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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Beverly HillsTue-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
"This is my secret sushi spot. I clock so much time @ the sushi bar here, that I now have an extensive collection of tinfoil engagement rings…" read more »
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Mr Urasawa is in my opinion one of the best chef in the WORLD. He is the MAN and he knows what he is doing. He delivers PERFECTION every time and his food is like HEAVEN to my tastebuds. He is not stuck up at all like you'd expect but he is a really nice guy and he is good at flattering people. I will come back here again real soon.
Honestly I can't tell you what dishes are good (since I like everything he makes) but I tried some super fresh UNI and they were AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It melted in my mouth. (LOOK AT PICTURE FOR REFERENCE!)
If you didn't like Urasawa, then wow....... I wouldn't know what to say. Maybe I'd say that you haven't acquired the taste for fine dining yet.
This is DEFINITELY the best sushi place I have ever been to and I think I won't ever go to a better… Read more »
*****350th review*****
Urasawa is a very special restaurant. Special and pricey. You can't go there everyday but it's a great special occasion restaurant. It's like eating your designer purse or shoes.
Basically you make your reservation in advance and give them your credit card info. They will charge you $100 per person as a guarantee.
This location is located inside the second floor of Two Rodeo. $7 valet parking with validation. We got lucky to get a table inside a private room.
Favorite dishes: Toro with monkfish liver, Beef & Foie Gras Shabu Shabu, Hairy Crab Meat, Brain & Sea Urchin, Codfish tempura, plain bluefin tuna, sea urchin, toro and plum desserts.
Yummy dishes: Hairy Crab from Hokkaido, seared albacore, lobster nigiri, tamago, Edamame tofu with Salmon Roe.
I love its plum wine!! Be careful not to drink too much plum wine here. It's so good and addicting.
Service is a little uptight but they really pay attention and watch you. They give you hot towel everytime you go back to your seat. They wipe your table after every dish. The presentation was amazing.
I went there with fun friends to celebrate one of the yelper's birthday. It was a fun experience. We got so full that we had to stop the sushi and skipped to dessert. I missed 4 of nigiri sushi.
Love love love its plum desserts. Green plum and red plum. Juicy and sweet!! Perfect pair of plums.
4.5 stars for Urasawa.
Urasawa is yummylicious!!
450th review!! Oh My Hairy Crab!
Sponge Bob and Patrick would have flipped! Mr. Hairy Crab was delicious! Nick H's B-Day had a Real Surprise!
1. Salmon Eggs Divine.
2. Shabu Da Shizzel
3. Appetizers were the best I have ever had.
4. Tempura was just as good, if not better, than the place in Torrance
5. Plum Wine..wow.
The Sushi had a few issues. I was not too impressed.
Service was great.
*The Surprise*
First class company. The classiest I've been with, no doubt. This review is dedicated to the influence they gave on my experience at Urasawa. No way would it have been the same without them. For sure.. a very memorable experience.
The restaurant offers a great environment. We even had the private table. I read a few of the reviews on here and some say it's the best sushi in LA and the best dining experience. Well, it is an amazing thing then for me to have had this experience with the amazing company I had.
Very classy Birthday Treat. A very classy gift from classy yelpers,Thank you! And, thanks Maggie C. for arranging everything!
Service could be a little more friendly.
It's hard to say more than what has already been said by the numerous Urasawa reviewers. Nevertheless, let me try.
The food is undeniably good, but there is an obvious question here for anyone who isn't a celebrity or millionaire: At a starting price of $350 per diner (which likely ends up closer to $500 after 3 hours of drinks, tax and tip) is this restaurant worth it? If you struggle with the idea of such a large tab, then you may very well be disappointed as you will likely never find food to your liking at such a price.
However, if you could see yourself paying such a tab for a one time celebration of Japanese Cuisine, then read on.
My wife and I aren't gushing with cash but we heard about this place some time ago and committed to budgeting for it as our mutual Christmas present to one another. I have to say that, unlike the gadgets or other presents from previous years, our Urasawa memories will likely be the longest lasting gifts we've given to one another.
With that perspective in mind, consider the unique attributes of Urasawa that make it special:
1) An intimate setting. On our visit, we spent most of the evening as 2 of 4 guests with our own private chef. About 2 hours in, another party arrived bringing our total restaurant attendance to 10. If the idea of hiring a renowned chef as your personal dietitian for an evening intrigues you, then this restaurant is right up your alley.
2) The most exotic and freshest foods. About 30 minutes into our meal, the abalone tried to crawl out of its fish case and onto the floor (I kid you not...it really happened). That guy had been in the Sea of Japan no more than 36 hours previous. We tasted Spanish mackerel and Japanese; Uni (sea urchin) of both the Santa Barbara and Hokkaido regions. 24 Karat gold leaf was a frequent garnish.
3) A knowledgeable and humble chef. When I saw Hiro-san break out his carbon steel knives, I knew I was in for a treat. While my wife chatted with the couple sitting next to us, I was entranced by Hiro's exquisite knife work. He is a true master of his cuisine. But beyond that, he is an avid foodie. We had some great conversations about other restaurants- including his recent visit to The Dining Room (which he, like us, loved). And yet the chef speaks with a calm authority. He is polite, unassuming and full of reverence for his guests and other members of his trade.
