Sushi Chef Hiro Nishimura’s restaurant certainly lives up to his name. The atmosphere here is soothing and intimate; to get to the restaurant diners walk through a Japanese garden out front. Amid the minimally decorated dining room, the sushi shines, with Chef Nishimura’s master hand creating some of the best sushi and sashimi in Los Angeles. In addition to sushi, hot Japanese dishes are also served, although it is the raw creations particularly the succulent toro, that have built Nishimura’s flawless reputation.
Nishimura
I recently visited this Los Angeles sushi restaurant. Claimed to be the best FOOD in L.A., I had to check it out (29 out of 30 in Zagat is pretty good). It's a pretty modest place when you walk in, a counter with a few tables sprinkled around. I'm a connoisseur of sushi, so it looked like a typical sushi bar. The first thing that struck me when I sat down was the price. It was really pricey. I was unfazed and powered ahead, my wallet crying all the while. First they gave me some nuts that were roasted or something, they were boring and tasteless. Then they brought out some hamachi sashimi (yellowtail) in some sort of sauce (it wasn't quite ponzu, but more of a blend of sauces). The sashimi was well cut, although somewhat thick for my liking, and the sauce didn't completely overpower the fish - a good dish all in all. Then they brought out a huge platter of sushi. Normally, I'd prefer to have the sushi made in front of me to have served it at its freshest, so the platter of a bunch of types of sushi was kind of a turn off. Anyways, I dug right in. First I tried the toro (fatty tuna), then moved on to the salmon, then halibut, followed by the sea urchin, and lastly the salmon roe. It was good, but not enough to sate me; I was still hungry quite a few dollars later. To sum it up, the sushi was good, but it was too expensive to warrant another trip. If you enjoyed this review, head over to my personal blog for more: http://onlybootssounds.com
