----TAKEOUT ONLY----- I've ordered takeout here quite a few times now thanks to the efficient service and close proximity to my place. Every time, my order only took 10-15min before it was ready, the order was always correct and the service is always friendly. They even offer you water or tea while you're waiting. For some reason, some restaurant's foods taste slightly different when you order it via takeout but this place is always consistent as if I were eating in. Kudos again to friendly and efficient service. read more

Compared to TGI sushi in sunnyvale, I would definitely come back to this place.. Their sushi rolls are the right portions.. No massive rice rolls to cheat our hungry stomachs.. I ordered several wrapped hand rolls with unagi.. and crispy skin salmon .. they were delicious and perfect size to enjoy every bite out of it. It was packed from every table when i came here on a friday at around 7pm.. there's a sushi bar, which is pretty long and about 10-13 tables all around.. Service is overly friendly.. and overly just means beyond happy people.. which means.. kathy gets super happy and likes giving more tip to happy people! Because we were waiting for our check to come out and it took awhile, one of the waitresses realized this and kept feeding us with edamame...nice and salty snack.. i can keep eating those things for ages.. * keep biting.. keep sucking... biting.. sucking * read more

Don't bother trying this place. I have eaten here a few times, and I gave it a few chances. Overall, my experience and observations with this restaurant are: lazy, inattentive and disrespectful staff; slow service; and average to subpar quality of food. There are so many other Japanese sushi restaurants in the area that are better in the quality of service and food that are worth patronizing than this so called restaurant. read more

Every time im working in Sunnyvale, i always stay at the same hotel, which is located right across the street from Hanamaru, yet I just recently discovered this place and how awesome it is. The Service is great, although sitting at the bar is always the best, especially when there are boats of sushi floating by teasing you. Prices here are not too expensive either. But honestly, the Sushi boats won me over, Im officially a fan. Done. read more

I was waiting to get a universal swivel mount put onto my car at Famous Motor Grupe across the street, and decided to grab a little lunch while I was waiting for them to finish-up. It was a Saturday afternoon, and there were about 10 patrons total in the restaurant, and about the same amount of sushi chefs, waitresses, and wait staff. They were staffed-up, I can tell you! I sat at the sushi bar and grabbed a few rolls as they passed by. The sushi was individually wrapped, which I like, cause it's nice to know that no one had sneezed on it as it passed them on its way to me. Sushi was decent, but nothing super memorable. I paid $18 (including tip) for 4 plates of sushi, and one little plate of something that was like fried dough with lots of sugar on it. It was nice that they gave me a plate of fresh pineapple and strawberries for dessert. Would I return? Not necessarily. The sushi was decent enough, but nothing I would go out of my way to go have, again. read more

Hanamaru is my go-to in Sunnyvale for cheap "white-girl sushi" which equates to lots of Americanized rolls in my belly. Service is hit or miss depending who is working - if I'm in a rush I just head up to the front counter and they ring me up so I don't have to wait for a check to be delivered. It's small so I don't recommend coming with a large group unless you call to make a reservation. There usually is not a lot going around the sushi boat but I'd rather place an order to ensure freshness so it has never bothered me. Shockingly I have never drank booze here...hmm maybe white girl sushi is good for my liver? peace, love, and good booze ~ chase read more

Pretty decent lunchtime sushi place. Food: Fresh tasting, creative ingredients, pretty typical fare for a quick sushi place. Ambiance: Nothing special. In a strip mall. Good for while working or with friends before going somewhere. Not good for a date, privacy. Value: Spot on. We ordered some of the more expensive rolls and still only spent $22 each. Bottom line; Would return again at lunch hour. read more

