Went tonight and had to report back immediately. Chef Kusano is so nice and fun to drink with The food was amazing and at a great price. My wife has a shellfish allergy and he was so accommodating!
A super fun night and even better having dinner alongside some new friends from FTC! Loving Kusano and will probably be planning a return trip in the future. Chef is easily putting up the best omakase in Los Angeles right now and I hope this place stays bookable when it has only 7 seats. @SithLord has the best shots so I’ll just throw in my favorite bites.
went last night with a friend. we had an absolute blast. i haven’t had an omakase meal since 2020, so this was the perfect reintroduction: calm, thoughtful, fellow diners were all lively and appreciative.
i thought the monkfish liver was my favorite bite until the mackerel hit the altar. scallop was a hit, too. also the best miso soup of my whole soup eating career.
hopefully it won’t be another 4 years before I do omakase again. only downside to something this good is i had to confront the fact that i eat a lot of mediocre sushi.
That was an excellent dinner for the price point. Rice texture, warmth, and seasoning was on point. Agreed with the butane comments above. But some great/excellent bites especially the ebi, uni ika, kasugodai, and mackerel. Excellent soup as well.
Other parties got ankimo and we didn’t which was a bummer. Chef said 75% of his diners were from FTC.
@PeonyWarrior I’m curious what you didn’t dig about it?
I don’t hate the place. I think it’s better than 99% of restaurants in LA. I’m glad people like it. It’s a good story for the chef, and I hope he succeeds. Actually, the chef’s story may play a part in answering your question.
Ah, we didn’t get any background/detail on his story. We had a mostly silent meal as he was serving folks at a different time interval than us (looks like they started at 6 and we were at 7)
I thought the sushi was excellent for the price point. However, one thing that no one else seems to have mentioned is the blindingly bright lights. I was hoping to feel transported to one of the small, high-end sushi-yas where I have dined in Japan, but instead I felt transported to . . . the OR as the last time I remember such bright lights was when I was being wheeled in for surgery just prior to losing consciousness.
We finally screwed up our courage and asked Chef if he could turn the lights down, and he did, but it was still way too bright for my taste. If we were the only ones there, we would have asked earlier and we did ask the other party if they would mind if we asked Chef to turn down the lights prior to us actually asking.
From a design standpoint, it is a very bare-boned place, which is fine at that price point, but better ambient lighting might have helped the design to feel a little more inviting and relaxed.
Maybe I’m overly sensitive to bright lights, but I wouldn’t go back just for that reason.
i had a 7pm reservation and was out at 9pm after lingering a little over some sake and conversation with the chef-- another couple took their last bite, paid up, and left about twenty minutes before us.
This is not a thing anymore. Back in the 90’s when you were getting fish in big cities from limited purveyors at restaurants maybe. But now our global supply chain, availability of local fish, and embracing of dry aging and other preservation techniques you can eat fish any day of the week and there is no difference.
That “no sushi on a Monday” rule used to be a truism in L.A. But as I understand it, the movement of goods in the fishmongering game within the sushi realm has changed in the past decade. Plus, aging of neta is now much more prevalent, so “freshness” isn’t as prized as it used to be.
The food was amazing and at a great price. My wife has a shellfish allergy and he was so accommodating!
