One year into its run on the Sunset Strip, The Sun Rose West Hollywood has debuted two distinct rooftop dining concepts developed in partnership with SAGA Hospitality: Yuhi, a 12-seat, 17-course omakase counter, and Oleander, an all-day Coastal Pacific restaurant anchored by raw-bar, wood-fired, and bincho-grilled preparations.
The pairing illustrates a broader strategy in hotel food and beverage programming: stacking formats that serve different guest occasions under one roof. Omakase counters drive revenue through high per-cover pricing and scarcity, while a larger, all-day outlet captures pool traffic, walk-ins, and group spending. For operators evaluating hotel restaurant programming, the Sun Rose model is worth watching.
Yuhi: Counter Format
Yuhi — Japanese for "evening sun" — seats just 12 guests at an intimate counter designed to feel like an extension of the kitchen. Chef Naomi Kubo leads the experience, bringing a background shaped by her family's sea urchin and seafood business and training across respected omakase kitchens nationwide. The 17-course menu is market-driven and changes daily, with highlights including Hamachi with Orange Supreme and Thai Chili, Otoro with Pineapple, Melon, Chamoy and Japanese Tajin, A5 Wagyu with Japanese Yakiniku and Toasted Sesame, and JP HOKK Uni over Chilled Spicy Tomato Water with Smoked Trout Roe. Given the 12-seat capacity, advance reservations via Resy are required.
Oleander: Pacific Scope
Oleander sits to the left of the rooftop pool and draws from the culinary traditions of coastlines bordering the Pacific — Peruvian ceviche, Japanese grilling, Mexican char, and Hawaiian hospitality. Rooftop Chef de Cuisine Grace Dong, a Korean American chef raised in Los Angeles and formerly of Soho House, leads the kitchen. The lunch menu centers on seafood and seasonal produce, with a raw bar, Huli Huli Half Chicken, and a 14 oz New York Striploin Steak Frites. Dinner shifts toward wood-fired meats, bincho-grilled skewers, and large-format sharing plates, including a 28 oz Bone-In Wagyu Ribeye and Wood-Fired Puerto Nuevo Lobster.
The beverage program mirrors the Coastal Pacific framework, spanning Japanese, Latin American, and Mediterranean reference points. Cocktails include the Pacific Current — yuzu shochu, dry vermouth, elderflower, Meyer lemon, and sparkling sake — and the Toasted Grove, a sesame old fashioned built on Japanese whisky with Okinawan sugar. For operators following beverage program trends in upscale dining, Oleander's cross-cultural cocktail architecture reflects a growing move away from strictly regional bar identities.
Kris Umstattd, General Manager of The Sun Rose West Hollywood, noted that the goal was for both concepts to stand independently while together telling the hotel's story — a positioning challenge that becomes more complex as hotels stack multiple F&B outlets on a single property. SAGA Hospitality, which also operates a vinyl bar and yakitori concept in Hermosa Beach and has worked with Disney's Cotino community, managed concept development, management, and operations for both openings. The Sun Rose's existing culinary outlets — Ritual, a lobby cocktail bar, and Palmier, an upscale café — round out a four-concept F&B program for a 149-room property.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
