Hanabi Sushi

This used to be my go to place for a cheap sushi bento but the quality has really declined over the years. While they have kept the price low, the sushi that comes in the bento has been cut down to very small pieces, and the sashimi itself doesn’t taste that fresh. The food itself is edible but it’s not great. Sad to see the restaurant so empty but I don’t think I’ll be back anymore.

3.5 stars
Was looking for the possibly cheapest sushi in the GTA and stumbled upon this place on Unilocal.according to other reviews, all meals come with tons of other sides, so I thought I’d try them out and see for myself.
It is a small place, with a small menu, combos don’t cost any more than 11 bucks.
30 SECONDS after we placed our order all other appetizers started coming in, you would be almost full by the time your food comes! The meal is complete with dessert as well, which is a bonus!
Service is really fast, and friendly. I like the sides that comes with the combos, you do not leave hungry. Meal comes within minutes, so this place is good if you’re in a rush!
Would definitely come back for cheap sushi. Quality is average, but you will not leave hungry, that’s for sure. There’s plenty of food for the price.
Review 67 of 100

Maybe it’s because I’m broke ass poor that I don’t mind the complaints I’m seeing.
Seating is very tight. It’s like they tried to fit as many seats inside as possible (which they probably did, let’s be real).
Salmon is pretty much the only sashimi available when you order the sets (but I primarily only like salmon in my sushi, so that’s a positive for me). It didn’t taste very fresh, but I can live with that.
Presentation is sloppy, but I can also live with that.
Service is alright. We got our food quickly, and even got additional items that I wasn’t sure were part of our meal (miso soup, salad, side dishes, etc.) That was a positive for me.
The pricing for this place is cheap too.
I would return if a friend wanted to come here, but I wouldn’t go by myself.

I been eating here for years and only order one thing. the chef special.
Comes with shrimp tempora, miso soup, salade, hand role, California roll, salmon sashimi, congee. Tofu and soup
Take out does not include ice cream, edamame
Small place, basic service and ambience.
Great for a cheap sushi fix. Nothing more nothing less.
This is low variety menu choices and menu photos are different than what you may receive. So order only the chef choice. If hi don’t like the atmosphere get take out!

Waiting in line at a Wal-​Mart purchasing clips to build a fort in my room later that night, we were getting hungry, we’re an indecisive couple so we like to blackball cuisines and introduce criteria to narrow down our options. «No burritos, no Chinese, no Korean, no purple foods…», 10 minutes later in line we were still getting no where, our main qualifier was «cheap», so naturally we call up our good friend Jeff to decide for us.
Hanabi or «Hanabu» (several 8“x11″ printouts of restaurant hours had Hanabu written on them) is a small Japanese restaurant hidden away in the corner of the Midland/​Finch plaza, it was busy on a Saturday night like any restaurant should be and it being a small restaurant, we squished ourselves in the foyer with our girthy friend and another 6 – 10 people before we were seated.
My girlfriend and I had ordered Bento Dinner meals while Jeff ordered the chirashi (probably the cheapest meal on the menu). Do not believe what you see on the menus, they are wildly inaccurate. Our bentos came in waves rather than in a bento box as shown on the menu, first the side dishes (miso soup w/​bean sprouts?, edamame, salad, a piece of salmon, and congee?), they were plentiful and tasted ok but some items were questionable for a Japanese restaurant. Next were the main dishes which came, the maki and sushi were of various shapes and sizes which may be attributed to the chef’s zany sense of humour, and the handroll was drenched in teriyaki sauce, he must really like his sauce. The portion size was generous for the pricing so we thought we were done but 20 minutes after we had finished, 2 plates of wild tempura appeared! There were 5 – 6 pieces of mixed tempura along with a bowl of inverted rice which was enough for a small meal in itself. Finally, the night was ended with a scoop of green tea ice cream.
PROS:
–Cheap (we knew we could count on Jeff)
–Large portion sizes and variety for a bento
CONS:
–Maki rolls look like they were made one handed, like the chef was preparing them 2 at a time to be more efficient
–uncomfortable ambience, the tables are quite close together, chairs are akin to a food court, and some random old man sitting with his back to us kept turning and staring at our table the entire night
–Confusing signage
–GF said the tea tasted a bit like soap
An OK place to fill yourself on the cheap if quality isn’t a concern.

