Norikaya

Norikaya’s short menu is split between creative hand rolls 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 songs and Norikaya is good fun.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Sylvio Martins

Tuna "Tacos"

A moment of appreciation for how cute these teenie tiny tacos are. The tuna is too cold so they don’t taste like much sadly, but the wasabi mayo is pleasant.

photo credit: Sylvio Martins

Lobster Dynamite

If you’ve eaten a dynamite roll at your local strip mall sushi spot, you know the mayo-y, spicy flavor bomb in this $12 hand roll. It tastes good, but we’re not sure it’s worth the price.

photo credit: Sylvio Martins

Unagi Strawberry

Eel and sweet flavors are usually a match, but they feel like strangers here. The fruit (plus the guac) in this roll tastes tacked on, but, hey, it looks pretty.

photo credit: Sylvio Martins

Blue Crab California

The best hand roll on the menu. It’s made with a generous amount of mayo-y crab salad that still tastes like crab. Plus, the roe blanket adds some tasty brininess.

photo credit: Sylvio Martins

Crispy Rice

Katsuya ’s famed spicy tuna crispy rice has been copied a million times over, but we’re convinced the one at Norikaya is the best we’ve tasted. THe sushi rice is fried until its outer crust bubbles like chicharrón, but the inside is still chewy. The kimchi sauce in the spicy tuna also adds a delicious fermented funk.

photo credit: Sylvio Martins

Crispy Calamari

These fried squid parts are crispy as promised and 100% tentacles, which is kind of fun. The Japanese cocktail sauce was so sweet we had to double-check it wasn’t ketchup though.

photo credit: Sylvio Martins

Beef Filet

This chopped-up filet mignon is the heartiest option on the menu. It’s cooked a nice medium-rare, but arrives lukewarm and overwhelmed by the vinegary nanbanzu sauce on top.