Kodoku Roll

Most outstanding service at any sushi place I’ve ever been to. Small, intimate environment with fairly large menu selection at super reasonable prices (4 – 10) for rolls and I was completely entranced with the flavors and freshness. The waitress/​owner was extremely pleasant and kept giving us free food like soup, edamame and mochi :) will be back asap

We went here because we bought the Living Social coupon, which came to be a hallmark of our dining experience. As soon as we arrived, we were asked «Living Social?», and when we said yes we were seated. I really don’t see why that would matter unless they were planning to give us the bad fish or less fish. In fact, every non-​Asian guest was asked the same question… «Living Social?»… like we were being market somehow. The Asian guests who arrived were never asked the question.
We were just two people, so we ordered a ton of food… the prices were decent enough that we order some nigiri, several rolls, and seaweed salad. The nigiri was really good… but that’s about it. All of the rolls were drenched in some yucky vinegary sauce that overpowered everything… that must have been the Living Social special.
Overall, I was not impressed.

If you’re looking to go somewhere fun that also has good sushi, look no more!
The service is amazing, the décor is very trendy and modern, and the food is delicious!
I always have a great time with friends when I come to Kodoku!
I recommend the Golden California Roll, one of my favorites.
Check it out!

Sorry guys. Thanks for the friendly service and striking Koduku Roll logo on the outside, but I was hoping for more from the food… for some reason it didn’t quite meet expectations. But the other diners in the restaurant had a lot of fun… probably due to the saki and beer flowing.
I have to admit we weren’t there for the party scene that Koduku prides itself on. Samantha and I went with a coupon and ordered $ 50 of food and drink incl. the Chef’s special sushi for $ 25 is good value. The Kodoku Roll $ 9 is cucumber and avocado wrapped in rice and topped with albacore. Ok.

My gf & I had a coupon because we saw the great Unilocal reviews. We came here on Saturday around 6pm and it was quite empty although later on it filled up. The décor is wonderful.
We ordered:
— Crispy Calamari $ 6 — Tasted really good. Similar to orange chicken.
— Mussels with lobster $ 6
— Lobster & seafood dynamite $ 8 — My gf’s fav
— Baked scallop $ 10
— BBQ jumbo shrimp $ 8 — The shrimps are huge, def get this! They are bigger that the website pics show
— Curry soft shell crab $ 7
— Veggie Udon $ 5 — This was tasty and quite spicy
I would recommend all of the above except maybe the mussels.
NOTE: DO NOT order the iced green tea (free). It tasted like seaweed. Eeww! Get the hot green tea (free).
It’s rare to find a restaurant, especially Japanese, where everything tastes really good. I don’t mind spending money for good quality food and this is what we got. The waitress was fantastic. She attended to our needs quickly. She was alone and had to wait about 6 or 7 different tables.

There are just too many sushi and izakaya restaurants in LA. If it weren’t because of livingsocial coupon, I would have never come here.
The outcome? Pretty much parallel to my statement above. If there’s a deal or specials (perhaps happy hour), I would visit again. But I can’t justify coming here solely for the food. Everything falls in the mediocre range hense the 3 stars.
Service was excellent, very smooth operation. I can see this place being an awesome college kids’ spot, you know… before you graduate to real sushi. Definitely good enough to fill the tummy, you will be satisfied.

If you are really picky about sushi. I would not go here… but if you are looking for decent rolls. you’ll be okay.
Since we used a living social coupon… I’d have to say my opinion is somewhat biased. If I were to pay full price… I don’t know if I’d come again. That being said. we had a decent dinner.
The waitress was really nice. so they do try!

Pro: menu shows great pictures of each menu item — made my mouth water.
Con: Nothing we ordered came out looking anything close to the pictures on the menu.
Lobster tempura was a big let down. 70% was tempura imitation crab — 30% tempura lobster knuckle meat with too much batter. Don’t order this.
I would give only 1 stars but am giving an extra star for ok service (slow but trying really hard to please), unique décor, and pints of Kirin draft for $ 3.50.
I think this is a mom & pop shop with mom being hostess/​server and pop being chef. pop is very slow and should hire another cook. i didn’t see anyone else working there. i wonder if they wash dishes together after the doors close? i wish the best for hard working immigrants running their own business, but this one, unfortunately, is a big miss. sorry.