This place is very cheap and decent sushi which is perfect if you’re on a budget and craving some sushi! They give a lot of appetizers on the side and it fills you up. You can always call ahead and ask for «take out». The customer service is amazing. Worth coming to try!
The only downside is that they do not offer many choices on sashimi. It seems they only have salmon for everything (salmon sushi, salmon sushi).

this used to be one of my fav japanese restaurants for some rather good and cheap sushi (and other food). the korean owner and bald dude (that is the only way i can describe him LOL) are very nice and hardworking. i would always order the «L» lunch special which is the udon with some sushi. the food is great ya know. ain’t too shabby for what it’s worth and plus you get some complimentary congee (THE GOD DAMN BOMB HOLY HELL), salad (your typical japanese/​korean salad), some miso soup, and a plate of edamame me, tofu and i believe shrimp tempura. oh yeah the presentation for the sushi ain’t the ABSOLUTE BEST (but they do taste rather good and plus it’s only one person working on it so owner got it hard)
now i actually haven’t been here for like at least two and a half years and legit just went today and was quite sad at how bad it has gotten. i was absolutely disappointed with the congee as it was not as good as before and not even salty. the portions for the complimentary food has decreased (can’t really blame them though. their business might not be doing too well since there are many other better-​looking restaurants in the plaza) and the miso soup tasted bitter. i order the «L» meal set again and damn like it took FOREVER FOR MY FOOD TO COME LIKE come on udon doesn’t take that long… over 30 minutes for food was a little much and they weren’t as busy as they used to be too so like ?! at least the complimentary ice cream still taste the same ‚(
overall, im quite upset with how bad it has gotten. the original owner (the sushi chef) still works here but the bald dude is no where to be seen (might be day off or idk) and they seemed to have hired some new workers (they were chinese. maybe that was why the food was taking so long and why it tasted different. no shade to chinese ppl though HOMEGIRL is one of you guys but still idk)

This place isn’t a bad place, I eat here pretty often and i get a good experience out of it every time. People that deduct stars because the sushi rolls aren’t cut perfectly or how its sloppy is pretty silly.
This is a local sushi shop in Scarborough, you can’t expect a 5-​star experience out of it every single time you go.
The food is pretty good for the price you pay, you get complimentary soup, salad, and congee. There isn’t a lot of space so if you decide to go with a group, 4 would be your maximum. The chef, waitress and everybody else that works there works hard, its hard to run a small local business so cut them some slack.

Terrible sushi restaurant.
Rolls are made so sloppy, rice is messy and very little filling. Sashimi is cut in irregular shapes of different sizes. Deceiving photos on menu do NOT reflect what you actually get when you order.
Don’t waste your time and money here! It doesn’t seem like the owners care or put any effort into their sushi at all.

I used to come here all the time with my family. It was a favourite because the owner always gave large portions of food and often treated us with little snacks that were «on the house». About a year or two ago, the quality (and quantity) of the food went spiraling downhill so we stopped coming. The food was being made with significantly less care and it became especially evident in the maki rolls where the rice would fall apart and the pieces were inconsistent in size.
Tonight my family decided to come back and give them another try and I’m glad we did. I love that after all this time, they still provide an assortment of complimentary dishes such as: congee, salad, edamame beans, tempura salmon, cold tofu, miso soup, and handrolls. Perhaps because it wasn’t a busy night, the complimentary congee, miso soup, and udon all came steamy hot which was fantastic. Warning to first-​timers though: the quality of the sushi/​sashimi here is definitely on the lower end. Don’t come expecting quality sushi because that’s not what you’re going to get and you’re essentially setting yourself up for disappointment. In terms of variety, this store really only offers salmon. Not that salmon isn’t delicious but even if you order «chirashi» which the menu photo depicts as an assortment of sashimi, you’ll likely just get salmon sashimi. My parents and I ordered the «Dinner for 3» combo tonight which costed $ 39.99 and we left with full bellies and some extras to take home. So yea, I would likely come back again next time.

