Hanazen — Restaurant in Orinda

I don't often give 5 stars but Hanazen earned it. One of a kind, artisanal preparation of lovely fresh ingredients, creating complex, nuanced flavours. Eating there for the first time requires a certain dose of humility and appreciation for art. I've been in many nice, pleasant sushi places but it had been a long time since I had been in a top-notch place where everything is about creating art not delivering a product. I say "art" as a compliment, not sarcasm: the art of a perfect balance of flavours, aromas, colours, shapes, and textures.

I'd read the Yelp reviews, especially the negative ones (I always do) before trying this place. I "get" what the negative reviewers were unhappy with, but I think they missed the spirit and quality of this place. For context, understand that this place is owned by a husband and wife who are chef and host--Kenji and Coco Horikawa--with no other personnel, and could seat 17 people at a time if it was jammed packed with no room to move. You go there for an evening of slowly savouring little bites of heaven and good conversation, not to have a well-timed meal before going to the Shakespeare play or the movies.

Most of the condiments, pickles, sauces, infused salts, and garnishes used in preparing the dishes are made by the chef himself rather than store-bought. This means that every element is so good it can be savoured on its own, but together they build these lovely complex flavours that unfold like slowly as you eat. The sake menu is also diverse and offers a range of flavours as wide as any sommelier's choice of wines in a fine French restaurant.

Service: The service started out formal and I understand why it seemed distant to some Yelp commenters. But as soon as we showed that we were interested, not too vain to receive pointers on how to appreciate the food and drinks, and happy to learn about the preparation details, we felt our host and server, Coco Horikawa, warm up to us. The service was attentive and helpful throughout the meal.

Freshness and Choice: This is the very opposite experience of chain restaurants where you can find everything everywhere, but of mediocre quality and always the same; it's the one-of-a-kind experience that will be a little different every time. So no long menu with dozens of wacky Americanized rolls, just a solid core list and a board with a generous list of the current delicacies. Coco Horikawa is a sake expert, and Chef Kenji Horikawa's speciality is kaiseki, a method of cooking that marks the seasons in Japan. Let them guide you to what's good and fresh today, and works well together.

Price: Just think why your run-of-the-mill sushi bar is cheaper: made faster, with cheaper, store-bought ingredients and using shortcuts like big piggish rolls instead of nigiri pieces. Let's not mince words, Hanazen is expensive for regular people on regular salaries--the kind of place we can only eat at for a special celebration. But it's priced correctly for the value, quality, care, and work involved.

Reservations: It's clear that every spot is marked "reserved" all the time. I believe the owners prefer to work by reservation only so they can pace the work and plan the ingredients accordingly. If you want to sit at the counter, mention that when you make your reservation.

Wheelchair access: Although Yelp says there is no wheelchair access, they actually put down a ramp in advance if you mention this in your reservation. However, don't expect that anyone will have time to stop preparing or serving food to take care of this if you don't mention it...

Hanazen is a true hidden gem. I didn't discover this place until 5 years into living in the Bay Area, and I make it my mission to find the best high-end sushi places. Tucked away in Orinda, the last place you'd expect authentic edomae sushi, Hanazen is run by a husband-wife duo. The restaurant is reservation only, and is never packed.

What impresses me about Hanazen is the attention to detail and education of the customer. Japanese people have a certain "kodawari" (commitment to a special way of doing something) with everything, so it's no different with sushi. You have to read a placard that explains how much soy sauce to put in your dish, how to hold the sushi and dip into the soy sauce, etc. There is a certain way to enjoy sushi in an optimal way. And if you're paying your hard earned money to eat luxuriously, why not do it the right way?

The omakase is top notch, and also reasonably priced. For 20 pieces, it ended up being around $100 per person. You'll be asked around 12 pieces whether you want to continue. There is no rush, of course. You can just keep enjoying each unique piece until you want to stop eating, which admittedly, is truly difficult.

My favorite pieces at Hanazen, now that I've been 3 times are: Smoked salmon with yuzu gelee: The acidity of the yuzu keeps it light but accentuates the savoriness and umami of the smoked salmon. Baby sea bream: I've had sea bream but not baby sea bream. And the slight char over the skin side really brings out the surprisingly rich flavor of this white fish. Mackerel (saba) with marinated kelp: Usually saba is served with a vinegar brine. But the marinated kelp has a slight sweetness to it, in addition to the rice vinegar. It's a different play to an otherwise typical piece. Albacore tuna with garlic and red chili pepper: I don't particularly like albacore tuna typically, but this piece was amazing, because of the toppings. I'm not joking, but it tasted like Korean barbecue! Anago with sansho pepper: I love anago. But this is a twist on an already delicious fish. The sauce is made from the anago bones after it has been chargrilled and made into the sauce, which is lighter than the typical sweet sauce you get. Additionally, the sansho was a bomb of a topping - it's not spicy so much as numbing. Really jolts you when you eat it.

If you love sushi and love exploring what's not typically available, Hanazen is a treasure. Just don't tell too many...

We went there for dinner tonight because I wanted high class sushi for my Christmas gift. Made the reservation a week ago and were there on time. I didn't notice there was an authentic Japanese sushi restaurant in Orinda even I passed by there many times. From my experience, good restaurants are always hidden somewhere.

The restaurant was incredibly clean, neat and cozy, it makes you comfortable. The chef greeted us and then started to prepare the 12-piece sushi omasake menu.

The sushis were all fresh, delicious, authentic and devine! After the 12 piece sushi from the omasake menu, we ordered 8 more pieces. Each of us had altogether 3 pieces of uni sushis, 3 pieces of fluke fish sushi and 2 pieces of pike fish sushi. As someone who have been to Japan 7 times and have always had the finest sushi in Hongkong, I can tell Hanazen is one of the best in the East Bay. My taste buds were pampered and satisfied.

Last but not least, I will recommend the sampler sake meun which comes with 3 different types of Japanese sake. The sake was presented nicely in 3 delicate glasses.

I'm looking forward to dine at Hanazen once again!

Won't leave this review on Yelp because Yelp is extorting business owners who do not buy for an ad space. Yelp does not deserve a...