I feel a little torn giving Izakaya Hachi 4 stars instead of 5 because this has long been my favourite izakaya in Orange County. The restaurant itself is stunning. The space has a very modern Japandi aesthetic with sleek wood accents, Scandinavian minimalism, and a semi-open kitchen concept that lets you watch the chefs working over the binchotan grill and preparing sushi. It creates an atmosphere that feels elevated. Service was attentive, friendly, and professional throughout the meal. My hesitation comes from the menu. Compared to previous visits, it felt like the selection had been reduced quite substantially while prices have continued to climb. That's not to say the food wasn't excellent. Every dish we ordered was well-executed and delicious. I just found myself missing some of the variety that made me fall in love with Izakaya Hachi in the first place. Pork Cheek (10/10) - My favourite dish of the night. The presentation is deceptively simple, but the flavors are incredibly complex. Every component on the plate complemented the others perfectly. I can't believe I've visited so many times without ordering this. Beef Tongue (7/10) - I absolutely love beef tongue, and this was cooked perfectly. It was tender and flavourful. My only issue was that it arrived a little colder than room temperature, which took away a bit of the magic. Oysters (10/10) - Super fresh and paired well with the grated daikon, ponzu, and green onion. Uni & Wagyu (9/10) - Again, so simple but yet a perfect pairing of ingredients. Definitely on the pricier side, but worth it. read more

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The food is very bad here. Definitely not worth the weirdly high price for such low quality foods. This is not an "Izakaya" despite the name. Ambiance is strip mall take out. Their pour on alcohol is embarrassingly small. The only nice thing about this place is their service. Most of the workers are very pleasant. (Or they might just be secretly laughing at the customers wasting their money.) Did not take any pics of the things we ordered: sushi, yakitori, and few side dishes because they made me feel depressed. read more

Nice staff, ambience was nice. They let you select your sake cups We ordered skewers platter -decent nothing spectacular Grilled ribeye ponzu - not overcooked was nice and tender Oysters Standard Uni wrapped in Wagyu -nice blend very flavorful would ordered again Jodori egg omelette -not too sweet, very delicious Shabu Broth was the perfect blend, better than some standalone Shabu restaurants in the area read more

Izakaya Hachi - Costa Mesa - Izakaya Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Food was great but weekends are not the vibes. Understaffed and a normal meal took 2 hrs. Sushi was good tho! Staff was friendly and brought out everything we ordered. Week days are probably better because Saturday was slammed with people. read more

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Izakaya Hachi is a classic and beloved date night spot in Costa Mesa, CA. I think it is a consistently good spot with a big menu, delicious bites, and great ambience. Octopus & Daikon Salad: Favorite dish of the night! Super light, crisp, refreshing, and the octopus was the perfect tender and chewy. Beef Tongue: This is the dish that everybody orders here, and for good reason. It is very tender, but still has great flavors of the char on the outside. Skewers: I got the pork belly, chicken thighs, and shitake mushrooms. All solid. I would recommend putting Izakaya Hachi into your regular date night rotation just so you can work through their whole menu and expect a good bite every time that you come in. read more

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Came with a reservation and we were seated a little early! Clean ambiance though it was very loud with large party in the back tables. Food came out pretty quickly and we enjoyed everything we ordered! Our order: - Beef tongue: WOW, so good. - Mackerel pressed roll: a must try. Saw almost every other table get this and the texture and flavor was very nice. - Hand rolls: got salmon ikura, negi toro, scallop. Our favorite was the negi toro! - Chicken cartilage skewer: Very juicy, would recommend getting the sauce over the salt option. - Motsu nabe hotpot: one of the standout dishes for us! Loved the clean flavorful broth and the fatty beef intestine. Choice of ramen or porridge at the end. - Shishito mushroom: very nice flavor Definitely coming back for a nice meal! read more

