Cocktails and chu-toro

Bar Sawa, Little Tokyo

RESTAURANTS • First Person

Even on my third visit to Bar Sawa in Little Tokyo, I struggled to find the entrance. To enter Bar Sawa from the street  — which you can avoid if you park in the building’s garage — ascend an unmarked stairwell up to the second floor of a nondescript office building. Then, head past the parking area to a lobby, and take the elevator down to the basement, where others waiting for their reservations will be gathered.

The journey’s worth it. An eight-seat omakase from the same team as (the highly lauded) Sushi Kaneyoshi next door, Bar Sawa, opened in 2022, has only gotten better with age. It’s slightly more affordable (at $185 per person) than its sister restaurant, and a little more playful, too. Its most distinguishing feature, to that end, is that they also serve Japanese-style cocktails. 

Settling into your seat at the counter, the atmosphere will feel a bit subdued — all the better to enjoy your dinner theater. To the left, sushi chefs at work, and on the right, bartenders mixing cocktails like umeshu Negronis and hojicha old-fashioneds. Opt for the “pairing,” then pick three cocktails of your choice from the menu. (It’s not quite a pairing, but the staff will guide the night’s drinking to begin with lighter drinks.) 

A few sips into that first drink, and you’ll get it. Then, bites of marinated chu-toro, monkfish liver alongside a sudachi (yuzu hybrid) sake-tini, and sous vide scallops. It’s traditional edomae sushi, but more free, more experimental, more (yes) fun. The final bite is Bar Sawa in a nutshell: a soy-infused cheesecake that somehow melds Basque cheesecake with tamago. Utterly distinct, and just as fantastic. –Fiona Chandra

→ Bar Sawa (Little Tokyo) • 111 S San Pedro St • Tues-Wed 6-930p, Thurs-Sun 5-930p • Reserve.