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Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Noe ValleyMon. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Tue-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tue-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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Nothing spectacular stood out to me, but there was nothing really bad about it either.
I went for lunch around 12:30, the place was empty except for another couple that was already seated. I was greetly promptly when I came in, and was told to choose any table I would like. I ordered quickly, received my food, and took the rest To-Go. Tthe decor was simple, but it's very clean with a comfortable ambiance. A good spot for a business lunch, or even a casual first date.
Cons:
My miso soup was cold! It was barely even warm. Since you have to pay for the miso soup separately, I would expect it to be HOT!
By the way- Miso soup cost you $3.00, but if you purchase it with a meal it is only $0.75 extra. Still, miso soup is almost always included at any other Japanese restaurant!
The lunch specials are served on ONE plate, unlike other places that serve your food in a BENTO (box) with compartments to keep your food separate. I didnt really like the fact that my salad greens were mixing with the sauce from my chicken teriyaki, or my california roll was getting salad dressing on it, and my wasabi was touching my chicken, etc, you get the point...
It cost me $15.00 for my 2-item lunch, with miso soup & tip. But the service was pretty good, they were really nice, never neglected me, always refilled my water, and the food was all right, nothing bad, but nothing exceptionally good either.
I would go here again since it's the only place within walking distance that serves chicken teriyaki but wouldn't go crazy for it.
I'm not sure I understand how others can review this restaurant's sushi so highly. As someone who knows fresh fish, I can't find evidence of particularly fresh or sublime sushi here. There's certainly nothing "incredible" about it, as another reviewer superlatively proclaimed.
The selection is unimaginative, with the usual suspects (yawn) like maguro and sake at the centerpiece of the lunch sashimi plate. The hamachi was no better or worse than hamachi I've had elsewhere. The uni was past its prime, having begun to liquefy, as uni will after about four or five days in the cooler. I didn't eat my second piece of it. The shiromaguro was bland and a little mushy, a disappointment. Most shocking was the fact that they couldn't get one of the simplest of sushi dishes right: saba. Saba should feel firm and briny because of the pickling process. Instead, Hamano's saba was mushy and weakly flavored. The saba more than anything suggested to me: "I don't care about the quality of my fish."
While the wait staff was very friendly, the sushi chefs themselves did not make eye contact with customers sitting at their bar. This is yet another of those awful sushi restaurants where you cannot order directly from the itamae, but have to order from a waiter instead. Where did this trend come from? It's utterly inauthentic. Itamae should be more like bartenders than bar backs.
Which brings me to my final point. I believe it was Trevor Corson in The Story of Sushi who said that you should always look around to see if there are Japanese patrons. If Japanese people eat at a sushi restaurant, it means they've found a little bit of home. Hamano was fairly busy, but not a single non-white person was eating there. I should have turned around and walked out as soon as I noticed that.
So delicious... and totally reasonable for omakase! I was literally stuffed for just $54. AND I had an order of toro. Our chef was very knowledgeable and not afraid to throw the interesting stuff at us. Highlights of my meal were 3 different salmons (my favorite) - sockeye, farm raised, wild Alaskan, kampachi, scallop with lemon and sea salt, and of course, the toro... a luscious, gigantic, beautiful piece of fish that was quite possibly the best nigiri I've ever had. Instead of bluefin, it was blackfin and not something they have all the time. Apparently an entire fish would cost somewhere around $45,000.
Oh yes, and then there was the uni. I've always been a big proponent of sea urchin, probably because I've never ordered it at a restaurant that has had less than stellar quality fish - this was soooo gooooood. Extremely cold and creamy. Ah-maze-ing.
Sit at the bar, make friends with the chef. Have a great meal that won't put you out.
Great sushi! Its not the fanciest place but man it is good food. Great for pickup also-- quick & easy. love this local place
Pretty good, reasonable price sushi! The happy hour is okay, their sake and beer are 20% off from 4:30-6:30. I got a large Saporro for $5 and some change! I ordered 2 rolls, one was the Sunset roll which was SOO delicious and the Ocean queen was NOT good. My GF got the dragon roll which was really good, too and she got the Spider roll which was just OK. I'd come back here for happy hour!
