Jujuya

Sad to see this place has closed down. Came here awhile back for an anniversary dinner and the food was really good. The oysters were fresh and super tasty. The servers were sweet and so attentive. Hopefully they just switched to a different location and we will be able to eat there again.

Was in the neighborhood today and noticed that it is closed. A new steak and chop restaurant will be taking its place.
Sorry to see it closed.

Summary: Great food, solid service, and reasonable prices (with the exception of the Chilean Sea Bass). Plenty of parking in the various mall lots and structures.
My wife and I first visited Jujuya on a Saturday evening for dinner. We arrived at around 5:45pm and were quickly seated, though there were a couple other tables occupied already. Over the course of the meal, the restaurant continued to fill up, so it’s clear that they are doing decent business. Here is the food that we ordered:
Yellowtail Carpaccio — Excellent quality, great texture, very tasty.
Chilean Sea Bass — This dish has changed significantly from the pictures shown on Unilocal.It’s now two skewers of sea bass on top of brown fried rice. The fish is delicious, but not substantial. The rice was kind of bland and not very hot. At $ 20, this dish can hardly be justified for the cost.
Tuna nigiri — Excellent quality tuna, and tasty. The nigiri here doesn’t have a lot of rice, but the amount of fish is good for the price.
Albacore nigiri — Also excellent quality and texture. Pre-​sauced and delicious.
Salmon nigiri — Great quality and texture. Very fresh.
Halibut nigiri — Pre-​sauced and tasty, but a little chewy.
Unagi nigiri — Nice and warm, tasty, and sweet. Well prepared.
Brussels Sprouts — These were awesome. Very toasty, very savory, and excellently textured.
When it was all said and done, everything was really good, but we would skip the Sea Bass next time. We will definitely visit again.

We frequent the movie theater here so want to try a new place. Have been to most restaurants except this place. Seem like they have good reviews. Our experience here is not bad but definitely not spectacular. Seats are small and the food was mediocre. Prices are $$$ and the service was only okay. I think they really need to step up on their game of giving appetizers or desserts to satisfy their customers if they are going to continue charging the same $$$. I don’t mind paying at all if the quality is good, but it’s just really mediocre.

Wow! Very impressed. Just stopped in last week before a movie. Great dishes and ingredients. Portions are light and small but the quality is present. Just what we needed before we pigged out on popcorn at the movies. The salmon carpaccio is lightly cooked on one side, which I wasn’t expecting but it comes with black truffles, so it was incredible. Even the tomato/​avo/​asparagus salad was a delight. The dressing is PERFECT. Not overwhelming, not tart, it just complemented the vegetables so well. Very nice atmosphere and décor, and quick enough before the movies. It’s a fusion place, they don’t have miso soup. Sushi rice wasn’t sticky enough, it fell apart. Great new addition to the Promenade. PV needs more quality restaurants like this. Can’t wait to try more dishes.

Salmon carpaccio was good, calamari was not. I don’t remember what roll we got — it was ok. Service was ok. Price for the experience overall wasn’t great. I waffled between 2 – 3 stars…

Horrible service. Food never came out on time. We’re left still hungry. Lame. Never coming back. Sucks. Booooo

Stumbled upon This place a few weeks back to have lunch with my mother and was hooked not to often you come across a killer Japanese restaurant in Rolling hills the fish was just as fresh as the first time I came here expect nothing but the best quality at jujuya. my top recommendations would be the chirashi, Tuna tartar don and a oyster shooter because who doesn’t want to shoot oysters yewwww ! Service here is very accommodating. Give it try !

Dear Jujuya,
I’m not sure if you read Unilocal reviews or not, but hopefully somebody will read this.
We went to Jujuya for the first time last night. I had high hopes, but will unfortunately have to give you a mere 3 stars. Although the owner is a celebrity chef, the restaurant needs to find an identity and stick with it. There is a «sports bar» type area, a sushi bar, and tables. There are a lot of staff members who seem to be standing around, and a slightly rough around the edges manager. The menu had pizza and steak on it, as well as sushi, some sashimi, some carpaccio, and a few other items. For an Izakaya, the menu is way too sparse. For a sushi place, there was no standards like uni. The waitress was attentive and friendly, but the food was just averagely good. There is a lot of potential, however as is, this restaurant will probably go under, just like the other restaurants in that space. If you make it a great izakaya, people will probably come from Torrance or other areas, specifically for this restaurant. Or don’t make it an Izakaya, and make it more of a high end fusion place — fusion doesn’t mean a menu with random items thrown in — it means a melding of different tastes through which emerges a new and fresh culinary idea. Lose the pizza (which we didn’t try but people reviewed as average) and come up with some other ideas. Or do the pizza, but make it Japanese style, with random tastes that work well together.
I might try it again, just to give it a chance, but probably not. And btw, two other people at the restaurant felt the exact same way and would not be back after going there twice. They said the sushi was good but everything else was just average. Chef Mako needs to go there and really take part in the restaurant if he wants it to work.

