Hana Japanese cuisine — Restaurant in Odenton

Tl;dr Maybe racism lol?

Great food. Lovely dining area. But, about the service... The first time I went to Hana for carry-out, "waiting" was the name of the game. Waiting to be acknowledged at the door, waiting to have someone take my order, waiting (quite a while) for the order to come out, while waitresses hurried around me, careful to keep a healthy 4 feet of space between us and a wary side-eye on me as they passed. The only thing quick was the moment when my bag suddenly and unceremoniously appeared in front of me, without a word. My verdict at the time: maybe the atmosphere would be friendlier if I were to eat in.

Fast forward to today: it's late, I'm nearby, and suddenly I'm craving a salmon roll. I'd be surprised that they're still open, but they are! Sign is on, Saturday hours are until 10:30, cool. Until I get out of my car and walk up. Suddenly, the OPEN sign goes off. A woman comes to the door and locks it. "We're closed," she says, when I don't seem to understand her attempts to shoo me away. "Not even for one roll?" Nope. But it's... Well, you can see the picture posted with this review.

I work retail, I know it sucks to have someone come in at the last minute. Generally I would be forgiving, but I've been treated this way at restaurants before, and the common thread was being the only black face in a pale space. It's especially painful this time as someone who benkyou shimashita'd Japanese all four years of high school, spent some time in the country, and was thrilled to find an authentic restaurant right around the corner. Would have liked to sit on a zabuton and enjoy some tonkatsu for the first time in a decade, but it's not worth feeling...

I just don’t understand how people put up positive reviews for restaurants and rave about their food when they either lack tastebuds or have no idea what the food is supposed to taste like. I got a simple tempura udon soup which you have to agree is a staple at a Japanese sushi restaurant. The only saving grace of that dish is that they serve 3 jumbo shrimp tempura with it. It’s all downhill from there. Even the tempura shrimp is over battered and heavy. But the real sin is the broth. It’s sort of a failed concoction of tangy and savory but under seasoned and a heaping helping of SESAME OIL floating on top. I do not like wasting food nor money and was quite hungry on a fairly short lunch hour so I did eat it but barely touched the broth. There was noodle, 3 pieces of fish cake thing- the pink one, not naruto, and like two skinny slivers of green onion floating on top. It was a major disappointment. To be fair I didn’t have any of their sushi so I cannot comment. Ambiance and smell was fine. Restaurants have to get the BASICS right if they want to earned their customers hard earned cash. I can only imagine what some of these people that gave the food positive reviews...

This is the first time I have left a review for a restaurant before, and that is because the food served here was subpar at best. My friend's ramen was surprisingly bland and tasteless. Yet, the chicken fried rice that I ordered was way too salty. It is a wonder it came from the same kitchen! The server conveniently forgot to mention that drink refills cost the same amount as the initial drink, and disappeared often throughout the entire time we were eating although we were the only guests there. The sushi was also very subpar even though that was the main reason we came here. I had to ask for a to-go box not because I was full, but I felt that it would be a waste of money for me not to, especially considering the high prices for low quality of food. Right after my friend got stomach poisoning. The only thing I would recommend here is the $4 Pepsi...

I recommend anyone in Odenton to go to Pho5Up instead. Although it does not serve sushi, the pho & appetizers they serve are much more better than the bland and/or salty food you will receive when you order at Hana...