K-ZO

Mmmmmmmm… my neighbors own this place and my friend Ginny and I have been wanting to try it. BEST TEMPURA I have ever had! Yum. Will be coming back for that again and again.
Ginny had tempura with some sushi and sashimi, and said it was great.
Yuki and Kenzo have done a wonderful job with the décor, chic and modern. Cool crowd, lots of people from Sony Studios.

Great sushi to go! I used Post Mates and when it got to me the sushi looked beautifully packaged. They even put a little sauce tray for my soy sauce. Great prices

I ordered spicy tuna roll and spicy albacore. They both taste fresh. The rice is from sushi rice. They are not dry or sticky. They make the rice perfect

*** 5-​star happy hour 5−7pm and all nite Mon-​Tue. ***
Score! I love this place, especially for its happy hours.
It is quaint. Contempo style adds to its appeal as well.
Popcorn shrimp jalapeño roll … delicious, my fave … 5
Spicy albacore roll … soft texture, tasty, and fresh … 4
Baby back ribs (2pcs) … surprisingly meaty, nice … 4
Fried calamari … light and crispy; not oily at all … 4
Asahi & Sapporo on tap, variety of wines, lychee … 4
I like the lava cake for dessert; it oozes chocolate … 5
*** Nice dinner spot yet unexpected happy hr value. ***

One word: Omasake.
As Drake would say — BEST I EVER HAD.
If I could eat at K-​ZO everyday, I would. Bae took me here for Valentine’s Day and it was the perfect dinner. We sat at the bar right in front of the head chef (forgot his name, but he was amazing) and had a blast. We did the Omasake dinner which was basically whatever the chef wanted to serve us depending on what is fresh/​in season.
Every single bite was like Heaven and we didn’t even need soy sauce (the chef kept reminding us lol). Service was on point and the ambiance was nice and chill. K-​ZO is like a humble, yet class, cozy place to enjoy some bomb ass sashimi.
Prior to V-​day, the boyf and I had dinner at K-​ZO during restuarant week and had a pleasant experience. Food was delicious and the prix-​fixe dinner price was definitely worth it!
Bottom line– this place is the real deal. I would totes recommend it!

items ordered: Dnner Prix Fixe — Bamboo Course
$ 58 per person
HORS D’OEUVRES
ROKUTEN MORI — 6 petite appetizer — this had Ankimo (monkfish liver), octopus, string beans, and some other veggies. I don’t like Ankimo usually, but this was ok. The octopus was chewy
SALAD
Chef’s Choice of Sashimi Salad — Our Sashimi salad had salmon and fish eggs. I enjoyed the salad, the salmon was great
ENTREE
Choice of meat dish of the day (Filet) The Filet was tasty and tender, the sauce was great. better than the Chilean Sea Bass
or
Cooked fish dish of the day (Chilean Sea Bass) — The fish was pretty good, bu recommend the beef.
SUSHI
Chef’s choice of three peice of Nigiri sushi and a Roll Tuna and spanish mackerel nigiri was great, same with the blue crab handroll.
DESSERT
Dessert of the day
PREMIUM TEA
Premium tea of your choice (Green Tea, Buckwheat Tea, Roasted Green Tea, or Coffee)
Additional items — Sashimi Carpaccio, Toro cut roll and Softshell crab
Overall food was good, but just not worth the price. We ordered the Prix Fixe meal, the Bamboo course, $ 58 per person. We ordered Sashimi Carpaccio, soft shell crab in addition to start, and then we added toro cut roll to supplement. Our bill totaled up to $ 175 before tip for just two people.

