Palm trees, a corner of Olympic Boulevard, and a room much smaller than the name would suggest.
Sasabune Beverly Hills sits at Olympic and Palm Drive. I came for lunch, sat at the bar, and the whole meal happened across about three feet of counter.
At a glance
- Taste ★★★★½
- Atmosphere ★★★★½
- Price ★★★
- Service ★★★★★
- Best for: a slow lunch when you want the fish to be the whole point
- Go with: one or two people, at the bar
- Skip if: you are counting the check
The room was nearly empty, and that changed everything
There were only a few of us in for lunch. I did not expect that to matter as much as it did.
The chef worked directly in front of me. Because nobody else was waiting on him, each piece came across the counter within seconds of being formed — still at the temperature he intended, rice still warm. Nothing sat. Nothing waited on a tray. That is the part you are paying for, and at a quiet lunch service you get all of it.
The room is not large. It is also not casual. Pale wood, clean lines, the sushi case lit like a display. It feels considered rather than showy.
You tell them what you want here
A word about how the ordering works, because it surprised me.
This is omakase in the sense that the chef leads — but you speak up. At Sushi Gen, where I go often enough that they know me, the chef has stopped asking; he simply hands me things and he is right every time. Sasabune is not somewhere I get to often, so here I had to say what I wanted to eat.
The chef was kind about it. He asked, he suggested, he adjusted. If you are shy about ordering, say so out loud — that alone is enough to get him steering.
What came across the counter
It opened with white fish, fanned out and sitting in ponzu with scallion scattered over the top. Clean and cold, the right way to start.
Then a shellfish plate — a raw oyster in the shell, a shell topped with sliced mushroom, and a mussel baked under a sauce and finished with roe. Three different textures on one plate, which I thought was a generous way to do it.
After that the nigiri came one or two pieces at a time, in no hurry.
Here is the practical thing to notice: some pieces arrive already seasoned, and some come with soy sauce for you to dip. Both happened in the same meal. Watch what the chef sets down before you reach for anything — if it is glazed or already has scallion and a little sauce on it, it is finished.
The house sake is worth asking about. They pour their own daiginjo with the restaurant’s name on the label, served chilled in a small bucket at the counter.
Then the blue crab hand roll — shredded crab piled into nori with warm rice, handed to you to eat right away while the seaweed is still crisp. Miso soup with clams closed it out.
Everything was fresh. That sounds like a small compliment, but at a sushi counter it is the only one that matters, and it was the thing I kept noticing.
What to know before you go
The price is real. This is the part I want to be plain about: it is expensive. I would go often if the check were not part of the decision, and it is — so I will not be going often. That is not a complaint about the value. The fish was worth what it cost. It is just not an every-month lunch for me, and if it is not for you either, treat it as the meal you plan rather than the one you fall into.
Lunch is the quieter service. The near-empty room is why the meal was as good as it was. If you want the chef’s attention, a weekday lunch is how you get it.
Sit at the bar. The chef serves you directly from across the counter. A table gets you the same fish and about half the experience.
Practical tips
- Parking: there is a lot for the shopping center, and you can pull in right by the entrance — which is not something you can say about most of Beverly Hills.
- Reserve. The room is small, and there are not many seats to go around.
- Closed Sunday and Monday (please confirm before you go).
- Say what you like. Fatty or lean, cooked or raw, what you don’t eat — telling the chef early makes the whole meal better.
- Don’t dip everything. Taste one piece first. Half of them don’t need it.
Location & details
Sasabune Beverly Hills
9162 W Olympic Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(310) 859-3878
sasabunebeverlyhills.com
Hours (please confirm before visiting)
Lunch: Tuesday–Friday, 12:00–2:00 pm
Dinner: Tuesday–Saturday, 5:30–9:00 pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
Price (please confirm — this changes)
Omakase courses run roughly $100–$150 per person at dinner; lunch is priced separately.
Parking: attended lot at the shopping center
A last thought
A quiet room, a chef who had the time to pay attention, and fish that did not need anything done to it. That is most of what I want from a sushi counter.
If the price were not part of the decision, this is a place I would go often. The price is part of the decision, so I won’t. But I am glad I sat there, and I would tell a friend to go.
Have you been to Sasabune, or do you have a sushi counter in LA you go back to? I would love to hear where you sit and what you order — tell me in the comments.