Here’s what you need to know about Hanabi:
Salmon.
That’s all they have in terms of sashimi and sushi. Luckily for me, I love salmon which is why I come back from time to time. And I love the little sides that they give — and if you’re lucky, you get green tea ice cream at the end.
If you’re coming here expecting more variety, you will be disappointed. If all you care for is salmon for a decent price, this is the place for you.

If you have realistic expectation this is a great sushi place. I and my family have been a regular customer for 8 years now, coming here about 8 – 10 times a year. My son from his very young age loves the salmon sushi here and he is the main reason why we come. It is a small and packed place, reminding us of the typical dining environment in Korea, Japan, or Hong Kong. If you like this kind of ambience you will find it cosy, instead of crammed and noisy. The owner chef is a Korean and is very friendly and hard-​working.
The sushi is more Korean than Japanese. As other posts mentioned, the starters of congee, salad, miso soup, and fish are very good. We always order J, O, and G (or rice with sashimi on the other side of the menu). The service is usually fast (almost like fast food restaurant :)) and quality is predictable. Just see every visit as a visit to an old friend and you will begin to love this place!

Hanabi Sushi is a very simple little restaurant. I’ve been here a few times for lunch. The lunch combos are about $ 10/​person.
most of the lunch combos come with a soup and salad and then on top of that you’ll also get some appetizers including edamame beans, potato, and some sweet congee.
i think it’s definitely worth the $ 10/​person. though can be a bit hard to find. it’s way deep in the corner.

If you want a cheap filling meal with not much expectation, Hanabi is the right place for you.
Hanabi is one of the longest standing Japanese restaurant in the area, used to provide cheap hearty meal, sadly, this place has gone downhill over the years.
The food here used to look like the pictures in the menu. Now they are very different, sometimes I can’t even tell if what I got is actually what I ordered. Each meal comes with miso soup, a small bowl of delicious congee (so good), small lettuce salad, some edamame and a piece of salmon tempura with tofu. That’s a lot of appetizer, which make up for the not so impressive sushi, in fact their appetizers are my favorite part of the meal.
Since I only had $ 10.50 cash with me today I ordered a$ 6.95 California rolls with sushi combo. It was very filling. I got one salmon tempura hand roll, 6 pieces of cali rolls, 5 pieces of salmon sushi and 1 salmon tempura roll and salmon roll. As you can see in the photo, the fish/​avocado in the rolls are very very tiny. The rolls don’t look appetizing, as if the chef knows the people who come here are not looking for quality food, might as well not to put any effort in it. To be honest, the Cali rolls tasted bland, and very fishy from the tobiko. And seriously, make them look more like rolls, they are almost shapeless
I remember my first visit here being amazed by the price and good food. There’s barely any change to the price here as the ingredients are getting more and more expensive now, decrease on food quality seems reasonable.
Food_​2/​5 for sushi and maki, the sushi from loblaws are actually better, sadly. ⁵⁄₅ for the congee tho
Service₄/​5 fast and quick
Enviroment_​3/​5 as I mentioned, this restaurant opened for a long time, it is old and tiny, tightly packed tables
I would come back, only when I don’t feel like cooking. Good value, decent food, why not.
Ps, cash only, there’s an ATM in the convenient store few steps away.
DO NOT expect the food to look like the pictures on the menu!

The way to love this place is to keep your expectations realistic — we’re talking about a less than $ 10 sushi meal, that will make you full. Are you looking for a fancy environment for a first date? Or perhaps beautifully plated sashimi? Or uni? No, go somewhere else. This is where you make plans with old friends for a quick bite, when you text and say «din, midland/​finch sushi?» and they reply with «cool bruh, omw».
It’s tiny. The seats are cracking, so if you’re wearing short shorts, be careful. I always order «J» meal, which comes with tempura, a handroll, sashimi (8 – 10 pieces), maki (~ 6 pieces) and sushi (~6 pieces). The sashimi is never precisely the same quantity, but that’s because not every piece is cut the same size. Just go with it! Sometimes it’s all salmon, sometimes they have some tuna in it. It depends on their catch. This costs $ 9.95, and comes with appetizer of edamame, tofu, congee, miso soup and fried salmon belly. Excellent price for being completely stuffed!
Oh, and that’s also with green tea ice cream.
Pro tip — it’s cash only!

