Niku X - the Continuum

Niku X

Downtown Los Angeles

Up to $109 on weekends for regular menu, $149 for higer-end menu.

Past the coffee shop on the ground floor, up the escalator.

Up the escalator. Style.

Style.

Buffet.

Entrance.

Waiting area next to buffet.

Crab claws and king crab legs.

Big head spot prawns and cocktail shrimp, all next to ceviche.

Desserts.

Miso Chilean seabass. Not bad.

Thin cut American waygu beef tongue was good.

On the grill.

Shrimp tempura, seasonal vegetables, spicy crab.

Toriyama Umami Waygu.

The kitchen.

American waygu striplion (left), American chef's choice steak (right).

Japanese A5 chef's choice (left), Japanese A5 top blade (center), Australian full blood waygu steak (right).

Salmon, yellowtain, bluefin tuna sashimi.

Yes, sashimi includes toro.

Wilson is pro.

Lobster tails not bad. We got at least one more order.

Japanese A5 chef's choice (left), Japanese A5 top blade (center), Australian full blood waygu steak (right).

Gerald went to town.

American waygu striplion (left), American chef's choice steak (right).

A5 waygu tartare. Pretty good.

More pictures.

Thin sliced beef for sukiyaki, minus the sukiyaki.

Just started dry aging today.

21 days dry aged, 9 more to go.

Close-up.

A5 waygu katsu sando was meh.

Yakisuki was the one truly exceptional thing on the menu: waygu zabuton, rice, egg yolk, sukiyaki sauce.

Quite a bit more waygu A5 on the higher-end menu if you wanted to pay.

Non-beef things.

More beef tongue.

Desserts were indifferent.

Finally hitting up Niku X at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Los Angeles for dinner. Could only snag a reservation for 3, Gerald was first to act, so he grabbed his eldest son Wilson and we went.

Did the cheaper $99 (now $109) menu as opposed to the higher-end menu ($149) that has a lot more waygu A5 on it. Really only two BBQ cuts for waygu A5 on the buffet for the cheaper menu, although there's also waygu A5 tartare (good), waygu A5 katsuo sando (meh), plus some tasty thin-sliced beef for sukiyaki that's good. The one-piece-per-person only order of yakisuki was amazing but the rest was harder to justify as worth the money, let alone the crazy long (over a month) wait for a reservation.

Seafood items including lobster tails, crab legs, and toro sashimi are all good, even strong value adds, as is the contemporary vibe and beautiful decor, but for a brand that has made its reputation on waygu, the overall visit felt somewhat disappointing.