Thanks for the report, glad you liked it. Did you get yohei-san? Too bad they didn’t have any aji on your visit.
Was that torotaku?
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If I zoom in on the toro / sukimi tekka I see small bits of the green pickle as part of the pre sushi course earlier inside the roll, zasai ザーサイ (zha cai in Chinese).
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@moonboy403 - thanks for your original review! The grilled fish was a bit dry, with a one-note smokey flavor. I would have enjoyed it in a bento lunch, but did not think it lived up to the other dishes at a ** sushiya.
@PorkyBelly We asked for and received Yohei-san. He was super friendly - will definitely go back and sit in front of him when the gaping hole in my wallet recovers. Thanks for your review!
That was toro taku (literally says that on our receipt) - good catch! 
@beefnoguy Those are some serious ninja skills…
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i asked chef go at hayato about the recent influx of akagai in la. he said there’s a new seller at the market importing pre-shucked akagai. maybe that’s how they’re able to get around the restriction?
Pls pass me his/her digits.
Had the good fortune of making a return visit to SGO, and wow! This might be my favorite LA sushi experience in a long time. Everything from the otsumami to the nigiri to the service was outstanding. The otsumami blew away what I had in Tokyo most recently at Harutaka (though the otsumami there isn’t at a high bar to be honest) and gets within spitting distance of some of the best I’ve had in Japan on other occasions. I didn’t think there were any misses from this meal - I thought every single course was outstanding - I remember @jperelmuter mentioning SGO’s outstanding sourcing previously, and I thought it really showed tonight.
@moonboy403 @PorkyBelly Sorry we couldn’t make it happen this time around - perhaps next time!
I ordered the base meal, but I think I received some additional pieces (based on what neighbors were getting) that I’ll note - I suspect it was because I was plying Chef Yohei-san with sake and getting him tipsy There was a group to my left that had ordered a pricier tier, and they received some abalone and some uni hand rolls as additions, from what I could recall.
Apologies in advance for the poorly focused pictures / banding in many (all?) instances. Used a different camera, and I think I need to manually focus more often.
Tai no kobujime
Great start to the meal - it was almost sweet
Chawan mushi with Italian caviar and Hokkaido uni
Poached Japanese octupus with the skin, served with yuzu kosho
Amazingly tender, and the kosho added a nice kick
King saba with seared skin
The finish went on for days…
Hokkaido uni
A display of the Kegani we will have later
Steamed amadai
I lapped up that broth
Wild ankimo
So decadently rich
And now it was on to the nigiri. I think I still prefer the rice at Mori slightly (especially the texture), but the quality of the neta at SGO is so good that I now prefer the nigiri here. Mori uses a blend that skews to komezu, whereas the rice here at SGO seemed to be mostly akazu. They mention they use a brand called Yokoi Yohei that is aged for 3 years.
Kinmedai
Starting with a bang
Buri zuke
They mentioned it swims from Hokkaido to Hyogo; at any rate it was rich and fatty, with a touch of salinity from the zuke - outstanding
Kegani with the kani miso and some caviar
A quick interlude from the sushi
Shima aji
Sayori
A particularly outstanding piece tonight; they mentioned they try to get large fish samples
Seared Tairagai Hand Roll
Ginger It might be hard to tell from this photo, but the pieces on the left were sliced by Yohei-san, and the ones on the right were by another chef. The ones on the left were noticeably thinner and more delicate tasting - this is one reason I personally like to request to sit in front of Sergio-san at sushi bars whenever possible.
I always enjoy the anticipation from seeing them prep kuruma ebi
Dried karasumi with marinade - additional piece
Chef Yohei gave me a piece and mentioned this chinmi would go well with the sake (of course!) - it was especially rich, not too powdery, and just the right level of saltiness; so tasty
Kuruma ebi
Shiro ebi
Hokkaido uni
At this point, they had a large block of tuna that they unwrapped and broke down. It ended up being a fun show - I can imagine some might find it offputting, but I thought they did it with humor and in good fun rather than trying to make it ostentatious.
They mentioned they get their tuna from Yamayuki, which I understand to be one of the best purveyors.
