Oba Izakaya

We came for dinner at 6pm, ordered within 5 min and didn’t get our first dish until almost an hour later, the rest of the dish came really slow as well. The wait is way too long for adults let alone that we have two kids under 4 with us. The food was ok at best. Miso cod doesn’t have any miso taste, it’s pretty much dipped in teriyaki sauce. Yellowtail kama is fresh but doesn’t have any seasoning on it. Also, although the name has izakaya in it, they don’t have a lot of skewers. The chicken yakitori uses chicken breast so it’s pretty dry even though it’s also soaked in teriyaki sauce.

The food here is solid. It's a VERY tasty Asian Fusion/Asian Tapas spot in area of Pasadena that is a bit sparse on food options. I recommend 2 dishes: 1- "The Crispy Pork Yum" is pretty amazing. It is all there in the name. It's Crsipy, its porky and...well, its yummy. The pork deep fried light and crispy then served in a mixture or light fish sauce and vinegar with thinly sliced onion, cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices tossed in the mix. I always order the sauce spicy and definitely on the side so the pork remains crsipy. This dish is bright and acidic 2. Eggplant in Miso paste. They take asian eggplant, peel the skin off and then sautee it in a savoy Miso paste. It is VERY simple and so tastey. Sometimes, I'll just eat this and a bowl of sticky rice and be super satisfied! This dish is savory yet mild. This evening I started off with a bowl of miso soup then I had the pork, the eggplant and rice. The acidity and brightness of the pork was nicely paired with the mild, yet savory taste of the eggplant. It goes so well with the sticky rice. It was a perfect amount of food. I was totally satiated and not feeling stuffed. Low 4 star rating.

Oba is awesome. The food is great and everyone that works here is super nice and friendly. The fish is all very good. I really like their preparation of certain sushi like the Aji and the Tai. I like the combinations of flavors and textures they use in some of their rolls that just pair really well. Definitely one of my favorite sushi places in California