Delicious, Michelin experience. It’s located behind Sugarfish and hold 12 diners, so it’s an intimate experience. Great for a special occasion or to really celebrate life. Below are my stream of conscious notes from the dinner:
Uzaku - freshwater eel and cucumber; very tender Hokkaido octopus - comes with yuzu salt and chef recommended we try it without soy sauce first Bluefin toro sashimi - it’s just the cheek and extremely soft Akamutsu from Nagasaki - a nice yuzu finish Engawa - aged halibut from Boston; a bit of a harder fish but a nice bite Ko Ika - baby squid had a nice shiso element for some edge Isaki - with yuzu zest on top; I liked this a lot Uni from Santa Barbara - mostly sweet a surprise spicy kick; very fresh Sawara (king mackerel) - very, very tender with creamy finish Hokkaido scallop - very soft and similarly tender Shabu shabu wagyu - from New Zealand; first piece is “their style” and the second one is your choice; Ankimo (monkfish liver) - it looked a little bit like cat food but came with a yuzu miso sauce that was unique Iwashi (sardine) - with ginger and garlic on top Zuke (red tuna) - beautiful vibrant red color Churro - medium fatty tuna Mirugai (giant clam) - very firm with a yuzu taste Kinmedai - this was lightly grazed by the butane flame and that gave it a nice smokiness Maine lobster nigiri - another one with a light yuzu zest Sea eel nigiri - nice bbq sauce and super soft Maine lobster handroll - by this point, I’m getting so full and I don’t know how k finished this, but I did. Apricot lane farm Tamago nigiri - I’m a fan of tamago but my sister isn’t; a lighter episode Mandarin sorbet with berries - super fresh and juicy - a great palette cleanser.
Knicks and Knacks
Absolutely delicious! Expect nothing but the best of whatever you are served. The service was exceptional and the Chef and Sous Chefs prepared and served the food with such precision.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Elle Marquez
Exceptional. Everything about this experience was incredible. Every dish was absolutely stunning and the customer service was immaculate. Truly an absolute pleasure of a dining experience— will be back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sky Thai
A Michelin-rated omakase sushi restaurant hidden inside of one of Los Angeles’ beloved Sugarfish locations. It’s almost like a speakeasy but for sushi! Definitely make reservations since they only seat 10 people per session. Chef Sada has recently taken the reins for the restaurant and does not disappoint! The quality of the freshness of the seafood here is top notch! I’ve been to a few sushi and omakase places and the quality definitely stands out! To really get an idea, I would try get a few omakase places under your belt before coming here to throughly appreciate it. My favorite bite was the Santa Barbara Uni! The contrast in temperature and flavor was so pure!! There’s no flairs or gimmicks and is pretty traditional. The space is a traditional wooden bar-style seating so you’ll get to see Chef Sada and team work their magic. Overall, wonderful experience and would love to come back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hamza Ghani
One of the best dinners I’ve had. From the experience down to the taste. We went back when Chef Fuji was there.
Similar to classic Sugarfish but true counter side omakase, with more interesting dishes. Truly an experience and highly recommend for special occasions. I still have my signed menus
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Louis Carrillo
I cannot say enough about how amazing the cuisine and staff are at Nozawa Bar. Master Chef Fujita has his cuisine is so fluid, flavors so sublime, and company effervescent that i had share. If you can get in for a seating and you enjoy Omakase , this experience at Nozawa im confident would be among if not the very best.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chef Tommaso
One of the best sushi experiences in Los Angeles. The food is outstanding, and watching the chef prepare everything right in front of you in such an intimate, exclusive setting with just a few other guests makes it truly special. Totally worth it. The staff is incredibly professional. A must-visit if you love sushi in LA.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jennifer Oh
This is definitely a treat! It’s a limited 9 seated private omakase dining experience. The chef is always entertaining and the quality of the food is fantastic! The courses are always fresh and simple but the best is their rice!
Yesterday was my baby and I 6 month anniversary,staff were incredibly sweet, attentive and the food was quite the experience.I’d recommend this for anyone adventurous whose open to trying new kinds of authentic sushi ☺️The chef was such a delight all the way from Tokyo Japan 🇯🇵
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jed Kwon
Everything was fantastic.
