I took my mom out for dinner at Sushi Kaneyoshi last month as a Mother's Day gift to both of us. I'd been scheming to try this place for some time, and this seemed like a good opportunity. Reservations are notoriously hard to get. They're released on Tock on the first of each month at 3:00PM for seatings the following month, and if you're too disorganized to log on right on time (and perhaps compete with some motivated snipers), you just have to get lucky. I got lucky. I checked one random late night in May and found a Wednesday night opening five weeks in advance, the one available reservation on the calendar. Sushi Kaneyoshi is an attractive omakase sushi bar hidden in the basement of an office building in Little Tokyo. You park in the building's garage (dinner is probably $$$$ on your highest-point card, but parking is cash only) and go down what feels like it must be the wrong elevator, then enter into an upscale anteroom before you're led into the restaurant itself, which is peaceful and lovely and spacious for a 12-seat sushi bar. I have one complaint about Kaneyoshi, and it's that they made a big deal about being on time for a 7:00 seating, ushering in each party in order of arrival, then made us wait half an hour before our first bite. The prep was interesting to watch, though, and once things got going, it was quite a marvelous experience. Our chef Yoshi actually hosted us once upon a time at Sushi Ginza Onodera. Kaneyoshi is his venture (he's the Yoshi of Kaneyoshi), and it was a privilege (lucky again) to sit on his side of the counter and get our sushi straight from him. He was super personable and took excellent care of us, as did the rest of the team. The only choice we had to make was what to drink with our omakase. My mom doesn't drink much, but I ordered a bottle of Fukucho Moon on the Water junmai ginjo sake and took part of it home. It was good, and we got to pick our own sake glasses. The food was phenomenal. We started with tachiuo, or Japanese beltfish, tempura with a bit of dashi sauce and caviar. Then, there was an incredible piece of iwashimaki, a sardine roll with shiso and cucumber. Chawanmushi came with firefly squid, fava beans, sansho pepper, and yuzu. Kamasu, or Japanese barracuda, was lightly torched and served with a bright shiso sauce. Nodoguro, or ocean perch, was seared buttery and put in a bite-sized hand roll with crisp nori. Next, there was a trio of cold delicacies: ankimo, sakekasu-marinated wakame, and miso-marinated oyster. All three were superb, but the ankimo was maybe the best I've ever had, lush and mild, even sweet. The last stop before the sushi train was a brilliant cool dish of mozuku seaweed with bear shrimp, kiwi, dashi, and vinegar. I had high expectations for the sushi, and they were met and exceeded. Exquisite fish, perfect mounds of rice, and fresh cut ginger (though I would have eaten more of the ginger than I was served). The nigiri show started with shimaaji, then a melty piece of seared toro with sansho pepper. We got another taste of that amazing ankimo in a hand roll finished with cucumber. Then we had aji with ginger and scallion, followed by a soothing cooked oyster dish with dashi, seaweed, and rice, almost like an ochazuke. Bright red katsuo came with a touch of scallion, and then there was a tempura hand roll made with delicate mehikari, a fish I'd never encountered before (it's called greeneyes in English, if that helps). Silver-skinned ebodai, or Japanese butterfish, was as good as it sounds, and then we had a splendid duo of bafun and purple Santa Barbara uni. Dinner wound down with anago brushed with sweet sauce, then a clear fish soup with fresh seaweed, and finally, a bouncy cube of tamago for dessert. This was a fantastic meal, one that also managed to impress my mom--she can be harsh, and I could tell she was inclined to dislike the place when they made her wait that first half hour. It was expensive, too, but kind of at the going rate for premium omakase these days, and Sushi Kaneyoshi is at the top of the top tier of stateside sushi. I'd love to go back when I have an excuse and enough luck to nab another reservation.

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J took me here for my birthday dinner, which was so sweet of her! Kaneyoshi is located in a discrete looking commercial building. Take the elevator down to the basement and staff leads you to an intimate dining environment. I think there is only 13-15 seats (?) that circles the chef and his staff. The chef goes to every single group and takes his time discussing the fish hand the dish. Sometimes the staff translates for the chef. Wine/sake menu separate. For the omakase that we got, I remember there being quite a different number of eels. Most of the fish are from Japan. Halfway through, we were starting to feel pretty stuffed. The chef doesn't just give you tiny pieces. They're pretty thick cuts. I truly enjoyed my experience and appreciated this smaller dinner where we got to interact with the chef and his staff.

