Nozawa Bar Is Worth The Strict Rules

Reservations require a deposit. Cancellations must give 72 hours' notice.

Latecomers are not accommodated. Only a 20-course omakase is served, thrice daily ($130 for lunch; $150 for dinner seatings).

Nozawa Bar, the tiny, cedar-scented room in the back of Beverly Hills' new Sugarfish, is an intimidating place to dine.

If these rules seem strict, they're not without precedent. The architect behind this experience is 68-year-old Kazunori Nozawa, founder of the Sugarfish chain and the original "Sushi Nazi," famous for his no cell phone/no children/no modifications policies before they were widespread.

Although he officially retired in 2012, every morning at sunrise–an hour before other chefs have access–he and head chef Osamu Fujita select fish from a seafood market Downtown.

Unlike the more mainstream Sugarfish, the 10-seat Nozawa Bar is an uncompromising return to the essentials.

In a little over an hour's span, you'll be bombarded with a Murderers' Row of gleaming sashimi, hand rolls and picturesque sushi: Imagine raw Hokkaido scallops as pink as wet pearls; billowing tufts of Santa Barbara uni; sweet shrimp sprinkled with yuzu salt; still-wriggling octopus shaved razor-thin.

Just silence your phone first. You don't want to face the consequences.