*******I hate writing bad reviews but I just had to for this place.*******
The list of things that went wrong with our meal:
~ the beef in the tapas we got was still frozen when we bit into it. It very much tasted like beef popsicles. =o (
~ the salmon sushi was almost frozen too. It wasn’t bad as in not fresh, but the temperature in the fridge must have been set too low that the moisture was sucked out of the fish and left it freeze dried looking/​tasting w/​a bit of frozen crisp when bitten into. :Yuck:
~ the masago sushi we ordered was so ugly. Masago was spilling out onto the sides of the sushi and all over the plate. I’ve never seen such a sloppy made version that it became unappetizing to look at.
The positive about my experience is that I didn’t have a tummy ache by the end of the night, but still my experience was negative and very much turned off from ever wanting to come back or recommending my friends. =o (

Had a Livingsocial voucher for this place. Can’t remember the complete list of things we had, because the prices were so cheap that we ordered an absurd, gut-​busting amount of food to get our money’s worth.
The good: Service, especially the (one) waitress, is very sweet. Place is small but not too busy on a weekday evening. Prices are INCREDIBLY cheap for cuts of fish, udon (½ bowl, quite large, for $ 4?! hell yes!), and a large number of rolls for the price ($ 4 california roll). Parking not too tough to find on the street.
The not so good: The rice was a bit dry, which affected the quality of all the rolls (obviously) in a pretty marked way. The music was a little weird, and could have been irritating if you were going for a date-​night vibe. Overall the quality of the rolls was good, not great.
I’m definitely planning on coming back next time i have a sushi craving (which I seem able to invoke at will by playing «Sushi Go-​Round»); but this time I won’t go so crazy with the ordering.
Also, compared to Mishima, the Udon is just as good or better, and like ¼ of the price.

Came to redeem my living social credit :):) Great experience, especially at the price. cute little standalone, decorated in red & black, fun chandeliers & seating, 2 flat screens (1 playing sports, 1 playing kpop mvideos), easy menu with a photo with practically each item! spacious restroom with a trippy mirror. friendly & trendy waitstaff, very very English friendly. there’s a crowd, but got seated right away. $ 2 validated parking.
here’s what i’ve tried, in the order it came out. & yes, i was a bit zealous ordering everything
— hot tea
— hamachi with crispy onion, came with 5 pieces. no ponzu or jalepeno like pictured in the menu, but served with a drops of srirachi. crispy onions were yummy
— crispy calamari salad, MY FAVORITE! calamari reminded me of a korean-​chinese dish, atop baby greens, yummy fresh dressing
— aloha roll, just as pictured except with less avocado. more crispy onions, yumm
— udon, good soup. They were out of soba noodle
— crispy rice with spicy tuna. not crispy at all, rice was too much too thick, again cheap on avocado. generous with the tuna & the tempura batter was a good idea, though!
— baked scallop roll, nothing like the picture! missing the cucumber, avocado only in a couple. Also, the sauce was white & topped with mushrooms & raw green pepper. i dont get it???
so here’s the thing. i don’t mind if the food comes out a bit different from the picture menu. But i get sad when it’s missing a «must». so, i checked the menu & confirmed that the scallop roll indeed comes with cucumber & avocado. so, i pointed it out to the waitress. she started speaking to the sushichef, and they offered to remake it for me. Super sweet, but i just wanted cucumber & avocado. So they brought it out, and it added the must needed crunch & creaminess to my roll. yay! & i had plenty of avocado for my other dishes as well! thanks for responding so sweetly to a customer’s requests