I can't say enough about this place. I love it! (Sushi lover) I live nearby and have coming here for a steady 2 years now. In comparison to Ariake, Miyake, and the like, there is no comparison. Hanamaru has better quality, the service is friendly, and you can't beat the great prices. The owner, Keisuke, is very friendly and makes our time there exceptional. Some favorite rolls: Spicy fly away ($5.95) (Spicy tuna, deep fried tempura shell in special sauce) Carpaccio (5ish) ( Fresh tuna, and assorted fish also in special sauce) Roy roll (4.95) Philly roll (4.95) Rainbow roll (9ish) Santa Cruz (6ish) There is also sushi boat available although we sit there, we normally don't pick up from boat all that often. Especially when you can have them make a fresh roll right in front of you. The place is fairly busy on most nights, so it helps to come a little early to beat the rush. I would consider it to be a hole-in-the-wall type seating, not more than 50 people. If you have a craving for sushi, and are tired of the cheaper sushi places, come here! On a side note: I'd say one downfall is the chicken teriyaki from the bento box is kinda dry. Another note: Keisuke opened another sushi place called Nami Nami in Mountain View off Castro. I haven't been there yet but I heard its a little higher end. read more

Chicken teriyaki was rubbery don't recommend I didn't get anything else . Not sure why it was rubbery. It gave me a stomach ache

Hanamaru is gone. Yes, there is a place called Hanamaru here, but it is not the old Hanamaru. When I went back, the service was alright, but the food is TERRIBLE. Instead of Japanese style rolls and Osakan inspired food, they now serve everything Korean style. No doubt Korean rolls can be really good, but these are horrible. They put atrocious sauce on everything. Baked rolls have that disgusting mayonnaise and vinegar stuff spread all over them. The former all-star Hanamaru roll is now BAKED instead of lightly deep fat fried and therefore comes out as an oversized tempura battered log. Ugh. Spider roll, spicy fly away roll, Hanamaru roll, tempura green tea ice cream, beef tataki, salmon skin handroll, deep fried new york roll... all my old favorites are dead. They get a 1 star, because I can't give them 0 stars. Shame on the new owners for riding on the former store's glory instead of living up to its name. Don't go here. Let what is irrecoverably dead stay dead. FYI: The former owner opened a restaurant called Nami Nami on Castro in Mountain View. It's excellent, although it is nearly 100% Osaka style (focus is on traditional Japanese food instead of rolls) and expensive. However, his former sushi chef does work there, so you can order some of the rolls that you may miss. read more

When I'm craving rolls, this is my go-to sushi joint. The service is quick and friendly and the food is fresh - what's not to like? My favorite roll is the U.F.O. Instead of rice and seaweed, the fish is wrapped in cucumber. Perfect for the girl on a low-carb diet! My husband loves the shrimp on fire, which is a shrimp crunch roll with spicy tuna on top. We also love the Santa Cruz and XXX rolls. My husband and I can put away a lot of sushi, so we usually split 5 rolls and make out around $40, which feels very reasonable. Highly recommend if you're into rolls! read more

This is my friend Isaac's favorite sushi spot and he brought me to eat here last year. I read the review and I remembered that I liked the place, but I didn't remember why so I went and checked it out on Tuesday. They have a really good selection of rolls, with the standard ingredients. They get creative with many of their sushi rolls, but they don't do anything that's considered 'out of the box'. I really like their sashimi carpaccio with the 'extreme good sauce' which tasted like soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and vinegar. It tasted really good though, as simple the combination. I had a few things off the sushi boat, and I ordered an I love you roll, and a Philly roll, which caused some confusion. In my experience, a Philadelphia roll usually consists of salmon, cream cheese, and avocado. Sometimes they used smoked salmon, but usually fresh. A New York roll is more undefined, but usually some combination of the these popular combinations: Smoked salmon and avocado Crab salad, cucumber, tobiko Smoked salmon, cream cheese, apple Cooked salmon, mayonnaise, apple Smoked salmon, cream cheese, scallions Crab, tuna, cream cheese Shrimp and avocado Anyways, at Hanamaru their philadelphia roll was salmon, cream cheese, and asparagus, while their new york roll was salmon, cream cheese, and avocado. I didn't see the New York roll on the menu as I usually don't order it, so I was asking for a philadelphia with avocado instead of asparagus, and I think I really confused the sushi chefs as the one I made the request to, called over the other chef and I had to repeat my request again. They both had these 'HUH?' expressions on their faces when I was trying to describe what I wanted. I was watching them make my rolls and I saw asparagus being put on, and I had to remind the chef to do the switch. Later on, I was looking at the signs on the wall and I noticed the ingredients in the deep fried New York roll, and I understood the confusion that occurred. Anyways, other than that, the food was really good. My only complaint was that all the rolls I had fell apart on the sides. It might be caused by the ample amount of filling they put into the rolls, or maybe they don't use any water when they press the rolls together. Every roll that I picked up with my chopsticks had the side fall open, and sometimes the ingredients in the roll would fall out as a result. It was kind of irritating as I like my sushi to stay together, but the food itself was of a good quality. The staff was very nice, although I had to ask for a water refill several times. Overall, I enjoyed everything I had there. They don't have a lot of entrees to choose from other than bento boxes, and teriyaki. I think they could expand on their cooked food, and incorporate some more creative rolls, as well as working on keeping those rolls together. I had rolls made by both sushi chefs, and all of them had sides that weren't properly closed. However the portions are big, and the prices are good. I would love to go back again, once I figure out how I drove over there in the first place. read more

