Japanese Robata Kaba

I usually dont write reviews but when I do the place is either incredibly good or incredibly bad… this place is one of the worst places I have ever eaten at… I cant believe its still open and has 3.5 stars. This place sucks.

Went in a little skeptical because of it being empty, but I can say that this is a very underrated place. Grammar food, relaxing atmosphere and the chef even gave us free egg rolls. Plus, the prices aren’t that bad.

Our first time in Little Tokyo and we wanted sushi. We ended up walking into this restaurant and were skeptical because the place was empty. We were hoping the best, but honestly expecting the worst, but the food was delicious. We got a spicy tuna roll and a salmon plate, then the sushi chef brought over some wontons to try and they were so tasty. The sushi chef/​server was very friendly and actually kinda of funny. Tasty little spot :)

We happened to walk by this place going to Johnny Rockets next door. Finally we made it a mission to eat here after reading the outside menu provided. Hands down best crunchy spicy scallop roll ever. They call it the «Utah roll». The tempura of vegetables was quite delightful with 4 different types of mushrooms along with a medley of other vegtables. The crab croquettes were crunchy on the outside and creamy flavorful goodness inside. The robata of chicken meatballs were the best we have ever had. Juicy, succulent, and flavors galore. Service is always top notch. Hope this place stays a float & others give it a shot. It’s a hidden little diamond in the rough jewel of an eatery.

We ventured in this location on a Saturday night at 9pm. Not a person in the place except for the staff.
Japanese Hawaiian Fusion
We ordered the grill teriyaki Salmon, it was very good. Only one choice of beer… Sapporo?
Overall good food, small portions, a bit pricey for the size of plate.

Came here for lunch and there weren’t that many people. Had the ahi tuna poke bowl and it was awesome. The tuna mixed with avocado and their chili oil soy sauce mix served above hot steamed rice went really well together. This was one of the lunch specials and also comes with 4 pieces of California roll sushi, miso soup, salad and edamame.
Server and sushi chef were very courteous and nice.

They have a happy hour which runs from 6 to 10 which is unbelievable. We ordered the assorted sashimi which was full of fresh fish and great value. It’s a great hole in the wall. They didn’t have the tablet-​style ordering, but that was a very minor change from what I remember. Lots of happy hour items for under $ 5. Doesn’t have much atmosphere, but I care more about the food. Very generous amount of liquor for the price.
$ 2.95 for asahi draft
$ 3.50 for house wine
$ 18 for assorted sashimi 2pc each of 6 kinds
$ 4.80 philadelphia roll

Initially I didn’t want to come in here coz I was waiting to be seated for Shinsengumi, but the queue was just too long so we decided to eat across the street at Kaba.
I have to say, it is better than expected.
The service is great, you order everything on the iPad menu, and food just comes out so efficiently.
The takowasa sushi is sooo good. Though the sashimi platter was so so.
It’s good for late night!
Oh and they have complimentary ice cream! — milk flavoured — it’s yummy.

Four of us dropped in here early one Sunday evening after abandoning our efforts to get a table at Shin-​Sen-​Gumi across the street. For a fallback venue, we had a much better experience than expected.
Ordering via the iPad was fairly straightforward. I got a few bones to pick with the user experience but I’ll resist the urge to geek out here. The chicken thigh, pork belly, and rib eye skewers were cooked exactly right, the sashimi bowl (sort of like a mini-​chirashi) was a great deal at $ 9, and the light flavoring of the tofu salad was perfect for the mid-​summer heat. The chicken karaage was a little more like Taiwanese popcorn chicken than what I’m used to, though it was still delicious. Only gripe I had was that the asparagus in the aspara bacon probably could have used another minute or two on the grill. No biggie.
As for the service, the food came out really, really quickly. Then again, it was a Sunday night and not very busy to begin with.

While in the area, I was craving an izakaya meal. I had my heart set on Haru Ulala only to find out that they had closed. My next choice would have been Honda Ya, but I didn’t feel like getting back in the car. I saw Robata Kaba down the street and decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised and will go back.
They have a pretty extensive menu of which most items can be ordered via iPad menus which is pretty convenient. The food is pretty good with the mochi cheese concoction being fantastic. The giant onigiri is almost a meal in itself. The kushiyaki is not as good as Honda Ya however. With that being said, it is more inexpensive. Probably 20% cheaper comparing regular prices. Then you add their Sunday happy hour prices and it is a downright bargain.

