Origami Bistro & Bar

They raised their prices, took away the half off sushi and wouldn’t even substitute anything to accommodate my food allergies! And they don’t give you soup on a combo if you do take out. What cheap asses!!!
!
The food isn’t even great! Boo to you Origami Bistro.
***Also I’ve had 3 co-​workers get their credit card numbers stolen from here. So only use cash if you go to this mediocre sushi joint.

My wife & I accidentally stumbled on this place while waiting for our show to start at the Million Dollar Theater. I must say we were pleasantly surprised. At first we had no idea we were in a sushi bar until our bartender gave us a menu & told us about the all night happy hour… the gloves were off.
At first we only tried a spicy tuna roll & sautéed Garlic Edamame which were great. The spicy tuna was very tasty, would have had another but didn’t have time. The sautéed Garlic Edamame was incredible. It came with a garlic mustard dipping sauce & was simply the best Edamame we’ve had. We were short on time & had to meet some friends at the theater. As soon as the show was over, along with all our friends went right back. We started with the Kobe beef tacos which were only a dollar, they were so good they could have charged me 5 dollars & I would have still ordered them. We then ordered the pot stickers which were deep friend & covered with a special sauce & came with a delicious dipping sauce; we then ordered another & another. Someone if our group then ordered the Jalapeño poppers, all I can say is wow! If you ever try this place, please don’t leave without trying these! They were awesome! We ended up with three orders of these bad boys. Brian, our bartender mentioned they specialize in burgers… yes I said burgers, but not just any burgers, Kobe burgers! We weren’t sure which Kobe burger to try to he made us a Kobe Burger sample slider plate. We first tried the onion flavored Kobe which just melted in our mouth & was among the tastiest burgers I’ve had. The Spicy Chipotle burger was also incredible; I never got to try the plain Kobe cheeseburger but was told it too was awesome. We also ordered the chicken skewers, they were pretty good but not sure I would order them again, not that their bad but I would want to save more room for Jalapeño Poppers, Gyoza & Kobe beef. Someone ordered the garlic fries which I thought nothing of until they were delivered to the couple next to us. These things had the entire bar smelling so good. They have with a garlic dipping sauce, even though I never tried them I was told by everyone there these things were fantastic! The sure smelled it. They will likely be the first thing I order on my next visit there which will be very soon.
My overall rating on this place is five stars, if I could choose six I would. I am not sure why anyone would rate this anything less but was told by Brian they recently revamped their menu. The place is small, cozy & the staff was very friendly & extremely helpful. The place is a bit small & hidden but did have a large sushi bar in the back. The pricing is very reasonable & You can actually have a sushi dinner for two for less than 40 dollars. There is parking on the street in front of it, but let’s face it, this is downtown L. A the odds of parking there are slim. Your best bet is to find one of the many parking lots with an attendant, which will cost about 5 dollars on the weekends & save you a headache.
We only scratched the surface of their new menu & I can only imagine what everything else is going to taste like!

I heard about the happy hour… so what the heck
i’m also trying to reduce my food intake & method… chew vs inhaling
i started out with some tacos of course…
apparently there’s 2 kinds here… regular and flavored version… i’d recommend the flavored… its better than El Taurino’s… right combination of vege. beef… tortillas… texture was excellent… i had fireworks going on in my mouth
then for some fish… i had uzuzukoori (thinly sliced white fish)… with ponzu… jalapino… mmmm… mmmm… now we’re talking
then for some drinks… stellas on tap… kirin on tap… grey goose martini with twisssstttt… after couple of these… spelling and slurrying begin…
all in all… i had excellent experience…
i also notice mixed reviews from other Unilocalers… i noticed restaurants will redo the food or drinks if not done properly… (i wonder if they tried asking)

Been here a couple times last year both for the regular and late night happy hours. It has never been packed whenever I come, could be good or bad thing? I’ve tried some of their specialty drinks and they were just whatever. One of my coworker’s drink actually tasted like nyquil.
The late night happy hour experience was a bit better as a couple of us just came by to close out the night with some beer and food… Sapporo on tap is always a major plus. Kitchen was closed already so slightly bummed out. The bartender was really cool to chat with and she even took shots with us. I’m guessing the round of shots were on the house because we had 4 beers or so and our total bill came out to around $ 10 o₀
There really isn’t much foot traffic in the immediate area, so it may seem kind of dead. But definitely need to come back for happy hour again to try the food. Walking distance from work, why the hell not!

