Yakiniku Osen lets you grill that pricey beef yourself.
The city of Los Angeles is on a Wagyu restaurant kick right now. Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse Cut has returned from Covid-19 hibernation, Matū in Beverly Hills has opened with a focus on grass-fed Wagyu from New Zealand and on the city’s eastside, chef-owner Damon Cho has created a restaurant devoted to sumptuous Japanese A5 beef.
The Nobu and Tao alum recently opened Yakiniku Osen in the Silverlake neighborhood. It’s the third edition of his Osen restaurant group. The first debuted in 2017, with Izakaya Osen devoted to the tasty grilled skewers you’d find at bars in Japan—as well as sushi, sashimi, hotpot and more. Two years later, he opened Kappo Osen in Santa Monica, with a similar menu inside a more upscale experience. His third restaurant is an ode to the yakiniku restaurants he has loved during his travels in Japan, where diners grill their own meat at the table.
The uni, caviar and Wagyu trifecta.
Photo: courtesy Wonho Frank Lee/
Obviously, grilling your own meat at your table is nothing new for Angelenos, who have a surfeit of outstanding Korean barbecue joints in the city. But Cho has tweaked the traditional Japanese format for his restaurant’s take on the yakiniku, making it a bit less communal by giving each pair of diners their own grill to use. And for his restaurant, Cho has leaned in heavy on luxury, with a focus on the finest A5 Wagyu.
While diners can order a la carte (4 oz portions of A5 ribeye will run you $70), so far most people have been choosing among the five omakase experiences ranging in price from $150 to $320. The premium tasting menu includes A5 Wagyu with uni and caviar on a seaweed crisp; an A5 katsu sando; an A5 beef tartare with raw egg yolk and sesame seed, sesame oil, fresh wasabi, pine nuts, garlic and sea trumpet; a salad with A5 tartare and miso dressing; oxtail soup; different types of American and Japanese A5 to grill; a truffle and A5 hot pot; and more. There’s no shortage of Wagyu in this meal.
The 37-seat restaurant is now open seven days a week, with reservations available here.