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The once-a-week(ish) experience on Tuesdays with Chef Hirano-san from Sushi Inaba collaborating with Chef Inoue-san is amazing. Hard to get into, only 13 seats, and a single seating at 7:00pm (as of this review). There are some classics from Inaba like the uni soba that open the menu, and a comparison of the two different styles of tamago at the very end that are a nice finish to the two complimentary styles between the two chefs. The end result is an impressive meal done in a hidden location (that's the vibe at least) with dark tones and elegant Japanese craftsmenship. Especially good this visit was the aji (Japanese horse mackerel) and the seared noten (bluefin tuna head meat), and the chawanmushi with shrimp was also not a combo I usually see.

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Sushi Kaneyoshi is a sushi institution in LA that is often recommended by staff of other establishments. Because of this, I had to give this omakase a try. The restaurant itself has a surreptitious entrance that can only be accessed by an elevator in the Kajima Development Corporation building in Little Tokyo. Our menu for the evening included the following: ebi shinjo, yari ika somen, kaki chawanmushi, katsuo sashimi, nodoguro, ankimo, hotaru ika, iwashi, ebodai (nigiri), kama toro, ankimo (hosomaki), shima aji, sautéed hotaru ika on shari, ara, aji, mehikari, kohada, Hokkaido bafun and murasaki uni, anago, and tamago. The otsumami were varied and delicious. The fried ebi shinjo was a change of pace and served as a crispy initial bite. The yari ika somen was beautifully presented with a subtle vinegar sauce. The kaki chawanmushi was packed with umami and had a velvety texture with chunks of toothsome oyster mixed in with bright green, delicate seaweed. The katsuo featured crunchy daikon and a piquant herbal sauce. I would describe the shari as quite sticky and often times hotter than body temperature; this isn't my favorite style but I can see why other diners may enjoy it. For this in terms of personal preference, is why I can't give a full 5 star review. Also, the shari varied in temperature from much warmer to hotter across different nigiri; I am not sure if this was intentional or not. I am very particular on the aspects of the shari: hagotai, nebari, and tsuya. I like a shari rice that has minimal stickiness (nebari) but with a harder al dente bite (hagotai) and a nice luster/sheen for grain individuality (tsuya). For my palate, there wasn't a great amount of grain disbursement as I was consuming the nigiri. I can see the similarities in the shari temperature to Fujita-san's shari as running hotter than normal (body temperature warmth) albeit the flavor of this shari is better. Inoue-san stated he uses a blend of both komezu and akazu (Yokoi Kinsho). The neta if in the aburi style was done with bincho, which I appreciated; this is an extra step that many itamae don't take due to the trouble and cost (a butane torch is used by the vast majority). The neta were all expertly prepared and not something I had an issue with; most diners that frequent sushiyas now that the shari is the most important aspect of the shari. I also ordered additional pieces of nigiri which included the kama toro, shima aji, and aji. Inoue-san was kind enough to offer the additional aji nigiri on the house, which was greatly appreciated. Inoue-san is a very inviting and friendly itamae. He was an excellent host and engaged both his regulars and first-timers (like our party). If you want to have a nice evening out in a luxurious setting with the best product that Japan has to offer, Sushi Kaneyoshi definitely hits the mark.

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这顿饭还真是普通无趣 场子很热闹 角落里有位西装革履的日本人显得格格不入 全程和Yoshi桑无交流 买单时却被打太极式推搡着免了小费 啊，原来是熟客 酒肴的调味过重 特别是茶碗蒸的鲜，能明显尝到添加了人工味素 已经不是食材本身可以达到的程度 鮟鱇鱼肝好吃 干式熟成金枪鱼中/大脂、白子都有点腻 喜欢米饭的口感 质地偏硬、有嚼劲 同时又比较松散 酸味若隐若现 但舍利的温度真不合适...... 前两贯简直是灾难 米饭和鱼生的温度都太高 鰤鱼的表现不错 救回来了一点 金枪鱼中脂太油腻 小鳍处理得还行 微酸、滑口，且不怎么腥 甜虾、鱿鱼、海胆过关 蒲烧鳗好吃 酱汁偏甜 蚬子汤也咸死 而且还有沙...

