Hana — Restaurant in Missoula

Sadly disappointed and not planning to return. It was this past Sunday night that we visited. My husband does not prefer sushi so I chose a place that he could enjoy something different (Tempura etc) and I could get my sushi fix. I will begin with the fact that the place was up to cleanliness expectations (yay for clean!). When feasting on sushi I'm not wanting a California roll, I want true sushi. This place did not have much to offer in that realm. First off, our server did not completely describe the menu items which would have been helpful. I also did not expect imitation crab when ordering a dish with "crab" as an ingredient. It should be labeled as imitation crab (which is actually processed white fish). If I'm paying for crab, I don't want fake crab and would like to at least be informed accurately of which I will be receiving. Next lets discuss the lack of good service. Our server did not tidy table during meal as you would typically expect when dining out. After finishing the miso soup and such prior to the main meal, we set our finished dishes at the edge of the table to be taken away. When the main dishes came, they were merely added to the table. The empty dishes just sat there. Our server never returned to check on us. Had she returned to ensure everything was fine and inquire if we wished to order anything else she could have sold another bottle of Saki. Since she didn't, the restaurant lost out on additional money Not impressed with the lack of service and hospitality. Now for the food itself. I will start by saying that it did seem fresh and fine. In fact, the one scallop in my seafood/veggie Tempura was delicious! That was kind of the high note. I wish there had been more of that. Sadly however, the real disappointment was that the Tempura was way...too... greasy!!! After getting home our stomachs were not agreeing with us, and it's no wonder with how greasy those things were cooked up. Maybe they didn't rest them properly afterward to get excess grease off?

So, all in all, pass. We'll have to try somewhere...

Sushi Hana has been a long time favorite of mine, and the expanded menu when Yuriko took over the business has only made it shine more in my mind. I am always impressed to see her working hard alongside the other employees to create delicious food and a welcoming environment for customers. A meal here always fills the cracks in my soul.

In addition to some serious sushi choices, there are lots of options for those who cannot eat fish—tasty options, to boot! Great small plates, delicious straightforward ramens (with the most delightful char siu I’ve had), a solid udon and curry, and the most freakin fantastic deliciously crispy sesame chicken like you’ve never had before!! Seriously, it’s addictive. I also highly recommend the tempeh maki from the vegetarian sushi selection.

For desserts, the cherry blossom ice cream has a light flavor to it, specially made by Big Dipper for the restaurant using authentic pickled sakura from Japan; the Big Dipper green tea ice cream is also hard to go wrong with, such a smooth delightful taste and texture. My other (absolute favorite) dessert is the melt in your mouth rare cheesecake, paired with a uniquely flavorful berry yuzu sauce that will have you exclaiming “oishii~” in no time.

I have never had a fish contamination issue with this restaurant (which would make me very sick), but be aware that the tiny tobiko (fish eggs) do like to stick to everything and may appear on a vegetarian sushi if tobiko was used recently for a different or shared order—a perennial occurrence with sushi prep anywhere I’ve been. Fortunately they’re bright and easy to pick off if you are worried about a potential reaction! You may also request specifically that the chefs be cautious of an allergen for you, and I am confident your request would be honored.

If you’ve hesitated to visit this restaurant just because you don’t like sushi or fish, I encourage you to stop by and give it a try because there really is so much more on their menu than the...

My friends and I went on dollar sushi night, the Wednesday one. The service was lacking. The waitress didn't bother asking us if we wanted a menu, she just plopped down the dollar sushi menu, asked us if we were familiar with it, and we didn't see her for ten minutes.

We sat around, wondering how we could get a menu. My friend had to ask the host for one. Yes, we did come for dollar night, but we wanted to try other things too. I told the waitress I wanted vegetable tempura, but was brought shrimp tempura which costs five dollars more. It wasn't a big deal as I love shrimp tempura, but it was a little annoying. It was decent tempura. The gyoza itself was good. The sauce on the other hand was vinegary and definitely not traditional gyoza sauce. No one liked it.

The nigiri was fresh when it arrived. Half of our order was missing and we had to wait another ten minutes before the server graced us with her presence to fix it. The California rolls finally arrived not too long after that and they were fine.

I was super excited to try the ramen, but it was insanely disappointing. It was a huge bowel that was only 1/4 full. Mind you, I wasn't expecting a full bowl, but I've been to Little Tokyo in LA for ramen, and they load it up with noodles, meat and toppings. I paid $13 to only get half a serving. The ramen itself was fine, but severely overpriced and under portioned.

The kicker of our experience was when my friend asked for our check to be split. The waitress told us she was too busy. My friend had to sit there and split it up herself. What kind of service is that? She was incredibly inattentive all night and she thought it was unreasonable for a party of three to want the check split?

I'm reluctant to go back. Kobe and Asahi have great food and service. I think I'd rather give them my hard...