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Save Room for Dessert at Koi

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:18:14 +0000

After I’ve eaten a meal of my favorites at Koi like Beef Carpaccio, Creamy Rock Shrimp, Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna, and an assortment of sushi, I’m generally very full and satisfied. But no matter how full I am I ALWAYS make room for dessert. Some restaurants do appetizers and entrees well but then they just sort of skimp on desserts. Not Koi! I adore Creme Brulee and Koi’s Vanilla Creme Brulee is always made to perfection! It’s also a fairly light dessert so if I’ve already eaten a lot, I’ll generally get their creme brulee. But if I have a bit more room I like to go for one of their more elaborate desserts like their Flourless Molten Chocolate Volcano Cake. This is so delicious you never want it to end. If you like more exotic desserts, go for the mochi! If you haven’t heard of mochi, they are these little balls of sweet dough filled with different flavors of ice cream. It may sound a little strange if you’ve never had it but it really is incredible. Koi has all the standard ice cream flavored mochi like strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, and coffee. But they also have several more exotic flavors like passionfruit, green tea, red bean, honeydew and lychee! So good!

Celebrities Love Koi

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:50:37 +0000

One thing is certain: celebrities love Koi. Which ones in particular? Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Paula Abdul, Avril Lavigne, George Clooney, Jessica Simpson, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Jamie Lynn Siegler, Jennifer Lopez, and even Madonna have all been spotted at Koi! What do they love about it so much? Perhaps its the exclusive atmosphere: it has dark booths, romantic zen-like interiors and even a koi pond! Or maybe it’s the option for privacy: Koi has a red-curtained private room where celebs can hide away while they enjoy a delicious meal. There’s even a private entrance so the celebs don’t have to be captured by paparazzi if they don’t want to be! But of course, the celebrities wouldn’t show up if the food wasn’t star quality. And indeed with dishes like Salmon Carpaccio, Creamy Rock Shrimp and their famous Crispy Rice, what more could a foodie celebrity want? Great service of course! The staff is extremely welcoming, respectful, knowledgeable, and attentive. Those celebs aren’t going to be waiting around for their food to arrive or their server to bring their drinks at Koi. Everything is prompt, professional and polite!

Koi’s Dining Rooms

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:47:09 +0000

Koi Los Angeles has a really special zen-like and romantic atmosphere with separate dining spaces. The space is really broken up into 4 dining rooms plus a lounge and bar area. When you walk in you’ll see the sleek dark bar in front of you. The bar is great if you don’t have a reservation. You can eat at the bar and generally not have to wait too long. There’s also a lounge area just adjacent to the bar where you can also dine without a reservation. It’s a great place to eat if you just want sushi and no main hot dishes (the tables are small so they might not fit more elaborate meals). If you want to eat in one of the main dining rooms, you’ll probably need a reservation. The first dining room near the entrance feels lounge-like, dark, and intimate. It’s a great area if you like to people watch because you’ll see everyone as they enter. Next to the first dining room, there’s a cool open zen patio area. It’s very covered, but they do have heaters out there that work really well. I once ate out there in November and was toasty warm! The third dining area feels more modern and bright. I’ve always thought it would be a great place to eat if you were going to eat lunch at Koi because it feels just a little more casual than the rest of the restaurant. There’s also a really sleek private dining room that seats up to 50 and has an intimate lounge feel. Whatever the occasion, Koi has a dining room with an atmosphere that’s right for it!

Favorite Koi Dishes

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:18:47 +0000

As much as I and everyone else would love to be able to go to Koi every night for dinner, most of us can only afford to go every now and then for special occasions. If you’re only going to be in town for one night and want to go to Koi, you’ll want to makes sure you try the very best Koi dishes. So without further ado, here are the dishes that I find have been reviewed most positively consistently (and they’re definitely some of my favorites):

Koi Crispy Rice: Spicy Tuna or Yellowtail Tartare over Crispy Rice
I recommend the Spicy Tuna if you only choose one. It’s the classic way to eat crispy rice and Koi does it really well.

Creamy Rock Shrimp
Little pieces of shrimp tempura coated in a delicious cream sauce. Nothing else like it!

Salmon Carpaccio
Delicious cuts of salmon sashimi in a soy type sauce but really you have to try it to understand. I frequently order seconds.

Your Favorite Sushi
When you go to such a fancy restaurant, you might feel strange ordering something as simple as salmon sushi or tuna sushi, but I think Koi really shines here. So order at least an order of your favorite Sushi.

Baked Lobster Roll
So decadent. So much more than a roll. You have to try it. It’s exactly what it sounds like but the sauce is just incredible.

