Wokcano

Went to dinner here tonight sat on the patio absolutely amazing! Server Cheyenne was awesome. Food was fast and on point. The albacore tuna app sashimi style great. The ahi tuna app with jalapeño also amazing. For the entrée grilled sea bass with green beans and an amazing lemon and red onion sauce is now my favorite dish. Thank guys you really took care of us.

(+/​-​) Service is decent, but the food is hit or miss and a bit pricey. I guess you pay for the ambiance since it’s in the Village with trendy modern décor.
(-) Black pepper beef had great flavor and the filet mignon was tender as expected, but the onions were chopped too thick and were way too undercooked. Raw onion = not a good date dish
(+) Spicy garlic edamame not bad. Haven’t had any sushi rolls yet from here, probably won’t since I usually avoid fusion sushi.
(+)The sake sampler was chill, never had blueberry sake before

We started by ordering a crispy rice tune, and where do I start? I will say this. It is hard to be worse than what I had ESPECIALLY, if you charge this amount for it. We ordered Philly roll and it was okay. Spicy tuna roll Not good imo. We also ordered Smoky sunset and my God it was all hard to see where the fish was in there!
SO, food wise it’s not that great, it’s ok, may be.
Staff is OK here from my experience.

I made a birthday reservation at this location. One of the assistant managers was very rude and kept questioning me about when everyone was showing up and how many people I was really expecting. A few people were running a little late. It was nothing out of the ordinary. The assistant manager kept threatening to give up my table for someone else if everyone from the party wasn’t there immediately. I kept assuring him that my friends were on their way and trying to find parking. I did notify him that a few people cancelled at the last minute (also not out of the ordinary) and I was expecting 12 people instead of 15. The assistant manager then gave me attitude about that. He kept questioning me like I had no idea of how many people I was expecting. My friends who were there and I were shocked with how rude this man was being. We eventually demanded to be seated telling him that the rest of the party would be there soon. Most of us were already there. Before he seated our party he rudely pulled away one of the tables simply because I told him three people weren’t able to show. I overheard him tell someone else in an irritated tone that our table was supposed to be a party of 15 – 21 people. When I called to make the reservation I never said that my party was 15 – 21 people! I said it would be exactly 15. A part of me wanted to leave, but everyone was already there. We were seated at a pretty cramped table. The assistant manager should’ve kept the table he took away from us because we had 12 members of my party there like I said. I can’t believe a big deal was made because three people couldn’t make it.
After we were seated things were ok. I was not impressed with the food or drinks at all. I’ve been to the Pasadena location and the food and drinks are way better! This location and the Pasadena location are like two completely different restaurants. The Woodland Hills location may have better décor, but the service and the food suck. Don’t be fooled by the classy décor of the Woodland Hills location. This restaurant was a terrible pick for my birthday. I will never eat there again. I suggest that no one goes there and definitely don’t make reservations there because they don’t know how to handle it.

Food was very good. We started with duck wrap and lettuce wrap appetizers and they were both delicious. We then had honey walnut shrimp and that was terrific and very authentic Chinese. We also had lamb as recommended by our waitress, which was tasty, but if you have TMJ (which I do) then I’d stay away from it; the initial bite of the meat was tender, but it got chewy… makes no sense right?
So those were the positives. Here are some constructive criticism that I hope the managers will act on:
LOUD: the acoustics were terrible. We could barely hear the waitress or each other talk. The interior design should have incorporated use of sound absorbing material. The ceiling had very nice big Bose speakers, but you couldn’t hear anything from them.
Service: was awful. Appetizers came and before we finished them, our salads and soups came at the same time, which happens, but about five minutes later our main courses had arrived! The server who delivered the main courses asked us to clear the table so he could put the main courses down and we were very annoyed. For one, we weren’t even done with our appetizers, let alone our salads and soups; second, even if we were done, go back and get a bus boy to clear the table and don’t ask the customers to do the work. This was a total lack of customer focus.
If you try this place, I’d recommend outdoor seating if possible. The food was good enough that I’d be willing to try Wokcano again, but it definitely isn’t on top of my list at all.

The food was okay. The first time I came to
This location was actually a month ago and it was pretty good as well as the service. But man this time around, I was disappointed with how the food wasn’t hot and I asked for spicy. They didn’t do it. The server was the only one left for the lunch shift and instead of the others helping her they were running to get their bills to check out. That’s not a team. Tamara was our server, I still made sure to tip her 20% because i was managements fault. Otherwise my spicy albacore handroll (also not spicy) was pretty damn good. I forgot to mention it took her 12 minutes to greet us. Both hosts at the stand weren’t doing anything and could have definitely gotten our drinks to begin with but oh well.
Update:
I have never in my life called a restaurant nor a corporation in my life. I have always given the benefit of the doubt or just never returned depending on the situation. I decided to call because I took my mom out for lunch which is rare for her since she works so much, as do I and school is starting soon so I just wanted to treat her! Welp, now I know that management is just not so great leading to poor customer service at this place. I called, the hostess placed me on hold for 15 minutes. Had to call back… He first said he’s sorry and he will «try» to give me my money back. Uh I work at a restaurant it was paid with card, you can refund all of it. Second he wanted to only refund a portion… Then 50% then I just had to demand all of my money back. I’m just totally horrified by the lack of customer service! I’m just glad I know because next time we will go to EMC across the way!

