Food critic blasts Sushi Samba in West Hollywood after $560 dinner

A flashy new West Hollywood rooftop restaurant may have the views — but one Instagram food critic says the food left him feeling “fleeced.”SUSHISAMBA Los Angeles, the Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian fusion spot that opened in March atop 649 N.La Peer Drive, has been one of LA’s buzziest new dining rooms, with an 11,000-square-foot rooftop space, sweeping Hollywood Hills views and a retractable roof.But the restaurant’s glam setting apparently wasn’t enough to save one influencer’s pricey night out.Rick Lox, the Instagram reviewer boasting 185,000 followers on the platform, said the WeHo hot spot delivered “one of the worst meals I’ve had in a long time” — despite a final bill of $457.47 before tax and tip — about $560 all in.“I truly feel fleeced,” Lox said, giving the restaurant a brutal 5.0 out of 10.The critic started with drinks, praising the Sakura Negroni as “delicious,” but saying the Lychee Cooler had a “sunscreen-y” taste.Things apparently didn’t get much better from there.He knocked the pão de queijo — Brazilian cheese bread served with truffle honey butter — as gummy, while warning that the “overuse of truffle” would become a major theme of the meal.

The restaurant’s menu also lists rock shrimp tempura with black truffle vinaigrette and Japaneses A5 Kobe taquitos eith truffle mushroom soy.The crispy tuna rice was “underwhelming,” he said, while the A5 Wagyu gyoza was overly sauced.The best bite of the night, according to Lox, was the crispy yellowtail taquito, which he said had good fish quality and wasn’t overpowered by the sauce.But the praise was short-lived.He said he disliked the meat blend in the Japanese A5 Kobe taquito and called the $48 Samba LA roll “criminal” because it was bathed in what he described as “crappy sauce.” The restaurant’s menu lists the Samba LA roll with golden eye snapper, yellowtail, crab, chili garlic crunch, passionfruit sanbaizu and yuzu oil.The critic also sa...