kodō

Came to Kodo on Saturday for lunch. My wife had it on her listing of places to try and so glad she wanted to come! The decor and atmosphere was refined and contemporary. Perfect for Japanese food. The food was very well executed! Tasteful and portion was surprisingly decent. Service was very friendly and attentive. Will definitely come back for lunch and now want to try their dinner menu.

The hotel experience was absolutely excellent. The smaller format (only 8 rooms) really makes you feel special. The staff are all extremely friendly and accommodating, and frequently went above and beyond to ensure that our stay was perfect. The cafe has a lovely atmosphere and delicious drinks and pastries. For lunch, I highly recommend the blue crab roll. The yuzu soda is made fresh to order, and blew me away. For dinner, we tried the Dine LA 4 course menu, which was seriously fantastic. Each course is better than the last, and the ribeye was to die for. Thank you so much to the whole Kodō staff for treating us so well and making sure our little arts district date night became a truly memorable get away!

Can't wait to come back here the atmosphere is modern natural look, very nice. Lighting is low, advanced warning for those that matters to. Sat at the sushi bar top to enjoy drinks, apps and dinner. Outside it was too cold in November but still the fire pit looked nice. They offer valet but we ended up parking down the street, got lucky. There are lots of restaurants around this area so parking is an issue. On busy nights I suggest using valet service. Driving by this place is easy to miss since it's tucked back into the building and not a clear outside sign visible at night. The waiting area is really beautifully decorated.

Feliz

Dinner at Kodo was a wonderful experience. The atmosphere was stylish, cozy, and perfect for an evening out. The food was excellent, beautifully prepared and made with top quality ingredients. I highly recommend the Bluefin Tuna (sashimi platter) it was outstanding, and the Bluefin Tuna was impressively fresh and flavorful. The service was also attentive and friendly. I’ll definitely be coming back again!

Daniel Perez

Came here for dinner and was blown away by the food—everything was delicious and full of flavor. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but overall well worth it. The service was top-notch, with excellent recommendations for both appetizers and drinks. The atmosphere was pleasant and quiet for a Sunday evening, which made it easy to relax and actually have a conversation without loud music.

Linda C.

Not often does a restaurant nail every detail, but Kodo did exactly that. We arrived a bit early for our reservation and were seated immediately—strong start. The cocktail menu alone could have derailed the night. Too many great options, zero bad choices. Truly a “no notes” situation. We ordered the ponzu oysters, eggplant, Brussels sprouts, broccolini (asked for it without the usual char—no hesitation, no awkward explanation, just executed perfectly), miso sea bass hand roll, toro sampler, toro carpaccio, chocolate torte, and the Basque cheesecake. Finished with two cappuccinos. Every single dish landed. No misses, no “this one’s just okay,” just consistently excellent food and flawless execution. Cocktails were equally strong: Son of Kyushu – 10/10 Fuji Haze – 10/10 (that coconut foam is unreal) Beni Negroni – 10/10 The Kitsune – 10/10 Rating them felt like judging a perfect Olympic routine—no stumbles, no deductions. The space deserves its own mention: minimalist, chic, and effortlessly classy. The photos online don’t do it justice—it feels even better in person. Kodo is the kind of place that reminds you why dining out can still be exciting. Thoughtful service, beautiful food, and a vibe that feels special without trying too hard. Highly recommend. Fantastic date spot.

Ryan Folmsbee

This might be the best restaurant in LA. The service was phenomenal from start to finish. Our waiter was bright, engaged when needed, and provided everything we needed. Great ambiance with this nice, lo-fi synth. But the best part about this place is the food. This is some of the best food in LA, if not the best. We got the shishito peppers and crispy rice, handrolls, sea bass and steak, eggplant, and cheesecake. Everything was fantastic. Perfectly timed out of the kitchen. Every dish bursted with flavors that complimented each other. The dessert wasn't too sweet. The Kitsune is also an incredible old fashioned.

Anna de Quero

Beautiful design and atmosphere. Great quality. The burger is like desert! Brad was incredible.

