Uchi Brings Unique Sushi Centric Dishes to West Hollywood

You might think that West Hollywood’s new Uchi is just another LA sushi restaurant, but you would be mistaken. Uchi is the sixth sushi centric restaurant from James Beard award-winning executive chef Tyson Cole and offers 30 prepared dishes, in addition to their sushi and sashimi dish, including hot, cold and raw dishes.

Dishes have a seasonal influence and most seafood is sourced locally from the Santa Monica farmers market or from Tokyo’s Toyosu market.

The restaurant offers diners a choice of sitting outside on the patio, inside in one of several divided but open rooms or at the big sushi bar. With 191 seats, it is nice to have such a wide variety of seating. Designed by ORA the space features wood slabs from LA fallen trees and a pretty garden inspired ceiling.

We opted for the somakase menu where our server built an omakase comprised of a mix of the restaurant’s standout dishes. We started with a Hamachi sashimi with a yuzu sauce and over orange segments and decorated with gold leaf. We also sampled trio of Japanese sea bream, salmon belly and salmon sushi. Our makimono roll included yellowtail, avocado, shallot and cilantro. Our favorite dish of the day ended up a vegetarian option, the Kinoko Nabe, a delicious mushroom with koshihikari rice, egg, yolk and black vinegar. This is a must order dish and was surprisingly good. Also outstanding was the Sakana mushi, a seasonal white fish with gai lan and tom kha. Also on our tasting menu was fresh amberjack, fatty tuna and a5 Wagyu beef sushi.

Uchi offers a wide variety of dessert dishes including a warm banana cake with chicory caramel; jasmine cream with a cilantro granita; coconut tapioca with pickled blueberry and lychee sorbet, and seasonal ice creams but we were served the tasty fried milk with vanilla custard and salted fudge, the perfect way to end such a decadent meal.

In addition to some of the freshest and most innovative sushi and seafood dishes I have sampled, Uchi also delivers on cocktails with unique signature libations including their subarashi with reposado, montelobos joven and hibiscus lime agave; their island heat with del maguey vida, pineapple, ghost agave, orgeat and lime; the tsurai with arette blanco, habanero, aperol and passionfruit and their hachi no niza with gin, rosemary and yuzu honey.

LA has many good sushi restaurants, but Uchi stands out for originality and variety.

Located at 9001 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 101 in West Hollywood. Open 5:30 to 10pm, Sunday to Thursday and until 10:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations at 310.708.4808.