I came in here last month because of a bartender that is no longer here.
This time we were served by a bartender named Amber and she was amazing. My roommate and I had such an incredible time and we know what we are talking about. My roommate is a lead trainer for a great restaurant chain and I used to have a recruitment company for 4 and 5 star hotels and upscale restaurants.
I will be coming back not for the food but the hospitality.

This place is beautifully designed and decorated.
Asian fusion palette here.
Everything was delicious.
Part of a chain I’m told.

This place had a good atmosphere and love the set up, not your typical Asian restaurant. Has a lounge feel to it, had a double date here last night for dinner. No wait time, I guess since its a random day (lucky for us) music playing is 90s R&B which I liked. Our server was nice and attentive, kept checking on us and giving refills without asking, we ordered the double kung pao chicken, which is a big portion and the taste is just right and not too spicy. Sauce is not overwhelming and chicken was cut in good sizes. Hot and sour soup is OK. Black peppered beef was tasty and tender. Singaporean noodles was good as well! Overall experience was great!

I would give this place a ¾ but I’m giving it a 5 for several reasons. The reasons for the 5: friendly greetings upon walking in. I was referred by a friend to sit in Scott’s section who he had served several times. Scott was friendly, attentive, offered great suggestions on the menu and is professional. As a matter of fact, I was quite impressed when he brought the salad to me. I forgot to mention to him to separate my dressing and when he delivered our food, my dressing came separate, not mixed in. He took the initiative to do this becauee he apparently was paying attention to how health conscious I was when ordering our meal. That kind of attention deserves recognition. Althroughout our eating experience, our water cups were always full and we were well taken care of.
Reason for ¾ stars: the manager in charge was not friendly. No smile on his face and as aatter of fact his demeanor came accross as if he was anxious and even investigative. It was WEIRD! Being in management position smiling at your guests is #1! I felt as if he was suspicious about how I was telling him about the great service Scott was giving us. NOT OK SIR. Lesson: don’t assume that just because people are fom the same ethnic background, we are related. That was my first time eating at that Wokcano and I give it a 5, because of our server Scott. Unfortunately, Management needs to go back to hospitality training.

Recently decided to try this location since I had such a positive experience at their sister location in Santa Monica. I had made a reservation and my friend that showed up to meet me had been seated, but was left sitting for upwards of 10 minutes without a drink or server check in.
When we were able to order I had the sushi dinner with the brown rice option. Our food took what seemed like forever… and I had to ask the waitress repeatedly for a drink refill. When our food did arrive my friend’s roll was over-​cooked. My order of rolls with the brown rice option left more to be desired. The brown rice had the consistency of gravel. With each bite it became more difficult to eat.
Bottom line is I know this location is new, but I will stick with the Santa Monica site.

In all fairness, these guys opened not very long ago and they tried. So an extra star for trying…
The Service: I was annoyed when people who walked in before me were seated. I had a reservation, showed up on time, and had to wait longer than they did. Once seated, I sat for a loooong time without anyone checking in. Finally, the hostess walked over to apologize for our server being held up by a large party; and she took my drink and appetizer order instead of the waitress. After that, service was still slow. Runners kept trying to deliver food that wasn’t ours to the table. And we had to beg for drink refills.
The Food: Even though I’d ordered an appetizer of steamed veggie dumplings, they took forever to arrive. So long that our entrees arrived moments later. The dumplings and sauce were good. The salad that came with the sushi dinner was really good. My friend liked her variety of sushi — especially with the option for brown rice. But I disliked the peacock roll. It had been fried for so long (and not cooled) that it cooked the spicy tuna inside. It was more like canned tuna fish than sushi. Gross.
So. I’m going back to the Wokcano in Santa Monica. It’s prettier, intimate and well-​run. And no more fried sushi rolls.

Never disappoints late night munchies.
Love the black pepper beef mignon, orange chicken, walnut shrimp! The sashimi was super fresh too.
Tempura ice cream with salted caramel is good to finish off the meal.

Except for the service, the nice décor and the good Chardonnay (and priced at a low $ 7), everything else was either so-​so or sucked. We ordered the following:
Calamari — sucked
Seared Tuna with Jalapeño — sucked and very pricey too
Shanghai Lo Mein — so-​so
Black Pepper Beef Mignon — sucked
Tempura Ice Cream — sucked (the ice cream was good but the tempura sucked)
And the above opinion is unanimous among my companions. Our visit was one expensive mistake.