G Whizz

We stopped in craving uni and ended up with an amazing spread—top-notch uni, delicious tuna and seabass tartare, plus some excellent sake. The vibe was great, the service was spot on, and the whole experience was just what we needed

Tien Tran

Jesse was a great, knowledgeable, and attentive server. Everything was amazing - only disappointment was the uni pasta. Seems like with new management they changed the recipe... hopefully they embrace feedback!

Meagan Cignoli

Everything was perfect, fave drink was lychee martini and in the morning strawberry matcha. For dinner we loved the rib eye, ceviche, tuna tartar and chicken the most. The Caesar salad was unique and I really enjoyed it. Miso eggplant also great! We were so full and didn’t think we could eat any more but The sorbet at the end was delicious, super light and refreshing. Service was friendly, atmosphere very pretty.

Tanya Zhuk

Start to finish this was an amazing meal. Our server was personal and chatty and made wonderful recommendations. We enjoyed the pacing of service and the sizes of the portions. And when you have to pick between something absolutely wonderfully delicious and something simply delicious there are things I would probably double down on next time like the hobo chips, the sea bream and the rib eye!

wook kim

Came to Kodo on Saturday for lunch. My wife had it on her listing of places to try and so glad she wanted to come! The decor and atmosphere was refined and contemporary. Perfect for Japanese food. The food was very well executed! Tasteful and portion was surprisingly decent. Service was very friendly and attentive. Will definitely come back for lunch and now want to try their dinner menu.

Jeremy Francis

The hotel experience was absolutely excellent. The smaller format (only 8 rooms) really makes you feel special. The staff are all extremely friendly and accommodating, and frequently went above and beyond to ensure that our stay was perfect. The cafe has a lovely atmosphere and delicious drinks and pastries. For lunch, I highly recommend the blue crab roll. The yuzu soda is made fresh to order, and blew me away. For dinner, we tried the Dine LA 4 course menu, which was seriously fantastic. Each course is better than the last, and the ribeye was to die for. Thank you so much to the whole Kodō staff for treating us so well and making sure our little arts district date night became a truly memorable get away!

David Mormann

Can't wait to come back here the atmosphere is modern natural look, very nice. Lighting is low, advanced warning for those that matters to. Sat at the sushi bar top to enjoy drinks, apps and dinner. Outside it was too cold in November but still the fire pit looked nice. They offer valet but we ended up parking down the street, got lucky. There are lots of restaurants around this area so parking is an issue. On busy nights I suggest using valet service. Driving by this place is easy to miss since it's tucked back into the building and not a clear outside sign visible at night. The waiting area is really beautifully decorated.

Was introduced to Kodo through the Red Book Dining experience, and had never heard of Kodo before, which is surprising because I’ve been to Bestia and Damien multiple times, which are right around the corner. Was pleasantly surprised! The space is beautiful and minimalist with indoor and outdoor options. I didn’t even realize at first that we were seated outside until they lit the large fire pit, which created such a warm ambiance. We had the beef tataki which was delicious and fresh, and the Wagyu Katsu. The Katsu was some of the most tender beef I have ever had, and it came with a hot stone to cook the meat a bit more if you wanted to sear it, but it came out perfect. It also had a sweet onion sauce on the side for dipping that was amazing! The real stars of the meal though were the Toro Handrolls and the Wagyu Cheeseburger. The handrolls had sooo much Toro on them, we actually were able to eat a piece as sashimi and then still have a handful for each of the three rolls (so good!). That burger though….i have been dreaming of it since having it. It was seasoned so perfectly and so juicy. I think it might just be the best burger I’ve ever had. I asked the waiter what sauce was on the burger, and there’s no sauce…it’s just the seasoning, cheese and wagyu juices. SO. GOOD. We also had the Uni Pasta, which was salty pasta perfection. We split and shared everything and that was the perfect way to experience all the food here. Cocktail menu is excellent as well, and the service is great. I think that overall, this place slept on and underrated. I can’t wait to go back.

