Why LA Is Considered The Sushi Capital Of The US

For many Americans under the age of 50, it's hard to imagine a time when sushi wasn't a commonplace food in the United States, regularly served at fine dining restaurants, holes in the wall, and even major grocery store chains. But before the 1960s, raw fish and rice was hardly a meal concept known to most Americans, let alone one they could seek out at an average strip mall. That all changed with the opening of the first dedicated sushi restaurants in the U.S., centered in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Little Tokyo.

Sushi had existed in some form in the U.S. prior to this era, but it was limited and relatively unknown outside of Japanese American communities. Journalists and food historians credit LA-based Japanese restaurant Kawafuku with sparking the city's — and the country's — love of sushi, as it was the first known restaurant in the country to sell traditional nigiri. Soon after Japanese importers convinced Kawafuku owner Tokijiro Nakashima to open a sushi bar in his restaurant in the mid-1960s (the exact year is debated), other Japanese restaurants in the neighborhood implemented similar concepts.

Slowly but surely, Angelenos became enamored with the cuisine, spurred on by celebrity diners. By the late 1980s, sushi had reached mainstream popularity with the opening of famed institutions like Sushi Nozawa and Matsuhisa, the predecessor to Nobu. Between LA's Japanese immigrant population, its celebrity-fueled, trendsetting culture, and the work of a few visionary importers and chefs, the city had all the right ingredients to become sushi central.

Los Angeles is not only the birthplace of sushi restaurants in the United States, it continues to be one of the country's largest sushi markets. According to data from Apartment Guide, as of 2022, LA had 144 non-chain restaurants exclusively dedicated to sushi, the second-highest number in the country behind New York City. Obviously, there's nowhere better to eat sushi than Japan, but if you're stuck Stateside, the LA sushi scene could give Tokyo a run for its money. LA's reputation as a sushi mecca even attracted major Japan-based chain Sushi Zanmai to open its first U.S. location there.

In LA, sushi manifests in a myriad of different ways: on conveyor belts and all-you-can-eat menus, at high-end omakase spots with counter seats surrounding open kitchens, at swanky legacy restaurants like Nobu Malibu, and in grocery stores throughout the city, ranging from Japanese chains like Mitsuwa to Kroger-owned chains like Ralphs, which actually dominates sushi sales throughout the country. LA also has nine Michelin-starred sushi restaurants. No matter what kind of sushi suits your fancy, you can find it in the City of Angels.