Hanako — Restaurant in Watford

Hanako Brings Japan to Watford

When I was looking for authentic Japanese food nearby, a few restaurants came up. But Hanako immediately caught my attention. Just from the Google review photos of their sushi and sashimi, I could see the craftsmanship. The presentation looked simple and neat, not overly decorated, but refined in a way that reminded me of true Japanese style.

My Japanese friend and I were so excited that we arrived before the restaurant opened. The owner kindly let us in early, which was already such a warm welcome. Inside, the atmosphere was cozy and felt just like a small restaurant in Japan. The menu was easy to understand with clear English, and allergy information was clearly shown. On top of that, the owner kindly explained some of the dishes to us as well.

I ordered the nabe udon and a sashimi sushi set. My friend had the shoyu ramen. The portion sizes were quite big for us, but because everything tasted so good, we finished it all. The flavors were very authentic but also easy to enjoy for people who may not be familiar with Japanese food. If I had to describe it in Japanese, I would say it has a 優しい味, meaning a gentle and comforting taste.

We had a lovely chat with the owner. She told us that the tuna sashimi is 本マグロ, which is bluefin tuna imported from Japan. That truly impressed us, and you could taste the quality. Everything felt so fresh and nourishing.

What surprised me even more is that Hanako has been open for 23 years. That’s nearly the same age as me. It made me think about how Japanese food wasn’t very common in the UK back then. I can only imagine how much this restaurant has gone through over the years to continue sharing this kind of food with the community.

I wrote this review to share my appreciation for the food and people at Hanako. If you’re reading the menu outside and not sure whether to go in, I really recommend you try it. This place is...

Upon entering the restaurant we were met by a lady that asked us to take a seat. The atmosphere seemed okay.

We had a look at the menu and noticed it wasn't your typical menu you'd expect from an authentic Japanese restaurant.

We had previously eaten elsewhere before, so we were looking for a small snack because we were excited to eat at a supposed "authentic Japanese" restaurant.

Unfortunately, the lady was rude as she insinuated we needed to order more food because it's going to be busy that night. (implying we needed to order enough food to justify us eating in the restaurant).

Any attempts at speaking Japanese with her was completely ignored. This made me even more suspicious.

Reluctantly, she took the order for our food and told the chef.

We had the karaage which wasn't much to talk about. It wasn't that good and tasted very different from when I was in Japan.

It was only at the end AFTER paying the bill that she started speaking Japanese. Apparently, she lived in Tokyo, but based on the food I was served, I begged to differ sufficient effort was put into providing authentic Japanese food and service.

Therefore, I'm reluctant to call this an authentic...

I was actually quite excited to have some japanese food. I saw their teriyaki dishes. My girlfriend and I had chicken teriyaki and salmon teriyaki both served with rice, salad and potatoes. Little did I know that the salad wasn't even fresh, the 'potatoes' were literally frozen french fries mixed into the salad and the rice was heated with a microwave because we heard microwave 'ding' sound just before we got our food.

Worst of all, the teriyaki sauce. It was just too salty! Teriyaki sauce isnt like that! The owner/manager really defended the teriyaki sauce that its a special sauce with broth and what not. There was no flavour of mirin or a hint of sweetness to the sauce. I am almost certain it was just soy sauce.

Despite my complaint to the manager/owner early on during my meal and only had a bite of our food after concluding it was too salty, the manager/owner only said 'oh I'm so sorry' and walked away. She didnt even offer to replace our food if we want something else or even a refund. We had to grin and bear it as we hadn't eaten all night and was just happy to see that open. I was so disappointed especially because I was so excited to eat...