Meh skip it. Marginal sushi, chef’s special was a teriyaki bomb – ruined a good lamb chop with too much infused sauce.
Salmon appetizer was excellent, but that’s it.
The service there was very good but really the food was a disappointment.

Surprised this place has a four star average. I was disappointed by the service. I went on a Tuesday night and there were only three other tables but the service was so slow! I got my roll ten minutes before my friend’s which was awkward and we both got rolls so we should have gotten them at the same time. I got the Jujuya roll which is wrapped in cucumber and I was disappointed with the fish quality – maybe it was old but it just didn’t taste fresh or high-​quality. It was just average, I ate it but wouldn’t order it again. Better fish at less classy/​nice places; I wish the food quality matched the atmosphere!

Decent without having to descent… Good to have a passable Japanese option on the hill. They really need to serve miso soup though! No miso soup?! That’s a little out there.

Great Izakaya/​Japanese Tapas style dinner. Decent crowd for a Sunday night. Menu is perfect to share several dishes with the table. Miss Mako’s place in Beverly Hills. Located in the Peninsula Center. Great atmosphere, really cool vibe.
Shared: Salmon Skin Salad (great!), Beet Salad (very nice-​golden and red beets), Soft Shell Crab is in season was great in a sushi roll, Clams in Basil purée & garlic sauce (cooked perfectly), Jidori chicken (perfectly crispy skin & super flavorful chicken) with real french fries (probably double fried because they were really crispy), Calamari with an interesting mild Sriracha sauce, Brussels Sprouts sautéed with garlic & balsamic vinegar. Also shared 3 awesome desserts: cream brûlée, sorbet trio & cheesecake-​all delicious.
Really great meal. Residents on the hill are lucky to have place with great food right around the corner.

Juju-​ya is the «seafood tapas and izakaya» at the west end of the Promenade of the Peninsula. On Friday night, it was easy to get a parking space by Union Bank and stroll in for our 6PM reservation. We were done about 7:45 PM and the restaurant was never full. There were always chairs at the bar as well as about six 2-​tops that were open.
The décor is Japanese modern — dark wood tables and chairs with banquettes lining the wall, rice paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, potted plants, etc. It is a casual restaurant, but you could come for a nice meal.
Chef Mako has compiled an interesting menu. We ordered a variety of things to share:
Hirame Carpaccio ($ 13): five pieces of very thinly sliced halibut (about 2.5″ long) in a sesame ginger garlic sauce with shredded daikon and a halved grape tomato. The fish is very good quality, but I generally find sashimi to be a rip off. Seriously, this is $ 2.60 a bite. I am glad that I tried it, but I would not order it again.
Eel Cucumber Roll ($ 8) with soy paper ($ 1): the first roll was delivered with seaweed. We told the runner who said «let me get someone» and the waitress who said «that is soy paper» (more on the obnoxious Ms. B later). I told her «soy paper is white and seaweed is green — that is green; it is not soy paper.» So, they did another roll with what I ordered and forgot the wasabi on the second plate. Argh. Fortunately, a manager brought some wasabi. Overall, the roll had a great flavor. It was pretty light on the eel and heavy on the cucumber, but I have found that generally to be the case. The roll was in 8 pieces and was served with pickled ginger that was delicious. Also, I love that they have low sodium soy sauce. Very good. Would order again.
Crab Spring Rolls ($ 11) with Tarragon Aioli: these are VERY expensive for what you get but they are DELICIOUS and a MUST ORDER. Two cigar size rolls of phyllo dough are filled with essentially a crab cake mixture and deep fried. They are each cut in half on the bias and put in a martini glass with the delicious aioli. Excellent filling, herbaceous aioli, and crispy exterior make this a winning combination.
Brussels Sprouts ($ 8): enough for two to share, this bowl of halved Brussels sprouts have been pan cooked in a soy based sauce. While they are a little greasy, they use EXCELLENT oil, they are perfectly cooked and very flavorful. They are not roasted, so you don’t have the distinctive char, but they get sweetness from the sauce and are definitely worth ordering.
Salmon Collar ($ 12): ordered rare and initially delivered well done. OY. Waitress again argued about cooking temperature. I told her LESS cooked. (Literally, I don’t think she understood what RARE means.) She said «it’s going to take longer,» and I reminded her «less cooked.» So, they eventually brought it out. Of course, the collar is think and will always be cooked through but the accompanying filet was rare in the center. The fish is cooked at a VERY high temperature for a crunchy exterior. While it is a little salty, the flavor is outstanding. It was super fresh, had a delicious soy scallion sauce to pour over it, and was served over a bed of deep fried spinach that (while salty) melted in your mouth.
Apple Tart with Caramel Gelato on the side ($ 8): WOW!!! A beautiful round plate is drizzled with caramel and decorated with fresh blueberries and candied kumquats. In the center, there is a perfect piece of pastry wrapped up around apples with lots of cinnamon and some raisins. It is served warm, so I got the ice cream on the side to avoid a caramel gelato puddle. Every bite of the flakey pastry with the cinnamony apples and the toasted caramel sauce and a little creamy gelato was outstanding. This, the pricey spring rolls and the Brussels sprouts were the highlights of the meal.
The lowlights of the meal were the ridiculous wine pours (which were fortunately comped because they screwed up our orders… twice) and our miserable, dour waitress. First, DM ordered a glass of sauv blanc, which Ms. B forgot. When it finally came, it was $ 9 for a 2 oz. pour. WTF??? When she asked if DM wanted more wine, she said «yes…I want the other half of that glass.» Ms. B said nothing and went and returned with another glass. The wine was very good, but the bottle was like $ 32 on the menu. For a 2 oz. pour from a bottle that you are selling for $ 32, it should be $ 4. $ 9 should be a 4.5 oz. pour or so. As I said, it was comped, but BUYER BEWARE. Order the bottle or skip it.
Chef Mako was out of the kitchen but sat with one party and said nothing to anyone else — bummer. The manager was friendly. The runner who filled water glasses and brought plates and cleared plates was AWESOME and FRIENDLY. The server was surly, dour, impatient, ignorant about the menu, incomprehensible (enunciate pls), unfriendly, inattentive and MOST unpleasant.
Overall, 4 star food (ding for salty) and 1 star server with 3.5 star staff.

