KAZU NORI SERVES UP THE BEST HAND ROLL SUSHI IN DTLA

There are a lot of places that serve up sushi in Downtown Los Angeles, and I have not tried them all… yet. But it will be tough to beat Kazu Nori on Main Street. This place is the spawn of Chef Kazunori Nozawa, the man behind Sugarfish, the renowned sushi restaurant on 7th Street between Grand and Hope (and locations across Los Angeles).

Kazu Nori is a small restaurant at the entrance to the Old Bank District parking garage. There are only 24 seats around the sushi bar, and there are no other tables. This means that at lunch time, if you don’t get there right when the place opens up, you are going to have to wait in line. Even if you are in line for a while, it’s worth the wait.

The restaurant makes things easy and offers up a set menu of 3 rolls, 4 rolls or 5 rolls. Go ahead and order the 5-rolls for $17.50 because the fifth roll is the lobster hand roll. I’m getting ahead of myself. The first roll is always the daily special. Last night is was toro. The second roll is salmon. The third is a choice between bay scallops or cucumber. The fourth roll is blue crab. And finally the fifth roll is that lobster roll and clearly my favorite.

The rolls are made to order and delivered to your seat the second they are prepared. You are encouraged to eat your rolls as they arrive in order to enjoy the flavors as they were created by the chefs. Speaking of the chefs, they are very talented, but also very friendly. Everyone at Kazu Nori is there to make sure you are having a great dining experience. A service charge of 16% is added to your bill, but that is okay because there is a no tipping policy.

So what happens when you hike over to Kazu Nori and there is a massive line? Well, if you don’t have time to wait for someone to leave their seat at the counter, the restaurant is now offering up a to-go and patio dining menu.

If you like sushi, you will love Kazi Nori! The food is amazing, and reasonably priced. The atmosphere is quite casual. Some customers are wearing suits while others are in shorts. It’s just great sushi at a great restaurant.