Long time coming
I’ve had this review of Toku Sushi and Unagi in the garage since 2023. I should have posted it sooner, but life isn’t simple. For example, my prestigious (to me and my mom) Canadian university said they were tripling in size to raise our profile stateside. It was that simple. 13 years later, I live in New York and I might as well have graduated from Hamburger U.
My visit to Toku in LA wasn’t simple either. It should have been, but my brain was humming at 31% power. Blame the collagen peptides my sister “enhanced” my coffee with every morning. Visiting LA is like stepping into the Disney Land of dubious health products. “On the right, you’ll see a bees wax and chia seed smoothie. And on the left, there’s a balm made from a mixture of lima bean extract and komodo dragon feces. Apply liberally”.
(By the way, when I do these tangents, I like to imagine there’s some poor soul at the sushiya who’s never read The Sushi Legend before and was expecting some vanilla Infatuation blurb. NOT HERE).
Inside Toku Sushi and Unagi
Anyways, let’s talk Toku
Toku is located in the only area of LA I semi-enjoy, West Hollywood. Like many of Los Angeles’ great sushiya, it’s located in a strip mall.
By the way, yes, New York City has a better sushi scene. But if we’re in the trust tree, LA clears NYC in three areas:
- Strip mall sushi. Don’t ask me to explain why.
- A more traditional interpretation of Omakase – you sit, they serve until you say stop.
- Fewer chalkboards
Toku is the LA outpost of Toku Unagi (website here), a century-old Japanese chain. They are renowned for a few dishes, including Unajyu, a dish of unagi (freshwater eel, simmered and dressed with a soy-sauce cousin they call “Unagi Sauce”), and layered on a bed of rice.
Unajyu, courtesy Tokuusa.com
And it’s clear from reading any of the very strong reviews the myriad of Unagi dishes are the best options here. Some people even suggest that Toku should pare down their menu and focus only on Unagi. But I have a little secret for you.
The sushi is very good for the price
I ordered the “Omakase Sushi”, essentially a sushi platter. 9 pieces and a temaki, for $65. There is also a very healthy Okonomi (a la carte) menu.
$65 for this plus temaki
The nigiri is cut LA style (aka the neta has longer ‘tails’).
Chu Toro. I don’t know if I came up with “LA style” for the long tailed neta, but I’ll take credit
While it’s a delicate balance to prepare and service rice for both Unajyu and Sushi, any concerns I had – mainly that the rice wouldn’t have adequate rice vinegar – were immediately dispelled.
That’s a plus, because Toku isn’t serving anything too exotic in their “Omakase”.
But at $65, they don’t need to. Especially when reservations are easy to come by; people aren’t expecting the world, just good sushi without a paparazzi outside.
I hate to compare it against Sushi Park around the corner. Oh wait, no I don’t. Sushi Park is overrated, celebrity self-flaggelating dreck (my review here).
It’s not perfect
My dining companion ordered this Baked Crab Hand Roll with Asparagus.
Yes, the picture is cinematic. Thank you. But it’s also a mess, and let’s be real with each other. Mayo, crab and asparagus don’t go well together. Apparently this is an LA sushi staple, in which case the blame for this monstrosity probably goes to Sugarfish.
The Toro Taku also needed work. Traditionally, Toro Taku is minced takuan, toro and sometimes shiso. Here, Toku not only goes heavy on the shari, but also forgets to chop the Takuan. Oopsies.
Toro Taku – a little heavy on the shari – and Negitoro
Ultimately that’s a menu issue
Toku’s menu is packed. Probably needs some hedge clippers. But if you stick.to the basics – the more traditional sushi, and of course Unagi (I’ve got my eye on the Unagi Liver Soup), Toku is absolutely worth a trip.
Recommended.
Vegetable makizushi (avocado, cucumber, tomato….probably less said the better)
