Yojie Japanese Fondue & Sake Bar

If you’re looking for a modern, trendy, make you feel like family type of ambiance, look no further!
The customer service was fantastic! They were attentive, fun, and full of energy. The food was delicious and filling. Definitely coming back soon!

Customer service was great. I enjoyed the Delicious meal. One of the best japanese restaurants I have tried in los angeles. I look forward to coming again.

Clearly we haven’t been here in a while, but I chose this place for dinner because my sister wanted Asian food, and it was close to the convention center.
People, stay away. I repeat, STAY away!
I made a reservation but clearly there was no point as the table wasn’t cleaned, set up, or anything. We stood in the entryway for a while before anyone even noticed and came to seat us. When we sat down, there wasn’t room for our 5^th person and we had to pull a chair up ourselves. We probably sat for a good 15 minutes before anyone came to get our drink order. Oh, and the table was still dirty and sticky.
In fact, the whole place seemed a lot dirtier and way more rundown than I remember a few years ago.
Also, every single server was walking around as if they were chickens with their heads cut off. We had two guys waiting on us and both seemed super frenzied and repeated what the other said. Absolutely no beer left on tap? And no bottled beer that’s chilled and ready to serve? Food quality was crap. The meat wasn’t even sliced cleanly through, when I went to pick up a piece, it was literally the entire chunk of meat on the plate. Should our broth water be boiling in pots on the table for 15 minutes before we get any of the meat or veggies? I’m pretty sure no. The goma bday ever was way too watery, and the other sauce was way too sweet.
If you want shabu shabu, there are WAY better places in little tokyo, and King Shabu is much better in torrance. We will never, never be coming here again. Our dinner took 2.5 hours, and that wasn’t by choice.

Came here this past Saturday afternoon with a friend. It’s a little bit hard to tell whether it’s a restaurant, a lounge, or a bar.
PROS
— the meat and veggies are quite fresh, very tasty and healthy
— free ice cream when checking in using Unilocal
CONS
— the portion is not that big
— Service! Service! Service! There were only less than 10 people in the restaurant, but the service took FOREVER, oftentimes it would take 5 — 10 mins before a waiter appear within our eye sight, which is really annoying. Feels like going hunting.
Overall I will give 3 star. Although the food tastes good, the service quality is a deal breaker.

Good food. However I came here on a Sunday afternoon, and they were understaffed and extremely slow, like SOOOOOO Slow. They absolutely need more busboys and waiters

WHY IS IT DIFFERENT?
**2016 Unilocal 100 CA Challenge #13**
The moment you walk in you can’t really see the dining area since there is a sort of wall that blocks the view. The setting restaurant was pretty kool w/​some booths & a bar top. They have some large tables so that large parties could dine all together as well. It was a little stuffy inside & the place could definitely use some deep cleaning because the floor was super sticky for some reason.
Our server was very NICE… but we weren’t sure if he was still in training or not cuz it seemed like he wasn’t sure about a lof things that we asked about… BUT he ALWAYS kept us updated on everything & didn’t bullshit so PROPS for honesty. The food took some time & our biggest disappointment was that this location did NOT have the PORK SOUP base that they offer in the LAS VEGAS location =\ The pots here are much bigger but split into 2 sections so you share the pot w/​another person.
The proteins are cut a bit thicker here so you can definitely tell the difference in the tenderness of different choices of beef. SURPRISINGLY… the quality of meat was NOT as good as we expected… I guess we figured the quality would be better in CALIFORNIA because of happy cows ahahahaa

I love this place! very cool ambiance and feel, there usually playing bangin beats sometimes even have live painting!
the food is delicious, the meats of a great quality, good selection of veggies and the sukiyaki isn’t too sweet or mollasasy .
I always end up needing 2 eggs and I don’t really like that they charge you extra for that, especially if you get the big plate of meat.
the only let down here is the service– no matter how many people are in the restaurant it takes forever to get anything ! drinks, food, to order — sooo slooooooow, that being said I keep coming back so the good food and atmos definantly outweighs the service.

