For my brother’s 30th birthday I worked with some of his friends and girl friend to host a private dinner and party for him at Takami Sushi in downtown Los Angeles. The reason I chose this venue was because it is a nice restaurant and right next door is their lounge (Elevate). So we ate and drank at Takami Sushi then they escorted us to our private section within Elevate right after dinner. Now this place wasn’t cheap, but I think it was well worth the view, ambiance, food and overall experience.
Since we had a large party we ate in the lounge area party platter style. So the food was the same food from the dinner menu but instead of everyone placing their own order it was a preset menu that I customized from their dinner menu. To start off we had three appetizers: Spicy Tuna on Rice Crackers, Soft Shell Crab and Garlic Baked Scallops. I was only able to take a picture of the soft shell crab dish because I was busy running around organizing the event when the Spicy Tuna and Scallops came out. I did get to eat both but didn’t get a picture. The spicy tuna on rice crackers were good but the real winners to me were the soft shell crab and the baked scallops, there were delicious. Soft shell crab is always good but they did it right by just having a light batter and deep frying them with good yet simple seasoning. The baked scallops had a light garlic butter sauce that really brought out the flavor of the scallops.
The next course was their Robata (Japanese Skewers) which we had asparagus, new year steak and teriyaki chicken. The chicken and the asparagus were okay but the steak I wouldn’t recommend ordering. Honestly the only reason I ordered these were because I had a few friends there that don’t eat sushi so I had to make sure they were also able to eat something. If you go to order the Robata I would try their nicer items like their sea bass. The reason we went with our choices were to stay within our budget for throwing a private dinner for 23 people.
The main course was their sushi cut rolls which we had a variety of but the real star to me is the one that has the white sauce on it in the image below. It is called the 21st Roll and it has “Snow Crab Legs around Spicy Tuna, King Crab, & Avocado with Sweet Creamy Sauces”. Next time go to there on my own I am just getting that roll. For the party I had to get a variety of rolls which is what you see below. If you look at the image below here is a breakdown of what they rolls are and what is included in each:
- Garden Roll: Veggie Roll with Lettuce, Red Onion, Bell Peppers, Micro Greens, Sesame Soy Dressing
- Lemon-Albacore Roll: Spicy Tuna Roll with Cucumber wrapped with Albacore & Lemon Slices
- 21st Roll: Snow Crab Legs around Spicy Tuna, King Crab, & Avocado with Sweet Creamy Sauces (highly recommend)
- Takami Roll: Spicy Tuna, Snow Crab, & Asparagus, topped with Albacore & an Apple Ponzu Sauce (highly recommend)
Finally for dessert we had their party platter which basically had all of their desserts. All of their desserts were good but the two that blew me away was the lychee ice cream and the apple crisp. The Lychee ice cream is amazing because it taste perfectly like lychee yet it is really an ice cream and not a sorbet. Overall you can’t go wrong with any of their desserts but if you like lychee that you have to try the ice cream!
Overall the meal was great but the ambiance and view cannot be beat as far as downtown LA goes. The food by itself is good but not necessarily amazing, but when you combine it with the ambiance and view the overall experience is top notch.
Derrick Chan
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