Hana Yori of Japan — Restaurant in Mishawaka

I'll be the fist to admit my experience with Japanese cuisine is lacking, but my experience was left wanting. I decided to go all out and treated myself to the prime Seafood Dinner($49.95, which included wild gulf shrimp, sea scallops, and North Atlantic lobster tail) and added the Sukiyaki Steak($16.00). I arrived right at 5 o'clock, my reservation time, and was sat at an 8 place seating that featured the flat top grill they are known for. The hostess was quite personable and welcoming. The server arrived shortly after and got our drink orders going. Once drinks were served she took our entrée orders, sent them back to the kitchen to prepare, then brought the first course, a mild and savory soup that was very good. Not overly complex flavors, though it could have done without the noodles, and benefitted from a few vegetables. Next came a salad that I found distasteful. I finished the salad even though it was not to my taste. The dressing was fermented in some fashion. By this time the chef was well into his spiel while preparing the fried rice portion of the meal, then the teppan vegetables. Once these were well on their way he added all the protiens to the grill. A few other diners at my table had the filet mignon, and I think one or two others had teppan steak. My Sukiyaki steak was thinner than the others but I was served last. I had requested medium rare but what I received was medium well, closer to well done. The flavor was excellent, but the steak was far too well done for my preferences. A couple of minutes after he placed my steak he then placed my seafood selection. Th flavors in everything was very good, but the lobster was very tough, far overdone and disrespectful of the premium ingredient. The shrimp was a bit over done, to the point that a crust had formed on one side. The scallops, however, we done absolutely perfectly, perfectly seared on one side, the rest perfectly fall apart tender. Absolutely the highlight of the entire meal. The last problem I had was that the fried rice was doused with far too much soy sauce. The only flavor I got from it was salt and soy. The Teppan vegetables were perfectly cooked, though maybe a little heavy on the soy sauce again, but not as bad as the rice.

After all was said and done not worth the $80 price tag(including tip). If I'm going to drop that kind of money I expect far better technique and inoffensive...

SAVE YOUR MONEY! GOT SICK AFTERWARDS. Not having been there in a while, my recent visit to Hana Yori of Japan in Mishawaka left me underwhelmed and somewhat disappointed. The restaurant, once a favorite, now demands urgent refurbishment and enhanced cleaning efforts.

Upon entry, a very noticeable, unpleasant odor was evident, and the lack of proper ventilation was immediately apparent. The dining area was uncomfortably smokey, leading to a distressing experience where a couple of us started coughing ( it was very was unavoidable at one point.)

Our chef's performance was lackluster, lacking creativity and enthusiasm, which was particularly disheartening as we were celebrating my daughter's birthday. Despite occasional references to the occasion, his engagement was minimal, mostly mumbling and fixating oddly on topics like '5-hour energy drink.' Despite this, I generously tipped him for our party.

The culinary mishaps continued with our orders, where one guest received less chicken than expected, and another was served chicken in addition to the requested filet mignon.

Furthermore, the cooking pace was sluggish, resulting in a jarring mismatch where our rice and noodles turned cold by the time our meat was adequately cooked.

An additional point of contention was the pricing policy on soft drinks - they were charged individually with no option for refills. In an era where most restaurants offer complimentary refills, this felt like a missed opportunity for added customer value.

The total bill for four of us amounted to $150, with $40 allocated for tips ($20 to the waitstaff and $20 to the chef) on top of the $150.

Reflecting on the overall experience and the cost, it did not equate to good value for money. Alternatives like Outback or Flat Top Grill would have likely offered a more satisfying dining experience at a comparable or lesser cost.

In summary, my experience at Hana Yori of Japan was far from what I had hoped for. With a heavy heart, I rate it 1 out of 5 stars and suggest exploring other dining options...

Took my Daughter for her Birthday on 11/09/2024 everything was good we got seated with 2 other ladies our chef came out and down hill it went we had Victor he seemed like he didn't even want to be at work he came out with bad energy he took three eggs off the cart and one of them flew out of his hand and smacked the lady and broke on her leg and she was pretty ticked off but she kept her cool then throughout the whole time of him cooking he had nothing but negative energy he didn't give us the right portion of rice and veggies that they usually give and when my daughter asked if he could give us a little bit more rice he gave an attitude and shook his head after he cleaned the grill off he looked at us and asked if we still wanted the extra rice we both said yes he left and never came back we saw him come out again and he went to another table instead of even coming to our table to make extra rice and he didn't give the correct serving of our appetizer with the shrimp he only gave us the one my daughter called in and talked to some people and I believe one of the managers and basically they said they pulled up a camera that showed we got the right portion of food and stuff they must have had a really dirty camera because we did not get the correct portion they could have at least replaced my daughter's food because it was her birthday I don't care if they replaced mine or my little girls I will not return to Hana yori again the food is really good but the price you pay for it and to get cheated out of your portion of food is not worth it again they could have replaced my daughter's meal because it was her birthday and she was very upset how...