MICHELIN Guide California
n/naka
- 3455 S. Overland Ave., Los Angeles, 90034, United States
- 225 - 275 USD • Japanese, Contemporary
Take Away
Limited menu of sushi and bento box offerings, plus wine and sake, available for pickup
MICHELIN Guide California
n/naka
- 3455 S. Overland Ave., Los Angeles, 90034, United States
- 225 - 275 USD • Japanese, Contemporary
MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View

Los Angeles-born Chef Niki Nakayama is a proud pioneer in the modern kaiseki tradition, yet she’s humble enough to remain a constant in her dining room, checking in on each guest to ensure their every comfort. In this way, the much-lauded restaurant feels utterly personal, as though for this moment in time, you are the only diner that matters.
Set in an attractive and neutral-toned dining room, the space holds a devoted, almost cult-like reverence. It makes sense: guests don’t want to miss a morsel of Chef Nakayama’s genius. Her clever creations are delightfully unbound by Japanese tradition; instead, she rather inventively works within the spirit of it.
A nightly tasting menu might begin with a small glass of apple sake, followed by pristine scallop tartare coupled with sanbaizu gelée, carrot purée, toasted sunflower seeds and crispy carrot chips. From there, tiny yet exquisite dishes pour forth, including simply grilled branzino paired with rich Santa Barbara sea urchin, shiitake mushrooms and ponzu; or a tender lobster dumpling with king crab bobbing in dashi. Al dente spaghettini with abalone slices, pickled cod roe and black truffle is a personification of the chef's unique style.
- n Two MICHELIN Stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour!
- ó Comfortable restaurant
Commitment to sustainable gastronomy
Initiatives
70% of ingredients are sourced locally
Speciality
- Spiny lobster with white truffle
- Spaghetti with abalone and truffles
- Marron cake with shoyu-kogi ice cream

Features
2 minutes
Feeding the Family
A closer look at the longstanding tradition of family meal, or staff meal, in restaurants.

News & Views
1 minute
A MICHELIN Inspector Dishes About the California Selection on the California Now Podcast
Learn how this anonymous MICHELIN inspector helped anoint 90 California restaurants with coveted stars.

People
4 minutes
The First Day I Got My MICHELIN Stars: n/naka’s Niki Nakayama & Carole Iida-Nakayama
We get the world's most celebrated chefs to recall what it was like when they got their very first MICHELIN stars.