The best Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles

Best for: Once-in-a-lifetime kaiseki
This two-Michelin-star dinner at ROW DTLA might require an alarm to get a table, but the chance to experience the transportive power of a meal at Brandon Go's seven-seat counter is more than worth the hassle. Beautiful presentation and world-class level of precision and technique are applied throughout the meal. Since preparation by Go and his small team occurs just mere feet away, this intimate chef's table experience invokes all the senses for a traditional, ever-changing seafood-centric kaiseki meal that varies with the weather, seasons and whatever’s freshest at market.

Best for: Once-in-a-lifetime California kaiseki 
Niki Nakayama's modern kaiseki restaurant of two Michelin star and Chef's Table fame on Netflix is an indispensable part of the Japanese fine dining scene (as well as one of the city's most expensive restaurants). While the bloodsport-level effort to snag reservations might turn off many potential diners, a meal at n/naka is a multi-sensory experience that, for better or for worse, lives up to the hype. The 13-course seasonal seafood meal (with an additional option for vegetarians) delights and even soothes across every aspect, for a kaiseki experience that blends traditional Japanese coursing with a distinctly contemporary and feminine sensibility.

Best for: Special-occasion omakase (if you can get in)
For all the warm sushi rice and dragon rolls, L.A. boasts plenty of excellent Edomae-style sushi bars, with no better example than this relatively new omakase ($300) hidden away in the basement of a Little Tokyo office building. Run by veteran sushi chef Yoshiyuki Inoue, Sushi Kaneyoshi tops out in luxury, refinement and overall wow factor. The exact seafood used in Kaneyoshi’s approximately 20 courses changes seasonally, but diners are likely to dig into a delicate Hokkaido crab chawanmushi, along with one of the city’s best preparations of ankimo (monkfish liver) and nodoguro (blackthroat sea perch). A word of warning: Tock reservations here are tough to snag, but the eventual outcome is well worth the time and effort.

Best for: Once-a-year omakase
In the last few years, the number of omakase options in L.A. has likely quadrupled, but we still think this Michelin-starred sushi counter in the back of Sugarfish Beverly Hills delivers the best mix of fun and value. Head chef Osamu Fujita plays fast and loose with tradition, delivering a transcendent array of generously portioned pieces over approximately two hours—a quicker meal, so to speak, in fine dining terms. In that time frame, you’ll find yourself immersed in a cornucopia of flavors and textures, starting with something like a rich, solid piece of sweet freshwater eel and a sashimi trio consisting of Japanese octopus, New Zealand shrimp and succulent bluefin tuna.

Best for: Traditional sushi
If you’re looking for a slightly more budget-friendly sushi meal, this Little Tokyo classic is beloved among L.A.’s diehard raw fish aficionados for its reasonably priced, high-quality à la carte nigiri selection. The main draw, however, is the $23 weekday lunch special, complete with a rainbow of sashimi, soup, salad and rice. For a quicker table, head here during the evening, when you’ll be rewarded for waiting with fresh halibut, fatty tuna, sea urchin, monkfish liver, scallops and oysters, all in a wonderfully serene, wood paneled sushi bar setting. Just mind the rules: no personal device usage while dining, and make sure your whole party is present outside the restaurant to get seated—and no, you can’t put your number down and wander elsewhere.

Best for: Once-in-a-lifetime omakase
If money is truly no object, the legendary craftwork at Morihiro Onodera’s eponymous Atwater restaurant is a gourmand’s delight. Book the bar-only omakase ($350 to $400), and you’ll enjoy a mix of kaiseki-style appetizers presented on ceramics made by the veteran chef himself and a diverse array of dry-aged and fresh fish (including a few I’ve had nowhere else). Best of all is the option, once Onodera finishes making the last nigiri, to repeat as many sushi courses as you like—but personally, we left here full enough after the twenty-odd courses. If we had to visit just one place to spend $300 or more on sushi, though, we'd pick Kaneyoshi, though Morihiro does offer a less expensive table omakase ($250) prepared by assistant chefs. Still, Onodera’s 40 years of experience and detail-oriented approach translate to one of the city’s finest omakase experiences, albeit not our absolute all-time favorite.

