Robata Bar

The skewers were great had the egg plant, pepper beef, lamp chop and lobster tail. Spent a total of 200 for 4 people. Ordered the yellow tail appetizer with chilies it was amazing. The Katana roll was great as well. The highlight of the meal was the service received as well as dessert. The volcano was gelato in between a pastry. It was amazing and a must try got Nutella, white chocolate raspberry and red velvet

Must go to Happy Hour, 5−7pm! 1 beer, 6 skewers, and a California roll later… $ 21. Such a steal! And delicious. Service is bit on a slow side, but it’s worth it for a $ 20 meal.
I recommend the wasabi chicken skewer if you like wasabi!

This place has great sushi! It’s authentic Japanese sushi which is hard to find in LA. We had just the right amount for two relatively hungry people. We had three appetizers which were small but very good. The appetizers were the mushrooms (3 large mushrooms) which came on a skewer. They were a little spicy but very fresh and soft. The Eggplant was a small dish, only two pieces but very tasty due to the special sauce. The hummus was bland and the pita chips had too much oil and were fried.
The main course we had were the katana rolls which were mixed shrimp and salmon, excellently made and paired well with soy sauce. we also had the crispy rice spicy tune which was amazing! There were about 8 pieces per order. The food was filling. We didn’t have sweet desert but the chocolate cake looks good (neighbors had it)
The outside is nice and cozy with fire lamps to keep you warm. The service is good, hostess is nice and welcoming. There are two Tvs inside you can catch games! Definitely will be coming back here again

Beautiful restaurant and décor with excellent staff but the food really wasn’t very impressive. Ordered ramen which was too salty and I ordered a few of their bbq sticks which were again just ok. This place is nothing to tell your friends about unless maybe you’re not coming for good because their bar looks good and the entire restaurant is very nice

Let’s just say this is not an authentic Japanese izakaya /​tapas place. But if you’re up for Americanized Japanese experience, then this would be the place.
The good:
The restaurant isn’t very big, but it has some outside seating. The décor is very pretty and the dimly-​lit interior is great for a date or a couple’s night out. The bar has a good selection of alcohol.
The bad:
The food is mediocre at best. If you want great skewers, there are plenty of other LA restaurants that specialize in skewers. I also ordered sushi (salmon, halibut, Spanish mackerel) but none of them were fresh. I think they come from Sushi Roku next door (the restaurant must be connected in the middle), but still they weren’t great.
Also on my mind…
As I mentioned earlier, the place is pretty and has a romantic vibe. However, there is a huge TV screen next to the bar area that was showing baseball. So was this place trying to be a casual sports bar… or a nice dine-​in? I felt like the owner couldn’t make up his/​her mind. Also, the customers — when I sat down, next to me was a couple with a new born baby. By the time I finished my dinner, there was a family with four young kids. I have absolutely nothing against babies and children. But again, I couldn’t quite pin-​point the kind of crowd they were attracting.

Let’s just get right to the important part. The food. My date and I ordered Grilled Octopus, Braised Short Ribs, Spicy Pork Belly Fried Rice, Yaki Niku, a Duck Breast with Yuzu Pepper paste skewer, and, just so we didn’t feel completely guilty, an asparagus skewer.
The food here is melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious.
The Grill Octopus was tender and savory. It is probably the most succulent octopus I have ever eaten in a restaurant. I was a little surprised that it was a salad but was happy to have the tartness of the cherry tomatoes, the few slices of radish, and the frisee to cut through the olive oil which they were a little heavy handed with in my opinion. The sweet croutons crumbled off to the side also added a nice texture to the whole dish.
The Braised Short Ribs were also very tender and could be easily torn into pieces with just gentle pulling. The vegetables in the bowl were nicely caramelized and I loved the sauce. The short ribs were laid on top a bed of mashed potatoes which was nice and creamy.
The Spicy Pork Belly Fried Rice was good. The rice had a good kick to it and was a nice side to all the meat on the table but the star of the show was definitely the pieces of seared pork belly off to the side. Although the pieces seemed a bit small and there was only 3 of them, they had a nice sweet crispy layer on the outside and was juicy without being too fatty. This was my favorite of the night.
The Yaki Niku was the most disappointing out of the bunch. When you order their grilled meats, they give you three dipping sauces to accompany them — yuzu, ginger, and mustard. Without the help of these sauces, the Yaki Niku was bland and sorely needed some seasoning. The sauces themselves were nice.
The Duck Breast skewer had 4 pieces of meat with the Yuzu Pepper Paste off to the side and it packed a surprisingly powerful punch of flavor. I loved the tangy spiciness but be warned, you have to absolutely love pepper to enjoy this dish.
The asparagus was fine as far as grilled vegetables go.
Overall, the experience was wonderful. The décor was nice and intimate with gentle lighting to set the mood. This is still a bar though so the atmosphere was lively and energetic. The service was a little inconsistent. The food came out quickly and they took away empty plates pretty fast as well. They were just a little slow refilling waters but trust me when I say the food is absolutely worth it. A delicious find for date night!