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Came here for dinner the other day and had a great time! Great service and good atmosphere. Food was delicious. We got a little bit of everything but the must have dishes are definitely the Beef tongue, the premium assorted sushi, pork belly skewers, mackerel nigiri, and the Jidori Egg omelette. If you're looking for a place to drink and eat tapas, this is a great place to go to. If you're expecting a full meal, I would say this isn't the best place to go to. With prices on the higher end and the quality is definitely there. You might just be a little hungry after. read more

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Didn't try their sushi , but gotta say their meat products were good . I really liked their pork cheeks. That was my favorite dish from everything that we got read more

Izakaya Hachi - Costa Mesa - Booth seating - Izakaya Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

The food was amazing. The skewers were bigger than expected and the Wagyu was a real experience to cooke myself. I do wish that it warned you that you have to cook it. The servers were nice enough to warn me and advise me on how to cook it. Would I go back? Absolutely! read more

Izakaya Hachi - Costa Mesa - Top: Prime Beef; Bottom: Beef Tongue - Izakaya Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Solid top to bottom great variety of food and reliable service. Authentic food items and feels like a Japanese style Izakaya. Will definitely be back. read more

First time here, everything was excellent! Fish was very well prepared, clean flavor and aftertaste. Rolls were great too, seaweed had a noticeably nutty flavor and the rice was seasoned just right. Overall, great experience, look forward to coming back. read more

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Majority of the food pictures you see on Yelp are not on their menu as of April 2026. The waiter said their menu has changed. I prefer Manpuku which is just around the corner. Service was okay. Food was okay. Not worth $70pp. read more

3.75 stars We tried Hachi during our trip to SoCal last month. We enjoyed most of the dishes, it was an enjoyable experience. Four of us shared a bunch of tapas dishes; some were better tasting/special than the others but all were pretty decent. -Octopus salad was very refreshing, liked the fresh vegetables and light yuzu dressing. -Pressed mackerel sushi, good -Grilled beef tongue was quite tender and tasty, normally not into tongues, must admit they do an excellent job. We had two orders. We consider this the standout dish. -They didn't have shrimp tempura so we had what's recommended by the waitress, it wasn't bad but tasted almost like the Chinese walnut shrimp. -Agetashi tofu was pretty good ; standard. -Crab Croquottes good/OK. -Saseme ice cream was pretty good so was the Sake Overall price was on the higher side for the food, service although friendly was a little chaotic i.e. some orders were forgotten.... A good place to try various small dishes perhaps not so much for people with hearty appetites. read more

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A busy spot for a reason. Clean ambiance and excellent service. Daily specials and daily fresh fish means that your options will change from cost to visit, but this place has everything. The nigiri and sashimi were excellent. The hot pot looks amazing and fun, and the grilled chicken skewers were absolutely delicious. read more

We'v visited the original Hachi in Torrance when I lived in South Bay. It's been a while and we haven't checked out this location in Costa Mesa. We booked a last minute reservation for counter seating. Place is very cozy and relaxing. They had a fairly big menu and a nice sake menu. We shared quite a few dishes and everything was very delicious in healthy portions. I especially liked the potato salad. Hubby loved mackerel box sushi that he had to have two orders. We sampled two bottles of cold sake and they were tasty. The service was excellent. This type of locally owned izakaya restaurants are always the best. We will definitely come back again! read more

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Pretty good quality food, service was good, wasn't too busy for dinner on a weekend! Worth a try.

Popular izakaya tucked in a busy plaza.. Classic OC move. Definitely make a reservation or you'll be stuck loitering, pretending you're haven't been waiting for 45 minutes. Inside, it's cozy but loud, not ideal for deep convos, but perfect for sake and snacks. The menu is huge and mostly hits. Pressed mackerel was a standout, bright and juicy. Octopus salad was super refreshing, and the beef tongue was thick, juicy, and full of flavor. Croquette was a little too soft, and the bara chirashi leaned rice-heavy, but nothing offensive. Service was fast, sake list is solid, and the vibe is fun without being chaotic. Definitely worth a repeat visit, curious about their matsunabe. read more

