Temakase (260 Kent Ave.), a hand roll bar with two locations in Manhattan, is opening its third location in Williamsburg this summer. The tiny Japanese chain specializes in fresh temaki, commonly known as hand rolls, that are all made to order.
Temakase’s website explains that the restaurant started with the “simple idea” that “sushi should be fresh, simple, and eaten the way it was meant to be,” which they say is within 30 seconds of preparation so that the rice is still warm and the fish is extra fresh.
“Instead of pre-made rolls, we serve hand rolls directly from the chef’s hands to yours,” Temakase wrote. This technique is preferred by many chefs and popular at Japanese restaurants throughout the city like Williamsburg’s Shota.
Temakase’s menu is simple; it offers a la carte hand rolls with a variety of fillings, plus hand roll sets and crispy rice.
Hand roll fillings include tuna, salmon, scallop, blue crab, toro, hamachi, sweet chili rock shrimp, lobster, and chopped eel. There’s also avocado, sesame cucumber, Japanese pumpkin, and shiitake mushroom.
The hand roll sets come with three, four, five, or six rolls. The set of three comes with one scallop, one blue crab, and one salmon, while the set of six comes with those plus one tuna, one toro, and one hamachi.
With all of the sets, there’s the option to get them with classic condiments or spicy ones. For example, the classic scallop roll comes with yuzu honey, mustard and tobiko, and the spicy scallop roll comes with chili butter aioli, chili flakes, and tempura crumbs.
Temakase’s selection of crispy rice toppings include spicy tuna, spicy yellowtail, spicy salmon, miso avocado, and caviar.
Temakase also offers a tight beverage menu of several beers like Sapporo, three selections of sake, and non-alcoholic options like Mexican Coke and iced green tea.
Temakase’s Instagram account touts a “summer 2025” opening for the new location.