Very interesting concept of ordering per skewer. Most of the stuff was very yummy.
My favorites of the night were the rib eye skewer, shishito peppers, and the absolute must try is the yellowtail dish that is topped with peppers!
–1 star because we order several things at different times and each time, a few minutes later, we were told they were out of it. It’s nice to know that they use fresh ingredients and that’s why they were out, but it was just weird that we were told multiple times about the kitchen being out of certain items. Most of the time the server is aware of it when you order and gives you a heads up beforehand. It was just a bummer because we came there for the chicken hearts and the wings and they were out of both.

Come here with my boyfriend usually when we just want to grab some light snack and robata bar always delivered! Love their skewer menu and how we can order from sushi roku’s menu as well. Delicious ankimo sushi! The sushi rice is better than sugar fish imo.
Have to try the tofu sample plate. The topping is sea salt and truffle mushroom, sesame oil and negi, as caviar. I am obsessed with truffle mushroom now because of this plate.

Way below average! Food is so so, but the portions are small. Service sucks! Would never go there again, even if I was hungry. Two stars only because the food was actually edible, but way too expensive for what it was.

Very Yummy!!! Wandered into this place for dinner with my homegirl who wanted meat on a stick! The Fusion Drink was so bomb! Food was tasty and although they were very small portions it was filling. The only thing was the waitress over charged us for our drinks, I asked her to double check the price, she stuck to her over price, we paid the bill, and checked the menu on our way out… bish over charged us, even after I gave her a 2^nd chance!!! Check your receipt and enjoy your food!

I really like this place. Great service. Great food and great wine. Like all of the restaurants in that corner you have to share a bathroom which I don’t love, but definitely worth stopping in.

Happy Hour by the beach, what’s there not to like? I would say that the happy hour menu is not a big feast. It’s meant to be tiny bites of food while enjoying the company of others. The happy hour there is good for socializing but not good if you are looking to eat. Although those tiny meals do pack a delicious bite– I would not go there if I was truly starving. On the bright side, Robata Bar is also owned by Sushi Roku which is right next door and you can order anything off of the regular Sushi Roku menu as well. So for that I gave this place 4 stars!
Side note: I would not however do happy hour here with more than 4 people as the venue is small. Keep it at 4 or under and it should be an enjoyable space for everyone in your party.

My bf and I were hoping to go to Sugarfish down the street but the wait was too long. I’m glad it was because we looked into other sushi restaurants in the area and found Robata bar! The food was excellent, probably the best sushi in Santa Monica thus far. We ordered the yellow tail, spicy tuna, and something else. I forget but we were in a rush so I the receptionist accommodated our order gave us great recommendations and got our drinks in time. We thought we were starving but the food truly was delicious. I have lived in the area and have often overlooked this bar, but not anymore. I saw the skewers they had and wanted to try it, but because we were on limited time, I had to save that for next time. They have a great happy hour, great ambiance, next to the promenade and beach so area is lovely. The place was clean, and I enjoyed eating there. the only thing I noticed that was off balance, was I know they want to keep it clean and the busboy always takes an empty plate away immediately, but when an empty dish is there and there’s plates of foods surrounding it, it was awkward for us to see him grab the empty plates while his hands were next to clean uneaten food. because I noticed him doing this several times, I’m making sure to put empty plates on the side. I’m be returning for happy hour here.

