The people behind Far Bar in DTLA’s Little Tokyo have opened up a new restaurant right next door called Sake Dojo. In Japanese, “dojo” means a space for immersive learning or meditation. Well, this new restaurant will educate your taste buds. They serve up authentic Japanese-style food with a modern culinary twist, but it’s not just food. They also serve up a large selection of craft Japanese sakes, whiskeys and beers.
We were lucky enough to be invited to Sake Dojo for a sampling of all they have to offer. First up came the appetizers. The Tori Karaage is Jidori chicken with lemon aioli and chili Yuzu sauce, but my favorite was the Popcorn Rock Shrimp. Delicious!
Up next came the Shigoku Oysters and the Cucumber Wrap Rainbow Roll. This was followed by a sampling of their Japanese Mackerel Battera and the Sushi Burrito. At this point I was so full I could not eat another bite, but then they brought out the Citrus Prawn Pasta with grilled prawn serves in a lobster stock. OMG. It was so good, I scraped the bowl clean.
The meal ended with the Yuzu Crema Catalana dessert served with a blueberry puree and mixed berries. All the food was delicious, and so were the cocktail and sake samplings. I am now a big fan of sparkling sake.
If you are looking for Japanese food in DTLA, but want more than sushi and noodles, you need to head to Sake Dojo.
SAKE DOJO 333 E. 1st Street (in Little Tokyo) 213.234.0957 sakedujola.com
DTLAexplorer.com 
My wife and I went to Sake Dojo last week for a quick drink, and found the bartenders quite unfriendly. It was happy hour, and I asked about the sake flight on the menu. “Unavailable” was the response! Despite the dozens of sake options…
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