Yohei-san with what I can only describe to be a katana
@beefnoguy I’ve seen you encourage us to drink junmai and junmai ginjo to better pair with the latter parts of sushi and kaiseki meals. Thus far, my novice sake palate hasn’t been able to appreciate the rusticity with these more robust sakes, so I’ve stuck with junmai daiginjo. But it was at this point in the meal that I noticed the food overwhelming the sake (it was the Kokuryu Shizuku). They recommended another one (Mimurosugi Yamadanishiki) which was a junmai daiginjo as well, but it was far more powerful and kept up with the food at this point. I’ll endeavor to try and get a ginjo next time!
Some piece of tuna that was from a special part I think this was an addition to the base meal - I couldn’t quite understand what they were describing and couldn’t read the paper, but it was fantastic 
Akami aged 8 days
Otoro
At this point, I think the base meal was over, as I saw other customers get their tamago and dessert. They asked me if I was hungry and if the chef could give me a few more pieces. Without hesitation, I said “Yes, onegaishimasu!”
Seared nodoguro
Rich, fatty, decadent, delicious
Shiokara
More chinmi to pair with the sake - the salinity was pretty welcome at this point
Grilled hokkigai skewer
Kobashira
Anago
Tamago
Dessert - a coconut pudding with a black bean on top
Dessert 2 - more shiokara Also got another piece of the karasumi somewhere in there
Post dinner bang at Apple Pan
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thanks for the report. your dinner looks spectacular and i’m always thinking about that ankimo!
did you have silent shutter on? that could be a cause under artificial lighting at certain shutter speed.
Yowza!
I have to get there.
Thanks for the report.
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Not sure if LA branch has it but the NY one does a $70 Futomaki to go. (I’ll call and find out if any of you guys care)
I kinda want to take one for lunch the next day at work lol
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Thanks for this nice updated report and killer photos!
About sake and pairing, Mori Sushi’s sushi profile, although I have not tasted the current iteration with the rice vendor change, the general feeling I get is that it pairs better with specific sake profiles. SGO here from just looking at the pictures, you need sake that has a lot more structure, acidity, some astringency / tartness in order to pair better, that could possibly be a bit too strong if having the same sake at Mori Sushi. Think of it like wine pairings…the really smooth premium wines like First Growth of Grand Cru level Burgundy (with exception) are very easy to drink, but it’s the lower village level / table wines that have a wider range with food pairings (same for sake).
I also love and enjoy Kokuryu Shizuku but it’s a splurge and rare sake to come by. But I can also see why the stronger flavors here at SGO would take over. Mimurosugi is from Nara Prefecture (currently not yet available up here where I am) and their lower level sake seems to be a great choice for quite a few Tokyo sushi restaurants. It’s also polished to 50% for the rice, which makes it a bit more fuller bodied than the Kokuryu Shizuku Daiginjo (polished to 35%) and thus can handle a wider range of food profiles.
Yes the bluefin you had (the first giant block) is from the famous vendor Yamayuki that many known shops use. It was caught off Choshi, Chiba prefecture (that region is super famous for having the best kinmedai, by the way), via longline catch method according to the “catch certificate”. However it’s only aged 8 days and from past experience it is still a matter of preference in terms of the flavor profile… there may still be some astringency within the tuna itself (for the akami especially) that will throw off a sake pairing unless you attack it with the right profile.
The second tuna that looks like zuke was caught off the coast of Maizuru (Kyoto-Fu), and the catch method is teichiami (fixed fishing net)
That tsume on the anago looks seriously thicc… (in a great way)
Finally Yokoi Yohei Akazu is actually the most common sake lees vinegar (akazu) on the market and also widely used in Japan. However it makes more sense to blend it with another akazu (the same company offers upwards of 3 to 5 other lesser known or used kinds) or blend it with komezu. The vinegared rice recipe will contribute towards affecting the pairing with sake.
Are they still limiting corkage to one bottle per party? From the last sake menu I saw, the choices of Junmai Daiginjo were a bit too wide and not enough of the right kind of Junmai and Junmai Ginjo.
