Tempura Endo Will Literally Stuff You Silly!

I recently dined at Tempura Endo in Beverly Hills. They are dedicated to serving tempura omakase style. I also dined at a Tempura Endo in Kyoto a few years ago, and I am not sure if its the same company. Anyway, upon arrival, we were seated at the counter in front of a large copper pot. This set the tone for an exciting dinner.

We were surprised to see that we were the only guests there that evening! There are three menus to choose from, and we went with the full number of courses which included lobster and wagyu.

The meal started with some ikura and radish.

Then moved on to salad. Both were just ok, but nothing special.

After this, the tempura started with shrimp toast and corn. They were tasty but I found the batter, in general, too dense. I prefer a more light and airy batter.

After, the meal switched to sashimi. I had a hard time understanding the serving order of the meal. Also, though the sashimi was good, I felt the portion size was too big (one piece of each would of sufficed instead of 2),

Next, back to tempura – prawn.

…mushroom stuffed with shrimp…

uni tempura, I was really excited when I saw the chef preparing this, but the actual taste was a bit disappointing. It looks better than it tasted as there was something slightly bitter in each bite.

Fish

…more fish…

…I dont remember what this was, something wrapped in shiso…

The next dish was potato tempura with black truffle in a paper wrapper.

At this point, I was getting really full, and then they presented a full lobster tail!

Although beautifully presented, the lobster was overcooked which resulted in it being a bit tough. It was at this point they served a burdock soup. A heavy dish that added to the fullness. I think a small sip of miso would of been better at this point.

Scallop with caviar

Tofu

fish with curry powder. This was really good, but the portion size was way too big.

The wagyu came next, and I was struggling to force myself to finish it.

The last savory dish now felt like torture. A full portion of soba with more tempura. This could of been a meal in itself!

For dessert, sweet potato tempura (heavy for a dessert), ice cream, and green tea.

Overall, service was really good, but I felt stuffed at the end of the meal. Most tasting menus will get their portions right so that people do not leave stuffed. They will test and adjust. Though I appreciate an establishment being generous, this was way too much. I left most of the soba untouched. The tempura itself was just ok. The batter was not light and fluffy. The experience itself was great. Its always nice to sit at a counter and watch a passionate chef in action, but I would not return. By the way, with sake, I calculated that this meal was over 2,000 calories. Its probably one of the highest I have seen recently. For comparison, our tasting menu at Borago, with the wine pairing, was about 1,500 calories.