Hanabi Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Duluth

In short; a lovely bar, and great fresh cuisine.

This was my first experience with a Japanese restaurant, and honestly it was wonderful for how brief it was. I only came for some takeout, but honestly it really stirred my love for Japan's aesthetics with this little tribute of a spot that does the culture justice.

The professionals working with the sushi did a phenomenal job on the rolls we purchased, and considering the person I was with "isn't a big fan of fish," and enjoyed RAW fish the way they made it.. that's certainly a statement; this is the kind of person that would turn down a free salmon or catfish meal for a $10 steak any day.. so having that reaction from them to me speaks volumes about the food separated from my own enjoyment of the food.

It was tangy, not too spicy but pleasantly had enough kick in combination with the other flavors of my roll that it blended beautifully. The several types of caviar on my rolls also had amazing texture.. if I could recommend one thing when you go here, it's to chew slowly and thoroughly. Not that you need to.. but because you're going to want to savor the flavors of each component.

I would say if you're a person who values big "American average sized" portions.. you might need to search the menu a bit, but I'm sure they have something for you without needing to feel like you're being frugal. Ask the staff; they're great people who simply do their jobs well and I'm sure they'll help you find a satiating choice.

With all of these prior things, on-top of the great bar and selection of quality drinks, the appealing decor and artistry, in my opinion a really cute hostess that's very patient, and the amazing overall sense of traditional values and cultural respect.. I'm one person who truly valued and appreciated this being my first Japanese restaurant experience..

It's not Japan, and not exactly what you would expect if you're used to the high standards of the sushi bars there.. but Duluth definitely has a nice little slice of Japan in this restaurant. I would definitely visit again.

Take a shot with this place. You won't regret the experience, or at least you'll come out with...

We visited Hanabi on Saturday, about 4PM, just after they opened. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, and our server Brianna was wonderful. She made some good recommendations and was honest about things she didn't know. (You'd like to think that about every server, wouldn't you? It's actually uncommon.)

Drinks were tasty, and our party of 3 tried several menu items. I had oysters on the half shell as an appetizer. They were briny-delicious with a spicy kick. The Volcano roll was crunchy and yummy. We also had a sashimi & sushi combo. All of it was very good. If you have folks with you who are repulsed by the idea of raw fish, items like fried rice & pork dumplings are offered, too.

This place is not fancy. There are no mad knife skills whittling rosettes from salmon and life-like koi sculptures from ahi tuna blocks. (I've been to a couple of those places, and they're marvelous. They're also 15 times more expensive than Hanabi...and there's no such place within 400 miles of Duluth!) What you'll find is a small, comfortable place that serves the best Japanese food we've found in the area. The menu offers variety, and in my opinion, the sashimi is the star of the show.

What might have been a 4 star review (owing to some items other than fish) went directly to 5 stars because of our server Brianna. Servers can often make even "okay" food better, if they're good at what they do. Brianna was friendly & attentive, checking back with us regularly...even though the restaurant filled quickly. She put her substantial energy to work, elevating our early dinner there from a tasty meal to a Memorable Experience. If you're in Duluth & in the mood for tasty, affordable sashimi, this is the...

I will start by saying the food is great, BUT that doesn't out weight what happened to us tonight. My husband, kids, and I went for happy hour just after 5pm to just grab some food quick and leave. We were handed a happy hour menu, regular menu, and drink menu. We ordered three apps on the happy menu. It took a little while between ordering apps and ordering our food, which was weird because it wasn't super full in there. Finally we ordered, food took a little bit to get to us, we ate, and got the check. The checked seemed high, but we didn't question it at first. Until I went to go sign and noticed that our appetizers were on happy hour prices, but the rest of our food was not. When I questioned it, the male server was definitely caught off guard and very rude. He reminded us three separate times how tremendously busy he was and said that the food was entered after happy hour was over. Which must have been right after it was over. He told us he would go ask his manager to see if he could fix it, but not before reminding us how busy he was again. He came back and told us there was nothing they would do. So strange as we ordered off the happy hour menu, besides two sushi rolls. Between the rudeness and dishonestly, we won't be back. I'm sure the server and manager will be upset we didn't leave a 22$, but I won't leave a tip for rude behavior and dishonesty. I just would like to question, how many other people have you waited until just after 5:30 to put...