4) Immaculate presentations. From his (rightfully) much lauded sashimi plate on a block of ice, to the deserts packed in a tiny lacquered box, to the gorgeous etched-crystal glasses that held our water, you will be astounded by thought and care that goes into each dish's presentation.
Highlights:
* Shabu Shabu - Let me start by saying that I have a huge problem paying for food that I am expected to cook. But this transformed my opinion, being the best of that genre that I have ever had- from fondue to K-BBQ to actual Shabu. Start with a delicate broth and add premium ingredients like Foie gras (the best example of which I have ever had) and true Kobe Beef. Then after everything, drink the goose-liver-and-beef-fat-laden broth. Dear lord...heaven briefly entered our plain just long enough to intersect with my taste buds.
* Toro - I understand now why this is the king of sushi
* Lobster - if you can get past the part where he slices the living bugger 2 feet in front of you, then you will adore every application of this ingredient that he can muster.
* Spiny crab - served in a shell sitting on your own personal brazier.
Things to remember:
* Please, please listen to Hiro-san. His instructions are there for your benefit. When he tells you to immediately eat the nigiri that he is serving you, eat it. Not doing so will only reduce your enjoyment and frustrate your host (though he won't show this frustration overtly).
* Just buy some champagne or sake. It will cost you $150 or more for the bottle, but (in the case of sake) it will likely last you most of the night. But you are already spending $800 on your meal. Budget the additional $150 (wait another month or so to save if you must). It enhances the entire experience.
* Share the love. Hiro-san will be very grateful if you offer him a glass of your sake.
In all, I have to say that this meal was worth the price. 5-10 years ago when my finances were much tighter, I would not have enjoyed it- but that's a factor of my means rather than the food itself.
Why do we spend $80 for a ticket to Disneyland, or hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket to Greece? These are events...experiences. Urasawa is just such an experience. Sure, it is but a 3 hour vacation, but I am positive that it will live with you for a lifetime.
Effort, presentation, service: 5 stars
Food: 4.5 stars
That being said, it is the best sushi I have ever eaten. Booked 1 week in advance, hopped over to BH for sushi.
The ingredients are all very fresh, and I haven't had "sharksfin chawanmushi" in a long time. The money is well worth it for all the fresh, succulent, endangered fish that we are getting here. Not to mention that both the chefs are extremely detail-oriented when it comes to the food. You see them crouching over, making wasabi from scratch, making sure every piece of sashimi is the same size, fussing over the presentation, etc. They put in so much effort into their craft that it feels as if I am eating an art work here.
If you don't eat your nigiri in 10 secs, chef Hiro may step in.
I only deducted 0.5 because I was a little traumatized when chef Ken ripped the live lobster in front of my eyes. First, the poor fella was moving.. crawling and all.. scared out of his wits. Then, *crack* *snap* and his head was pulled backwards, body slit into half, and flesh scraped out of his shell.. well ok, he was delicious, but I didn't have to see that.. at least it was fast, I think he died a quick death.
I'm tiny, so I was extremely stuffed at the end of the meal. There were 23 pieces of nigiri and I could only do 19.. had to give up!
Dessert was OK, since I'm such a big dessert fan, it's just ok.
We paid $467, tax and tip included. No alcohol though!
What else can i say, that hasn't been said already WOW for both the food and the price. Thanks Hiro San for an enjoyable experience and evening.
Hiro san is a very talented chef and his skills demonstrated in many of his cooked dishes. The sushi we had were delicious and fresh, however, I won't say it's better or worse than some outstanding sushi bars I've been to.
Overall it's a very pleasant fine dining experience and worth the money or not is absolutely subjective. ^_~
I've already prepared myself for the backlash that will come from this review. Yes, I went here. Yes, it was cool. Yes, I spent a ton of money like everyone else who went here. But just because it was really expensive doesn't make it awesome. I've been to the french laundry, that was expensive and amazing--the best meal I've ever had.
Nothing blew my mind here. The vibe was cool, the ingredients were fresh and presented beautifully, service great, but I found myself asking: 'Is this it?' The ingredients were some of the most expensive you cant get but it felt like I was just eating the ingredients themselves, not dishes.
The fois gras shabu shabu was particularly weird for me. We are talking about giant unwieldy chunks of fois, reeses peanut butter cup size. I like fois but at that size it was like chewing on a chunk of super rich fat. Gross.
The sweet shrimp was also interesting. He killed them in front of us and scooped a bunch of goop out of their heads and made a sauce. Exotic and captivating? Yes. Delicious? Not really.
I did enjoy the experience it was neat, I just didn't love the food. The black sesame ice cream was really good and Hiro is friendly and a wonderful host.
Just because I spent a ton of money on something doesn't make it good. If this place was only $75 a person I doubt it would have a 5 star average, people feel obligated to give it 5 stars to avoid feeling dumb for dropping so much money on food.
I loved this place!!!!! fresh fresh fresh but pricey.
I would go back but not on an empty stomach otherwise very hip and cool.
I finally made it to the infamous Urasawa!