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Thanks for sharing! SGO is clearly aiming for a consistent experience across their many locations. I do admire the quality of their ingredients and some of the unique preps (red wine poached ankimo), I generally prefer the idiosyncrasies one can find at none-syndicated sushi-ya. However, knowing one can get (with the sharing of sake perhaps) shiokara, I will definitely put SGO LA on my list.
What did the meal set you back?
Had the pleasure of dining with @NYCtoLA for one of our last meals before the corona hit the fan. SGO continues to be the best omakase I’ve had in la. the otsumami are standouts and the nigiri is excellent. Service and space are also top notch. @Chowseeker1999, @Sgee, @CiaoBob, @A5KOBE, @coffeezeri, @foodshutterbug, @attran99, @butteredwaffles, @Bagel
On this visit the komochi yari-ika and saba were incredible, and as always the ankimo is some of the best I’ve ever had.
highlights
- chawanmushi
- uni
- kegani with kani miso
- ankimo
- komochi yari-ika
- kinmedai
- sakura masu
- kasugo
- saba
- kuruma-ebi
- tuna
- toro
- nodoguro
- torigai
- hamaguri
disappointments
- not being able to order a kanpyo maki because @NYCtoLA’s futomaki used up all the ingredients
sergio
tai, shiso blossoms
chawanmushi - egg custard, italian caviar, uni
uni
buri, karashi (japanese hot mustard)
kegani (hairy crab), kani miso, caviar
ankimo (monkfish liver)
komochi yari-ika (pregnant spear squid)
kai
nice selection of shellfish
dry aged kinmedai (golden eye snapper)
sakura masu (cherry trout)
kasugo (baby red snapper)
shima-aji (striped jack)
saba
kuruma-ebi (japanese tiger prawns)
botan ebi
miso
akami zuke
toro
seared nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch)
anago (sea eel)
torigai (japanese cockle)
preview of spring
hamaguri (hard clam)
kama toro
tamago
anakyu maki
coconut custard topped with matcha and sweetened japanese black bean
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Thanks @PorkyBelly, great report and pics. 
It looks absolutely wonderful. 
After the 2 Michelin Star award, did the price go up? Just curious how much a baseline Omakase is running there. Thanks.
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Thanks @Chowseeker1999 I think you would really enjoy it.
The price is still the same at $300 (plus tax, inclusive of service). Or in reverse @Nemroz bucks, $250 + 9.5% tax + 20% tip + tip for free valet parking - 4.5% cash back. Which isn’t too far off from the premium omakases at mori and shunji.
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I ate here about a month ago and had most of the same items you so beautifully pictured above. I’m inclined to agree this is the best omakase in LA at present, although it hurts a bit to award that title to a chain.
Highlights for me were:
- The tai otsumami in a specially aged sake sauce the name of which I can’t remember.
- Abalone - impossibly tender
- Buri sashimi
- Shima aji
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It is the best, I agree. It’s even better in NYC, I think.
I would give the #2 spot to Sushi Zo DTLA – another chain.
Beautiful! You had me at the chawanmushi with Italian caviar and uni…
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While I like Zo a lot I find their nigiri too small. The rice ball, in particular, is so minuscule I lose the interplay b/w rice and neta that sets off the best sushi.
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posting pictures of my last sgo meal got me craving some more sushi so i had to go out and do some more driver’s seat dining.
and as @Chowseeker1999 reported the food is beautifully presented with attention to detail (each order comes with freshly ground wasabi, expertly cut gari, shoyu, and yamamoto yama gyokuro green tea), and the staff here couldn’t be more friendly and welcoming. they even carried my order to the car for me and per japanese tradition waved goodbye until i was out of sight. this quickly threw a wrench in my plan to devour the food in my car in front of the restaurant so i decided to drive around the corner and eat there.
futomaki - kuruma ebi, anago, tamago, kanpyo, shiitake, oboro, cucumbers #covid15
delicious and filling @Omotesando, @A5KOBE, @butteredwaffles, @JeetKuneBao, @TheCookie
chutoro for scale
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