Sushi Inaba

Who Should Book Sushi Inaba

Sushi Inaba is the right choice if you are a serious omakase diner who wants technical precision over ceremony, who is comfortable committing to a counter experience where the chef controls every variable. It is especially well-suited to solo diners and pairs who want to be close to the work. If you are bringing a larger group, looking for a conventional sushi-à-la-carte format, or need easy walk-in access, book elsewhere. This is a destination for people who treat a sushi counter the way others treat a theatre seat: you show up prepared, you pay attention, the payoff is proportionate to both.

The Space

Sushi Inaba operates a six-seat counter inside I-naba Japanese Restaurant on Beverly Blvd. The physical room is minimal and framed in blond wood, with the austerity of a traditional Japanese space. That restraint is intentional: the counter format removes ambient distraction and focuses your attention on what Chef Yasuhiro Hirano is doing directly in front of you. There is nothing superfluous here, which makes the few moments of warmth, including Hirano's easy conversation and the occasional post-tamago guitar, land with more weight than they would in a larger, louder room. For a food-focused diner, that spatial economy is a feature, not a limitation. If you need a full dining room atmosphere with table service and social energy, this is not the format for you.

The Craft

Hirano holds a Michelin star (2025, previously in 2024) and appeared at number 31 on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list for 2024. Those credentials are useful reference points, but the more specific case for booking here is what he does technically that peers in the same tradition do not. His shari uses two types of red vinegar, producing a rice with sharper acidity than the single-vinegar approach common across most omakase counters in Los Angeles. He works with micro-seasonal and often aged seafood, which narrows the range of ingredients but deepens the flavour profile of each piece. The komochi konbu, herring eggs on kelp soaked in dashi for days, is a direct demonstration of that patience: each tiny orb carries the full weight of his stock rather than its own neutral brine.

The iwashi maki has been noted by the LA Times as a signature moment in the meal: a small round divided into sections of silvery sardine with shiso, green chives, pickled ginger at the centre. The shiso amplifies the vinegar cure and the ginger provides heat. It is precise without being showy. The sanma preparation, a slice of raw pike mackerel served with a small amount of "guts sauce" made from the fish's own innards cooked down with soy sauce, is the kind of thing that separates a technically confident chef from one still operating within safer conventions. It is bitter and livery, it is entirely deliberate.

For direct comparison among LA omakase counters, Echigo offers a more accessible entry point into high-quality sushi in the city, while Kusano and Go's Mart occupy different positions in the neighbourhood sushi ecosystem. Hamasaku provides a broader Japanese menu if counter-only formats feel too restrictive. Among LA's wider fine-dining scene, Sushi Inaba sits in the same price tier as Hayato, which focuses on kaiseki rather than sushi. For sushi at a comparable level internationally, Harutaka in Tokyo and Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong are useful reference points for understanding where Hirano's work sits within the broader omakase tradition.

Booking and Practical Details

Reservations at Sushi Inaba are highly competitive. The six-seat counter means that any given service has an extremely small number of available seats, demand consistently outpaces supply at this level of recognition. Plan to book well in advance: a few weeks minimum is a conservative estimate, during peak periods or following renewed press coverage, the window extends further. Walk-ins are not a realistic strategy here.

The restaurant is closed on Mondays. Tuesday through Friday, lunch runs 11:30 am to 2:15 pm and dinner runs 5:30 to 9 pm. Saturday and Sunday, lunch runs 11:30 am to 2 pm and dinner runs 5 to 8:30 pm. The earlier dinner service on weekends means you need to plan arrival time carefully if you are coming from elsewhere in the city. The address is 3954 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004. Pricing sits at the $$$$ tier, consistent with Michelin-starred omakase in Los Angeles.

For broader context on where to eat, stay, drink, explore while in the city, see our full Los Angeles restaurants guide, our full Los Angeles hotels guide, our full Los Angeles bars guide, our full Los Angeles wineries guide, and our full Los Angeles experiences guide. If you are planning a broader fine-dining itinerary across the US, the omakase discipline at Sushi Inaba sits in a different category from tasting-menu destinations like Alinea in Chicago, Le Bernardin in New York City, The French Laundry in Napa, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, or Emeril's in New Orleans, but it competes directly on intent: you are paying for a chef's complete vision, delivered without deviation.

Quick reference: Michelin 1 Star (2024, 2025) · LA Times 101 Best 2024 (#31) · 6-seat counter · $$$$ · Closed Monday · Book well in advance · 3954 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004