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Izakaya Hachi is a great place to go for a last-minute dining and drink experience where you plan to eat light or share multiple dishes. Certain evenings can get very busy, and when it's busy it's typically pretty loud - that comes with the fun vibe and good food combined with alcohol. I highly recommend utilizing OpenTable (personally saved so much time on so many dining experiences) since they do offer it, however I've never found myself having to wait too long. My favorite items on the menu are the thick cut beef tongue, their skewers, and the Wagyu + Uni bites. I was surprised at the tenderness of their chicken skewers and pleased with the flavor profiles in each dish. Please bring back the Yuzu Pork Cheek as that was my absolute favorite on so many occasions. Needless to say - this is a great place with good value for your money. If you don't enjoy a restaurant that can get very loud when it's busy, be wary. Enjoyable for both friends and date night! Not my first choice for a family outing as the dishes are a bit more sophisticated than I'd recommend for children. read more

Come hungry. Leave hungry. Portions are small and overpriced. Service was typical. Ambiance was "corporate expense account" vibe. Pretty disappointing read more

We've been several times for dinner and it's perfect every time! Definitely recommend.

Izakaya is aesthetically designed more on the romantic side. But the restaurant is noise is loud. You won't be able to hear each other as much. Tables are arranged usually for 2-4 people. I think with a bigger crowd they would join the tables. HIGHLY recommend booking a reservation beforehand. Depending on table availability you might need to wait or get seated right away. Crab Croquette (2 pc): Texture is creamy than crispy. I would eat fast when you pick up with chopsticks, the structure might fall apart. I couldn't taste a lot of the crab flavoring and its on the softer side. I would pass on ordering this again. Specials Blue Fin Sashimi Combo (2pc of Akami, Chu Toro, O Toro): The best dish overall. Every single sliced fish was so buttery and smooth. Fresh and delicious. Would highly recommend getting this dish to share between two people. Salmon Ikura Bowl: Another great dish to get. Bowl is sized for one person. But the dish is filling compared to other dishes. Salmon was buttery, rice was flavored with seasoned seaweed flakes, topped with fish eggs. read more

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Chris is such an amazing server! Very attentive, we never needed anything because he was always on top of it all! 10/10 customer service alone! Now the food was so fresh definitely great quality!!! Was my first time and I'll definitely be back for more! Everything tasted sooooooo delicious and fresh! Nothing smelled or tasted fishy. Overall 10/10 would recommend. The pressed salmon was the tables favorite but not mine. Not to say it wasn't good, everyone loved it. I'm just not a fan of seared/warm sushi. I like it cold and raw!!! I wouldn't order that again but I'm pretty sure the others would! See photos for reference :) read more

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Solid Izakaya with relatively affordable dishes! Hachi is located in a small parking lot with other shops. Glad we came early since it was poppin 30 min after. For drinks we got some cold shochu and hot sake. For food we got duck ($12), octopus salad ($14), presses Saba Mackeral ($15), spicy miso beef intestine ($13) gobo chips ($10)and bara chirashi ($20). Duck-fresh and did not taste too gamey could have had more flavor (8/10) Gobo chips- large portion, crunchy and taste healthier and regular chips, not salty either (8/10) Octopus salad- refreshing with citrus dressing good amount of octopus (8/10) Spicy miso beef intestine- little too oily for me but generous portion and good meat to veggie ratio comes in hot stone (7/10) Saba Mackeral- favorite dish! Mackeral is super fresh and not too much rice, and get 6 pieces for $15! (10/10) Bara chirashi- nothing special but solid, wish there was a little less rice (6/10). Overall service is fast and food is delicious. Would definitely love to come back and try other dishes! read more

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There is another Japanese restaurant in the same strip mall, but we chose this one instead and made a reservation on OpenTable. We are still waiting for our table or the sushi bar. I really enjoyed the cucumber and cabbage salad and I ordered three of them! I also love the unique octopus appetizer with the plum sauce. The king salmon is delicious and yellowtail sashimi is awesome. The fish quality is great but the portions are small and it's expensive but I would definitely come back. I did take one star off for the waitstaff. They were very slow and not that engaging or friendly. I'm sure they can improve in that area! read more

