one of my new personal mini projects is to try every restaurant on sawtelle blvd in west l.a. others have referred to this strip of sawtelle from olympic blvd., north to about nebraska, as "sawtelle alley" and even "little osaka," little tokyo's kid sister. i've been to many of the restaurants there, but now starts a concerted effort to try them all.
i start with yuuki, a restaurant that has never gotten any mention in any restaurant review or messageboard. but no matter, because they definitely don't need the press. at 9:00 on a sunday, every booth in the joint is taken. it's a casual place, serving informal japanese cafe fare - teriyaki, udon/soba, a few maki sushi (rolls), and the like. it's not a place you'd drive a long while to get to - there are plenty of places just like it that are local to you. that's what yuuki is - it's local to the folks who live in the densely packed apartment community surrounding sawtelle who take a walk on sunday night down to yuuki to grab a quick bite.
for sawtelle, the waitresses' english is surprisingly accent-free. they bring pickled radish and a tiny plate of hiyayakko (raw tofu) with fresh ginger and green onions to the table with the menu. we ordered nasu miso (eggplant with miso) and chicken teriyaki. the chicken came out in the universally accepted way to serve teriyaki - on a large flat plate with an iceberg lettuce "salad" topped with sweet ginger dressing and a perfectly round scoop of rice. it was all good, but i probably don't necessarily need to go back.
yuuki restaurant
2021 sawtelle blvd.
los angeles, ca 90025
310.478.6404
Anonymous says
Only one waitress there has no accent. We have met several people from out of the L.A. area, who make it a point to eat there whenever they're in town. We're there every week and have enjoyed it every single time. Everytime we try something new on the menu, we've never been disappointed. Try something other than the regular teriyaki that you can order at any typical Japanese restaurant.