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I love Japanese breakfasts for their variety, fresh flavors, and healthiness, and this place seamlessly blends that with a wonderful Japanese/French twist. I’ll definitely have to come back and try their dinner sometime. The restaurant is relatively small. We arrived right when they opened and were seated immediately, but it filled up quickly afterward. The service, while friendly, felt a bit disorganized—three different staff members tried to bring us the bill while we were still waiting for dessert, likely due to how busy they were.
I’ve gotten to eat here twice now and I’ve enjoyed myself! I think I would dock 1 star solely because after finishing my meal, I’m still hungry. Portions are not big at all. I’m also not someone that eats much, so that tells me something. However, I’ve enjoyed dining here for the vibe. The food is decent and I love japanese bfast. Come early because it does fill up and get busy.
This place is a gem! We love the vibe, love how the art on walls is uniquely related to the history and development of the restaurant. Philip is a delight, it meant so much to us that he shared the history of this family restaurant and what inspires its menu. It’s unassuming on the outside, which I really like about it. The inside is bright yet understated. In the world of Japanese tea ceremony, I would say this place has wabi-sabi. (Not a place to go if you expect a flashy scene.) Also the food is intentionally seasoned with complexity, subtlety and unexpected delights. We had dinner here and from the first bite everything was delicious. Their food is like an orchestra, with highlights and depth. Every detail of the meal was intentional. We started with a couple of appetizers: Crab and uni milk toast, and Sunchokes w/ dengaku miso. The crab and uni milk toast was rich and creamy on top with a crisp crunch of toasted artisan baguette below. Sunchokes were perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The miso glaze added a savory highlight. We had Chilean sea bass and Jidori shio koji chicken. Both were excellent and cooked to the perfect doneness. The chicken thigh had passion fruit seeds which added a sweet surprise to balance the savory honey nut squash. The sea bass, which was one of their signature dishes, is served in a hand-painted dish reminiscent of a traditional Japanese kaiseki meal. It was cooked to tender and delicious perfection. Desserts were equally delicious and thoughtfully prepared. We had a soy milk panna cotta (big thanks from lactose-intolerant Asian) which was rich and creamy and topped with a pear granita, yum! The apple tarte had a traditional French crust, flaky and delicious. Service is excellent. We noticed they pulled extra staff out when serving our entrees so everyone at our table received their meals at the same time. Small detail, but it's these quiet details that really made us feel so well thought about. Their menu changes weekly. If we lived in the area we would definitely put this place on our regular rotation.
In A Nutshell: -Azay is a cool spot to grab a Japanese breakfast. -It's basically a bento box that comes w/ a fresh tofu, tamago (Japanese omelet), miso soup, pickled veggies & you can also add some protein such as Maryland Soft-Shell Blue Crab or Black Cod -It's a very different style of breakfast you would normally eat in L.A., but something worth trying out b/c it's really good. -Their green tea/matcha creme brulee was really, really good & I highly recommended trying that too. Overall, this was a nice find & I didn't have to wait at all on a Sunday morning around 11:30 am.
Not bad but wasn’t really impressed. No particularly special flavors. Really does feel like what an average person would eat for lunch. The American comparison would be a home made turkey sandwich with a side of chips. Not bad but also nothing special. If it wasn’t priced so high would have had more stars