LOS ANGELES FOR TWO

A SATURDAY TO MAKE OUR OWN

Gardens.
Sushi.
More sushi?

A familiar Beverly Hills moment or an escape into Japanese and Chinese gardens. Beautiful fish for dinner—and, if we feel like it, a little sushi for lunch too.

Choose our garden day

À la carte. Our choices. Time together.

The Huntington Japanese Garden with a moon bridge, greenery and flowering branches
A LITTLE ROOM TO WANDERThe Huntington · Japanese Garden
02Garden routes
to choose from
01Beautiful
sushi dinner
+1Optional sushi
lunch stop
UsNo tasting menu.
No rush.

FIRST, THE KIND OF AFTERNOON

Sentimental,
or wonderfully green?

A 1:00 PM start at Hilton LAX
Saturday · All times Pacific

MY PICK FOR US

Beverly Hills gives us the sentimental stop, Greystone’s gardens, and the most workable chance of sushi twice. The Huntington is the deeper garden escape—best with one unhurried sushi dinner afterward.

A long cypress-lined garden path at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills
Greystone Mansion & Gardens · A quiet garden avenue

OPTION A · THE SENTIMENTAL ROUTE

Beverly Hills,
with room for two meals.

A little nostalgia at the Beverly Hills sign and lily pond, a proper garden wander at Greystone, and à la carte dinner at Sushi Tama. If lunch sounds irresistible, we can start with a light stop at Hide Sushi on Sawtelle.

Greystone Mansion & Gardens

Give the grounds roughly 60–90 minutes: formal paths, greenery, courtyards, and a quieter side of Beverly Hills. Grounds normally open 10 AM–6 PM, or 5 PM in winter; admission and parking are free, with no grounds reservation required.

Visit & grounds photos ↗Greystone map ↗

Beverly Gardens Park

The familiar sign and lily pond are our 30–45-minute sentimental stop, not another full botanical-garden visit. We can keep it short, enjoy the memory, and leave the rest of the park for another day.

Park & lily pond ↗Sign & pond map ↗
A FLEXIBLE FLOW

Hilton → optional Hide lunch → Greystone → Beverly Gardens → Sushi Tama

Prioritize Greystone before its closing time; the sign-and-pond stop can move or shorten. These are separate stops with rides between them.
Route with optional lunch ↗
How two sushi stops could fit

After the 1 PM hotel arrival, aim for a light late lunch around 2:30–3 PM if the drive and walk-in wait cooperate. Greystone could follow around 3:30–4 PM, then a brief Beverly Gardens stop if time allows. Keep dinner around 6–6:30 PM, rather than eating twice back-to-back.

If lunch or traffic runs long, protect garden time by skipping lunch or shortening a stop. We’ll return to Hilton after dinner, later than the original 7:30 PM plan.

For a visit during October 28–November 4, 2026, Greystone also hosts a ticketed Fleurs de Villes floral event; event access is separate from the normal grounds visit. Event details ↗

Moon bridge and garden paths at The Huntington Japanese Garden
The Huntington · Japanese Garden

OPTION B · THE IMMERSIVE GARDEN DAY

The Huntington,
then Sushi Kisen.

A real escape into Japanese and Chinese gardens, with winding paths, water, architecture, and room to lose track of time. Follow it with Sushi Kisen in Arcadia, where we choose our own fish from the à la carte selection.

Make the gardens the main event

Allow 2–3 hours if the arrival time permits. The Huntington is in San Marino, with Japanese and Chinese gardens plus art and library collections. This is the deeper garden experience, with a substantially longer trip from LAX.

Explore the gardens ↗Admission & reservations ↗Garden map ↗

One lovely dinner afterward

The Huntington normally closes at 5 PM. Kisen’s Saturday dinner starts at 5 PM, so the afternoon can flow into dinner without trying to beat its 2 PM lunch cutoff.

Saturday admission: $34 per adult at the checked rate; advance reservations required. No tickets or restaurant seats are booked.

THE UNHURRIED VERSION

Hilton → The Huntington → Sushi Kisen → Hilton

Skip a separate sushi lunch on this route. With a 1 PM hotel start and the drive east, garden time is the priority.
Garden-to-sushi route ↗
The timing tradeoff

Aim to reach the gardens around 2:30–3 PM after the hotel stop, traffic permitting. That leaves roughly two hours before the usual 5 PM close; an earlier arrival gives us more time. A delayed arrival shortens the garden visit.

Kisen’s lunch closes at 2 PM, so two sushi meals are not promised here. Dinner and the long return drive also make a later Hilton return likely.

OPTIONAL · BEVERLY HILLS ROUTE

Sushi for lunch?
We can do that.

Think of a light first round, then a garden walk and a proper dinner later.

HIDE SUSHI / SAWTELLE2040 Sawtelle Boulevard

Hide Sushi

A practical late-lunch possibility because Saturday service runs continuously from 11:30 AM to 9 PM. The official menu lists individual sashimi and nigiri, so we can keep the meal as light as we like.

Cash only · No reservations · First come, first served. If the queue would squeeze the gardens, we can keep lunch optional and save our appetite for dinner.

Diner snapshot: Google 4.4/5 from 775 ratings, mirrored by Restaurant Guru. Visible reviewers praise the food and service; this is a convenient lunch candidate, not a claim that it matches Tama or Kisen’s fish selection.

Official à la carte menu ↗Restaurant photos & hours ↗Diner reviews ↗Cash & seating policy ↗Map ↗

This extra stop fits the Beverly Hills route; it is not part of The Huntington route.

THEN, THE DINNER

The garden-to-sushi finish.

À la carte only.
We choose the food—and the soy sauce.