Eek! Methinks not.
Hamano is hands down one of my favorite sushi restaurants in SF. I've eaten here twice, once at the bar and once at a table. I have to say the bar was a completely different experience and it changed my mind forever. We did omakase and for once it actually didn't break the bank. Perhaps the cost is lower because they only serve you one piece per order, but that's fine by me because you get to try a lot more fish. If something tasted really good just get another order! Anyway, on to the fish:
All the old standbys were excellent, including toro, sake, kanpachi, hamachi, unagi, and hirame. all were super fresh, beautifully presented, and delicious. for me, if those pieces aren't fresh i don't bother going back. but what really stood out for me were some pieces i don't normally get and that they added some extra flair to, like the seared albacore, tai, and aji with dikon and mint leaf. and as much of a sushi snob as i tend to be i normally can't eat uni. i think the first time i had it it wasn't that fresh so it tasted like seawater and was really gooey. the chef here convinced me to try it again and it was actually really good! due to the texture it has to be really fresh, so if i liked it then it had to be.
i'll definitely be going back here again, and again. i only wish they took reservations for the bar!
I only came here and had the California Roll to go.
This was quite some time ago,but I think this is a decent restaurant to try and maybe dine at.
After much anticipation I finally visited this spot after wanting to try it for many months now. The interior is very cozy and harkens back to the 70's - cool indie vibes for sure. The hostess/waitress lady is a trip. She was very entertaining and friendly, but a bit slow on the service despite it being closing time and the place being mostly empty. She did give us some tasty little bits of pickled veggies and black sesame seasoning gratis, though I'm not sure if this is offered to everyone.
But on to the food. We ordered the sashimi platter for $37 to feed two. All I can say is good thing we got bowls of rice! I would not consider myself a sushi connoisseur but I have never seen pieces of fish so thin! I think 3 of their pieces would be the equivalent of a single piece everywhere else I've gone to. The quality of the fish was only so-so. Most of the fish was nice but the salmon was questionable for a sushi joint, not off but not totally fresh either.
So pluses for the lady hostess/waitress and the decor, minus for the size of the sashimi. I might go back just for the atmosphere and to try some rolls, but if I'm hungry I'm going somewhere else.
This is our go to spot for take-out sushi. It is not unreasonably priced and the sushi is good and reliable. Their rolls are not particularly fancy (i.e. creative and complicated), but delicious nonetheless. Some of our favorites are the Valencia and the Dolores. I also get the miso soup here and like it because in addition to the tofu and seaweed, there are tiny noodles. On take-out for 2, we usually spend $35-$40.
Came here with some friends to just eat and hangout. We were seated promptly even after writing my name down on the list. It was pretty crowded. We ordered a number of rolls--the castro, alaskan, valencia, etc. Nothing really stood out for me. If you know me, you know that I like things SPICY. The spiciest one I tried wasn't that spicy...we even asked the waitress for hot sauce...nope, still not hot...oh well. Don't get me wrong the sushi we had was good but of course, I have had better...the staff were friendly and nice and continued to pour us water when they were down...the bill wasn't bad at all...atmosphere is good. Overall, we managed to have a good time!
Hamano is my go-to joint for consistently good sushi with few frills. The quality of the fish and the sashimi in particular is very high. That said, if it wasn't three blocks from my house I probably wouldn't go near as much.
The good: high quality fish, consistent, can always get a table, decent wine choices for a sushi place, service is always fast.
THe not so good - bit pricey, little atmosphere, service can be a bit rude at times.
Bottom line: I go because its convenient. But I'll always take suggestions for other sushi places to try out.
I have spent many a fine meal in Hamano, but I will never go in there again.
On Saturday my wife, another couple, and our two very well-behaved children went in to have lunch during the restaurant's slowest period. I attempted to order a tuna (tekka) don, which is sliced tuna over rice. It's my son's favorite dish.
The obnoxious waiter said, "there's not enough tuna to make a tuna don". Really? "Very busy night friday". We ended up ordering him a tuna sashimi and a bowl of rice, which my son happily ate.
