Arriving for Sushi

As we stand watching from the windy deck outside the Hump, a new sushi restaurant built on top of the restaurant Typhoon at Santa Monica Airport, a vintage World War II plane taxis toward us down the runway, coming to a halt just below. The two hatches open. The female passenger pulls off her headphones and shakes out her hair, climbing out onto the wing and then down as the pilot emerges, too, and stops to zip off the khaki jumpsuit he’s wearing over his clothes. And I wonder, briefly, if this is a setup.

The restaurant is named for what World War II pilots who flew supplies into China over the Himalayas called Mt. Everest. Behind the sushi bar, a stunning glass mural depicts a tiny plane flying over the forbidding mountain range. The ship’s lanterns, bamboo and rope ceiling, and eclectic decor give the Hump the look of a hangout for expatriates somewhere in the Far East.

Seated at the sushi bar, I watch, fascinated, as a couple of sushi novices dissect their hand rolls before eating them. The fish in the glass case behind the sushi chef looks fresh and sparkling. And since it’s not yet crowded, we decide to try the omakase, or chef’s choice ($50 and up). He starts us off with a chilled salad of raw clams with scallions in white miso. Then comes Japanese sardine wrapped in seaweed and flash-fried in tempura batter. Translucent slices of halibut topped with a dab of chile minced with capers and drenched in Japanese citrus show the influence of Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Our series of little dishes ends happily with sushi, including one of sweet Japanese scallop, and as a last flourish, a slice of pink pickled daikon wrapped around a shiso leaf.

If the Hump’s sushi menu seems familiar, it’s because it was created by Hiro Nishimura, former owner of downtown’s R-23, who also worked at Katsu and Sushi Roku. But this new restaurant trumps all of them with its wonderfully quirky setting.

BE THERE

The Hump Sushi Bar and Restaurant, Santa Monica Airport, 3221 Donald Douglas Loop South, third floor; (310) 313-0977. Open daily for dinner only. Lot parking. Appetizers $4 to $12; sushi market price; chef’s special $50 and up.