Photo Credit: Sushi Park/deuxmoi
CELEBRITY SUSHI SPOTS IN NYC AND LA
Celebrity lore might lead you to believe there’s only two restaurants where stars go to land good sushi: the perennially papped Sushi Park, which is situated behind that now-iconic hand railing on the second floor of a random LA strip mall, and Nobu Malibu, the picturesque Pacific Ocean outpost of the popular worldwide chain where the catch of the day is an A-lister being photographed in the parking lot.
Of course, it was our Deux diligence to dine at both, and while Nobu never misses, we’d be remiss if we didn’t spill that Sushi Park’s omakase offering isn’t quite OMG-worthy, so save your seashells.
Thankfully, as the recent sighting of Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner at Sushi Enya’s Beverly Hills location proves, when it comes to celebrity-approved sushi restaurants, there are plenty of fish in the sea. To help you know where to roll to no matter which coast you’re on, we ran through all the Sunday Spotted raw data and fished out the sushi spots making the most waves with celebs in NYC and LA.
CELEBRITY SUSHI RESTAURANTS ON BOTH COASTS
Blue Ribbon Sushi is a sushi spinoff of Blue Ribbon Brasserie, the longstanding American restaurant in New York City founded by Le Cordon Bleu-trained brothers Bruce and Eric Bromberg. Their original joint opened in SoHo in 1995 (with help from the late Master Sushi Chef Toshi Ueki) and has since spawned sister restaurants in Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, and of course, Los Angeles. While Kate Moss was spotted at the temporarily-closed Pacific Palisades location, there’s a currently open-for-business Blue Ribbon Sushi at LA’s beloved outdoor mall, The Grove, where Tori Spelling did #momsnightout with Beverley Mitchell. Back in the Empire State, Drew Barrymore and Daniel Radcliffe dined at its Columbus Circle spot, and the Blue Ribbon Sushi inside the lower east side’s Sixty LES Hotel has reeled in the likes of Jared Leto, Eli Brown, Whitney Peak, Evan Mock, Jordan Alexander, Thomas Doherty, Leslie Mann, and Judd Apatow. In addition to its devoted celebrity clientele, Blue Ribbon Sushi is also known for its crispy rice topped with spicy tuna, avocado, serrano pepper, and eel sauce.
KazuNori stands out for its simple menu and speed. By only offering hand rolls and sashimi, and prioritizing bar seating over traditional tables, KazuNori’s chefs serve guests as soon as their sushi is prepared for ultimate freshness. Rest assured, that quickness doesn’t compromise the quality of the food at this accessibly-priced, first come, first served, no reservations restaurant. Created by renowned sushi chef Kazunori Nozawa, who is also behind the SUGARFISH sushi empire (more on that down below), KazuNori prides itself on using specially-harvested seaweed and perfecting its signature warm rice. Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Diplo, and Joel Kinnaman have popped into the chain’s various LA outposts, while Sean Kaufman, Christopher Briney, Dylan Sprouse, and Tyler Cameron all gave the Midtown East location in New York a try.
There’s obviously no bigger fish in the sushi restaurant pond than Nobu, and while Nobu Malibu nets a ton of Sunday Spotteds (just check the Deuxmoi World app for the laundry list of notable names), the high-end chain’s other locations are also bubbling with major celebrity sightings. Leonardo DiCaprio, Taylor Swift, and Ben Affleck with Matt Damon are just a few A-listers who’ve had a Japanese-Peruvian fusion meal at Nobu New York Downtown. T. Swift also made it to Midtown’s Nobu New York Fifty Seven, as did Selena Gomez, Sydney Sweeney, Pete Davidson, Mariah Carey, Martha Stewart, Nicola Peltz, and Brooklyn Beckham.