The vibe was very casual which is very California. Some may prefer a more formal affair but it very much suited my sensibilities. Everything was similar in quality to what I've had in Tokyo but obviously much more expensive.
Price-wise.... It's about the best you can expect in LA. Most everything more expensive has been disappointing, anything cheaper is missing something critical to the omakase experience. Frankly I'm surprised by how many high end sushi restaurants don't even use real wasabi or serve the very same omakase menu all the time. I'm probably not going to be eating sushi much anymore except in Korea or Japan in the future, the gap between cost and what you get in America is too wide these days. But I'd make an exception for Nozowa Bar. I'd like to experience it at least a few more times before he retires.
Honestly with all the LA favorites shutting down I'm curious how this is profitable. $2250 twice a night 6 days a week is $1.4m a year. Which sounds like a lot but given a staff of 4-5 plus prices for ingredients, I feel like I've seen places that should be pulling in twice as much go out of business. It's possible they're leveraging sugarfish to make the books work, but it's also a pace that can wear a man to his bones, so if I were you I'd enjoy this experience at least once considering how fast the food scene in LA changes so much.
Minor complains, the design of the restaurant puts the omakase room unfortunately close to the restrooms but the soundproofing is decent. Having complained about ostentatious omakase extensively in the past it's a bit hypocritical to suggest the fare at Nozowa Bar could stand to be more creative, but I wouldn't sacrifice anything of what they've currently cultivated just for the sake of novelty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shane Coles
If you've got a reservation here you're paying for the very best and you will get it. Felt like walking into a speakeasy but for sushi. Small 10 or 11 person seating and fixed menu omikase. I think I'll stick to getting the nozawa trust me at SUGARFISH on most days, but for a special occasion I've got no regrets tasting the very best Nozawa has to offer.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
O J
Very famous place. Make sure make reservations ahead and show up on time. Totally enjoy the food and service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jeremy Lim
Amazing experienced. Highly recommend this Omakase dining experience. The parking was very convenient and about 90 minutes dining experience. The chef explains every single dish to you.
Incredible experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious, Michelin experience. It’s located behind Sugarfish and hold 12 diners, so it’s an intimate experience. Great for a special occasion or to really celebrate life. Below are my stream of conscious notes from the dinner:
Uzaku - freshwater eel and cucumber; very tender
Hokkaido octopus - comes with yuzu salt and chef recommended we try it without soy sauce first
Bluefin toro sashimi - it’s just the cheek and extremely soft
Akamutsu from Nagasaki - a nice yuzu finish
Engawa - aged halibut from Boston; a bit of a harder fish but a nice bite
Ko Ika - baby squid had a nice shiso element for some edge
Isaki - with yuzu zest on top; I liked this a lot
Uni from Santa Barbara - mostly sweet a surprise spicy kick; very fresh
Sawara (king mackerel) - very, very tender with creamy finish
Hokkaido scallop - very soft and similarly tender
Shabu shabu wagyu - from New Zealand; first piece is “their style” and the second one is your choice;
Ankimo (monkfish liver) - it looked a little bit like cat food but came with a yuzu miso sauce that was unique
Iwashi (sardine) - with ginger and garlic on top
Zuke (red tuna) - beautiful vibrant red color
Churro - medium fatty tuna
Mirugai (giant clam) - very firm with a yuzu taste
Kinmedai - this was lightly grazed by the butane flame and that gave it a nice smokiness
Maine lobster nigiri - another one with a light yuzu zest
Sea eel nigiri - nice bbq sauce and super soft
Maine lobster handroll - by this point, I’m getting so full and I don’t know how k finished this, but I did.
Apricot lane farm Tamago nigiri - I’m a fan of tamago but my sister isn’t; a lighter episode
Mandarin sorbet with berries - super fresh and juicy - a great palette cleanser.
