#Guzzu Bento Ya

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Guzzu Bento-ya, 1102 Lawrence St, Los Angeles (Arts District), CA 90021, Score: 46/50

Guzzu Bento-ya, aka Tokyo Deli Café, must make the prettiest bento boxes in LA. The food looks too pretty to eat.

Score: 46/50

Food: 5/5 –  Choose from deluxe bento boxes (the protein is cooked to order), katsu sandos, stews, salads, donburi rice bowls, etc. Everything is made with love and is simple and for the most part, healthy. You’ll be amazed by the pickles and little salads in your bento box. Proteins are cooked to order.

Coffee: 4/5 – For drinks, they have espresso drinks, drip coffee, tea, matcha, and fruity drinks. The fruit drink seemed watered down to me, but I did ask for it to be less sweet.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, secure. The password is posted at the register. The wi-fi worked great.

Ambiance: 5/5 – Reminds me of a café you’d see in Japan. Very cute Japanese art on the walls and framed pictures of bento makers in Japan, I presume, and their bento boxes. The large communal table has a planter with an artsy, cutesy Totoro display. They also provide books for you to browse and show Japanese anime projected on the wall.

Noise: 4/5 – Quiet, the Japanese music is upbeat

Plugs: 5/5 – Quite a few

Parking: 4/5 – Street parking has been easy to find but the area is industrial with a lot of homeless people. It’s dirty and scary. But I think you can park as long as you want.

Comfort: 4/5 – Some chairs are padded, some are not. It’s dark inside and the AC isn’t strong enough

Bathroom: 5/5 – Two gender-neutral restrooms, code is posted by the register

Art: 5/5 – Japanese artists, very cute

Tips: Online ordering is available on their website. Help yourself to complimentary cold water. Cash is not accepted

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Guzzu Bento-ya, 1102 Lawrence St, Los Angeles (Arts District), CA 90021

These are beautifully put together bento boxes…when you see them, the food looks too pretty to eat. Order at the counter or online (note, the online prices are higher). Choose from deluxe bento boxes (the protein is cooked to order), katsu sandos, stews, salads, donburi rice bowls, coffee, and matcha drinks.

Each bento box comes with a miso cured egg yolk, furikake topped rice, fukujinzuke, shredded cabbage, and a separate box with a scoop of potato salad, sweet potato roasted with sesame seeds, crispy lotus root chip, pomodoro pasta, eggplant pickles, kinpira gobo, and kale salad.

Hambagu bento: hamburg steak made with grass-fed ground beef, served with truffle demi-glace, rice, pickles, and veggies ($18): The hamburg patty was thick and tender. I thought the demi-glace could have been more flavorful but the sliced mushrooms on top were very nice. The shredded cabbage was crunchy. Kale salad with a soy dressing was a bit salty. The pretty tiny scoop of potato salad was adorned with daikon sprouts. The spaghetti was lightly covered in a light tomato sauce. They cut the zucchini cut into a leaf. Lots of rice. Everything looked carefully placed – e.g., the spaghetti was swirled so nicely.

Shio koji marinated Norwegian mackerel grilled over binchotan charcoal, rice, pickles, and veggies. The fish was a good size. Mr. Froyo was impressed. He loves simple, healthy food and he could tell it was made with care. He even ate the white rice though he usually avoids white rice.

The katsu sando was made with hot, juicy pork in a crispy coating. It was overly saucy but very tasty.

The dining room is dark with Japanese anime movie projected on one wall, framed art (love the pictures of bento boxes in Japan), books, and plants. I think they have free wi-fi too.

Guzzu Bento-ya is in scary industrial area with easy parking. A lot of homeless people are living in their RVs in that area. Cash is not accepted.

4.5 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.