Katsuya.Hollywood
Friday, April 3, 2009 8:51L and I decided to go on a date in Hollywood, again, to the shhh..famous (shamous for now on) restaurant, Katsuya. Hailed as “The new glam sushi restaurant” by the LA Times and lusted after by Los Angeles Magazine. The sushi restaurant is first and foremost, a place to be noticed. A place for people to see that you are one of ‘them’. A swanky, nose-in-the-air restaurant where the food tastes like the money you pay for it. Actually, the food was delicious. As much as I hate to admit it, it was very well prepared sushi. (I hate myself for leaving two ‘it’s next to each other) Katsuya is located at 6300 Hollywood Blvd and is easily seen from the street. You better have $15 cash because valet is $10 and at these kinds of places, you best be a tipper.
Walking into the restaurant there is a display by Phillipe Starck beckoning for your attention. 4.5? high pillars support a cube of plexi glass with white knives suspended within them. They serve as an interesting place to rest your martini whilst waiting for your table. FYI, Phillipe Starck is a renowned designer who is most famous for this restaurant but also for his creative ‘blunders’ in other things such as this fugly pair of ipod speakers. The color pallet of the restaurant is more than savory to the eye. An overtone of white among everything with large geisha eyes and lips plastered over lights. The staff was every bit of the ‘models that serve’ category and were used more for the model part of the job. The hostesses for example wore red mini-skirts and black turtle necks. When I say mini i really mean MICRO. Our waitress, server for L’s approval, was a pseudo-french Angelina Jolie that couldn’t serve us fast enough between all the pick up lines she had to dodge. Ok ok, I’ve spoken enough about the place, time for food.
Tonight L was treating me and I was ecstatic, I have never had a girl pay for a lavish event like this for me so it was in every essence a treat. I was so craving some good sushi and immediately knew I would be ordering one order of Yellowtail and one order of Unagi. For the entree I ordered the Rainbow Roll. Whenever dining at a sushi restaurant for the first time I always order the Rainbow Roll. It is an assortment of all the basic rolls they have and is the best way to determine the quality of the chef and their fish. L ordered the spicy tuna roll and an order of Salmon sushi. After finishing a more than decent Miso I felt like ordering sake.We ordered a Shouchu style sake which was very crisp and had an after taste of Umami. Fruity best describes it.
Rainbow Roll @ Katsuya
The Sushi tasted amazing! I was extremely surprised to taste such a fresh fish in Hollywierd. The preparation however could have used work. The sushi didn’t not stay firm and unified between the chopsticks. I think the chef was just lazy. The roll was above average but overall a good Rainbow Roll. Katusya puts no carrots in their rolls and that is very important to me. Carrots in a sushi roll is just retarded, stupid, bad, no good. After the meal I required coffee to get my lazy butt back home. This was the cherry on top, french pressed coffee delivered to the table and they leave the press there! I so adore a good coffee and even better, glass coffee mugs. Overall, a great treat. I owe her for this and I’m already planning the event. So, go to Katsuya if you are willing to take the trip, be seen and spend money. Oh, and eat good sushi.
Katsuya.Starck
6300 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles CA
(323) 871-8777
Posted by Adam: to see more post click here. To visit Adam’s personal blog click here.
Louise says:
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:20 am
I’ve never tried Katsuya, mostly because it does seem like a place to be seen and not a place to get good food. And $10 valet for sushi?? No thanks! I’d rather find my own parking and spend that $10 on an extra dish.
“The sushi didn’t not stay firm and unified between the chopsticks. I think the chef was just lazy.”
I think that’s actually something that people look for in good sushi. The rice shouldn’t be so firmly packed that it’s a giant block. It should fall apart easily in your mouth. Try using your hands next time and see if the sushi still falls apart. Also, too much soy sauce might make it fall apart too.
MaxMillion says:
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
^ Yes, I agree with Louise. Nozawa goes so far as to serve warm rice, which really falls apart when you eat it. (BTW - I tend to use my fingers for sushi, too - something I picked up while dining informally with the natives in Tokyo, many moons ago, but I probably would use chopsticks for rolls — although I tend to order hand rolls, anyway!)
But the warm or at least loose rice is something you can get used to.
Also - did you realise you are supposed to dip the fish, not the rice, into your soy sauce?!
Nice write up, Adam. I enjoyed reading it. As someone who (a) lives within walking distance of the original Katsuya and (b) currently lacks the discretionary income for lavish meals such as this one - and also lacks a generous friend who would be willing to pay for me! — it was nice to have this vicarious experience of the swanky Hollywood venue. I’d love to go there and just experience the room an a light snack and - of course - some cold sake.
I agree wholeheartedly — no carrots in sushi rolls thank you!!
“As much as I hate to admit it, it was very well prepared sushi. (I hate myself for leaving two ‘it’s next to each other) ”
Perhaps try using ‘this’ in place of your second ‘it’.
Jake says:
April 6th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Carrots? I’ve never seen a carrot in any sushi roll even if a vegetable roll. It is yama gobo also known as pickled burdock root. I could see why one may confuse it with a carrot since it is orange, however, the taste is definitely different. You can ask them to leave it out its an acquired taste.
Adam says:
April 6th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Those aren’t carrots? Well slap me silly and call me frank I never knew! Thanks Jake! Thanks Louise for the ‘loose sushi’ update. It must just be a preference of mine. I LOVE eating with my hands yet always felt a comfortable formality with chopsticks. I’ll be dining at the Geisha House soon so I’ll keep these new tidbits in mind.
Will says:
April 6th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Adam - you should read this sushi etiquette site from the author of “The Zen of Fish” (or whatever its new title is) if you haven’t already.
http://www.trevorcorson.com/sushi/eat.html
I don’t eat fish, but the gf suggests visiting Kiriko or Sushi Karen (and letting the chef make you what he wants).
Eason says:
April 8th, 2009 at 3:30 am
looks delicious - great photo too!
Viable says:
July 4th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Katsuya has incredible food. I recommend the baked crab roll, the peppers and the ahi with crispy onion. This is not the best location to visit though. It gets a little cheesy. Brentwood is better. The same owner also owns Izakaya on Third Street — same food, less scene.
The original Katsuya that inspired it all is in the Valley (two locations). One is in a strip mall in Studio City, the other in Encino. Much better ambiance, still a little sceney but less cheesy Hollywood.