Hara Sushi — Restaurant in Sooke

A gem for delicious food served with care.

I've been here with my partner twice now. The first time out of curiosity and the second time for soup to mend a spring cold. Each visit has made us truly appreciative of the excellent food that is prepared and proud to be living in Sooke. Our first visit was for a sushi dinner and involved miso, goma-ae salad, sashimi and a few rolls. Everything was very fresh and carefully made and presented. The sashimi was buttery and delicately flavoured, the goma-ae nicely nutty with sesame oil and a very light tang. The waitress served us endless tea and was very polite even though we were pushing closing time.

Our second visit was to see what kind of soups were on the menu. We expected to see Udon, which we did, but I was extremely happy to see tonkotsu ramen. My partner chose an item from one of the few Korean items to select from. She had a vegetarian Korean soup which was served with rice and kimchi. The ramen was very good. Rich broth but without too much salt, nice cutlets of pork belly, hard boiled egg, and nori. The noodles were firm but tender. The broth silky smooth. The Korean soup was spicy and full of tofu and vegetables as well as a poached egg. We were both reminded how delicious the food is there. The wait person might have been one of the owners. She was very polite and friendly even as, again, we pushed the closing time.

Hara Sushi is some of the best in Victoria in my opinion. If is head and shoulders above the run-of-the-mill California roll joints in town. The small town atmosphere and friendly service seal the deal. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the Japanese (and Korean) items...

I have an update! I was sent to place a take-out order for delivery to a family member. I went through the "avocado please, not romaine" nonsense all over again. No success. But now I know what is going on at this restaurant. They do not make substitutions on rolls because the rolls are pre-made! I sat on a bar stool and watched the order being assembled. The chef sat on a stool in the corner and took the pre-made rolls out of the cooler and sliced them. They are not freshly made, and that also explains the cold and soggy rice. Very sneaky, bordering on dishonest. Here is my original review..." I have read the reviews, so when I went here I asked a few questions. What is in the dynamite roll? Romaine. May I have avocado instead? No. I would like an unagi roll...smoked eel...available on nigiri...answer was no. Settled on tempura prawns and a California roll. The tempura prawns were soggy...indicating that the batter was not cold enough. The odd addition of an asparagus spear requires comment...as thick as my thumb and burnt...possibly left in the fry basket from a veggie tempura order and thrown onto my plate? The roll was disappointing...the rice was really soggy, gooey and gluey and ice cold...yesterday's rice? I asked about this and the server confessed yes. Shameful. Poor food, poor cooking, poor service . I was the only customer at the time, so there was no lunch-time...

I’ve been giving this place enough chances and now I give up. I stopped dining in here because they are not family friendly, and every time we tried to go there and spent $150-180 per meal (with drinks) for two (kids don’t eat anything there), we felt being rushed - the bill was coming in the middle of the meal, although we didn’t ask for it. I’ve never seen more than 2 tables being taken there, but the service is always slow. We tried lunchtime, dinner, different days - same thing. I thought the take out would be a different experience, but no. Not sure what’s the deal in Sooke with the paper bags, but when someone orders 3 rolls and few nigiris for $75 can’t you include it with the meal? I walked in with 2 kids, one in the stroller and a 6yo, and was given 2 boxes with soy sauce and chopsticks piled up on the top. As a mom of two am I supposed to grow extra arms? Asked for a bag and was told they are .25c. It’s not McDonald’s $10 meal when you’re asked to pay extra for the bag. As for the food - nothing impressive and nothing to do with genuine Japanese sushi, but is ok-ish. Considering the price,...