Hayabei Sushi — Restaurant in Hilltown Township

Sushi is my all-time favorite food! From AYCE sushi to tasting menus, I appreciate all "levels" of it. Back when I was in Philly, I had my spot of regular menus and I've had omakase at Royal Izakaya, etc. Since moving here, I've been a regular at spots such as Oki, Kung-Fu Sushi, Hachi, Umai, Ma Dang, Ooka, Cho Cho San and others. I know my sushi!

With that being said, my experience with Calvinand Evan and their staff at Hayabei was probably my favorite dining experience of them all.

Service + Interior The servers were incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful with the menu, frequent re-fills, and in bringing out the food and answering questions. The restaurant itself is beautiful and is a very clean space with a nice ambience and great music. I've gone twice now so far!

The food is simply delicious. Everything tastes so fresh and goes so well together. There is so much care and thought placed by the chefs into the rice itself, the fish, and other ingredients.

Now, what took this experience to the next level and what convinced myself to actually leave a review, was the service from the owner and head chef, Calvin.

To celebrate Father's day early, my parents and I went and had his omakase tasting menu. According to my parents, it was the "best sushi they've ever had." From grilled wagyu to uni over oysters to his sushi tasting itself, it was a truly amazing experience. My dad had such a great time talking to Calvin and him and his staff really went above and beyond in explaining everything and being so kind and personable. He discussed his background in sushi and gave me some pointers for my upcoming Japan trip too! I even asked him if he could prepare a separate omakase menu for my fiance (who doesn't eat raw fish) and me (I do) when she is here with me. He said he'd be more than happy to do two separate menus simultaneously. Who does that?! What a great experience!

Call in now! I promise you won't regret it. Whether it's to stop in for a quick bite, a nice lunch/dinner date, or a fantastic experience, they do it all. I'll be sure to come back again and again.

Edit 2/18/25 - Still the best sushi...

Disappointing Experience Despite a Cute Atmosphere

We were initially drawn in by the restaurant’s charming and cozy atmosphere, but unfortunately, that was the highlight of the evening.

From the moment we walked in, the service set a disappointing tone. The hostess—who also served as our waitress—seemed visibly annoyed by our presence. She dropped the menus on the table without a word and walked off. We brought our own wine and had to ask for glasses, which arrived late and were dusty and clearly not clean.

We started with the tuna sampler appetizer, which was a letdown. The fish was dry, and the rice was so loosely packed it disintegrated in the soy sauce. We ordered two specialty rolls: the Vampire and the Mega roll. Instead, we received the Vampire and what appeared to be a Naruto roll. Mistakes happen, but there was no acknowledgment or correction offered.

The quality of the fish was subpar—lacking both freshness and flavor. While we weren’t expecting premium sashimi, we did expect something more enjoyable than what felt like low-grade ingredients.

In short, the service was inattentive, the food was underwhelming, and the overall experience left much to be desired. Cute decor can only carry a restaurant so far—unfortunately, this one doesn't deliver where it...

Update: The restaurant manager reached out to me about the situation and made amends. I really appreciate their customer service!

Food is excellent. Probably the best sushi in the area. The only problem is wait time for pick up orders. The first time I visited it was 20 minutes past the pick up time for my order to be ready. This time it was 45 minutes past the pick up time. I was told just a few more minutes for it to be ready when I arrived. The one person who was waiting before me said he had to wait 30 minutes past his told pick up time. I’m not sure if it’s a staffing issue or what but if you do order from here, assume 30+ minutes after the time you’re told it will be ready. It wasn’t even busy, which is sad to see. There were only 2 other people waiting in front of me. I ordered food just for myself so it wasn’t even like it was a large order. They also told a couple who came in and ordered food to go while I was waiting it would only be a 20 minute wait. If you order food to go, take wait times with a grain of salt and expect to wait longer. Otherwise, the food here...