My bf reserved us a table for dinner here last Friday night and I was very impressed with the food and service! I'm a bit of a Japanese food snob, and I thought I've been to most if not every izakaya in OC, but I guess last Friday was my first time at Hachi! Have I been living under a rock?? How come I've never been here or even heard of this place before....!? Hachi is another higher end if even "fancier" than your typical izakaya. If you have to go somewhere nice afterward (like we did) and crave izakaya food and are afraid you will smell like grilled meat later, don't you worry because this izakaya (and also Onsen) you won't! All their yakitori menu are on the menu, there is no slip to write in. We got beef tongue and Yuzu pork cheek from the grill meat section. Beef tongue was one of the best I've had, so juice, thick, full of umami and delicious. So was their yuzu pork cheek! Their octopus and radish salad was so very refreshing and delicious. We also got the Hokkaido sashimi set and the quality was great. One of my favorites of the night was the uni and beef sashimi, I can eat 10 of those!!! Agedashi was solid and we got 3 orders of their hot sake! I would definitely come back to try their spicy motsunabe. Not many Japanese restaurant offers this so I get so thrilled when I see they offer it on their menu! I would highly recommend you check them out! read more

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I've driven by this place many times and often saw it packed so I decided to give it a try. Overall, it's a decent dining experience, but perhaps not for everyone. The quality of the food is good, but definitely overpriced. The portions are small. Ridiculously small. Don't expect to leave this place full unless you're willing to drop a lot of money to order a lot of dishes. I don't mind paying a premium for an upscale experience, such as if I was dining at a nice steakhouse or French restaurant, but this place has casual food and a casual vibe, but at premium costs. Those things didn't synch for me. Also, I was a bit put off by the service, or lack thereof. I waited 15 minutes after I was seated until I finally saw a server. Then I repeatedly had to flag down servers for simple things, such as to order food, get refills, and follow-up on when my food would be arriving after long stints of waiting. The restaurant wasn't busy so I'm not sure why the servers were so inattentive. In the end, my bill was hastily slapped on to the table with the server saying my party had to leave so the table could be freed up for the next reservation. Wow! No courtesy, no thanks for coming, no "is there anything else I can get you?" The service was slow and then we get shoved out as if we were taking too long. Not a great experience. read more

All the food was great and the service was excellent. One thing is they forgot one of our order but we were full so we didn't mention it read more

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I'm an izakaya fanatic and have tried just about every izakaya place in the OC and this is the only one that gets 5 stars from me lol value, service, and food quality are all what goes into this 5 star review. Hachi is in a plaza with other amazing food and dessert options. the parking lot gets so full, and rightfully so. They offer valet if you're having trouble finding parking. We reserved a spot at the counter 7:30 pm on at saturday. You can reserve through OpenTable. We loved being seated at the counter and seeing everything we ordered get made, and the gentleman we sat on front of provided great service along the servers that assisted us. They were attentive and removed dirty dishes quickly. Like a traditional japanese establishment, they let us take our time once all the food was out and we were settled. Our favorite thing was by far the pressed mackerel that came with plum sauce. the only other time i've had mackerel that great was in Japan! They ran out of uni when we were ordering but fresh uni was delivered mid meal and the gentleman we sat across showed us and let us know! we got to order it and man, it was delicious!! ambiance is a little loud and you can't really hear any music. but it doesn't matter if you're sitting close to each other on the counter. we are so happy to have found an izakaya we love and will be returning. there were other people at the counter that seemed like regulars! read more

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This is authentic Japanese spot in the OC.Overall, the food particularly the beef tongue is very delicious . It has a very thick cut and is tender as well as very well seasoned. Whole Squid is perfect cooked , pork hotpot very tasty . Good food and great service . Will definitely come back . read more

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Stopped by on a Saturday night with my boyfriend and had a nice time! We stopped by around 7 pm and didn't have a reservation so we had to wait a bit. Would definitely recommend making one beforehand. Highly recommend the beef tongue and crab salad. The karaage and oysters were decent. We ordered other skewers that were decent too! Service was good and the noise level wasn't too loud. It would be nice for a good catch up or a date. read more