Went here for lunch today. I ordered the karaage and spicy hamachi roll. Both came out perfect. I'll have to come back to order more sashimi, but so far, so good! I expected the worse and got a great meal! LOL U should try it if you want a cheap simple meal on a short lunch. Service was fast! Enjoy! read more

As soon as I walked in and saw the sushi boats, I knew I was in trouble. However, I decided to ignore my initial instinct to run away because of all the positive reviews. Not to knock any of the other yelpers, if Hanamaru is your secret little sushi spot, It's all yours :) If you're a first timer here and want to be adventerous enough to try their raw fish, makes sure that you have a scalding hot cup of green tea close by to wash it down. Drink your tea while it's really hot to help deaden some of your taste buds prior to engaging in some real gnarly fish. Another suggestion is to stick with the spicy rolls, the hot sauce helps to disguise the taste of old fish. All the sushi that I had seemed like it did one too many laps around the sushi carosel. My GF and I ordered nigiri (Salmon, Hamachi and Maguro), Spicy Scallop Hand Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Hanamaru Carpaccio, and some type of Shrimp Tempura Roll. Three hours later and I'm still having fish burps. The only recommendation that I can make about Hanamaru is to stay away from raw fish and order something that has been cooked! read more

Like seemingly everything else in the plaza, this is just a little sad and unremarkable. We've been in several times for lunch and dinner and we can't seem to find much of anything that thrills us, and service is below average. Sometimes the wait staff can disappear for long stretches and there have been occasions where we've had to ask several times for things like water or utensils and even part of the meal that wasn't served. The last and probably final time I went in, I was in between loads at the laundromat around the corner, which I have also stopped going to. It was around lunch time and there was maybe one other person in the restaurant. I didn't feel like a drawn out lunch so I sat down at the sushi bar, to possibly use the sushi boat to speed up the meal. The "chef" was locked in on what appeared to be a phoned in order, and he roundly ignored me. I should've left because all that I ended up with was a cold gyoza boat and a couple pieces of shrimp nigiri. That's all that came around in the boats. I waited for a minute or two but there was absolutely no other food that was forthcoming. I asked the chef if things were busy and he just kind of grunted and nodded. He made no offers of food or even asked if there was anything I'd like, he was so involved in the to go order. A waitress happened by and asked if I wanted anything else, like I was lingering. Didn't ask if things were okay or anything of the like. It just seemed like they were displeased I was even there. I stared at her for a moment and told her no. I paid $10 and left, with the thought I'd have to go get lunch again after I finished laundry. I just don't know why people that are in the service industry insist on being so bad at it. read more