What's the difference? About $4-5 more to order it this way. Later I asked if he they could make us a roll with avocado/tuna roll with tempura bits and was told "No, they won't make that", and yet we got a tempura roll in the same order.
(And once again, there seemed to be plenty of tuna.)
SF is full of great sushi. Hamano is full of obnoxious wait staff. Go elsewhere. Do you really want to fight to find parking in Noe just to be rudely treated?
Great quality sushi. Nigri and rolls are not over riced (? is that even a term?) When I feel like sushi on a week night, this is where I go to have it.
I like the people here. They're so nice and the sushi is purdy darn good. Not the best, but in the neighborhood, this is a groovy place is sneak away into. Refreshingly set up so you don't feel like you're being watched at every angle and CLEAN! Oh clean Sushi spots- how I do love thee.
Decently priced too, that might be why I give it one more star than it really deserves. Whatever. I'm judging sushi? I know nothing about making sushi and I have never gotten sick from the sushi here, so they know what they're doing.
Still hungry!
Honestly...I can't say I tried their sushi since portions were so small! I mean its a good thing we snacked prior to dinner - otherwise there was no way we could process all the saki we drank...It was on the pricey side as well.
What I do give them props on is handling our huge group - our huge saki drinking intoxicated group. Parking is pretty decent and within walking distance of some great bars.
Really fresh fish and totally creative rolls. The gyoza are good not amazing, the veggie tempura is really good - always cool veggies.
Last night we had the Sunset, Dolores and Sanchez rolls and they were delicios. I order anything without "mayo". We picked up and the woman on the phone made excellent suggestions, and also let us know about items that were on the more expensive side, giving us an "out" if it was out of budget. The toro they had was outstanding - kind of like butter but better!
I like this place because the owner is Japanese also sushi men are.
I love the food except its pricey but still good & fresh.
The rolls here are surprisingly cheap. I thought that a Noe sushi place would charge far more. I ordered three different rolls -- The Spicy Tuna, the Valencia and the 24th Street. Each of them were under $10. I prefered the Valencia out of the three.
Also tried my friend's sukiyaki. It was really good and also very reasonably priced.
Service was above-average as well. I was super dehydrated and was downing my glass of water every 3 minutes or so. The waitress was on top of it about 80% of the time.
Random spotting: Saw Jamie from Mythbusters waiting for his takeout order here.
Salmon noodles were amazing! Realy nice staff..great service!
The sushi here is reasonable, though not mind-blowing. The grilled cod appetizer and sukiyaki are excellent. It's a good neighborhood sushi joint, if you live within walking distance. It's probably not worth driving to.
For me, Hamano is the most satisfying Japanese food in the area. Now granted, it's not the best, but it's not the worst and it's certainly better than average.
What can I say...good food, good prices, good location. Being that I'm a vegetarian, I'm sometimes limited whenever I do Japanese. But Hamano usually has some nice soup or other vegetarian choice of the day, in addition to the regular veggies I find on the menu (agadeshi tofu, veggie tempura, etc).
I've never been disappointed; I always walk away pretty full :)
If you decide to eat here, I recommend sitting at the bar. The dining area is fine too, just no real ambiance.
When I can't make it to Grande Hos, I like to get sushi to go from here. This is my go-to spot. I frequently eat here. They've got really nice, fresh fish. High quality, they don't scrimp and buy the lower grade stuff. It's a little spendy but worth it. The real deal, you won't find cream cheese or any other random crap on the menu here. Just straight up sushi. Yum.
My wife and I walk here every week. It's a great little sushi place. Pretty cheap, but pretty inventive too. Love the Castro roll.
This is a very good sushi place in the heart of Noe Valley, one of the last refuges for the middle-class white person in SF. Compared to the rest of SF, Noe Valley is almost devoid of any ethnics, which made me question how good Hamano was (see my review of Hahn's Hibachi).
