Given its location along the Greek-chic Via Rodeo 2 along Rodeo Drive, you expect to pay a pretty penny for the sushi experience that awaits. But to simply discuss the price, $275 per person prix fixe, would be remiss of one of the top culinary experiences in the sushi world. A subterranean valet off Rodeo Drive leads to a five-person elevator usually stocked with eight-cramped tourists beeping with digital cameras. Above shops like Versace and Tiffany as well as a McCormick and Schmick's, a 12-person dining room awash in maple wood accents and long sushi bar hollers in commands and greetings sung in Japanese. The crowd is mixed, a combination of clients being wooed and spare-no-expense gourmands well aware of the restaurant recent award of 2 Michelin stars and subsequent press accolades.
The Food
Many grew to know the nickel-size space as Ginza Sushiko, before one of its star sous-chefs took over the restaurant and simply improved its already-stellar reputation. No two meals at Urasawa are the same, presented in coordination with daily fish deliveries and seasonal specialties. An almost fanatic following book reservations almost two months in advance, savoring each prix fixe course of Kobe beef and foie gras flown in directly from Japan without deep freezing. Spectacular details like Toro topped with 24-karat gold flakes are coupled with one of the few licensed vendors of blowfish in the United States. A wine and sake list of rare bottles can drive a meal for two up to almost $1,000, but with an experience of a lifetime that can easily forgive the financial damage.
Last Word
Meals take upwards of three hours, and don’t be afraid to ask the sushi chef for more as much of the fish is discarded at the end of the day.
