Inside KazuNori, LA’s Hit Sushi Restaurant Opening Today

Brace for what could be the next, most coveted sushi restaurant in New York, the newest location of uber-popular, LA-based chainlet, KazuNori. The restaurant from the same team as Sugarfish opens today in Nomad at 15 West 28th St., near Broadway — serving the same fish as the locations on the West Coast.

The new, New York location has just a 24-seat bar. Chefs build the rolls quickly and their fandom in California largely has to do with how fresh the hand rolls are when delivered to tdiners. Here, people can order four different set menus or off an a la carte menu of only hand rolls and sashimi. They’re served in a cylinder shape. A set of three costs $13 and a set of six costs $28.

The hand roll restaurant is sister to Sugarfish, a casual omakase restaurant with a huge following for its price point and its quality. It’s a project of LA sushi pioneer, Kazunori Nozawa, of Sushi Nozawa. Since it opened in 2008, it’s grown to 11 locations.

Sugarfish first debuted in New York back in November, with a basic omakase at $39. It immediately drew five-hour waits, and it still does. Even on a weeknight, waits can be four hours. With such a fan base, it won’t be a surprise if the smaller KazuNori draws a crowd, too.

KazuNori is open from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 11:30 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday. It’s open noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday. Check out the space below, and if you stop by, let us know what you think.