Hanami Sushi & Sake Bar — Restaurant in Carmel

TLDR: Good vibes, good sushi, but everything else was a miss.

Was craving some Japanese food and the other options in Carmel/Westfield have really declined recently, so decided to give Hanami a try.

Starting with the positives: the sushi was very good and arrived quickly. I would come back just for sushi. The place is decorated well and is comfortable.

Unfortunately the rest of the experience was negative. Server was slow and very inattentive. Sat for 15 minutes after eating waiting to be checked in on or asked for the check. Witnessed the customer next to us ask the host for their check because they sat just as long unattended.

Food-wise, the ramen was not special - I regularly make better bowls at home - which defeats much of the purpose of eating out. I ordered the Katsu Don and it was a HUGE miss. The flavors were there, but it was prepared poorly. Pork cutlet was soggy and extremely hot; the sauce appeared to have been absorbed by the pork. The restaurant was not busy while I was there, so I assume this is the regular result.

I went in on a Saturday evening at 5:15. Very few people inside when arrived, but the host indicated that there was only one table available to me since I didn’t have a reservation. Making reservations is not made known well by either their Google page or their website. I suppose it must be by phone only.

To me, it is clear that this is just another Carmel special. They nail the vibes and have a great location, and many people often overlook the food and service quality because of the vibes. I will say that it wasn’t bad enough for me to not give it another try. So, perhaps it was a one-off. I will update my review after trying...

Came in on a Saturday night to celebrate a birthday. Service was pretty slow but it was busy and they seemed to be low on staff so it was understandable. The ambiance and decorations were gorgeous and made the experience better. We got an appetizer, entree, and 2 rolls and were stuffed! Staff were very friendly and were obviously working very hard.

Crab rangoon: Soooo good! So flavorful and there was actually enough crab inside unlike some places where it is all cream cheese. Definitely recommend starting out with these.

Teriyaki salmon: The portion size was large. The flavor of the salmon was delicious. The vegetables were slightly undercooked but the salmon made up for it. Also came with a miso soup which was some of the best miso soup I have ever had.

Lava sushi roll: Presented on fire. It was very good and very filling unlike some sushi rolls.

Prime de lobster roll: I so badly wanted to love this (given it was $40) but it was underwhelming. The lobster salad that it came with was amazing, I would honestly rather order just that. The roll itself was dry and the amount of rice took away from the actual fillings. I think the idea is there, just was hoping for more given the price.

Overall I would definitely love to be back later on once they have more time to come together. Based on my experience I would recommend the actual entrees over the sushi rolls, but maybe we just ordered the wrong ones. I can’t wait to see how this...

TLDR: Solid date vibes and great location. Food is as expected.

Food: We got the tuna tartare, salmon avocado hand roll, salmon nigiri, rainbow roll, and kara miso salmon. Right off the bat, the tuna tartare was lukewarm paired with chips that resembled the skin of crab rangoons. It feels like they have a tub of every protein in the back and serves different dishes with the same tub, as tuna tartare is conventionally minced to a paste (cubes in this case). For the chips, I’m not sure whether to commend the reuse of the crab Rangoons fried wonton skin, since I was expecting tortilla chips which provide more stability and crunch. Regardless, the salmon avocado hand roll and the other sushi’s were delicious. I especially like the kara miso salmon roll with its deep flavor profile. The lychee martini drink was also amazing. The price point for the quality of food possibly reflects the expensive nature to upkeep a business in this location.

Service: Prompt, friendly, and not aggressively hospitable.

Atmosphere: the place is cute! great place for a date night. Would love to have a music playlist that resembles the restaurant though. Olivia Rodrigo and Bruno Mars could be replaced by instrumental music to compliment...