Origami Burger and Bar

Fred the bartender is friendly, approachable & makes a great martini!
Nice alternative to Mall Chains !!

try the sliders! each one has a unique and flavorful taste.
not sure who the other reviewers were complaining about regarding bad service, but the waiter we had was exceptional. we ordered the seafood and tempura udon, a kobe beef taco, sauteed garlic fries, the slider combo, a spicy albacore roll, and an order of mackerel sushi. everything was delicious! it took a bit of time to get everything out to the table even though the place was somewhat empty, but overall the wait wasn’t too bad.

Horrible Service… Avoid at all costs!
After raving about how good their Honolulu burger was, I had gone back on 3 separate occasions. It seems like every visit brings me way down on the high I was on the first time around. My wife and I, along with some friends, were excited to begin trying other burgers on the menu and we found that none have met our expectations since visit #1. The best thing on the menu has been their sliders… and that’s about it. Tried the Lamb chop burger… BUST. Tried the Korean BBQ Burger… BUST. Hollywood Burger… made me want the sliders instead.
And more importantly, the service from manager Shane is god awful and arrogant. He’s served us on the last 3 occasions and each time it’s something different. First, my friend ordered a Sopporo not having had once since having LIVED IN JAPAN and Shane wound up trying to «educate» my friend saying that Sapporo really is a beer from New York. Arrogant! Two weeks later my wife ordered an extra dirty martini and when asked to take it back because it was too strong, Shane began arguing me about how a martini is supposed to be strong. Good point… if my wife had ordered a dry martini. By the way my wife orders this drink quite often and has never had an issue with it being mixed the right way… specifically in Valencia… places like Lazy Dog, BJ’s, Sabor… etc. have all been able to execute the mixture correctly. Shane stood there and argued with me bothered by the fact I nicely asked for the bartender to dilute the martini just a bit more… ARROGANT. Every time he brought a dish to my table he proceeded to say «you’re welcome» to everyone else at my table except me even though we all said «Thank You.»
Truthfully… I say to all of you… STAY AWAY and don’t give your money to this establishment. Save yourself a trip and go across the street to BJ’s… heck go to Johnny Rockets or Island’s which isn’t far from there either. You’ll be much happier and get better service…

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to assign a rating of less than one star, so Origami gets a one.
Some of you are rating this place with 4s and 5s. Are you on crack? The food is atrocious, the service is just as good, and the ambiance/​décor is dingy at best.
My wife had a burger, and I tried a couple of the sushi rolls. I’ve had some of the best sushi in L.A. and some of the worst. The sushi at Origami marks the new low.
And here are some random issues. What restaurant doesn’t have bottled water? «Oh we have soda water.» So I got the carbonated water (it was Sprite). The soy sauce dipping dishes were both dirty. The ginger was rancid.
Whoever gives this place more than one star is either oblivious to what good food tastes like, is related to the owners, or was paid off by them. Those are the only explanations that I can come up with.

I decided to try Origami on a whim. It was between lunch and dinner so when I stopped by the place was empty. I guess they just started serving lunch recently and the public hasn’t gotten the memo yet. That said, I had my choice of tables and the wait staff (of one) was very prompt and helpful.
I decided to try the sushi combo with tuna, salmon, yellow tail, albacore, shrimp, snapper and 6 pieces of California roll. Overall the fish was fresh and the even the California roll was tasty. I really enjoyed the miso soup. It was flavorful and delicious. Sometimes miso can be an afterthought, watery and not much going on. This soup was not that. I was pleased.
The best part of the meal was the dessert. (I know? Shocking. Right?) The recommendation was to try the deep fried tortilla cheesecake. It sounded sketchy, honestly. But I took a flier on it. It was amazing. The cheesecake was stuffed into fluffy, flaky crust that was covered with cinnamon and powdered sugar. There was a caramel sauce drizzled over the pastry and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The flaky, almost crunchy texture of the pastry combined with the rich, smooth texture of the cheesecake, plus cinnamon, caramel and vanilla… holy moly. That’s some good shiznit! I’m not a huge dessert gourmand, but this little beauty had it all. A little salty, a lot of sweet, crunchy, smooth, rich… decadent without being sinful. Well, maybe a little sinful. Just as I like it!

I went during happy hour. There are great deals to be had during happy hour with the $ 1 Kobe beef tacos (good especially for $ 1!) and $ 1 Bud Light (great if you like Bud Light– I do not). Their Umami burger was delicious and I also recommend the Korean tacos. The bar is very well stocked with endless possibilities. I loved the ambience… romantic but laid back at the same time– dim lighting and lounge-​like posh décor. The service was slightly better than satisfactory… nothing to complain about. Great environment to just unwind and enjoy some good food and drinks. I will definitely be going back again… only reason why I didn’t give 5 stars is because I have been there twice and it was lonely in there! I hope more people start going to this place and give them a chance to make it. It does sound strange to hear a place is serving burgers, sushi and has a bar at the same time but hey it works great here.

came here for Happy Hour and we got the $ 1 kobe beef taco, taste ok, but for 95 cents more get the Korean Beef Taco’s these were awesome, we got 4 of them. We also got the Lobster and Crab roll which was huge and the taste was great. Pork Dumplings nothing special but still taste good.
We came here on $ 1 bud light night, i had one and that was enough, i don’t like bud light. I’ll stick with the sapporo there.
Sushi was good, taco’s good,= will be back

This review does not include the food.
A friend and I came here for some drinks and enjoyed them outside. The patio is set up nicely and they have heaters as well (always a plus). We came on a Saturday night and they had karaōke. I personally do not like to make a fool out of myself so I did not participate but it looked like a good time. You can’t go wrong with beer so this place is A-​OK in my eyes in addition to my friend living above it so it’s safe to say that we walked home.

