Sawtelle restaurants tier list I made with my friends

by ZackMcCool

36 Comments

  1. jandkas

    Could you list out the names and some of the reasons? I can’t tell from the logos alone, but I’d love to try out some of the better tiered ones and know why to avoid the lower tiers

  2. Dommichu

    Furaibo should be higher based on Hanpen Cheese alone…

  3. Lizzybreath

    So curious why you gave Furaibo an F

  4. rainmaker_superb

    Tier lists always invite drama and conflict lol

    That being said, I would dare put both Tsujita’s in S+ tier.

  5. Vaudevi77ain

    Furaibo in F tier is absolutely insane

  6. SuperJezus

    Kura is the worst sushi on the planet. Meanwhile Tofu-Ya is actually good. This list is strange.

  7. SweetestElixir

    This list is all outta wack sir!!

  8. Have to respectfully disagree with this list. Is Midoh, Spoon and Pork, Mizu, Big Boi, Plan Check, Tsujita Sushi missing?

    Also, putting Tasty Noodle House above both DongTing Noodle House and Dan is somewhat misleading…

    Edited: adding more places I thought were missing.
    Edit 2: added more missing restaurants.

  9. ZackMcCool

    Hi – sorry didn’t think I’d get so many comments. Here are the names of the restaurants in each tier and what my friends and I thought of the place! We had a lot of differing opinions so this is pretty much an average. This was a super chill thing we did for fun so don’t take the rankings too seriously:

    S:
    Seoul Tofu – good spot that’s easy and comes with plenty of food. The sides are amazing and it’s consistent. It’s sort of become a regular spot for us. The staff there is amazing and super friendly

    Nanbankan – this place is awesome the vibes are soooo good. The food can be expensive (outside of the rice balls, beer, and some other dishes). This is my number one spot personally.

    Millet – crepes. Their creme brûlée crepe is nuts. doesn’t really need an explanation it’s crazy. Tik tok hype made the lines crazy but it’s one of the few places that’s actually worth it. I’ve had friends visit and ask to go there multiple times. Really can’t recommend enough.

    Odd One out – this place is amazing. Best boba in sawtelle easily. Their champions tea (I believe is what it’s called) is ridiculous

    Hide – amazing traditional sushi. Not much to say

    The tsujitas – best tsukamen/ramen option I prefer annex but both are great.

    Menya – this place is really great and consistent. The fried shrimp curry is my favorite but you can’t really go wrong there. I strongly prefer this place to Coco ichibanya and hurry curry! Everyone that works there is super nice too

    A:

    Kaz – soba spot, it’s super good we really like this spot. Their yuzu pepper soba is crazy

    Mogu Mogu – this place is AMAZING I love this spot I wanted this to be in S sooooo bad. The place is mostly pork, not sure if that has changed. their curry mazemen is amazing. My friends don’t like it cause they think it’s too oily but I disagree w that.

    Uncle testu – solid their cheese tart is great but the cheesecake wasn’t amazing imo

    7 miles boba – new boba spot that just opened, replacing Yi-Fang. It’s great I think it’s better than volcano and noble tea.

    Tuk Tuk Thai – this place is amazing. I love the ambiance. I recommend the Larb and Papaya salads. Can’t go wrong with any of the classics either there

    Chinchikurin – this place is super unique. It’s really hard to find Hiroshima styles okonomiyaki. It’s great. Pretty heavy tho and the meat feels pretty low quality.

    Killer noodle – this place is killer. I love the soupless Tokyo style. I honestly would’ve preferred this higher on the list. it’s great.

    Kura – admittedly this place could be seen as worse but i really love it. I think the whole revolving sushi gimmick really fun and the sushi isn’t bad. Definitely the better option over sushi stop for cheap-ish sushi

    Volcano tea – a classic it’s good can’t go wrong

    Tasty Noodle House – I love the spot. Portions are big and not too expensive. Nothing is amazing tho. Maybe we order wrong here?

    B:

    Sea Salt Poke – can’t really speak to this much I don’t really go there a lot. It was good when I did tho, but pretty overpriced for what you get.

    Noble Tea – I prefer this to volcano but the group didn’t.

    Tempera House – I’ve been here only once but the experience was amazing. The guy running the spot was super nice and felt very home-y. Nice spot for lunch

    Tenkatori – really good karaage. Honestly not much else to say

    Honeymee – not sure if it’s closed I saw a sign that said it was gna reopen in Feb but they never happened. I really like this spot I think it’s better than somisomi and never had a line nearly as long.

    DongTing Noodle – this place is pretty good nothing special but it’s good if you’re in the mood for Chinese noodle soup. Also the staff was super nice

    Marugame – this place is sick should’ve been higher. The tempera is awesome my favorite is the tamago tempera. The cold Nikutama is my go to. Nothing super stand out

    Shin sen gumi – Hakata ramen! It’s pretty good it’s not on the main block but still worth the visit. I think this should’ve been higher too

    daikokuya – honestly nothing too special but it’s open late which is nice. Staff has been super friendly here. I really like the chicken and egg bowl. The combo meals come with a lot of food for the price

    Dan – modern Chinese food. this should’ve been higher imo. Also nothing standout but it’s consistent and good. Reasonably priced as well. Fried rice is a little bland imo

    NongLa – similar to dan but with Vietnamese food

    Bearded Papas – this place is a chain but it’s my favorite thing to bring/have at our family’s Shabbat dinners. Solid nothing special

    Tatsu – pretty mid ramen

    Wanderlust – I wanted this higher. Really unique and diverse ice cream flavors

    B sweet – I wanted this place lower I really don’t get the hype. Everything is too sweet, I’ve never really been a fan. Their banana bread is pretty good tho

    Black sheep burgers – whatever burger. LA is a huge burger city and there are so many better options. Bachi burger that was open before was definitely the better spot.