TERRIBLE SERVICE — Outside at least. Our waitress barely came by and we had to shout to get her over to see us. Even after saying not to forget about us, her attentiveness still was missing. The worst part was that the restaurant was empty on a Tuesday night, or I would have been more understanding.
ENVIRONMENT
Indoor seating and bar and a narrow outside patio (where you may or may not receive service)
Great happy hour! Very affordable (unless our waitress gave us a discount I didn’t notice.)
APPS
Edamame — not good, almost seemed frozen
SUSHI
Blue Crab — I always love this roll and here it’s also good.
Spicy Tuna — Tasty and fresh

Service very friendly, nice atmosphere and great food.
So far I’ve only been once, but I would definitely recommend to friends looking for a good sushi outing when you realize you’ve been to Sugarfish one too many times. We sat at the sushi bar and ordered a good amount of it and in waves. I wish I could remember each item ordered bc, but we ordered so many. All delicious bites. And ended on a foie gras.
Looking forward to going back and recommending to friends.

Just moved to the area and conveniently welcomed by Dine LA menu at K-​Zo! We made a reservation by phone (can’t remember why Open Table wasn’t working). We arrived early and spent some time boozing at the bar. The bar is quite small but it looked like a few people were dining there as well.
Lychee fusion (soju infused with lychee) — delicious and refreshing!
Hitachino Nest Beer — japanese beer, BF claimed it to be his new favorite japanese beer!
I had the Dine LA menu consisting of:
Grilled octopus salad — the dressing was delicious and the grilled octopus perfection! that smokey flavor and tender octopus was juussst right.
Sushi Assortment — Nigiri with popcorn shrimp rolls. I have never seen so many fat lines on salmon before… melted in my mouth like buttah. white fish was also delicious. All other fish very fresh and surprisingly filling! Popcorn shrimp roll was basic (could have used some other sauce — maybe eel sauce?)
Purple Parfait — ice cream, taro, mochi, fruit? what more could you want! Actually I would have preferred if the mochi were a bit smaller. They were about quarter size and fluffy — still good just a bit big for the proportion of the dessert.
BF had the Bamboo Prix Fixe dinner (which I nibbled on throughout)
Green tea — very fragrant and often refilled with hot water
Rokuten Mori — 6 small amuse bouche size appetizers. All had good flavor but none that really wowed me
Tuna Sashimi Salad w/​roe — very delicious and refreshing! the fish was fresh and the salad had good balance to it with the roe
Chilean Sea Bass on bok Choy — Who can say no to chilean sea bass! It was delicious and cooked perfectly. I believe it was a miso glaze. I prefer my fish to have the skin on it for more juiciness but overall still a solid dish
Nigiri w/​crab handroll — his nigiri was same as mine. The crab handroll was very good. Crab meat was also very fresh
Strawberry panna cotta — basic, i’m not a fan of panna cotta in general though
Overall a very pleasant experience. Our server was very nice and attentive. Good cocktails, refreshing sushi, and good ambiance. My only gripe was that it was a bit pricey. At the end of the night we spent $ 150+ for two of us. Every now and then I’m willing to shell that much out for good sushi and drinks!

Dine LA lunch review.
RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE ! ! ! !
I rushed over to K O Rude to make it by 2:30. That’s the time Discover LA noted on the Dine LA website. That’s also what the Unilocal website says. I got there at 2:20 and they turned me away. I’m sorry sir last call was 5 minutes ago. R U F ing kidding me?
What the hell is last call for lunch.
If your lunch hours say you are open till 2:30 then honor it. Be gracious, hospitable. OR CHANGE THE INFORMATION TO 2:15 you… fill in the blank.

Suggested by a gf who comes often and knows good sushi, we popped in here for a late weeknight dinner with friends. I was very pleased to make a a new discovery.
The décor and ambiance is lovely. Average in size with alluring lighting. Shiny stones are on the table propping up chopsticks. I like the attention to small details.
We ordered mostly sushi, sashimi and a couple of rolls. We also got one of the 13 salads — no kidding, I’ve never seen so many lettuce options available at a sushi restaurant — and it was fresh, crisp and delicious. All the fish was good quality and very well cut.
They have a very nice wine list as well. Service was quite attentive and very friendly. I will definitely come back.

