Koi, a 21-year-old veteran of La Cienega Boulevard’s bustling restaurant zone, reopened on January 3 within the adjoining constructing. After closing proper on Christmas Eve, Koi is already again to serving elegant, saucy takes on sashimi, sushi rolls, and different trendy Japanese dishes with an brisk new coated outside patio and see-and-be-seen kind of eating room. After twenty years of drawing in well-known folks (from Paris Hilton to George Clooney) and batting away paparazzi on the sidewalk, Koi is taking the chance to reincarnate itself with this new venue.
Upscale Japanese eating places serving arrays of hamachi with yuzu ponzu sauce and serrano chile slivers, glazed miso black cod, and crispy rice topped with chopped spicy tuna have turn out to be dependable movie star hotspots across the nation. The eating format based within the mid-’90s and early 2000s by the likes of Nobu Matsuhisa’s namesake institutions in Beverly Hills (Matsuhisa) and Tribeca (Nobu) in New York Metropolis, has exploded right into a universe of eating places that features well-known gamers like Katsuya, Catch, Katana, Sushi Roku, Morimoto, and extra.
Koi founder Nick Haque has parlayed the recognition of his West Hollywood unique into places in New York Metropolis and Las Vegas (inside Planet Hollywood) however all the time considered bettering the bodily house of his LA flagship. And now, with the model new kitchen and a glossy if considerably unoriginal design, Koi can doubtlessly appeal to a brand new technology of celebrities (and their oglers).
Koi’s menu, nonetheless overseen by longtime chef Rob Lucas, options plenty of the style’s widespread dishes, like its personal invention of Koi Crispy Rice (principally hash brown bites with chopped, seasoned uncooked fish and rectangles of fried rice), miso bronzed cod, baked crab rolls, and dragon rolls. There’s plenty of sauce, possibly an excessive amount of, on each dish, particularly truffle oil or sweetened soy, which makes the prospect of consuming uncooked fish simpler on its common clientele. Nevertheless, the braised quick ribs with plum wine discount make for a superb meaty entree.
The desserts, whereas not essentially ingenious, are fairly tasty, from the white chocolate-topped cheesecake to the flourless molten cake. At a sure level, these dishes, from miso black cod to ponzu-dressed salmon carpaccio, begin to transition from dated to basic, although it’s not all the time clear which of them make that bounce, or when. Koi’s crispy rice is actually a normal now, even extensively imitated, however the “She’s So LA” roll with tender shell crab and spicy tuna may nonetheless really feel prefer it belongs within the aughts.
Ask anybody in Japan if this meals appears acquainted, and most would seemingly scratch their heads. That is Americanized Japanese meals for the aspirational and scene-stealers, served in loud, rowdy eating places with thumping digital tunes and glossy servers. Most diners don’t appear to care in regards to the playfulness of the meals as a result of everybody’s simply having a good time. Because it enters its third decade of relevance, Koi’s subsequent chapter proves, maybe, that there’s something a little bit timeless about this type of Japanese meals.
Koi is now open in West Hollywood at 734 N. La Cienega Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Dinner service is 5:30 pm. to 10 p.m. nightly, with a ten:30 p.m. closure on Fridays and Saturdays.
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