Decent spot for late night sushi and rolls. Not the best spot but good for the price. Open late as well till 2 am, I think.
Late happy hour at night if you’re looking for some cheap eats.

They need serious help with their salmon skin. The first time in a year of asking for salmon skin handrolls they finally didn’t say they’re out of salmon skin!
Then I finally get my salmon skin handroll… it was like jerky. First off the salmon skin was cold. Wrong! Totally greasy. Wrong! Overcooked. Mortal sin!!!
Their other stuff is ok. I go there every once in a while because it’s convenient. They do have good happy hour specials. If you’re looking for a place with great sushi, this is not the place.

BEWARE
My friends and I all ate here last week, we split up the bill 5 ways. ALL of us had credit card fraud on the cards we used there within the next few days for hundreds of dollars in fraudulent charges! They took a long time to give us back our cards and now we know why.
BEWARE

Chris F. is right; Origami has a pretty rockin’ Happy Hour. If you’re a little low on funds and want to get some cocktails and snacking, this place is it.
Teddy makes a fabulous $ 4 Cosmo and the Tempura Spicy Tuna Roll was massive and VERY tasty.

In honor of the weekly holiday known as Friday, my coworker and I decided to celebrate and live it up at Origami Bistro & Bar for lunch and toss our «work week lunch budget» out the window.
In the end, we spent about $ 35 and got the following:
Two orders of spicy tuna rolls
Spicy scallop roll
Kobe beef tacos
Baked green mussels
Edamame
It was delicious! The spicy tuna rolls tasted very fresh — the tuna was the perfect shade of pink and it was just the right amount of spice. It had a kick but didn’t leave you reaching for your water with every bite. The beef tacos were good but small, like street tacos you’d get at Rosarito. It’s $ 5.95 for 3 tacos so its a bit pricey but the tacos tasted great. The best part (for me) was the baked green mussels. MMMM. They were broiled with an «herb dynamite sauce» and topped with green onions and smelt eggs. They were perfectly chewy but also tender, coming loose from their shells with just a soft nudge of my chopsticks.
Service was great too — even though it appeared to be just one waiter manning the whole restaurant. He did a good job.
Things to Consider:
1. Don’t order the kobe beef tacos if you’re on a date. They come loaded with raw onions.
2. We were very disappointed to learn that they do not serve martinis until 5pm. They have a lovely list of martinis to choose from from Strawberry to Espresso but they were without a bartender. What kind of Friday lunch is it without martinis?!
3. Their Happy Hour menu is a far better deal. The kobe beef tacos go for $ 1 each and the spicy tuna rolls are only $ 2.50.

1. I’m on jury duty.
2. I walk to lunch every day and found this place randomly with my fellow jurors.
3. We enter from the Spring Street entrance and it’s completely empty. No one responds when I call out «hello!»
4. We walk towards the back area and there’s a sushi bar, the sushi chef looks at us and says nothing.
5. One of the women with me asks if we can get a table, and he doesn’t respond, but goes through a doorway and returns to the bar and says nothing still!
A man eventually comes out, seats us, takes our order, brings our food and takes our money.
Service: lacking, mediocre, weak, but not unfriendly
Food: I had their tonkatsu which was the THINNEST piece of pork I’ve ever had in my life.
This place is not worth it. Walk further into Weller Court or JVP for better eats!

