Restaurant: Shirubē
Location: 424 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 393-2533
Date: January 4, 2024
Cuisine: Japanese Izakaya
Rating: Close and solid
I’ve wanted to try this place for a while — and theoretically it’s close.
This photo was taken after we ate, fairly late. For most of our dinner the place was jammed. Weird hard to find location on Wilshire and 4th too, a block from the old PF Changs etc.
The menu.
Sashimi Mori. Chefs select assorted sashimi. Fresh and very good.
Aburi Shime Saba. Cured mackerel seared in front of you. Very clean with that strong fish oil. I like the strong mustard too. Paul wasn’t as big a fan.
Wagyu Steak. Yuzukoshi, furikake potatoes, wasabi. Also solid.
Jidori. Organic free range chicken thigh with house ponzu. Excellent for grilled chicken. Tender and juicy.
Chawanmushi. Steamed egg custard, ikura, snow crab. Nice crab and roe chawan.
Kamo. Duck breast, yuzu shio koji, ikura, daikon.
Izawaya food was solid here at Shirube. I need to come back and try again though as I didn’t get to order as I would have liked — particlarly due to just trying to avoid carbs. I was slightly miffed near the end when I asked for some of their “toro tacos” without rice and was blown off in this “the customer is not always right” kind of way. They just left revenue in my pocket and irritated me.