Truly memorable with such exquisite detail and quality of food prepared by the chef. I ate a lot of toro , lobster, and Miyazaki beef. I must've eaten like 20 nigiri! Every fish was so fresh and not fishy tasting.
The tamago yaki tasted like a spongy cake, it was probably the best I've ever had.
I've been spoiled with such an experience. I'm not sure if I will go again just because it ain't cheap! I need to save my money for El Bulli!
I took pics of every single course so details to follow when I have time...
With 2 Michelin stars under his belt, Chef Urasawa serves up an intimate and personable dining experience in his cozy venue that bears his name. Located across from Tiffany's, the venue is reservation only, on the second floor.
Unvarnished wood surfaces serve as their serving counter. Though reminiscent of the surfaces at Masa, the food is served on plates. Kaiseki only, the current price is 350 a head, prior to beverages. The sake, wine and beer list contain many well reputed labels. Though why anyone would pair Kaiseki dishes with anything other than fine Junmai Daiginjo Nihonshu is absolutely beyond me.
While there's no reason to expect that a patron would ever lose interest in the carefully selected (personally, in most cases) foods, including true Wagyu (not AMERICAN raised pseudo-KOBE), amazingly fresh uni, and many more delights that vary depending on what Urasawa-san can find... one will always find comfort in chatting with the man himself.
Trained in Kyoto and with a love for surfing, Urasawa dispenses with the stoic composure that some Japanese culinary virtuosi display. Instead, with a good deal of verve and amiable composure, he serves up good humour alongside his gustatory delights.
If you've a hankering for high-quality sushi and aren't shy about paying a pretty penny, Urasawa is a strong contender for best sushi-ya in Los Angeles.
Urasawa-san certainly has my vote~!
I came here 12/19/2009 with my boyfriend who was treating me to this place for my 25th birthday. The food was good and there's careful detail put for each dish as Mr. Urasawa is preparing 90% of them personally. He has a sous chef who works alongside him, but other than that... there was us 2 +7 others from 8pm until 12:30am. Can I say, the guy to my right brought his date, a vegetarian to this place.... I mean seriously? who brings their date to a sushi restaurant knowing she's a vegetarian? It was really nice to see that they specially made her dishes from vegetables and soy. Anyways, back to the meat eaters... there were about 35+ courses, including killing a lobster and skewering shrimp and cooking them alive in front of us. My favorite dish was a green tea chawamushi topped with minced edamame with salmon roe and gold flakes. Second favorite was the lobster sushi. We probably drank too much along with eating, because my little body couldn't finish the last 3 courses :( I seriously tried but had I eaten anymore, my buttons would have popped on my pants. I would repeat a lot of whatever everyone else says, but I feel the high price tag is due to the individual detailed service you're getting alongside food being served. You just don't get this kind of service at any restaurant; the second I got up a waitress was there to open the door to the bathroom, and when I got back to my seat there's always someone there with a hot towel. I wasn't rushed at all when I was eating... I mean we were there for a solid 4 hours. Warm dishes rocked.
Although I can say, I prefer my sashimi with NO ponzu sauce. At Sushi Zo, they did the same thing... douse/paint all the sashimi with Ponzu.. What is up with that? Also although not used often with the dishes here, regarding wasabi, honestly I prefer Sushi Zo's made from scratch wasabi.
Largely deserve their fame.
I went there approx 5 times by now, and on each occasion I was stunned by the freshness and top quality of their ingredients.
On top of remarquable great food, all the rest have been flawless on each occasion: perfect service (with ideal timing in between the plates) and nice ambience too.
Must try experience...It would be nice to go there all the time...but not everybody can go there frequently. Most delicious sushi I've ever had.
i've just had the most expensive dinner, ever, and loved it!!!
the experience did not start off well though. my friend made the reservation 2 months ago at 630pm. he called two nights before to confirm and only found out that there wasn't such thing... the only time available would be 8pm, fine, we'll take it (basically cus we've been preparing ourselves and don't wanna wait any longer!). got there at 755pm the night, the waitress came greet us said 'reservation? oh, no reservation. i am surprised'.. not-so-good english, of course, ya... they do not have our reservation made at ALL! anyways, they let us sit at the only table and said the ppl at the sushi bar will be done when we are about done with our 'appetizers' which wouldn't make much difference sitting at the table or bar... ok, we took it... (since we were THERE already!).
we were moved to the sushi bar right about finishing up the appetizers... and were the only 4 people left there, had a good chat while enjoying the food with the chef/owner... oh, the sake we original ordered were 'out'! (another 'neh'...) maybe so the owner let us try two other kinds (one is limited edition!) of sake on him, me as a drinker, appreciated that!!!
i won't comment much on the food, amazing, fresh, creative, awesome presentation, just go see my pics. i just thought a good/pricy/michilan 2 stars restaurant would have a good/better reservation system!
i'd say it's a must-try place... at least once! could be a little cheaper (four of us ended up paying around 500 a person, including alcohol)... the 4 star is basically based on the whole experience (including the price).
I've been here twice and the sushi is fantastic!!! I'd go here more often if it wasn't so damn far away, but seriously who can afford $1000 plus for dinner for 2 with a bottle of sake... Ok maybe we didn't need to order the bottle of sake, but then what would sushi be without a good bottle of sake... Here it would still be some damn good sushi, with or without the sake.
