R-23 Japanese Cuisine and Art Gallery
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 784-6600
- Price:
- $$$
- Cross Street:
- Vignes Street
- Hours:
- Mon-Fri 11:30pm-2pm, 5:30pm-10pm, Sat 5:30pm-10pm
Message from R-23 Japanese Cuisine and Art Gallery
Authentic Japanese restaurant Rated "Extraordinary" by Zagat
- Traditional Dishes
- Art on Location
- Convenient Location
Paid advertisement by R-23 Japanese Cuisine and Art Gallery.
Editorial Review for R-23 Japanese Cuisine and Art Gallery – by Jod Kaftan
The Scene
Tucked away in a low-slung brick building just east of Little Tokyo, this chic spot is clean and stylish, with exposed brick and painted white walls, a high ceiling and cool corrugated cardboard chairs.
The Food
The menu is simple and concise--fresh, straightforward sushi and sashimi fare, with tempting sides like warm, salty edamame and fried, buttery-crisp soft-shell crab. Sea eel nigiri scores big, barbecued smoky-sweet and anchored by seaweed to a bed of rice. For around $10, the assorted sashimi platter takes your palate several leagues under the sea, with tender scallops, halibut, clam, shrimp, buttery tuna, chewy tentacled octopus and more. For dessert, red-bean ice cream glows pink, but tastes pleasantly subtle, while green-tea ice cream is a palate-friendly herbal refresher.
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Insider Tips
When to GoFor lunch, get there before it opens at noon or you'll wait 20-30 minutes. Private spaces are available for group reservations.
The ExtrasOmakase menus are available in the $30-60 range. R-23 also offers numerous meat-free choices for vegetarians.
Know Before You GoNervous about venturing downtown? There's prominent signage to guide you, and parking is directly in front of the door. Try lunch instead of dinner for your first visit.
User Reviews for R-23 Japanese Cuisine and Art Gallery
03/27/2008 Posted by ktron
Love the atmosphere and the food. Make sure you try the crab salad as it is out of this world. If you can find it that is ;-)
11/02/2007 Posted by famousblueraincoat
This is what downtown, loft-living, hip artist space with great sushi should be. I've been here a few times over the past five years, and I've been really impressed each one. This is one of my favorite spots to take out-of-towners who say LA isn't a real city and there's nothing really "cool" about our city. They do really nice, fresh sushi, but they are probably better known for specialty dishes from the kitchen liked crab salad, pine mushroom soup and lobster tempura. The wine list is impressive as well, with selections that were selected to actually pair with the food. The art on the walls is cool, the staff friendly and then there's the famous Gehry cardboard-looking chairs! It's kind of hard to find, down a small street off East Third, but that's part of the charm. They have a valet now.
Pros: funky location and design, great food, nice wine list
Cons: neighborhood still coming up, valet parking only now
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