There’s something really special about a restaurant when you can walk in and feel excitement. It gives you a sense of adventure. Anticipation quivers your lips and stokes your appetite and K-​ZO is just the place to fill those needs.
Deco
The bright lights and modern straight line designs of Culver City imbue themselves inside this quaint yet chic Japanese sushi restaurant. From the moment you step inside K-​ZO you can see how the colors are vibrant and represent the ocean on each table top. The bar section is placed right in front of the entrance and lit low to create a smokey and mysterious atmosphere. However, the dining room space is a stark contrast. The dining room is well lit yet mellow enough to ease your eyes from low lighting of the entrance. The sushi bar is long and showcases the various sushi chefs behind them as they work their craft. It’s a good use of space although the narrow walkways between table to table are squeeze points.
Service
There is a comfort expressed by the staff from the moment you walk into K-​ZO. Perhaps it’s that hospitality of coming home the Japanese are so well known for or perhaps it’s simply the staff love what they do and such care can be seen even from new customers. Whatever it might be the welcoming atmosphere brings an ease with the coming meal.
Food
K-​ZO is a wonderful sushi restaurant. They use high-​quality fish and fresh ingredients in all their creations. Pair that with the skill and artistry of their chefs and you get exquisite flavors coming out from the kitchen. Currently with dineLA’s Restaurant Week in full effect for 2016 each diner gets a chance to really sample some of the great dishes and talent here at K-​ZO. Take for example one of the appetizers for their three-​course meals, the Rokuten Mori. This appetizer delivers six unique tastes of the ocean in one refined and clean presentation including oyster on the half shell and a thick slice of salmon sashimi topped with a truffle soy dressing. Though there are selections like filet mignon and pan roasted salmon for the entrées, if you truly want to get the taste of excellence at a sushi restaurant you must go for the sashimi. At K-​ZO each slice of yellowtail or salmon or if you’re lucky enough to try, the toro (fatty tuna that melts in your mouth), will bring a celebration of the senses from the richness and freshness of each bite. Entrées like this truly make you stop and savor each bite because you want to remember the happiness from this moment. Talk about existentialism!
Price
For restaurants of this quality and caliber it’s not surprising K-ZO’s menu would have items more in the $ 10 — $ 30 range than single-​digit but each item is worth it. Luckily, with dineLA’s Restaurant Week prix fixe menus going on you can sample a three course meal for $ 49. This restaurant is a must for that price range.
Conclusion
From the hospitality to the skill of technique K-​ZO is a dining experience every diner should partake in if you love sushi. Whether taking advantage of dineLA’s Restaurant Week offers or simply enjoying the evening make sure you come down to this wonderful Japanese restaurant for a great meal and leave fat and happy after.

5 Stars! Wow! I gotta say, this place is great. I am keen to Sugarfish and Izakaya myself so it means a lot for me to give this restaurant a well-​deserved 5 star rating.
The Food
We had the sashimi assortment. It was absolutely fresh. The presentation was nice. The plate was really pretty. It’s not something you get at Sugarfish so it was quite pleasant to see my sushi arranged so beautifully.
I also had this lychee infused drink. It was delightful. I do need to come back for that. perhaps not during lunch time
The Service
Staff was polite, attentive and very informative. They will answer your questions and make recommendations without a pause. Food is integral if you’re at a restaurant dining but the staff can make or break an amazing meal sometimes. And sometimes the staff itself makes the food taste extra sweet or deliciously satisfying. Thank god for amazing servers and sushi chefs
Overall, this place is worth checking out. If you are ever in the Culver City area and in the mood for sushi come visit KZO!‘
Happy Eating!