My most expensive sushi dinner ever, however it worths every single penny. Basically, it is more than a dinner, it's a lifetime experience, must try. Their tamago is still the best I have so far.....
Hands down the best sushi experience I've ever had in my whole life! My boyfriend took me here for my birthday and I will forever remember it. This place has sushi to die for. I thought I knew sushi until I went to urasawa.
1. This place is reservation only!!! Call in a week in advance as there are only about 10 seats in the place. They have early and late reservations though. I think the latest reservation is at 8:30pm
2. See if you can find parking on the street otherwise, go ahead and valet, you can get a validation and pay $5 for the ehole night.
3. Get ready for at least 2 hours of melts in your mouth sushi.
4. You must taste the uni. They put the uni on everything. The Santa Barbara uni was good, but the uni from hokkaido is the best I've ever tasted. Melts in your mouth!
5. There is no menu, eat what chef Hiro makes, you won't regret it.
6. A few dishes I loved when we went:
a. A cold appetizer dish served on dry ice with toro, hokkaido uni, radish and a sweet japanese ginger
b. sweet shrimp like you've nver had it before. They will get live shrimp and in front of you take the head off and peel the shrimp, did I mention they get the brains out and chop it and make it into shrimp topping? I know this sounds really gross but it is delicious!
c. there is an egg souffle w/ mushrooms, shrimps and veggies and topped w/ salmon roe
d. albacore was really good, but you can't have more than one piece
e. toro seared right in front of you and served w/ ponzu sauce
7. Give the chef some love and some beer - you'll get more sushi :)
8. Ken is great fun too. He only does the appetizers, Hiro does all the sushi.
Don't eat all day so you can be ready to eat your heart out.
I usually don't like to write a long review for yelp.. but I can't help it for this one!
My mom and I were surfing through Yelp one day when we found this 5 star, over 100 something ratings for a Japanese restaurant named Urasawa. We decided to try it one day, little do we know (because I only read the first couple reviews and was already in love and decided to try it), we were supposed to have a reservation. We drove 40 miles back to where we lived only to have more of a curiosity for this place than ever. We KNEW we had to try it. I went back home and yelped it and found out it was $350 per person without tax/tip, :-/ I knew I wasn't going to spend that much money on myself for just dinner so my brothers and I decided to treat my uncle and my mom for dinner as their birthday present. My mom really wanted to me to go with her and share this experience so she paid for my part. and... OMGOODNESS was this worth every penny!!!! no joke!!!!
1. every plate of uniquely combinated, patiently decorated food was like an explosion of goodness to your tastebuds. Food combinations that you would not expect to be good let alone tasty was absolutely DELICIOUS!
2. we were a private party that night because the whole restaurant only has about 10 seatings, and that night it was just the three of us eating, but there were 5 people helping us. The chef, his assistant, and 1 to 2 people in the kitchen, and 2 people that stood behind us waiting to be at our assitance. My cup of hot tea was never cold, nor halfway empty. The table was absolutely clean the whole time, not a drip of soysauce that wasn't wiped up within a few seconds.THE SERVICE WAS OUTSTANDING! one star for that
3. EVERY single thing that we ate, from the fish to the freshly grounded wasabi, to the soup, to the green tea, to the soysauce was made with FRESH material. shipped fresh around the world. The chef's creation depends on what's in season, and when the fish market's closed in Japan, the restaurant in Beverly Hills closes as well because he opens/closes to the time where he can get fresh ingrediants. Chef Urasawa told us that less than a pound of this wasabi was over $100 from the northern part of Japan because he only gets the best.
4. You can tell that Chef Urasawa really loves what he does because he spends a lot of patience and love for every dish that he makes in front of you. You can really tell that he loves what he's doing and truly has a passion for food and also adds a spark of creativeness to his dishes. You can come back at different times, and he would create a different delicious dish.If you tell him you're allergic or you don't like a certain kind of food, he would create something more to what your tastebud prefers.
5. After every meal,it's like a surprise as to what he would make next and how he would present it. I don't even think he knows exactly which is the best part because he goes by his creative-food senses and at the end ALWAYS creates a masterpiece!
The bill ended up to be about 1450 for 3 people and my brothers' and I's wallets are definitely a lot lighter now but wow... was it worth it! I would definitely come back again... once I save up for a few years :-/ definitely once in a lifetime experience if you like authentic, creative, FRESH, Japanese food. P.S. be prepared to spend at least 3 hours there. (note: if you don't like the taste of raw fish, this would probably not be your cup of tea)
This is it!
I was so glad to make arrangements to come here. I was super happy with the food, service, and ambiance. I loved the coziness and quiet environment - it was so nice and relaxing experience.
From the moment you walked in, you are taken to Hiro-san's exclusive world. He is very humble, yet paying close attention to all the service details. I have no idea how many hours he spends everyday to prepare all the food, but I could tell it's a lot of work! His style is to emphasize the ingredients' natural flavor instead of coating up with strong sauce. If you like to put teriyaki sauce on everything, then this is not your place.
