Sushi Recs

[Qdao]

I wanted to come and ask about good sushi recommendations for my husband’s birthday? I tried to get reservations for Hayato but of course it’s nearly impossible. Any other ideas? I also thought about Knife Pleat. We have tried shibumi in the past and it was awful. His favorite was Urasawa. Thanks!

[PorkyBelly]

kaneyoshi

Sushi Kaneyoshi - Little Tokyo

after drooling over their takeout sushi for almost a year, sushi kaneyoshi is finally open for dine-in and it was hands down one of my top meals in over a year and my favorite sushi-ya in la. the entire meal was you’re-going-to-let-the-cat-out-shut-the-front-door stupid good. heart-emoji, blush-emoji, heart-emoji. this meal was like the sushi equivalent of a hayato-like transportation to japan. can we give the bat signal for an entire restaurant? they’re currently doing one 7pm seating a ni…

morihiro

Morihiro - Atwater Village

after stints at shiki and inn ann, chef mori is back behind the counter with his own restaurant inside of a narrow space next to viet noodle bar in atwater village. after a year of takeout and outdoor dining, it was a pleasure chatting with mori-san and eating sushi at a counter again. added bonus, met a fellow ftcer there too, it was great chatting with you. highlights udo simmered in soy daikon wrapped mackerel shrimp, kumquat nodogoro kuruma ebi tempura maguro kamasu aji kinmedai …

inaba

Sushi I-NABA (Manhattan Beach) - OOE Omakase

I’ve been to i-naba over a dozen times and had no clue they also had a tiny six-seat omakase-only sushi-ya in manhattan beach. They started as a lunch only place and about a year ago added reservation-only dinner service for up to six guests (good candidate for an FTC buyout). The space has no gas line, no bathroom, and no liquor license, however you can bring your own “beverage”. Sushi i-naba is run by chef yasu-san who’s doing some legit aging. He gets most of his fish, killed using ike ji…

[happycat]

Takeda is also excellent, and a lot easier to get into. The Chef’s Signature Omakase at the sushi bar is only available on Friday and Saturday at 6 pm, but it’s what I’d recommend. Chef Hide intersperses the side dishes (and there are a lot of them) with the sushi offerings, which I really like. The atmosphere is very low-key–it looks like there was little attempt to modernize the old space when Takeda moved in, so it feels rather old-school, which I also like. It’s a cozy, intimate setting. I think Takeda tends to get overlooked.

[rohto]

You should probably try for Kaneyoshi first, especially if you want exquisite sushi, but if you fail on that front their sister restaurant Bar Sawa is super fun for a celebratory evening of great food and drinking.

[T3t]

Seconding Takeda; my experience there was very good. Shunji and Brothers (SM) would be close runner-ups, as far as places where it’s not that hard to get reservations go.

[attran99]

I think it’s worth noting that Hayato is not a sushi restaurant. The kaiseki-coursed menu may offer raw fish preparations, but it does not mean it’s a sushi restaurant. Chef Go himself would not refer to his place as a sushi restaurant.

[namstermonster]

Morihiro (bar only) is tops for sure but it’s not the easiest to land on a specific date with less advance notice. I third the Takeda recs and that’s also where I find myself the most often. I find Kaneyoshi underwhelming, although the space is nice. Some other decent spots: 715 Sushi, Q Sushi, Sushi Ginza, Nozawa Bar (inside Sugarfish BH), Sushi Tama, There’s also old Zo which isn’t as special all these years with so many locations but it’s pretty consistent.

[robert]

Shibumi’s not a sushi bar either.

[Ns1]

had a great celebratory meal @ Sushi Note Omakase in BH last month. Pretty much a pure sushi experience, high QPR relative to others at this level - lots of luxe celebratory stuff, good service, generous pours.

[PeonyWarrior]

My favorites are Sushi Ginza Onodera, Kaneyoshi, and Nozawa Bar. Given what you said about Urasawa and Knife Pleat, my first recommendation would be Sushi Ginza Onodera.