Hinote Sushi — Restaurant in Mississauga

I understand that the reason people seem to like this restaurant is that it is small and seems personalized, that is, there are literally only 2 chefs making the sushi fresh to order. But with this comes so many more disadvantages, which I experienced during my visit. We got a table immediately upon entering and I noticed that there were only 2 servers and 2 chefs. The menu had regular Japanese and a few Korean options but the prices were so much steeper than other sushi restaurants around. I decided to go for the chirashi bowl and my bro chose 2 different vegetarian rolls. The place was getting filled up by the minute and the servers just could not keep up. They was a clear lack of attendance, whereby I had to call one personally to get some attention. We waited and waited, watching sushi being made but none of which were ours. I think it had been 20 minutes until my chirashi bowl was served. One of my biggest pet peeves is when one persons dish is served way earlier than the others. So basically I sat there starving while I had to wait out of politeness for my brothers meal to arrive. His one order of vegetarian roll arrived 15 minutes later and then his second one arrived another 10 minutes later. I ended up scarfing my food down because I was so hungry and therefore couldn't even enjoy the taste properly. I would like to add that the chirashi bowl was quite a small serving...but this may be my perception due to my sheer hunger. Once done we had to call out for the bill several times, which took another 10 minutes to arrive. So, overall I would say that this restaurant may be ok if you would like a slow, intimate dinner. But if you just want a regular meal and are hungry then this should not be an option. The sushi was good but not extraordinary and there are definitely places where you can get equal quality of sushi and a...

Poor service, not kid-friendly: We usually ask for one high chair and one booster. This place has NO high chairs available, and only a very small booster seat so we were only able to use one for the smaller toddler…

Once we were seated (parents know it takes time to settle down with little kids in tow), the server came over and asked for our orders right away. I barely even saw the menu! At the end, some of us just finished eating and the server already asked to clean up their plates..

The whole time we felt rushed and unwelcome. As a parent of little kids, I already feel so conscious and stressed when I’m getting settled in a restaurant with my kids and things. I felt even more stressed in this particular restaurant. Mind you, we got there close to 1:30 pm and were already leaving by 2:15 pm…

On top of this, while ordering, we were told there’s a mandatory 15% tip for a group of 5 or more… There were 4 adults and 2 really small kids seated at our table… I have NEVER seen this at a restaurant before that little kids are counted as adults - what do parents do if they just want to go out with their little kids? And even if let’s say toddlers are indeed counted in the group tip, it would have been better if we felt the 15% was deserved but to be honest, it was not.

The food was okay. The fish cuts on top of my friend’s sushi was very thin, and not worth it even for the lunch combo price. The rest of the food was okay and can be had somewhere else for cheaper and better.

For these reasons: not returning and...

My family and I have been going to Hinote for over 15 years; we believed Hinote was one of the 2 best sushi restaurants in Mississauga for its fresh quality and service. Throughout the years we've recommended to friends, family, colleagues, and even had our relatives from Japan try Hinote. To be honest though, I've probably went about 2 or 3 times per year (being relatively expensive), my parents may have gone more, so it's your call whether we are loyal or good customers or not.

Last friday my parents wanted to take my husband and I out for dinner and they immediately recommended Hinote. We ordered many dishes, sushi boats etc. Everything was fine, Until my father ordered 2 orders of Uni (since my husbands never tried it). It came fairly quickly, and I have never smelt a more foul thing in my life. It smelt like cat piss and I kid you not, the smell lingered on my plate and chopsticks. Don't get me wrong, I like Uni, but I have never had anything so rotten on my table before. My father pointed it out, we got a quick apology saying "they didn't know" and had the plate taken away. End of story, we paid the full bill and left.

Long story short, don't order Uni and don't expect any longterm customer appreciation. I’m just extremely disappointed because Hinote was one of my fond memories with my family and my parents promised never to go back. I just don't understand how a restaurant that boasts on its freshness cannot tell when something has...