After running some errands in DTLA, I was famished. The scorching hot weather + a starving me = grumpiness overload. I had been Unilocaling on an empty stomach (which is ten times harder to do when hungry and dazed) for about a good hour or so. I couldn’t make up my mind whether to go down the street and eat at Little Tokyo, go to Ktown and eat Korean food (like nenmyun which is always tempting on a hot day), or go back home and eat whatever. But waiting to go back home to eat was out of the question because I was about to lose my mind and just couldn’t wait that long.
I Unilocaled to come across a number of different places that I wanted to try in Little Tokyo. But gosh darn my luck that many of them are closed on Mondays. Shin-​Sen-​Gumi Hakata Ramen seemed tempting. When I parked my car in the parking structure and was walking across the street to Shin-​Sen-​Gumi Hakata Ramen, Japanese Robata was right in front of me. With the menu displayed outside along with a boy inviting us in, I got suckered in. Usually when I see someone at the front of any establishment asking me to come in, I run the other way. I must have not been in my usual state of mind from the hunger. The food and price didn’t seemed too bad and walking over across the street to Shin-​Sen seemed a miles away on an empty stomach. So what the heck… Japanese Robata Kaba it was. And I didn’t even Unilocal this place before going in… so untypical of me lol. But starving self has no room or patience in such dire situations.
The food was okay for the most part. However, I did not like the teriyaki chicken too much. The chicken tasted old or something and the seasoning was bleh. But for under $ 10, the items are not bad. The ahi bowl, rolls, and miso soup were okay at best for the price.

Kaba is quickly becoming a go to place in little Tokyo. The happy hour prices are decent, food is pretty good and service is good. The only downside about going is that when you go with a big group. You tend to forget what you ordered. And if they get backed up in the kitchen, your orders can take some time to get to you.
But other than that, their $ 1 dollar specials are pretty good. They have been changing their menu is see what’s popular. And I’m so sad that they removed their mochi pizza. The karage chicken is great and you get a lot for one order.
Oh and another thing, since you are ordering off an iPad. To make sure you are order happy hour prices go to the part that says «look here first.» Otherwise you won’t get their happy hour prices. We made the mistake of going to the drinks and got regular priced drinks when we could of got happy hour prices instead.

I love Little Tokyo. The sushi is delicious, I was there last week and I was going to my Oomasa but since that place was closed, I decided to check out another place so I came across this sushi spot.
The waiter was a sweetheart, he guided us through the iPad menu and took us some water without us asking. He also took a small dish with fish (can’t recall the name) and it was on the house.
We ordered a California roll with shrimp tempura on top and it was delicious, we also ordered some basic California and spicy tuna rolls and they did not disappoint.
We were celebrating a birthday so they gave us free ice cream deep fried in tempura. Imagine ice cream rolled in yummy funnel cake with powdered sugar and syrup on top. It was awesome!
The food was good, service was even better! I will definitely be back!

I ended up here because everything else was full, but I’m glad I did. I took advantage of all their specials and got a good amount of food for a low price. Not only was the food good but the staff was very friendly.
This place is more unique because of its set up. All of the tables have an ipad that you can use to make your orders. At first I thought I was going to have trouble with making my orders but it was all very user friendly. Also, on one of the walls they were projecting the movie Kiki’s Delivery Service (which I loved but you couldn’t hear the sound so it was really just a decoration).
I think my favorite thing had to be the green tea pudding but as I was leaving the waiter did mention that they were going to soon have a sushi roll for each state. They will have not only your usual California and Nevada rolls but your Rhode Island and Idaho rolls. I have no idea what those would possibly look like but I’m curious.

Nice place in Little Tokyo… Walked by Japanese Robata KABA plenty of times. I remember when it opened and thought to try it the next time I was in Little Tokyo. Well, it took longer than the «next time» but finally made it in.
The waiter was very nice and greeted us as soon as we entered. We sat and he proceeded to show us how to order. The menu is all on iPads! You touch your selection and «add it» to your checkout — voila — here comes your order.
Everyday brings a new special. Friday is All Day Happy Hour! Food & beer specials all Friday! Had the Fried Chicken Karaage bowl and a $ 2.25 Sapporo. Also ordered a Shrimp Tempura Udon to try.
All was delicious! Wish the Karaage had a little salad or veg to go with but still good! The udon equally as good. Well seasoned!
Overal service was great! Food was tasty and beers were cold. What’s else do you need right?!
Give it a shot next time you’re in Little Tokyo…
#DTLA #LOSANGELES

