The first thing you should know about Takami, a new Japanese-ish restaurant on top of the 811 Wilshire building downtown, is that it offers a splendid view of the rooftop pool at the Standard, which means, if you are so inclined, that you can spy on attractive people in extremely small bathing suits while you enjoy sashimi tacos, indifferent robata-seared meats and $125 bottles of Ken sake. The second thing you should know is that Takami is the kind of place where almost everything is garnished with piped rosettes of “caviar” mashed potatoes, which dyes the spuds Barbie-box pink but has little discernible impact on the flavor, and gives diners the fetching idea that they may be supping on cupcakes instead of the deep-fried California rolls Takami calls Pop Art Crab or the vaguely alarming Tropical Avocado Bowl, which involves mango, diced sashimi and onion tucked into a hollowed-out avocado half. The sensei behind Takami, who comes from the Katsu-ya empire, may be a grandmaster of classic Edo-mae sushi, and the raw materials seem fresh enough, but you would be hard-put to figure that out in this restaurant perched among the stars.

Takami, 811 Wilshire Blvd., dwntwn., (213) 236-9600.

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