n/naka -- The Hardest to Get Reservation in Los Angeles!

I recently had an amazing dinner at n/naka. For those of you familiar with Netflix's Chef's Table, the restaurant was featured in Season 1, and is consistently ranked in the top 20 lists of restaurants in Los Angeles. It is also one of the most difficult reservations to get due to its immense popularity (you need to book 3 months in advance).

n/naka specializes in modern Japanese kaiseki, an artistically presented multi-course dinner that highlights local seasonal ingredients. The brilliant chef of n/naka, Niki Nakayama, effortlessly blends traditional Japanese dishes with fresh California ingredients, such as Santa Barbara uni (sea urchin) and scallops, sustainably caught rock fish, and seasonal vegetables and fruits.

The 16-course meal is artistically presented, and is a delicious and complex symphony of colors, textures, flavors. It is an amazing special occasion restaurant. Each return visit is unique because Chef Nakayama does not repeat dishes that she has served you before.

Here are the photos!

Seared scallop, caviar, cream, avocado, rice crisp, fresh peas, pea tendrils:

Fish, plum, pickled radish, octopus sashimi, fried lotus root with curry salt, fried artichoke with spicy cream sauce:

Big eye tuna with avocado, beet, and nori sauces:

Corn soup with maiitake and baby corn:

Amberjack, kumamoto oyster, black cod, sea perch:

Grilled unagi, shiitake, foie gras, fresh strawberry:

Fried Santa Barbara rockfish, Santa Barbara black mussel, lemon verbena foam, tomatillo sauce, cherry tomato, basil, arugula:

Chef's special: spaghettini with abalone, pickled mentaiko (cod roe), and black truffle, garnished with radish sprouts:

Miyazaki A5 Wagyu served with purple sweet potato and wasabi sauces, vegetables served with romaine sauce:

Maine lobster with cucumber and cherry tomato with sweet mayo, paired with a shot of yuzu sake:

Miso soup with fried tofu and sweet onions:

Striped jack and golden eye snapper:

Ink squid with yuzu pepper, sweet shrimp:

Bonito with ginger; scallion, uni with salmon roe:

Blue crab handrolls:

Plum sorbet:

Apricot ice cream, pistachio meringue cookie, roasted fresh apricot, toasted pistachios, and two apricot sauces:

Decadent dark chocolate truffles with black salt:

Ceremonial matcha green tea to end the meal:

Hope you enjoyed reading about n/naka, and hope that you get to experience it yourself someday!

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