The Tuna King's Only U.S. Restaurant Is in Koreatown, and Dinner for Four Runs About $200

A plastic statue of the owner greets you, you order from a tablet, and four people eat for around two hundred dollars.

Of all the places Japan's most famous tuna buyer could have chosen for his first restaurant outside the country, he picked an edge of Chapman Plaza in Koreatown. Sushi Zanmai is the only United States location of a chain that runs roughly 50 restaurants across Tokyo and beyond, and it belongs to Kiyoshi Kimura.

Who the Tuna King is

Kimura, born in 1952 and a former pilot, launched his empire in 2001 with Sushizanmai Honten at the Tsukiji Outer Market, a room that still serves affordable sushi and small plates 24 hours a day. He heads Kiyomura Corporation.

The nickname comes from the auction floor. In January 2019 he paid 333.6 million yen, roughly $3.1 million at the time, for a 612-pound bluefin, and he has been the top bidder at Japan's New Year tuna auction in eight of the past nine years. He was back at it this January, taking a bluefin for a reported $3.2 million at Tokyo's first auction of 2026.

The Los Angeles restaurant runs on the same tuna sourcing system Kimura uses in Japan, which the company calls Sustainable and Reserve. Grown tuna are taken from waters where and when the population is not under pressure, then moved to a quasi-natural preserve where they swim until harvest.

What it costs, and what to order

This is the part that surprises people. Despite the auction headlines, Sushi Zanmai is a middle-tier chain in Japan and it is priced that way here. Time Out reported a bill of roughly $200 before gratuity for a party of four, which in the current market is worth noting.

• Crispy rice, offered in a yukhoe-style sweet tuna version and a conventional spicy tuna version.

• Nigiri and sashimi, built on the tuna program the company is known for.

• Cooked plates, including chicken karaage, asparagus goma-ae and vegetable toban.

• Hand rolls, donburi and tempura, with lunch and late-night service.

What we have our eye on: the tuna, unsurprisingly. Kimura's whole operation is built on it, and a middle-tier price point attached to that sourcing is the reason to go. FJM will report back after a visit.

How the room works

Two things make it feel like a Tokyo restaurant rather than a Los Angeles one. A plastic statue of Kimura stands at the entrance with his arms outstretched, which is exactly as odd and as charming as it sounds. And ordering happens through tablets at every table and along the sushi bar, standard across Japan but still uncommon here. Servers walk first-timers through it.

Visiting

Sushi Zanmai is at 3465 W. 6th Street, Suite 150, Los Angeles, CA 90020, on an edge of Chapman Plaza in Koreatown. Reach the restaurant at (213) 529-4008.

• Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily, running to midnight Friday and Saturday. Confirm before a late arrival, as listings vary.

• Price: moderate. Expect around $50 per person before drinks and gratuity.

• Parking: Chapman Plaza has a lot, which on that stretch of Sixth Street is the whole argument.

• Worth knowing: the restaurant runs its own exclusive house sake, and has hosted omakase nights curated by Kimura himself.

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