Shunji (Los Angeles, CA)

Shunji Japanese Cuisine
12244 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Dining date: 11/4/13

Chef Shunji Nakao has been around the LA sushi scene for some time now (greater than two decades) being a key plater in some well-known past ventures (Matsuhisa, Asanebo, The Hump). His eponymous and short-lived Shunji’s on Melrose opened a couple of years ago, to be succeeded by this spot in West Los Angeles. Opened early last year, it’s been on my radar for some time but I didn’t make my first visit until this week for lunch.

The restaurant debuted Mon-Fri lunch service last month, offering a more affordable way to try the restaurant’s oft-praised sushi. Regular dinner service offers a la carte, as well as a handful of tasting options: a $50 sushi special (10 pieces + 1 hand roll), a market-priced sushi omakase, a $100 omakase centered around plated kaiseki-like preparations, and a full omakase starting at $140. On this afternoon, we opted for the premium lunch special which offered 12 nigiri and 1 hand roll for forty bucks…a relative deal. Currently, lunch is sushi-only with potential for the full kitchen to be available in the future.

I appreciated that the day’s offering was rather comprehensive, complete with prices. As with many sushi meals, I’ll save comments for the end.

Halibut

Red Snapper

Marinated Salmon

Baby Amberjack/Shiokko

Striped Jack

Breaking up the march of sushi pieces, we were served a bowl of hot miso soup filled with seaweed and soft tofu.

Albacore

Japanese Barracuda

Tuna

Wild Yellowtail

Medium-Fatty Tuna

Salmon Roe

Sea Urchin

Blue Crab Hand Roll

The hand roll marked the conclusion of the lunch special, but we added on a couple of choice cuts for good measure.

Golden-eye Snapper

Fatty Tuna Collar/Kama Toro

Overall, the sushi was strong (although pieces seemed to be slightly on the smaller side). Highlights for me were the tuna preparations, from the lean to the fatty. I expected the kama toro to be good and it really was exceptional – silky and delicious. Outside of tuna, I found all the fish to be very good although not particularly outstanding. The blue crab hand roll stood out as a little disappointing, being heavy on the rice and not having the sweetness I was looking for. Also, one diner found something chewy/crunchy in the uni which potentially could’ve been a tiny piece of sand or urchin shell. Not cool. Still, the meal was strong enough (and the price right) to pique my interest in a dinner visit for more sushi and to try some of Shunji’s signature plated dishes.