By 
The first time I heard about KazuNori was when I interviewed former Top Chef contestant Jamie Lauren. She and her partner Jessica have a business called 2 Jewish Girls, where they serve the best matzo ball soup you’ll ever have.
When I asked Jamie which restaurants in LA were her favorites, KazuNori came up. Then, one of my coworkers also happened to mention KazuNori, praising their one-of-a-kind hand rolls. During the holidays, I was with my family in Little Tokyo, but the sushi joints we wanted to try were either closed that day or opened too late. We were craving Japanese food but wanted something different from traditional sushi. That’s when I had a lightbulb moment and remembered KazuNori, so we headed to the DTLA location.Â
But before I get into it, here’s a quick backstory of KazuNori. It’s operated by the same owners of the long-standing sushi chain Sugarfish Kazunori Nozawa and his longtime friend Jerry Greenberg. After four decades of running Sushi Nozawa in Studio City, they opened their first Sugarfish location in 2008. Since then, the business has continued to expand.
The goal behind Sugarfish was to make high-quality sushi more accessible. At the time of my visit, the chain had 11 locations across LA. Sugarfish has become a permanent fixture in the LA sushi scene. Walk into any Sugarfish location and you’ll see crowds of people dining in. Don’t even get me started on the crazy wait times for takeout at the La Brea location.Â
In 2014, Kazunori, Jerry and Tom Nozawa (Kazunori’s son) took on a new business venture and opened the doors of the first Kazunori in downtown LA. Since then, KazuNori has expanded to four additional locations: Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, Mid-Wilshire and Westwood. As if that weren’t enough, they also opened another location in NY.Â
At KazuNori, the experience revolves around savoring each hand roll and appreciating all its nuances, which is why they’re served one at a time. According to their website, they spent over $50,000 in order to find a rice cooker that achieved their signature warm, fluffy, and plump rice.Â
This review is for their first and original location in DTLA, which had a more no-frills approach compared with their newer locations.
After we sat down, the host gave us a breakdown of the menu. I was surprised to learn that their famous cut rolls, which are all over Instagram, are only available for takeout. But it makes sense, since hand rolls are more delicate and meant to be eaten right away, whereas cut rolls are less likely to fall apart and can hold up longer in a takeout box.
When I ate the hand roll, the first thing that struck me was the seaweed. It was warm, slightly vinegary, and sweet, complementing the delicate fish and the crisp, umami-rich seaweed. The combination of warm, plump rice, fresh fish, and rice vinegar made for a perfect sensory experience. My favorite was the bay scallop. It was bursting with flavor and didn’t need any soy sauce.
With the other hand rolls, I loved taking a bite before dipping them into soy sauce. Besides the fish, their signature rice was the best part for me. It was lightly warmed, vinegary and slightly sweet, complementing the delicate fish and the crispy, umami flavor of the seaweed. By adding a little bit of soy sauce, I got a terrific combination of sweet and savory.
My other two favorites were salmon and toro.
They were so good, and just like the host said, it was hard not to eat more! My dad, who has never been into hand rolls, is now a convert after trying KazuNori. When I heard about KazuNori, I thought, “What’s so special about hand rolls?” But yes, these are the real deal!
If you’re starving, go for the six-hand-roll set. Even though it might not look like much, the rice will gradually fill you up. Don’t forget to take your time to appreciate all the nuances and flavors.
I’ve never been particularly impressed by Sugarfish, but KazuNori exceeded all my expectations and I can’t wait to explore the other locations! You might think it would be difficult for a chain to maintain the same standards across all its locations, but judging by the reviews, consistency and quality are exactly what people praise KazuNori for.
Parking at the DTLA location was surprisingly easy. There’s a parking structure right next door, and we paid only $5 for our entire visit, which lasted over an hour!
Locations: DTLA, Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Mid-Wilshire, Westwood.
Have you been to KazuNori?
