Azabu - Whittier

I'd rate this place a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars (and my standards are pretty high). Pros: The service is excellent—management was attentive and checked in several times to ensure everything was going well. The restaurant itself is beautifully designed, modern, and a great spot for a fun date night or meeting up with friends. There's also plenty of street parking in Uptown Whittier, which is always a plus. The presentation of the dishes is impressive for the most part, and the smoked Old Fashioned is both tasty and Instagram-worthy (if you're into that, lol). Most of the entrees felt fresh, which is a huge positive. Cons: It seems like more focus went into creating the ambiance than perfecting the food. While some dishes looked amazing, a few fell flat in terms of flavor, which was disappointing. For instance, the sushi rolls lacked sauce, with one roll coming out dry. The truffle garlic fries were served on a flat plate, and after sitting for a while, a pool of truffle oil collected, leaving the fries soggy. Using a cone dish like other high-end places would prevent this (just a suggestion, lol). The prices are on the higher side, and although the mixed drinks looked good, none of them stood out taste-wise—no one in my group ordered the same drink twice. Conclusion: It's definitely worth checking out, and with a few tweaks, this place has the potential to be a fantastic restaurant. I'll be giving it another shot the next time I'm in Uptown Whittier.

Food was absolutely delicious! We tried the wagyu dumplings (10/10 just wish there were more than 3 in an order! , Queen Roll, Geisha Roll, Azabu Crunch Roll and Chicken Fried Rice. Everything tasted so good. Very helpful and attentive staff. We had multiple people check on us throughout our dining experience. It was quiet when we first got there with just a few parties at the bar and at tables but by the time we left it was nearly full. Can't wait to go back soon!

It was a busy Friday night. The place was full, with crowds waiting outside (which is usually a good sign of a great restaurant). We forgot to make a reservation so we waited at the bar for our table, which isn't a problem. While at the bar, we ordered some drinks and oyster shooters. Both were good, as expected. We finally got our table but it took another 20 min for our waitress to take our orders. Unfortunately, our food took even longer. It took about 30 min for the first dish, Yellowtail carpaccio, and about 15-20min between each dish to come out. We ordered 4 dishes so the last one didn't come out until almost an hour later. 4 ? for the quality of the food. 4 ? for the ambience. 2 ? for the service.

The sashimi was amazing! I had the salmon and the yellowtail. The desert was delicious as well. Chocolate sushi roll.

The dinner experience was incredible. Staff was energetic, helpful in explaining the food/menu, and positive. The food was tasty and presentation was superb. I went with a work group and it was a great fit. There was a small area for outside seating which was nice.