fusion is always a hit or miss afair… its like those old u boat movies. They fire off a bunch of torpedos and wait. Unless, the destroyers get wise and send them to col. Krutz’s locker.
I tried out Origami because everybody was going there. Its a new place for me and what the hell. The building looks cool, old Historic Bldng. I think back in the days there was a passport or public notary office on premises. Now, its a multi-​million dollar development for wealthy hipsters. The nouv richie of the 21^st century.
First impression, reminded me of a public bathroom. The large red tile work behind the bar with a signal lcd, 50 inch. The rows of bottles just sat on the back counter, unimpressive and diminutive. It was busy, I followed a crowd in after a small jazz concert next door… I wonder if the café is owned by the bar.
Dark and modern, moody; the Japanese style table and benches was packed with people. Choice of drinks ran very simple happy hour fare, Fat Tire, Stella, … etc. A competent bar. I got bored quickly.
The crowd seems like the usual type from art school, lots of cash or loans. A camera is always on them. I saw food. Large rolls of sushi… content unknown; too dark in there. A dj came in to play old hits from the the 90s and 80s. The old, looking for the youngish. A small bar of maybe 1000 sq ft blasting Madonna beyond conversation decibels.
My one beer done, I’m out of there like a rat deserting the ship. I’ll leave the art school scene for the art students. And their admiring elder mentors.

Let me tell you my Origami experience from my point of view (my friends might see it a little differently). I arrived at 5:35, and while Origami opens at 5, they didn’t have their doors unlocked. It was then that I first became introduced to the waiter’s system of communication — it’s all in the eyes. «Oh!» his eyes said with exasperation. «I forgot to unlock!» Sheepish grin.
This translates to, «I totally knew the doors were locked, you stupid cracker, I’m trying to roll silverware while smoking cigarettes!» (Ok, I might be reading a bit into that, but wait!).
I say, «may I please use your restroom while I wait for my friends? We’re a party of four.»
«It’s not ready,» he says. «One moment, one moment.» His eyes looked frantic. I don’t know what this translates to.
O … kay? I waited three minutes for special permissions.
Finally he permits me to use the bathroom, which is not clean (I mean it wasn’t gross but I assumed that he had me wait because it was being cleaned. You know what they say about assuming).
My friends arrive. I am in the process of drinking a mispour Sapporo for which I was not charged. One star there. Then the waiter asked if we have a reservation. «No,» we say. Waiters eyes bug out. he confers with the bartender. «Ok. You can stay.»
My friends — some of them — don’t drink. You know what? That’s ok, because while Origami touts the «best Happy Hour in Los Angeles,» they do not have drink specials. Repeat, no happy hour drink specials. So some of us order water. Enter eye communication style three. The waiter winked. This means, «Water is free, I’m balancing five parties of six (who had rolled in while I was waiting for my pals). You will wait for water. It may or may not come.»
By halftime, we had water and some appetizers began trickling over. By the third quarter the restaurant was totally filling up, and I had an ass in my face and therefore couldn’t see the game. We moved to the central part of the restaurant, where the sushi chef was, nearly alone. Here, for some reason, the tv was in HD, and the service was far superior to what we were getting in the front. Same waiter. Suddenly communicative service. What?
But I digress, because the happy hour DOES include some amazingly good food. My friend particularly liked the shrimp tempura tacos, while the Kobe beef tacos were dry (I kept making Kobe-​taco jokes, which fell rather flat, because my friends adore him while I find him repugnant — only during the off-​season, though). Sushi was the star of the evening, because the chef served huge slabs of $ 2 salmon (two pieces) and beautiful spicy tuna rolls, also $ 2 I think. Vegetable tempura was plentiful and yummy.
So 1.5 stars for the food (it deserves more but I can’t afford to give Origami three stars) and .5 stars for the décor — I kept finding cute little inspirational pieces for my new house.
Service gets negative one stars, for although it improved once we moved, it was inconsistent and mostly bad. Totally understaffed. We were getting our own drinks, and one of my friends actually brought out one of our plates. I think the kitchen handed it to her.

I’ve only eaten from their happy hour menu and I must say it’s a pretty nice deal. $ 1 Kobe Beef Tao, $ 1 Kobe Beef skewers, $ 2.50 sushi, $ 2.95 for two fresh oysters, and etc. Mind you they have happy hour everyday, too.
The service is great, waiters are friendly whether the restaurant is packed or not. Furthermore, the place has a delightful ambiance. It has low-​key interior lighting with the starry lighting gently hugging part of the exterior, a great atmosphere for a small group of friends to catch up over delicious happy hour food and drinks.

The time I went here for sushi we were the only ones in the place, so it must have been an off day. The sushi was pretty standard, of course I am a little biased to my fave place which is in Japan Town. Its right in the middle of downtown and is open really late like 2 ish, so if you’re drinking downtown this place is a fantastic place to go before or after.

