Hiko Japanese Steak, Sushi & Ramen — Restaurant in Waterloo

My mom and I ordered a bunch of stuff to try this evening for dinner. We have not yet been to or tried Hiko's since it opened but we were extremely excited as we love sushi but finding good sushi in Waterloo is near impossible as this town tends to lack in diversity.( I was so happy to hear that this restaurant was opening in town!)

The sushi was absolutely delicious, my mom said it was even better than the other place she likes. She got the shrimp bento box and I got the salmon teriyaki. The salmon was perfectly cooked, not dry, and beautifully seasoned. The sauce was amazing! It is definitely my favorite and will be getting it again next time.The rice and spring rolls it came with was very good as well. I don't know why others were saying it's plain?? The scallops were cooked perfectly as well, not mushy or rubbery. The squid salad was so good and full of flavor! We got a bunch of different sushi rolls to try and we have come to agreement: Hiko's is our new favorite sushi place!

Everything was cooked, seasoned, and packed to perfection. Our order was big and I was scared something would be messed up or forgotten-- clearly I have underestimated the staff!! My mom said they were so kind and polite! We will definitely be back! Thank you Hiko's for bringing this beautiful restaurant full of rich culture and flavor to our small town of Waterloo.

If you've not tried this place yet, you are...

I had high hopes for Hikō and was very disappointed to see it is a generic ‘pan Asian’ type sushi joint.

My friends and I ordered ramen and our food took nearly an hour to arrive, meanwhile my friend who ordered bento had already finished his entire meal.

The ramen is package quality, not fresh noodles that are too soft, and katsu should not go on ramen - the breading falls apart immediately. Watery, generic broth. Why katsu on ramen and not tempura soba or udon? I am confused why there were no pork broth ramen options, the classic Hakata tonkotsu flavor with chashu. It’s like the owners do not like pork?

The bento my friend got was like a lean cuisine idea of a bento. Chicken teriyaki, really? No pickled plum, no hijiki seaweed salad, no wakame, meals not served with a side of tofu, miso and rice. Even a hambagu steak would be more authentic. The balance of traditional Japanese cuisine felt missing.

Sushi I saw folks ordering appeared to be largely maki (rolls) to appeal to a western taste. Prices seemed quite high for the limited amount of fish that actually goes into a maki versus rice and vegetables.

I would have appreciated fresh mochi as a dessert or roll keeki. This restaurant seems to be another Sarku/Shogun-type western imagining of Japan. Which is a shame because I think people in Waterloo would appreciate authenticity.

Missing Nobu’s in STL...

Finally got to try it out tonight! We were quickly seated. Arrived for an early dinner to beat the rush. Glad we did.

Went with the intention of sushi but watching several other plates come out made the decision challenging. Decided we'd stick with the sushi plan and come back for hibachi.

The server was very attentive and polite. We ordered the Philly roll, the Caterpillar roll, The blues roll and the Chicken roll (minus cucumber).

Our server apologized for taking a long time but I didn't feel like it was a super long wait since about every table was full. A few minutes later our meal arrived.

If I'm being picky- the only thing I'd change is a bowl for soy sauce instead of the small appetizer plate they provided. We didn't ask for anything else. As polite as they were they'd probably bring one out.

Having been in this building before with previous restaurants- they did a nice job painting it and making it feel more accommodating and comfortable.

Parking is easy since it's in a shopping center.

Will definitely return to try...