Q Sushi Los Angeles: $300 Edo-Style Sushi Omakase [Review]

This is the $300 one Michelin starred (2019, 2021, 2022) omakase experience at Q Sushi in Downtown Los Angeles.

The experience is led by Chef Hiroyuki Naruke behind the counter and his interpretation of artisan Edo-style sushi.

Edomae sushi is characterized by the use of “akasu” (red vinegar) brewed from aged sake cakes. This style also involves extensive prep work done to accentuate the fish’s flavor.

At Q Sushi, the offerings vary seasonally and feature that day’s highest-quality selections. Chef Hiro typically begins with tsunami (small appetizers), before serving multiple sashimi and nigri sushi courses.

Chef Hiro considers his rice as important as the fish, and it reflects decades of cultivating a precise balance of red vinegar and sea salt.

He uses various techniques to coax optimal flavor profiles from the fish, including ageing (a process called nekaseru), curing, and adjusting temperatures just before serving.

This exacting attention extends to the sauces, salts, and garnishes applied to showcase each particular fish. The goal is to find the perfect balance between size, appearance, temperature, texture, and taste.

As Chef Hiro skillfully adjusts the subtle variables, guests only need to put your trust in his hands and savor each bite at its moment of perfection.

Q Sushi offers two seatings per night and I made a same day reservation to dine there via Tock and paying the deposit.

The restaurant is actually rather spacious and features a long L-shaped counter that seats around 10 guests.

The dining room has a conservative, reserved kind of feel and features tall ceilings with warm lighting from the hanging globes above. Soft classical music is playing in the background.

There were 16 courses:

1. Giant Octopus
2. Fluke
3. Blue Fin Tuna with sweet miso vinegar
4. Hairy Crab
5. Assorted Sashimi
6. Blue Fin Tuna – dark meat
7. Hokkaido Uni
8. Miso Soup with Tofu and Clams
9. Flounder
10. Golden Eye Snapper
11. Sea Pike
12. Sea Perch
13. Chu-Toro
14. Tiger Prawn
15. Sea Eel
16. Tamagoyaki

Hand towels were offered at the beginning and end of the meal.

it was very intimate and private. The entrance feels like it was a speakeasy, the door was black with just the letter Q above it which was pretty cool. 

You get on Tock, commit to a date, and make a deposit. There are two seatings a night, at 6:00 and 8:15,

I found the ingredients to be very high quality, very fresh, have great texture and perfect temperature. The house made ginger were perfect palette cleansers in between each fish.

The space was super nice, a tasteful meeting of traditional Japanese sushi bar and luxury L.A. restaurant. The set-up was intimate and welcoming, with Chef Hiroyuki Naruke behind the counter and his wife Kyoko running things on our side.

Some standouts for me were the hairy crab which had a sweet and succulent texture. The Hokkaido Uni was cool and buttery. The Tiger Prawn had the perfect bouncy texture. I loved the Tamagoyaki which was wonderfully spongey and sweet – a simple and great dessert.

Chef Hiro seemed quite reserved in his interactions and movements. He would offer a brief description of what they were, and would retreat to preparing the next dish. The guests mostly interacted among themselves.

There is just one server, who is Chef Hiro’s wife Kyoko. There is an auto-gratuity of 20% which appears on the bill at the end of the evening.

The experience at Q Sushi Los Angeles was delicious but definitely on the higher end of pricing.

P.S. No videos were allowed but still photos were OK.

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