Redistricting

Sama Handroll (Arts District)

RESTAURANTS • First Word

The Skinny: San Gabriel Valley native Lester Lai’s inventive Japanese restaurant Sama Handroll opened in style earlier this month with a celebration including lion dancers and Japanese drummers, and a menu celebrating robatayaki, handrolls, and occasionally, the vast potential of Italo-Japanese fusion.

The Vibe: Located on a residential stretch in the Arts District, the large dining room is airy and light-filled, with every table offering a view of Sama’s open kitchen — but the 14-seat handroll bar is the best view from which to watch the well-staffed team preparing an array of appetizers, sushi, and on the robata, grilled dishes.

The Food: Though the focus is on chef Lai’s hand rolls like a “secret menu” offering of seared toro with grated egg yolk and green onion, other dishes surprise. The bluefin tuna sashimi appetizer with ikura, burrata, truffle ponzu, and kizame wasabi is a standout.

Robatayaki options like a 48-hour Wagyu short rib and skewered miso cod go beyond the basics, while dishes like a “pasta” of ramen tossed in a creamy dashi-based tomato sauce with chunks of Maine lobster and parmesan are luscious and satisfying. But arrive early if you want to try the ikura don. Only 10 servings of the eye-catching rice bowl covered in three different vibrant shades of salmon roe are made available each day.

The Verdict: A laid-back neighborhood option for outside-the-box Japanese fusion paired with sake and beer. –Heather Platt

→ Sama Handroll (Arts District) • 897 Traction Ave • Tue-Thur 5-10p, Fri-Sat 5p-12a, Sun 5-10p • Reserve.