When in LA I seldom travel west of the 405. But for Echigo I’ll make an exception. Not so pricey or refined as to rise to the level of ‘fine dining’ and eschewing the artificial limits and self conscious priciness of the recently named ‘bromakase’ trend, Echigo sits in the space carved out by Sugarfish and other ‘upper mid tier’ places where you can be treated to really excellent quality fish and great preparation without ascending to nosebleed pricing, over-complicated presentations, or exoticism
For its own sake.
Below is a sample of the omakase. I missed a pic of the bluefin, and don’t have the complete list. I can say without question the bonito is some of the best I’ve had, form and just a hint of that sardine-like ‘fishiness’ without being off putting.
Also of note, the last two bites, Hokkaido sea urchin (he mentioned he would normally go with Santa Barbara, but it wasn’t good that week, so he went w/ Japanese. It was stunning. And monk fish liver, delicate, creamy, like four-gras of the ocean. The partner was very amused by my constant ‘happy food chair dance’.
It was also my birthday, and they surprised us with a green tea ice cream mochi, which was really thoughtful.
Behold fishies:
About $100/pp which I considered a very fair price point.