Tucked away in the very corner of the plaza, it looks undiscerning almost missable. The yellow lighting and old furniture and the very worn out faded menu didn’t make things better.
I settled on the tempura combo and my friend the charishi dinner. The charishi image on the menu had a variety of sashimi on top but the waitress had told us it was only going to be salmon…
The miso soup comes in a large korean stone pot with tofu and bean sprouts, so it was a large portion. It also came with salad, edamame beans, congee and a plate of appetizers including tofu and some grilled salmon (which felt so cold and was definitely made a few hours ago) but the complimentary dumplings were good
The tempura combo came with california roll (which she was nice enough to leave out the roe for me) a decent amount of salmon sashimi, and a tempura hand roll (again the salmon was cold and soggy and was made hours ago) The tempura itself was not so great, the 2 shrimp were fine, the sweet potato was covered in very thick batter and didn’t feel cooked through, the deep fried tofu again was so cold/​pre-​made.
The servings were large and there was also complimentary ice cream at the end. The waitress seemed apologetic and probably knows the food isnt that great. Don’t think i would return though…

Please dont expect anything upon entering this place. With the way everything looks, its pretty darn old and rubbish. From the menu to the décor to the walls. Giving this place 4 stars because of the ff.
price point is good.
Food was fresh
Lots of variety in combo
I had udon sushi combo $ 7.5 super full
Down side, salmon seems to be the only sashimi/​fish they have, i understand completely on where the guys coming from, he doesnt want waste and his store is too small for big fish like tuna snapper etc.

Once upon a time, before i started Unilocaling, I loved hanabi because you get your bang for your buck and I thought It was amazing .that was before I knew better.
Coming back to reminisce my high school memories, I was utterly disappointed. Unilocal had turned my taste palate into a diva !
Once seated and ordered, we were brought a dozen of starters like soup, salad, congee (random, I know!), fried salmon, tofu and edamame beans. Once my food came I understood why they gave away so much free apps.
On the menu, Order J looked like it had everything I craved: assorted sushi, sashimi, tempura, and maki rolls… But what came on my plate was 8 pieces of pre frozen salmon, 4 pieces of California roll, and a hand roll. My friend ordered something completely different and he got the exact same stuff. Nothing on my plate even remotely looked like the food I thought I ordered. The tempura was definitely the worse I’ve ever had. There was zero panko batter. Just a small piece of fried shrimp.
You’d spend 12 $ here … Why not spend the extra 5 $ to get yourself some quality sushi ?
I’d give one star… But because it is so damn cheap, I guess that’s one thing you have to sacrifice: quality.

Should have known better after looking at the rating on Unilocal.I was thinking to myself, the place is somewhat packed so can’t be that bad.
Couldn’t believe my eyes when I got the food order. So one would expect the food you order is not that far off from the pictures on the menu.
We first received some free miso soup in a good size Korean ceramic soup bowl for the table, portions of congee, along with small plate of free appetizer of edamame, tofu and deep fried salmon pieces… Which is what saved them from a zero star.
Chef’s special is a complete disaster. Our fish assortment turned out to be just Salmon galore. Chopped, not sliced salmon sashimi. And that’s the only fish we got. Salmon, salmon, and more salmon. Maybe should consider changing the name to Salmon paradise?!
And in terms of a roll… Is that even a roll?! Or a mushed up rice with a piece of seaweed, garnished with a bit of fish roe?! Oh boy…
Yea… For the experience…
We know to look for more reputable place next time.
Here are some pics of the menu versus what we got.

I’ve come here since high school, and now mainly just come when my mom or grandma want a quick super cheap meal.
All their menu items are below $ 10 and all their sets come with some soup, edamame beans, fried salmon with sweet sauce, fried tofu, congee at lunch and green tea ice cream for dinner and a salmon hand roll.
Their menu items look like it comes with a variety of sashimi but it’s really just salmon. Like all salmon. On the very rare occasion there may be one other fish but other than that it’s always salmon.
I mean, it doesn’t taste bad and you get a lot of free stuff for that cheap of a price!
So it’s great! But it’s not very impressive/​nice looking/​high quality food.