KOI Restaurant
Where: 730 N La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles CA 90069 United States
Phone: +1 (310) 659-9449
Website: http://www.koirestaurant.com/
What craving to satisfy: Trendy McJapanese
Who to take with you: Old friends, someone you like, someone you want to like you, mum – dad when you’re late twenties and above.
What you can expect to pay: $80 – $100 per person including drinks and tips
After a day of getting lost on the coast in the mustang, negotiating the infamous LA crap-town traffic, a peaceful journey in the hotel ‘house car’ – a jaguar with beautiful wood paneling – to Koi was much appreciated! Koi seemed to feature in almost every reality TV show, so S* and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.
Two doors: one see through, the other, a large heavy wooden door that seemed decorative and useless. Of course, it was the wooden door that was the entrance to the restaurant.
We were looked after by the epitome of LA waiters, that is, Mr waiter slash aspiring actor, who was almost too cool to be serving us. But that’s ‘cool’, we were in LA after all! His recommendations of signature dishes and wine were enjoyable.
The Lobster Tacos were our favorite. It was a chilled lobster and mayo filling stuffed in a wonton like thin bite sized taco with a ramekin of guacamole. The taco was surprisingly crunchy for something that encased a generous spoon of moist lobster. Crispy rice with tuna was a great idea, not like anything we have had before. The tuna was a mousse like texture in it’s raw form with spring onions mixed through. I was not very excited about this one and would have preferred a ceviche like salsa with the crunchy rice. I enjoyed the clean, light, yet earthy shiitake steamed sea bass. This was a lovely way to finish our meal.
Lobster tacos
Tuna on crispy rice
Koi dragon roll with baked crab
Steamed sea bass with chilli and shiitake mushrooms
haha ‘Trendy McJapanese’… I didn’t know there was such a thing until now