Man, I’ve been to so many kaneyoshi dinners (and have posted about them) with some quite loud people who have really affected our experience but I don’t expect them to be TOTALLY quiet. Or at sonagi I’ve made friends with others at the counter and chatted with them but Daniel joins the hang too. It just sounds like this chef has a shoooooort fuse
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currently taking reservations to get kicked out at his new place:
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FWIW Yoshi-san is considered an extremely tolerant sushi chef.
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there have been a few times at Kaneyoshi when I wished he were stricter and threatened some of these rowdy folks with his big knife 
at his new counter this is not going to be an issue.
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Totally. I think some of it is also reading the room. I have a few places in Tokyo a few weeks ago that I was absolutely silent and a few that the vibe dictated that me and my coworkers could chat and be less reverent.
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I don’t look at Yelp, but I did find these reviews surprising so checked to see if that’s where they came from, and I think to be fair to Chef Fumio you might have mentioned that these are sprinkled in amongst many excellent reviews. Chef Fumio brings tremendous passion and care, not to mention knowledge and experience, and if that comes with him having an opinion about how guests behave, I’m all for it. In fact I think we could use more of that kind of passion in the food world.
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yep, i was just posting the one star reviews to give the recent message from the owner(?) some context:
star distribution:
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#HighTempleofNeta&Shari
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So many younger sushi chefs in Tokyo fully shaving their heads these days to resemble Buddhist monks, further reinforcing the “temple” vibe when dining at the counter in Japan…
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eh.. so is he the only serious sushi chef in LA?
And why is sushi the only place to eat in peace and quiet. That 5 second bite can’t be savored if people are talking next to you?
Seems clear the issue here isn’t the customer based on the significant amount of issues he’s had with people.
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i don’t think the asshole chef stereotype is necessary to be taken seriously as a passionate chef. And if you read the reviews, you’ll see a certain line of that gets mentioned a few times that shows really what his issue is. It has nothing to do with passion or knowledge for the craft.
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let’s hear a story!
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in person or bust
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I think most other sushi chefs are secretly frustrated but say nothing because, after all, they are Japanese.
Yeah, I think it’s hard to savor the (more like 15 second) bite if people are talking to me. I consider it akin to talking during a chamber music concert or a movie. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s how I feel about it personally.
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Does the chef specifically state his expectations when reservations are made or the at the beginning of the seating? Are there signs posted or in menus of the expectations?
Alamo drafthouse cinemas has a no talking policy but they are very explicit about the rules for a reason and announce it before every screening.
A chamber ensemble at a concert house and a chamber ensemble playing a cocktail hour have different expectations of what’s acceptable. Am I getting Eighth Blackbird or am I hearing a string quartet at an outdoor mall? If I sneezed too loud at REDCAT and a performer came up to me and removed me from the show I’d def say “is that part of the show?!”
Personally I would take the ultra rare fish and opportunity for Yasu to whip out his guitar at Sushi Inaba then risk getting kicked out for talking to my wife too much at dinner. I’d also risk having to have dinner with asshole bro-hard guests being loud/lame at Kaneyoshi then a hot fuse chef like those reviews show, but maybe that’s because of the rarity it is for me to be able to eat at that price point.
I think the biggest takeaway tho is the resturaunt parted ways with him because it was not a good vibe! Doesn’t matter how “serious” you take your craft if it is to the detriment of service.
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Neither do I, and I certainly didn’t say that.
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$155 for lunch and dinner now.
Osusume Fumio $120 for lunch & $160 for dinner.
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probably cause you don’t think he’s an asshole? Cause what you said in your post, was approving of his attitude and interactions with clients.
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I don’t think some folks understand how much ordinary American behavior deviates from Japanese expectations of politeness. A couple of anecdotes from Tokyo:
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Several hotel concierges told me that many well-regarded restaurants would not allow non-Japanese people to eat at their restaurants due to perceived bad manners.
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When I finally got into Jiro after months of trying, there were only two customers for the seating at 5 p.m.: me and a Russian lady. It was clear we weren’t allowed near the Japanese customers.
I wasn’t offended by this, because I’ve frequently witnessed a night-and-day difference between Japanese and non-Japanese diners.
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Okay back to this actual restaurant: anyone know anything about who is taking over Kogane chef wise?