Toshi Sushi — Restaurant in Los Angeles

What a small world. I had gone quite often to Toshi's restaurant in Silverlake on Hyperion right next to the Say Cheese store. In fact, I first met Toshi when he was working as Sushi chef at the long gone Zen restaurant also on Hyperion in the early 1990's.

I missed going to Toshi's when he was on Ventura Blvd, but have accidently but pleasantly met up with him in his North Hollywood/Valley Glen "hidden gem" on Van Owen.

This is a down home, informal, kick back place. There is no classic Kappo-/haute cuisine formality nor ritual. You can scarf down on rainbow, caterpillar, dragon rolls, but Toshi can change gears to a more authentic Edomaè (eh doh mah eh)/traditional Tokyo style Sushi at the drop of a hat.

I tend to be a Sushi purist so I asked Toshi to facilitate mostly Nigiri (nee ghee ree)/hand shaped Sushi rice w/ seafood on top or a Temaki/classic handroll without mayonnaise, sweet "eel sauce", or non-traditional sriracha garlic chile sauce on every order.

Toshi pulled out good quality:

1. Engawa/halibut fin muscle that was pleasantly chewy w/ a bit of fattiness. Green onion, Shiso/Japanese Basil.

2. Hiramè/halibut whIch had a bit of sweet sea Umami w/ touch of Yuzu Kosho-/puréed Japanese citrus zest & green chile. Green onion & julienned cucumber.

3. Hotatè (hoh tah teh)/scallop Temaki/handroll was off white creamy, soft, velvety, plush w/ ocean kissed sweetness. Masago orange fish roe was a nice colour contrast as well as upping the sweet Umami.

4. Ika/squid: flat sheet of pearly white scored to cut fibres in order to soften the meat w/ underlying emerald green Shiso.

Toshi also thoughtfully added small steamed whole baby octopus to include octopod as well was decapod offerings.

5. Chu-Toro: medium fatty Hon Maguro/bluefin tuna was meaty, soft, fatty, bit beefy. Wasabi & Sho-yu/soy sauce to accentuate the meaty, beefiness.

Green Kaiwarè Daikon sprouts on the side added a peppery vegetal tone as well as a contrasting green & white to the pink rose colored dawn of the Chu-Toro.

6. Shiro Maguro/albacore: soft, sensuously soft,.pillowy, lightly sweet meat. Bit of funky green onion & crispy fried sweet onion.

7. Lastly, dessert: Temaki of sweet Unagi/fresh water eel baked w/ a hint of sweet Sho-yu eel sauce. Slice of oily Aguacate/avocado, green onion, Kaiwarè Daikon.

1-7a) Brought my own premium Sakè (sah keh), Katsuyama Akatsuki Junmai Daiginjo from Sendai City Miyagi Prefecture. Scents & tastes of fully ripened summer Japanese pears, bit of honey dew, touch peppery, mildly acidic, smooth, silky, coolness. Nice refined, elegant pairing to the overall meal.

You can bring your own bottle of Sakè , wine, beer, and also bring your own crystal for Sakè or wine since Toshi doesn't have a big selection of appropriate glasses in order to appreciate them.

Toshi pulled out some magical Sushi tricks to allow me to experience a more pure Japanese Edomaè style which is probably not the typical way his usual customers order.

Really enjoyed his skill at creating Washoku/classic Japanese cuisine at a moment's notice without any prior warning. 4 Yelp stars for going out of his way to cater to a...

My first visit was on the night of my twins' graduation from HS. We didn't get outta the school till almost 830, so our usual sushi place didnt have enough space for us. We called a few places, and Toshi was the only place that had enough space for our group of 10.

Parking was easy, place was easily spotted. We took up about half the floor space. They let us know immediately that they didnt serve alcohol, but we could bring our own (the 7Eleven next door must love that). It took maybe 10 minutes for our orders to start flying to the table. Each plate was gorgeous. Toshi was humming and cutting, shredding and rolling, and smiling. It is obvious how much he loves his work.

Everyone was very happy with the food. There were audible moans from happy mouths, and everyone was sharing and saying "oh my Yum, you HAVE to try this". Tempura, eel, ripe avocados, perfectly broiled dynamite, melty melty salmon, super fresh albacore drizzled with ponzu on a hand grated mound of daikon dotted with crispy slivered onion.....

Second visit was last night, just me and my man. So so good! Toshi seated us, reminded us about alcohol, and told us the special was local albacore that he was delighted to find earlier that day. Service was perfectly timed, each plate presented right as the previous was done, each visually beautiful and heavenly on the tongue.

We both left pleasantly satiated and dreamily satisfied. And giggly because Toshi hummed something that sounded a lot like Hey there Delilah. 😂😂😂 Also, his spanish puts mine to shame.

His food is not just comforting, its art. Highest...

To be perfectly honest, upon entering Toshi Sushi my companion and I felt we had made a mistake. It was 10PM on a Tuesday. We were greeted by the back of a small man on a cordless phone making notes on his materials which were splayed out on the sushi bar. The food images on the walls were so faded they seemed a part of the wallpaper. The tables and floor were distressed. Then, the eponymous Toshi turned around and welcomed us. Our fears receded.

Toshi is a magic man. He owns and operates Toshi Sushi by himself, that's how you know it's good. The whole room is his sushi bar, and you order one dish at a time as he lovingly crafts and delivers it. Huge cuts of beautiful fish which would have cost you twice as much anywhere else in LA. Portions suited to those, like me, who have a seemingly bottomless stomach reserved for sushi and sashimi. All the while, Toshi beautifully serenades you with what we thought was Japanese folk song.

It's a sublime experience to enter Toshi's world even for the briefest moment. Arigato gozaimasu, Toshi!...