I love the food! It was really good. I ordered their yojie beef cut plus the sukiyaki soup and it complemented each other well. I also love it how after cook the beef, you dip it in the egg. YYUMMY!!!
In the egg, I added lots of chili powder to spice it and it made the beef more delicious! I also love their udon noodles, i wish I could have more!
Free ice cream when you checked in too.

Their shabushabu is aight. Very authentic. Portion is decent. Perfect location. Free ice cream is good. Server was kind. Price is slowly keep going up doe…

Best Sukiyaki in town. I like how they approach it with a Shabu Shabu style. Other places will cook all of the meat at once in a pot which makes it tough. Here you can cook each piece of meat to perfection. I usually get the sumo portion which is perfect for a man.
The perfect bite:
1. Get a piece of meat & swish it in the simmering broth 3 – 5 times depending on how you like it done. A little pink is a good thing.
2. Dip that in the raw egg to neutralize the sweetness. Add some ponzu to switch it up.
3. Put it on the rice and then in your mouth.
4. Smile. Repeat.

The name is misleading, definitely not «fondue» in any way, just regular shabu. Service was okay, ambiance was alright, but my main disappointment was that the meat (beef & pork) and salmon did not seem fresh at all.
Parking is also difficult; I’d recommend parking a block away and walking over («ATHENA» lot).

Came here on a Wednesday night, and there was no wait. This is downtown, so expect to pay for parking, unless you get lucky enough to find one on the street.
*** TIP: you can park at loading zones after 6pm in LA.***
I ordered the yojie’s cut with the size geisha (5 oz). Each entrée comes with bowl of vegetables, noodles, and your choice of brown or white rice. For the broth, we got half sukiyaki and half spicy miso. I really liked the flavor in the spicy miso broth, but on the other hand, didn’t care too much for the sukiyaki. The sukiyaki broth was too sweet for my liking, and made everything taste like teriyaki chicken.
When my plate of beef came out, my first thought was that the portion was really small; however, after finishing all my food, I was happily satisfied.
We also ordered hot sake, which is nothing special, and I don’t expect it to be. I was impressed at their extensive drink menu, which included many cocktails, wines, sakes, and beers. They also have dessert menus. They offer free scoop ice cream with check in. They ran out of UBE that day, so I got the green tea ice cream instead. It was rich in flavor and not too sweet.
Their Happy hour is from 5pm-​7pm Sunday — Thursday.
My overall experience was great. Our server was attentive and always had a smile on his face. Food was good, and restaurant setting was appealing & comfortable. I would return again.

Extremely trendy shabu/​fondue place! They have great music bumping, and dope artwork (for sale) by local artists. Great hosts/​servers and bartenders. really FUN vibe.
One of the few or «only» places they claim to have multiple soup broths… we had one regular «shabu» broth and one sukiyaki (soy sauce/​teriyaki base?) I ordered the combination plate (5 oz of angus beef + 5oz pork) for $ 27. My boyfriend ordered the 8 oz Yojie Cut (angus beef).
So the pros is that the food is extremely tasty. The flavors are fantastic and the quality of the meat is good as well.
The cons are that the portions of veggies, sides etc is extremely limited. I think I had 2 peices (literally, 2 pieces) of tofu, a few strands of vermicelli and udon noodles, and a handful of lettuce/​spinach.
Overall, great food but so overpriced for what you get. Don’t really plan on coming back unless its a special occasion or something.

