Stylish Japanese restaurant with pristine sushi and Frank Gehry cardboard chairs.
Cuisine
Open
Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner Mon.-Sat.Features
- Heart-healthy dishes
- Reservations suggested
- Business casual
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 Yes, it is there that R-23 is located, in the warehouse-inhabited Artists’ District east of Little Tokyo, between Second and Third Streets, where railroads cross everywhere (the inspiration for the restaurant’s name). Once you have entered the eatery you will forget the outside environment and feel comfortable in the high-ceilinged neo-industrial room, with its red-brick and white walls. The paintings are from a Japanese artist who, a long time ago, waitressed here (the restaurant has been open since 1991). The Frank Gehry-designed cardboard chairs are an attention-grabbing design element. The new owners, who took over in April 2007, purchased the gallery next door which is available for private dinners if you want to eat among more art; the space is a favorite among celebrities. Longtime chef Tobi-San is still here preparing sushi and sashimi served on impressive black and white dishes, made especially for the restaurant in Japan---they are also displayed as artwork behind the sushi bar. The rest of the menu is predominantly Japanese-influenced with Dungeness crab salad, lobster tempura with vegetables, yellowtail carpaccio with yuzu and caviar, fried soft-shell crab, monkfish liver, grilled stuffed duck, and rib-eye steak in ponzu sauce. The desserts are classic with mochi ice cream, green tea-chocolate mousse or raspberry chocolate mousse cake. The wine list is interesting, but why not drink saké in a Japanese restaurant?
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