Japanese sushi lover reviewing!!! Atmosphere *** 1/2 3.5 stars Price:**** 4 (Reasonable. cheaper than others in class. ) Quality: ***1/2 3.5 star for sushi. I only had the sushi combo for sushi. $9.95 Very cheap! Also tried the Combination $7.95 (Chose chicken Teriyaki, California roll and Aji fry). The sushi was ok. For the price I would give it a 3.5 star as it's a little cheaper than other places. You can't really get a sushi combo for less than $10 with this quality. I was hungry and I also thought most people would like to know how the combination (lunch?) box tastes and wanted to Yelp this place so I ordered the combo lunch box as well....hahaha : ) The Aji was small and only one piece came with the lunch box. Fried Aji:2 stars. Not juicy enough. Miyake's Aji is A LOT better to be honest. Chicken Teriyaki:3 stars.California roll: 4 stars although they use imitation crab meat like most sushi place other than SushiKuni. The restaurant was clean, atmosphere wasn't bad although it's not romantic or pretty pretty with Japanese interior. Somehow it resembled a lot to Miyake. The menu they had on the wall, the content of the lunch box, the sweet teriyaki sauce, the lunch combinations they listed...they were just like Miyake's that I was going to ask them if it's the same owner. Gave 4 stars basically because of the price and the quality of food. Lunch open till 2:30pm read more

Two thumbs up for service, price, and quality! :D Japanese food is easily overpriced but the rolls here were very decently priced. Not the most amazing sushi you'll have, but from about $8+ for dinner, you really can't complain. Definitely recommend lion king roll and harley davidson roll. We also received complimentary miso soup AND green tea ice cream. Not sure if that happens all the time, but we sure enjoyed it! Tip: Place is sort of small, so call ahead to make a reservation. That's what we did and we were seated right away. Yay! :D read more

Ambiance: A+ Presentation: A+ Food: A+ This cute little restaurant right off El Camino is my new favorite sushi restaurant. The sashimi dinner was amazing, it came with 12 pieces of sashimi, 3 salmon, 3 white tuna, 3 tuna, and 3 yellowtail. Each piece was fresh and delicate, buttery, smoky, and rich. My boyfriend ordered the bento box dinner and a side of the Firecracker rolls. The portion size is huge for the amount of money you pay for, and the Firecracker rolls is exactly like the description, deep fried fish with a spicy kick when you first bite into it. I definitely recommend this place to get your Japanese food fix, I know I'll back to try their other items. read more

The sushi is good. Not terrific, not mindblowing, but good. It's a step up from the sushi counter at the Los Altos Whole Foods. But they don't have my favourite sushi chef of all time. When I was there last night, a really tall guy walked in (maybe about 6'4"). The chef greets him and asks, "How tall ? How tall are you, 6' 10" ?". The guy smiles and replies "Two and half metres". The chef laughs hysterically and repeats to himself "Two and a half metres... two and a half metres...". It took me a few minutes to realise the guy said he was over eight feet tall, I was so busy giggling at the chef. Seriously, sushi gets me messed up. Something in the fish, I guess. read more

This place sucks and I'll tell you why. First of all, the only reason I went here was because I like the sushi boat thing. I love picking off what I want and skipping what I don't want. However, the whole gimmick where they wrap their rolls isn't really that impressive, considering it's still sitting out for however long. I know since I scored a roll with brown avocado. EW. Also, service is pretty quick but they weren't busy when I came in. But, one of the sushi chefs, the tall Korean one (wait, they're all Korean oops) with the earring on his left ear, was a total douche. He was really rude to his much older, grandpa looking counterpart. Sure it wasn't directed towards me, but he was being a jerk to him in front of me and it made me feel uneasy. Like, I-want-to-clutch-my-bag-tighter uneasy. Anyways, the only good thing about this place is that is really cheap but that means the quality is definitely not that great. Service was friendly enough and quick. Bathrooms were so-so, they had a written sign in the bathoom that made absolutely no sense whatsoever - something like, don't throw away any toilet papers in the toilet. Ew, so you're suppose to throw ALL of it in the trash? Gross. read more

Just wonderful. Always! Owners and staff always attentive and pleasant. I usually get the tempura and tuna steak. Always excellent! My friend is more adventurous and swears by their Nigiri B special. read more

Hanamaru has remained one of my family's favorite Japanese restaurants for quite a while now, even after the change in owners. I figure it must be good if my grandma and all her friends like coming here so much. I've never seen a time where that woman hasn't run into someone she knows. I guess it's a happening place for all those cute elderly Japanese folks. Food: Everything I've had is good. I especially like ordering the soba noodles, which not every Japanese restaurant has. Service: Great! The sushi chefs are some of the most enthusiastic I've seen anywhere. In fact they shout out "irashaimase" with so much enthusiasm, they seriously could host a Japanese game show or something. The wait staff is also very friendly and efficient. They even throw in complimentary dishes from time to time. Last week they brought out a plate of broiled salmon and mackerel on the house! Prices: Very reasonable compared to the average bay area Japanese restaurant. 3 item combos for under $15 is a pretty good deal if you ask me. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place for anyone in the mood for good and affordable Japanese food. Make sure you smile at those friendly sushi chefs if you go! read more