My very first experience trying suki yaki! Where has this been my whole life!!! I end up comparing all other suki yakis to this place, and even the Yojie in Artesia (closer to where I live) doesn’t compare.
I had a combo with salmon and it was wonderful. The broth was pretty concentrated and sweet, which I loved. Both meat and fish quality were great. As per recommendation of my waiter, I tried the Arnold Palmier. Really enjoyed it. We also tried the green tea fondue in the end — definitely for anyone with a sweet tooth!
Our server was basically non-​existent for the duration of our meal, we actually had to keep asking someone else for water and refills — docked a star.
Can’t complain about anything else but the dent in my wallet after eating here. I’m long overdue for another night out

A-​OK is pretty accurate. My friends and I were in the area, craving some shabu without a long wait so we ended up here.
They have different sizes like kodomo (child) 3oz, Geisha (5oz), and a few larger plates like sumo and something else. You can choose from 3 soup bases: kombu (the regular water + seaweed), sukiyaki (+$ 1, this sweet broth), and spicy miso (+$ 2).
The food itself was not great. I had the geisha yojie’s cut, and it was low quality meat. My meat kept falling apart in the pot and 5oz seemed tiny. The sauces were meh. Goma did not taste anything like sesame sauce, ponzu was acceptable. At the end of the meal, we asked for soup base, and they gave us a small bottle labeled «soup base» to use. OMG THIS WAS DISGUSTING. I don’t know what is in it, but it had this heavy alcohol taste (like when you don’t completely cook off alcohol from a dish). It was so awful and I was disappointed my favorite part of my shabu meal, the end bowl of soup base w/​my meat infused broth, was ruined. Awful.
The prices here are NOT competitive at all. Unless you are okay with a serving size for ants, every plate will run you $ 20+. Also, our burner was broken or something because my pot would NOT boil. It had nothing in it (I don’t eat veggies…), and it never boiled during the course of our ~1hr meal. I had to keep dipping my meat in my bf’s pot.
The only saving grace here was the service. Service was scarce and seemed understaffed, but they were friendly. Such a waste of money, no more getting shabu outside of Orange County.

Been coming here for years since it opened. Absolutely love this place! The service, ambiance and food is amazing. It is definitely my favorite shabu shabu place. I even crave it due to the sweet dipping sauce they offer with the meal, so good!
I usually order the Kobe or angus with sukiyaki or spicy miso. Both really good! I recently tried the salmon and the chicken in attempts at being healthy, and also really good! I have to admit, I was skeptical about the chicken and salmon since the beef is so good with the dipping sauces, but I have to say they are a very good alternative if you don’t like red meat. The service is very good, friendly and attentive. They always remember me when I come in. I always love the music they play, 90s hip hop and R&B type vibe, a beautiful compliment to the street art displayed on the walls. The green tea fondue is a must for dessert. Order extra strawberries and rice crispy treats, although the pound cake and brownies are equally as good. I pray they never go out of business bc I am a regular for life, lol

Fun place to come to dinner on a date or with a big group of friends. This place is individual style so each person gets their own hotpot, or, if you are sitting at the booths you’ll get one larger hotpot with a center divider per two people.
Meat quality is good but not exceptional (yoijies cut). Lots of variety offered in terms of type of protein (three different kinds of beef, pork, pork belly, chicken, salmon, etc), rice (white or brown) and broth (shabu shabu, sukiyaki, spicy miso). Not usually a fan of sukiyaki but they do it so well here! It’s flavored perfectly where it’s super flavorful and is sweet but not overly so. It flavors the meat in the most delicious way. Pass on spicy miso. Seriously, don’t get it. Each order comes with two sauces (ponzu and goma), rice, bowl of veggies and noodles (udon, glass). Usually prefer ponzu but yoijie’s ponzu is just okay and the goma is unexpectedly better.
Make sure you check in for a free scoop of ice cream! It’s surprisingly a decently sized portion and I chose the ube flavor which was soooo good. I’m basically bumping up the rating for this place because the ice cream was that good. So unique and delicious.

I originally bookmarked this place because they have green tea white chocolate fondue and I love green tea everything! We didn’t have time for dessert though, not even for the free ube ice cream (w/​check in). :(It was conveniently located near Staples Center, so I suggested this place to my friends. We each picked a meat to share: prime rib, sashimi salmon, Kurobuta pork, and chicken. Entrees also came with vegetables, noodles, and rice. We tossed everything into the pots and ate. It was an interactive meal. Everything was tasty and fresh. I cooked the salmon too well though.

