Warm loose sushi rice and fish rolled in crisp nori and eaten in three bites, the format Santa Monica's counter bars serve the second it is rolled.

The hand roll became a Santa Monica genre when the Sushi Nozawa group brought KazuNori, its self-billed original hand roll bar, to Broadway, serving set menus of toro, blue crab and yellowtail across a plain counter. The form rewards speed: rice still warm, nori still crackling, eaten in the seconds after rolling.

2 editor picks for The toro hand roll in Santa Monica, ranked by editorial score. All Santa Monica signature dishes · The toro hand roll across every city.