Katsuya Brentwood

On our list of the best special-occasion restaurants in Los Angeles.

Philippe Starck designed the wooden bento-box interior, with bronze dinosaur statues, close-up photos of women in kabuki makeup, and a runway of candles down the center of one dining room. Master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi's menu centers on crispy rice topped with spicy tuna and a six-course seasonal omakase, alongside cocktails like the Burning Mandarin; vegetable robata comes charred off a coal-fired grill. Staff greet arrivals with an exuberant "irashaimase," and multiple rooms mean it's worth asking for a quieter one if the noise from the bar carries.