Urasawa

This tiny, luxurious sushi bar is famously the most expensive restaurant in California, and most nights it is also the best, with fish unseen anywhere else in the country. Other sushi restaurants display fish triple-wrapped behind glass in a refrigerated case; at Urasawa, the fish is out in the open, lighted as carefully as the tomatoes in a Carl's Jr. ad, all glistening pinks and glowing translucence. If a particular leaf or species of clam is in its Japanese two-week season, it will certainly be on your plate. Waitresses refill your glass with sake, replace hot towels and remove plates so efficiently that you are barely aware of them at all. And Urasawa's artistry with a fillet is surpassed in the United States only by that of his mentor, Masa Takayama — there is, one senses, an enormous effort to keep the customers in a bubble of serenity, an uninterrupted flow of bliss.

• Cuisine(s): Japanese

  Hours: Tue-Sat 6pm-8:30pm

  Price: $$$$

• Payment Types: MasterCard, Visa, American Express

  Features: Private Party, Prix Fixe

  Serving: Dinner

• Alcohol: Beer/Wine

  Reservations: Accepted, Required

  Parking: Street, Valet