Restaurant in Los Angeles, United States
Six seats. Book early or miss out.
A Michelin-starred, six-seat omakase counter inside I-naba on Beverly Blvd, Sushi Inaba is one of the stronger technical cases for high-end sushi in Los Angeles. Chef Yasuhiro Hirano's micro-seasonal, often aged seafood and two-vinegar shari set him apart from peers at the same price tier. Reservations are highly competitive: book well in advance or you will not get in.
Sushi Inaba is the right choice if you are a serious omakase diner who wants technical precision over ceremony, and 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, and the payoff is proportionate to both.
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.
Hirano holds a Michelin star (2025, and 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, and 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, and 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.
Reservations at Sushi Inaba are highly competitive. The six-seat counter means that any given service has an extremely small number of available seats, and demand consistently outpaces supply at this level of recognition. Plan to book well in advance: a few weeks minimum is a conservative estimate, and 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 $$$$ tier, consistent with Michelin-starred omakase in Los Angeles. Google reviews rate the venue at 4.8 from 136 reviews, which is a high score on a small but meaningful sample for a counter of this size.
For broader context on where to eat, stay, drink, and explore while in the city, see our full Los Angeles restaurants guide, our full Los Angeles hotels guide, our full Los Angeles bars guide, our full Los Angeles wineries guide, and our full Los Angeles experiences guide. If you are planning a broader fine-dining itinerary across the US, the omakase discipline at Sushi Inaba sits in a different category from tasting-menu destinations like Alinea in Chicago, Le Bernardin in New York City, The French Laundry in Napa, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, or Emeril's in New Orleans, but it competes directly on intent: you are paying for a chef's complete vision, delivered without deviation.
Quick reference: Michelin 1 Star (2024, 2025) · LA Times 101 Best 2024 (#31) · 6-seat counter · $$$$ · Closed Monday · Book well in advance · 3954 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sushi Inaba | Sushi | An intimate, Michelin-starred omakase experience by Chef Yasuhiro Hirano, operating a six-seat counter inside I-naba Japanese Restaurant. Hirano's seamless craft focuses on micro-seasonal, often aged seafood, distinguishing him as one of the finest sushi practitioners in the region. Reservations are highly competitive.; Michelin 1 Star (2025); LA Times 101 Best Restaurants 2024 - Ranked #31. Yasuhiro Hirano’s iwashi maki resembles a pane of stained glass, a small round neatly divided into sections of silvery sardine with a shiso-wrapped square of green chives and yellow ginger in the center. The shiso cranks up the brightness of the vinegar-cured fish and helps the pickled ginger pop with sweet heat. It’s one of the opening bites of Hirano’s omakase, equal parts whimsical and technically precise. He soaks clumps of komochi konbu (herring eggs on kelp) in dashi for days, leaving each tiny orb bursting with the smoky, marine taste of his stock. Hirano’s shari has a pleasant sharpness, a result of his using two types of red vinegar to season the rice. His unfussy ingenuity is on full display in a tiny dab of “guts sauce” served over a slice of raw sanma. Made from cooking down the innards of the pike mackerel with soy sauce, its bitter, livery smack is unparalleled. The eight-seat counter, hidden within the larger I-naba restaurant, has the austerity of a traditional Japanese space, minimal and framed in blond wood. Hirano’s demeanor may appear to match the surroundings, until he opens his mouth. He’s quick to let you know that your hat is cool and compliment your choice of sake. And if you’re lucky, he’ll bring out his guitar for a few songs post-tamago. He does a particularly entertaining rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off.”; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Kato | New Taiwanese, Asian | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Hayato | Japanese | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Vespertine | Progressive, Contemporary | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Camphor | French-Asian, French | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Gwen | New American, Steakhouse | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Sushi Inaba and alternatives.
A solo seat at the six-seat counter is arguably the ideal format here. You get direct access to Chef Hirano's pacing and commentary, and counter dining is built for individual attention. Book as far ahead as possible — the small seat count means solo spots disappear fast, and this is a Michelin-starred counter at $$$$ per head, so the solo commitment is real.
Expect a full omakase format with no a la carte option — you eat what Hirano serves, and the menu leans into micro-seasonal and aged seafood. The counter seats inside I-naba Japanese Restaurant on Beverly Blvd, so the entry is less formal than a standalone restaurant. Reservations are highly competitive; first-timers who walk in without a booking will almost certainly be turned away.
The counter seats six total, so a group of four or five is technically possible if you book all available seats for a service, but coordination is difficult given how fast reservations fill. Groups of six would require buying out the counter entirely. For larger parties, Sushi Inaba is the wrong format — consider a venue with a private dining room.
Yes, with the right expectations. The room is minimal and the atmosphere is low-key rather than ceremonial, but Hirano's demeanor is warm — the LA Times notes he has brought out his guitar post-tamago. If your occasion calls for a technically precise Michelin-starred meal with personality, this works well. If you need a grand dining room or tableside theatrics, look elsewhere.
At $$$$ with a Michelin star and a #31 ranking on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants 2024, Sushi Inaba sits at the justified end of high-price omakase in LA. The value case rests on Hirano's craft — aged seafood, two-vinegar shari, and a level of technical focus that's harder to find at lower price points. If you're comparing against Hayato or Kato, the decision comes down to format preference; Sushi Inaba is the more intimate, counter-forward option.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
