Tengu

It's DineLA restaurant week again and I'm super excited! I have a two reservations already (Petrossian and Luna Park) and I'm hoping to plan for a few more.

Since Tengu is participating in DineLA, I figured it was time I finally wrote something about my visit there. It was completely unintentional. My parents were visiting me during my birthday weekend and I had made reservations to go to Pizzeria Mozza for lunch. There were taxi complications and we ended up being stuck in Westwood with not enough time to make it to our reservation. We started wandering around Westwood to find somewhere to eat for lunch. Palomino was full. Napa Valley Grill had some private event going on. I remember seeing Tengu's menu during the previous restaurant week. I figured it was worth a try. (I still have not been to Pizzeria Mozza and I really really want to!)

The location itself is on the edge of Westwood village and therefore a little quiet and secluded. From the outside, it did not look busy at all, but once you enter the restaurant you realize that is it in fact, almost completely full. I enjoyed the interior design of the restaurant and its ambiance. However, the food was mediocre--nothing offensive but nothing fantastic.

The sushi was so-so. The rice was a little undercooked and too al-dente. However, everything was fresh and presented nicely so there really isn't much to complain about.

I had a salad instead of the lunch sushi set menus that my parents picked. The salad I enjoyed a lot. The meat was perfectly seared and thinly sliced over a bed of lettuce dressed in a tangy vinaigrette. However, again, it wasn't anything too spectacular. Just a salad done well, but at $15, you would hope that it'd be done well.

Tengu

10853 Lindbrook Dr

Los Angeles, CA 90024

(310) 209-0071

restaurant visited: 11/16/08

seaweed and octopus "amuse-bouche"

nigri and sushi from the lunch set menus

Seared New York Sashimi Salad

mixed micro greens, tomato, red onion, meyer-lemon dressing, white truffle oil