West Hollywood celebrity hotspot Koi reopens with sophisticated new dining room

Koi, a 21-year-old veteran of La Cienega Boulevard’s bustling restaurant zone, reopened on January 3 in an adjacent building. After closing on Christmas Eve, Koi’s already revitalized new covered outdoor patio and visible dining room serves elegantly sassy sashimi, sushi rolls and other modern Japanese dishes. After her 20 years of attracting celebrities (from Paris Hilton to George Clooney) and shunning paparazzi on the sidewalks, Koi is getting the chance to be reborn at this new venue.

Serving hamachi with yuzu ponzu sauce and serrano chili slivers, black cod glaze miso, and crispy rice topped with chopped spicy tuna, the upscale Japanese restaurant has become a credible celebrity hotspot across the country. In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, the dining format, established by his namesake establishments in Beverly Hills (Matsuhisa) and Tribeca (Nobu), New York City, and others, exploded into the world of restaurants, including famous players. has developed exponentially. Katsuya, Catch, Katana, Sushiroku, Morimoto, etc.

Koi founder Nick Haque took the popularity of his West Hollywood original to New York City and Las Vegas (inside Planet Hollywood), but always thought about improving the physical space of his LA flagship store. was And now, with a brand new kitchen and sleek, if slightly unoriginal design, Koi could attract a new generation of celebrities (and their oglers).

Koi’s menu, still overseen by longtime chef Rob Lucas, features Koi crispy rice (basically hash brown bites with minced and seasoned raw fish and rectangular fried rice), miso Bronze grilled cod, grilled crab rolls, dragon rolls. All dishes have too much or too much sauce especially truffle his oil and sweetened soybeans. But ribs braised in plum wine reduction make an excellent meat entree.

Desserts aren’t necessarily original, but they’re pretty good, from white chocolate-topped cheesecake to flourless melted cake. At some point, these dishes, from miso black cod to salmon carpaccio tossed with ponzu sauce, begin to transition from antiquated to classic, but which dishes make that jump when. Koi’s crispy rice is certainly now standard and widely imitated, but the “She’s So LA” roll with soft shell crab and spicy tuna is still one of the funniest. It may feel like

Ask any Japanese person if they are familiar with this food. This is Americanized Japanese food for the ambitious, scene-stealer, loud and rowdy with loud electronic music and sophisticated servers. Served at the restaurant. Most diners don’t seem to care about the playfulness of the food because everyone is just having a good time. proves that there is something timeless about

Koi is now open in West Hollywood at 734 N. La Cienega Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Dinner service is at 5:30 PM. Open until 10 PM nightly and 10:30 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.

Jacob Layman