Absolutely delicious! Expect nothing but the best of whatever you are served. The service was exceptional and the Chef and Sous Chefs prepared and served the food with such precision.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Exceptional. Everything about this experience was incredible. Every dish was absolutely stunning and the customer service was immaculate. Truly an absolute pleasure of a dining experience— will be back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A Michelin-rated omakase sushi restaurant hidden inside of one of Los Angeles’ beloved Sugarfish locations. It’s almost like a speakeasy but for sushi! Definitely make reservations since they only seat 10 people per session. Chef Sada has recently taken the reins for the restaurant and does not disappoint! The quality of the freshness of the seafood here is top notch! I’ve been to a few sushi and omakase places and the quality definitely stands out! To really get an idea, I would try get a few omakase places under your belt before coming here to throughly appreciate it. My favorite bite was the Santa Barbara Uni! The contrast in temperature and flavor was so pure!! There’s no flairs or gimmicks and is pretty traditional. The space is a traditional wooden bar-style seating so you’ll get to see Chef Sada and team work their magic. Overall, wonderful experience and would love to come back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of the best dinners I’ve had. From the experience down to the taste. We went back when Chef Fuji was there.
Similar to classic Sugarfish but true counter side omakase, with more interesting dishes. Truly an experience and highly recommend for special occasions. I still have my signed menus
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I cannot say enough about how amazing the cuisine and staff are at Nozawa Bar. Master Chef Fujita has his cuisine is so fluid, flavors so sublime, and company effervescent that i had share. If you can get in for a seating and you enjoy Omakase , this experience at Nozawa im confident would be among if not the very best.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of the best sushi experiences in Los Angeles.
The food is outstanding, and watching the chef prepare everything right in front of you in such an intimate, exclusive setting with just a few other guests makes it truly special. Totally worth it. The staff is incredibly professional.
A must-visit if you love sushi in LA.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is definitely a treat! It’s a limited 9 seated private omakase dining experience. The chef is always entertaining and the quality of the food is fantastic! The courses are always fresh and simple but the best is their rice!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had the Mango Boba and Hibachi…both were amazing
Restaurantji Recommends
Yesterday was my baby and I 6 month anniversary,staff were incredibly sweet, attentive and the food was quite the experience.I’d recommend this for anyone adventurous whose open to trying new kinds of authentic sushi ☺️The chef was such a delight all the way from Tokyo Japan 🇯🇵
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything was fantastic.
The vibe was very casual which is very California. Some may prefer a more formal affair but it very much suited my sensibilities. Everything was similar in quality to what I've had in Tokyo but obviously much more expensive.
Price-wise.... It's about the best you can expect in LA. Most everything more expensive has been disappointing, anything cheaper is missing something critical to the omakase experience. Frankly I'm surprised by how many high end sushi restaurants don't even use real wasabi or serve the very same omakase menu all the time. I'm probably not going to be eating sushi much anymore except in Korea or Japan in the future, the gap between cost and what you get in America is too wide these days. But I'd make an exception for Nozowa Bar. I'd like to experience it at least a few more times before he retires.
Honestly with all the LA favorites shutting down I'm curious how this is profitable. $2250 twice a night 6 days a week is $1.4m a year. Which sounds like a lot but given a staff of 4-5 plus prices for ingredients, I feel like I've seen places that should be pulling in twice as much go out of business. It's possible they're leveraging sugarfish to make the books work, but it's also a pace that can wear a man to his bones, so if I were you I'd enjoy this experience at least once considering how fast the food scene in LA changes so much.
Minor complains, the design of the restaurant puts the omakase room unfortunately close to the restrooms but the soundproofing is decent. Having complained about ostentatious omakase extensively in the past it's a bit hypocritical to suggest the fare at Nozowa Bar could stand to be more creative, but I wouldn't sacrifice anything of what they've currently cultivated just for the sake of novelty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If you've got a reservation here you're paying for the very best and you will get it. Felt like walking into a speakeasy but for sushi. Small 10 or 11 person seating and fixed menu omikase. I think I'll stick to getting the nozawa trust me at SUGARFISH on most days, but for a special occasion I've got no regrets tasting the very best Nozawa has to offer.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very famous place. Make sure make reservations ahead and show up on time. Totally enjoy the food and service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing experienced. Highly recommend this Omakase dining experience. The parking was very convenient and about 90 minutes dining experience. The chef explains every single dish to you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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