What luck! The sushi place that I had a groupon for was just one mile from my evening plans. I could always use a few rolls and who cares if I’m eating alone? I like to read.
Kodoku was basically empty when I walked in. It has a super fun vibe that I’ve never seen in a sushi restaurant. At the sushi bar is almost bar top chairs that are springy like the chairs at the hair salon. Neat. In the back are in the ground seating that looks fun but a little difficult to get out of.
My waitress was super friendly. She was constant with my water refills and clearing my plates. And she always asked if I needed anything else. I was eating leisurely since I had an hour and wanted to attempt to spend my $ 50 groupon alone. That’s a lot of sushi.
I started with some salmon sushi with avocado and this came out quickly. It was fresh and yummy. I didn’t like that the rice was still warm from the cooker but I ignored it. The fish itself was cold which is super important!
Next is the baked lobster roll. I added spicy mayo and eel sauce on top. I waited about ten minutes for this roll while the sushi chef messed with the DirectTV. That was a little annoying but ah well. While this wasn’t my favorite lobster roll I’ve ever had it was still very good. I didn’t like that they added peppers to the top. I thought that sort of messed with the whole lobster thing. I did however think the mushrooms were a good addition. Different but still complementary whereas the peppers were just different.
Fia R. seemed pretty crazy for the Seattle’s Best roll and since salmon is my favorite fish too I knew I had to get that. This roll came out quickly and had lovely presentation. It was very good. The sauce on the bottom was unique and tangy. Interesting but welcome combination with the buttery salmon and the creamy avocado.
As much as I wanted to try more and more rolls I knew I was about to make myself sick. I finished off the meal with a light seaweed salad. The presentation was gorgeous and the seaweed was fresh and delicious. It was awesome and I devoured it.
Since my bill only came to $ 29 my waitress was kind enough to offer me some take out to finish off my groupon. I was tempted but I knew I wouldn’t eat it in a reasonable amount of time.
I could definitely see adding a fifth star after another trip and a few more rolls. This place is fun (ky) and offers some delicious sushi rolls. It would be the great start to a night out with the girls (or guys)! Party!

I live nearby and was always curious about his place. After reading the great reviews on Unilocal,we finally checked it out late Saturday night. The place was pretty quiet with just a few guys at the bar when we went it.
The décor is modern and the light fixtures are each unique and great works of art. I like the overall black and red color scheme.
When visiting new sushi spots, I always try their version of the crunchy onion albacore. My mouth is watering just writing this review. The fish was fresh, though the slices were huge. The plate was well balanced with crunchy and fresh onions. It was a winner.
The Pink Lady roll was perfect with the fresh salmon and creamy mix of crabmeat inside. We also enjoyed the Spider Caterpillar roll. Its the best combination of my favorite — avocade and soft shell crab. Lastly, we finished it off with the Lion King roll.
We just a handful of us eating at the time, they treated us to a pork belly skewer. Nice of them.
We are coming back with our family this week. My sisters are gonna love this place.

This place is great! My girlfriend and I live in Los Feliz and we have a pretty decent place in En Sushi nearby, but it tends to get a bit pricey. We were heading to K-​town to meet some friends, so we wanted to stop for sushi somewhere on the way.
I Unilocaled this place and it was one of the few places with over 4 stars. I have to say that I now know why!
I felt obligated to write this review because we both enjoyed the place so much. Very few sushi places I’ve been to give you anything for free, at Kodoku we got Edamame (sauted in sesame something I believe, obviously I’m not an expert), Kodoku sticks, and ice cream for desert.
So right off the bat, free stuff is good! We each had two Kirins and we split a seaweed salad. The seaweed salad was perfect! It was sooo tasty without being overbearing. For our meal we split the chefs special which was one of their special rolls (we chose the spicy kodoku II rolls which were insanely large but had such a great flavor), 6 sashimi, and 5 sushi (chef’s choice on both), and a hand roll (I’m not a huge fan of hand rolls but I actually ate half of this one because the spicy tuna wasn’t overpowering). All of the sushi was delicious.
Now I’ve had a bunch of sushi at a bunch of different places, and it’s very rare that I think a place has bad sushi, mainly because I’m from the south side of Chicago, and until recently, there were ZERO sushi joints on the south side. SO naturally the first time I had sushi, it wasn’t good. But everything I’ve had since then has been better and Kodouku is no exception.
Now comes the best part. Most sushi places I’ve been to, whether it be Chicago, LA, Miami, or any other place I’ve had sushi, the bill for two people is at least $ 80. I was blown away when we got out bill… less than $ 50!
Long story short (this is definitely a long story) — Kodoku is a great sushi place! I recommend it highly, as evidenced by my five star rating!
As for the mural on the wall… well I think its kind of fun to guess who each person is.

I have always been under the impression that if you buy your sushi chef a beer he will make your sushi extra delicious. This place went above and beyond! My meal was the most amazing thing I have ever put in my sushi-​taster. It was super fresh. They even made a special roll for us after we all had some sake together (you KNOW you dont need that whole bottle to yourself… That’s when you start texting people you never intended to, call your exes, etc. why not share it with the people in control of your food?) It was amazing. Such friendly staff.
I guess this place is pretty new. I hope they get a great amount of business since their food is so fresh and delicious.