I havent been here for food — just for a private party @ Night.
They had reserved the bar for these two groups, that would eventually overtake the bar with around 150 or so people.
The décor has everyone said is your basic asian inspired for americans theme.
I arrived around 9 and ordered a round of drinks. All was well. The bar got crowded, and we had a couple more drinks, and eventually I tried to get two more beers around 12:30. I sat on a bar stool and waited. And waited. The bartender who knew my name and had my CC came to me 3x and said «what did you want again?»
«2 beers. Asahi. I’ve been here since 9!»
«oh, okay» — and of course, no beers. I eventually got the beers around 1, got my tab, and got the hell out. Not to mention, I was the only indian dude in the place, how could you forget my face?
I’ll probably come back for food one day to try it out, since its in the historic district. And I respect the owner, for taking a huge risk into coming into a area that had no signs of nightlife until one wandered to 4^th and main. The douglas building, is one of the oldest buildings in downtown — yet doesnt have the density feel that the rest of the historic core has going for it.
I’ll come back for HH — but please, bartenders, learn how to serve.

I really don’t understand the bad ratings this place is getting — but perhaps I’m just getting better service, better food and better overall experience here because of my looks. haha — well maybe not, but I’ve had great times here. They have this awesome happy hour from 4 – 7 and 10-​close — $ 4 spicy albacore hand rolls, $ 1 kobe beef tacos, and Sapporo on draft! What more could you ask for after a long day at the office? They also have attractive bartenders, and they are not bitchy or divalike.
I’m a big fan of Origami.

2 – 2.4 stars? (With much of the stars awarded for décor and style)
Keep at it, perhaps there will be improvement in the future.
Service not up to par with fancy looking place as it is and servers dressed in fine dining style uniforms.
You serve Sushi here, and it’s upscale… why no Hot Towels?
Why does my sushi arrive without Wasabi or Ginger, and I must ask for it. (Not a good sign!)
Biatch tried to take our food away twice when there was still miso in my bowl and tempura on my friends plate. Why the hurry? Are you even paying attention? There was only 1 other table of 2 in the entire place!
Entrée food NOT good AND Overpriced. This refers to The Chicken Dinner Entrée my friend ordered «Grilled Chicken Breast apple Ginger Teriyaki sauce» $ 13 served w/​miso. Horrible presentation btw. www.yelp.com/biz_photos/DY_N8Wr7cbLlJ2­Kyg7Z2Mg?select=oWixIE1oKtRzKA4lIPmm8A
Happy Hr. is for some Appetizer specials only, and only for the Bar/​lounge area. HH specials we tried were: $ 1 «Kobe» Beef Tacos
$ 1 only? Coo! Well… actually they’re really little, and the meat is totally chewy! Is that how Kobe is supposed to be? haha, but honestly though I didn’t mind the chewy meat, and I liked the taste. =)
A glass of Beer is $ 6. While their Martinis are $ 10, but they are small!
I tried the Raspberri Martini which was ok, wouldn’t order it again though…
Some of the HH specials also include $ 4 Vegg. Temp.
and $ 4 handrolls, I think 4 choices. I tried Salmon Skin handroll (should be simple enough) That was fine, I like salmon skin.
I had no idea what to order Sushi-​wise because I didn’t wanna break the bank or be adventurous at a new Sushi place!
I’m such a BIG Sushi Lover, I normally go places and know exactly what I want… I always get handrolls or sashimi. Only when I’m eating with a friend I might share 1 roll. This night we stumbled upon this place not knowing where to go… also I was so caught by the name «Origami» because I just recently learned how to make Origami! (tee hee)
Also my friend who I dined with that night is not a Sushi-​eater at all… I decided to choose 1 roll (besides the sal. skin. Handroll.)
Thinking if I got a roll at least my friend could try a piece.
Could not decide on trying the salmon/​Jalepeno Roll, The Lobster-​crab roll… or any of the other rolls that were all so foreign to me. (Gosh trying a new Sushi place can be scary… just me?) Plus I wanted to order something that a usual non-​sushi person would be able to try.
I end up ordering some special Rainbow roll, but this version is special somehow because the waitress tells us it comes set on fire. Menu: «Blazing Tropical Rainbow Roll $ 13
Crab mix and avocado inside. Topped with white tuna
and spicy tropical salsa, then set a blazed » As described it sounded ok…
I settled on ordering that because maybe it’d entertain my friend or something?
Unfortunate for me… the roll comes and yeah it’s really not the type of «Sushi» I prefer… there’s all this sauce on it, so you don’t really taste much fish and the sauce is SWEET but I think it may have been BOTH eel and spicy mayo? =\ The description sounded better on the menu.
My fault for ordering it and not really thinking. My non-​sushi eatin friend didn’t care for it either.
All in all, the prices here ain’t too cheap (for the quality of the food), The roll I ordered was among the cheaper priced.
Food and Service= 2 Stars
at least I enjoy your $ 1 chewy kobe tacos! (really I like them)
Lots of room for improvement. Even your chicken is dry! The server never even checked back to ask how our food was, meh…
Discovered that the music in the Bar area is much better and cooler than the music in the main dining area… my friend described the music in the dining room as Japanese Game Show music, hehe.
Perhaps I’d try this place in the future… like at least 6 months down the line? OR If I’m in the area and don’t have anywhere else to go… I’d chill at the lounge for some handrolls and 1 chewy/​good taco. (If there’s nowhere else to go at the time!)
But really why does a Sushi Chef not give you Wasabi + Ginger. I think servers and management have a lot to learn, Sorry!
*Ironic– Fact: Origami Cranes are made as a representation of long life/​longevity. GOOD LUCK ORIGAMI!
=)
Updated* Just uploaded the photos I took that night… don’t know why but I sort of feel like some sort of spy doing this! I even accidentally captured a picture of the Manager/​Boss guy (I assume)…he is the one who played host and first seated us. Then our waitress came out looking more formally presented.

