Sushi Echigo
Monday, March 13, 2006 8:46Sushi with warm rice? On purpose? Two places on the Westside have determined that this is the way to go. Sasabune serves warm rice with their fresh sushi, and Echigo serves warm, very vinegary rice with their tasty fish.
I have heard raves about Echigo for years. Yes, it is on the second floor of a West LA mini mall. No they don’t serve spicy tuna or california rolls, let alone any cut rolls at all. They do serve impossibly fresh fish in a sparcely decorated sushi bar.
If you sit at the sushi bar, you are getting the omakase. If you sit at the tables you are served by the whirlwind of efficient waitresses, bringing out each order one by one. You could get the omakase at the tables, but why bother, sit at the bar and let the expert chefs serve you directly.
We tried Sasabune a couple months ago, so I had experienced the warm rice phenomenon. Echigo’s rice is a little bit different. It seemed warmer, borderline hot for some of the orders. The fish stays cool though and I am guessing that is one of the reasons why you get each order one by one, to make sure that you eat the sushi before the rice begins to cook it. Also, Echigo’s rice has a very noticeably vinegar taste. More than any other sushi rice I have had before.
It works though. Much of Echigo’s fish is sweet and buttery. It offsets the acidity of the rice and provides a nice journey for your taste buds.
On a Saturday night we were able to walk in and get a table for three at around 7:00. Echigo was full but not packed and they do take reservations. If you are heading there with a larger party, I would suggest calling ahead. I’m not the biggest fan of eating sushi with big parties, it tends to get confusing. I might just be a little slow though.
We didn’t opt for the omakase this time. So what did we order?
- Bonito - When this is on the menu, I usually order it. It can have a bit of a fishy taste, but in a good way. This was one of the thicker cut orders.
- Ono - The first time I had Ono sushi was at Sasabune. Ono is one of my favorite cooked fish, now it’s high on my sushi list too.
- Tuna - Deep red, smooth and sweet, we order a few.
- Stuffed Squid - One of the specials. A small squid, stuffed with crab and some other goodies. I think it may have been blanched briefly.
- Yellow Tail - Buttery and delicious
- Halibut - Great, it can be tough when it is not fresh. This was not tough, it was soft and tasty.
- Albacore - Crowd favorite, I’m not sure how many orders we ended up with. The ponzu plus the vinegary rice was a potent punch, but the albacore handled it well.
- Taco (Octopus) - Not something that I usually order, it was very tender and sweet.
- Tuna Roll - A cigar like hand roll served in toasted nori.
With all of this decadence and the absolutely highest quality of fish, I thought that the bill was going to break the bank. I was wrong. Echigo is exteremely reasonable. For three of us to eat and have a beer, it was right around $100. Sure, that’s not a throw away amount, but for a great night of sushi, it’s a steal.
Echigo
12217 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 820-9787
By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.
Foodie Universe says:
March 13th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Thanks for the review! I didn’t even know this place existed. I’ll have to check it out sometime.
I think I am a fan of warm rice. If sushi is about freshness, why not serve ultra-fresh rice as well?
Maribeth says:
March 13th, 2006 at 10:32 am
I’d totally forgotten about Echigo–now I’ll have to make another trip there! They have sushi lunch specials which are pretty affordable.
The vinegary rice is good but it does fall apart more easily than the usual firm, cold rice.
Jonah says:
March 13th, 2006 at 10:45 am
foodie - Even now that you have the address, I predict that you will drive by a couple times and still not see it. It’s hard to pick out from the street.
Maribeth - I have heard all about the lunch specials and I think that they just raised the price to $12. The rice is a challenge. We had a few collapses before the sushi made it to our mouth.
Rene says:
March 14th, 2006 at 7:56 am
One of my friends who is a sushi hound loves the place!! Me, I’m not quite ready to go through a driving snow storm for sushi! Nonetheless, I’ve been there and enjoyed the place.
I blogged about the place a year ago. I think that was pre-LAFB. 8-)
Pat says:
March 18th, 2006 at 10:50 am
I’ve been here for a few special occaisions and had the omakase course each time. It is truly delicious. I think I may have angered the chef the last time I was there by ordering uni before he had finished our makase course.
So my wife and I tried Sasabune for the first time last night to compare. Sasabune has moved to Wilshire and is now much larger than it used to be. It was delicious as well, but for the price I would have to go back to Echigo. Also, Sasabune’s new larger location gives it a somewhat Las Vegas buffet atmosphere. Maybe I was just disappointed at the price - Sushi and drinks for two - $180 after tip. I figure I could do just as well at Echigo for nearly half the price.
bellafey says:
March 23rd, 2006 at 9:27 am
We’ve gone there for the week-day lunch special. It used to be $10 for just enough sushi to fill you up. I hear the price is higher now (either $11 or $12) but it’s still a great deal!
Kristy says:
May 17th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Hey Jonah! MS and I finally checked this place out last Friday night. Really great sushi! Our favorite, the salmon.
Ray says:
September 3rd, 2006 at 2:33 pm
One more traditional sushi place in West LA that does the warm rice and melts-in-your-mouth fish is Hiko Sushi on National and Sawtelle, where the Washington Mutual is.
I’ve heard rumor that the chiefs of Hiko, Sasabune and Enichigo had the same teacher.
I like Hiko sushi because it’s smaller and family run. I go there at least once a month to treat myself.
11275 National blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310 - 473 7688
Jonah says:
September 4th, 2006 at 8:07 am
Is Hiko new? I don’t remember seeing it before. I’ll put it on my list, thanks for the tip.
NN says:
October 19th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
I’m disappointed with Sushi Echigo. I went on a Friday night, ordered the Omakase. Only one-third out of the nine courses that I considered to be decent, the others are pretty average or plain bad. The worst part is the rice, so meshed-up and fluffy. Paying $45 per person (with tips & tax) with such so-so quality, I doubt that I will be going back again. Nearby, Sushi Sasabune is indeed more expensive, but the quality of sushi are way better.
shisu-bunn says:
July 24th, 2007 at 6:26 am
I tried Sushi Echigo this weekend, and was not impressed. There was nothing special–all the sushi we had was very average. The fish seemed to be just 1/16″ too thin, as there was not alot of buttery flavor that we crave. Everything was a bit too safe.
For memorable dishes, try Bar Hayama’s ( on Sawtelle/Nebraska) sweet raw shrimp and Sake sampler. Also Mubee’s (on La Cienaga) albacore. Most sushi places have at least a few memorable dishes–IMHO Echigo has none.
The handwritten signs and general very old appearance of the interior didn’t help. As opposed to Sushi Nozawa on Ventura Blvd.—cheesy mini mall neon lit interior–but HEAVENLY and TASTEBUD ORGASMIC sashimi!!!
I would recommend Echigo for first time sushi-ers—who still need to overcome the fear of raw fish. For serious sushi—don’t bother.