Went here last Friday with some friends for a Umami Burger experience without having to leave the SCV. What we got was a very sub par Umami experience, but that is what I expected so my feeling were not hurt too much.
I ordered the Hollywood Burger, which was delicious. Giant grilled mushroom, amazing sauce (but I don’t remember what it was). The burger was burnt to shit but still remained juicy, I credit the sauce for this.
Washed it all down with a Sapporo. Sadly, not the best on tap choices for beer (+1 to Umami, they have Weihenstephaner on tap!!)
The service was quite slow, I should have just got myself a drink. Would I come back… yes. But I would drive to Hollywood first.

When you combine burgers and sushi, it is never is a good idea. Along the same lines as oil and water. The restaurant seemed like a logical choice when no one can make up their mind about their preference for dinner. Can anyone get away with making a burger that has vegetable tempura as a topping? In one word, yes!
I do not know how this restaurant works, but it does. It was an good experience, and everyone in my party enjoyed their food and drinks.
A little dark inside, but very nice overall.

I had heard that Origami was over priced and not worth the money, but I have to disagree. The prices were not bad at all for what you get. Their happy hour had a great selection and really cheap prices. Love the dark interior of the place, great for a date.
I had the Blazing rainbow roll and Musashi roll which were super yummy!
I’ll definitely be returning to try the kobe burgers.

Interesting combination of gourmet burgers and Japanese cuisine. Burger was a bit dry and bland. Edamame, tempura, and udon were great.

I was just going to update my review for Origami Bistro Bar but seeing as how it now has an entirely separate page for the burger revamp it only seems right to write here. I’m not ashamed to go for the full five stars here! You would too if you had seen what a wonderful time my dad was having!
I wanted sushi and my dad did not. I wanted sushi and Ted wanted a burger. Dad suggested Origami and I shrugged it off. I hemmed and hawed but left with so few options in SCV it seemed like as good idea as any. Especially with Dad paying.
The place was plenty crowded when we went in this Friday night. This made me happy seeing as how the crowds had dipped dramatically early in the recession. But it was hoppin’ (yeah I did that). Even though they were busy we were seated promptly.
I ordered a samurai martini because I was feeling a little crazy. Dad had some wine and Ted had a coke (cheap date). The waiter was attentive, a little weird but all around pleasant. He filled our waters, kept me and Dad in the cups and never let Ted’s coke dip too low.
We ordered the blazing rainbow roll, the riceless tuna roll and another roll that escapes me now, plus salmon sushi and bluefin tuna sushi. Ted had a plain burger and Dad mooched off of me.
Ted’s burger was surprisingly stupendous. Many of their burger options are far more interesting than the regular burger but this was still a stand up base for any burger. It was huge and delicious.
The sushi was better than I remember (that could be the strong drinks talking). It wasn’t AMAZING! But it was still good and totally satisfied me need for sushi yumminess. I finished the evening with my stand by and most perfect Wedding Cake Martini. As always it was a real dream! I just love, love, love that martini. Too damn deliciousssss. I stumbled full and happy to the car.

I was never a fan when their focus was sushi as the quality of the food was hit or miss (mostly miss) so when they converted to a burger concept last month, was interested to see if that would change things.
Arrived shortly after 7 on a Saturday and between the patio and inside there were only 8 tables being occupied which initially had me thinking the worst.
Ordered martini’s from the bar while perusing the menu and they were served quickly (and strong) so that was a great way to start. The garlic edamame appetizer killed our breath for the evening and for the burgers, here is what we did:
SPIDER BURGER
Panko Soft Shell Crab, Tomato, Red Onion, Romaine Lettuce, Swiss Cheese, Spicy Mayo
SURF AND TURF
American Kobe Beef, Tempura Shrimp, Avocado, Sautéed King Mushroom, Swiss Cheese, Dragon Sauce
Both were AMAZING!!! The beef was cooked perfectly with great flavors while they nailed the soft shell crab. Did both sweet potato fries and onion rings for the sides and both were excellent.
Our server was friendly, not overly talkative, and respected our conversations by quietly filling up our water glasses or making hand gestures off to the side to see if we needed another round from the bar.
When looking for something different than all of the chain restaurants cluttering the SCV, will keep this near the top of the list.

This used to be a good place to get sushi but the «burger» bar experience is incredibly expensive for good burger and marginal service. The staff acts like they are doing you a favor by taking your order, the burgers are overpriced and dont come with anything at dinner. So by the time you factor in tax and tip you’re out $ 20 for just a burger. It’s not like there’s a killer view or ambience. Also they’ve reduced their «happy hour» menu for sushi so you’re better off going to several of the better sushi places in town for more food at better pricing. The old Origami used to be one of my fave places to eat, not anymore.