Meanwhile, Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills is known as the original Nobu because it’s the first restaurant Chef Nobu ever opened. Though it’s a much more casual setting than the Nobu restaurants it has since inspired, this 1987-established eatery has steadily attracted Hollywood’s heaviest hitters to take a seat inside its historic dining room, where the most popular dish served is the black cod with miso. Sightings here include Victoria Beckham, John Mayer, Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber, Kourtney Kardashian, Angelina Jolie, Ariana Grande, Camila Morrone, Charlie Puth, Olivia Rodrigo, Hallie Batchelder, Michael J. Fox, Nicola Peltz, Kehlani, Heidi Klum, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jessica Alba, Post Malone, Sofia Richie, Andy Cohen, Sam Smith, Lori Harvey, The Weeknd, Leonardo DiCaprio, Zack Bia, Cazzie David, Zendaya, Fai Khadra, Luke Wilson, Niall Horan, Benji Madden, Noah Centineo, Maude Apatow, Kanye West, Zedd, Travis Barker, Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, Brooklyn Beckham, Mark Wahlberg, and Winnie Harlow.
Nobu also happens to be an all-time Deux favorite so trust us when we say you must get a lychee martini, the iconic yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño, and a baby spinach salad with dry miso. If the Wagyu dumplings are on the menu, don’t hesitate—they’re divine. And if you can score the off-the-menu banana toban yaki dessert, you won’t be disappointed.
Those sleek, white, sushi takeout boxes with colorful directions for the sauces printed on the inside lid that celebrities love to post on social media are from SUGARFISH, the sushi restaurant shaped by Chef Kazunori Nozawa’s vision to make traditional Japanese-style sushi accessible to all in America. We’ve spotted Bella Hadid, John Slattery, Talia Balsam, Steve Nash, and Melissa George enjoying the handpicked fish and sustainably-sourced ingredients in New York. Famous fans who’ve been known to frequent the LA locations include Angelina Jolie, who we heard noshed on some salmon sushi, as well as Matthew McConaughey, Adam Sandler, Vera Wang, Ethan Cutkosky, Noa Fisher, Megan Fox, Conan O’Brien, Amanda Peet, Trevor Noah, Ginnifer Goodwin, Finn Wolfhard, Simon Rex, Lukas Gage, Oliver Hudson, Charlie Puth, Derek Hough, Charlie Christie, Machine Gun Kelly, and Selma Blair.
NEW YORK CELEBRITY SUSHI RESTAURANTS
With two locations in NYC, one housed in a NoHo brownstone and the other at Hudson Yards, BondST has two elegant options where its modern Japanese-inspired cuisine can be enjoyed. The big eye tuna tart appetizer, which the restaurant describes as “luxury in every bite with truffle oil, micro shiso, and creamy ponzu,” is the biggest culinary draw, while its wasabi bloody marys that are available during weekend brunch pair perfectly with a relaxed perusal of our Sunday Spotteds. You just might run into repeat diners like Jennie Garth, Victoria Beckham, James Marsden, Gigi Hadid, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Chace Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Christopher Meloni, Sophia Rose Stallone, Matthew McConaughey, Alec Baldwin, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Natalie Portman, Sophie Turner, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Trevor Noah, Liev Schreiber, Dorothy Wang, Blake Griffin, Batsheva Haart, Tommy Dorfman, Kaia Gerber, Katie Holmes, Yolanda Hadid, The Weeknd, David Spade, Kay Adams, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Sai De Silva, Jessel Thank, or Brynn Whitfield.
The Lobster Club is the modern sushi and Japanese restaurant brought to NYC by Major Food Group, better known around here as the hospitality group behind Carbone. Its glamorous interior was designed by fashion-minded architect Peter Marino, whose work includes Tiffany & Co.’s redesigned Fifth Avenue flagship as well as major global projects for Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton. With a menu meant to be shared, be sure to experiment with the array of sauces available to enhance your sushi and add the signature lobster dumplings to your order. At last count, Chris Evans, Colin Jost, Scarlett Johansson, Alba Batista, Robert Pattinson, Jeremy Strong, Stassi Shroeder, Ashley Park, Darren Criss, and Ben McKenzie are members of this restaurant’s fan club, and Martha Stewart raved about the blood orange kakigori shaved ice dessert.
