Oyako Japanese Restaurant

I met up with Owen for lunch not too long ago near his workplace in Venice. He had mentioned a Japanese place where he enjoyed a lunch bento box, so we headed there. It ended up being a place called Oyako. The interior was pretty cute, the seats were little cubed ottomans (although, a few of them were a bit stained, which was a bit...gross...) and had a laid back vibe (as most places seem to have in Venice.) On to the food!
An arnold palmer, my usual drink of choice. They used a different kind of tea, one with more flowery notes in it, so the taste was really nice and refreshing.

Miso soup, it was okay, nothing special but I don't remember too much tofu in it, which was unfortunate. I prefer more tofu and seaweed, personally, but I think as long as the miso isn't too salty, it's passable.

The main event - the lunch bento box - I chose teriyaki salmon. It came with a choice of 2 pieces of california rolls or 2 pieces of spicy tuna rolls (I chose spicy tuna), shrimp and vegetable tempura, salad and rice. The salmon was good, the teriyaki was rich and sticky, but tasted right. The tempura was freshly fried, but I've had better tempura battered things. The shrimp in particular was a bit weird, it was only half a piece of shrimp instead of what I'm usually used to, which is the whole shrimp fried with the tail. I think mine was just a fluke though, as Owen had a proper full shrimp piece. The spicy tuna was good. This didn't seem like a lot of food but in the end, I was really full.

The place is pretty good, nice for a little lunch spot but I admit I've had better and more satisfying lunch bentos, not to mention cheaper, but I am paying for the ambience and location. I'd go back to try their sushi rolls, but I wouldn't necessarily make a trip out to Venice/Santa Monica just for this place.

Oyako
2915 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 581-3525