Devin Miller

Was introduced to Kodo through the Red Book Dining experience, and had never heard of Kodo before, which is surprising because I’ve been to Bestia and Damien multiple times, which are right around the corner. Was pleasantly surprised! The space is beautiful and minimalist with indoor and outdoor options. I didn’t even realize at first that we were seated outside until they lit the large fire pit, which created such a warm ambiance. We had the beef tataki which was delicious and fresh, and the Wagyu Katsu. The Katsu was some of the most tender beef I have ever had, and it came with a hot stone to cook the meat a bit more if you wanted to sear it, but it came out perfect. It also had a sweet onion sauce on the side for dipping that was amazing! The real stars of the meal though were the Toro Handrolls and the Wagyu Cheeseburger. The handrolls had sooo much Toro on them, we actually were able to eat a piece as sashimi and then still have a handful for each of the three rolls (so good!). That burger though….i have been dreaming of it since having it. It was seasoned so perfectly and so juicy. I think it might just be the best burger I’ve ever had. I asked the waiter what sauce was on the burger, and there’s no sauce…it’s just the seasoning, cheese and wagyu juices. SO. GOOD. We also had the Uni Pasta, which was salty pasta perfection. We split and shared everything and that was the perfect way to experience all the food here. Cocktail menu is excellent as well, and the service is great. I think that overall, this place slept on and underrated. I can’t wait to go back.

Sales Team

We had a small problem, a disagreement, with the valet. Brad, the manager, took care of the problem. He was attentive throughout the night with us. Apologetic. Sincere. And gave us a small tasting of some delicious sake. Very nice gesture. and our server, Jesse, the one that wears a tartan, was splendid as well.

Celebrated an anniversary here and unfortunately was expecting better. On the positives: cocktails are strong, and flavors such as the kyuri martini (riff of the dirty cucumber martini) are interesting. Also, the toro carpaccio is fresh and fatty, just like what toro should be. Onto the room of improvements, the chicken karaage is a bit dried. We thought they were using white meat at first, but then realized it could be dried thigh meat. We also ordered the chimichurri prawns. The flavor profile was quite nice, but unfortunately the prawns were served with shell on, which doesn't allow the chimichurri to get into the meat. I think the dish can use a sauce to enhance the flavor. Lastly, we also tried the salmon dish and it's fairly standard. The one thing that stands out is the accompanying mushrooms. Upon first bite, it has a very strong sake taste that could use a few more seconds in the pan to burn off the alcohol. All in all, kodo is still a worthy restaurant that is willing to try to take on new flavors, and the decor is right up my alley.

The atmosphere here is off the charts, but food - not so much. My recommendation is to visit just for a cup of matcha. Matcha latte was quite good, I asked for no sugar, but next time I will pair it with plant milk instead of regular milk. I was excited to try the rice balls and toasts they previously had, but it seems that the menu has changed. Now they serve larger lunch portions, we have tried a Tsukune Burger and a Kaisen bowl. Tsukune Burger was huge and messy and tasted a bit home cooked, it might be appealing to some people. Kaisen bowl was more Poke than Kaisen because fish and omelet were cut into small cubes and heavily marinated. Overall food didn't leave a good impression but I really enjoyed the space.

Link Lo

Celebrated an anniversary here and unfortunately was expecting better. On the positives: cocktails are strong, and flavors such as the kyuri martini (riff of the dirty cucumber martini) are interesting. Also, the toro carpaccio is fresh and fatty, just like what toro should be. Onto the room of improvements, the chicken karaage is a bit dried. We thought they were using white meat at first, but then realized it could be dried thigh meat. We also ordered the chimichurri prawns. The flavor profile was quite nice, but unfortunately the prawns were served with shell on, which doesn't allow the chimichurri to get into the meat. I think the dish can use a sauce to enhance the flavor. Lastly, we also tried the salmon dish and it's fairly standard. The one thing that stands out is the accompanying mushrooms. Upon first bite, it has a very strong sake taste that could use a few more seconds in the pan to burn off the alcohol. All in all, kodo is still a worthy restaurant that is willing to try to take on new flavors, and the decor is right up my alley.