I honestly don’t know why it’s taken me so long to write a review about another IDG restaurant. Maybe it’s because I just assume that they know I’m their biggest fan… maybe I think everyone already knows just how good they are!
In any case, every manager I have ever met at any of the IDG restaurants has been among the sweetest and most generous and genuine people I’ve gotten to know. One person in particular has gone above and beyond to make me feel special on every occasion. That would be Nash Yoshimura. Unfortunately, Nash just left the company to go back home to Japan. I will miss him tremendously but wish him a peaceful and prosperous new life!
Back to the restaurant… I recommend everything on the menu! How’s that? I especially recommend the happy hour, as it’s the best deal in Santa Monica. It’s GOOD quality food for great prices. If I wanted to talk about my favorites, it would take forever. Just go there! Like right now!
As for the rest of IDG’s restaurants (Sushi Roku, Boa, Delphine, Riva Bella, etc. etc. etc., they’re all freakin’ amazing!) I’ve known the owners, Craig Katz & Lee Maen, for about 20 years, and this type of success couldn’t happen to 2 more incredible people. They were just years ahead of their time, even when they were just promoting little bars in Hollywood. They are brilliant and humble and I thank them for bringing Sushi Roku into my life :)
Kudos to the whole clan… servers (Stephanie, Tiffany, Leslie), bartenders (David Horowitz), managers (Nash, Jeff, Russel, Christian, Joe…) The Cardenas Brothers, blah blah… you get the point. I love them all!

Happy hour review…
HH menu 5 – 7, seven days a week? Yes! My friend suggested we try this place. On a Saturday night at 6, we were quickly seated. The HH menu has an extensive list of food items (most for $ 5) and some drink options, too.
We each ordered a trio of robota skewers. I had the chicken meatball (great), chicken with green onions (nothing to write home about) and an eggplant (delish). We followed that up with edamame, spicy tuna roll, albacore on crispy rice (so good, had a second order) and the Rock shrimp tempura ceviche. To finish, the perfect mini dessert of lava cake with a tiny scoop of ice cream – just enough to cap off the meal without feeling like you overdid it.
Totally hit the spot! Full price menu is significantly more, but can’t beat the HH. In the words of the Terminator, «I’ll be back.»

Delicious. After a long day of driving, we decided to continue Santa Monica for dinner. We arrived just in time for happy hour and ordered quite a few items from the menu: ceviche, skewers, ahi tuna, lobster fried rice amongst other dishes. Everything was flavorful and the portions were just as described «bites». The vibe is really relaxing, great after a long day, or even if you’re out with a special someone. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because we received one chicken dish that I didn’t really care for, otherwise everything was perfect. Definite recommend.

I saw the sign as «Robata» and thought it was an extension of the restaurant next door. The fam came here since the sister restaurant had a line. Something odd there were booths there and we mentioned we were eating dinner with our family and they asked if we wanted to sit at the bar? I don’t think the teenagers can sit there? It seems as a way of putting customers at the bar thinking that we would not spend money. Not cool, I spent hella money in here too much! $ 160 and we were still hungry! I had a feeling this place would be overpriced the minute I opened the menu and it said they were in Vegas hotels. So yes this place is pricey!
Although there is a nice ambience, I would probably come back or happy hour only.
We were still hungry so we decided we’d rather go grab food nearby even after we finished here.

One of my go to happy hour places in Santa Monica. You can’t beat their happy hour deals from 5 – 7.
$ 3 draft beers
$ 5 three skewers (my favorites are the chicken and green onion and the chicken meatball)
$ 5 rolls (spicy tuna or California)
It’s a great relaxing environment with good staff that will remember you after a couple visits.
If you decide to order off the regular menu I highly suggest the pork cheek awesome bang for your buck), the duck, and black cod.
Little known fact. You can order from the full sushi roku menu next door if that restaurant is packed and has a wait or your want a little more chill atmosphere.

I have been here several times. This is one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Monica.
It is small, but has great casual ambiance, attentive service and and one of my favorite types of Japanese food.
My favorites here:
Shisito peppers
Chilean Sea Bass
Lamb Chops
Tsukune — Chicken Meatballs with Teriyaki sauce
Tanuke — Shitaki stuffed with minced chicken
Asparagus wrapped in bacon
actually I like pretty much everything on their menu…

I am surprised this place, given it’s location (the heart of Santa Monica) does not get a bit more play on Unilocal.It is a place where you can pop in and enjoy some small bites with tons of variety. The staff are very friendly and accommodating and the service is also a big plus.
I think Robata, the concept not the restaurant, is a love it or hate it proposition but I for one am a fan. Look at this plate of amazing delectable goodies.
Salmon, Black Cod, Corn, bacon wrapped asparagus, Shitake mushrooms.
Of note:
Their patio is tiny but it’s a good place to people watch, especially those stumblin’ out of the Ye Ol’ Kings Head.
The local Santa Monica parking structures offer the first two hours of parking for free.
Happy hour is a great and affordable way to give this place a go…