LA's Most Expensive Sushi Restaurant Might Be Gone for Good

Rumors about the fate of two Michelin star Beverly Hills sushi destination Urasawa have turned into social media rumblings, as folks have begun to wonder aloud where chef and owner Hiroyuki Urasawa has gone.

Should you wish to enquire about a reservation to the impossibly upscale omakase experience in Beverly Hills, normally you’d simply call the restaurant and go from there. But it seems the phone line has been completely disconnected, with no notification given anywhere as to a possible reason why. Strange.

The phone line has been completely disconnected

Checking over on Yelp, it seems a string of recent customers have been running into the same issue: a disconnected phone number and no ability to find out what’s going on. The most recent review (a one star situation, naturally) notes that guests had planned a reservation as far back as October 15, only to be told last minute that the date they wanted would be unavailable "as the Tsukiji Fish Market was closed for a holiday." A make-up date of November 26 was given, but eventually that too was scrapped for similar reasons, says the customer.

Now generally, the famous Tsukiji Japanese market is closed on Sundays and occasional other holidays and random Wednesdays — a reason why Urasawa, which flies its fish in regularly, is always closed on Sunday and Monday. But (at least with a bit of Googling) there doesn’t seem to be any real impediment to the market’s availability on those dates in question, though Eater hasn’t sprung for the international call to Tsukiji directly to confirm. And, frankly, it still wouldn’t answer the question of the disconnected phone.

There is at least one popular opinion floating around at the moment: Hiroyuki Urasawa could simply be moving on. The pugnacious chef is currently embroiled in another lawsuit over wage issues (and threatening to kill an employee even), so it’s entirely possible that the place, an upscale dining option second to none in Los Angeles, has simply disappeared altogether.

As with all things Urasawa, there’s a lot of mystery here, and in truth one may never find out the true story. Until Eater learns more, it's best to keep trying the number and hoping against hope the thing starts ringing again sometime soon. Better yet, if you’ve got more details yourself, feel free to hit the tipline or drop a note in the comments below.

• The Essential LA Sushi Restaurants [ELA]
• The Road to the 38: Urasawa [E]

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