A well-trafficked Santa Monica space, previously Bar Monette, Aussie cafe Little Ruby, and the late chef Joe Miller’s early-aughts tapas spot Bar Pintxo, has transformed into a high-end sushi restaurant called Kogen Omakase. Opened in mid-July but lurking
for the past few months without much press attention, the omakase comes from restaurateur Adrian Taylor (Carbone Miami, Mila Miami) and chef Yasu Iwai, who together helped open semi-hidden sushi counter Taikun at Dana Point’s Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. Iwai worked at Katana in Miami and trained under Hiroyuki Sato, who earned a Michelin star for his six-seat counter Hakkoku in Tokyo.
Iwai spent time operating Taikin in Aspen and has named his new restaurant “high plateau” in Japanese, a place where he aims to evoke mountain serenity while using prime ingredients from the West Coast. Given its location just steps from the twice-weekly Santa Monica Farmers Market, Kogen leans into seasonal produce from California farms, like Asian pear sunomono topped with a lobster claw swimming in a housemade dashi that uses tomato and okra. Fish will also be sourced depending on the season from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market, like konbu-cured amadai, otoro tartare with Hokkaido uni, and lemon-topped Meichi Dai (silver bream).
The restaurant’s drink menu comes from operations director Sarah Daisy Jackson, who previously worked at Bavel in the Arts District; at Kogen, she has assembled beer, wine, and low-ABV cocktails using sake and shochu. Jackson also contributes desserts like granita topped with plums and golden kiwi sorbet. Inside the small space, an open bar accommodates a small handful of counter seats, with high-chair seating allowing those at tables to still check out Iwai’s work. Jackson curated paintings from local artists Ben Borden, Ted Gahl, and Steve Jackson using metal-toned acrylic and other earth-toned pieces to complement the midnight blue wall paint. Iwai commissioned ceramicist Renji Nakagaki to create all of the custom plateware (oribe yaki) for the restaurant.
Given the standard for upscale sushi in Los Angeles, Kogen falls on the upper tier, charging $295 price tag for the sushi, $175 for a wine or sake pairing, plus tax and tip. On the Westside, the recently Michelin-starred Kojima runs $240, Mori Nozomi costs $280, and Kusano in Culver City charges $160. The Brothers Sushi in Santa Monica has a simpler eight-course omakase for $160, while the longtime Santa Monica sushi counter Shunji goes for $295. Though it’s not all sushi, there’s also the traditional Japanese kaiseki spot Asakura, which has roots in Tokyo, starts at $200 and goes up to $300 for 16 courses. Still, Kogen adds another player touting Japanese precision to Los Angeles’s thriving omakase scene.
Kogen is open Tuesday to Sunday, with seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.; reservations are available on Resy.