Palm-lined Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills
Nearby outing · Beverly Hills
Restaurant photos
BEVERLY GROVEDinner after Beverly Hills gardens

Sushi Tama

A quieter-looking, contemporary setting on Robertson Boulevard, with individual sashimi dishes on its official menu. An easy dinner pairing after Greystone and a sentimental Beverly Gardens stop.

We choose the food.

Choose the individual sashimi menu rather than its separately offered omakase. Salmon, amberjack, wild yellowtail and striped jack are individually listed; the menu also notes a 20% service charge.

Individual sashimi menu

What diners actually say

An individual diner calls the food fresh and tasty, while others praise the food and service. The accessible review detail is thinner than for the other choices, so this is the more tentative fish-quality pick.

4.5 / 5 · 117 ratings · Restaurantji

Read diner reviews

MAKE AN AFTERNOON OF ITBeverly Hills gardens

Saturday dinner from 5:30 PM. With a late sushi lunch, aim for a relaxed 6:00–6:30 PM dinner.

116 N. Robertson Boulevard · Los Angeles

Official à la carte menu Restaurant site Map
Moon bridge and leafy paths at the Huntington Japanese Garden in San Marino
Nearby outing · The Huntington Japanese Garden
Restaurant photos
ARCADIAThe fish-first choice

Sushi Kisen

The clearest statement of freedom to choose: Kisen describes traditional “my choice” dining, an extensive fish selection, and no fixed courses. Make the drive part of a gardens-and-sushi day.

We choose the food.

The restaurant explicitly says we can select our own dishes. It usually carries 30–40 fish selections. Its dinner menu lists assorted sashimi and individual sushi selections; no tasting menu is required.

Restaurant’s ordering policy

What diners actually say

Individual diner comments praise a wide fish selection and notably fresh fish, with attentive chefs. Review dates are not displayed.

4.5 / 5 · 126 ratings · Restaurantji

Read diner reviews

MAKE AN AFTERNOON OF ITThe Huntington gardens & art

Saturday lunch ends at 2 PM; dinner begins at 5 PM. Pair the gardens with dinner, without racing to fit lunch.

1108 S. Baldwin Avenue, B6 · Arcadia

Official dinner menu Restaurant site Map
Still on the list: Sushi Gen & Hama in Little Tokyo

Good alternatives if we decide to return to the original Downtown idea. They are not paired with the garden routes above.

Honda Plaza sign in Little Tokyo, the shopping plaza where Sushi Gen is located
Honda Plaza exterior · Sushi Gen’s location
Restaurant photos
LITTLE TOKYOThe original art-and-sushi plan

Sushi Gen

A lively Little Tokyo institution for a fish-focused evening after the galleries. The strongest fit if we want to keep the original Downtown art route.

We choose the food.

Diners describe à la carte ordering at the counter, with sashimi specials and combinations served at tables. Choose the setting that suits what we want to order.

Diner’s ordering account

What diners actually say

Two diners writing in June and September 2026 praised the freshness of the sashimi. Those same accounts describe queues and a busy room; a separate diner reported a long Saturday wait.

4.5 / 5 · 498 reviews · Tripadvisor

Read diner reviews

MAKE AN AFTERNOON OF ITHauser & Wirth + Little Tokyo

Best for: the original Downtown afternoon. Allow room for a queue.

422 E. 2nd Street · Honda Plaza

Menu listing Restaurant site Map
Lanterns and storefronts at Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo
Japanese Village Plaza · Hama’s neighborhood
Restaurant photos
LITTLE TOKYOThe intimate counter

Hama Sushi

A compact, traditional sushi bar in the heart of Little Tokyo. More intimate than the original plan, with the same easy connection to the Arts District and Grand Avenue.

We choose the food.

GAYOT describes the restaurant as entirely à la carte, with sushi and sashimi rather than an omakase course. This is the most direct published match for a simple counter meal chosen piece by piece.

À la carte policy source

What diners actually say

Named Google diners praise fresh fish and sashimi, often served directly by the chefs. One repeat visitor reports inconsistent tuna quality; others mention the small room and waits.

4.6 / 5 · 754 Google reviews · Little Tokyo LA mirror

Read diner reviews

MAKE AN AFTERNOON OF ITLittle Tokyo stroll + Hauser & Wirth

Best for: a small, traditional counter. Walk-in atmosphere; plan for a wait.

347 E. 2nd Street · Little Tokyo

Menu & ordering guide Restaurant site Map

The original art afternoon

Hauser & Wirth’s Downtown galleries and courtyard, a Little Tokyo stroll, or The Broad and MOCA on Grand Avenue. This remains an alternative, not an extra leg of our garden day.

Hauser & Wirth Downtown ↗The Broad ↗MOCA ↗

Review snapshots checked October 27, 2026; ratings are from different platforms and samples, not a like-for-like ranking. Individual diner opinions are not quality guarantees. Photo captions identify the locations; Restaurant photos links show the actual venues.

THE SMART MOVE

Arrive lightly.

The free Hilton shuttle takes us from LAX to the hotel instead of the LAX-it rideshare detour. Leave the heavy bags, refresh as access allows, and take an UberX toward our chosen gardens.

Hotel target: 1 PM. Hilton describes roughly 30-minute shuttle intervals; early room access depends on availability. Rides and queues set the real pace, and dinner can move the return later.

Hilton details ↗Shuttle information ↗
An archival view of the Beverly Hills sign in Beverly Gardens Park
Beverly Gardens Park · The familiar sign, archival 2007 view
1. Which garden route?
2. Where for dinner?

Suggested pairings: Beverly Hills with Tama; The Huntington with Kisen.

3. A second sushi stop?

Hide lunch is optional on the Beverly Hills route, depending on time and appetite.

How does the day feel?