KazuNori Expands Exclusive Private Bar Experience

For ten years, KazuNori: The Original Hand Roll Bar has treated diners to the magic mouthful of warm rice, crispy nori and fresh fish.

“It feels a bit surreal. Ten years ago hand roll bars didn’t exist,” shared Sushi Nozawa Group co-founder Jerry Greenberg. “We had no idea we were creating an entire category of restaurants that now exist in countries all over the world from France to Japan and places like Canada and Bali and beyond.”

No matter the time of day or point in the week, if you walk into a KazuNori, you’ll likely find the bar top packed. Hand roll bars aren’t scarce in the likes of Los Angeles and New York, but KazuNori has perfected the dining experience to a science so well that even 10 years on, guests continue to be excited to return again and again.

“It starts with the best fish and the best nori, explained co-founder and chef Tom Nozawa, who helms back-of-house operations. “When you have something like Sugarfish and can do things like start your own wholesale fish business—which we have done and nobody else has—you are using scale to drive quality to a very high level. We buy fish directly from all over the world. The best fish there is. Combine that with the best nori and the recipes for Nozawa-style hand rolls and you can create something special. That is what we have done, and most importantly guests taste the difference.”

“I love watching guests bite into a hand roll for the first time with pleasure and surprise– just as I did the first time Nozawa handed me one of his just-made hand rolls at Sushi Nozawa in Studio City–and then years later for their 100th time with the same pleasure and satisfaction,” added co-founder Lele Massimini, who leads front-of-house operations. “I also love watching these same guests bring their friends to experience that same joy of the first bite of a KazuNori hand roll, everyone is just smiling and nodding and it’s all happening without anyone saying a word. Guests can taste the difference and that’s exciting.”

To commemorate the decade of service, the Sushi Nozawa Group decided to treat guests even more with the announcement of a private bar experience.

“We were the first ones to create a hand roll bar, first to create the hand roll kit,” Massimini noted. “We had to be the originator of the private bar experience!”

The exclusive offering kicked off on Sept. 13 and would be available for just a month, allowing guests to reserve a separate private hand roll bar and enjoy a special set menu of three sashimis and eight hand rolls.

However, every seating was filled in just a few hours. So KazuNori has decided to keep the party going.

On Sept. 17, the Sushi Nozawa Group team announced the private bar experience will continue on and hand roll fans can secure a reservation now.

The special dining experience is available on Friday and Saturday nights for groups of seven to 12 at the Santa Monica location in Los Angeles and Greenwich Village outpost in New York. Seatings take place at 6 and 8 p.m.

Reservations are now open on Tock for Los Angeles and New York.

See also: 19 Of The Best Sushi Restaurants Across The U.S.