Aizen (in Bizen Restaurant) in Los Angeles

Went there for DineLA and cannot recommend this place enough! To begin with, it has a beautiful calming and clean atmosphere, the waiters are the funniest and kindest you will ever meet, and the udon is incredible! I want to highlight the chawamushi in particular which was amazingly done! Sashimi was great, not the best in LA, but still excellent compared to most places!We had the mochis for dessert, which has the PERFECT texture! They don’t make their mochi, but it’s still worth mentioning. The meal was reasonably priced.Prepare to have a memorable and an incredible experience on your trip to Aizen!

Great noods, service, and sake! Three of us came by on Saturday night without needing a reservation. Our waiter was kind and attentive, explaining the menu and offering his services as a sake sommelier.One friend ordered the $45 Dine LA dinner course, which came with a set of 3 appetizers, a sashimi set of 3 fish (2 slices each), and a signature udon. It was also supposed to come with a dessert, which they forgot to give us (and we forgot to ask). She chose the tan tan udon, which had a thick, heavy, spicy broth. I didn’t love it, and it took her a long time to work through it. The appetizers and sashimi were all delicious.My other friend ordered the $31 uni ankake udon, which came with a semi-gelatinous broth. And I ordered the $12 kitsune udon, which was clean and simple. I prefer their broth to Marugame’s.I also ordered “The Legendary Sake Sampler”, $22, of which the KID junmai ginjo was my favorite, and the sake sommelier’s too.Overall, this is a creative udon spot with attentive service and a trendy venue.

Broth is subtle yet deep flavor. Slightly weaker and more natural flavor than a typical udon broth we know. Appetizers are cute and small-portions. Coming back for sure to try other menu.

What an experience! When my boyfriend and I walked in the staff immediately greeted us, so 5/5 for friendly and helpful service. The waiters were very attentive and the owner was very passionate about sake and helped us choose one that paired perfectly with our dinner.Since it was our first time we decided to try the tasting menu they had. (Note this is a limited time thing) the udons are amazing to say the least… I highly recommend you try this place out for yourself! You won’t be disappointed!Thank you to the staff for treating us to a wonderful dinner! 🍲🍥

Came here while we were waiting on Marugame Monzo, but this is probably going to be our top choice from now on.Excellent service - the waiter gave us a detailed rundown of the menu (their selection of udons, appetizers, and sakes are amazing). Later in the meal they discovered that we were there for a birthday, and we got some excellent sashimi on the house. Service kind, attentive, and made us feel at home throughout.Food - the udon is as good as anything Ive had in LA (including Marugame!) They have a range of more standard offerings, and the broth is excellent, but the highlight for us was definitely the Uni Cream Udon - rich without being overpowering, and perfectly balanced. The appetizer selection is excellent, and the fish quality is some of the best in LA. Would also return here just for the sushi/sashimi - when we enter the waiter claimed that they had some of the best fish in LA, and they certainly lived up to this bold statement!

Popped in while waiting for a table to open up at another place and SO glad we abandoned our spot on the other waitlist. The udon really hit the spot and came in a wide variety of flavor palettes. Our waiter made a pretty lofty claim that they also served the best sushi in LA, and after he put together an incredible appetizer menu for us, we decided to see if it lived up to the hype – he may very well not be wrong! The hamachi was so fresh, and you should absolutely try whatever they recommend day of. Service and food were def top tier S-class. Planning to go back soon!

OH MY GOD BECKY!!!!!!!!!!!! Highly recommend, I saw a vlog post from foodie with soy about this place, it was so good and a beautiful dinning experience from the dashi broth and salt pallet cleanser, the obsequious service and the best plum wine I’ve ever had… this place is a 10 out of 10.Update:I went back for dinner on a Saturday night, and I’m even more impressed and in love with this place. I had the fixed dinner menu which is 4 courses and 50 dollars and included three appetizers of the chef’s choice, three sashimi an entrée of your choice out of a list of like six examples some are extra, and dessert I also had sashimi my waiter suggested (I can’t remember what he said exactly, but the fish was sold at the fish market and was like the Beyoncé fish of the day he called it the golden catch or something… I had three glasses of wine so I can’t remember) everything was great, the service is still amazing, the dishes are unique . I highly recommended

