Natasha S.
Yelp
I am surprised to see some low reviews for this restaurant. I've heard good things about it, but I rarely find myself in the I-Drive area. I finally made it last weekend, and I enjoyed my experience. We had a reservation for 5:00pm--a little early because we had to make a movie. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves at that time. The decor is a little dated, but comfortable and clean. The servers wore kimonos. Even though this is in the thick of tourist central, this place is an authentic Japanese restaurant. It does not cater to "Americanized" Japanese food like some other places. If you want really over the top, decadent rolls stuffed with cream cheese and covered with spicy Mayo, you may be disappointed. Hanamizuki has a very extensive menu including soba, udon noodle dishes, soups, katsu dishes, meats, and of course a wide variety of nigiri, sushi, and sashimi. It was actually a little overwhelming and difficult to narrow down our choices. They have a lot of unique Japanese delicacies you will not find in most restaurants in town. We ordered a few different appetizers to share--tempura, an eel and cucumber salad, gyoza, and a unique uni croquette. Some of the appetizers were pretty small portions, but everything is price extremely reasonably. Our table also ordered a wagyu beef dish, and an udon noodle soup with tempura shrimp. The udon soup was very good. I ordered one of the chef's choice sushi and nigiri dishes and also some hand rolls. I was very pleased with my choices. The fish was all very fresh, and I got to try a generous variety of nigiri along with a California roll. I particularly enjoyed the hand rolls. They had hand rolls made with fried soft shell crab, salmon, and spicy tuna. We had no problem with service during our visit. We all left full and happy.