If you’ve spent time in Los Angeles sipping your way through hidden bars and underground dinners, you know a great pour is about more than liquid—it’s about connection. Enter Sake Harmony Weeks, running October 13 – November 2, 2025, in Los Angeles (alongside New York and San Francisco), where Japanese sake meets LA-style plates in bold, unexpected duets.
Learning the Language of Sake
I got a front-row seat at Wife and the Somm in Glassell Park to learn more about Sake pairing. There, Greg Beck, certified sake sommelier and owner of SAKE SECRET, led us through “Junmai Daiginjo” and its siblings—Junmai, Junmai Ginjo, Junmai Daiginjo, Ginjo, Daiginjo, with side notes on Tokubetsu Junmai, Honjozo, and Tokubetsu Honjozo.
Shown here: Wife and the Somm
Armed with that insight, Chris Lucchese, co-founder of Wife and the Somm, helped us taste the different variety of sakes and described to us how this would enhance courses—a great example he gave was a baked brie with poached pear, for example, paired with a Junmai Ginjo from Mitobe. Or a potato-crusted fried chicken thigh, kissed with hot honey and shiso salt, dancing with a Miyama 55 Junmai Ginjo. (Yes—my mind and palate both hummed.)
Sake’s LA Remix
What struck me most: sake isn’t shy. It sings alongside LA’s most expressive dishes—ceviche, fried chicken, funghi pizza. JFOODO, Japan’s Food Product Overseas Promotion Center, calls this the harmony of umami—an effort to prove that sake pairs just as beautifully with tacos as it does with sashimi.
Shown here El Barrio Cantina
Across Los Angeles, a trio of standout restaurants—El Barrio Cantina, Wife and the Somm, and Wildcrust—are rewriting the sake-pairing playbook for Sake Harmony Weeks, proving that umami knows no borders.
At El Barrio Cantina in Long Beach, modern Mexican meets Japan in three inventive pairings: Taquitos de Papa with Chiyomusubi “Oyaji” Junmai Ginjo One Cup from Tottori, El Guapo Ceviche with Nanbu Bijin Ginjo Can from Iwate, and Ribeye Fajitas with Dewatsuru “Matsuri Festival Cup” Junmai from Akita.
In Glassell Park, Wife and the Somm blends Californian flavors with sake harmony, pairing baked brie with poached pear alongside Mitobe “Yamagata Masamune Malola” Junmai Ginjo, and potato-crusted fried chicken with Nakashima “Kozaemon” Junmai Ginjo Miyama 55 from Gifu.
In Highland Park, Wildcrust reimagines Neapolitan pizza through sake. The heirloom tomato salad pairs with Senkin “Modern Muku” Junmai from Tochigi, the funghi pizza with Takeno Tsuyu “Hatsushibori Yuki Honoka” Junmai from Yamagata, and the lamb tzatziki pizza with Mutsu Hassen “Isaribi” Junmai from Aomori.
Why It’s the Go-To for Events
Part of the excitement behind Sake Harmony Weeks lies in the experience itself. These events feel intimate but alive—equal parts education and adventure. Each restaurant will debut its own experience program, inviting guests to book private dinners, curated sake pairings, and guided tastings that transform learning into connection. It’s this spirit of exploration—and hospitality—that’s turning these venues into go-to destinations for pop-ups, chef collaborations, and cultural tastings, redefining LA’s dining scene far beyond the world of wine.
If you’re planning to join Sake Harmony Weeks, start with curiosity. Ask questions. Taste with intent. Notice how sake redefines balance—how acidity and umami spark like jazz riffs across your tongue. So raise a glass. Savor the pairing. And discover that the perfect harmony might just come in a chilled sake cup.
For more information about the Sake Week, japan-food.jetro.go.jp/sake