    10 speed coffee – never been there can’t really speak to it

    Anzu – I believe this place works with menya to make their karaage. Their karaage is fire but their curry is worse than menyas. I’ve only had this place for delivery so maybe that effects the placing. go to menya for the better experience

    Sunright tea studio – only been here once but I really didn’t like it. Wouldn’t go back especially with all the other strong boba spots

    SushiStop – worse kura imo

    Coco ichibanya – I’ve been here a bunch of times and never really understood why it’s always more busy than menya. Maybe it’s cause they have more options? I think it’s a worse curry no matter what I’ve ordered.

    MeloMelo – this place isn’t great. Maybe we’re too harsh but I really can’t see myself ever going back especially with Millet across the street

    Sonoritas – dude I have no idea why this place has so much street cred. It is not good and it’s overpriced. Go to any Taco stand by national. It’ll be better and half the price. My favorite is the one that’s on national and sepulveda. It’s by Brothers Cousins tacos but it’s not them. I really don’t know the name and can’t find it so if anyone knows please lmk!!

    Terrible service tier:

    Yakitoriya – this place is amazing except for the service would be in S. I love this place but a lot of people I know have had really bad experiences there. It’s run by an old Japanese couple so it can take a while to eat but dude this elderly japanese man is crazy with it. They also have really weird ordering rules (you have to order a drink is one of them). Can also be expensive, last time I was there for 2 hours so it’s pretty tough.

    F tier:

    FuRaiBo – this place is sick idk why we put it in F would be in C for me. Very comforting food. Their curry udon is very solid. I’ve definitely ordered dishes I haven’t liked there. It’s been a while since I’ve been, but I’ve been wanting to go back so if anyone has recommendations on what to get please let me know.

    Talay Thai – I’ve only been here once and had a comically bad experience. Food wasn’t good either.

    TofuYa – this place sucks, I’ve heard they freeze their fish from a friend (can’t confirm but it definitely tastes that way). The sides are bad the meat is weird. Really would not recommend

  10. Plussydestroyer

    Tsujita annex used to be my favorite spot but the last few years the quality has dropped so drastically that I probably won’t be going back again.

  11. ShorteChange

    Putting furaibo f tier invalidates this entire list for me….

  12. Purple_GMO_Mangos

    This is a terrible list /thread

  13. yayyay533

    Is S higher than A? What does S stand for, super or satisfactory?

  14. bobtomhank

    Tofu Ya and FuRaiBo don’t deserve this.

  15. gildedorchid

    Tofu Ya on F tier is insulting omfg you’re WRONG for that

  16. Thank you. I didn’t know that Tuk Tuk Thai reopened in Sawtelle and there is an Uncle Tetsu until I saw this post today.

  17. Rugpull_Generator

    Furaibo in F? And then fucking KURA in A and Sonoritas in D?? Lmao this chart must be upside down or your taste buds are from Dune

  18. razorduc

    People sleep on MeeDoh and it has some of the best tonkatsu.

    Volcano has been around for a long time but it was very mid tier even when it was the only one around. I find Sunright much better altho haven’t been to Sawtelle location so maybe I’m off.

  19. You got curry udon at Furaibo? Just get chicken wings

  20. jickbaggins1

    RIP Balconi Coffee. That shop taught me what good coffee is supposed to taste like. I used to park myself for hours at the barstool right behind the espresso machine and just breathe in the essence of amazing coffee.

    That was a very happy time in my life ❤️

  21. Snidrogen

    Aspect ratio on some of your pictures in this cell layout makes them impossible to read

  22. mechanizedmynahbird

    this whole list is wrong but the worst offender is tenkatori in B rather than SSS

  23. crazysoapboxidiot

    To start, Sushi stop is F tier and Furaibo needs an upgrade. OP showing that they really don’t know food

  24. KiloAlphaJulietIndia

    Wow Furaibo is really that low on the list?

  25. galaxymewmew

    The fact that you have a section for poor service and Killer Noodle (which I love more than anything) isn’t on there….wack

  26. healthcrusade

    Ever have B-sweet’s hot donut with cold ube ice cream filling? If not, you’re missing one of the best desserts in L.A. (I did find their bread pudding to be overrated)

  27. anomerica

    I’ve been going to the Shabu Shabu spot since I was a kid. Where is it here?

  28. PedestrianMyDarling

    Make sure to crop the photos of the restaurant signs in a way that readers can’t make them out

  29. LataCogitandi

    This is Tofu Ya slander and I won’t stand for it.

  30. jdaman24

    Kura in A tier lmao this guy’s a 🤡

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