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✔️Breakfast ✔️Brunch ✔️Dinner ✔️Dine in
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Neighborhood izakaya showcasing seasonal small plates, noodle specialties, dumplings & drinks.
Hours
| Friday | 5–10 PM |
| Saturday | 5–10 PM |
| Sunday | 5–9 PM |
| Monday | 5–9 PM |
| Tuesday | 5–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 5–9 PM |
| Thursday | 5–9 PM |
Address and Contact Information
Address: 1356 Allison Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Phone: (213) 900-4900
Website: http://tsubakila.com/
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Reservations: tsubakila.comresy.com
Photo Gallery
Related Web Results
Tsubaki | A Japanese restaurant in Echo Park, Los Angeles
Tsubaki is a Los Angeles izakaya, from Chef Charles Namba & Courtney Kaplan, with Japanese roots and a California state of mind.
Tsubaki (@tsubakila) · Los Angeles, CA – Instagram
19K followers · 769 posts · an LA izakaya sister to @ototo.la French cousin @cameliadtla reservations recommended, walk-ins welcome.
Tsubaki – Los Angeles – a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant
… Tsubaki. 1356 Allison Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90026, USA. $$ · Japanese, Izakaya. Date night. Notes. Visited. Save. Favorite. Reserve a table. Book …
Reviews
Jennie Zeng
We dined here with the red dinning book experience. We had the chawan mush, chicken wing and chicken gizzard yakitori, black cod and yakisoba.
Potions are pretty small, so make sure to order at least 3+ dishes. I didn’t really like the yakisoba because the charsiu pork have too much fat.
… morePotions are pretty small, so make sure to order at least 3+ dishes. I didn’t really like the yakisoba because the charsiu pork have too much fat.
Eric Jin Cheng
Fantastic meal. Easily ranks among my top 15 restaurants in Los Angeles.
Tsubaki, tucked away in a quieter corner of Echo Park, delivered a warm, elevated, and refreshingly unpretentious dining experience. The food not only hit the mark in flavor but also left us feeling fully satisfied.
Standout dishes included the scallop skewers, clams, and Caesar salad: especially the salad, which was a surprisingly fresh and inventive twist on a classic.
If I were to reorder, I’d probably skip the crab rice and chicken tail, but I’d definitely go for the other chicken skewers again.
Overall, excellent food and atmosphere. Highly recommend to anyone in the area craving quality Japanese cuisine.
… moreTsubaki, tucked away in a quieter corner of Echo Park, delivered a warm, elevated, and refreshingly unpretentious dining experience. The food not only hit the mark in flavor but also left us feeling fully satisfied.
Standout dishes included the scallop skewers, clams, and Caesar salad: especially the salad, which was a surprisingly fresh and inventive twist on a classic.
If I were to reorder, I’d probably skip the crab rice and chicken tail, but I’d definitely go for the other chicken skewers again.
Overall, excellent food and atmosphere. Highly recommend to anyone in the area craving quality Japanese cuisine.
David C.
Things to consider if they ever moved locations: more bar seating + better parking. Although it seems they are booked and blessed for a Saturday.
I ordered the chicken oysters (2 skewers), cartilage (1skewer), wings (1skewer), and yaki onigiri. The rice balls were perfection and I appreciate the side of cucumber it comes with. The skewers were hit and miss. The chicken oysters were amazing with the yuzu. I’ve realized I don’t enjoy jidori chicken wings as they’re not very fatty and that’s what I usually like about wings. These wings weren’t very meaty either and I would’ve preferred the larger wing segment.The cartilage was a miss, I didn’t enjoy how they were cut up. The onigiri themselves made this visit worth it. Grilled to a crispy perfection, it’s a hard to find dish done right. That’s why if the restaurant was more accessible, I’d come just for the rice balls and a drink.
… moreI ordered the chicken oysters (2 skewers), cartilage (1skewer), wings (1skewer), and yaki onigiri. The rice balls were perfection and I appreciate the side of cucumber it comes with. The skewers were hit and miss. The chicken oysters were amazing with the yuzu. I’ve realized I don’t enjoy jidori chicken wings as they’re not very fatty and that’s what I usually like about wings. These wings weren’t very meaty either and I would’ve preferred the larger wing segment.The cartilage was a miss, I didn’t enjoy how they were cut up. The onigiri themselves made this visit worth it. Grilled to a crispy perfection, it’s a hard to find dish done right. That’s why if the restaurant was more accessible, I’d come just for the rice balls and a drink.
Christine Chang
Damn pricey but damn good! Favorites: the clams (amazing broth), the Cesar salad (it’s large!), the chicken wings (incredible char flavor), and the incredible hojicha soft serve! The crab fried rice was solid.