Best for: Tsukemen and tonkotsu
Much ink has been spilled over Tsujita's tsukemen, whose dipping broth arrives separately from the noodles. Stans wax poetic about how kurobuta pork bones are simmered for no less than 60 hours to create the dipping broth, how the noodles are thick, chewy and dense, and how the wait for a seat can fluctuate widely (unless you're dining solo, in which case you'll usually be seated in under 15 minutes). Suffice to say, in a rare instance of hype living up to reality, all that ink bleeds true: This is the best tsukemen in the city, whether you're dining at its original location, the Annex across the street—which offers a slightly different broth—or its newer locations in Fairfax and Glendale. Tsujita is the ramenya which you'll forever compare all others, much to your chagrin. Put your name down and wait. It’ll be worth it.

Best for: Korean-inspired omakase

For those who can regularly afford it, there’s an L.A. omakase for every whim, reason or predilection—making it all the more remarkable that this newer Gardena sushi counter manages to stand out among its older peers. Run by Katsu Sando’s Daniel Son, the omakase ($200) at Sushi Sonagi dazzles with Korean influences, California seasonality and thoughtful, warm service that justifies setting a reminder for the sought-after Tock reservation and paying the steep cost of entry. Bites like rainbow trout garnished with delicate, nutty-tasting sesame seeds and miso butter-topped tamago will leave you on cloud nine. The Korean American chef sources most of his fish from the same supplier used by the veterans at Morihiro and Shunji, yet Son fuses traditional technique with hints of bold Korean flavors and farmers’ market produce in a way that feels fresh and memorable. Despite its greenhorn status, I would already rank Son’s menu among my top five omakases in L.A. If that’s the case, just imagine the heights Sushi Sonagi could reach in a year or two.

Best for: Udon
This Little Tokyo noodle shop offers the city's best bowls of the thick, chewy wheat-based noodles, plus mesmerizing sights of noodle-pulling action through the kitchen's picture window. Behind a large glass, the udon master will roll out the dough and cut strands and strands of the thick, chewy noodles for each order. The traditional bowls are great here; try the hot kitsune udon topped with fried tofu, or the cold plum shiso bukkake udon. For a fun mash-up of Japanese and Italian cuisines, go for the popular miso carbonara udon. Just be prepared to wait: As the hands-down best udon shop in Los Angeles, peak dinner time can cause gaggles of groups to queue all the way down the block.

Best for: Izakaya fare
Named the "most elegant izakaya in Little Tokyo" by the late Jonathan Gold, this upscale reservation-only dinner spot in Honda Plaza offers a small but impeccably made menu of unique dishes that go beyond the usual sushi, udon and ramen. Though they’re known for their seared uni, decadent bone marrow dengaku and thick cut beef tongue, each dish receives deeply thought-out gourmet treatment, from simple items like ochazuke made with housemade dashi broth to richer entrées like curry rice, which Kinjiro upgrades with a pillow-soft beef tongue. A large sake selection, as well as a few wines, ensures diners receive a full izakaya experience.

Best for: A not-too-rich tonkotsu
One of Tokyo's best ramenyas now has two Westfield-anchored locations in Century City and Arcadia. Day and night, crowds line up for bowls of chef Satoshi Ikuta’s flavorful, dense tonkotsu broth—also available with spice, black garlic and basil. Unlike Tsujita, the soup here manages to feel lightweight despite the richness, and Nagi's vegetarian broth means that those who don't eat can get in on the fun as well. No matter what, be sure to save room for at least one of Nagi's appetizers, particularly the unlisted pan-fried snack gyoza; when available, the latter arrives in an irresistible crispy dumpling skirt.

Best for: Soba and tempura
If ramen is the attention hog in the family of noodles, then soba is the wheat-based variety's more refined cousin. The delicate, slightly nutty flavor of the buckwheat-based strands, plus the skill the staff puts into the making of each thread, makes this South Bay shop a destination Japanese noodle spot across all of L.A. Though purists will tell you that the best way to enjoy these noodles is plain or zaru—served cold alongside an umami-rich dipping sauce—we actually prefer the ten zaru: an upgrade with the addition of light, crispy tempura on the side. For best sampling, order their combination lunch or tempura omakase set dinner: the seasonal omakase typically includes sashimi, chawanmushi (savory egg custard), that ethereal tempura and a small bowl of soba or udon. But if you're just here for that tempura—well, they even have a tempura kaiseki.

