Just down the street from Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, Michelin-Starred Chef David Schlosser had an sneak peek of his brand new restaurant KUSHIBA, before its Grand Opening on April 3, 2024.

My friend I visited the night before and was wow’d by the variety of skewers. Biting into one of the fried Lotus Root sticks, I detected a pleasing hint of coconut flavor, that immediately transported me back to the exciting streets in Osaka, Japan.

Located on Sunset Blvd., in the heart of Echo Park, Chef David opened a casual and comfortable sit-down restaurant and bar for locals, foodies and Dodgers baseball fan.

Talking to the renowned Chef, I learned about his fascinating culinary journey, starting at the age of 19 in Santa Monica, CA. He has trained and worked at some of the top restaurants in France,  apprenticing at three-Michelin starred Parisian restaurants. “The stress in the kitchen was way too much,” said Chef David. He also worked in kitchens in  Thailand, Japan and New York City.

“I fell in love with Japan and lived there for four years,” said Chef David. Training under renowned chefs like Masa Takayama and Hiroyuki Urasawa led him to Kyoto, where he worked with Michelin-starred chefs Tokuoka (Kitcho) and Murata (Kikunoi).

While embracing traditional Japanese techniques in preparing fresh locally sourced ingredients at Shibumi in downtown LA, he now is opening KUSHIBA, a vibrant izakaya-style venue. In contrast to Shibumi, KUSHIBA offers a more relaxed, everyday dining experience without compromising on quality or flavor.

Inspired by tradition, and crafted with passion, the dining area is comfortable and inviting with period-appropriate fabrics and furnishings, beautiful regional decor and curated serviceware and glasses that evokes a mid-century Japan style.

Drawing inspiration from the rich culinary heritage of Osaka, KUSHIBA celebrates the art of kushikatsu, deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables. In Japanese, kushi refers to the skewers used while katsu means a deep-fried cutlet of meat.

Diners can start with a curated Japanese beer, whiskey, sake, shochu, highball cocktail or mocktail while looking over the paper menu. There are boxes to check off featuring over 20 different vegetable and protein skewers you would like to try, Chef Schlosser also has his signature wagyu corned beef and chili-spiced chilled tofu on them menu.

All the skewers are delicately coated in a crispy panko and fried to perfection. They arrive to the table on small serving trays with a wire rack on top.

It’s best to start with an order of raw cabbage, daikon radish and carrot sticks to cleanse your palate after each fried skewer or stick. Another appealing appetizer is the potato salad with smoked eel.

Meat skewers include five spiced bacon pork jowl, steamed Japanese Wagyu corned beef, Prime beef, chicken wing, chicken shisho, pork belly and Wiener.

Chef also makes a comforting Doneyaki, a tender beef stew served in a bowl. It’s an ideal dish to enjoy on a cold evening.

Seafood items include shrimp skewers, smelt on a stick, flounder and chopped raw fish with nori.

Another favorite skewer I ordered was the Camembert cheese that tasted like a mini gourmet grilled cheese sandwich. Almost 50% of the menu are vegan. The vegetable skewers besides lotus root, include cherry tomatoes on a stick that are warm and burst inside one’s mouth, thick and chewy shitake mushrooms, an asparagus sphere, eggplant, taro potato, pepper, white onion, kabocha squash and a spear of garlic.

Be sure to finish with coffee jelly with fresh whipping cream on top. This area is Echo Park is dotted with restaurants and bars, KUSHIBA definitely elevates the neighborhood’s culinary experience