Norikaya
Japanese restaurant · Koreatown ·
Upscale Japanese bar with creative small plates & sake
Upscale Japanese bar with creative small plates & sake
"AB Steak chef Akira Back partnered with restaurateur Robert Kim (Mama Lion, and a forthcoming Nancy Silverton pasta bar) to open this striking counter-only temaki roll experience. Think of it like a variation of Yunomi or Kazunori but with more luxurious flourishes. All the major Nobu-esque dishes are here, too, like crispy tuna rice and yellowtail with serrano chile and yuzu soy sauce, though many of the dishes offer some Korean touches. Crispy rice gets a hit of kimchi seasoning while the lobster roll is presented “ssam” style. A meal-ending unagi temaki comes with a layer of fresh strawberries for a subtle tangy hit." - Matthew Kang
"Norikaya’s short menu is split between creative handrolls and izakaya dishes, and we’re team izakaya. The recessed lighting in this dark U-shaped bar sets the mood for a date, and the temaki looks like sushi you’d eat at a Vegas birthday party: a lobster “dynamite” roll heavy on spicy mayo, salmon with miso-mustard and baked eel topped with guac and strawberries for some reason. The abundance of roe, yuzu, and mayo do a decent job of masking the fact that Norikaya’s sashimi is slightly too cold, but we prefer hot dishes like fried squid with sweet cocktail sauce and spicy tuna crispy rice with chicharrón-like crunch. Use this spot for small bites, chit-chat, and drinking sake to Kygo and Norikaya is good fun." - brant cox, sylvio martins, garrett snyder
"Norikaya is a combination izakaya and hand roll bar from the AB Steak people, but its menu reads very Koreatown. The moody, intimate space has a U-shaped bar where you order things like lobster tempura temaki, crispy rice topped with kimchi-marinated tuna, and agedashi tofu in dashi-soy sauce. We recently visited Norikaya. Read our thoughts here. " - sylvio martins
"Chef Akira Back has opened a vibey Koreatown temaki bar on the busy intersection of Western and Sixth with partner Robert Kim, who operates AB Steak and Mama Lion. Back made his name doing Korean-inflected renditions of Japanese lounge fare at his Vegas restaurant Yellowtail, but has since grown into a global empire expanded to places like Dallas, London, and Seoul. The approach is fairly simple here: well-made temaki hand rolls with high-end ingredients and a small number of shareable appetizers, all served on a high countertop. — Matthew Kang, lead editor" - Eater Staff
"In a sleek counter-only space in Koreatown, I found Norikaya—Akira Back's newest restaurant with partner Robert Kim—serving temaki and lighter, inventive Japanese courses; the unagi temaki roll featured perfectly ripe strawberry slices that provided a tart-sweet foil to the rich freshwater eel, and a modest sweet-salty eel glaze plus the crunch of cucumber rounded out the mini seaweed taco, making for a delightful way to close out a meal." - Eater Staff