Kata Nori: Heavenly Hand Rolls in Kansas City

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In a city with a wealth of barbecue, it might seem daunting to find something that hasn’t spent an eternity under some sort of slow and low heat. Enter the wonderful Kata Nori. Kata Nori is a glorious little sushi and sashimi restaurant that specializes in hand rolls. As you enter the restaurant, you are welcomed with a gorgeous u-shaped counter from which patrons get to watch the sushi chefs prepare and present each dish as it is finished. According to their site, “This ​setup allows for quick service and ensures maximum freshness.” Quick and fresh sushi and hand rolls, what’s not to love?

What’s a Hand Roll?

First of all, what’s a hand roll, you might ask? As one of the chefs explained to us, it’s kinda like a “sushi street taco.” Each roll is made by hand one at a time by the chefs and delivered immediately. Each roll is meant to be eaten as soon as possible so that the nori [seaweed wrapping the roll] is fresh and crunchy. A fresh sushi roll, perfectly made, and ready to eat? Sign me up, please. In addition to the hand rolls, the restaurant also features delicious crudos, sashimi, and other small plates. 

We tried three hand rolls in the beginning: kani [blue crab], negitoro [fatty tuna], and uni [sea urchin], along with a Hotate [scallop] crudo and the furikake rice. Here’s one thing to know about hand rolls: they are only about three bites. That means you aren’t normally sharing them, and they are gone before you know it.

When we asked our wonderful server if what we ordered was enough, she warmly smiled and said, “Probably not.” Luckily, that meant we got to try more. More is always better. As for drinks, Lisa ordered a Sauvignon Blanc, which was nice, and I ordered a sake called “Yuki no bosha,” which was light and dry. It was good, but almost a little too light. 

The hand roll concept is a rather new one. In fact, Kata Nori is the first of its kind in Kansas City and one of the only ones in the entire Midwest. Chef/founder Ann Pham discovered the concept while he was working in Texas. He appreciated the quick service, which ensures maximum freshness and leads to an experience where the patrons can see the show and eat it too. As his brother explained, most of their fish (and uni, more on the later) is flown in from Japan and was in the ocean maybe just two days ago. So, what’s better than dinner and a show? One from a group of chefs who truly care about their craft. 

Since it was new to Lisa and me, we were ever so slightly intimidated when we walked into the intimate spot. Luckily, we were greeted immediately and warmly by the attentive staff. Whisked away to our spots along the bar, our hand roll adventure was about to begin. The menu is tightly focused on their fresh fish, and there were many things that I barely knew what they were. Luckily, the staff was quick to guide us along the way with helpful suggestions.

Fresh fish is king.

Each hand roll was delivered as soon as it was ready. The Kani arrived first. It featured a delightful piece of crab with a bit of cucumber and some ponzu. It was so fresh and crisp, just like it was supposed to be. Then we got our furikake rice, which was amazing. Crispy shallot added a pop to every bite. It seems weird to say a rice dish was captivating, but it was. It could be even further enhanced by the addition of Wagyu beef, which was tempting.

The hotate (scallop) was a delight. It had a light sauce with hints of heat from jalapeño, some crunchy cucumber bits, and some nice pop from roe. Then the negitoro hand roll came out. It was divine. I really enjoy my tuna when having sushi, and this was probably one of the better tuna dishes I have had. Wow. 

Then the uni hand roll came out. The only word to describe it was amazing. It might have been one of the best things I have ever eaten. The uni just dances on the tongue while its buttery notes come alive on your taste buds. Double wow. The hand roll is so good that we heard a patron immediately order another right after finishing the one they had. As tempted as we were to do that, we decided to try some of the sashimi dishes since the fish was so delightfully fresh and different than we can usually get in Des Moines.

Even though they aren’t hand rolls, the sashimi from Kata Nori receives as much love. We settled on a couple of ones new to us, the sake toro [salmon belly] and the madai [sea bream]. I also took the opportunity to try more sake, the Bushido can. It was a little bit richer than the first and complimented the meal a little more than a lighter one.

The sake toro was brilliant. It was like a prime rib of salmon. It was lovely and fatty in all the right ways. The madai was a great white fish that tasted a little like yellowtail, which meant it was a little firmer than one would expect from that type of fish. Both had a lovely presentation with a little bit of orange zest. 

It’s really the people.

One of the best parts of the meal happened at the end. As the lunch rush began to lighten up, one of the chefs came over to talk to us and asked us about our meal. We naturally gushed profusely. (My mind was and is still buzzing about the uni.)

It just so happened that the chef was one of the founding members of the team at Kata Nori and a brother of the head of the culinary team, Ann Pham. He was a wealth of knowledge about hand rolls, their fish, and the team’s thought process about the restaurant. It was fantastic to get an inside view of their world. He was so bright, fresh, and passionate, and it seemed to symbolize the entire dining experience. 

If you are looking to branch out from barbecue and happen to be downtown, Kata Nori is the perfect spot for stunning sushi, sashimi, and, of course, hand rolls.

Kata Nori
https://katanorikc.com
404 E. 18th Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
P: 913-909-3954

Do you have a bit of free time in Kansas City? If so, be sure to read our post: Get Cultured in Kansas City: 5 Outstanding Museums.