Let me start by saying this one star is for the food only, as I got take out. The service and ambiance I cannot judge. What I got; Salmon nigiri Eel nigiri Hamachi nigiri 3 to 4 different rolls Okay, so the rice was really really sweet, and did not hold its shape. I had better rice from grocery stores. The salmon tasted strange, not very fresh at all, almost like it was old after being frozen. The eel was bathed in sauce, and had a bad texture to it (very gummy). The hamachi was tasteless. The rolls all had high rice to fish ratio (too much rice for amount of fish). On the higher priced side of takeout sushi. Overall, not satisfied with this restaurant and wouldn't order from/eat there again. Then again this may just have been one bad experience, but there have been many good sushi places I've went to around the area that didn't suffer from these issues. read more

We found this place while driving around looking for somewhere new to eat lunch at. It didn't disappoint as we've been going there just about every month for over a year now. We now sit at the tables instead of the sushi counter because I'd rather not see the same pieces of sushi go round and round the whole time I'm there and wonder how long they've been there. We have a pretty set order now. I get two of the Fly Away rolls, which is a maguro roll, fried tempura style, cut at a diagonal, with some teriyaki/unagi sauce and sesame seeds on top. Sometimes they cook it too much and the maguro's cooked all the way through but still delicious. I also get the salmon skin hand roll. Teriyaki salmon skin with green onions and sometimes a shiso leaf (depends on which chef's making it) topped with the same teriyaki/unagi sauce I mentioned before. Man, the thing is juicy and tasty too. I usually add a tamago or the ume roll to my order. My wife usually gets the teri salmon/sashimi bento box. It also comes with tempura, green salad, and miso soup and of course, rice. Other notes: the tea's always hot and not watered down. Friday and Saturday nights can get pretty busy and you'll have to wait for a seat. Sake bombs a plenty too, especially if you're buying. read more

We had dinner here with some friends who live nearby. This is their regular neighborhood sushi spot. For that, it's great. There's nothing special about this place, but if you live nearby, it's a perfectly acceptable go-to sushi joint. I had their sashimi moriawase, (this is my usual order at sushi places), along with an order of uni, and halibut fin. I enjoyed all of It, everything seemed fresh. My only complaint was that it wasn't cut well, and a few of the pieces of sashimi were stuck together by a few strands. I also had 2 gyoza, some edamame, and sake. Their gyoza were cooked the way I like them and had good flavor. My biggest complaint about this place was the service. We had to ask for ice water 3 times, the guys had to ask for beer twice, and one person in our party waited over 30 minutes for her roll. Apparently there was a mess up, but it would have been nice if we had been given and update or apology. They did bring out some ice cream on the house, none of us really wanted it, but it was a nice touch on their part. I wouldn't go out of my way to return, but if I lived nearby, or had dinner with friends that live nearby I would definitely come back. It's really casual and prices are reasonable. read more

Service here is superb!.. Came here for the second time during lunch and enjoyed the Harley Davidson roll and Spider Roll .. coming back to try other items on the menu as well.. They should have Happy Hour menu then I would come here after work since its down the street. Or wait maybe they do and I didn't notice?.. read more

O.M.G The harley davidson roll is to die for. I love i love. My mouth is watering as I am writing this review. Other than the Harley roll, Hanamaru is a cute little restaurant with a nice sushi boat. Did I mention that I really dislike sushi restaurants that have no boat? The boat is the best part! Anyway, the caterpillar roll is cute also and I like that the majority of servers here are actually Japanese. yay! read more

