Susan H.
Yelp
**** 3 1/2 Stars ****
-------------------------------------
First of all, thank you to Yelp Friend, Hannah H., who recently dined at Hama Sushi and now wanted to see my review :). That got us thinking how it's been years since we've eaten here. At one time, many, many moons ago, this was our go-to place for Japanese food. We went so often that the staff got to know us. It was where our daughter got introduced to sushi and like us, enjoyed having it, too. All was going very well, until...the long gone restaurant that shared a wall with them and written up more than once by the health department, caused Hama Sushi to have a bug problem. While we knew it wasn't their fault, the owners at the time didn't want to get the other restaurant in trouble. Sadly, for us, it was time to find another Japanese restaurant.
Recently, the reviews have been great. The place got remodeled. This got us thinking, especially after seeing Hannah H.'s review, that it was time to give them another try.
We were here on a Sunday around 6 p.m. and immediately greeted and seated. Looking around, it was clear that the place had a face lift. The layout was as we remembered it to be. The only noticeable difference was that the tatami room was now a spot for private gatherings. Overall, it still had that vibe of being a calm and relaxing place to have a meal.
We decided that we both would have a "combination" dinner and ordered one called "The Shogun". This is what "The Shogun" was supposed to have in it: "Sashimi: Tuna, white fish, fresh salmon, octopus. Tempura: crispy shrimp and assorted veggie tempura, Chef's special bean sprout salad, California roll, fruit and miso soup".
What came to the table: Sashimi: salmon, tuna and white fish. Tempura: crispy shrimp and assorted veggies which were ---sweet potato, potato, zucchini and eggplant. California roll, fruit which was half an orange, a piece of cooked salmon, some daikon and shredded cabbage and the miso soup.
So...no Chef's special bean sprout and no octopus. The piece of salmon was terrible. It was a very small piece that was overcooked and filled with bones which rendered it mostly inedible. There was no explanation as to why there was no Chef's special bean sprout salad or octopus. In all fairness, we only noticed what was missing after we went home and took a good look at the menu. Except for the cooked salmon, all the other items were good. The sushi and sashimi was fresh. The tempura arrived hot and crispy. Miso soup was piping hot and full bodied when it came to flavor. The orange was a nice ending to the meal.
On the plus side, service was otherwise very attentive without being obtrusive. I had a glass of plum wine which was good quality. My husband had a Kirin Ichiban.
We do plan to go back and will stick with the sushi and sashimi. Doing so, seems to be much simpler and we know we will get good quality fish.