Clean and nicely décor inside. Staff was friendly. Food seemed average or a little above. Got there fairly late (pretty much last call). Ordered two items for dinner: Eel Avocado Roll and the Grilled Salmon.
Eel avocado roll seemed a little disappointing comparing all the positive review that this place had. There were way too much rice and avocado (especially the avocado). The avocado taste, flavour, and texture overruled all the other stuff that was in the roll and there weren’t that many stuff in it, barely any eel. Rice could be a little thinner.
The Grilled Salmon wasn’t too bad. Salmon was seared nicely with just enough flavour. The rice that it came with was good but there were a little too much soya sauce making it a bit more salty than needed to be.
Maybe things would have been a little different if it wasn’t last call.

Great food and great service!
–The squid with herb butter is really good and has interesting flavors
–The yellowtail carpaccio is very tasty and fresh

In short — Poor service sours an otherwise interesting meal. The menu is hit or miss, but the hits are worth the trip.
Décor — Very clean and well styled. Has an upper end atmosphere. Would be nice for dates.
Tomato and Asparagus Salad 4* — Simple concept. Very fresh ingredients beautifully plated with a complimentary vinaigrette.
Soft Shell Crab Tempura Sushi Roll 2* — Crab portions are too small and the aioli is very bland. The price is appropriate but the flavor is lacking.
Saikyo Miso Chilean Sea Bass~Ponzu & Black Rice 3* — Very well prepared on a bed of delicious black rice that provides a perfect texture compliment to the buttery Sea Bass. However, the portion size is not appropriate for the price despite the excellent execution and concept. If the price doesn’t matter to you then its a 5* on flavor.
Crispy Oysters 5* — Beautiful preparation, flavorful basic sauce, perfectly fried. $ 3.50 per oyster is well priced considering the quality.
Calamari 2* — The light crust has no discernible seasoning. The sauce is extremely bland. The price is right at $ 8 but the concept shows no imagination.
Half Roasted Jidori Chicken 4* — The chicken has great flavor with an excellent crust. The gravy on the side is excellent, as is the horseradish cream.
Service 2* — Being understaffed was the root of the problem. The service was very slow because they were understaffed. Multiple tables were waiting a long time to get their food and checks.
Also two of our dishes were lost either by the waiter or the kitchen. Little apology was made for this. It severely delayed our dinner.
The indecent — Harry (presumably the manager) slipped and fell to the ground with a shrimp cocktail sending sauce flying across and restaurant and onto our table and clothes. I felt very bad for him as it looked painful but ultimately the way he was moving around the restaurant was unprofessional and dangerous. It is a cramped restaurant and it got very busy while we were there. During our time there I witnessed multiple near collisions with him and his wait staff.
The manager should be table hopping getting to know the diners and confirming their dinning experience, not delivering dishes in a dangerous hurry.
Ultimately, we got 25% off our bill even though we had to push for it when it should have been handled without us asking when the full bill arrived.
The food was good enough for a second try. I will assume that this was just a very bad service night and that is not how the restaurant usually operates. I will update the rating after the next trip.
It’s sad when service drags down a generally good job by the kitchen. We would have spent more money on dessert and drinks but at the end of the dinner we just wanted to leave.

Delicious! We came as a big group and had wonderful service. They have a decent bar with lots of sake options.
A: squid with pesto, raw bar, sea bass (red rice with the sea bass was delightful), calamari
B: wine selection (could have had more choices)
C: pizza (was standard), beet salad (also standard, but props for yellow beets)
Everything was prepared well with great flavors.

It wasn’t bad…
That’s about all I can say about it. Maybe we had the wrong thing? We got salmon and something else similar, and none of it was very memorable except for remembering that it was kind of bland.

One of the best meals ever!
I are grilled Grilled Cesar Salad, Salmon Carpaccio, Smoked Trout and Fennel Salad, Spicy Tuna with Crispy Rice and Apple Tart!
Everything was so delicious!