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This counter-only restaurant in Little Tokyo costs $300 a person and serves a truly spectacular dinner comparable to the best around the world. Sister restaurant Bar Sawa offers a more affordable omakase next door with cocktail pairings to boot. In the high-end realm, I look for places that maximize overall wow factor; even within the upper echelons of L.A. Dining, I take price, atmosphere and booking convenience into consideration. After all, not all folks want to plan their dining schedules around Tock reservations going live.
The best sushi restaurants in Los Angeles
Settle into 15 pieces of terrific sushi that impress even the snobbiest of sushi-goers — the varieties of fish range from familiar cuts to more obscure ones. Sushi bars will satisfy your craving for immaculately cut raw fish. That includes home Dodgers games now that baseball season is in full swing.
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Los Angeles has the most diverse, expansive and wide-reaching sushi scene in the country, so how does one even begin? In the process of scouting, I visited dozens of Valley strip malls, Little Tokyo shopping plazas and swanky counters in Beverly Hills in search of L.A.’s best sushi restaurants. Countless no-frills strip mall joints make up the San Fernando Valley’s sprawling sushi scene, each with their own devoted local following, but Taku Shimuchi’s Sushi Spot is a countywide standout thanks to its high-quality fish selection and reasonably priced omakase sets. Each carefully made piece of warm rice nigiri at this Tarzana restaurant comes simply, and elegantly, seasoned—no truffle shavings, black caviar or gold flakes here. For the more budget-conscious, the $60 chef’s set course includes a sashimi course, a dozen or so pieces of sushi and a handroll. What I recommend, however, is the market priced omakase, which starts at around $100.
Sushi Spot
If you’ve got a lighter appetite, ask Yasu-san to halve the amount of rice—of the 37 different L.A. Omakase options I’ve tried, the only place where I worried I’d have to stop the meal early is Inaba. Proper, head to Kaneyoshi on Tuesday nights, where Hirano pops up for a reservation-only collaborative dinner that runs $400 per head.
This hip spot has a variety of distinctive spaces that lure creative types and beautiful people. Chef Shigenori Fujimoto has teamed up with Frank Leon and Evan Ross on a Japanese fusion menu that never misses a beat. Dishes are often irreverent, as in rich and savory udon carbonara with paper thin smoked pork belly, creamy egg and parmigiano; and the sticky-sweet oxtail-stuffed bao is craveworthy. Seafood is impressive, whether it's ceviche or sashimi-quality halibut bathed in a ponzu sauce vinaigrette. Chef's specials include shimeji risotto or whole baked branzino with sake. Leona’s Sushi House in Sherman Oaks goes into the former La Loggia space with proprietor Frank Leon and sushi pro Shigenori Fujimoto, previously of Asanebo and Shiki.
As with most outstanding sushi restaurants in the Valley, Okumura can be found in a sizable strip mall, tucked into a back corner. Chef Ryota Okumura previously worked at Sushi Zo before opening his namesake restaurant, where affordable sushi, sashimi and rolls are composed with the utmost care. Amberjack sushi is treated to a beautiful lime and salt crust, while creamy, custardy chawanmushi lies under tenderly placed uni and ikura. Hand rolls include a black-cod option, as well as a negitoro version where a mixture of fatty tuna and spring onion get wrapped in a crisp seaweed sheath. For a more personalized experience, take a seat at the bar and order the excellent L.A.-style omakase ($165), which makes fried shallots and ponzu sauce feel brand new again. A more affordable sushi-only omakase ($140) comes with three seasonal appetizers, 10 pieces of nigiri, a hand roll and dessert.
Sushi Kaneyoshi
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Dinners are served from Wednesday to Saturday at 7 p.m., priced at $280 per person before tax, drinks, and tip. Spring is also prime time for road trips, especially now that the desert festival crowds have departed. If you’re heading out to Palm Springs or as far as Yucca Valley, be sure to keep restaurant critic Bill Addison’s recently published restaurant guide handy. Sushi Note in Sherman Oaks expanded to this underground location at the front of a valet stand, joining the ranks of unlikely but still terrific sushi destinations in Los Angeles.