They opened in Sep 2014, there are three Japanese chefs/​managers from Japan. Menu looks great, and drinks are cheap specially during Happy Hour!
Service was wonderful, however if you are not Japanese you may get wrong perception. Which they need to improve.
I’m not fan of their ordering system, which using iPad. Because you don’t really know where to find what you want to order … but once you figure it out, that’s cool. You don’t have to spend your energy to get someone’s attention to place your order. Once you place your order, they deliver your order very quickly.
My friends are regular at this restaurant, and they love it, but since they are old Japanese forks that they don’t know how to review on Unilocal … ooch.
I will be one of the regular for sure. Lady’s day on Mon, everything is 50% off if you come more than 2 ladies :) Who wants to come with me?!

Decent service and location can’t really hide the bad food here. The «recommended» garlic chicken and fiery noodles were both covered in grease and not very tasty – an unimpressive combination. Without the benefit of happy hour, the prices here are higher than expected. I would feel better about the greasy, low-​quality food if there was cheap beer a la dive bar.
At least the service was friendly and relatively fast.

Honestly… I really wanted to like this place.
Their ordering system is definitely interesting, but ineffective. You order what you want on the iPad and then they bring it to you. However, we had 2 of our orders mixed up. Wasn’t this electronic ordering system implemented to prevent such mistakes?
Furthermore, one of the chickens we ordered was disgusting. Not only did the odor come off as rotten, so did the taste (all 4 of us agreed). We sent to back and the chef came out and mentioned that’s how it’s supposed to be (don’t make excuses!), but they won’t charge us. However, when the bill came… the charge was there. Fortunately, they did correct this.
Overal, their dishes were subpar. I’ve been to a variety of Japanese robots, Izakaya, and this place… while it filled me up, did not satisfy my appetite. Calories and money wasted.
The food:
Their Mentai Mochi Pizza was the highlight of the night. It’s very heavy, but this was quite interesting in taste. Delicious, but… strangely delicious. Hard to put my finger on it, but i do recommend it.
Their Age-​Takoyaki (Fried takoyaki) was good, but nothing special.
Their ramen was HORRIBLE. Extremely bland. Their noodles subpar in taste and texture. Their chashu was super small, and only HALF a overly boiled egg…
Their Agedashi was good, but nothing special.
Their robata sampler was good, but only the meat choices were memorable. The rest weren’t anything special. Their mushrooms were bland. The sauces were interesting and made the mushrooms edible.
I would pass on this place.

They got amazing premium croquette. It was really tasty and stuff are so nice.
One of the best Japanese restaurant in LA.
I will be back soon for sure. Thanks Ari San

=QUICK NOTE=
Don’t be turned away by the 3 stars. They’ve got lots of room for improvement, but they also have tons of potential!
While walking past this restaurant, I heard the hostess standing outside telling me the magic words: «Everything is 50% off right now!» (I think this was their opening week or something.) Lady, you’ve got my attention!
=SERVICE=
I glanced through the menu via iPad and saw sushi, ramen, desserts, salads, a la carte, drinks and finally rice. I ordered the Japanese Fried Rice. After quickly placing my order on the iPad (and feeling quite tech savvy) I observed the scene. It was quite a spectacle as waitresses and waiters were running (literally) around. They’re a bit disorganized/​all over the place, BUT you can tell everyone was trying SO hard to achieve customer satisfaction. When I left, the banged the Japanese drum (don’t know what it’s called) and everyone shouted (I assume) «THANK YOU!» SO cute!
=FOOD= (sorry this took a while to get to)
Japanese Fried Rice — NOT BAD! =) Upon opening the box, the wonderful smell floated into my nostrils. Heh… the rice was moist, fluffy, hot, and it was flavored pretty well! There were bits of egg and meat in it that were soft and flavorful. I ordered for John T. (who also thought it tasted pretty good). The BEST part??? a large to-​go box of fried rice was ONLY $ 3.81! WOWWW!!! I didn’t get the chance to order any sushi from this place, so I can’t comment on the freshness of their fish.
=LOCATION=
On Central Ave., two doors down from Ozero in Little Tokyo.
=FINAL VERDICT=
It’s got a LOT of kinks to work out, and I really hope people give them a chance (especially during this 50% off time) because I feel like all of the folks working in there have a lot of heart and potential! The food (so far) isn’t bad, and I hope their sushi is good too. Must give that a try one day!