The Service at Koi

admin — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 09:30:23 +0000

I’ve talked a lot about my favorite Koi dishes (salmon carpaccio, creamy rock shrimp, spicy tuna on crispy rice) and recently wrote about my favorite Koi cocktails (lychee martini!) but I think it’s time to give props to the incredible service I’ve gotten every time I’ve gone. First, I’ve never had to wait for a table when I had a reservation. Not once! That rarely happens. Especially at LA hotspots like Koi that frequently have celebrities show up who might take your place in line for a table. But unlike other celebrity hotspots, Koi never makes me feel like I’m less important or less valuable.

Koi is great at honoring requests for specific tables (especially if you call in advance). I particularly like the patio half-circle booths, but then again, so does everyone else. But so long as I request it when I make my reservation, I always get one! I love restaurants that keep their promises.

I’m always so pleased by my servers’ knowledge and charisma. Since I’m quite familiar with the menu I always ask my server lots of questions about the specials and they always seem to know what to recommend to me based on what my favorite dishes are. I’ve also noticed that the servers always seem available, but they don’t hover. They don’t make you feel like you need to rush. Plus, if you order a lot of dishes, they’re great at timing it so that not everything comes out at once (which means you have to eat the hot items first). Furthermore, I’ve dined here on occasion with a friend of mine who has dietary restrictions and they’ve been very accommodating to her needs.

Plus–the bathrooms are always tidy! Not all restaurants can manage that (and I’m so grossed out when they can’t) so props to Koi!

Cocktails at Koi

admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:30:14 +0000

We all love Koi’s delicious sushi and Japanese fare. Between the spicy tuna, the creamy rock shrimp, and the kobe beef carpaccio, what’s not to love? But today I want to give a little love to the cocktails at Koi. Koi’s cocktails alone are something to write home about.

My all time favorite is the lychee martini. It’s delightfully sweet without being syrupy. And man, is it strong! I’m serious, if you drink more than one-and they’re so delicious you will-you better have a designated driver!

Another favorite of mine is the Wasabi Praise. It’s a brilliant blend of Vodka, Saki, Lime Juice and fresh wasabi. The vodka and saki balance perfectly, while the wasabi gives it a little kick, and the lime juice makes it tart. Yum!

If you’re not a fan of sweet cocktails, I’d recommend the Ginger Sidecar made with Cognac, Ginger Liqueur, and Sweet and Sour. The Ginger gives it a really unique flavor: almost dry. It’s not overly sweet at all.

Finally, if you ever have the chance to go to Koi when they have one of their seasonal cocktails, you must partake! One year around Thanksgiving, I had a pumpkin martini at Koi that was absolutely to die for! The pumpkin flavor made it fluffy and sweet, so it felt like I was enjoying dessert through the entire meal.

As if you needed to be tempted further, I’ll just leave you with a few other appetizing names of their cocktails: Koi Chai Tea, Tangerine Cosmo, Blackberry Martini, Saketini, and the Espresso Martini.

Koi will Open at the Trump Hotel in Soho NY

admin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:38:05 +0000

Currently, New York’s only Koi restaurant is in the Bryant Park Hotel in Midtown. It’s done really well and is still a celebrity hotspot despite being seven years old! Apparently, Koi’s success caught the eye of the Trump Hotel Soho and they’ve decided to bring Koi in to liven up their restaurant space! That’s right New Yorkers, you’ll now get to enjoy TWO Koi locations!

The Trump Hotel Soho opened 2 years ago with Quattro Gastronomia Italiana in their restaurant space, but the restaurant pulled out shortly thereafter and Trump had been operating the restaurant itself under the same name. No doubt bringing Koi in will be an excellent move. Its Soho location will most likely draw in all the Celebrities who love Koi, including Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Garner, George Clooney, Liv Tyler, Emma Roberts, and Jennifer Lopez.

I can’t wait to sample all my favorites in the new Soho location: Crispy Rice, Salmon Carpaccio, and the Lobster Tacos! But I do wonder if they’ll add any special items for the Soho opening? All the menus do differ a little bit from each other. For example, the Lobster Tacos are available in LA, but not in the Midtown NY location. But the Bryant Park Koi has Seared Red Snapper Sashimi and LA does not. I can’t wait to see what they add to the new location! Kobe Hot Rock Beef perhaps? Or maybe some kind of Fried Rice dish? We’ll just have to wait and see!

The Trump Hotel Soho Koi opens this summer at 246 Spring Street. This will be the 5th location for Koi and the second location in New York. No doubt it will have the same super appealing upscale zen lounge environment as the others. But even more exciting for the Trump Hotel, apparently the owner Nick Haque will run several other dining and entertainment options within the hotel! I’d love to see them do a more casual Japanese dining option as well, or maybe some other fusion fare!

Michael Buble’s Favorite Place in Los Angeles

admin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:35:18 +0000

Michael Buble recently said that his favorite place to eat in Los Angeles is Nick Haque’s restaurant, Koi. Check out the video where Michael Buble describes his favorite places! Michael Buble’s 5 favorite places in LA