Katsuya Brentwood

The time has finally come for me to review some food! And why not start with my favorite of all foods…Sushi. I live in Los Angeles, home of some of the greatest sushi bars. More specifically, I live in Brentwood/Bel Air (kind of like Beverly Hills, I’m on the cusp of Brentwood and Bel Air,) in the same neighborhood as one of the most famous sushi bars, Katsuya. Katsuya is owned by SBE, one of the biggest restaurant groups in LA, they have great places such as Gladstones Cleo, Bazaar, the list goes on. I remember the first time I went there… I met Steven Spielberg, it was epic. I hadn’t been back in a while, so the other night I decided to take myself on a date and go there. I walked in, the crowd is very hip and young, I decided to sit at the sushi bar. One of my favorite things is Yellowtail sashimi with jalapenos on it, so I ordered that first. I turn my head for 10 seconds, no joke, and my sashimi was ready. I thought that was so weird. Turns out they keep that in a mini fridge pre-made. Listen, I’m all for going to Whole Foods and getting pre-made sushi. But, when I’m going to a pretty pricy restaurant and they’r charging me $19 for pre-made sushi, I get kind of annoyed. So, I don’t know if you’ve ever gone to sushi and just asked the chef to make you what he wants, but that’s what I like to do. You get out of your spicy tuna, california roll comfort zone and realize that red snapper is the greatest thing ever! I told my sushi chef (who wasn’t even asian btw, he was hispanic,) that I wanted him to make me whatever he thought was good. He didn’t understand the concept. So, I decided to try to explain the red snapper I like (I really hope it’s called red snapper, I still don’t know what I order so I describe it,) “it’s like a really good salty, lemony thing!” He makes me this amazing salty lemony thing! TO DIE FOR! The highlight of my meal. By this time I have moved on to the 3rd course, and honestly he made me something with spicy salmon and some eggs. Not great, it tasted too much like mayo. Here I was at the end of my 3 course meal, $40 later, and I didn’t even order a drink. I guess I was pretty disappointed. But, hey, I guess it’s one of those places you go to with friends, for the crowd. The service was pretty good, and they have good looking waiters. If you want to go to sushi for the crowd, go here. If you want to go for good sushi, go somewhere else. I’m going to the new Nobu on PCH tuesday, hopefully that fills both needs. I’ll keep you posted.

Katsuya Brentwood Website

Katsuya Brentwood Menu