Mubee is located on La Cienega near Beverly. It is right next to the sign that says NUDE and Acapulco. There is plenty of street parking if you look for it as well as a small lot in the back. I really want this place to succeed but the crowd isn't promising.
It appears the restaurant could hold 40 if every chair was filled. There are several tables as well as a sushi bar. Right as you walk in the entire staff greets you in Japanese (I guess they could be saying anything but it SOUNDS nice). The staff is very attentive and friendly. The menu has a lot of typical sushi favorites, traditional Japanese dishes, as well as some new modern twists. I'd like to go to Mubee for a snack someday and just try the salmon carpaccio--beef carpaccio is my favorite thing so salmon is probably delicious too. The reason I haven't tried it yet is because it isn't filling but is sort of expensive.
Upon arrival they bring you a cup of miso soup (regardless of what you order) and ask about drinks. The ice tea changes but is always delicious. Tonight's was a tropical blend. I probably drank a whole pot of tea myself.
I ordered the 10 pc sushi combination. The menu said it came with a California roll - but I don't really like California rolls. I asked to substitute a different roll and pay the difference, they gladly agreed. I substituted the regular salmon roll (a great choice) and it was only $0.50 more. My mom got the 8 pc sushi combination and substituted a regular yellowtail roll for the California roll.
The presentation is very modern and simple. The roll came out first so that we could get a start on eating. Even the wasabi has a nice design. The sushi is delicious. They do NOT skimp on the fish. The fish pieces are easy to chew, incredibly fresh and large. If you are looking for something exotic, don't get the combinations. The combinations have several tuna varieties and salmon but are still worth it. Some of the sushi comes with an alternate dipping sauce.
As with any sushi restaurant, the bill can really add up with just a couple of dishes, but this one is worth it. As far as I can tell, Mubee is a family business and the family is all there working together. Come on out to La Cienega and support LA's newest independent sushi bar and restaurant.
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Adendum 7/27/07
I visited the restaurant again, this time for dinner. It wasn't the same. The menu has changed and no longer prominately features their unusual special dishes such as beef and salmon carpaccio. They still had these dishes, but the restaurant seemed more like a regular sushi restaurant than something different. The menu design was different even--just a piece of laminated paper instead of the nice look it had before.
The friend I ate with had Uni which she thought wasn't very good as well as some terrible tasting wine--supermarket quality. I ordered the Sushi combination as usual and was disapointed to see it was filled with the same common fish I was used to. I wish that there was some variety.
Alas, the service was still pretty good although my drink wasn't refilled as often as possible. There were a lot more diners there than usual too. However, I must reduce my rating after my last visit from 4 stars. It didn't cut it this time.
Mubee
359 N. La Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90048
Map
2 comments:
You're pretty liberal with the four stars here, maybe it should be out of five stars, and five stars should only be saved for the super top shelf, awesomely fantastic places. Of course if I were running this blog, it would be on the world famous "3-21 Thumbs Up Scale" (with the lowest score being 8 Thumbs Up of course). Patent Pending.
Yeah, I was thinking about that...but Taste and Mubee are on the top of my list, but don't despair, I just happened to write about the best restaurants first...
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