racy tapas and wine bar in little tokyo open for action!
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Little Tokyo continues to push forward with innovative retail and restaurant concepts, but one little gem of a find likely overlooked is a small, unassuming bar in Honda Plaza.
While the exterior is a simple pink and black motif with “Tapas and Wine Bar C” scrawled in the front, the door leads down a rabbit hole of decadence, lust, and over the top sexiness.
Faux fur lines the walls. The booths are small and intimate. Velvet curtains drape the seating area. Liquor bottles line the back wall. No less than three large, LCD TVs scream at you. There’s a Japanese French maid waiting to serve you. Sounds like a gentleman’s club in Vegas, doesn’t it?
Well, far from it.
They also serve tapas — which I must admit have only received mediocre reviews — offer Karaoke, music, and have a top notch wine list. When I say top notch, I’m talking high-end Bordeaux (Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, among others) and limited release Napa vintages.
Word on the street is the main man at high-end gourmet shabu shabu house Kagaya next door has a hand in the wine and design of the place.
The several times I have stepped foot in this place were after a nice sushi dinner on the weekend at Sushi Gen two doors down. The weekend seems to be the time to go, as the place finds its niche in the fast evolving Little Tokyo nightlife circuit.
It can get packed like sardines in there or it can be totally empty, but if you bring a good companion and an open mind, this place is unlike any other.
Ask for the manager Jazz, an extremely friendly and accommodating host, and say you saw the place on angelenic.
Tapas and Wine Bar C
428 E 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-628-8877
Open Daily: 6:00pm - 2:00am
4 comments
Great review. Little tokyo has all sorts of little gems.
i went here last saturday night and it was… different. lots of red and black velvet. the interior was pretty small as well. still, the hostess and waitresses were really nice and accomidating.
i don’t know what else to say. it wasn’t like i was blown away or the service was awful. my friends and i had a good time.
The interior is so outrageous I totally love it. The liquor and wine selection is impressive- lots of different bottles I’ve never seen before. Our server said the food is really good, so I’ll have to try that next time. Would be a nice place to go after work and decompress with your friends. They have karaoke starting at 10pm but I def won’t stay for that! Def one of the most unique places I’ve been.
We went on a Friday around 8pm, and it was really empty. We came hungry but were a little disappointed that there weren’t more menu choices, and they were quite a bit more expensive than expected. The things we tried tho, were excellent. The Seafood salad had a light dressing that made the sashimi like cuts of fish erase any Japanese-food comparison. The crab was extremely luscious. We hesitated to order the mushroom pasta with pork katsu, worrying that it would be heavy on pasta. It was very light on pasta and used thick high quality slices of lightly breaded pork. Loved it.
Had a couple nice Merlots and a Pinot Noir, but unfortunately for us most of the wines were way over our budget. Throw a couple budget wines on the list for those like me. Our total bill was far more than I expected, and I left a little hungry. But only my wallet hurt, everything else was very satisfied. Unfortunately, I have a hunch we won’t be back soon.