Luckily, it's very good. I'm not sure if this place is 100% Japanese (my friend said two of the waiters were talking in Mandarin), but nonetheless, the sushi is very authentic. The fish is very fresh, and the rolls are pretty creative and tasty. There is one roll (I think it's the Noe roll) that tastes like dish soap, but it may be the green leaf they used as a garnish. Everything else is delicious, especially their salmon sashimi, the Valencia, the Spicy Tuna and the Sanchez.
Hamano became a last minute choice for dinner recently, and thankfully turned out to be a good pick. Ordered up a round of Nigiri Sake, Hamachi, Ebi, and Maguro complimented by a spicy tuna roll, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cut.
Fair prices, my water glass never went empty, a good quick sushi pick.
Call me a sushi snob, I won't argue with you.
Hamano is a little gem hidden in Noe Valley. Parking isn't difficult, so non-Noe residence don't fear! The fish is good, not the best, but good. It taste's fresh. They have a good menu of rolls, nigiri, sashimi, bento style dishes, traditional and non-traditional appetizers.
The decor is quite plain, but that's not what you come to Hamano for. You come for the food. There is rarely a wait, the service is friendly and non-intrusive.
When I'm hanging out in Noe and craving sushi, this is where you'll find me.
CleanScore 96
http://cs.testcs.com.s...
Must have:
Midnight special = Raw oyster, uni, ikura, quail egg and (I think 1 or 2 more eggs like tobiko or masago) with some ponzu dressing.
When deciding on a neighborhood to move to from Tampa Florida, close by GOOD sushi was on our list of need to haves and Hamano fit the bill. We've been there several times and when I was homebound we picked up a feast to share with visiting family. The service is always friendly without being phony. No pressure to get a move on if your dinner is winding down and there are a few folks waiting. Brion and I each have our favorite roll and each visit we try something new. The Apple Shrimp appetizer fried in a light crisp butter with roasted almonds and fuji - apple, w/ spicy sesame sauce is AMAZING and a must have with each of our orders.
If you're not up for black sesame or green tea creme brule or green tea ice cream than take a walk down 24th to get some gelato at Belgano Chocolatier Gelateria or some Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt at Mikes.
Hamano Restaurant is a pleasant place for a laid back dinner devoid of ear thumping music. However I wasn't feelin' it at Hamano, because the walls were bland and beige. All the cool kids know that beige walls is a clear indicator of bleh sushi rolls. Hence, the more colorful the walls, then the more zappy the sushi. Act like ya heard.
Many rolls ran about $8, but the bill for two with only one alcoholic drink totaled $85 including tip. That was one fancy drink. Is $85 a lot for mediocre sushi? Well, is wasabi green?
2.5 stars. Probably won't return.
___________________________
Kaki Su: the fresh oysters in ponzu sauce was my favorite of the night
Ceviche: nice presentation, but hardly any tuna, salmon or white fish among the seaweed
Nigiri: Hamachi and Unagi--these were okay
Alaska Roll: salmon, avocado, tobiko -- bleh
Poke Roll: spicy white tuna w/garlic -- bleh
Noe Roll: yellowtail, green mint leaf, lemon -- ditto
Macha creme brulee: might be okay if you like green tea, but bleh
This place is ok. I have to come here instead of Tamasei because no one will go to Tamasei with me even though I like it better than this place.
Anyway, I always end up getting the Midori roll which has asparagus and avocado and cucumber and spinach and still manages to be kind of bland. It's the only vegetarian roll on their menu that appeals to me. But I hate the iceberg lettucey wrap they use for it. And it's unusually unwieldy, even for me who can't even walk by a sushi place without getting rice all over my face.
The tempura is good but hey, even Trader Joe's can't completely fuck up tempura. It's just fried stuff. But their miso soup is unusually tasty to me, for some reason. I always end up getting a couple bowls throughout dinner.
The HUGE redeeming quality for me for this place is the Apple Sake which is good and DOES NOT TASTE LIKE AN APPLE JOLLY RANCHER. No matter what your dining friend tells you. It's yummy. And refreshing.
Also, just not too crazy about the ambiance. It's not very fun. It's kind of sterile. It's certainly no Tamasei in terms of ambiance. But totally decent.