I’ll admit, I totally underestimated this place. With Noshi sushi directly across I had always seen this place with it’s bright red and loud signs. This place boasts it’s «luxurious sushi rolls» and by god they did not dissapoint.
Went here last Sunday for my birthday, from the outside you can’t see what it’s like inside, which now I understand. All black windows tinted, something about the exterior screams either super expensive or super cheese, I can’t pinpoint it.
Parked on the side of the building, which was less painful than I had expected, walked in and found myself surrounded by a gorgeous black and red interior with black glass like table tops, leather booths and multiple swanky chromed chandeliers. They also show k-​pop vids on the big flatscreen, which is great conversation fodder amongst friends.
If you’ve ever been to School Food with it’s posh white luxurious interior, I call this the «Anti-​school food» or the badass younger brother, totally murdered out with edgy hair and a heart of gold.
The food was phenomenal. Ordered about 6 – 7 rolls which were priced at $ 8 – 10 each, much cheaper than I expected. I got the Lion King roll, Oeeshee roll and some other ones, all amazing in terms of quality and flashy presentation. Kodoku is definitely the kinda place that aims to impress it’s patrons.
I also wanted to mention the service. I had a party of 5 with me and the cute waitress with the coolest perm ever made sure every empty plate was gone & every half empty glass of water was filled. We even received free beef skewers (yakitori sticks) and complimentary green tea + strawberry ice cream to finish off our meal. To our surprise the owner even walked up to our table just to check how we were doing. I think I probably received the best service I’ve ever experienced in any restaurant here, and im a huge stickler when it comes to service standards.
Bill came out to…$ 50 dollars? I was pretty shocked it was so inexpensive for what I had just experienced. I left an extra big tip to show my gratitude.
So all in all some of the best sushi i’ve ever had in the coolest interior ive ever seen with the best service I’ve ever had. I call that a triple WIN.
Kodoku just knows how to do it right.

Just by the sound of the name Kodoku reminds me of «Sudoku» ^_​^, obviously not really relevant to each other…
Now I got my nerdiness out of the way, I wanna forewarn the proud sushi snobs that Kodoku does not contain authentic sushi; ooh, I bet Krab gives you the creeps, huh ;). But to me I don’t make a fuss w/​authenticity or the like, so long as sushi is delicious & at GOOD quality. And this black & red ambient, Korean-​owned eatery, luckily, NAILED IT for my cousins (who work and/​or live in LA) & myself.
Specifically, for 8 adults & 1 kid we got:
–CA Roll ($ 4): 4.5 stars–
It is what it is! That’s ordered so that the kid can become a sushi lover, like *ahem*.
–Shrimp Crunchy Roll ($ 6): 4.5 stars–
I’m highly impressed that it didn’t give that fatty «residue» after chewing this, unlike the same guys in other sushi joints.
–Philadelphia Roll ($ 9): 5 stars–
The dish, as well as the rest listed below, is f’in hugely portioned, & «shut up» –_​-​. This is seriously the best Philly Roll I’ve ever had.
–Great Hawaiian Roll ($ 7): 4 stars–
I noticed that the presentation was inaccurate w/​the pictured menu item, where it didn’t have the bell peppers, which I personally don’t care about these veggies. But it’s pretty cheesy & had just a lovely hint of sweetness, b/​c of that thinly sliced pineapple on top of the roll.
–Baked Lobster Roll ($ 10): 4.5 stars–
Although this came w/​random, sliced bell peppers, which was supposedly for the roll above, it can’t beat the one that’s all the way in Stanton. In depth the lobster was tantalizingly meaty.
–2 orders of Seattle’s Best Roll ($ 9 each): 5 point 5 stars–
The point 5 may be too absurdly fanatical, but salmon is my #1 favorite fish, ever. So mouthwatering, perfectly & delicately salmon-​y salmon BOTH on top & bottom it had me drifting in those fluffy clouds. My cousins were trying so hard to memorize the name of the dish, but I helped them out by associating it w/​the famous coffee label =P.
–Yellowtail/​Kanpachi Sushi (2 for $ 4.30): 4 stars–
It’s still served a bit too cold but it’s B-​grade delicious. I’m glad I ate both 2 pieces, nonetheless.
–Yellowtail Collar ($ 8): 4 stars–
Too bad I couldn’t fully recall the entire taste, but was definitely chopstick-​friendly & delicious.
–Crispy Calamari Salad ($ 5): 3 stars–
I only munched one ‘lil calamari ring, & it’s pretty average, yet not shabby.
–3 Dinner Combo ($ 12): N/​A stars–
I didn’t sample this out, but this was one huge platter & it was devoured in less than 5 minutes.
–Yakitori (FREE!): 4.5 stars–
Maybe b/​c it’s on the house, but this meaty treat was scrumptious & cooked to near perfection.
–[Birthday] Tempura Ice Cream (Free b/​c of the b-​day deal ^_​^): 4 stars–
Let’s just say it’s peerlessly & so cutely executed to me. The plum white ice cream was thumbs-​up lightly sweetened & very subtly flowery…
Total cost (excluding tip): $ 93.62…try figuring out how we reacted to that.
And why I’m keeping this place a stunning 4.5 is also b/​c of absolutely welcoming & extremely patient service…& I denote the latter b/​c my rambunctious cousins were ordering different things at the same time that even I, myself, got as confused as the innocently cute waitress -.- I will also note that they were slightly too invasive, like vultures waiting for the poor, injured animal to die, while we were having deep conversations, but hey, for a new restaurant it’s 10 million times better than extinct service!
Thank you, cousins, & thank you, Kodoku, for a spontaneous yet surprisingly spectacular dinner. And in case you guys are interested eating here, another warning: parking is crap, crap, craaaaap.
Oh shoot! I almost forgot to mention the free, very addicting, sesame-​coated & garlicky sauteed Edamame! MmMmMmMmMmMm…

