The king has arrived in Los Angeles, and his bright red slices of tuna nigiri are ready to fly onto seasoned sushi rice. Sushi Zanmai opened in Koreatown’s Chapman Plaza from owner Kiyoshi Kimura, who earned the nickname serving affordable sushi, sashimi, and Japanese comfort food that reflects the Tsukiji Outer Market original that first debuted in 2001. Now, more than two decades and 60 outlets in Japan later, Kimura still launches a new restaurant by expertly slicing through a several-hundred-pound tuna to a crowd for marketing effect. Angelenos are left with a handy and under $50-per-person restaurant that should appeal to a wide range of tastes.
Don’t expect anything fancy or impressive. The tightly packed tables are segmented with traditional Japanese furniture but the television screens showing Zanmai’s impressive history and overly bright lights take away from any potential date-night appeal.
Street parking is pretty impossible here, so you might as well succumb to the Chapman lot’s $10 per car cost, but at least that means you can bounce over to Tiger Sugar for a brown sugar boba for dessert or Danbi for an after-dinner soju cocktail.
Dining and Cooking