Hana Sushi — Restaurant in Manchester

I just returned home a little while ago from Hana, and boy am I disappointed to be writing this review.

I have been going to Hana for years because my parents live about 30 minutes away and it used to be one of the best places for sushi in the area. The place is a little hole in the wall, out of the way a bit, and only has a few tables, so don't expect to come with a large party during peak hours, as they don't take reservations.

I'm not sure what was going on today, because everything was disappointing, particularly the service and the food.

Upon walking in about 2:15pm today, 45 minutes before the end of their lunch special, we were not greeted by the sushi chefs or the host/server. They all just stared at my girlfriend and me, without even a hello. When the host finally acknowledged us, I smiled and asked for a table for 2; he responded "Okay, go sit down" and pointed vaguely to the table in the corner.

I would like to say that his demeanor improved when he came to the table, but sadly it did not. Regardless of how many times I smiled and thanked him, he refused to engage with us beyond muttering "Drinks?" or "Ready to order?" He never once smiled, asked us how the food was, asked if we were ready for the check, or thanked us for coming in.

He did, however, seem to enjoy sitting at the sushi bar and eating his lunch. Look, I'm not one to deprive a kitchen and waitstaff of lunch. I have worked in a kitchen, and I understand more than most that you're tired by this time of day and you're probably starving. I'm not even hung up on him, the chefs, and the owner all eating in the dining area, because there was only one other table of diners and the place is so small there's probably no break room in the back. But I do have a problem with feeling like I'm interrupting your lunch, or that I'm a burden for coming into your restaurant and eating. That is never an atmosphere you want in your restaurant, because it guarantees people won't be back.

Beyond the service and general air of unpleasantness, I had a huge problem with the food. The Crispy Tuna Salad Hand Roll appetizer, which previously has been amazing, was just so-so. The contents of the hand roll were delicious, but the wonton wrapper tasted almost stale and was difficult to chew. My girlfriend and I both ordered the Roll Combination lunch; between the two of us, we had the Eel, Spicy Salmon, Tuna, and Yellowtail rolls. The Spicy Salmon wasn't very spicy, though the fish flavor was delicious, and the Tuna was fairly buttery. I liked the Yellowtail and Eel, but there wasn't enough of it in each roll. The Eel was 75% cucumber, so much so that you could barely taste the fish, and the Yellowtail inexplicably had lettuce inside (as one other reviewer's photo indicates). I have been to several other sushi restaurants in the area that charge about the same as Hana for a much better proportion of fish/rice/veggies in their rolls.

Overall, I was extremely underwhelmed. Even the female owner/chef was there, eating her lunch, and I expected her to be upbeat and friendly like I remember her from my past meals; yet she was also unfriendly and disconnected from her diners. Hana would have gotten at least 4 stars from me if I had reviewed it based on my past visits alone, but today was a huge disappointment. I give it 2 stars solely for the positive memories I...

I called in an order and noted my shellfish allergy. I've ordered from other sushi restaurants before with no problem, so I thought this time would be no different. Well, I just left the hospital for an allergic reaction to shellfish. When I called to inform them of what happened they kept making excuses as to why it couldn't have happened. The woman I spoke to just kept saying yup and okay and was very dismissive to this very serious reaction. I don't recommend this place.

Update After I called the health department, the woman admitted to putting shellfish on the top of my sushi and said she didn't think it would be a problem. 10/10 won't ever visit here again

Second Update Not sure why they responded asking why I still order from them. I have not ordered from this "restaurant" since they intentionally put shellfish on my food and put me in the hospital. Why in the world would I want to order from somewhere that could quite literally kill me?? Message to the owner, I urge to you take food allergies more seriously. You may end up seriously hurting someone in the future and this review is to inform others with a shellfish allergy to avoid your establishment if they don't want to end up in a hospital due to an allergic reaction. Do you realize that allergies come in varying degrees of severity and that you could potentially take someone's life if you continue to disregard customer...

honestly the best sushi in ct. this place has ruined all other sushi for me. ill be eating something and think "this is good, but its not hana." i order on average 1-2 times a month. the staff is great and the food is incredible. the rice is out of this world, the texture is great and its so delicately, perfectly seasoned. the fish is the main attraction which is what matters. i tell everyone to go here because they havent tried sushi until theyve tried hana sushi.

on a personal note, im recovering from horrible food poisoning at the time of writing. all i could think of stomaching was mackerel and hana rice. i asked for a custom mackerel roll (as pictured, in the right side of the container) and its incredible. maybe its the cracker diet talking but its the best thing ive ever eaten. yellow tail, scallions, and avocado inside, topped with thick mackerel and avocado. its like my mind was read, this restaurant has the best understanding of flavor out of pretty much any other ive eaten at, regardless of cuisine. chicken soup was enough to make me ill during my recovery, but this meal is making me feel normal again, and my stomach feels great. i seriously cannot recommend this...