By Jody Robinson
There are girls’ nights out, and then there are evenings that feel like you’ve stumbled into a secret.
That was the feeling I imagined stepping into Highball and Naisho Omakase, two new Costa Mesa concepts that opened side by side earlier this year. The plan is simple enough: cocktails first, sushi second. But the experience is anything but ordinary.
I’d start at Highball, where Japanese cocktail culture takes center stage. There’s something wonderfully old-school about a bar that isn’t trying to reinvent everything. Instead, bartenders Justin Oh and Tony Morabito focus on doing the classics exceptionally well, embracing monozukuri – the Japanese art of making things with intention.
Even the humble highball becomes a study in precision. Whisky, soda, ice. That’s it. Yet when every detail matters, simplicity suddenly feels luxurious.
For a girls’ night, I love the idea of settling in with a beautifully made Gimlet or discovering something more unexpected, like Chu-Hi, with Shine Muscat grape and earthy marshmallow root. It’s the kind of place where conversation can linger over a cocktail rather than compete with it.
Then comes the reveal.
Behind a velvet curtain is Naisho Omakase, a hushed 14-seat sushi theater helmed by Chef Shimpei Shinohara. The transition feels almost cinematic: one moment you’re enjoying the energy of the bar, and the next you’re seated at an intimate counter, watching dinner unfold bite by bite.
The 12- or 16-course omakase doesn’t follow a predictable script. Chef Shimpei plays with temperature, texture, smoke, salinity and fat, turning each course into its own little surprise. Sea Shokupan starts with a luxurious bite of Uni, caviar, burnt honey and a sprinkling of truffle salt atop a buttery cloud-like milk bread, while the Tuna-mi packs a literal tsunami of umami into one tin: Luscious Miso Toro Tartare meets the sharp, rhythmic crunch of pickled yellow radish, finished with dashi-marinated ikura for a saline pop.
What makes the evening especially memorable is the intimacy. Fourteen seats means no sprawling dining room, no feeling lost in the crowd – just a front-row seat to the craft.
And isn’t that what we want from a girls’ night? A little glamour, plenty of deliciousness and a story to tell afterward.
At Highball and Naisho, the best part may be that the evening doesn’t announce itself. You simply follow the cocktails, pass through the curtain and discover what’s waiting on the other side.