Hand roll sushi is taken to a new level at Nami Nori, where the traditional cone-shaped seaweed dish is instead presented in the shape of an open seaweed taco. That casual vibe is carried through the sushi chain’s light and airy beach house aesthetic and is a nod to its name, which means “wave riding” in Japanese. Deuxmoi tipsters tell us they’ve seen Jake Gyllenhaal drop by Nami Nori’s Williamsburg location, while they’ve clocked James Marsden, Dua Lipa, Pharrell, Jessica Alba, Carla Gugino, and Famke Janssen over at the West Village venue. Then there’s a self-described “gluttonous” Sarah Jessica Parker who admitted she “lost count of how many temaki” she ate during a particularly indulgent visit.
Omen Azen has an unassuming street entrance and a strict cash, American Express, or American Express on Apple Pay-only payment policy, yet the longtime dinner-only Japanese joint has had celebrities hooked since opening in SoHo in 1981. Go-to orders at the Kyoto-inspired spot come down to its Omen udon handmade noodles with seafood served hot or cold and its chiso rice made of chopped chiso leaves, salt, and rice. Sightings here include Camila Morrone, Gracie Abrams, Robert Pattinson, Suki Waterhouse, and Mark Ruffalo.
LOS ANGELES CELEBRITY SUSHI RESTAURANTS
Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi takes the traditional Japanese cuisine he mastered and gives it a contemporary California twist at his handful of namesake restaurants scattered across the City of Angels. He created the eatery’s signature crispy rice with spicy tuna recipe as a gateway dish for diners who were too scared to try raw sushi, and the super popular order has since been reimagined at sushi restaurants all over. Another Katsuya original is the sweet and spicy burning mandarin cocktail. The forever iconic Diane Keaton once ate at Katsuya’s Brentwood location, as did Charlie Puth, Dr. Dre, Johnny Manziel, Josie Canseco, Jason Derulo (who allegedly gave a fake name to check in with the hostess), Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, Judd Apatow, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and Christian Slater. Meanwhile, Travis Barker turned up at Katsuya Hollywood and Jesse Plemons, Julianne Moore, Donald Faison, and Cacee Cobb stopped by its Studio City spot.
Don’t let Sushi Fumi’s no-frills online presence fool you: This minimalist West Hollywood restaurant is a total hidden gem in the neighborhood that’s become well-known to celebrity insiders such as Camila Cabello, Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Selena Gomez, Bad Bunny, Glen Powell, Jay-Z, Emma Roberts, Madelyn Cline with Zack Bia, Benny Blanco, Noah Centineo, and LL Cool J. While no longer much of a best-kept Hollywood secret, Sushi Fumi remains committed to its unpretentious image by sticking to a no reservations, no takeout policy.
You can’t get more celebrity-centric than LA’s Sunset Plaza located on the world famous Sunset Strip, so it’s no wonder Sushiya on Sunset has welcomed a fair share of famous faces to its fun sushi bar. Open late-night with see-and-be-seen outdoor seating, we’ve recorded sightings here of Cardi B, Cindy Crawford, Offset, Brooklyn Beckham, Lala Kent, Emmanuel Acho, and Evan Ross, while the 1998-established restaurant itself reports having served Rihanna, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga, Keanu Reeves, Chris Noth, Paris Hilton, Ariana Grande, JC Chasez, Jamie Foxx, Pamela Anderson, and Camila Cabello. We hear the spicy tuna crispy rice and Gossy roll are good go-tos to try.
The Uchi collection of sushi restaurants made its West Coast debut in West Hollywood just a few years ago and has already amassed a following full of celebrity customers, namely Hudson Williams, Jorma Taccone, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Diego Boneta. Its founder, the James Beard Award-winning chef Tyson Cole, intentionally chose the name Uchi (which means “home" in Japanese) to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for customers to connect with his cuisine, like the muki rotate with live scallop that’s become the local favorite off the menu.
That’s a wrap for now on our sushi restaurant roundup, so grab a hot towel and chopsticks and let us know which spots you think are the (sake) bomb!
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