Q Sushi (Los Angeles, CA)

Q Sushi
521 W 7th St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
Dining date: 7/30/14

Q Sushi opened in November of last year, just off downtown’s corner of 7th & Grand, home to other popular spots Bottega Louie, Sugarfish and Mo-Chica. Its opening was right on the heels of the downtown location of Zo, creating a formidable twosome in downtown’s high-end sushi scene.

Q is known for its omakase-only menu (begins at $165) and edomae-style of sushi. Chef Hiroyuki Naruke maintained a sushi bar in Tokyo’s Roppongi district for years before moving to LA with the assistance (and persuasion) of some of his loyal customers, who also happened to be LA-based attorneys.

The meal began with a number of small fish dishes.

Flounder ponzu, scallion

Loved the delicate flounder accented by bright ponzu and scallion accompaniments.

Swordfish onion sauce

I’m not sure I’ve had raw swordfish before; this was meaty, rich and tender with a deep onion sauce. Very nice.

Japanese Snapper black sesame

Black sesame provided a strong earthy flavor to these slightly chewier slices of fish.

Seared Toro shishito pepper paste

Toro was as rich and luscious as expected with a little bit of heat accent from the shishito pepper paste.

Jellyfish cucumber, mushroom, sesame

Strips of jellyfish had a great snap with various other textures of thinly sliced cucumber and mushroom. A sesame-based sauce brought it all together; another hit.

With the completion of the small plates the meal progressed into course-after-course of sushi. House-pickled (of course) ginger signaled the beginning of this phase of the meal.

Flounder kombu

Black Snapper

Striped Jack

Abalone

Lean Bluefin Tuna

Medium-Fatty Tuna

Barracuda

Salmon

Squid scallop sauce

Octopus

Miso Soup

Sea Eel

Salmon Roe

Sea Urchin

Egg baby shrimp

Upon completion of the regular omakase, the chef offered to serve a second-helping of any favorites. There were also a couple other ‘off-menu’ items available, all a la carte and market-priced. We tried a few.

Baby Gizzard Shad (Shinko); Adult Gizzard Shad (Kohada)

Swordfish

Sea Urchin marinated one month in miso

Q Sushi presented a very strong meal. I really enjoyed the smaller plates; they were unique and clearly carefully thought-out and executed. The swordfish with onion sauce and jellyfish stood out. Sushi, as expected, was another strong point. The fishes were full-flavored, marinated and quick-cured where applicable to bring out the fish’s flavor; some of my favorites were the barracuda, octopus, and sea urchin. The egg (tamago) was more shrimp than egg, blending a strong shellfish flavor into the moist, custard-y cake. The shinko was a treat too, currently in season, displaying the oily fish nicely. Lastly, the sea urchin, marinated in miso for a month, was something unique. The dish was very sweet, with clear sea urchin flavor, though in a very different way from fresh urchin; it wasn’t as bright and clean, but more developed with a lot of nuanced flavors. I would return to Q and, for what it’s worth, I did like this meal more my one at Zo downtown.