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A great spot for sushi, skewers, light bowls and small appetizer plates. There is indoor dining and bar seating offered. Parking lot is pretty open, but can get crowded during prime hours of business. It was my first time here and loved everything ordered. We ordered the mushroom miso soup, chicken karaage, truffle salmon carpaccio and a tuna bowl. Food came out in a timely manner and at a pace where we could enjoy every meal. Service was great, and quality of fish was decent and fresh. read more

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Food: 4 stars Ambiance: 4 stars Service: 2 stars Bathroom cleanness: 2 stars Trying Hachi the first time on a Saturday night, we got seated fairly quickly around 6 ish. We ordered a few dishes to share. The crab karaage is the best I have ever had!!! The meat was so juicy and the breading was perfect, most importantly, so much crab meat!! Grilled oyster tasty but the sauce is over powering. The bluefin sashishi special are extremely tasty & fresh with the best wasabi. The wagyu skewers are $20 dollars for two and tasty very meh... very little flavor and pretty none juicy meat( not recommended). Beef udon was very tasty with the perfect poached egg but very little meat. Overall the food is great, we will like to visit again to try different things. However, since the restaurant was packed. There are not much of service, it took us forever to get the check to leave the place. Restrooms are for sure not Japanese standards. read more

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Checked out this local spot as I'm a big fan of Izakaya. Was a really nice place to eat and I enjoyed it. Food wise, I really enjoyed the variety of the menu. What captivated me on the reviews was the Uni and Wagyu sashimi but they were out of Uni :(... I ended up ordering salmon carpaccio (super tasty), crab croquettes, beef tongue, pork cheek, a few different skewers (including duck), a crab sushi roll, and salmon rice-soup dish. Highlights were the carpaccio, the crab roll (which has some unique smokiness to it I've never had before), the yuzu sauce for the pork cheek, and the duck skewers. I would order these again. The soup was too fishy in my opinion. The good thing about this spot is that they take reservations, so call in advance and see if they can save you a spot. I called same day on a Sunday and was able to get a 7:45pm table for 3 around 2 hours before, but not sure if that's doable when it's busier. Location wise, it's at a pretty tame plaza so parking was easy to find, the interior is designed kind of like a Seattle coffee shop, but they had a small sushi bar section and multiple "sectioned" areas to break up the room. I saw a few large tables so could accommodate bigger groups. Staff wise, there were 4 waiters in the front, 3 sushi chefs in the back, but surprisingly, the food orders still got a little messed up (multiple tables included ours were missing pieces of their order, but we were able to get it eventually, just longer than usual). This was surprising to me as it wasn't super busy (maybe 6-7 tables) so was interesting that there was still a hang up. It was super negligible tho so didn't affect the experience too much. This place is a bit pricy though, so for 3 of us, we spent roughly $150ish w/o including tip. I enjoyed the experience and the food quality though so will come back. read more

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I have tried several dishes and my favorites are the following: Blue Fin Tuna & Avocado Tartare Gobo chips Crab croquette Agedashi Tofu Beef Tongue Chicken Skewer Pork and kimchi stir fry Negi toro roll Otoro sushi read more

izakaya hachi is a japanese restaurant serving up small dishes and offering great quality and variety! everything we tried was super fresh and tasted amazing. they have everything including hot dish, cold appetizers, sashimi, nigiri, hotpot, and more! i loved being able to try so many different things! highly recommend :) read more

生活如水，人生似茶，有人會說你好，就會有人說你不好，只要我們做事問心無愧，何必太在意他人的評判~ 這家日料差點被我遺忘， 三月份就去的餐廳， 現在才放，在costa Mesa燒肉的那個 plaza 裡，生意很好，店裏有非常多樣的選擇，尤其是熟食方面，照片看得我眼花繚亂，也有燒烤，但是我們只有兩個人，所以能吃的有限，這次我點了厚片牛舌，口感真的不錯，愛吃牛舌的人就可以了解那種幸福的感覺，烤魚下巴其實也好吃，但最近被韓國日式那種大大大的魚下巴寵壞了， 就覺得份量小了一些， 生魚片的部分有新鮮，但沒有任何一道讓我超級驚豔，去逛街的朋友，要是不想在燒肉排到地老天荒的話，這家東西很多，裝潢也不差， 多一個選擇！ read more

