by Jeff Sandlan on I've heard friends rave about this place. I've read the 5-star reviews on rateclubs. I finally decided to pay a visit on Thanksgiving for dinner. I made a reservation for 3, the store was not too busy, we were quickly seated, and while chatting at the table before ordering, Mr. Hayakawa came to greet us. It was our first time and we were very impressed how he took the time to come welcome us to his restaurant. He must've immediately known that we looked like new guests. We had a lot to look forward to. We ended up ordering 2 omakase sushi ($50 each) and a bowl of hokkai don ($25) which is a donburi with salmon roe, uni, and sweet shrimp. For omakase, we had requested to include salmon roe, sea urchin, squid, and kohada amongst the pickings. As others have said, the service was slow. I take it back. The service was great. The wait staff were very quick to refill our teas without me ever asking. We probably waited for a good 40 min before finally receiving our meal. Part of the problem is how we sat - at a table, as opposed to the sushi bar. We had 3 ppl and ordering omakase, we actually asked whether we could sit at the bar but unfortunately, they were all booked and only had spot for 2. If at the bar, the nigiris would have come out as incrementally, as soon as they were done. B/c we sat at the table however, the chefs made all pieces to be served at once. Not the restaurants fault and maybe we should have ordered something else accordingly... However 40 min of waiting for 2 sushi dishes and one don is excessive. They had 3 sushi chefs and the restaurant was maybe 2/3 full at the time. I would have expected quicker service. The wait is not really what I care about. If the food is mind-blowingly spectacular, I could care less. Here's what was in the omakase - marinated salmon roe in a small bowl over a bed of sushi rice and one piece of nigiri each: kohada, snapper, squid, uni, sweat shrimp, oyster (yes, oyster nigiri), aji, and scallop. And 3 small pieces of tuna maki and 3 small pieces of tarako-maki (fish eggs). I've had more for $50 and it's really not much in terms of volume. But let's see how they taste. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment. The rice was just awful. It was too soft and mushy ("becha-becha" in Japanese) and really took much of the joy of properly enjoying our meals. All three of us agreed to this point. The second point is the balance between the neta (fish pieces) and shari (rice) - there simply were too much rice compared to the size of the fish slices. My mother kept chopping the rice in half before eating the nigiri. I had to agree. The rice-fish balance could be attributed to the skill of the chef (I'm not sure who made our sushi out of the 3) but the mushy rice is inexcusable. For a place that everyone seems to be raving about, we were not impressed. I'll throw in some other things - aji didn't seem fresh as it was lacking the shiny luster and looked dull and dry, kohada was too soft and I'd rather have something other than tarako-maki since it's very fishy and overpowering compared to the other fish on the dish (tarako would have been fine if I were ordering onigiri). Snapper was good and very tasty as with squid and sweet shrimp. I've never had oyster nigiri and I did enjoy that as the taste of the oyster was well balanced with the bit of grated radish seasoning and its creaminess was similar to the nori-less sea urchin nigiri (another first, without nori). I could not overlook the fact they did not use fresh wasabi. For a place with such good reputation and where the owner makes sushi "with all his heart", I would have expected more. Finally, they fail to include some basic sides like miso soup or salad that most other places offer as part of the meal. You'd have to order that separately. Maybe the mentality is like that of an expensive steakhouse where everything (and I mean everything) is ala carte. My sister's don had 2 pieces of sweet shrimp and came with 2 fried heads. My omakase meal included a piece of sweet shrimp but didn't include the head. Usually, they bring out the head separately. I asked the waitress and was told that its not included but I could order it for an extra $1. C'mon, seriously... really? Are they serious? (alas, I did not order). Maybe we hit them on an "off" night. Maybe going there on a holiday was a bad idea... (we actually thought it might be b/c they would not have gotten any fish in on Thanksgiving day but we figured they would've probably got a fresh shipment in the day before) or maybe they are really overrated. Would I go back again? At this point, I'm not inclined. There are other places that offer more for your money. Would I pay more for sushi? Certainly, but not for what I ate at Hayakawa. Maybe I'll give them one more try and do a proper bar sit-in and order everything ala carte. If after that they still fail to impress, well, then I'll write them off for good. It's too bad b/c I was expecting a lot from Hayakawa.
by Isaias Toya on this place rocks.. Last night was the Ocean Day Celebration Party, drinks were cheap ( $ 5 bucks a mojito) good DJ music, food was good and the staff super friendly. I felt good to know that this place is doing its best to be a green bussines, trying to recycle as much as possible. so what else to say...good food, good drinks and the place pack of beautiful people. Will definitly comeback to hang out and chill with the boys.
by Kelly Kate W. on This place drove me ape shit when I was underage because their staff actually gave a shit. Can't really complain, except for one time when the owner refused to give me back my ID. She had every right to kick me out, but not to attempt to deny me my right to keep a real ID. I've mostly been here for LightDownLow - every other Friday with great resident DJs and more hipsters than the Salvation Army. It's an ok night, the photographer is spot on and the music is good, but the bar is always way too packed (i.e. ordering a drink is almost impossible, plus drinks are expensive). The dance floor can be pretty banging and the guest DJs are always worth coming out for. Other events I've been too have been hit or miss, definitely depended on who was booked. A good bar to see a favorite DJ, but not my pick for just stopping by. Oh, and your fake ID wont fly, go to Blow Up or something.