Came here for their lunch special - 6.95 for salmon teriyaki bento box and i also ordered a non rice roll that had a bunch of different fish inside (hamachi, salmon, tuna) that was wrapped in cucumber and that was actually really tasty. The fish also tasted fresh from what i could tell. My salmon teriyaki was kind of dry... so i enjoyed my cucumber roll a lot more than my bento box. The cucumber was very refreshing! 20 dollars is a bit much to spend on lunch though... so if i were to come here agian i would just get the bento box.... the rolls are expensive! read more

Had dinner and just got back home. This restaurant is the worst sh*t ever. They tried to steal by charging me "premium sake" $12 for a sake that was $5. I noticed and told them to correct. They cancel the transaction and "corrected" it... Home I noticed that they over-charged me $12.95 for a U.F.O. sushi that was in fact in the menu $9.95. I have the receipt and the pic of the menu reflecting the $9.95 price. Never had this crap going on ever. I'll report to the protection of consumer and go legal with this! read more

See all

I have been coming to the restaurant at this address for over 10 years. Used to be an authentic sushi place and my favorite Japanese restaurant in Sunnyvale which is now a Korean-owned joint. Let me focus on the current version of the restaurant. The menu is pretty much the same as before, except the prices have gone up slightly. The quality of the food has gone down since the change of ownership. Here are the items that I like: Chicken Udon (cos it comes with salad) Hanamaru Carpaccio Poki Salad Spicy Sashimi Salad Nigiri Combination A Santa Cruz Roll (see note below) Service-wise... it is somewhat uneven. Sometimes really good, sometimes really bad. And on my last visit, there was a small incident which disappointed me tremendously. Not going into the details here... let's just say I will never order the Santa Cruz Roll again. Everyone was apologetic, but the damage had been done. read more

Average. 3 and a half stars Sushi was ok, tasty and fresh. Bento boxes were average and drowned in a lot of sauce. Service was ok, not attentive and the young staff seemed confused. We ate at 4:30 pm and it wasn't crowded so they should not have struggled with service. The place is small and I can see how if it's fill, it would be noisey and hard to enjoy the food. Slightly above average in a non descrip mall. read more

Hanamaru has been our standard sushi place for over 15 years. Loved it. But have they changed hands recently? We didn't recognize anyone behind the counter or waiting on tables. Wait staff seemed our of sync with customers. They didn't seem to know if they charged corkage or not. We had to remind the server that only two of us had ordered beverages. Three of our 4 orders were delivered 15 minutes before the 4th. Food was OK -- fresh, but not great, not poor. After we finished, we waited 20+ minutes for the check. HArd to get attention of server. Had to ask for that too although many would appreciate not being rushed to leave. read more

This place is pretty decent. It's my to go place for sushi in Sunnyvale. I always order the lemon drop roll since I like sour food but I have tried other rolls and they all taste good as well. read more

Really fun place. The decor looks quite low cost. Who cares. The sushi is affordable, and the guys making the sushi are hilarious. I once came by to pick up my order around closing time, and the chefs brought out one, two, three sake bombs for me. WHOA. I used to think this space was cursed, because restaurant after restaurant would attempt to survive within its walls, but each would leave, totally defeated, and their absence would go completely unnoticed. Finally Hanamaru comes along and people catch on. Pat on the back!! read more

This is one of our favorite sushi restaurants and my hubby and I came here last night. I looooove their Harley Davidson roll and also spicy tuna rolls in general but since I'm pregnant, I couldn't have either. WAAAAAAAH :( I really wanted to find a roll I could eat that would satisfy my spicy roll craving so I decided to try the Honeymoon roll. LOVED it! Decided to order another one. I was really disappointed with the 2nd one because they got stingy on me and gave just a tiny bit of crab and so the entire roll wasn't as good or spicy. :( They also get super busy so you have to ask for water or drink refills. read more

