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| - With all due respect to previous reviewers, I feel it necessary to add a bit of moderation here. We come from LA and are used to pretty terrific Japanese food (try Sushi Kimagure in Pasadena for a lovely kaiseki experience outside of midtown Manhattan). The food here is good, but it is too expensive for what it is. We got the multi-course $125 per person kaiseki dinner. The sake menu is slim and there are no inexpensive options; it is missing most of the reasonable favorites one is used to finding. Our check with tip was around $500 for two people. Yes, you read that correctly. Furthermore, our dinner was identical to the couple next to ours who did the $100 dinner - we simply got one extra course. The staff is nice, the dishes are well crafted and attractive. The food is really good (sometimes over-sauced or overcooked - you get the idea), but it is not really, really great - and it darn well better be if I am paying that much. It is sort of a trendy, hipster version of an authentic kaiseki experience, from my perspective. That is reflected in the food preparation, alcohol selection, pricing and general vibe. It just isn't on par with the great Japanese meals I have eaten in NY, Vancouver and LA. I am not going to belabor the details, if you have eaten high end kaiseki meals, you will see what I mean. Good, but not amazing. And they need to offer people sake options that do not force them to spend another 200 bucks. Yikes.
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