Haru Sushi Izakaya — Restaurant in Fort Wayne

Simply put, Haru is in a strange position in that it offers almost proper "fine dining", in a place that has almost no business having fine dining.

I already wrote a review for Haru some time ago, back when it just opened and I still reviewed places piece-to-piece based on what I ordered in the couple of meals I had. I have gone there many more times since and, well, let me just share with you some more general thoughts now.

I cannot say for sure if the owners of Haru are Japanese and I don't want to assume nationality, but what I do know is that Haru is a Japanese restaurant. A VERY. Japanese restaurant.

The thing is, it doesn't feel like it belongs in Fort Wayne. It doesn't even feel like it belongs in Indiana. Haru feels more like a Chicago place that just happened to be placed here. And I'm not saying Fort Wayne can't have classy or upscale restaurants. But this is not like Eddie Merlot's, Baker Street, Hideout, or even Umi. Those have expensive but popular stuff like sea bass, filet mignon and lobster abound but Haru, at one point, served.

Bloody.

MAKOGAREI!

If you don't know what that is, it's Hokkaido flounder. More importantly, it's an exceedingly uncommon fish that is hard to find even in Japan. It's the furthest thing away from a safe bet to put on the menu, and I was taken aback that it was even an option. Even within the omakase scene, this is pretty rare (and the way they serve some of their pieces is very much omakase-like). Makogarei is not the kind of stuff you buy to "treat yourself" or to impress somebody on a date night, the way A5 wagyu or lobster nigiri or tomahawk ribeye is. Makogarei is the stuff you get when you have been into food to such a degree that it might be unhealthy for you. Because it's bland, it looks a little bit like fluke, and it's expensive as hell.

(Sadly I do not have a picture of this piece at Haru. You'd just have to trust my word for it that I had it once. By myself.)

And I feel that this deserves repeating: Haru is a Japanese restaurant. It's not a restaurant that does Japanese food. It's not a restaurant that focuses on Japanese cuisine. It's not like Sakura, Koto, Asakusa, or Umi. It's a JAPANESE restaurant, in every sense of the word. As in, the only other time I got this vibe was during my 2-week-long trip to Tokyo some time ago. From the way they greet customers, to the way they approach their menu, to the way they SCORE FISH... Just put a vending machine that spits out a ticket for your order of choice in there and it's all exactly what a modern diner in Japan would do.

I don't always appreciate their prices, but I appreciate what Haru is trying to do, and what they are capable to offer. My only fear is whether most other diners would appreciate the same.

P.S. Their ramen is very Indiana-like. Go try...

This place unfortunately is the home of the worst ramen i've ever had. We're from out of town but usually ramen is a safe bet so we decided to eat here and my friend couldn't get even half way through hers. I ate the pork & noodles but not much else. We both ordered the garlic truffle tonkatsu and the broth itself was pretty gross, made only worse by the flavor of the kale which i've never had offered at a ramen place so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Suprisingly it was disgusting, we both pulled the kale out which made me feel like a petulant child who didn't want to eat their veggies when normally i'm very good about eating whats given to me. The egg almost made us both vomit, I usually expect a pretty solid egg thats been soaked in some sort of vinegar/soysauce mix but this fell apart so bad I couldn't pick it up with chopsticks and it had the texture of slime with no flavor.

The corn and mushrooms didn't add anything positive to the pot but the pork was passable. I had also asked for red onions to be added to mine, in other places they will just give you a portion and cook it with your ramen so that its involved in the broth but they brought me out just a plate of raw onion to add myself which I had to waste most of it or else i'd be eating more onion than ramen. Their noodles also weren't your typical ramen noodles, I think they might've been some sort of wheat noodle because you could see brown specks in them but on the menu it just said "Thin noodles" so we didn't know.

The whole ordeal was only made worse after our seperate totals were about $40 each after tip, and yes we still tipped. I'm shocked this place has such high reviews but I can only assume its because everyone comes for the sushi, which sadly we didn't try or maybe my review would be higher. I'll never be back here to give it a second chance, mostly because it's about 3hrs away from where I live but whatever you do, don't get their ramen. If you insist, then I reccomend asking them for their normal tonkatsu, no kale, no egg, and maybe ask for one of their sushi options because they seem to be loved...

Wow!!! What a gem. Seriously, best in town.

My family is so glad Tony decided to take a chance and open his restaurant here. Thank you, Tony!

You’ve tried the rest, now try the best in Fort Wayne.

The menu layout and photos are fantastic and makes it easy for everyone to know what they’re getting (super easy for my kiddo!). There is a large selection of signature rolls and offerings you’ll only find here.

The food is a delight. Extremely fresh with good standards of execution and attention to detail. All of the nigiri was hands-down the best I’ve had in town. Everything was prepared with technical skill and love.

It was great to see a little bit better of a selection of saké than just the low grade, bulk bag-in-the-box and flavored stuff we usually see in town. No Nama Genshu (unpasteurized) but they do offer Junmai Ginjo and Daiginjo. The prices were very reasonable for the sizes and quality offered.

The staff, including the owner Tony, were all very friendly, patient, and kind. We felt comfortable and welcomed. A true family owned/operated establishment.

My family had a lovely experience and can’t...