Hanami Sushi Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Belmont

From my Yelp review: For the love of all things, DO NOT EAT HERE. Every dish was the very worst, most flavorless version of itself. Rice? Dry. Curry sauce? Weak, watered down flavor with something lumpy added. Like a thickener. Tonkatsu? Dry & chewy. Pork belly yakitori? No yakitori sauce, dry and inedible. No sauce on the chicken yakitori either. Agedashi tofu - tofu was cooled, not hot, sauce was kind of cold, it only had shreds of bonito, not flakes, no daikon, & sauce flavor was watery, very weak flavor. The veggie tempura appetizer was crispy but the oil had an unfresh flavor, the wheat batter had no flavor (& small portion for the price, as the kicker). My daughter ordered Tonkatsu ramen & got the entree. There was some chicken appetizer that was overcooked, with a tiny bowl of dipping sauce to make these edible.

And when we first sat down, the busses spilled all 3 glasses of ice water all over the table & the waiter wouldn’t help dry it. And staff took forever to come dry everything down. The waiter handed ME napkins but it was like 6 cups of water. A worker kept telling him to clean it & not leave to the customer. My guest has wet trousers the whole night. It was $189 of my hard earned money for a total birthday disaster. I talked to the manager after & he should have comped the entire meal but instead offered a $25 coupon. I declined as we'll never go here again!!

The more I thought about it, the more shocked I was that I wasn't offered something for the water disaster, like a free meal, but then the whole dinner was so bad..and the manager didn't bat an eye or offer to comp at least some of it.

I'm embarrassed, crushed that my daughter's birthday meal was a disaster, my guest had wet pants the whole meal, and I'm just furious that we didn't matter much to the manager or the waiter.

Don't waste your money on this 4th rate "Japanese"...

Reading all the negative reviews about service and owner's feedbacks like "we will adjust", "we will talk to the staff", "we addressed it", "we won't disappoint next time", I decided now it is time to visit. There are A LOT of such reviews, taking into account it is a new place with ambitions. As their website says they are closing at 10pm, I stopped by at 9:05pm - I was alone there, just for a quick dinner. However, when I entered Hanami I was told that kitchen is closed. Imagine, 1 hour before the closing time! None of the places, even rural ones, closes earlier than 30min. Moreover, earlier kitchen closing time is always announced on the website. For me, it is just a lazy and disrespectful staff who doesn't want to work. The issue is that it is fully supported by owner as the staff was not even afraid to kick customers out! Such attitude is spread all other the restaurant, so they definitely don't deserve any local support - let them stay empty forever and calmly go! Neither of upscale (and not only) Japanese places nearby behave like that!

PS: Anticipating owner's response in his style "we will fix it", I'm eager to ask how? By firing the entire squad? Including himself? Though, he is probably not strong enough to provide any...

I recently dined at a new Japanese restaurant in Belmont and would give it a 3-star rating. The ambiance was inviting, characterized by its open and spacious layout. The restroom was notably clean and creatively adorned with Gundam and Godzilla posters.

The sushi, particularly the maki rolls, were a standout, beautifully prepared and flavorful. The Tamago (egg) sashimi was flavorful and was homemade. However, the rest of the kitchen offerings largely missed the mark. The Lemon Ginger fried chicken, made from breast rather than the more flavorful thigh, was underwhelming and small in proportion to its cost.

As for the ramen, I can't stress enough how much it deviated from what one would expect. The Tonkotsu soup was inexplicably clear, and the dish as a whole bore little resemblance to authentic ramen. If you're a ramen aficionado, steer clear of this option.

The Shrimp Tempura was mediocre at best. The breading and batter straddled the line between Japanese fried shrimp and genuine tempura, failing to deliver an authentic experience.

In summary, while the sushi excelled, the kitchen dishes left much to be desired. If you're considering a visit, I'd recommend sticking to the...