Thursday, December 18, 2008

Los Angeles Famous Restaurants: Geisha House



Dinner at the Geisha House may probably be the best restaurant dinner experience ever as far as my memory serves me! This is another one co-owned by Ashton Kutcher and gang that sits on Hollywood BLVD. It's a Japanese themed establishment that looks a bit sketchy on the outside.


This time there were three of us and once we were all we were seated right away on a 7:30 Tuesday. There was much more of a crowd than Dolce the day before. We immediately noticed how cool the place looked and wondering if the big and loud Arab-looking family next to us was really Arab or not. There were 2 floors and some more exclusive seating rooms on the first floor.

The servers and staff in general were really great and totally on top of their game. There was always someone available within sight and our server made some great suggestions for us. The sushi we ordered to start with was definitely the best sushi I've ever had. My favorite was a spicy tuna topped with avocado, grape tomato, and serrano pepper they call the red samurai.




I ordered a beef udon noodle dish that came out first; the beef was really tender and flavorful. However I just couldn't figure out how to eat noodles with those large Asian soup spoons.



However the best thing that came out on the table that night was my cousin's black cod. We always share our food, but the 3 of us couldn't keep our chopsticks out of her plate. I'm telling you people, fish is just not meant to taste this good! It literally melted in our mouths and left a lasting tangy yet spicy flavor.




We were planning on doing desert somewhere else, but the food was so good that we couldn't leave without trying the deserts. I was rather disappointed that they didn't have a specialty coffee menu like they did the teas. After too many oohs and aahhs we settled on the fruit-filled wontons and the fried banana tempura.


Desert was really good but not as great as the food was, in fact we've had better banana tempura. I think the wontons would be amazing if they stuffed them with more fruit and cream. The dipping sauce was a bit too sweet for me especially because the wontons already tasted sweet.

One thing I loved about this place and is probably why we had such a great experience is the atmosphere; we were having so much fun! They had a great DJ there that played jams like Galvanize by the Chemical Brothers and Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega. The music wasn't too loud that you couldn't hear people talking to you but loud enough to make you feel like breaking down. At one point he played a remix of some old school Backstreet Boys and we got a good laugh when we realized everyone, including the Arab family, was enthusiastically singing along. We took pictures galore in and out of that place!

The food was all on the light side so we weren't overly stuffed, just comfortably full. Our bill was less than $140 which we all agreed was well worth the money especially considering all the stuff we ordered. If you're ever in the Los Angeles area make sure dining at the Geisha House is on your list of things to do!









7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is too much food for three girls :-) I am kidding I know how delicious Japanese food is. Of course my favorite is Sushi but also their Salmon is always a treat as well. Unfortunately, my budget doesn’t allow me to eat Sushi every day not even every week :-)
Visit Laguna Beach I went there once and I would like to go there again; very beautiful. Specially, for someone like me who is stuck between the Midwest’s mountains and still have to finish a final project which is due tomorrow.

Heather said...

Mmmm that looks so good :) I'm glad you had a great time!!

Hani Obaid said...

I Can't handle the raw fish by itself, so I stick to Maki rolls which wrap it inside seaweed with rice.

The other day I read a blog post about a high class NY restaurant which follows a Japanese Geisha tradition called Nyataimori. Basically it's sushi, but served on top of a nude woman instead of a plate. I don't think I like the idea of my plate staring back at me!

cloudy stars said...

abiiiiii arou7 ;(
bil 3afya hun and glad u had fun ;*

Hamza said...

Hani - OMG, this thing really exists. :S :S :S

eshda3wa said...

ASOOOOOOOOM

I DIDNT KNOW THIS EXISTED !!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN
WHY DIDNT I KNOW!

asoom said...

jaraad, haha actually the portions were on the small side and the food was generally light so we could have even eaten more. Don't worry when you graduate and get a real job you'll get to have sushi every week if you want. I've never been to laguna beach but I used to watch that show....but mountains sound like fun too..you get to do snow sports! Good like with your project.

Goofy, it was the best, thanks!

Hani, I never heard of that but it sounds like it should be illegal from the sanitary perspective alone!

Cloudy, yes you have to try it!


Hamza, I myself never heard of it

Eshda3wa, I think it's only been open for a year so it's relatively new...but if you could only eat in one LA restaurant make it the Geisha House!