Yabu’s Soba is Better Than Sojibo (and Their Tempura Gives Hannosuke a Run for Their Money)
As great a lunch street as Sawtelle has become over the past few years not everybody is doing gangbusters. A parking spot might be hard to come by, but so is a steady stream of customers for some of the restaurants on this bustling strip- both new and old. Valley success story Ramen Jinya, who arguably started the L.A. ramen craze back in 2010, is being replaced by Downtown favorite Daikokuya after just a year. Miyata Menji didn’t even last that long, making way for the new Tsujita Annex a couple of months ago. Sawtelle Kitchen’s inoffensive white table cloth Japanese has gone the way of the dinosaurs, and I can’t help but think that Soba Sojibo isn’t far behind. Itself a replacement for Spaghetti House by Orris, Sojibo isn’t bad but it isn’t great either. And when faced with noodle competition like Tsujita, or even Tatsu and Nong La, it doesn’t really stand a chance. Thankfully if you love soba there’s another option just down Pico from Sawtelle.
Yabu!
