Koi Los Angeles
Asian fusion restaurant · Beverly Grove ·
Elevated Japanese cuisine in a buzzing space with Zen decor
Elevated Japanese cuisine in a buzzing space with Zen decor
"I’ll go to Koi Sushi to grab a meal after the show — it’s a good spot for that with friends and castmates." - Lale Arikoglu
"Now’s a good time to remember that just because a sushi restaurant is expensive, doesn’t mean a sushi restaurant is great. Say hello to Koi - the ridiculously overpriced (and definitely not great) Japanese/sushi joint on La Cienega that ideally should only ever interest you if you’re a Persian teenager on holiday or a bored housewife trying to flag down Perez Hilton. This is sushi for people who want to be on TV and for people who think being spotted at a restaurant is how you accomplish that. The nice space will keep you entertained if you get roped into dinner here, but if come looking for quality sushi, you won’t find it. The best thing is probably the steak." - Brant Cox
"In the 2000s Koi in West Hollywood became a paparazzi magnet—photographers snapped hard-flashed photos of Miley Cyrus, Paris Hilton, and David Hasselhoff—and its chefs have put their own stamp on Nobu-style staples: Rob Lucas (who trained with Katsuya’s founder) offers a yellowtail jalapeño dressed in a wasabi-soy citrus, and Koi’s version famously amps the dish with truffle oil for an early-aughts edge." - Matthew Kang
"Now relocated to La Cienega, Koi retains its longtime celebrity-club allure—clubby vibes, pastels and booths, tall ceilings—and remains a fun spot to share seared albacore, hand rolls, and sake with an older-but-still-glamorous dinner crowd, keeping alive its signature appeal (including the famed spicy tuna crispy rice) in a busier Hollywood-adjacent dining strip." - Eater Staff
"Reopened on January 3 in an adjacent building after closing on Christmas Eve, I find Koi, a 21-year-old veteran of La Cienega Boulevard’s bustling restaurant zone, has reincarnated itself with a brand-new kitchen, a sleek if somewhat unoriginal design, an energetic covered outdoor patio and a see-and-be-seen dining room that continues to draw celebrities and paparazzi. Founder Nick Haque has expanded the brand to New York and Las Vegas, and longtime chef Rob Lucas still oversees a menu of elevated, Americanized Japanese staples — elegant, saucy takes on sashimi and sushi rolls including hamachi with yuzu ponzu and serrano chile slivers, glazed miso black cod (miso bronzed cod), baked crab rolls, dragon rolls, Koi Crispy Rice (hash brown–like bites topped with chopped, seasoned raw fish and rectangles of fried rice), crispy rice topped with chopped spicy tuna, and the “She’s So LA” roll with soft shell crab and spicy tuna. There’s a lot of sauce on many dishes (often truffle oil or sweetened soy), which makes eating raw fish easier for regulars, though the braised short ribs with plum wine reduction are an excellent meaty entree. Desserts aren’t wildly inventive but are tasty — from the white chocolate–topped cheesecake to the flourless molten cake — and the overall experience remains loud, rowdy, and aspirational, with thumping electronic tunes and sleek servers as Koi enters its third decade." - Matthew Kang
