner.
I enjoyed bantering with the bartender about the Red Sox Yankees game… Not sure who pulled out of the tie alive, but it was interesting.
The sweetheart of a hostess kept me company while waiting for my friend. Brian, our waiter was efficient and helpful. We had the snap pea salad (I think it was $ 9), the hot sake, my friend ordered the udon and liked it. I had the Duck Confit (did you know this means with fat in french? Everything sounds better in french. In fact, the next time someone tells me I’m a little curvy… I’m just going to say, I’m Michelle Confit… LOL). But, it was deliciously prepared with grapes, olives, tender and moist… quite a delight to my pallet. I think it was around $ 17.
All in all, we had a wonderful dinner, and would definitely go back for more.