Sushi Beluga (Playa Del Rey) — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Edit: Be careful of this one super racist white guy who shows up and can't stop talking about how terrible Japanese stuff is while he's eating Japanese food. The staff is okay with his racism, but I will never come back.

Almost don't want to tell people how great this place it and make it more crowded. Came here on a Sunday and had amazing sushi. The black cod appetizer is absolutely amazing, and I wish I had gotten a picture of it. My husband is vegetarian and got avocado rolls, a vegetable roll, kabocha tempura, and tamago nigiri. He said it was the best avocado rolls he's ever had, and he has tried them everywhere.

Their rice, both just steamed and their sushi rice, are perfect.

My brother and I shared a rainbow + nigiri sushi platter. It was so delicious. The fish was fresh and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Their unagi (fresh water eel) is sublime. Not dried out like so many places. It's cooked just right.

All their sauces are fantastic - not overpowering, but flavorful. I think I've found my new favorite...

Reason for visiting: buddy's birthday lunch

Date/time of visit: Friday afternoon, ~1:30 PM

Parking: in the adjacent lot; tight. not sure where else you can park if not in the lot. We were able to find parking in the lot but there's limited parking. Maybe better to Lyft (no Uber; I recommend Lyft since Uber started charging a freakin' nonsense "booking fee"; Lyft may too but saw it first with Uber 😀)

Party size: 2

Environment/ambience: quiet; small place. We sat outside; little chilly but it was manageable. They have heat lamps outside too. Restroom was inside, all the way back; relatively clean.

Service: was ok; came around few times. not sure they remembered we were there until we were ready to pay 😀

Food: had the 207, mixed sushi plate with salmon cut roll, rainbow roll and a Toro hand roll. Everything was pretty good with good flavor.

Cost: ~$90 with tip

Would I go...

The Ankimo (monkfish liver) is a great try, though it was a small portion. The Yellowtail Collar was fantastic, a must. The Black Cod Saikyo-yaki was a little sweet, but expected from the miso marinade. The Baked Green Mussels were good, too, a little fatty tasting, so use the lemon, you only get two mussels. The house dressing for the green salad was exceptional, compared to other Japanese restaurants. The Ginger Pumpkin Carrot Soup was very tasty, but the seafood choice you get is not infused in the soup, though the snow crab itself was good. The Snow Crab Garlic Basil Roll was interesting, the flavors hit you at separate times. The Chirashi was decent, though the Salmon roe was salty, great Spicy Tuna, though. Also, they offer sake flights (we drank most of it before the photo was taken), which is on a separate menu. There are three options, we went with A and B....