After every single plate was taken away, these employees wipe the white wood bar counter to make sure it's super clean.
I took some photos, but I did not have a chance to take sushi photos as Hiro-san insisted that I had to eat each sushi within 10 seconds after being served. I was so busy eating. I don't usually eat a lot, but I was told I had 30+ items on that day! :o
I shared nice dry sake with Hiro-san, and he seemed to be happy. I know it's not cheap, but it was not a bad deal considering me going to my favorite sushi place in NY (and paying airfare and hotel)... ;p
Yes, very expensive. But worth it? Very much so, at least once!
It's a small intimate space- your seat is yours for the night, so feel free to have a long, leisurely dinner where the chef only stops when your stomach is bursting at the seams.
The highlights that make my mouth water just recalling them:
Black sesame tofu stuffed with fresh uni, topped with caviar and in a light sweet soy sauce. Very unusual and oh so rich tasting. I've never had anything like it and it's simply amazing.
Toro that you grill yourself on a small round slab of piping hot black granite. I've had some pretty great toro but this... this is the toro of the gods, marbled with fat like I've never seen and melt in your mouth delicious with a lovely, light smokey flavor.
Shabu shabu with lobster and fois gras. The broth is unbelievably rich, I wanted to take a spoon to it after I had eaten the bits.
I was a bit squeamish about eating the lobster (there's a good deal of... very fresh lobster throughout the meal) while the front half of it was still crawling towards me, but the chef noticed and politely draped a napkin over it with a small smile.
Eating here is a wonderful experience that I recommend highly. I actually can't wait to go back once my bank account has recovered somewhat.
Im a fan of Asian food.
I agree with Brandy S. Urasawa is the place to experience the Asian goodness of sushi.
The food... the service... the ambiance... the whole package! Its worth every penny!
Its a little expensive, but hey, its worth it!
Second visit. I was slightly disappointed that at many of the items being the same. The last visit was around this time last year and the seasonal nature of the menu may explain that.
The visit was also marred by a few obnoxious fellow guests that couldn't help yapping, in quite loud voices (given the proximity), about all the other *exclusive* restaurants that they had been to, or were trying to score a reservation for. Hiro san was visibly annoyed. Good lord people. Just enjoy what's in front of you now!
Still a solid 5. Heck it's a 7 considering all the 5s Yelpers! give to sub-standard establishments...
Urasawa is busier than it was last year. They tell me that business is very good. The economy is picking up I suppose.
Listing the Omasake seems to be the thing to do with these reviews so here we go:
-- Hairy Crab from Hokkaido (a seasonal specialty) with Chrysanthemum flowers (Hiro san seems to love Chrysanthemums; they are all over the tiny place) and Mitsuba vegetables (also featured in many items). Same item as last year.
-- Toro in a delicious and refreshing lemony broth, served in a beautiful flower like vessel (looks like a Roman wine cup; broad and on a tall base). This was new and very refreshing.
-- Salmon Roe, really really tiny Shrimp, Chrysanthemum flowers, and 24K Gold Leaf on an Edamame base. Same item as last year.
-- Sashimi on a massive cube of carved ice. Troro, Red Snapper, Kan pachi (wild Japanese Yellowtail), I forget the fourth. Same item as last year.
-- Some custard dish. Same item as last year.
-- Cubes of Toro grilled to perfection on hot stone. Last year they allowed the grilling to take place in front of you, but perhaps there was some accident, as this time it was done by Ken san (Hiro san's assistant) on the counter. Delicious as before!
-- Shabu Shabu, a favorite of ours from last year. Lobster tail (from a beautiful large Lobster that was massacred right in front of us; the animation slowly fading from the severed top half was slightly upsetting), Kobe Beef (from an enormous cut of meat sitting at the back), one other item, and Fois Gras, a real oddity but one that goes down very well here (and something that will be illegal in CA in 2012).
-- Hairy Crab from Hokkaido and Uni from Santa Barbara in the crab shell, served over hot coals. New, and wonderful.
This followed by endless Sashimi and other items, that they would have kept feeding us unless we told them to stop. A few highlights: Bluefin Tuna, Sayori (Needlefish), Japanese Abalone, more Kobe beef (after it was on a grill for a while of course), Shiitake mushrooms, Japanese Mackerel, etc., etc., etc...
Topped off with a bottle of Kubota Sake and finished with a Persimmon half ripened to perfection, cubes of egg custard, and Hojicha.
This time we got to know Ken san, Hiro san's assistant, quite well. A very friendly chap. He was telling us about his knife, which he had had for 12 years, and was continually getting smaller due to the daily sharpening he gives it, and about how Hiro san gets very annoyed with him if he ever touches Hiro san's "very very expensive" knife... lol.
As always the service was superb, with the servers (of which they had more this year) cleaning your space after each and every dish, attentive to a fault, even opening the door for you each time you stepped outside.
Worth every penny of the $$$$ tab...
First, let me set the stage. It's on a second floor at the corner of Rodeo and Wilshire. If you take… Read more »
Meal-of-a-lifetime!! You won't regret eating here. If anything, I can't stop talking about this place when the word "sushi" is mentioned.
