Hanami Japanese Cuisine

It seems to me that every AYCE sushi deal is owned and operated by Chinese folk. This is not a bad thing per se, but for some folks it means cutting corners on freshness and lacking the authentic boot to kick start any type of appeal. Unfortunately, this was the case with Hanami, and was likely responsible for their closing last year.
The place was dark, almost seedy to the point where most of these places tend to look alike. In direct view is the sushi chef, along with a counter where folks can witness his brilliance (or lack there of). Seating is going to geared toward couples more than they are for bigger groups, but the place was empty much of the time.
The AYCE sushi deal was basically this: for $ 24.95, you get a small menu of limited nigiri sushi and rolls and a complimentary glass of sake. I’ve heard of way better deals before, I was really just banking that the sushi was going to be worth my time. The verdict? Fairly mediocre, but edible. At this point most folks just eat to get their money’s worth, not necessarily to fill a hunger void (though that helps).
Nothing sampled was remotely good. Perhaps the only wolid choice was my eel-​avocado handroll since that was at the very least fresh. The spicy tuna rolls were virtually inedible and the crab stick was of the fake crab variety. Judging solely based on the sushi wouldn’t be entirely fair, so I managed to make sure I had plenty of the other food as well.
The results were far from stellar. I tried some tempura udon that was too soggy and soaked in a broth that tasted like it came from a packet (same goes for the miso soup too). Also was a recipient of the gyoza, which drew suspicions for it’s microwave like heat, as opposed to a fresh searing from the pan.
This AYCE sushi experience was just disappointing. And since I’m not the first to report on such issues, it was only a matter of time before Hanami rolled itself into oblivion.

I ordered lunch delivery from Hanami and thought it was mediocre-​to-​below par.
I ordered the Salmon Teriyaki Lunch special for $ 8.00. The lunch special comes with miso soup (ok), green salad (the usual lettuce, one cucumber, one cherry tomato, and orange dressing), and California Roll (ick! it was stiff and didn’t taste fresh, rice was sort of cold, which I thought was odd).
Salmon Teriyaki was decent, nothing to rave home about. Decent sized portion.
Would I order here again? Unlikely. There are other restaurants to try in the neighborhood.

H and I was around the neighborhood and it’s been awhile since I last been over here — a lot of businesses closed.
H and I both had tons of stuff, so I decided I didn’t want to go far and this place was conveniently close.
We were the only people there late at night and so I was a bit weary if this place would be good or not.
But surprisingly the miso soup, boston and east maki was really good.
The service was really attentive too — never ending green tea filling here!
I would come back!

For sushi: Not bad, not good.
As Tim writes below… this is a place to order into the office for lunch, which is exactly what we did.

Came here for a late spur of the moment lunch. missed the lunch deal by 10 min. Honestly, I thought they could’ve just given us the deal since there was NO ONE in the restaurant except for the waiters.
Ordered the yellow tail special roll and a clear soup. Roll was pretty good — soup was OK. My friend ordered the sushi special, which was also OK. I prob won’t be back… I’m a Gen loyalist — their dishes are inventive and well priced.
The service was interesting. I think the waiter was just making conversation but he decided to impart words of wisdom on our late lunch and Christmas shopping. He was great. but awkward.

Hanami is a at best one of those joints that you settle for when you’re looking for a place to order some sushi from for lunch at the office.
You know the stuff that isn’t very good, but for some odd reason you’ll settle for for the simple fact that you’re at the office. (Why is that by the way?)
The sushi is passable at best and if you stick with heavily masked items like the spicy tuna rolls you can avoid discovering whether it’s one of their off days.
I’ve found the freshness of their fish varies quite a bit. After the 3^rd or 4^th time I’ve finally decided to just stop ordering here, but sometimes the desperation kicks in and this is a convenient location so if you happen to work in the area and are looking for Japanese food to settle for during your office lunch hour, this might be your spot.
If you happen to get bad sushi, you’ll have a perfectly legit reason for taking a half day at work.

