HAMASAKU

If you love crazy rolls, come here because Hamasaku has over 60 different rolls!

Hamasaku was previously Kumo; I think they kept the same décor and added some "grass"...on my never-ending quest to try all the best sushi in a hippo's life. I checked out Hamasaku last Friday. Apparently there are two locations; the 11043 Santa Monica Blvd is more popular or has more reviews (the Melrose joint was packed on a Friday night).

Hamasaku is "very modern," which seems to be a necessity for a Weho restaurant. The bar is tiny; I imagine people who are waiting for a table hang out there. If you dine at the sushi bar, there's a ledge between you and the chef, so it's good that you extra room, but bad because the chef might get your order wrong because you're far away...

I wanted to compare the prices to Sushi Ike, so I ordered the same items. Oh, the sushi rolls range from $10 - $27 (mostly $16 & up). My eel avocado cut roll turned out to be an eel cut roll. It costs $8! Wow! I think Nobu's is cheaper... crazy. The pieces are small-- not the generous Noshi Sushi's roll, and the sauce were separated. The chefs are into "painting" the dish; it's all about the presentation. They didn't have Mackerel...but gave me something similar...don't know but it was fresh and good ($6); I just wished they had more of a variety. The spicy tuna hand roll ($6) was a tuna hand roll...The albacore sushi ($6) was ok; I've had better. While you're waiting for your sushi, you get to trip out on the acid anime. Despite getting my orders wrong...the chef was nice and attentive.

Mary Adams writes a good review with photos taken by Chris Marx on Buzz of LA.

Hamasaku cost $3 more than Sushi Ike, but then again I didn't ordered any of the $27 rolls...yes, prepare to make a dent on your plastic.

Address: 8360 Melrose Ave West Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone#: (323) 651-5866
Rating: 3.5 out of 5