40th bday-Japanese restaurant with private room

[handlertaper]

I am looking for a Japanese restaurant where we can celebrate my sister's 40th birthday. We need a private room/patio that can accommodate about 40 people. Restaurant can be in the West LA area or in the San Fernando Valley.

Any suggestions?

[bulavinaka]

The first place that comes to mind that might accommodate 40 in West LA would be Asakuma. They do some things good (gindara is very good), but for the most part, I'd consider them pretty average. We did my father's 80th there with a group of 30 and the service was actually quite good, and the whole bunch of older Issei and Nisei friends were happy with the place. However, 40-year olds is a different story...

[handlertaper]

Thanks for the suggestion. Asakuma was the one place that I thought of that has a private room...Any others????

[bulavinaka]

Asakuma wasn't bad. The banquet room that we were in for my dad's 80 was just right for 30 - I don't know if they have one to accommodate 40. They do have a decent selection of items (their gindara - black cod - is very good), they do offer nice photo menus without prices, the sushi ain't bad, and they could probably give you a large portion of their restaurant. The service is okay - not great, not bad. The layout is such that I think you'd feel physically separated enough from the rest of the place. I think the only question would be if the food was up to snuff for your group. You might drop by and sample their menu items and sushi bar, or at least call, talk with the manager, and see if he could set up a party menu for you, then sample what he suggests.

I was in a similar situation with my mom's 80th last month as well. My mom can be very particular and a little quirky. She griped about Asakuma's parking situation - she despises paying for parking. She liked the food, but we didn't want her to stress out about someone paying for parking again. Wanting a change of venue without having to drive too far - my mom starts to complain if it's further than 20 minutes - I searched in the South Bay:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/555195

The South Bay is loaded with Japanese restaurants, but like in West LA, they tend to be smaller. Inaba was very good but the dining area would have just fit a group of 30. The same for Sanuki no Sato. Their dining area is huge, but is made up of booths. Their largest private room is more suited for a group of about 24-26 - I think capacity was 30. This obviously wouldn't work for you either.

Sea Empress was the only place that we could find within a reasonable distance that could comfortably accommodate our group. Good Cantonese, fresh seafood, tons of food, good service, lots of banquet options with graduated pricing. The pricing is based 10 courses on tables of 10, and off the top of my head, I think it started at around $188 per, up to around $500 per. They do require advance notice, but as little as one day.

I guess the makeup of your group will probably determine where you end up. My parents and their friends really enjoyed Sea Empress, but aside from a handful of us, most others were Issei or Nisei seniors. What they consider to be good Chinese and what SGV Chowhounds consider to be good Chinese can vary greatly. For our purposes, it was more than acceptable.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with any suggestions in SFV. If you want something more contemporary/hip/houndish in West LA or SFV, you might consider calling or visiting a few restaurants that you really like, talking to the owner/manager, and seeing if you could have a major portion if not all of the restaurant for the night. Inaba was more than willing to do this. In fact, a sign was posted on their door announcing that they'd be closed the following night for a private party. I'm sure with a group of 40, you could do the same. That's some serious bank for a small Japanese restaurant.