Sake House

One of the hip little spots of mid-city is Sake House, though it's still fairly undiscovered. It's more unique than many of the sushi joints I've been to not because of their sushi menu, but because they offer what seems to be a random assortment of Japanese tapas (which somehow includes pizza?). It feels a bit like a hipster place when you walk in with the wooden booths and the retro accessories, but they have a decent beer price and the sushi isn't over-priced either. Granted, it's not the best sushi I've ever had, but for a $5 spicy tuna roll, it's really about the best you can get. I've never tried the specialty rolls here, but they sure are interesting. It's a good place for groups or couples where not everyone likes sushi because there are enough tapas options to suit anyone's desires. We tried the Nan-Pizza which is pretty much a flatbread pepperoni pizza, but it really is quite good. We also tried the Gyu-Tataki, the seared beef with ponzu (we love our ponzu). It was so good we ordered another! Other tapa highlights include the potato croquet, shishito peppers, dynamite, Karaage (Japanese fried chicken), and the Takoyaki (grilled octopus pancake with dried bonito) - though we haven't tried these, but they look interesting. Uni bowls in a few different varieties are another viable dinner option. Everything is pretty good, but it is disappointing that they charge an extra $0.50 for ponzu when most places offer it at no charge. Another great aspect of Sake House is the hours. They stay open until midnight M-Su and until 1:00 AM on Friday & Saturday, though they are closed on Sunday. If you are into Shabu-Shabu, Sake House owns Shabu Shabu Ya just a couple of doors down on La Brea. Unfortunately Sake House and Shabu Shabu Ya do not have valet, so finding street parking can be difficult, but it's usually manageable. I'd plan on spending about $15-25 a person here, more if you plan on binge eating or drinking.

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