We went during New Years Eve without reservations and though it was a full house, the staff were very accommodating and managed to get us a table after a 30 min wait.
We ordered several small hot plates to share. I would recommend the sukiyaki if you want a nice blend of veggies and beef. The soba salad was an interesting fusion that was well balanced.
The salmon and cod dish were too salty for my palate and apart from the texture of the fish, tasted the same.
Overall experience was a ⁴⁄₅ but the food was a 3.5÷5

It’s the day after Christmas and after going to two closed sushi places, my friend and I ended up here. I wanted some nice sushi and from the Unilocal photos it looked like there were some cheaper (less than $ 20) combination offers for my friend. This was not the case tonight. As far as we saw, there wasn’t an option for a nigiri combo or a chirashi and there were a limited number of rolls (which we expected.) As a result she ended up just getting a spicy tuna roll and I got several small but delicious bites (that still ended up costing $ 60).
Based solely on the food and service, this place was a solid 4 stars. The servers checked up on us and were very polite and the food was delicious. My friend said her spicy tuna roll was good but didn’t comment beyond that. I personally got 4 items:
–Baraccuda (Kamasu) & Black Throat (Nodoguro) Nigiri (2 pieces each) which were both very fresh and flavorful and they were almost a bit creamy.
–Salmon wrapped Burrata: Great dish that really covered all kinds of flavors, a bit sour, richness, bites of saltiness, some bitterness from the greens, etc. It all comes together so well. The salmon quality itself was alright and didn’t stand out much.
–Toro Truffle Angeleno: Definitely a single bite that makes you remember how complicated the human palette is. Once again a wonderful balance of flavors. But honestly was a bit disappointed in the quality of the toro. Maybe they seared it a bit too much but it didn’t melt in my mouth. I also found the hollandaise a bit sweet. Overall still good but for $ 14 a bite I expected perfection.
Overall, a delicious meal but next time I’ll come with a friend who’s looking for a more formal meal or maybe I’ll try coming during lunch.

I tried K-​ZO for lunch a couple of days ago when I was working in Culver City. K-​ZO is a small place located in the heart of downtown Culvery City sandwiched between a Trader Joe’s and the public parking lot. At the peak lunch hour the place was completely full and I was given the option of either sitting at the sushi bar or on the outside patio. I picked the outside patio but at the last minute a table opened up inside so I was shuttled back inside. Like every other trendy place in LA the inside was extremely loud which made me regret my decision to move inside. Anyway now that I was in I just had to suck it up and deal with it.
I went through the menu and decided to get the Rib Eye Teriyaki Combo ($ 18.95) which consists of Rib eye teriyaki steak and a choice of tempura, sushi or sashimi from which I selected the sushi option. The female server who took my order was extremely standoffish and behaved as if she was doing me a favor by taking my order. After about 5 minutes I was served a soup and salad at the same time. The soup was your standard miso soup and salad was the ordinary boring salad that you get in any Japanese restaurant. There was absolutely no zing in the dressing of the salad to liven it up or anything worth mentioning about the soup. After another 10 minutes or so I got the Rib Eye Teriyaki Combo plate. The presentation was very fancy. It was a long plate with three sections starting with the sushi on the left, Teriyaki in the center and some fancy presentation consisting of fried and mashed potato on the right.
I started with the Teriyaki. It was stone cold. The sauce on top tried to save the day but it failed. The quality of the beef was definitely better than the regular beef teriyaki that you get in other Japanese restaurants but its execution was a complete failure. The quantity was also limited to five small strips of beef that seem to have been precooked then hurriedly heated and sent out. The right hand side despite all the color and fancy presentation was simply mashed potato and crispy fries both of which were pretty good. The sushi was the best item on the plate. It consisted of three pieces of spicy tuna roll and three pieces of nigiri sushi. The spicy tuna roll was just above average and I’ve had much better spicy tuna roll in many mom and pop places in Torrance. The nigiri sushi was good. I’m no expert in sushi but even I could make out that this was good stuff.
I looked around and saw that I was the only one that had ordered the stupid Teriyaki Combo. Everyone one else as ordering sushi or sashimi. My advise would be to stick to sushi if you pan to come to K-​ZO as that is what it is known for and go to some other Japanese restaurant if you want «kitchen dishes». The Teriyaki Combo that I ordered was definitely not worth its price tag so I guess the next time that I want to spend a ton for lunch I know where I’m supposed to go, but that is not going to be anytime soon.

