You could say that the Netflix documentary Chef's Table helped shine a spotlight on n/naka, but the Palms restaurant was already on the map, front and center. Chef/owner Niki Nakayama is a former protégé of the legendary Morihiro Onodera (once the chef/owner of Mori Sushi), though Nakayama focuses her talent on kaiseki, a classical style of Japanese cooking that dictates a specific progression of textures, temperatures, tastes and seasonal ingredients. À la carte is not an option: n/naka offers either a 13-course modern menu ($185) or a 13-course vegetarian menu ($160), and both can be paired with wine for $85. The menus change daily and seasonally, but there is always something to delight in: a glass filled with sea urchin and lobster in a bath of chilled dashi, maybe, or a seared diver-harvested scallop cuddled next to a warm okra pod. It can take two or three hours to get through a meal here, but it's well worth it. Nakayama is one of LA's best culinary talents, and scoring a meal at her restaurant is money well spent.
