After months of hearing about Hara's "amazing happy hour sushi and drink deals," I finally had a chance to check it out.
- One of the main complaints about this place is the ridiculous wait. Well, thanks to some help (holla), we walked straight to our table. Plus 5
- Happy hour: 4:00 PM - 9:30 PM Plus 5
- Prompt taking of drink orders Plus 3
- Simple menus, but color pictures Plus 2
- 12 oz. bottle of Sapporo for $3.95 Plus 3
- Less than 15 min. before food served Plus 5
- Owned by Koreans. Plus 1. And I only know this because there were plants and flowers around the place with Korean writing on the decorative ribbons. By the way, I don't usually rate places based on the ethnicity of the owner (ain't no racist), but had to give a shoutout to my brethren.
- Sushi was sloppily wrapped and the cuts weren't equal. Minus 3
- 8 huge hand-cut rolls of spicy tuna for $3.50. Wow. The specialty rolls are not 50% off, but the most expensive one was $9.95 (Tuna Lover's - spicy tuna with avocado and seared tuna inside w/ garlic ponzu sauce). Excellent sushi prices. Plus 3 If you still think that's pricey, it's completely redeemed by...
- Portions: see pics below. "This is the most rice I've eaten... ever!" Plus 4
- I have to admit, my friend's comment above was valid because I felt like the rolls were huge, but there was still plenty of fish attached to each rice grain. So fish to rice ratio grants a Plus 4
- Quality of fish was not terrible, but also not melt-in-your-mouth fresh. And if you're going to be raw fish, you want to be nearly buttery, right? Minus 4
- Even with a packed house, waiters still stopped by to check in... or to see if we'd stop eating and go home so they could seat their next guests. Either way, we never had to hail them down. Plus 2
- Free miso soup, but no free green tea ice cream Minus 4. Yes, it's true that by the end of dinner I was so stuffed I had a little trouble breathing, however, I wish never to be gyped of my free green tea ice cream. (true fattylicious style)
- Free parking in back lot Plus 3, but annoying parking attendant Minus 2
Eh points:13
Final verdict: Go (early). Enjoy decent sushi with great drinks. Walk out without a huge dent in your wallet. Miso heppy. You so heppy too.
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| Gyoza (6 pieces) - $4.95 |
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| Red Dragon (8 pieces of spicy tuna roll topped with glistening tuna and avocado) - $7.45 |
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| Spicy Tuna Roll (8 pieces) - $3.50! |
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| Avocado Roll (8 pieces) - $2.75! |
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| Ginza Roll (spicy tuna with avocado inside, albacore and jalapeno on top) - $7.95 |
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| Teriyaki Chicken Bento Box - $12.95 |
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| Salmon Tempura Roll (crab mix, cucumber, avocado, salmon tempura with eel sauce) - $5.95 |
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cuisine: Japanese
location: West LA
hours: M-Th: 11:30am - 10pm; F-Sat: 11:30am-10:30pm; Sun: 5pm-10pm
website: { menu | yelp }
attire: Casual
parking: back lot/ street
notes: Happy hour: 4pm-9:30, M-F!