Natalia Pavlova

The atmosphere here is off the charts, but food - not so much. My recommendation is to visit just for a cup of matcha. Matcha latte was quite good, I asked for no sugar, but next time I will pair it with plant milk instead of regular milk. I was excited to try the rice balls and toasts they previously had, but it seems that the menu has changed. Now they serve larger lunch portions, we have tried a Tsukune Burger and a Kaisen bowl. Tsukune Burger was huge and messy and tasted a bit home cooked, it might be appealing to some people. Kaisen bowl was more Poke than Kaisen because fish and omelet were cut into small cubes and heavily marinated. Overall food didn't leave a good impression but I really enjoyed the space.

If you like dark places, that blare loud music, and tries too hard to be a club instead of an actual izakaya where you get to know fellow customers AND the chef? Uhm, this place is for you. The sushi isn't bad, but are you that lazy you can't find another place that offers similar grade if not better elsewhere, for a better price, or do you really want to go to a place that calls itself an Izakaya but tries too hard to stand out that it's too cool to be located in Little Tokyo, or any other Japanese enclave? Or did they know they really wouldn't be able to make it there? Plus, the cups were bought from Ikea. Nice economic choice, but that doesn't give me the high class feel. Ikea is for the home, not a ritzy restaurant. Ok, I'm being harsh. They were nice people, and food wasn't bad, but for the price? The environment? Not for me. I had the Sea Bass, while my friend had the 8oz steak. We shared our pieces of our meals with each other. I realized something: taste & aroma of steak hitting my palate, with the waft of the Sea Bass reminded me of Vienna Sausages. Cheesecake was the highlight. Nice tart of the jam cutting into the sweetness of the cream was a nice touch. But you don't go to an Izakaya for the cheesecake. Just the whole mix of everything was too weird for me. Your mileage may vary.

龔振勝

If you like dark places, that blare loud music, and tries too hard to be a club instead of an actual izakaya where you get to know fellow customers AND the chef? Uhm, this place is for you. The sushi isn't bad, but are you that lazy you can't find another place that offers similar grade if not better elsewhere, for a better price, or do you really want to go to a place that calls itself an Izakaya but tries too hard to stand out that it's too cool to be located in Little Tokyo, or any other Japanese enclave? Or did they know they really wouldn't be able to make it there? Plus, the cups were bought from Ikea. Nice economic choice, but that doesn't give me the high class feel. Ikea is for the home, not a ritzy restaurant. Ok, I'm being harsh. They were nice people, and food wasn't bad, but for the price? The environment? Not for me. I had the Sea Bass, while my friend had the 8oz steak. We shared our pieces of our meals with each other. I realized something: taste & aroma of steak hitting my palate, with the waft of the Sea Bass reminded me of Vienna Sausages. Cheesecake was the highlight. Nice tart of the jam cutting into the sweetness of the cream was a nice touch. But you don't go to an Izakaya for the cheesecake. Just the whole mix of everything was too weird for me. Your mileage may vary.

Semi disappointed. To start with the positive: Pretty great food, Nobu adjacent with artsy vibes. To provide some context for the negative aspect: it was my partners 21st birthday. I called one month or so in advance (after making a reservation) asking to set up balloons and candles for her birthday and they said that was perfectly fine and were very kind about it. Then day of, I come in with my cousin setting up decor and cake. One man of the staff came up asking why I’m trying to redecorate the restaurant which seemed like a passive aggressive joke but throughout the night the same man and our server kept talking about the candles being inconvenient and how the decor was bothersome. Then when the night had passed some we had questions about the menu and the server kept laughing at us when we asked simple questions about the menu such as, “is the shishito pepper dish enough for a group, how many come in the dish?”, his response being “um I don’t know how many specific peppers there are” and laughing at my partner. On her birthday. The service was incredibly slow from start to finish with our group arriving at 7pm and not being able to leave until around 9:30 pm all due to slow service. When we got to the cake, we had to wait 20 minutes before I eventually got up and went searching for our server to cut our cake so we could eat it, pay, and finally leave. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant for any events they turned a special moment into something demeaning and just kind of sad. Disappointed because the food was good and so was the ambiance!