I've been to Hamano countless times (friends works there) and it's a pretty good sushi restaurant. They always make up new creative dishes so expect surprises. Every time i went, i would sit at the sushi bar. There's 3, sometimes 2 chefs and it feels like you've just hired your own personal chef.
FISH: fresh, but toro is kinda expensive ($12 nigiri ? )
Rolls: Yummy, but i dunno what i ordered since the chef always make something for me.
Must try : the apple almond shrimp salad -- i think this is one of their specials. u gotta ask for it, its not on the menu
i'm giving this place a 4 stars, not bc i know the chefs there, but because its actually pretty good
Great sashimi (I am a fan of hamachi), well-prepared Japanese food. I like sitting at the sushi bar and chatting up the sushi chef to see what the freshest cuts are or what looks best. Their cooked food is also excellent, and what I love about this place is that it's fairly spacious, well-hidden (not overly popular like Ebisu or Kirala), and the service is (like its food) consistently good.
If you're in the area in the daytime, I cannot emphasize enough how affordable its lunch specials are. It's also a great way to "meet" this restaurant if you've never been.
So...
Hamano lunch special makes my week. Really, it puts me in a happy place just thinking about it. Every Sunday @ 2pm my bottom is at the sushi bar chowing down on fresh, flavorful, fabulous sush. Two rolls, miso and a salad for $9.95. Best thing about it is - I walk in, put my coat on the chair, have a glass of water within 30 seconds, salad within a minute, soup within a minute and half and sushi within like 6 minutes.
This is mindless pleasure. There is usually no talking involved. The sushi chef always shaves cucumbers in a paper thin sheet right in front of us which is all the entertainment I need.
Until recently my boyfriend and I lived walking distance from this place. The atmosphere is always warm and inviting, clean and comfortable. This was our go-to spot for sushi in Noe Valley.
We love this place because it is unpretentious and it serves a focused and innovative menu. If you pay close attention to the flavors in some of their well designed rolls, you will notice the various components all coming together in ways that you don't always expect from a bite of sushi these days.
On the subject of pricing--we never had a bill under $50 between the two of us (but we always get sake). They have coupons that they offer on their website and via mail to the neighborhood so that helps bring costs down. I've been to much more expensive places for sushi in the city that are mostly about hype or house music and less about the menu.
Hamono is back to its old self. The sushi is amazing and super fresh
First off, do NOT order the tofu green tea cheesecake. Isn't "tofu cheesecake" officially an oxymoron?
Now that that's been established, let's move on. I love Hamano. They consistently have fresh seafood and good portions. The aji tataki and the monkfish liver are both VERY good. I always end up getting the beef asparamaki along with my meal. I can't resist it. I have to say I liked this place much better a year ago when different people owned it (I believe). Generally, everything was just a tad bit better back then.
But Hamano still pulls me in every time. It certainly doesn't help that I live a couple blocks away.
Pretty good tempura...not to heavily breaded and NO eggplant!! I hate eggplant. It has the consistency of goo.
Purple goo...bleh. Deep fried purple goo...double bleh. I imagine though that it's a piece of that lame ass dinosaur my little sister used to love to watch.
I imagine pieces of him being dipped in the batter and then slowly lowered into the boiling scalding oil to be fried up into crunchy yet slimy slices.
"I love you...you love AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! HELP ME!!! FUUUUCCCKKK!!!!"
That's right....Barney Tempura. Make it a Combo lunch with Chicken Teriyaki...which was also very good.
We live semi-close to here and had coupons for a discount on a meal.
The fish was fresh, the service was excellent. I agree about the interior resembling some sort of weird cafeteria from the 80s.
The fish was above average. I really enjoyed the valencia roll and the hamachi but the sake and the hirame were both a little too chewy. I'd go back with another coupon but it's not at the top of my list.
Its gone downhill since Hamano retired. Its still ok not great.....not the same place.
Happy Hour Draft Beer $1.75!
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
99 cents beer & hot sake
Neighborhood: Excelsior
Neighborhood: Noe Valley
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Noe Valley
Category: Sushi Bars
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Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Noe Valley
Category: Food Stands
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