I only went here bc I got a coupon in the mail for a complimentary entrée. So here’s what I thought:
Location — It’s in downtown therefore unless you live here, parking is a pain. Sure we found a nearby lot, but by the time we wanted to exit, there was no one at the attendance booth and we sat there waiting around for the security guard to let us out! This was on a Saturday night btw. Boo.
Ambiance — Very chic, very cool. There’s a bar area towards the front and it is separated from the sushi bar and dining area. I do have to say though that it was kinda dead. I guess it’s more of a late night hangout if anything.
Food — Yummy! Didn’t take too long to arrive. The fish on my rainbow roll was delicious and fresh and my bf loved the short ribs.
Overall — Worth it for what we ordered but wouldn’t return. There are plenty of places like that nearby and probably less pricey.

Nice spread for happy hour food menu but 0 drink specials = no bueno.
The service was great– very friendly in this new, small korean owned japanese place. The «Kobe Beef» Tacos were not Kobe at all. It was as chewy as rubber… however the hand rolls (spicy tuna and spicy albacore) were excellent.
The food isn’t bad– no redbull but rather monster– stiff drinks. I’d come back to eat during Happy Hour. Nothing more than that.

I was interested in visiting this place when I spotted it in construction a few months back. Even when I peeked inside during their renovation of the place it looked very promising.
A few of my friends and I finally decided to go by there for happy hour, after seeing repeated advertisement on the storefront billboard offering their happy hour menu.
I toured the room while my friends ordered from the menu some food and a round of drinks. Standard fare of alcohol in beers on tap and martini drinks. I don’t recall seeing any specialty drinks.
I looked around the space and they seemed to put alot into the design. It was a good use of space, nice interiors etc. Nice little corners to hide in if you wanted a private dinner with someone.
I was alarmed to see that the place was pretty empty considering that my party took up most of the front area. I thought there would be more people. I’m sure they are still in their early stages and haven’t found a good client base.
We stuck strictly to the happy hour menu. Most of it was basic bar food with an ‘asian’ flair. And its just that. Bar food. There was nothing kobe about their kobe tacos. Their dragon roll had a sauce that was too sweet. The california rolls were bland and boring. The sesame chicken wings had no flavor or personality. The crispy rice spicy tuna was too crunchy — I’ve had much better. The food was ok – but it had no uniqueness or personality. I was disappointed that the food didn’t deliver.
I would go back — but just for drinks. They need to improve the food.
Good interior tho.