Nami Nori, a West Village Restaurant by the Former Masa Chefs, Does Not Do Fusion

When talking about their new West Village restaurant Nami Nori, executive chef Taka Sakaeda, chef Jihan Lee and operations director Lisa Limb are hesitant to use what they refer to as “the f word.”  Fusion is not what they’re after. Even though their approach is certainly fused together by a bunch of inspirations and aspects of their personal backgrounds, don’t immediately relegate Nami Nori, which specializes in a style of sushi called temaki, to such a classification. There are signs of mixture all over the place, which is located at 33 Carmine Street. Sakaeda, Lee and Limb wanted to open a restaurant that was both upscale and elegant — like the last restaurant where they all worked together: Masa (the chef, Masayoshi Takayama, is the only person who holds a three-star Michelin rating in the U.S.). But Nami Nori had to be simultaneously accessible, in look, feel and price point.  The menu is strictly Japanese, except when it’s not.  Nami Nori’s temaki with salmon, tomato, onion cream and chives.  Sebastian Lucrecio/Courtesy Photograph Sakaeda is of Japanese descent and grew up on Long Island in New York; Lee is Korean, while Limb is mixed Korean and Japanese. The executive chef’s experiences noshing on lox and cream cheese

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