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Hey Beautiful People! So you know how you should always eat sushi at an izakaya? No! Don't do it! I was just kidding!!! But what I can say is that this cozy space does have some amazing items you can eat all by yourself! Here goes... 1.) Crab Croquettes - Do NOT look at the price! Just order it and wash dishes at the end. No big deal! 2.) Karaage - Because an izakaya is only as good as its most deep-fried dish! If you like chicken and you like crispness, this is perfect for you! 3.) Chicken Thigh Skewer - I didn't ChatGPT this for correctness, but chicken thighs are probably the juiciest part of a chicken, so you know this skewer will be amazing! I did try the sushi and sashimi, and it was a solid 3, so that's why my rating is only a four, but you can visit and decide for yourself. Have a great time! read more

Izakaya Hachi - Costa Mesa - Premium Assorted Sashimi - Izakaya Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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First time here and I loved this place, the ambiance is nice and warm, and the food was delicious. The cucumber crab sunomono was probably one of my favorite ones I've tried. I loved their salmon ikura handroll as well, all of their raw fish was very fresh. The rib eye plate was good, the ponzu dipping sauce was an excellent addition. The service was so kind as well and kept checking in. The quality of the food for the price point is great as well read more

Izakaya Hachi - Costa Mesa - Grilled PonzuRibeye Steak Plate - Izakaya Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Essentially came here made reservations waiting an hour was told to wait another hour was then told our table was ready handed us menus and they then proceeded to make us wait in the front for another ten minutes just overall poor communication and service just ended up leaving waste of time read more

AGAIN, I don't write enough reviews for the places I frequent. It is such a perfect spot to live out my middle-aged Japanese man diet and life. Mind you, I am a 29-year-old female, but from the menu items I order from izakayas, my mother has given me the title of "Japanese ojisan" (?? Mother???? I am your daughter???). ANYWAYS. My usual menu is comprised of: Sapporo Black Chicken cartilage skewer (with salt, sometimes little yuzu salt?!) I love cartilage. I am on the hunt for the best cartilage skewer in the Irvine area, and I think Hachi has my favorite so far. Best with beer. 9/10 Jidori Omelet (Dashi-Maki tamago) I love eggs, ok. 8/10 (the portion size decreased a bunch since I started coming here, but I get it, inflation b nuts.) Sometimes, skate wings (Ei-hire) taste like a combination of dried squid and dried fish, and they are AMAZING with beer 9/10. When I'm splurging, beef tongue (My northern Japan-Sendai blood craves beef tongue once in a while and Hachi's is very tender. My siblings also agree). I usually go alone, so I get to sit at the counter, which is amazing since I get to watch Hide-san and Kenji-san's forearms at work. There's something about those Japanese chef forearms. The service is always kind, and the staff is knowledgeable about the menu. A huge shout-out and lots of love to Alan-chan; you make Hachi so much brighter and more fun to visit. I hope Alan-chan doesn't read my confession of love on Yelp; I just want all potential patrons to know that she's the bomb lols. One thing tho, the Cocktail "Okinawa Hurricane" should be Okinawa Typhoon.. Hurricanes originate from the Atlantic Ocean (my profession is researching natural disasters, so... bear with me... I would recommend "Okinawan Typhoon," "Okinawa tsunami," or "Naha tropical storm." lol). My love letter to hachi can probably go on forever, but I'll stop here. lol. 優しい対応と楽しい空間はhachiの長所で、日本の居酒屋に行きまくった時もHachiを思い出していました。仕事がしんどい時も静かに見守っていただき何度も救われました。ありがとうございます！大好きです！ read more

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