I used to belong to the YMCA on 14^th Street and post-​workout, I’d often visit Hanami for a quick dinner before catching the bus home to Staten Island. Of all the sushi places I’d been to in NYC (fancy and non-​fancy alike), Hanami was my go-​to place for affordable, delicious sushi.
Since I ate there at least once a week for more than 3 years, I developed a rapport with the sushi chefs and they’d often send over a little amuse bouche as soon as I set down (I always opted for table seating). Often times, it was just bits of fish or octupus over shredded daikon or noodles with some sort of sauce, but it was always tasty and it felt nice to be appreciated for my repeat patronage.
As far as nigiri sushi goes — the cuts of fish were always generous and fresh. Sushi, salmon, scallops would literally melt in my mouth. The maki was also very good and the proportion of fish to rice was always right-​on. Their spicy tuna rolls are the best I’ve ever had and to this day, I have not found any that even come close.
I have no idea how any of the non-​sushi dishes there are — for 3 years, I always ordered the same thing: either the sushi deluxe (substituting the tuna maki for spicy tuna — $ 1.00 extra) or spicy tuna, eel/​avocado, and yellowtail & scallion maki.
Then, about 5 years ago, I took a job opportunity in the Washington, DC area and my affair with Hanami came to a sad end. However, on any business trip to a NYC client (and there are many), I always try to fit Hanami in for a meal or two. On a recent trip, I discovered they had an AYCE sushi happy hour special that I’d apparently failed to notice for 8 years. Oh joy! My stomach was expanding with excitement at the mere thought, as I have been known to easily put away 16 – 18 pieces of nigiri in a single sitting on many occasions and still have room for dessert.
It was early on a weekday and I was one of a few patrons. I took the plunge and ordered the AYCE sushi, after carefully reading the disclaimers about being charged for any uneaten sushi or rice left on your plate, etc. I thought best to start off with small orders and gauge how full I was feeling before ordering more, as not to incur any «uneaten» food charges.
There must have been a new sushi chef on duty that evening and after I placed my first order, the waitress went over to the sushi chef and although I couldn’t catch every word, her hand motions spoke volumes: she told the sushi chef to make the rice part of the nigiri larger than usual and to pack it tightly. So, clearly, this is how they can get away with their AYCE deals — stingy portions of fish and HUGE beds of rice? I was appalled and almost took it personally, since I had been a consistent patron for so many years (but then I realized that since moving to DC 5 years ago, I’d only been there about 2 – 3 times a year and staff had changed, so I’d lost my «regular» status).
When my plate arrived, as I’d anticipated, my 8 pieces of nigiri were tiny slivers of fish atop HUGE portions of rice. I was starving when I’d arrived and after choking down the 8 sticky blocks of rice (imagine two fun-​sized Snickers bars stacked on top of each other and that’s an accurate size comparison), I couldn’t stomach anymore.
Were it not for this last incident, Hanami would’ve gotten an easy 5 stars from me – I’d never had an unpleasant experience there before. After reading some of the other reviews favoring the AYCE deal, perhaps this was just an off day with a vengeful waitress and newbie chef? I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here and only deduct 2 stars for this miserable experience.

Lovely atmosphere. It was quiet and dimly lit (in a good way) and the staff is very helpful but unobtrusive.
The sushi was pretty good, the tempura was better. The prices were about average, not a steal, not expensive either.

Aside from the fact that this place is in excellent proximity from the PATH, the sushi was very good. Great place to go if you are just getting into the city and want sushi, or if you are leaving and are craving some (drunk or not). Am definitely going back again.

After getting Pinkberry one day (it’s right down the block), a friend of mine decided that she also wanted to stop here and grab some quick sushi. Just from the outside looking in on this restaurant I could tell that it wasn’t going to be anything too spectacular. However, I was a little surprised by the fact that, while not being very good, it wasn’t a complete disaster. Their sushi was at least edible in comparison to most cheap sushi places. I went back a few weeks later and had their beef teriyaki, which was actually much worse. I recall their miso soup also being pretty flavorless.
If you absolutely must have sushi and are standing directly in front of this place, sure, go in, but don’t go out of your way for it.

So rolled here when Funayama made us wait 1 hr for food that apparently according to Billy C. Gave people salmonella… (So I guess we should be happy that they gave us craptastic service)
Anyhoo, my fish was the thiness of AIR and the handrolls were subpar…
Only at the very end when I made eye contact with the sushi chef did he hook me up slightly with less rice and more fish…
Overall: Probably will not go back…