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Ambiance very geared toward focusing on the food. Overall a great experience with a high level of quality. Our highlight unexpectedly was the Hokkaido sardines. My SO and I literally stopped and stared at each other mid-chew, astonished at how good it was. Initially they thought something was wrong after seeing us freeze, but they then realized we were just stunned from how good the dishes were.

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The quintessential hidden Little Tokyo omakase experience in the heart of DTLA. No one would've guessed that such a charming little restaurant would exist in the basement of an office building. With very limited seating, I reserved this place a month in advance when the reservation window opens up at the 1st of the month. Well-worth the month wait! Once seated before the chef, an alcohol menu is presented to you. My SO and I opted for the smaller bottle of sake (only one option) that was not listed on the menu. I went into this with no prior research of the omakase menu, so everything was a delightful surprise. From start to finish, each dish was carefully crafted before our eyes from the green ice tempura to the toro (cooked two different ways) to the sea water eel. Honestly, I was too busy having mouth orgasms to count how many courses I had or remember specifically what each course was. I can only live in this memory forever by the few snapshots I took of the food that night. My SO and I left adequately full and happy. It is quite the price tag, so I would save this for a special occasion. Highly recommend to all my omakase foodies!

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We had such an intimate and delicious meal. The food and service is 100%. Just one deducted star because we sat us all the way to the side, a bit tucked in the corner and couldn't see what the chefs were doing.

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This hidden gem is tucked in the basement level of the Kajita Office Building in Little Tokyo. From the parking garage to the restaurant, we had to take an elevator down to street level, walk outside to another adjacent stairwell, walk up the stairs to the 2nd floor, enter a secure door into a lobby, then take the MIDDLE elevator down to the basement. Note that the other elevators do NOT go down to the restaurant. As soon as the elevator doors open, we felt like we teleported to a whole new world. No more piss-smelling LA, but instead a dimly lit, moody entrance with a giant portrait of Tokyo on the wall. We were immediately welcomed by the hostesses, both greeting us with 90 degree bows. Soon, they began taking each group into the main part of the restaurant, which was a short walk away. We were then greeted by another host who opened a wood sliding door to the private room where all 12 guests would be dining that night. We all sat down, patiently waiting for our chef to come out. It felt like we were seated for a theatrical show...All 12 guests with front row seats. When the chef entered the room, he greeted everyone. This omakase experience is only available 3 nights a week, 12 seats per night. It's a bit on the pricey side...$300 per person, requiring a $150 deposit/person that is credited toward your bill. For most people, this would be a special occasion spot. However, that wasn't the case for some of the guests who dined with us that night. Some were regulars, bringing $3,000 bottle sakes to be shared with the chef and wait staff...but hey...more power to them. The chef was very interactive, often presenting the different fish, uni, or other ingredients to us before preparing them. This is the rundown of what we had in our 20-course omakase meal: - Shrimp cake with uni topped with dashi sauce and wasabi - Oyster with soba noodles - Chiwamashi with brain - Smoked bonito with Sakura chips and sweet onion - Japanese Black Sea snail - Spanish mackerel - Monkfish liver - Seaweed with bay shrimp and kiwi - Japanese pike mackerel with liver sauce - Toro - Chopped spearhead squid with chiso - Yellowtail - Hokkaido sweet shrimp - Bluefin Tuna - Green ice tempura (sprinkled nori with white fish tempura) - Hokada - pickled mackerel - Uni - Smoked eel - Smoked/raw tuna roll - Clam soup The food was beyond my expectation. Delicately prepared, refined with unique flavors. This omakase dinner took approximately 3 hrs. I loved the intimacy of the experience, as all the guests are together from start to finish. If you're looking for amazing Japanese omakase and want to feel like a VIP guest, then this is the place to be!

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