Kicking off 2020 with a stellar new restaurant.

Nami Nori, the delectable creation by three  seasoned Masa vets, is a fabulous addition to the New York City dining scene.

The laidback sushi restaurant, located in the West Village, serves varied versions of temaki which are hand rolls stuffed with fresh fish and vegetables.

Owners Taka Sakaeda, Jihan Lee and Lisa Limb serve the temaki in taco format.

Nami Nori’s interior is light and airy, conveying a beachy, casual atmosphere.

Reservations are very hard to come by.

We showed up on a Friday night at 5:30pm which is when Nami Nori opens.

The 38 seat restaurant filled up with diners who were ahead of us in line.

We had a 60 minute wait so we went across the street to Jack’s Wife Freda and had a cocktail.

By the time we were seated at 6:45pm there was a 3 hour wait…insanity.

We were seated by the window and our server, David, was very helpful in guiding us through the menu.

We started with the kitchen items.

The Wasabi Cucumber Tataki is crunchy and the sesame seeds and dressing add lots of lovely flavor ($8).

The Clam Soup is miso based with potato and an ample serving of sweet clams in the shell (cup $8)

The Calamari with yuzu soy is outrageous. It is lightly fried with the most delicious, pearly white thick slabs of squid inside ($12).

The Lobster Tempura with yuzu aioli and frisée is meaty and flavorful ($10).

Salmon Avocado with Ikura is fresh and luscious ($10).

XO Scallop with tobiko and lemon is both sweet and savory  ($7).

the Spicy Crab Dynamite is stuffed with crab and  another winner ($8).

The Maitake Truffle is divine ($7).

Four varieties of Uni are offered priced from $9 for Maine Uni to a special Japanese Uni for $21.

We chose the Santa Barbara Uni which was plumb   and silky sweet ($14).

Toro + Scallion is rich and refreshing ($9).

The bottle of Senkin Classic Sake was outstanding, smooth and velvety ($76).

We finished the meal with a tasty, creamy Fior di latte, red bean paste, matcha cream in a crunchy shell ($5).

Nami Nori is a newfound, reasonably priced treasure…plan ahead or go for lunch.

Nami Nori 33 Carmine Street New York City. Open for lunch Monday-Friday 11:30-2:30. Dinner Monday-Wednesday 5:30-11pm, Thursday-Saturday 5:30pm-Midnight. Closed Sunday. Reservations on Resy.