Chef
Keizo Seki
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Los Angeles, California, United States
i. Biography
Keizo Seki is the owner and founder of Sushi Zo in Los Angeles, United States, and the clearest public measure of that work came in 2009, when the Michelin Guide awarded one Michelin star for Sushi Zo West Los Angeles. Born in Osaka, Japan, he is associated with Edomae-style sushi, sushi, and omakase: a narrow, exacting set of disciplines rather than a broad restaurant résumé.
The Honours
In 2009, the Michelin Guide awarded one Michelin star for Sushi Zo West Los Angeles. The achievement is best understood as an earned Michelin recognition at the restaurant, not as a claim about any current star count. That single star gives Seki’s career a firm public date. It also ties the restaurant’s Los Angeles work to the guide’s assessment in that year, placing the honour alongside his role as chef/owner, which is dated to 2006. The award matters because it is specific: one star, one restaurant, one city, one year. For a chef whose work is identified through sushi, Edomae-style sushi, and omakase, the 2009 Michelin recognition remains the sharpest accolade attached to the restaurant.
The Craft
Seki’s specialty is Edomae-style sushi. The form sits at the center of his work, alongside the broader craft of sushi and the omakase format associated with the restaurant. There is no need to inflate that description. The vocabulary is already precise: Edomae-style sushi, sushi, omakase. In a dining culture often crowded with long explanations, those three terms give the clearest route into what he is known for. The Los Angeles restaurant carries that focus in its name and in its recognition. The Michelin star awarded in 2009 was for Sushi Zo West Los Angeles, linking the honour directly to the sushi work that defines Seki’s public culinary identity.
The Career
Seki was born in Osaka, Japan. His career as recorded through Sushi Zo is centered in Los Angeles, United States, where he is owner and founder. In 2006, he was chef/owner of the restaurant. That dated role gives the career arc a fixed point before the Michelin Guide’s 2009 one-star recognition for Sushi Zo West Los Angeles. The biography is compact, but the essential details carry weight: Osaka as birthplace, Los Angeles as the city of the restaurant, 2006 as the chef/owner marker, and 2009 as the Michelin year. Taken together, they describe a chef whose reputation rests on a focused sushi practice rather than a scattered list of ventures.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Keizo
What awards has Keizo Seki received?
Keizo Seki received one Michelin star from the Michelin Guide for Sushi Zo West Los Angeles in 2009.
What is Keizo Seki's most notable recognition?
His most notable recognition is the 2009 Michelin Guide one-star award for Sushi Zo West Los Angeles.
What is Keizo Seki known for?
Keizo Seki is known for Edomae-style sushi, sushi, and omakase at Sushi Zo in Los Angeles, United States.
