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The indoor-outdoor space was designed to feel like an underwater sanctuary.
Nakazawa had been planning a move to L.A. for the last three years. Construction delays, issues with utility hookups, and the 2025 fires all delayed the opening until now. Much of the staff has been commuting back and forth from the East Coast for the last several years in preparation.
The buildout includes a spacious dining room with seats for 16 at the bar, and 16 in the interior dining room. A partially covered outdoor space houses another 30 people, and there’s plans for an outdoor PDR area soon.
Studio UNLTD designed the space, drawing inspiration from an underwater cavern with a combination of blue and gold accents throughout. “We wanted something crisp and contemporary, not like the very traditional omakases of Japan,” said Borgognone. You’ll find natural wood accents throughout, nodding to tradition, along with herringbone floors and immersive lighting (i.e. “hidden” lights that shine from surrounding surfaces in the dining room rather than from visible fixtures). Outside, string lights and an ivy wall are planned for the PDR to create a charming, cozy vibe.
For the first time ever, Nakazawa goes beyond nigiri.
The faithful Edomae-style omakase Nakazawa made famous in New York 13 years ago will still be on the menu in L.A., in a $190 “Classic” omakase format. But, for the first time ever, there’s another option as well: The Chef’s Omakase ($295), which includes both hot and cold dishes in addition to the nigiri. The full kitchen inspired the team to expand their menu, including a binchotan charcoal grill. “We’re using a bevy of local California products as well as Japanese fish, but we wanted some of the new dishes to be really explosive,” Borgognone said.
Both omakase options are the same length, but will run a bit differently depending on where you’re seated. In the dining room, the menu is served as seven courses of three pieces each; while at the sushi counter, each course is done piece by piece (or dish by dish), for a total of 21 courses on both menus. The menu changes seasonally but for the full Chef’s Tasting Menu, for now, you can expect everything from a surinagashi (pureed soup) made with summer corn, white truffle, botan ebi (spot prawn) and finger lime for a pop of bright citrus to A5 Wagyu with porcini and a whiskey jus. Classic nigiri includes sea scallop, an array of toro (fatty tuna), and hay-smoked skipjack. Look out for an inventive uni course as well, featuring an uni sorbet and a crispy tempura roll. The sushi counter has a full view of the custom kitchen, giving diners a front row seat to culinary techniques like hay-smoking fish or watching live shrimp wiggle around on the counter (before well…you know).
The sake list at the L.A. location is the largest in the state and features some rare and unique finds.
Beverage director Dean Fuerth has put together a formidable beverage program at the Los Angeles location which includes sake, sake and wine, and N/A pairings to complement the various omakase options. The expansive sake list—one of the largest in California— features rare finds from Japan, and ranges from $75 bottles all the way to up to $17,500 gems. During our meal, we tried a sake from Kochi made with a proprietary strain of yeast which survived a grand excursion both under the sea and 400,000 meters above earth (seriously), as well as Koshu wine (an ancient Japanese grape) from AAPI and woman-owned winery Kazumi in Napa, plus a highly prized unpasteurized Junmai Daiginjo from Kirei Shuzo in Hiroshima, to name a few
Don’t sleep on the N/A pairing, either.
On the night of my visit, my N/A pairing included everything from an inventive hojicha kombucha from Brooklyn-based Kettl in collaboration with Unified Ferments, as well as an Ume Spritz from Aplos (ume plum, tea, grapefruit, and sea buckthorn infused with lion’s mane), a non-alcoholic sake from Origami, as well as N/A wines from France, Napa, and beyond.
There’s dessert sushi. And actual dessert, too.
At the end of both tasting menus, don’t miss the storied tamago (a dish Nakazawa famously struggled to master in Jiro) served as “dessert sushi” along with a course of sea eel, plus a creative amazake ice cream (a traditional fermented rice drink in Japan) to end your meal on a sweet note.
