I’ve been a fan of Ike san since his days in Hollywood. His operations now is much more low key and for the most part, reservations only, which is a blessing given that the wait times at his Hollywood location often times ranged in the 1 hour+.
Disclaimer about my lunch today. Sushi Kimagure is omakase only at the bar and they have 3 sets of choices: “Sushi” which consists of appetizer, nigiri, soup, and dessert, “Hana” which adds a salad and sashimi course, and “Matsu” which adds a few extra courses to that. Given that I’ve been a customer of Ike san for close to 10 years now, he knows my likes and dislikes and serves me a pure nigiri omakase meal off the menu that includes items not included in the regular sushi omakase. If you are a first time visitor, you may or may not be able to request the same.
The nigiri cuts here are also approximately twice the size of other notable places like Zo, Shunji, or Mori.
The meal started with an appetizer of monkfish liver. Love the balance of the ponzu and green onions to cut some of the richness of the liver
First nigiri was a yellowtail belly. Super buttery and one of the best cuts I’ve had.
Tai from Japan with shiso leaf and lemon juice. Always love how clean this fish tastes.
O-toro from Spain. Almost could not fit it in one bite…almost.
Halibut was served with salt and lemon juice
Santa Barbara uni
Live Hokki clam was much more tender and sweeter than the Orange clam you often find in sushiyas.
Scallop with shiso leaf
Albacore
Seared halibut muscle (anyone know which part of the fish this is?). Ike san is famous for searing salmon and serving it in the same style. This added the same great smokey flavor to what is probably not a commonly used part of the fish.
Squid
Chu-toro handroll. I could eat 5 of these everyday.
Fruit
Another fantastic meal and Ike san never disappoints. It was rather busy at lunch today and he was working the bar alone so service was a bit slow, but I’m willing to put up with that to enjoy this food.
The meal came out at $55/person + tax and tip. Very reasonable imo. What’s odd is that he never writes down what he’s serving to his bar counter customers and at the end of the meal, goes into his office and prepares the check. It almost seems totally random as I’ve had times where the bill was much higher or lower than I expected. Does he actually remember exactly what he is serving me?