CHINESE OWNED. $ 2 TO USE THE RESTROOMS FOR NON-​CUSTOMERS. That was what was written on a cardboard sign over the register. This place is so ghetto fabulous! $ 24.95 for AYCE sushi (includes 1 sake carafe), extra for tea. After a terrible experience @ Funayama, someone mentioned this place was within walking distance. With one person walking with a cane due to an injury, we opted for that. When he mentioned 6^th Ave & 14^st, I was highly skeptical but we were hungry so didn’t really care at that point. It was EMPTY at 9:15pm. My friend surmised that the staff/​management was comprised of Mandarin speaking Malaysians. They are imbeciles for thinking that we didn’t understand Mandarin, for We overheard them saying in Mandarin ‘too big a group. give them a lesser quality sake’. Way to go there geniuses! What didn’t help was the amount of fish that was barely edible. I’ve never seen so many people SEND FISH BACK!!! Yes, that bad, especially anything with avocado and the tuna. I’ve also never seen SO MUCH RICE given, especially by the younger sushi chef. He made the rice stick out from under the fish like no one’s business. The only thing worth eating is maybe the yellowtail, white tuna, and spicy salmon. I obviously won’t be back.
Total came out to $ 32/​pp after everything

After the disaster at Funayama we were starving and a friend suggested this place which was just a few blocks down. Yes there are way better places around that we could’ve gone to but it was past 9pm and we had 10 people.
Almost same deal as Funayama, $ 24.95 for AYCE sushi with 1 carafe of sake (cold or hot).
Another NonJoo (Non Japanese Owned & Operated) Chinese owned Japanese Sushi Restaurant.
Prosciutto-​thin slices of fish coupled with a fistful of rice and it looks like a pregnant sushi, where the slice of fish is giving birth to rice.
It was also a bit like Russian roulette. Depending on which sushi preparer your order was assigned to you either got the reasonable sushi or the pregnant sushi.
The white tuna, yellowtail and eel sushi were okay.
Anything with avocado was inedible. The upside was that they took back the inedible pieces without question.
In the end, they tried to please us while trying to maximize their profits, focusing severely more on the latter. A tough balancing act indeed.
Service was good. They really tried to be attentive. We should have peered into the restaurant and noticed that the place was empty. EMPTY!
Will I be back here? I think you can surmise the answer.
I don’t understand!
Why can’t these people charge a bit more and offer slightly better quality. Go ahead and charge for uneaten pieces as I agree hoarding should be frowned upon. What happens when the price of rice eventually goes up? Don’t cheat your customers, come clean.

so they are close to my school and i eat here quite often. their lunch special is my kind of value based meal.
i really don’t have much to say about this place. i get in and out and i like what i get there!
i am sure there are better sushi places in NYC, but it’s doing the job for lunch sushi fixes for me!

Hanami is a hidden gem. It’s not particularly glamorous or trendy, but if you’re looking for a low key restaurant with great quality, great prices, and amazing food you’re in luck. The food is always fresh, and the service is great.

This is my «where to go when I’ve been stood up» restaurant. (JWC, I’m talkin ’bout you!)
Ok, so I’ve only been here a few times. Each time, the restaurant has been a respite from a sad mood. I’ve always been there on off hours, and the staff has always been friendly, I mean really friendly — so friendly that I consider this place a cheer me up place.
As I sat in the restaurant, I had a moment to assess my life. Here I am, sitting in the world’s most vibrant city, eating exotic food. (Sushi is a far cry from the rural Maine of my childhood) And this was just a typical Sunday afternoon for me. As I ate each bite, I was reminded that life is good, even if the call to cancel Sunday brunch came a bit too late.
The prices are fair, the sushi is good. On Sunday, I had fried tofu, a piece of eel sushi and a shrimp roll. And with the bill of $ 12.40 plus tip, came an ice cold plate of pineapple with a toothpick to eat the nuggets with. What a refreshing way to end a meal.
After my meal, and as I walked out of Hanami to a chorus of «Thank you, see you soon.» My hunger was sated, my disappointment was gone, and it was a joy to be alive.

I like this place a lot.
Affordable, friendly, comfortable atmosphere
Sometimes they present the food in an interesting way.
In New York a touch of friendly service goes a long way.

I loved it, honestly, I did.
We went in for the AYCE special and for the price of the sushi and the free hot sake, it was not bad at all. The sushi was nice and fresh, diligently prepared and warmly served. The only problem we had was that in our second plate, the rice was too warm so it was a bit difficult to eat the sushi. But regardless, my boyfriend and I love the restaurant from the lovely waiters to the ambiance to the location.
I’d definitely visit again.

Not a lot of people know about the All You Can Eat option but it is a great deal! For $ 23.95 you get as much sushi as you want and you can continue to order it until you’re ready to leave.
I think the sushi’s great and the staff is friendly. I love dragging my friends here (they’re not so into sushi) so I can eat as much as I want.
Check it out!

Friendly staff and great BOSTON roll. They keep me coming back because it feels like I’m eating at home. Some of their rolls aren’t consistent but it’s like a surprise everytime.