LA's nightlife-and-dining kingpins SBE Entertainment join forces with a renowned chef (Katsuya Uechi) and a renowned designer (Philippe Starck) for a Brentwood oasis that's part businessman haven, part look-at-me marvel and part nabe-foodie gathering spot. We saw suits (!) and we saw gym shorts (?).

First, let's get the issues out of the way: The robata selections we tried (jidori chicken, marinated beef short rib) were overcooked and impossible to eat with chopsticks. (Our dining companion kept expecting something, anything to arrive on a skewer, but nothing did.) When, later, we switched from sparkling to tap, either the water or ice cubes tasted like fish. But these are easily correctible for a new, pedigreed restaurant like Katsuya, already a bustling Brentwood fixture. The items that are supposed to taste like fish (meaning, of course, the fish) are alternately inventive and pristine. We especially enjoyed the kiwi-flavored scallops with yuzu vinaigrette, the crab and mozzarella cheese tempura, and the fine sashimi selections. The main dining room's bleached woods and peekaboo portraits of a geisha's face create an open space bookended by the streetside patio at the front and the sushi bar at the back. But it's the second room to the right—a gleaming lounge and additional dining area that's the inverse of the first with dark, shiny chalkboard walls and a plethora of couches—where Starck's vision unifies. —Lonny Pugh