My first visit to a Wokcano. Didn’t know it was a chain, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
Started with the seared tuna with sliced jalapeño with a chili oil — delicious. I’m gonna have to try to copy this dish when I catch fresh ahi. Daughter is currently on a paleo diet, so she ordered some salmon sashimi. I’m not, so I ordered the 3 roll dinner special, which comes with a miso soup and side salad. Side salad had fresh fried wonton skins which really made the salad awesome.
Prices are competitive, and I will definitely be back to try other items on the menu.

I have heard so many negative things abbot this place, I just wasn’t sure. However, my boyfriend does like this place, so I had to give it a shot.
Waiter was excellent, very nice, a bit excited! It was nice change.
Food wise:
— The Monkey Brain $ 11.00
Tempura Avocado Stuffed with Fresh Spicy Tuna & Crabmeat Topped with Spicy Eel Sauce
This is a must! I didn’t think I would like this, but my goodness I do! Just enough tempura/​avocado blend.
–Korean Style Short Ribs $ 19.00
Sliced Bone-​In Short Ribs w/​Korean BBQ Flavor Served w/​Daily Vegetables
Enjoyed the taste of the ribs, had great flavor! However, I would have loved just a bit more given not all ribs had tons of meat, half was bone alone. The vegetables are broccoli, could have been cooked a bit more.
–Singapore Style Noodles #13.00
Curry Flavor Thin Rice Noodle Wok-​Tossed with Chicken, Shrimp, Red Bell Peppers, Beans Sprouts, & Onions
I could have been a bit happier if I could taste the curry a bit more, but overall the noodles were cooked perfectly!
I can say this is probably the best place I have tried at the new town center here and can say I would like to come back and try some more dishes!

First off, the wait is insane. But the service is top notch.
So, we waited about 2 hours on a Saturday night. It was ridiculous. I toured a majority of the facility during the wait (most of the time goofing around, screaming like a manic).
Shout out to the pepper beef. It’s a well-​made dish with good flavor balance.
Coming from someone who usually hates oysters, I thought these were good. Also, I thought the oysters had excellent presentation.
I ordered the Peking Duck appetizer and it was the size of one egg roll, cut in half. Split between 5 people? Naw, that duck ain’t gonna fly. It tasted good, it was reminiscent of a Vietnamese Summer Roll.
I honestly thought the food was good, but pricey. But think about it, the vibe of the surrounding area screams class. This place is no exception. This is immediately obvious in the staff. Our server was excellent, with a packed restaurant too! So if you’re looking for a classy place to chow down, I consider this a pretty hot pick. (but seriously, the wait is ridiculous)

Pretty disappointed overall with my first experience here. I walked all over the new Village scoping out the menus at the new restaurants and chose this one for lunch. As soon as we sat down we ordered waters and bloody marys. The waters came right away but it took over 5 minutes for the drinks. This was at 1pm and there were not very many people there so I don’t understand the delay. The drink was ok but nothing outstanding to justify the $ 12 price tag.
The rest of the food we ordered was ok as well, but did not justify the exorbitant expense. We paid about $ 100 for the crispy rice with tuna, 6 oysters (for $ 18!), and the emperors beef (which was glorified Kung pao beef).
I don’t mind paying a healthy amount for good food, but the service was so terrible I felt really bad about spending as much as I did. Our waiter was constantly flirting with the hostess, paid very little attention to us, and did not check on our food nor ask how it was. I don’t think I’ll be going back, especially with EMC Seafood right next door.

When I first stopped here in the afternoon to make a reservation I was dressed in work out clothes and the hostess gave me the Up and Down looking at what I was wearing. Please restaurant Managers, if you are training your people to do this ‘inspection’ it is very disrespectful. I let it go and didn’t say anything So I will express myself here, Hostess Little Girl, keep your eyeing judgement to yourself. I am twice your age and know what is appropriate to wear in a restaurant.
One stars for the hostess and 4 stars on food and overall service. Service is OK but SLLLLOOOOOWWWW. and we were begging to have empty plates taken. Order several types of sushi at once or you will be waiting a very long time in between your courses. So each time they bring you something, be ready to order. I eat very slowly and we never had food backing up on us, inf act, I was wondering on a few occassions where the next order was!
Patio is terrific people watching and if you can get close to the heater beats the heck out of eating inside. Its very very noisy and you will def. be yelling at your tablemate to have a conversation.
Maybe once they work out the kinks this place could be a 5 star review so I am optomistic and will return again.

Came back again today and discovered that there are now mirrors in the ladies’ room, yay! Hahaha. I guess they just weren’t prepared on opening day when I went last Friday.
Food and ambiance is still great, but the drinks took a little bit of time to come out. Like most of other establishments at The Village, the staff here is still fairly new and still in the process of learning what to do.