Sushi Gen

Toshiaki Toyoshima came to Los Angeles in 1973 to work at Tokyo Kaikan, a 300-seat celebrity restaurant with a nightclub attached that served everything from teppanyaki to teriyaki. When he opened his own place in 1980, he did the opposite: traditional sushi and nothing else, in the newly built Honda Plaza in Little Tokyo. People told him he was on the outskirts of town. 'And now we're right in the middle of town,' he said in 2016. Forty-odd years is, as one Los Angeles food writer put it, unbelievable longevity for a restaurant.

The trick has always been to trust the customers and avoid gimmicks. There are two ways to eat. At the tables, the lunchtime sashimi special, the reason for the line that forms before the doors open. At the counter, sushi à la carte from the chefs in front of you. The Infatuation's verdict is in its headline: proof that great sushi does not have to cost a fortune.

At the counter, sushi à la carte from the chefs in front of you.

There are no reservations, so plan on queueing. Go early for lunch on a weekday and take a table for the sashimi, or wait for the counter if you want to talk to the chef. Why it impresses: it is the opposite of a scene, and it has been doing one thing well since 1980.

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