Yojie is definitely one of my favorite Shabu places at the moment. It’s been bookmarked on my account for forever and I finally got to go :)
It’s pretty pricy but it’s so good, it might actually be worth. I wasn’t satisfied with the portions they give us. 5oz of meat is so little for $ 20 for the certified angus beef and the bucket of veggies is the smallest I’ve ever gotten but the meat is so good. If you aren’t trying to spend a lot get the sumo (12 oz.) and share it for an extra $ 5. They give you an extra soup and rice and sauce.
$ 1 for the sukiyaki and $ 2 for the spicy miso
The sukiyaki is super super sweet but you dip the meat in the raw egg and it’s literally the best thing ever. It perfectly balances out the sweetness from the soup
Spicy miso is bomb too I always use the goma sauce with it
Overall I gave them 4 stars because the soup was good, the meat was good, the sauce was super good and they give you unlimited sauce and rice and refill your soup
Don’t forget to checkin for the free ube ice cream or green tea! Both are delicious
No idea where to find parking. I parked on the street and walked 2 blocks

Oh Yojie, what are you doing in Los Angeles? Please pack up and move to New York at your earliest, so I don’t have to continue to transport my rickety old feeble frame all the way to the West Coast to enjoy your Sukiyaki.
There are plenty of Shabu Shabu and Sukiyaki options in New York City, but I just have never enjoyed the Sukiyaki anywhere else quite as much as the offerings at Yojie. It seems like there’s always something missing at other places. Some offer either udon noodles or rice, but not both, with their Sukiyaki; some don’t include the raw egg. Nobody seems to be able to provide the same degree of complete and thorough enjoyment that I have experienced at Yojie about half a dozen times. Now, I will not pretend to be an expert on Japanese cuisine, and I humbly concede that some of the other places might be more authentic, but as I’ve stated before, my palate has a mind of its own, and may well enjoy deliciously inauthentic cuisine from time to time.
Yojie describes its style as Japanese fondue, and while I can see the similarities with fondue, Shabu Shabu and Sukiyaki really are more closely related to, and really originated from, the Chinese hotpot.
Previously, the portion sizes at Yojie were named Kodomo (meaning «child» for a small serving), Geisha (medium), Samurai (large — 8 oz), and Sumo (extra large — 12 oz). Recently, however, they have changed the names to the more mundane SM, MED, LG, and XL, perhaps due to some criticism of the implication that women (as «Geisha» implies — Geisha are female entertainers in certain Japanese traditions) can only handle smaller portions of food, and therefore, the terms were considered sexist by some.
I always get the Sumo (now XL) portion of beef, which is beautifully marbled and deliciously flavorful. I also get the Yojie hot sauce and whisk it into my raw egg, which lends an additional kick and a richness to the meat when I dip it into the raw egg. The sauce is extremely hot, and it is recommended to only get a drop or two of it. Dip the meat and vegetables in the bubbling, sweet and savory Sukiyaki broth for a few seconds, then dip them in the beaten raw egg, and pop them in your mouth to enjoy the rather protein-​rich nosh.
Each table (as well as the bar space) is equipped with individual burners, and the broth is served in individual pots. Therefore, you can be at ease if you are not comfortable dipping your chopsticks in the same pot as other people in a group dinner.
For dessert, the green tea ice cream mochi and the purple ube ice cream are great, and you get a free scoop of ice cream for checking in on Unilocal

Probablement la meilleure endroit où manger de la fondue à Los Angeles. Le service était parfait la nourriture de très bonne qualité je recommande cet endroit à qui compte veux avoir un souper en amoureux ou avec amis. Nous avons essayer la fondue chocolat au lait pour dessert et c’était délicieux. Ce n’est pas un endroit trop «fancy» donc s’habiller de casuel.