I had pretty high expectations for this place as it has good reviews and the pictures look amazing. I was definitely impressed with everything that we ordered:
1) Suzuki — Seabass with mashed taro and bak Choy 5/​5, the fish melted in your mouth and the dish was not too salty.
2) blue crab hand roll — 3.5÷5 good but not great
3) spicy tuna on crispy rice — ⁴⁄₅ surprisingly spicier than I expected and loved the crispness of the rice.
4) seafood salad — 3.75÷5 dressing was good and they give you good pieces of sashimi.
5) white fish with truffle — ⁵⁄₅ you can see the truffle!!! So good!
6) Salmon with burrata — 4.5÷5 sounds odd but it is worth trying. The dish is beautiful and has so many flavors to it that surprise you.
7) hamachi collar — ⁴⁄₅ cooked perfectly and the ponzo just made it better
8) mushrooms — ⁵⁄₅ odd order but it was one of the best dishes we got
9) hamachi verde — ⁴⁄₅ interesting herb flavors with the fish and cucumber.
Apparently they have happy hour all day on Mondays and Tuesday’s so want to check that out.
Service was also outstanding, I was never thirsty :)
Parking is the same as trader joes parking and is free for 2 hours.

I’d say four stars adequately places K-​ZO on the Unilocal map. I’ve heard about this place forever and came in to try the $ 18 lunch special. The space is a bit modern and offers indoor and outdoor seating.
For the lunch special price you get a miso soup, a salad, a selection of sushi and a spicy tuna roll. You can also do a sashimi selection for the same price. The quality of the fish was very good. However I didn’t like that they allow no substitutions for the special. I would have preferred a blue crab hand-​roll to the spicy tuna roll but it was not allowed. To try to oder a-​la-​carte would have been pricy, so stick to the specials at lunch time.
Since this is in the heart of Culver City, parking is a bear, but if you come a bit before noon you should be able to find street parking.

