Los Angeles’ sushi scene has a new heavyweight in town.
Located along Sunset Boulevard, Udatsu Sushi has brought to Hollywood an intimate eight-seat omakase concept featuring 17 courses.
The Tokyo-born restaurant first debuted in the Japan capital in February 2019, eventually going on to earn its Michelin Star in 2022.
The Los Angeles outpost marks Udatsu Sushi’s first brick-and-mortar location in the United States. Effusing the understated charm of Tokyo’s Nakameguro neighborhood, the Los Angeles location tips its hat to its new locale with the use of local ingredients alongside seafood from Tokyo’s Toyosu Fish Market.
"[It’s] not just about sushi, but also a place representative of the city of Tokyo where people from diverse industries and nationalities can interact and deepen their mutual understanding of each other,” says chef Hisashi Udatsu.
Guided by Udatsu and Naotaka Ohashi of Michelin-starred TIRPSE, Udatsu Sushi Los Angeles is led by executive chef Shingo Ogane.
Guests enter Udatsu Sushi through an antique, wooden Kura door imported from Japan that dates back to the Meji era. Inside, a brutalist-inspired interior by Gry Space is accented by botanical sculptures by Alejandro Bataille, while a long, concrete omakase bar holds court.
Diners then sit at one of the eight yakisugi barstools created by Decered Studio to officially enter the 17-course journey, mindfully making way from flavor to flavor. Highlights include a seasonal herb roll (organic herbs, an array of tuna nigiri, flounder with grated ponzu); sea urchin nigiri and, to cap the culinary adventure, a Japanese sweet egg omelet.
Behind the omakase bar, chef and team work away with custom tools from Udatsu Sushi Tokyo. For example, the stingray-skin wasabi grater mellows wasabi’s heat, while still enhancing its aromatic qualities to best complement a dish’s flavors. Additionally, the rice temperature of each dish is customized to also best complement the fish it is paired with.
A sake connoisseur, Udatsu is highlighting Japan’s lesser-known sake houses as part of the beverage program. There is also an evolving selection of natural wines.
In time, Udatsu Sushi plans to roll out a vegetarian omakase menu.
Reservations are now open. The 17-course omakase experience starts at $225.
Udatsu Sushi is located at 6634 Sunset Blvd 90028.
See also: 10 Best Sushi Restaurants In Los Angeles
Photography by: Courtesy Udatsu Sushi
