A new sushi bar just opened in midtown Sacramento, replacing a popular brunch spot

A new Japanese restaurant, perhaps the first to specialize in handheld sushi rolls, opened near midtown Sacramento earlier this week.

Kinjo Hand Roll Bar had its soft opening Tuesday at 2026 16th St., formerly home to beloved Chinese-Hawaiian breakfast spot Harry’s Cafe. It’s owned by Dennis Ng, who also owns Kansai Ramen & Sushi House in Tahoe Park.

Kinjo’s menu is centered on hand rolls, individual seaweed wraps typically stuffed with seafood, rice and other condiments. Customers can try samplers containing three rolls (spicy tuna, salmon and yellowtail for $19), four (add a scallop roll, $25) or five (bluefin toro, $34).

The Japanese restaurant also serves donburi, sashimi and small plates such as pork belly fries or karaage chicken.

Harry Luong closed Harry’s Cafe at the end of 2021, capping a 17-year run as a brunch favorite in Sacramento’s Richmond Grove neighborhood just south of midtown. The restaurant, which bled over into Luong’s wife’s hair salon on busy weekends, was known for its pancakes, short rib stews and loco mocos.

Kinjo’s opening hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 pm., seven days a week. The owners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What to eat: You have to try at least one hand roll, whether it’s the maguro (bluefin tuna), tombo ahi (albacore), unagi (eel) or scallops with garlic mayonnaise and chili oil. Most are $6.50 or $7 per roll.

Where: 2026 16th St., Sacramento.

Hours: Open for lunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and dinner from 5-9 pm. every day.