Hello Nori - Richmond — Restaurant in Richmond

Today I decided to drop by and have some lunch. I was greeted by one of the girls( but I think she had glasses, very approachable and assistes me to my seat, after a gentleman who was serving me, was ok for a few mins, told me about the specials for today and didn't bring me water till about later. Usually at the downtown location they are usually busy but they are very focus, but the gentleman took my order and I said a glass of water, it took him awhile realized I don't have water, I order 4 rolls, I was on my 3rd roll he brought me ginger and soya sauce, I believe it was the chef who reminded him and when I was on my 3rd roll he said this is your last roll, I was so confused, the chef mentioned to him I have the Wagyu beef then he realized that. The whole time he was pacing back and forth between the 3 ladies next me and after another customer sat next to me. When I was paying, the staff who assisted me to my seat ask me how was everything and I told her, also there was another staff was there so I told them how my experience and they wanted to take care of the bill, but I didn't want them to take care of my bill, so I Paid for my meal. The 2 staff took the time to listen and I was happy and I will be back. Great service at the end when I spoke to the 2 staff. Kudos to them. Sorry if I forgot their names.

After today visit ..it was better. Food was good as usual. But the scallops roll...

I had the pleasure of attending an event that was catered by Hello Nori in August. On a rainy Saturday night, we didn't feel like wandering far and I remembered hearing Hello Nori had just opened in Richmond so off to the mall we went for a late dinner.

While I liked the food at the catered event, going to the restaurant was an even lovelier experience! I ordered the 5-HandRoll and the Sakura Blossom cocktail, and we had the mochi ice cream for dessert. The photos I took don't come close to doing any of it justice, We were simply too busy enjoying our meal!

What impressed me most was that every staff member we interacted with were so genuinely friendly and made the evening truly memorable.

The food was served at a good pace, allowing a chance to savour each roll without feeling rushed or having to wait too long between each one. I appreciated that each one was "introduced" by the person who prepared it.

The decor has a lovely organic vibe. The curvature of the ceiling feature is gorgeous and the open concept is very pleasant. Even the volume of the music wasn't too overbearing which is sometimes the case in some restaurants.

I'll definitely be telling everyone I know about Hello Nori. This was probably one of the very best restaurant experiences I've had anywhere, ever. The food was great but the exceptional service is what makes it my new favourite place to visit...

Hmm. I don't really get the hype. It seems a bit expensive for things I can basically make at home quite easily. The service was a bit strange in that they were friendly and pleasant and all that but also seemed to be in quite a rush despite the restaurant not really being terribly busy.

I also feel like the portion of sake for $14 isn't really much and showing that you overfill the cup... slightly isn't really the kind of gesture that it's meant to be. Then my girlfriend had the lychee mocktail and just found it to be pretty much flavorless aside from the pieces of lychee fruit themselves. I could kind of understand this place a bit better if it were more of an izakaya where drinking is the main thing, and the bites just go along with it, but the drinks are not particularly strong.

But yeah probably the main thing was that to eat enough here where you actually feel like you ate dinner would be quite expensive, but what you actually get isn't special enough to really feel like a treat. It's a well designed space and the atmosphere feels premium at least, but that's about it. Not really...