So when Mom discovered the Aizen Udon which is next to the Slice Pizza. And when we tried it and it was really good!! I have the Kinoko Udon and Tempura Don which is really good. The Udon Volume is a lot, so I barely have the Tempura Don. The inside of the restaurant is beautiful. So they have good Appetizers. And they also have Signature Udon which looks good and interesting. So only for lunch time when you order a Udon you can add any either a Bowl, Handroll, or Sashimi for a additional Price of $2-$10. So this is a good place to take either your family or friends for lunch.

TLDR: Little Tokyo has been in need of more udon options and this is a great addition to the neighborhood. Marugame Monzo is delicious but their line is not. I would gladly hop over to Aizen to avoid that and have some tasty options not available at Monzo. So nice to have two good udon spots nearby.As of June 21 this spot has been open for 10 days and so far Id have to say theyre doing great. Gorgeous façade, good amount of tables (aka not over crowded or squished) and lovely art on the walls and above you. Spoke with the Sous Chef who was very friendly and recommended some different items to try. Its always nice seeing chefs outside of the kitchen hyping up their food. The Director of Operations was also in and he was really proud of the spot which is also always nice to see. They have another concept nearby in Little Tokyo Galleria (Izakaya Bizan). I know parking is available for an hourly rate across the street at Weller Court, and there MAY be parking in the Wakaba LA apartment building (where this restaurant is located) but Im not 100% sure. Street parking is available everywhere, its Little Tokyo.I love that there is a well varied appetizer menu. You can choose different apps from $3-8 or do a combination and save a few dollars. There is a WIDE range of udon choices all featuring their house made dashi soup. The soup is very light but flavorful and smells just right (not too fishy which sometimes happen with dashi broths). The serving sizes are just right for the price, especially in Little Tokyo. We tried the Beef Tataki which was delicious and a nice small bite (2pcs). We also had the mini chawanmushi which was just right and not heavy at all. The dashimaki was so fluffy and tasty without being too dense. The sous chef came out to see if we liked it and told us he was the one who had just made it. As for udon I had the Niku Udon (good ratio of meat to noodles) and my Husband had the Kitsune Udon (tasty and great by my husbands account).They also have some nice sake and shochu on the menu. I had a glass of the umeshu and got a very generous pour of a light and refreshing drink. The table next to me ordered sake and they got to choose their own glasses from a super cute tray of random sake glasses.

Will go again / price = $15-25 / service = above average / cleanliness = above averageGRAND OPENING = I heard about this place Aizen from a coworker who mentioned a new udon spot that is comparable to Marugame. As I very much enjoyed the sea urchin uni cream udon there, I had to check out Aizen. Perfect timing in that I came during the Dine LA restaurant week so the dinner = $45. This included a 3 set appetizer + 3 set assorted sashimi + choice of udon + dessert. All but the udon is chefs choice. What a great deal!My udon of choice was the Pescatore Udon which although is a todays special seems to be a standard menu item now. In addition, while I waited for my friend, I ordered the Uji Green Tea Plum Wine which was light, sophisticated, and delicious. The 3 appetizers were roast beef with truffle soy, mini chawannuchi, and eggplant in soy. Light but flavor explosion of Japanese goodness...the sashimi set was another delicious set of toro tuna, salmon, and yellow tail. Good size and very fresh in taste as it melts in your mouth like butter. The Pescatore Udon definitely has the Italian vibe it gives off and while it drains down your throat like a delicious liquid like soup, at the same time, it is slightly thick like a tomato cream sauce as it costs all the seafood and udon noodles so you can slurp like no other.They recently had a grand opening and based on my experience, this will be a hotspot for something different than a traditional Japanese udon restaurant. The interior is casual but elegant with decor. Secret parking is available but I will not share so it does not become overused. It is a secret after all!Thanks to Aizen for a great experience and Dine LA restaurant week!