… moreAndrea Bosquez
My boyfriend and I arrived late evening. No reservation, but they were able to accommodate us. When the server arrived, she suggested that we get 2 plates per person since everything is meant to be shared. She also said everything would have to be ordered at the same time, and they would course it out for us. We first got some drinks, then got the following dishes.
Cold Tofu
Japanese latkas
Short rib
Sesame noodles
… moreCold Tofu
Japanese latkas
Short rib
Sesame noodles
Asher Rumack
A night to remember, though mostly for the psychological warfare. My birthday kicked off with a delightful coincidence: my friend took me out, and we were seated right next to my neighbor who was also celebrating her big day. It should have been a recipe for double the indulgence; instead, our server treated our presence like a personal grievance.
From the second we sat down, she greeted us with the warmth of a walk-in freezer. Before we could even unfold our napkins, she hit us with some truly bizarre, high-stakes timing warnings. Apparently, a table for two has a 90-minute limit, while a table for four gets two hours—I’d love to see the mathematical theorem she used to calculate that logic. The kicker? The restaurant was practically a ghost town all night, and there wasn’t a soul waiting for our table. She wasn’t managing a floor; she was cosplaying as a drill sergeant for a parade that never showed up.
Despite her obsession with the clock, the kitchen clearly didn’t get the memo. The food crawled out with the urgency of a tectonic plate. The “course order” was a total fever dream—we were served rice at the very end of the meal, like some sort of post-steak palate cleanser. I’ve had more logical sequences in my dreams. The food was “fine,” I suppose, but “fine” doesn’t quite compensate for a side of hostility.
The “Server of the Year” reached her final form when we asked for a second bottle of sake. She actually told us no. Why? Because of our “timing.” Mind you, the restaurant was still half-empty, and the only reason we were “behind” was that we’d spent the last hour staring at empty plates waiting for her kitchen to wake up. When we asked for clarification, she dug in her heels like she was defending a fort. She made it her life’s mission to ensure our sobriety remained intact.
For someone so concerned with the clock, she was remarkably absent for the basics. Water refills were non-existent, and she never once checked in to see if the food was actually edible—though I suspect she was just afraid to find out. She seemed genuinely allergic to the concept of hospitality.
To top it all off, we were celebrating two birthdays. Did we get a candle? A slice of cake? A half-hearted “HBD”? Absolutely not. The only thing that got lit up tonight was my temper, because we were treated like dogs. DOGS. And honestly? I’ve seen Golden Retrievers get better table service and more enthusiastic birthday wishes.
… moreFrom the second we sat down, she greeted us with the warmth of a walk-in freezer. Before we could even unfold our napkins, she hit us with some truly bizarre, high-stakes timing warnings. Apparently, a table for two has a 90-minute limit, while a table for four gets two hours—I’d love to see the mathematical theorem she used to calculate that logic. The kicker? The restaurant was practically a ghost town all night, and there wasn’t a soul waiting for our table. She wasn’t managing a floor; she was cosplaying as a drill sergeant for a parade that never showed up.
Despite her obsession with the clock, the kitchen clearly didn’t get the memo. The food crawled out with the urgency of a tectonic plate. The “course order” was a total fever dream—we were served rice at the very end of the meal, like some sort of post-steak palate cleanser. I’ve had more logical sequences in my dreams. The food was “fine,” I suppose, but “fine” doesn’t quite compensate for a side of hostility.
The “Server of the Year” reached her final form when we asked for a second bottle of sake. She actually told us no. Why? Because of our “timing.” Mind you, the restaurant was still half-empty, and the only reason we were “behind” was that we’d spent the last hour staring at empty plates waiting for her kitchen to wake up. When we asked for clarification, she dug in her heels like she was defending a fort. She made it her life’s mission to ensure our sobriety remained intact.
For someone so concerned with the clock, she was remarkably absent for the basics. Water refills were non-existent, and she never once checked in to see if the food was actually edible—though I suspect she was just afraid to find out. She seemed genuinely allergic to the concept of hospitality.
To top it all off, we were celebrating two birthdays. Did we get a candle? A slice of cake? A half-hearted “HBD”? Absolutely not. The only thing that got lit up tonight was my temper, because we were treated like dogs. DOGS. And honestly? I’ve seen Golden Retrievers get better table service and more enthusiastic birthday wishes.
Sarah P
Beautiful design and ambiance at dinner. Interesting menu with a wide assortment of options and flavor profiles. The braised short rib with fennel was incredibly tender and truly fantastic. The wagyu brisket udon was layered with flavor, the noodles were perfectly cooked and the broth was wonderfully balanced. I recommend the winter salad as well as the soft serve with the miso, sesame swirl.
