Great food, drinks, vibe, location, and service! The manager also made our experience amazing. Turns out, he is a brotha from Ghana!

Dinner for 5 at Taberu last night. Another of the many places in Arts District trying to be hip, and mostly succeeding in much the same way places in the Art District tend to. The vibe matches the surroundings, young-ish 20-30 somethings out for something that feels fresh. Fun, Japanese small plates. Not a place you go for value. - food was good to great, so 4 stars there -service was great, five stars - atmosphere was hip and lively, if that is your thing 5 stars - value , lots and lots of small plates to make a meal, not bad, 4 stars

I'm still thinking about the Pai Kho Ramen I ate two days ago. The Katsu had the perfect crisp! My friends and I dined here on Tuesday evening, we had made a reservation, but when we got there, it was far from busy! Very lovely modern interior. It was a bit of a challenge ti find because there's no name outside. The staff was very patient with us because we didn't know what we wanted to order. Our server even brought over a box of mock food which was a great visual. As I had stated, I got the Pai Kho Ramen. My friends ordered the same, with a side of yakitori. Street parking is pretty limited. We parked in a lot that was $10/hour. I recommend Taberu :)

Great and engaging service. Solid food. Fantastic drinks. Humble, tidy interior with a clean restroom. Passionate owner and staff. Thanks for the experience!

Came here last Friday for a late dinner on a whim. Upon walking in the restaurant is a bit small but has a modern, somewhat industrial, clean, & Japanese vibe. The service we received was exemplary. We were served by Savior (I hope I spelled his name correctly) who was also the manager & he took GREAT care of us. His recommendations were perfect & delicious! We tried the Chile relleno**, Yakisoba**, & Oyako salmon skewers from the Yasai Maki grill they were soooo good but we could've done without the salmon tbh because the ones I've starred were CHEFS KISS! Those two were soo good we literally ordered them twice! We also tried to Wow Gyu Uni Donabe which was also delicious & very filling (also make sure you mix the uni into the rice prior to eating it straight away lol). Moving on to the drinks: I ordered the Mango Tango to start which had a mango sherbet on top & was the perfect amount of alcohol to drink ratio. My boyfriend got the Watermelon high bowl which was literally served in a glass & also half of a (smallish) watermelon. According to him it wasn't very strong but upon drinking it we noticed the alcohol was towards the bottom of the watermelon/glass. This drink was really refreshing! We left this placed STUFFED. However, I definitely want to come back for the Tokyo Laksa as my favorite noodle soup is Laksa and as a half Malaysian woman Laksa stood out to me & I have high standards when it comes to this dish! Can't wait to come back!

Food****// it's definitely one of the few good izakaya I've tried so far in LA. I like the variety they offer and also flavor is right on the spot especially paired with their house chili sauce. It's on the pricier side but nowadays everything is so expensive... Service****// good service, they remove empty dishes right away and also provide us utensils upon request. Refill waters 2 times and check in as well Ambiance****// I like the interior and the vibe they create, they got long table that can probably fit like 20 ppl which is kind of cool. Also the blackout toilet design add the trendy look and also easier for maintenance I guess loll

If you're looking for a fusion Japanese style place to have some drinks and good eats at with your friends this is a good choice. This place is located in the eat of the Art District on the always busy corner of traction/3rd street. They do take reservations on opentable/yelp and definitely recommended for those peak hours. Parking is a pain always in the Art District but if you circle around you can find free street parking around. Worst case there a few paid lots/meters around. They have both indoor and outdoor heated seating available. We had a party of 5 so got seated outside even though we had a RSVP. The menu has a pretty good selection of apps, salad, rolls, yasai maki, and mains. Definitely ask for the yasai maki presentation to see all the sample izakaya items before ordering too! We literally got items in every categories. Highly recommended: Apps: Seafood Tartar - avocado, tuna, salmon, yellowtail, okura, ginger, onsen egg, crispy rice cakes in a citrus dressing. This dish is absolutely stunning visually. It looks more like a deconstructed tartar with they pour the osen (soft boiled) egg on top served with the crispy rice cakes you use as a eating vessel. The citrus dressing in this dish was literally mouth watering, dish licking delicious! Mains: WOW Gyu Donabe - succulent wagyu beef strips laid on top of garlic rice w/ creamy strips of uni and ikura (2ppl). This dish was absolutely the star of the night in both presentation and just favorite dish. The wagyu is water melting tender, served on fresh creamy strips of uni and crispy garlic rice. Not to mention the presentation they do when serving your table! It comes in a clay pot that smokes when they open it so get those cameras ready! Rolls: Oyako Roll - Golden fried with salmon and yuzu infused salmon roe. If you love a crunchy roll this is totally your jam! The crispy tempura battered crust with the salmon sashimi inside topped with savory popping salmon roe glazed with that yuzu sauce. Yum Yum with every bite indeed! Yasai Maki: Yaki Niku Maki - Japanese BBQ Beef with Tare sauce. If you're a Beef lover this is an absolute MUST order item! The beef is grilled perfectly medium rare so its super tender! The sweet savory BBQ sauce glazed on top with just a dash of chopped scallions for that slight bite. BLT - This was one of the more interesting bites! It's like a bacon roll with chopped lettuce inside topped with mystery sauce. If you closed your eyes you can totally taste all the components of a BLT! Overall a good dining experience! The servers were super attentive and friendly with there presentation and service. We loved our enthusiastic server that even sang "A WHOLE NEW WORLD" during his WOW Gyu Donabe" presentation LOL. Definitely preferred the indoor dining when we had booked days in advance since its quite cold and windy outside even with the heaters. Still a good fun place to come chill with your friends or for a date night.