Hotel Ziggy Los Angeles
The result is a multi-faceted space with indoor and outdoor dining rooms, plus a tucked-away counter where patrons can get a Valley-style omakase blending of Peruvian flavors but hewing closely to a two- or three-plate nigiri dinner that Angelenos are more than familiar with. Sushi chef Morihiro Onodera founded the celebrated Mori in West LA before helming the counters at Inn Ann and Shiki over the past few years. Onodera finally has his own omakase restaurant in Atwater Village, with masterful preparations and world-class sushi. The price tag to see Onodera in action is $400 per person at the counter though dinners are a more approachable $250 at a table. Kaneyoshi is one of the newer stars in LA’s high-end sushi scene.
Spectacular Sushi Destinations to Try in Los Angeles
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This neighborhood sushi restaurant in Toluca Lake flies under the radar, but the reasonable prices and top-notch L.A. Style sushi make Sushi Yuzu a top choice in my book whenever you’d like to choose your own adventure. The crowd-pleasing menu includes some seriously delicious rolls, hot appetizers and sampler plates, many of which come with truffle salt or freshly shaved truffles (not exactly a bonus in my book, but reflective of Yuzu’s overall culinary slant). The lime roll is a study in pure balance with albacore, avocado, black pepper and yuzu-based ponzu dressing drizzled over the entire dish. Order the 10- or 15-piece omakase ($90 or $120), however, and you’ll find the kitchen takes its nigiri just as seriously as more purist L.A.
It’s not often that a high-end omakase restaurant resides at the street level, but that’s the case with Sakurako, which comes from Sushi Enya founder Kimiyasu Enya. Enya brings on three talented chefs who trained in Japan, with head chef Akira Yoshida preparing the heart of Sakurako’s nigiri array. Master chef Tatsuki Kurugi composes kaiseki-style appetizers and sashimi courses while pastry chef Shota Takaki finishes the meal with a thoughtful, fine dining-level dessert. Omakase for every whim, reason or predilection—making it all the more remarkable that this newer Gardena sushi counter manages to stand out among its older peers.
After opening in fits and starts since the pandemic, this Edomae-style sushi counter along Sawtelle Boulevard has reopened for dinner service with three excellent, budget-friendly set meals deserving of your attention regardless of whether you live on the Westside. Owned by the same group behind some of L.A.’s best ramen bowls, the restaurant was famous for its pre-pandemic lunch specials. The less expensive sets ($49 and $69 respectively) swap out premium ingredients like Wagyu and toro out for less pricey cuts, but you’ll still leave here feeling satisfied regardless of which set you order.
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As the most discerning, up-to-the-minute voice in all things travel, Condé Nast Traveler is the global citizen’s bible and muse, offering both inspiration and vital intel. We understand that time is the greatest luxury, which is why Condé Nast Traveler mines its network of experts and influencers so that you never waste a meal, a drink, or a hotel stay wherever you are in the world. That we have in wondrous plenty, as these 21 restaurants — a top 10 and 11 additional standouts — attest.
Sushiyas, minus the difficult reservations and much higher prices. Every night of service, after a brief sequence of kaiseki-style appetizers, Shunji Nakao breaks out a wood block of sliced fish, each brilliant, shining row ready to be prepared for each guest. The luxurious selection always satisfies, as does Sakurai’s ultra-refined sake selection. For $30 less, you can also experience the same menu prepared by Takahiro Miki, Nakao’s right hand, in the room next door. There are a half-dozen ways to cut a fine meal at Arcadia’s Sushi Kisen, including the extremely affordable omakase experience at the counter, where I’ve enjoyed a dinner that rivals Sushi Kaneyoshi or Morihiro for less than half the price of either.
Chef Hiro Yamada also stocks an extensive selection of raw fish, so if you know exactly what you’re in the mood, you can also order a couple two-piece orders of those and call it a day. Either way, I recommend making a reservation for weekend evenings, though you can often call the day of and still find some availability at the bar. Sushi Kisen also does takeout and opens for lunch, if a midday omakase is more your speed. In the last few years, the number of omakase options in L.A. Has likely quadrupled, but I still think this Michelin-starred sushi counter in the back of Sugarfish Beverly Hills delivers the best mix of fun, quality and value.
Helmed by Earl Aguilar, who trained under Note’s Kiminobu Saito, this $190 omakase meal is offered at a small bar or at a few small tables. Like with Note in the Valley, this omakase experience is best with the restaurant wine pairings, which puts terrific wine pours that amplify each piece’s flavor profile. Priced at just $75 per person, the omakase from Hirofumi “Gen” Sakamoto offers one of the best deals in town.
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