… moreAngel
I came here on NYE with my girlfriend after it had been on my list to visit for some time, and I was surprisingly disappointed with the experience. nothing felt photo worthy but the Japanese caesar salad (best thing we had, I recommend it!) and the animal chopstick rests. in summary —
1. the flavors of the hokkaido scallop, chicken oyster, and duck meatball yakitori skewers were good, but they were comically small. think 1-2 mini skewers per yakitori order.
2. the japanese black cod plate was good and also, you guessed it, small.
3. the nigiri sake and hitachino nest red rice ale were great!!
4. all service staff were very kind and attentive
5. this is a great place to go if you want to spend a lot of $$ for ambiance (we totaled something over $200 before we gave up on the experience), get a little tipsy on a mostly empty stomach, and then go somewhere else to eat afterwards.
there’s something to be said about “shareable” small plates restaurants that try to sell you on enjoying less food for more money.
… more1. the flavors of the hokkaido scallop, chicken oyster, and duck meatball yakitori skewers were good, but they were comically small. think 1-2 mini skewers per yakitori order.
2. the japanese black cod plate was good and also, you guessed it, small.
3. the nigiri sake and hitachino nest red rice ale were great!!
4. all service staff were very kind and attentive
5. this is a great place to go if you want to spend a lot of $$ for ambiance (we totaled something over $200 before we gave up on the experience), get a little tipsy on a mostly empty stomach, and then go somewhere else to eat afterwards.
there’s something to be said about “shareable” small plates restaurants that try to sell you on enjoying less food for more money.
Paul Ocker
Chef Charles puts so much love into each dish! Tsubaki dining expiernce was exceptional. One of the best meal I have had in a long time. Each dish comes out perfectly presented and the flavor and freshness of everything totally compliments the presntation. Dish after dish the food continues to amaze your pallet. The combination of ingrediants is fantastic, we ate about 15 plates off the menu and each was exemplary.
The staff is warm and inviting and you feel like you have been eating there for years. Definitly book a reservation as this place is packed at 5:30 when the door open. That meal will always hold a special place in my food heart. Thank you Tsubaki for the food love! Much love.
… moreThe staff is warm and inviting and you feel like you have been eating there for years. Definitly book a reservation as this place is packed at 5:30 when the door open. That meal will always hold a special place in my food heart. Thank you Tsubaki for the food love! Much love.
Pilar Johnson
Came here for a birthday dinner it was great. I called ahead to bring out a surprise dessert, and our server was excellent. With the help of the server, I picked all of the plates and it was a surprise to everyone else.
I ordered:
japanese ‘latkes’
potato pancakes, dry-aged ora king salmon, iburi gakko, pickled cucumber, yuzu creme fraiche
fall market salad
kabocha squash, chicories, fuyu persimmon, brined meiji tofu, myoga ginger, furikake pepitas
shumai
steamed dungeness crab, pork, and shrimp dumplings, karashi, housemade rayu
ebi sumibi-yaki
charcoal-grilled blue prawns, garlic chive butter
short ribs nanban-style
braised short ribs, honeynut squash, rainbow carrots, pearl onions, sweet + sour glaze, shaved fennel salad
yuzu and fig leaf flan
kokuto caramel, roasted cuyama arkansas black apples
The prawns, short ribs were great. The flan was AMAZING. I could have done without the latkes, and the salad was a fun way to introduce persimmon and tofu in a salad but kind of a filler – which happens with salad so that’s fine.
Overall this a great spot, for date night for birthdays or whatever. This plus 2 sakes, for 2 people was about $170 including tax and tip.
… moreI ordered:
japanese ‘latkes’
potato pancakes, dry-aged ora king salmon, iburi gakko, pickled cucumber, yuzu creme fraiche
fall market salad
kabocha squash, chicories, fuyu persimmon, brined meiji tofu, myoga ginger, furikake pepitas
shumai
steamed dungeness crab, pork, and shrimp dumplings, karashi, housemade rayu
ebi sumibi-yaki
charcoal-grilled blue prawns, garlic chive butter
short ribs nanban-style
braised short ribs, honeynut squash, rainbow carrots, pearl onions, sweet + sour glaze, shaved fennel salad
yuzu and fig leaf flan
kokuto caramel, roasted cuyama arkansas black apples
The prawns, short ribs were great. The flan was AMAZING. I could have done without the latkes, and the salad was a fun way to introduce persimmon and tofu in a salad but kind of a filler – which happens with salad so that’s fine.
Overall this a great spot, for date night for birthdays or whatever. This plus 2 sakes, for 2 people was about $170 including tax and tip.