Izakaya Osen offers a variety of high-quality sushi, skewers, rice bowls, and hot pot, perfect for anyone’s appetite. This restaurant is great for casual lunches and premium dining. Izakaya Osen operates in Irvine and Silverlake. However, if you fancy the finer dining experience, there is an Omakase Osen a few blocks north of the Silverlake location.
The Izakaya Osen Experience
We opted to dine at the Silverlake location during lunch. Parking at Silverlake is never a joke, but the parking lot had a valet attendant. The valet cost was $7 with validation. We also had a reservation (via Yelp), which is always handy if you’re worried about a potential wait. If you go right as the restaurant opens, you should be fine.
The menu has many sections, including lunch specials, kushiyaki (skewers), sushi/sashimi, starters (appetizers), salad, signature bowl (premium rice bowls), cold signature plate, premium sushi & sashimi omakase, hot pot, nabe, hot signature plate (cooked fish/meat), makimono (rolls), hand roll, desserts, and drinks. The descriptions are fairly straightforward, and there’s always Yelp for visual guidance.
The staff is friendly and helpful in providing recommendations on menu items. We could tell there is an overall positive dynamic between the staff. The restaurant is fairly sized. You can opt to sit at the counter, table, or outside.
The Omakase Experience
We opted for the sushi omakase, which has 12 pieces of premium nigiri assortments. This was a $95 plate, so there were high expectations of the overall experience. I did not catch the name of every nigiri when the staff named them out. However, the way I prefer to consume any assortment is to go for my “least favorite” pieces and save my favorite ones at the end. There’s a debate about whether saving the best for last is worthwhile. The biggest risk includes not enjoying its flavor completely because you could be full by then. Thankfully, that’s not a risk I’m worried about.
The sushi omakase plate itself looked amazing. The salmon nigiri had a slice of truffle on top. The amaebi is topped with ikura. The fatty tuna is topped with real caviar. They didn’t mess around and cut corners with tobiko. This is the real deal. Even the seared nigiri was amazing. I really enjoyed my “least favorite” nigiri. That set the bar high.
We are seasoned sushi connoisseurs. We don’t dip our nigiri straight into the soy sauce. We put a dab of wasabi on top of the fish and pick a bit of soy sauce on top, to enhance the flavor a little without making it seem like we’re only consuming soy sauce.
Highly recommend.
Kushiyaki (Skewers)
What is an ikakaya experience without skewers? There is a skewer for everyone.
The skewers are seasoned and grilled fresh. We tried the scallop, beef tongue, prime beef, cod, and jidori negima (chicken thigh with scallions).
- The scallop skewers were amazing. It didn’t taste fishy or chewy.
- The prime beef was also amazing as it melted in our mouths.
- The beef tongue was my least favorite. It tasted exactly what a beef tongue would taste, and it was very chewy. I thought it would be thinly sliced beef tongues (like the ones from Korean BBQ’s). It ain’t for me.
- The cod was very flavorful and broke apart like wet flakes as it was cooked to the perfect temperature. It was NOT dry.
- The jidori negima was the redeeming factor.
Overall, I had a great experience, and feel free to drop by if you’re ever in Silverlake! If not, check out my other LA Sushi Guides.
Izakaya Osen
2903 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026