Best Japanese Speciality Restaurants in South Pasadena

Good food, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the excellent service. I will be back.

It was a really good experience because the food was excellent as well as the service. The staff is warm and welcoming and our meal was served promptly so it gave us time to relax and enjoy our meal before heading over to the theater with plenty of time. The prices are high and the menu isn’t as extensive as other Katsuya restaurants but it was fine for a special occasion.

Absolutely amazing good and quality. Would def go back. Courteous servers. They were a bit busy with 2 waitresses. Although they forgot one of our crab hand rolls actually worked out good as we were full.

I took my mom here for her birthday who is half Japanese and she had a wonderful time! We all really enjoyed experiencing flavors that were unique and fun to share with each other. We all ordered the omakase and ordered the almonds and chinmi separately. Maybe the only ding in the experience was the servers mispronounced omakase, which was weird considering it's a high-end Japanese restaurant. They don't put the emphasis on "ma", rather they make it sound like kamikaze which is off-putting at the ordering stage. I loved the Grilled California Holstein Beef Strip the most. It was so simple to look at, but the flavor of the beef with the salt crystals was divine. Loved the fresh seaweed shot with grapes! This made all of us say Wow! The omakase came with a mackerel sushi roll which wasn't on the menu, but it was a flavor bomb. The steamed rice was beautiful with the pork jowl. I could eat that rice on its own though! The miso soup was super tasty! I would skip the shiitake tempura but it's part of the omakase. Too oily, don't eat the whole thing. The new katsu with wagyu beef is a huge amount of food. My mom ate 1/4 of it and had to take the rest home, but my boyfriend ate the whole thing! The cocktails were fantastic, along with the sake pairings throughout our meal. The bartender was stellar. Loved the Yuzu Reviver (vodka) and the Old Fashioned. We left feeling full and satisfied, but not stuffed. It was all delicious! Expect a 2 1/2 hour delectable experience! Enjoy!

Terrific food and wonderful service. The fish was as fresh as you can get.