Our reservations was Saturday at 7pm. We came with a bunch of foodies, so it was fun. All 10 seats at the oak bar was filled.
The whole experience and food was truly mind-blowing, and simply amazing. Once you have eaten here, it's hard to eat sushi elsewhere.
Check out the play-by-play at: http://bit.ly/2kkez
One of the best meals period I've ever had in my life. Definitely worth the $500+ per person (including sake) price tag we paid . We were served 35 courses in total: 8 cooked, 2 sashimi, 23 nigiri and 2 desserts. After the desserts came mocha and tea. I can honestly say that I loved all the cooked, sashimi and nigiri dishes. The cuts of fish were unbelievable fresh, almost on a par with what we had at the Sapporo Nijo Market. The desserts were kiwi jello and black sesame ice-cream, neither of which I was particular fond but somehow had zero effect on my overall dinning experience.
I would definitely come back again. Will someone take me, please?
Amazing. Unreal. Indescribable. The best sushi, EVER.
Yes, I felt bad dropping $500+ for dinner. I could have spent it to pay off my student loan, or sent the money to a charity, but this was such an experience that I had to do it. I'm just glad it's so expensive or else Urasawa would become my next bad habit. :) You must also give in and make a reservation at Urasawa. You won't regret it!
first let me start off by saying that I probably had the MOST unique experience (for a common person) at urasawa. It was just two of us and HIRO :D we were the only party for our reservation of 8 on a saturday night so it was personal treatment by the man himself (no homo)... anyways....
best meal of my life. i'm glad that it's expensive... in fact, i sort of think it's TOO affordable. Urasawa is much much much MUCH more than just a "dining" experience. It's an experience in and of itself. Hiro is so nice and humble, i really wanted the meal to go on longer just so i could watch him work. He truly is a master of his art.
Please plan on eating a lot because there is A LOT of food. Seriously... i was a bit skeptic when people were mentioning it here but really.. it is A LOT of food. I've already written more than i wanted.
simply put, Urasawa is amazing. Hurry and make your reservation.
oh yeah and after tax and tip.. expect to be spending 500/pp. more if you are really drinking.
Personal chef, edible gold flake, Derek Fisher at arm's length, these sum up my experience at Urasawa--the food mecca for sushi lovers. An experience not soon forgotten, after 25 odd dishes you are stuffed beyond belief as your wallet is drained of close to $1,000 (for two).
Not every dish is amazing but the attention to detail and passion for cooking is evident everywhere. From the hand carved ice blocks which hold your sashimi to the hand-whisked (to perfection) matcha tea, service is the utmost priority. Dishes worth going back for: salmon (?) roe with Japanese custard , seared toro, uni, wagyu beef, 2-day marinated saga beef, the list goes on...
Once in a lifetime, more if you're lucky!
Money no object? Then you can expect to spend a lot of it here. Urasawa is perhaps the most expensive and best Japanese restaurant you will step into. It is like having your own personal chefs prepare amazingly simple yet complex dishes for your own personal pleasure. At first glance this place appears simple, maybe even a little blah. on further inspection, the smooth, beautiful counters are made of hinoki wood. All the seafood is brought from japan. I suggest you go there completely starved since you will be very well fed...with small portions that will build a sensuous orchestra in your mouth. This place is a shrine to raw fish. This place has for a long time , and for good reasons, captured the hearts of sushi connoisseurs. Words can not describe this most authentic experience of a lifetime. If you have a very special occasion, if love sushi, if you have a couple of hundred dollars per person ( or if you have to sleep with someone you don't particularly like...trust me ...do it. It will be worth it.
Michelin Stars #12 and 13
To say Urasawa was the best sushi experience of my life would be a gross understatement. To say chef Hiro was the most cordial, funny, and professional sushi chef I've ever witnessed would be putting it lightly. Urasawa has now tied the Dining Room at the Ritz, for "The Best Meal of My Life" title. (http://www.yelp.com/us...)
I surprised my old lady on her 30th birthday with arguably the best sushi west of the Mississippi. Lucky for me this was a present I could enjoy as well. From the moment we entered, service was impeccable. To me, it was never overbearing, and always very relaxed. Despite what many reviews have said, there was a short list of sake by the glass, which we ordered one of along with some beer to start. We also indulged in two bottles of $10 water. What's an extra $20 at a place like that? Also, some reviewers said valet was $15, but it was only $5 after validation. Now to the food.
1. The first dish we had was one of my favorites of the night. It was a slice of the best Japanese beef I've ever had, wrapped around uni, shrimp, veggies, and topped with caviar. I tried to chew as slow as possible since it was so good. The beef just melted into all the other components while maintaining a sublime textural experience.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
2. Sesame tofu, filled with uni, and topped with 23ct gold. The tofu like dumpling was delicious and the fact that it was filled with uni made it ever better. This was as good as the amazing tofu I had in Japan.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
4. The best kanpachi sashimi I've ever had. Served on a block of ice that Hiro carved himself, it was divine.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
5. Chawanmushi with fish sperm. This was one of the best shirako dishes I've ever had. (You'll notice I'm saying, "Best I ever had" a lot. There is a good reason for that, it's true!)
