Whether you’re craving crispy fried chicken accented with wasabi honey or an eye-popping selection of sushi, you can now find it at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill at The Grove. The outpost of the award-winning Blue Ribbon dynasty is the first to open in California.
For those who haven’t eaten their way around Manhattan, Blue Ribbon first hit the scene in SoHo in 1992, founded by brothers Eric and Bruce Bromberg. The inaugural location was followed by the debut of Blue Ribbon Sushi (in 1995), which now has three additional locations in New York City, one at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas; Blue Ribbon also has a handful of other named concepts ranging from bars, to dedicated fried chicken eateries to an izakaya and beer garden.
While it would be silly to overlook the restaurant’s extensive, expertly executed sushi selection—categorized by Atlantic or Pacific Ocean—you might also indulge in other signature dishes such as The Dynamite (juicy sea scallops over wild mushrooms, topped with smelt roe and served in the shell); beef marrow in the bone with sea salt, shaved bonito and teriyaki sauce; and either the fried chicken “Blue Ribbon Style,” or Bucket O’Wings, both served with addictive wasabi honey. The wings are also accompanied by a house chili sauce. The oxtail fried rice with daikon, bone marrow and shiitake mushrooms is also a sought-after favorite.
The warm, expansive wood-accented dining room and adjacent bar was designed by Asfour Guzy Architects, a New York design office founded in 1988 by partners Edward Asfour and Peter Guzy and features high ceilings, sushi bar seating in additional to wooden booths and tables.
The restaurant takes over the former Gordon Ramsay Fat Cow location next to Pacific Theaters and across from The Grove’s central fountain. Sources say it will have a private valet at its West 3rd St. alley as well. Open Sun.-Thurs. from 5-11 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5 p.m.-1 a.m., with lunch to arrive shortly.
The Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, L.A., 323.352.9300. blueribbonrestaurants.com