K-​ZO is a Japanese sushi restaurant (with some Japanese /​French fusion elements and chef /​owner Keizo Ishiba [Keizo = K-​ZO] was a former head chef of Sushi Roku) located in the heart of the Culver City. It received «Bib Gourmand» from Michelin in 2009.
Parking: See the giant Trader Joe’s sign? K-​ZO shares the same parking structure as Trader Joe’s. First two hours is free and additional $ 1/​hour after first two hours. No validation required.
I was able to make a same-​day reservation for the DineLA. When I initially walked into the restaurant, the staff immediately greeted their guests with «irasshaimase!» (welcome in Japanese). At the same time, I realized that I was actually the 1^st customer of the night (came here around 5:30 PM). Initially the staff assigned me a table, but I asked whether I could switch from a table to sushi bar and my waitress said «Sure». During the meal, sushi chef politely told me that I can order additional sushi if I am still hungry. The whole DineLA dinner course lasted about 1 ~ 1.25 hour and I was pretty full at the end of the meal.
If you look at their regular menu, K-​ZO offers Prix Fixe menu ($ 58 Bamboo Course [chef’s choice of sushi] and $ 78 Pine Tree Course). What you are getting for the DineLA dinner menu ($ 50 dinner) is pretty much similar to their Prix Fixe menu, except slightly cheaper & you don’t get one additional entrée (meat or fish dish of the day).
*** DineLA $ 50 Dinner ***
Seaweed cucumber salad: Yuzu vinaigrette was a bit too strong for me, but it wasn’t a bad start.
[Appetizers] Rokuten Mori (6 petite appetizers)
* Ankimo Yuzu-​miso (monkfish liver pâté with sweet miso dressing): For some odd reason, the sauce tasted like a BBQ sauce. Excellent monkfish liver texture, very smooth.
* Oyster Ceviche (fresh oyster on the half shell topped with house speical ceviche dressing): Tiny, but tasty oyster — decent at best because other appetizers tasted better.
* Seafood Croquet (mixed seafood and potato croquet): Hot, hot, hot (almost burned my tongue)! It had this basil aftertaste.
* Hamachi Verde (yellowtail sashimi with original sweet herb miso sauce): Oh … the wasabi nostril rush. Just like crispy albacore below, amazing piece of sashimi and personally my 2^nd favorite appetizer.
* Crispy albacore (crispy wonton on albacore sashimi): Albacore melted in my mouth with weaker sweet & sour vinaigrette aftertaste. I think this was my favorite appetizer out of the six I had.
* Chilled miso corn soup — Icy cold soup … no spoon, you just have to sip it … probably the most interesting appetizer.
[Entrée] Sushi Assortment (tuna, yellowtail, salmon, white fish, albacore, Japanese scallop, Unagi nigiri, & popcorn shrimp asparagus cut roll): No warm rice for nigiri, but most fishes had melt-​in-​your-​mouth texture. As a casual sushi fan, I really liked the overall quality. Now if you are picky, then I don’t think fish to rice ratio was exactly ideal. Other than tuna and eels (both were still good, but not as good as they could be), everything else didn’t fall short of expectations. Cut rolls had warm rice, but flavor was bland … so I had to use some soy sauce to enhance its taste.
* Supplemental Toro Scallion & Alaskan King Crab Leg sushi, additional $ 14: Not worth extra money, just don’t get it. Toro tasted mushy and such a tiny piece for king crab leg sushi …
[Dessert] Purple Parfait (a scoop of vanilla ice cream, red beans, and mochi balls topped with Okinawa purple sweet potato sauce): Amazing and unique dessert. At first, I was like «what are these round things?» and OMG those were rice balls (a bit tasteless, but SO CHEWY). It had Pocky sticks, kiwi, strawberry blueberry, almond chips on the top, and vanilla ice cream at the bottom. Overall this dessert got a bit of crunchiness (from almond & Pocky sticks), chewiness (rice ball), and smoothness (ice cream). Loved this dessert.
***
You are essentially getting what you paying for — a VERY solid DineLA dinner experience (just don’t get the $ 14 supplemental toro /​king crab sushi option). Not exactly the right place if you are looking for the BEST SoCal sushi (e.g. Asanebo), but K-​ZO has some creative and interesting dishes that you won’t find at other sushi places (e.g. Rokuten Mori & Purple Parfait). A solid 4.5 stars in my book.

I keep hearing about this K-​Zo place from so many people and I saw it on the DineLA list so I had to try it! Definitely coming back! Without a doubt, this spot is now on one of my top sushi spots in LA.
Dinner for DineLA is $ 50 and it comes with 3 courses (appetizer, entrée and dessert). For the appetizer, I went with Rokuten Mori, which has 6 mini-​appetizers on a plate. My favorite item was the Hamachi Verde, which was nicely balanced with the green miso sauce. The presentation is top-​notch. The chilled miso corn soup was not something that I was used to so I can’t say anything positive about that.
I chose the sushi assortment and I was pretty happy with it! There was a great variety of different types of sushi. My favorites were the unagi and salmon. The unagi literally melted in my mouth. If it wasn’t for the dineLA menu, I would’ve ordered a couple unagis easily! Haven’t had unagi that was that good in a long time. You could definitely taste the quality with every bite.
My dessert choice was the fruit tapioca cocktail and I was pretty disappointed. When the plate was brought out to me, the ice cream was already half way melted and the coconut sauce even further dilutes the ice cream taste. I wish I ordered the Purple Parfait instead. Normally I wouldn’t order dessert but it is already included in the set menu. I would gladly use the dessert on another order of sushi instead.
Parking is pretty easy– there is a structure that is connected to the restaurant/​Trader Joe’s. It’s 2 hours free and the restaurant doesn’t validate. If you have a reservation, you can easily get in and out within 2 hours.
All in all, this is a fantastic restaurant for quality sushi. I would definitely come back~~next time without the set DIneLA menu. This will give me the chance to explore the menu a little more!