Best for: no-sushi sushi
Three decades in, Tetsuya Nakao's strip mall sushi bar in the Valley—and its wonderfully nontraditional omakase—has stood the test of time and become veritable L.A. sushi royalty. In a similar style as Nobu (and the upscale chain's original restaurant, Matsuhisa), Asanebo offers a selection of fusion-style seafood dishes, as well as traditional nigiri—but the right order here always leans towards the former. Where else can you find a deep-fried tempura "seafood stick" served in a martini glass, a flaming conch filled with bubbling hot broth and pieces of tender A5 Wagyu and juicy red onion in sweet soy? Plenty of other cheaper places around town might riff on the legacy of Matsuhisa’s signature yellowtail jalapeño sashimi, but none of them execute new-school sushi as well as this gloriously no-frills L.A. classic.

Best for: Soba

Best for: Tonkotsu ramen, appetizers, desserts

This famous tonkotsu chain from Tokyo has landed in a sleek ground-floor space of a Larchmont apartment building. Here, the ramen noodles are made fresh in-house everyday. First-timers should order the signature Tokyo tonkotsu, where the long-simmered, velvety pork broth offers a surprisingly complex flavor profile, as well at least a couple of the appetizers: Of the many we've tried, none seem like afterthoughts, from the crab-rich potato salad to the build-your-own spicy maguro wraps. An excellent, well-balanced tsukemen uses springy, alkaline thick-cut noodles courtesy of Keizo Shimamoto (inventor of the ramen burger). Variations in smoked dashi, mazemen, and spicy tan tan offer just as much flavor as the original, though they can't upstage the tonkotsu—Tonchin's very-much-worthy claim to fame. And save room for dessert: There's kakigori and a delightful Tokyo banana-inspired sundae on the menu.

Best for: Special occasion omakase
Newly relocated to Santa Monica from its longtime chili bowl-shaped home on Pico Boulevard, this Westside sushi bar run by the eponymous chef and his wife Yuko Sakurai offers a streamlined, exclusive approach to top-notch sushi in the form of a $280 omakase—one of the best in the city's upper sushi echelons. Every night of service, after a brief selection of kaiseki-style appetizers, Shunji Nakao breaks out a wood block of sliced fish, each brilliant, shining row ready to be prepared for each guest. The luxurious selection always satisfies, as does Sakurai's ultra-refined sake selection.

Best for: Everyday yakiniku

This Japanese-originating chain has three L.A. locations—West Hollywood, Torrance and West L.A.—and a level of quality and refinement you won’t find at the more maximalist-inclined national chain Gyu-Kaku. Though the specialty is beef tongue with negishio (a mix of salt and green onions), most omnivores would be equally pleased with Manpuku's other cuts, like the prime rib eye and Angus tri-tip. For the best bang for your buck, order one of the restaurant’s tasting menus, which include a selection of side dishes like kimchi and edamame and Manpuku's signature hot stone garlic-fried rice. While more affordable than the likes of Yazawa and insider-only Totoraku, à la carte ordering at Manpuku can still add up quickly, so be mindful if you do.

Best for: Tonkotsu ramen
This solid stalwart with four locations in Los Angeles—and a ravenous, devoted following—is a ramen mecca. Regardless of which locale you pick, a wraparound counter usually faces the open kitchen and provides a social atmosphere to dig into piping hot bowls of flavorful, porky broth and chewy noodles. Chijire-style egg noodles sit in a rich tonkotsu soup and come topped with slices of kurobuta pork belly. Fans of accoutrement can amp it up with kotteri-style: boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and green onions, or go big with a ramen combo adding rice bowls topped with eel, pork cutlets or tuna. Add an order of pan-fried pork gyoza to make the line even more worthwhile.

Best for: New-school sushi (and ambience)
While Nobu Matsuhisa's eponymous chain restaurant is nothing new—his new-school Japanese food is now a global phenomenon—the Malibu outpost is a sight to behold, with a minimalist, zen-meets-the-Pacific space, plenty of opportunities for celebrity-spotting and an oceanside setting that leaves diners speechless, especially after dark. Though purists might roll their eyes, the eye-poppingly expensive fare still delivers on flavor and delight, from the mini tacos filled with creamy uni to the signature yellowtail jalapeño sashimi. Time Out tip: Though the perpetually fully booked restaurant offers reservations through OpenTable, the best move is to call 30 days in advance—Nobu Malibu still holds the majority of tables for phone calls.