A selection of nori handrolls at Nori Nori Craft Handrolls in Mountain View. (Photo courtesy Nori Nori, via Facebook)

By Kate Bradshaw

Mountain View's new hand roll restaurant will debut a second dining concept in the coming weeks, according to chef and owner Chau Lee.

Nori Nori – Craft Handrolls opened about two months ago and is still in its soft-opening phase, Lee says. Meanwhile, he is working to open a second restaurant concept at the front of the restaurant called Nikuya, which will offer a Yakiniku, or Japanese barbecue, dining experience with tabletop grills for customers to grill their own meats.

While the hand roll operation will be focused on faster customer service, Nikuya will provide more of a steakhouse setup where customers can grill their own meats, he adds.

Nikuya is expected to open sometime in mid-April.

Nori Nori, which offers nori-wrapped sushi hand rolls with fresh fish and original sauce recipes, seems to be gaining a positive reception from customers, he says.


Spicy tuna on crispy rice served at Nori Nori in Mountain View. (Photo courtesy Nori Nori, via Facebook)

Among the menu offerings are a miso scallop hand roll, made with small hints of miso and mayo that makes for a juicy and fresh scallop; an A5 Wagyu beef rolland a bluefin toro hand roll made with the fatty part of bluefin tuna, served in a simple, light sauce.

Lee says these restaurants are his first in Mountain View after developing eateries in Cupertino, San Jose and Dublin. He had the idea for the restaurants before the pandemic hit and appreciates the opportunity to finally bring the concepts to fruition "now that everything's kind of back to normal."

He adds he's hoping that new businesses bring more people back to downtown Mountain View.

"That's what we're hoping, because otherwise it's a tough one," he says.

Nori Nori - Craft Handrolls, 124 Castro St., Mountain View; 650-938-7000, Instagram: @noricrafthandrolls.