i chose to come to Hanamaru based on good reviews. My friend who I was meeting up and having dinner with lives near here, so it just made it easier to try somewhere nearby. The service was great here, but I thought the food was mediocre. As one of my girlfriend says, "I also judge a place by the rice they use in the sushi." Aside from the fish being just okay here, (wasn't the freshest and didn't taste like the best cuts of fish), the rice was not very fresh when it came in. I like my rolls to have very soft, melt-in-your-mouth rice, but the sushi here wasn't like that. During our meal here, we ordered Tempura, Spicy Tuna Maki, Unagi Maki, Harley Davidson Roll, Cherry Blossom Roll, and Spider Roll. The Spider Roll was very good - soft shell crab was perfect and tasty. I personally did not like the Harley Davidson Roll - it's one of the rolls where everything just becomes TOO MUCH, and it just isn't a good roll anymore, but i ordered based on others raving about it. I was sad that the Cherry Blossom Roll was ok here - this is usually such a delicious roll, but the tuna lining the outside of the roll just wasn't that tasty and fresh. My biggest complaint was the maki rolls - they make them way too big here, which isn't an issue if it tasted good, but all you could taste was too much stale rice. Overall, great service, mediocre service. I probably won't be come back here cause I like YUMMY sushi. Especially after having 'A' sushi a few days before coming to Hanamaru (at Satomi in Fremont), it was disappointing trying a new place and spending a lot of money on ok sushi. read more

I've been going to this place since they opened. I believe since 2000. It's definitely a favorite local spot with my family and I. This is the restaurant that I went to when I first started to expand my pallet to eat more than just kappa maki and CA rolls and actually started liking sashimi. Now I can't seem to get enough of sashimi. JP food has been my number 1 favorite food and lots of credit for that goes to this restaurant. Although they changed owners, I still love going to this place as the food is great and it brings back lots of nostalgia for me. read more

Hanamaru - Tempura shrimp and avocado with assorted fish on top - Japanese Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Went here for lunch and the fish was surprisingly fresh! The hamachi nigiri was one of the best I can remember eating. I love the inventive names for the rolls (like Victoria's Secret, Harley Davidson and Firecracker.) They're also very tasty and huge (can't fit one bite into your mouth)! The menu had something I always wanted to try, but never had the chance: ankimo (monkfish liver). I only saw it at one other joint, but they had run out. So I asked the waitress and she said everyone who orders it loves it. So I tried it here for the first time steamed with a little ponzu sauce and it just melts in your mouth, soft like uni, but with more texture and mild flavor, not liver-y at all. I'd order it again, but uni is still my favorite. Prices are reasonable, but can also get expensive for some rolls like the Harley Davidson for $13. I wouldn't do the boats here. There were only a few people at the bar and they had plastic wrap over the sushi plates. Just order rolls and you'll get fresher food. Our waitress gave us ice cream and Victoria's Secret on the house, so that was very nice of her! read more

**NOTE** I have been meaning to write this review for a long time, but since then, Hanamaru has gone under new management. So this is just me strolling back down memory lane. I do intend to go back to Hanamaru soon though to see how the new management is holding up compared to the old days. Hanamaru. I feel like I grew up with this place, seeing as how I used to go to this location back when it was formerly the Jade Garden. This place had customer service like nobody would believe. The staff was very kind, took the time to know their regular customers on a first name basis, and were just a fun group of people to hang around. The holiday parties that the owner, Keisuke would throw every now and then were the best too. Even though the management is different, I'm sure that alot of the old items off the menu remain unchanged. If you happen to be in the area, and would like to give Hanamaru a try, some items I would like to recommend are the -Hanamaru Carpaccio: Three type of sashimi thrown into a special sauce, and served. -Spicy Fly Away Rolls: Deep fried tuna rolls, served with their special sauce. -Hanamaru Roll: Good ol' California rolls, deep fried in tempura batter, and served warm. -Beef Tataki: The thought of uncooked meat isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the seasoning, and partially cooked meat should sway the opinion of anyone that is against eating non cooked meat. -Tempura Green Tea Ice Cream: Gee, that's my 3rd Tempura dish on here so far, but either way, this is the perfect food for people who love green tea ice cream, and tempura of any kind. I'll post another review once I've been there again, so thanks for baring with me as I remember the good ol' days. read more

Hanamaru exceeds my expectations for a sushi boat restaurant every time! Not only are the guys behind the bar so welcoming (they literally scream a greeting to you as you walk in the door) but the food is AMAZING! I always get the Jalapeno Bomb which is to die for - if you like spicy stuff! I'm actually getting ready to go there right now for some more delicious sushi! =) read more