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
6. Tempura of a black truffle and squid. How can you go wrong with a HUGE piece of tempura fried black truffle? You can't, you simply cannot.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
8. Not the best picture, but the thin slice of foie gras prepared shabu shabu style was unreal. I was first surprised it didn't melt or break when lifted with my chopsticks, and I was surprised again when the entire piece melted in my mouth. This was just excellent on every possible level.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
9-29. Sushi. The best sushi I've ever had by far! Each piece was the best of its kind. All the beef was better than the Kobe beef I had in Kobe Japan. The toro was the fattiest, the shellfish had the best texture of any I've ever had, and watching the knife skills of Hiro Urasawa was hypnotic. His attention to every microscopic detail was bordering on OCD, delicious fishy OCD.
The meal ended with some awe inspiring teas and desserts. I was pretty full by this point but I managed to suck it all down.
Chef Hiro was honestly the friendliest and funniest sushi chef I've ever had the pleasure of eating from. He would talk at length to the girl in Japanese and then a few minutes later would start talking to me in English. Never did I feel this to be a stuffy, snooty, or pretentious place.
Was it worth it? YES! Without hesitation or a second thought, YES. Would I go again? In a heartbeat. I turn 30 in less than 18 months and I'm counting the days until this 30th b-day present is returned.
You roll into Beverly Hills in whatever fancy car you have... and when you're done eating... you're going to be literally physically rolling out the door of Urasawa.
Hiro is a very humble Japanese man, but he is very strict with his staff. (When one the waitresses retrieved the dish from him, he stopped and sternly told her that she was using the wrong hand. She had to correct herself on front of the customers. Whoa...)
So expect the best service. And don't forget the UNI! Seriously-- I never liked the taste of uni, but this meal wouldn't even be an Urasawa meal without it.
The entire experience was excellent! No other sushi will ever taste the same way again after last night's meal. $350 per person. Pricey, I know! But seriously, you have to do it at least ONCE in your lifetime! However, I know it's not going to be my last time...
On my 30th birthday, my fiancé told me that he was going to take me to "all you can eat McDonald" for dinner and instructed strongly that I only have light lunch during the day to prepare for the feast. Ummm ok? On that night, he blindfolded me in the car and headed somewhere. After many stops and turns, he pulled into the under-ground parking structure. Very nice looking valet people escorted me out of the car, and I still had no idea to where he was taking me. ...Until I saw the business names listed by the elevator.
1F McCormick & Schmick's
2F Urasawa
"2F Urasawa"!!!?!???!?!?!?!?!?
I freaked out. I FREEEEEEEEAKED OUT! Of course he wasn't gonna take me to McCormick & Schmick's, and sure enough, he pushed 2F in the elevator and said "happy birthday, baby." I'm the happiest girl on earth!!!!!!!
"Bright" was the first thought as I stepped into Urasawa. It was clean, minimal, and bright. I saw a gigantic ice wall placed right next to the various fresh fish, and a gigantic block of marbled beef. I mean, gigantic like bigger-than-my-chihuahua gigantic. Fresh hot towel came with a drink menu. On the contrary to what I heard, they actually offered small sake. We opted for that as I was on anti-biotic (bummer!) and couldn't drink much.
Then the ecstasy came. I'm not kidding. Every single course, every little thing that the chef put in front of us was beyond imagination. "Melts in my mouth" doesn't do it justice. Actually no words can do it justice. I just simply don't know how to translate that entrancing experience into writing, so I'm just gonna have to simply describe what we had and leave few notes here.
1. Uni and Botan Shrimp wrapped in raw marbled beef and Senmai-zuke (pickled turnip) with caviar on top
Who would have thought of these heavenly combination!!?!?!???
2. Goma Tofu (Sesami Tofu) with Uni inside, with fresh wasabi and 23k gold flake on top
Thick, yet super creamy tofu that went perfectly with the texture of Uni.
3. Karasumi wrapped in Sanmai-zuke (salted then dried fish eggs wrapped in pickled turnip)
Upon chef's instruction, having a small bite of it then chasing it with sake worked great. Now I know why Sake lovers favor Karasumi, one of the top three delicacies in Japan.
4. Uni, Kanpachi, Toro Sashimi
This came on top of the beautiful plate made out of ice. Chef claimed that he's a guy of leisure and he carved them all himself...
5. Shirako Chawanmushi (Fish testis egg custard)
This came with thick sauce and grated ginger on top. Chunks of creamy Shirako and crunchy veggies, as well as springy mushrooms all made a textural paradise.
6. Black truffle and baby squid Tempura
To my "Oh my god, I've never seen this huge black truffle before!," the chef said "Oops, that was an accidental cut!" Charming.
7. Shrimp, marbled beef, and scallop grilled in Miso sauce
We thought it was cheese on top. The aroma so rich and the flavor so intense.
8. Marbled beef and foie gras Shabu Shabu
The waitresses did the swishing for us and made us felt like a king and a queen. Both literally melted in my mouth. We were given a spoon to drink the broth afterward.
9. ~ 29. Various Sushi
Uni, Abalone, Botan shrimp, Toro, marbled beef, etc etc. I doubt it can get any fancier than this.
