Domo Arigato, RBTA Highland Park

From the moment you walk in, you know you are in for a treat.  The space is small, narrow and tight, but the visual contrast whets your appetite.  The tiles at the front of the restaurant are diagonal, the overhead lighting is zigzagged, and the counter area tiles were installed straight on.  Your eye is never bored, and either is your palate.

Every dish is beautifully presented.  The hamachi crudo looked as if it was swimming in a pool of soy sauce and ponzu, but the hamachi was not soaked or drenched.  I wasn't sure if I should order chicken liver pate in a Japanese izakaya restaurant, but luckily I was overruled.
The chicken liver pate was delicious, creamy and smooth, but like many restaurants, the ratio of bread to pate is a little off.  You need more grilled bread which they will willingly provide for an extra charge.  The blue prawns covered with uni tasted sublime.  Very delicate flavor, hard to eat in one bite and hold together.  Added bonus: the soy sauce concoction that the blue prawns sit in is finger-licking good.  The red miso ribeye skewer special (three chunks to a skewer) was tender, melted in your mouth like butter.  The New York steak was a little bit too chewy.  The diver scallops are served with crunchy rice pearls on top which add a wonderful, fun texture.  They look like white chocolate pearls, at first.  The scoop of frisee provides a crisp contrast and bite.  We polished off everything on that plate.

We ordered the unagi fried rice over the uni pasta because it reminded me of the days when Gyu-Kaku offered unagi bibimbap and how much I loved the ground pork Saboro bowls that Silverlake Ramen once offered.

The unagi fried rice comes last, and it was comforting.   My tastebuds popped with delight when I saw chunks of unagi in the rice, instead of unagi shredded to blend in. We ate slowly to savor the pillowy soft goodness.

Service was friendly and attentive.  They serve cucumber water, very refreshing.  Wish the water glasses were bigger so you didn't have to ask for constant refills.  We didn't have a long wait and nabbed a table near the window.  Groups that arrived after us had more of a wait but there is bench outside.

My advice is to pace yourself for a couple reasons.  The table area is small, not much room for a lot of small plates and drinks.  The staff does drop by regularly to clear.  Second, the plates add up quickly.  Lastly, watch how much you drink as there is a tattoo parlor and an eyebrow threading place cross the street, ready to show you the new you!