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If it's not there already, add Morihiro’s omakase to the top of your LA fine dining bucket list. At this high-end Atwater Village sushi spot, servers explain every course in painstaking detail, much of the dinnerware is made by the chef himself, and you theoretically could swallow your slab of soft hamachi without chewing at all. But if you just walk by and peek in the window, the space looks like a somewhat nicer version of your average neighborhood Japanese restaurant. Of course, most casual sushi spots don’t serve a signature tofu that cuts like custard, snow crab shabu shabu, or perfect saba nigiri.
The biggest question you'll have to answer is whether you opt for the $250 omakase served at one of the restaurant's handful of tables, or go all-in on the larger, longer (harder to book) $400 omakase with the chef at the sushi bar.
Both meals are top-tier—complete with sleek, silver-skinned hikarimono, abalone on the half shell, and those warm little towels for your hands—but they also create a bit of a Goldilocks dilemma. Compared to the $250 omakase, there are other excellent sushi spots in LA that offer a more interactive and intimate experience for around the same price, and compared to the $400 option, there are omakase spots that deliver just-as-great sushi for less of a premium. That said, if you're spending this much on raw fish anyway, the extra money probably isn't a huge leap. Either way, bring a wealthy fish enthusiast who likes wearing jeans to formal dinners. You know the type.
photo credit: Jakob Layman