30. Grapefruit jello
So refreshing after all the richness! This came with a cup of Maccha, the REAL green tea. So bitter, almost powdery. I haven't had it for so long... It was definitely soothing.
31. Sesame Ice cream
Very rich, yet not too sweet ice cream. This came with a cup of Hojicha (roasted green tea). It was the wonderful ending of the meal.
Everything was breath taking and beyond my comprehension. Definitely one of the greatest meals I've ever had. The service was top notch. They went above and beyond for everything. Our water glass never reached to half point as it was constantly poured. Every time when we had to excuse ourselves to the outside bathroom, they opened the door to let us out, re-opened the door to let us back in (how did they know we were about to open the door to come back in???), then gave us the fresh hot towel. Once when Eli had to leave in the middle of the course, they took the food back into the kitchen to keep it warm and re-presented it to him when he got back. They provided us the ultimate devotion and customer service.
The Chef Hiro was the perfect master at this place. Modest, humble, yet confident. Attentive and funny. He's trained his staff well. Everybody switched between Japanese and English to be fair to both of us, and all the courses were described twice (once in Japanese, once in English). There was no awkwardness of any kind throughout the entire dinner that I often encounter at Japanese restaurants in LA. Not only was the food fantastic, everything else was incredible too. I truly enjoyed my night here.
I'll start saving money now so that I can return the favor and take my fiancé back here on his 30th birthday a year and half from now. ...Well hopefully.
this place is simply amazing. it will burn a hole in your wallet, but its an amazing experience. ive travelled around the world, eating all sorts of expensive things... its to the point where fine dining is just fine dining to me, and it all tastes the same. but this place wows me so much, i want to go back, but i cant afford to.
instead of coming here once, i can go to mastros 4-5 times.. thats how i get myself to fight the urges to come again.
Need I say more...
Wow...the food, service, atmosphere, everything is a wonderful experience. Consider once or twice in a lifetime you spend a thousand dollar for dinner, you definitely feel it is worth it.
-Irene Suwarno
I came to Urasawa to celebrate graduating with my parents. Now I myself had no doubts that I was about to be in sushi heaven, but I was mildly concerned for my parents, who can be a little shy when it comes to, shall we say, ingredients that are not your standard fare. But I brought them with the faith that Hiro was simply too talented a chef not to make something any person would love, and of course I was correct.
I don't think I need to repeat what every reviewer here has said; any dish you are presented with will blow your mind and it will probably be the best preparation of that thing you have ever tasted. Period. But I would also like to emphasize the fact that despite its price, this is not a stuffy place. My mildly intimidated parents were quiet at first but we quickly developed a repore with Hiro, who was extremely amused by my parents facial expressions and encouraged the whole place to be more talkative.
By the end of the meal we were all so stuffed we could barely walk to the car, and Hiro probably had 6 more nigiri in mind for us at least. This is definitely a place where you have not just a meal, but an experience.
It has taken me a month to finally write this review... Why? I have no idea... The overwhelmingly amazing dinner I had at Urasawa on June 3 at 7:30 pm has been replaying in my mind over and over...
We made it through the entire dinner. Some diners refused additional courses because they were full... I was tempted to eat off their plates. Every piece of sushi was perfectly crafted. Every course was perfectly timed. Perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked, perfectly served. I have a picture of one of the dishes (Uni, truffles wrapped in kobe beef steamed with sake served in a claypot) as my screensaver...
I am making plans for a return visit in September... maybe another one earlier...
Sweet, I get the 100th review for Urasawa! (WTF, I lost the 100th review thing on this review. Whatever....)
Located in the heart of Rodeo Drive, you'll see many high end stores, and cars in the area, along with its abundance of tourists visiting the sights and sound of the area.
Upon entering Urasawa, you'll step into an immaculate restaurant. With various fresh ingredients in front of your eyes, we were assured of the great meal ahead.
Truth be told, it was a mind blowing experience. The full on 30 course dinner lasted 6+ hours and each course was an experience by itself. There were a few standouts during out meal: 1) Kora-Yaki (Hairy crab meat that's from Hokkaido served grilled in a mixture of crab brain, and uni) 2) Saga Beef (Japanese wagyu beef cooked for 2 days in sake and shoyu) amongst many others.
Yes, the price was steep ($540/pp for us), plus an additional $15 for valet parking. But honestly, there are times that splurging on a great meal like this makes one's year, as it did mine.
For my full review with each course descriptions and pictures, visit my blog located on the left of my profile or just go to:
kungfoodpanda (dot) blogspot (dot) com
(Ya, I'm whoring out my blog, sue me)
Urasawa will blow you away with an out-of-this-world omakase at his Japanese standout, where attentive service outweighs nondescript decor;
The mortgage-the-house prices are commensurate with the excellent quality, and sushi service.
Bring along a high-limit card.
Came here for my birthday. My sushi eating standard had been forever raised. They used uni for so many of their dishes, I was simply in heaven! The food was amazing.
When I save up enough for a month's car payment, I'll return, gladly!
Make reservations ahead of time, dress casually and be prepared to be amazed. =)
Happy Hour 3:00- 6:00 PM
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Lunch Special
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Palms
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Category: Japanese
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