Where to Find Omakase for Every Occasion in Los Angeles [week of 8/17/26]

For the new, hot omakase spots…

After years of construction delays, Angelenos now have the opportunity to enjoy the flawless Edomae-style sushi from Daisuke Nakazawa, the apprentice-turned-master featured in “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” inside of a sleekly designed dining room located on a tony stretch of Robertson Boulevard. With bites like a delicate rice cracker taco topped with caviar and minced fatty tuna, the $295 chef’s menu might be the culinary crown jewel, but here’s a pro tip: the $190 nigiri-only menu replicates the award-winning meal served at Nakazawa’s other restaurants in New York City and Washington D.C. (Both outposts happen to have Michelin stars.)

Hidden within Two Rodeo Drive, a pedestrian-only shopping center that looks straight out of a Hallmark movie, this newly Michelin-starred omakase counter ($320 per person) occupies the same auspicious second-floor address as the long-venerated, now-closed Urasawa. At the helm is Derek Wilcox, an American-born sushi chef who is the first and only Westerner to complete a seven-year apprenticeship at Kyoto’s three Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant Kikunoi. As is customary with the highest caliber of L.A. sushi, most of the seafood served is seasonal and freshly flown in from Japan. That being said, Wilcox displays an uncanny level of precision in how he prepares each meal, which might include kelp-cured olive flounder and lightly smoked bluefin tuna. Plus, there’s a literal red carpet at the entrance.

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For the the crème de la crème……

Six. That’s the number of bar seats per night dedicated to one of the best omakase experiences in Los Angeles. Five nights a week, the legendary L.A. sushi chef Morihiro Onodera serves a signature omakase ($400) featuring house-milled rice grown in the chef’s home town; a selection of aged rice vinegars ensuring that the neta (rice) is uniquely tailored to each shari (topping); and an eclectic selection of handmade ceramics made by Onodera himself. If the seemingly endless parade of nigiri doesn’t completely satisfy, guests have the option of repeating additional nigiri courses at no additional cost. For the spontaneous or budget-conscious among us, a shorter $200 omakase is also available for walk-ins (along with an a la carte menu, too).

The refined art of tea ceremony, or chado (which literally translates to “way of tea”) informs every aspect of dining at Mori Nozomi, an all-female-led sushi counter in West L.A. serving a refined omakase ($280) with Osaka-style flair. In spite of her relative youth, chef-owner Nozomi Mori has quickly ascended to the upper echelons of the L.A. omakase scene thanks to particular standout seasonal dishes. Depending on the time of the year, guests can marvel at the spectacle of a Japanese hairy crab, steamed whole and served in its shell, as well as a razor-thin slice of pen shell clam wrapped in dried seaweed. That being said, the most distinctive aspect of the meal just might be the one-of-a-kind wagashi and shallow bowl of ceremonial-grade matcha served to each guest at the end of the night.

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At the level of sushi-making that includes Morihiro and Mori Nozomi, there isn’t one all-around “best” option. But for some L.A. omakase veterans, there’s nowhere better than this Santa Monica omakase counter (relocated from its original circa-2012 West L.A. digs) run by chef-owner Shunji Nakao and his wife, Yuko Sakarai, who also oversees the restaurant’s beverage program. Beyond seasonally inspired cooked dishes—Nakao takes full advantage of the nearby Santa Monica Farmers’ Market—and immaculately prepared pieces of nigiri, Sakurai makes every night feel like her warm hospitality, rare bottles of sake and, for the teetotaling set, a selection of unique artisanal teas.

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For when you’re craving a fancy sushi lunch…

Located inside the austere former Morihiro space in Atwater Village, Osusume Fumio is one of the rare sushi counters to offer an omakase at lunch. While dinner remains, at least in fine dining terms, fairly reasonable at $180 per person, the $120 lunch omakase offers serious value with a side of lively personality and banter courtesy of chef-owner Fumio Azumi and his wife, Natsuko Aizawa Azumi. During the day, the veteran of Alhambra’s Kogane and Studio City’s Asanebo prepares a short but deeply satisfying procession of 15-odd pieces of nigiri that might include  a piece of Pacific bluefin fatty tuna—typically dry-aged anywhere from 16 to 22 days to improve texture and flavor—and a uniquely smoky preparation of kinmedai, or golden-eye snapper. If you’re still feeling hungry, Fumio-san offers supplemental pieces, a.k.a. okonomi, as an optional add-on.

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In the evenings, Hide Takeda serves one of the finest signature omakases in Los Angeles, a parade of seasonal kaiseki-style appetizers and a signature daikon-wrapped futomaki incorporating Japanese sardines. Come to this third-floor restaurant, tucked away in Little Tokyo’s Weller Court, during the day, however, and you’ll encounter an equally expert lunch omakase with 12 pieces of nigiri for a fraction of the cost ($110 on weekdays, $120 on weekends). Last-minute planners can also text the restaurant to check same-day reservation availability, which just might come in handy the next time a random craving for top-shelf nigiri strikes.

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Unless you live or work near the San Gabriel Valley, it can be a serious trek out to Arcadia to experience Sushi Kisen. Persevere, however, and you’ll be handsomely rewarded with a $90 lunch omakase that includes approximately 10 pieces of nigiri, miso soup, and a negitoro handroll. Sure, other places closer to the city offer similar lunch set menu deals, but the level of fish quality here is a solid cut or two above your standard strip mall sushi joint—and the fact you can walk over to JJ Bakery and Molly Tea for a sweet treat afterwards doesn’t hurt.

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For something a little different…

With Korean culinary influences and seasonal produce sourced from the nearby Torrance Farmers Market, there’s no other omakase in Los Angeles quite like Sushi Sonagi. The restaurant is the long-awaited passion project of Korean American sushi chef Daniel Son, who also owns and operates Katsu Sando in Chinatown and San Gabriel. Seafood flown in from Japan is combined with the chef’s heritage cuisine for standouts like a soy-marinated raw crab nigiri inspired by ganjang gejang and a rotating seafood dolsotbap, or stone pot rice, served at the end of every meal. Just note that the restaurant now only operates on weekdays.

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Before becoming a sushi chef, 715’s Seigo Tamura originally came to the United States to play professional basketball—which might explain why a sense of laidback, sporty cool differentiates his Arts District omakase counter from other Edomae-style sushi joints around town. This youthful energy sets Tamura and his staff apart from more old-school sushi restaurants, but make no mistake: The kaiseki-style appetizers and traditional nigiri are just as immaculately prepared here as anywhere else in L.A.

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