Alexandra Varikian

Semi disappointed. To start with the positive: Pretty great food, Nobu adjacent with artsy vibes. To provide some context for the negative aspect: it was my partners 21st birthday. I called one month or so in advance (after making a reservation) asking to set up balloons and candles for her birthday and they said that was perfectly fine and were very kind about it. Then day of, I come in with my cousin setting up decor and cake. One man of the staff came up asking why I’m trying to redecorate the restaurant which seemed like a passive aggressive joke but throughout the night the same man and our server kept talking about the candles being inconvenient and how the decor was bothersome. Then when the night had passed some we had questions about the menu and the server kept laughing at us when we asked simple questions about the menu such as, “is the shishito pepper dish enough for a group, how many come in the dish?”, his response being “um I don’t know how many specific peppers there are” and laughing at my partner. On her birthday. The service was incredibly slow from start to finish with our group arriving at 7pm and not being able to leave until around 9:30 pm all due to slow service. When we got to the cake, we had to wait 20 minutes before I eventually got up and went searching for our server to cut our cake so we could eat it, pay, and finally leave. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant for any events they turned a special moment into something demeaning and just kind of sad. Disappointed because the food was good and so was the ambiance!

I took my girlfriend here for her birthday. We had been here before back in November for a date, and it was such a different experience than this time. Last time, we had an amazing 10 piece nigiri plate (chef selected) followed by delicious ice cream. Come to find this time, they completely changed the menu!! They no longer serve nigiri. It was nothing like before. We ended up getting a large blue fin sashimi platter for $105, but it was just ok. Absolutely not worth the price. The chef didn't even properly cut up the fish as there were still chunks of tough raw skin still attached to the meat. And the slices were way too big. We had to order (and pay for) rice separately. I thought the ice cream would be our saving grace, but oh no. They changed that too. The mochi ice cream was just a sloppy mess of melting ice cream on top of thick slime. It was difficult to cut through the mochi with spoons. And the worst part is, they still charged us for it! They offered absolutely nothing complimentary for my girlfriends birthday. Just a small candle on top of the sad ice cream. Never coming back here again. This place went really downhill with their menu change.

Anthony Bustamante

I took my girlfriend here for her birthday. We had been here before back in November for a date, and it was such a different experience than this time. Last time, we had an amazing 10 piece nigiri plate (chef selected) followed by delicious ice cream. Come to find this time, they completely changed the menu!! They no longer serve nigiri. It was nothing like before. We ended up getting a large blue fin sashimi platter for $105, but it was just ok. Absolutely not worth the price. The chef didn't even properly cut up the fish as there were still chunks of tough raw skin still attached to the meat. And the slices were way too big. We had to order (and pay for) rice separately. I thought the ice cream would be our saving grace, but oh no. They changed that too. The mochi ice cream was just a sloppy mess of melting ice cream on top of thick slime. It was difficult to cut through the mochi with spoons. And the worst part is, they still charged us for it! They offered absolutely nothing complimentary for my girlfriends birthday. Just a small candle on top of the sad ice cream. Never coming back here again. This place went really downhill with their menu change.

We ordered the uni pasta, but the uni tasted spoiled and had a strong bad smell, which made the dish completely inedible. This was very disappointing, especially given the price. On top of that, the female staff member who served us had a very poor attitude. She made us feel rushed the entire time, as if she wanted us to leave as quickly as possible. There was constant pressure and no sense of hospitality at all. Overall, the food quality and service were both unacceptable. I would not recommend this restaurant.

Xinyi Cui

We ordered the uni pasta, but the uni tasted spoiled and had a strong bad smell, which made the dish completely inedible. This was very disappointing, especially given the price. On top of that, the female staff member who served us had a very poor attitude. She made us feel rushed the entire time, as if she wanted us to leave as quickly as possible. There was constant pressure and no sense of hospitality at all. Overall, the food quality and service were both unacceptable. I would not recommend this restaurant.