BLACKBURN AND SWEETZER

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Generously, SinoSoul’s Tony Chen invited me to meet up with him and his lovely wife, along with Eater LA’s Kat Odell to Agura’s vendor kick-off event last night, which soft opens tonight at 514 North La Cienega Boulevard.

I didn’t get there till around 9pm, but made it in time for a little sushi, sashimi and beer—all quite good, which makes me curious for a full on Agura experience. As Eater LA notes, “While Agura is in fact a high-end izakaya chain in Japan, this is the first US outpost and will serve a completely different menu,” a “French-Japanese hybrid.”

Seating 160, the space is dominated by a 13-foot buddha at the front of the restaurant, which holds court over the sushi bar and and looks out onto a significant chandelier and gilt-framed walls. On the other end is traditional Japanese seating—tatami booths with cubbies below for shoes and seats mildly aglow. There’s also a bar and lounge-y area.

As mentioned, the restaurant soft opens tonight from 6pm-11pm (through November 4), in which you can get 25% off with this coupon. Grand opening is November 9, with a late-night happy hour from 10pm-midnight.

More food, plus interior….

» Eats—Agura Japanese Dining Coming to La Cienega