Yummy!!!
This place is about a block away from my house and I’ve honestly never really noticed it. I just got back from there today and it was really good!
I got the tuna sashimi, kodoku roll and the love love roll. (I wasn’t here by myself, btw. I’m not that much of a fatasss haha)
The tuna sashimi came out in a big bowl with shaved ice and the slices on top. It was really fancy looking and really delicious. I’m no sushi snob, but my uncle I was there with said it was fresh and it tasted somehow better than other tuna sashimi I’ve had.
The kodoku roll and the love love roll were really good. I particularly liked the love love roll because it was kind of all my favorite things in sushi put together: spicy tuna and avocado wrapped in tuna. Amaaazing
For dessert they gave us a complimentary scoop of ice cream along with the mochi ice cream and tempura ice cream we had ordered. Super nice!
The service was good, the cute little Korean waitress was so nice! Not rude like other places in Ktown.
But yeah, good experience. I’m definitely going to come back here!

They’ve only been open for about three months and I live literally less than a minute away, yet I’ve never thought to come here. However, I’m glad that I did! I was driving home and having a major craving for sushi at 11 pm… pulled up to the parking lot to see if they were open, and thank you Lord, they were!
Ordered a firecracker roll, an aloha roll, chirashi don, and tried a complimentary yakiniku salad! OMGGG… I’ve never tasted such FRESH sushi. I talked to the person who I believe is the owner and he says that they’re fish is top quality and I was kinda sketch about it and thought that I would let the food speak for itself. Well he was right, the sushi is unbelievably fresh, weird… considering it was night time but the fish was sooooo goood. There was even uni in the chirashi don, and I am unbelievably particular about uni, and the uni was super fresh and deliciousss! I’ve been to so many countless japanese restaurants and I think I’ll have to deem Kodoku thee freshest! Even my mom said their food was amazing!
The place is in an awkward location and it’s a cozy little place. The parking lot is pretty small but I don’t think any of the other businesses in the plaza are open so hey, whole parking lot for Kodoku customers and no valet fee haha The only problem I have with Kodoku is that their hours are never posted so when I want to eat sushi, I really don’t know when they’re open.

I used to come here when it was a soju hole bar then this place showed up. CUTE!!!
Food — great quality. I usually go to Gen in Jtown but this is as good as it gets. love love love the Uni! And complimentary whatever they feel like offering when they bring it without asking.
Service — good, not pushy as someone else mentioned but def attentive.
Atmosphere/​décor — is the cutest freakin place I have been to in a long time. Especially in Ktown this place is eclectic contemporary without fluff. Great place for a date or just a night out with the girls or boys. American music (plus)
I live near by and been here several times in the last 2 weeks and I love it. Nice change of scenery and done proper.