Kamikaze 7 Sushi Touches Down in the Gaslamp

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Comic-Con may have come and gone, but flashy Kamikaze 7, opening Tuesday, is keeping the fest's spirit alive. With his new downtown eatery, Kevin Roberts (East Village Tavern & Bowl) aims to be serious about seafood while infusing a little playfulness into the staid sushi bar, telling Eater that "we're not Sushi Deli and we're more fun than Taka".

K7 reportedly sources their seafood from the same purveyors as the venerated Sushi Ota and features sustainable bigeye tuna as their "house fish". Sushi on a Roll's Jeff Roberto is a main collaborator, but George Cota (Zensei Sushi) is the itamae on duty here. There's local sea urchin served three ways (nigiri with quail egg, on the half shell or as a shooter) and specialty rolls like Hugo Dreams of Sushi (an inside-out roll filled with fish and crab and wrapped in seared albacore). The restaurant scored the secret "Jiro paint" from the famous Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo, and diners in the know can request the house simmered secret sauce from the sushi bar.

Owner Roberts, also known as "The Food Dude", developed the bulk of the non-sushi dishes, from their twist on kale salad to the bento bowls served at lunch. Consulting chef Chad White (Plancha Baja Med) helped pin down a menu that includes Kobe beef from Japan, which the kitchen prepares as nigiri, a seared steak, raw carpaccio or grilled skewers; they even crisp up the beef fat for a beer snack they call "fat crack".

The bar has craft cocktails, beer (Hitachino is their house tap) and custom sake/spirit bombs; a daily happy hour features $4 sushi rolls and draft beer.

· Kamikaze 7 [Official Site]
· All Eater Inside Coverage [~ESD~]