Brandon Go is the chef and owner of Hayato, a two-MICHELIN-starred, seven-seat kaiseki restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles known for its exacting technique, seasonality, and quiet emotional depth.
Go’s culinary foundation was set early. His father opened a Japanese restaurant in Seal Beach in 1980, and Go began working there at age 15, initially cleaning fish and bussing tables before learning to make sushi at 16. He continued working at the restaurant for more than a decade, including throughout his time at UCLA, developing discipline, precision, and a deep respect for craft.
After graduating, Go spent six months in Japan. He worked briefly in an izakaya and, just as importantly, immersed himself in the home cooking of his grandparents. That period marked a turning point: his focus shifted beyond sushi toward the broader language of Japanese cuisine and its relationship to season, place, and restraint. By his late twenties, he had phased out sushi work and taken on a larger role in the kitchen at his family’s restaurant.
Resolved to open a restaurant of his own, Go began training seriously in Japanese fine dining. While continuing to help his father, he returned to Japan annually for six to eight weeks at a time, gaining formative experience with Chef Takeshi Kubo (now of Goryu Kubo) and with the Ishikawa group. His training included extensive time alongside Hideki Ishikawa at the three-MICHELIN-starred Ishikawa, as well as work at Ren and Kohaku.
Go opened Hayato in 2018 at age 40. The restaurant earned its first MICHELIN star in 2019 and its second in 2021. Since opening, Hayato has consistently ranked among the top 10 restaurants in the Los Angeles Times’ Top 101 Restaurants list, including being named No. 1 in 2022—an acknowledgment of Go’s singular, deeply personal approach to kaiseki in Los Angeles.
