Hanako Japanese Restaurant

Very bad experience for dinner for 2. We got there at 7pm when there weren't busy at all. Food took 15 mins to start serving (30 mins when we received our last dish). Also, when I asked for more ginger, the lady was very upset about that for no reason, even though, we did mention that when we ordered.

First and last time for us I guess. Food quality was very normal compared with many other options near by. Sorry but not recommended.

One of the best sushi restaurants in Surrey.
Sure you may not get the insane amounts of rice with each roll as you would at Guildford sushi, but quality and taste wise some of the best in town, highly recommended!

One of the rare restaurant that seriously cares about the quality of their food.

They always provide the fresh ingredient with care, their plates have never disappointed me.

Best Sushi Place in Surrey! (Really)

Must Try:
Ebi Sunomono
Sockeye Oshi Battera
Amaebi Nigiri (w fried prawn head)
Any roll combo

Kanpachi IF AVAILABLE!

My wife and I were told by friends that this place is a gem, but have been living in Surrey for decades we have our hesitation. Boy were we wrong! This place is operated by a genuine Japanese Chef serving genuine sashimi and sushi. We honestly dunno how they survive by serving the freshest sashimi in such a low volume Surrey traffic. The price is higher than your average Canadianized sushi places, but you get what you paid for, if you want quality sashimi in Surrey are, this is only joint

Very cute restaurant in a small plaza, well decorated and cozy. Staff are very friendly, fast and efficient with customer service. Food is prepped wonderfully and brought to you in a decent time. Portions are a bit small for the price but well worth ordering, fresh ingredients and nice unique options available, including exotic seasonal items.

Great quality sushi compared to the places in the neighborhood

One of the rare spots where you can order Bluefin Toro, Otoro, Chutoro, and Akami!

Small Japanese restaurant, may very well be the best in this area. Limited staff so be patient with them, the food is definitely worth it.

Food looked okay but I did not get to try after the long wait. If you do not have next schedule (for at least next 2-3 hours) and if you are okay with waiting long, it might not be too bad. The server explained that they were short-staffed when we asked for update (at that point, we waited 1.5 hours). I tried my best to understand their situation but I missed my next schedule due to the delay. We ordered ~$45 menu per person (we were only a group of two people). At the end of the day, I had to leave without even touching the food. I would’ve not missed my plans if they told their situation before we order so that we should’ve gone to different restaurant LOL not massing up with my schedule. I mean, I think any customer deserves to be informed if they have to wait for 2 hours! This service standard was not acceptable.note: no compensation (only water and very little green beans, you know, those basics were served when we seated) or proper apology was offered. So my friend and I literally starved for 2 hours there and had to go to next schedule empty handed and empty stomach.

I have dined here a few times before it was alright for its price point. It's slightly pricier and food is a bit above average.

My last order of take out pick up had 3 item. Hanako roll, tuna gomae and miso. Not sure if it's the inflation, the miso was half full. The tuna gomae had no spinach, zero. It was just like 6 or so tuna chunks and for $14 that's outrageous. The hanako roll also need to step up for what's worth, which also price at 14 it should at least be a 8 piece big roll instead of just 5 pieces.

Probably would stay away for a while from now.

Well, we placed our order at 12: 45, the first of four meals arrived at 1: 50, the last of four arrived at 2: 10. Food was good, but slow oh man, never again

(2023 update at the end)

Love this gem. Most authentic Japanese preparation in Surrey. Place is cozy and casual, but the food is excellent. Chef has excellent knife skills for the sashimi. Recently had a set omakase at Yumi and felt like the bill was strictly for ambience; all items were regular fare I order at Hanako, Yumi couldn't beat the preparation, flavor, portion or price. Must haves/honorable mentions: Nasu Dengaku (eggplant), crab salad, soft shell crab karaage, chicken karaage, Mai Tai Uzusikuri. Excellent seasonal items. Can really add up if you want to try everything, but worth it. Fish is always fresh, and service is great and friendly. Worth checking out, but don't come so often that I can't get a seat anymore! Lol.
Update: currently sitting here a year later and they are still completely on point!

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Years later update:

Popped in for a treat/meal, ordering the Hanako Chirashi Don.

Presentation+
Variety +

The cooked BBQ makeral and side of masagonis a wonderful touch
Not too much rice, seems la bit light at first but by the time you finish all the fish it's actually perfect.

Octopus between two slices of lemon slices balanced and insightful
Sushi rice cooked perfect, and there are other light garnishes that pair wonderfully.

BBQ mackerel was incredible, and the glaze a delight. A welcomed surprise for a Chirashi Don.

Tomo was fluffy and had a nice saturatuation of sweetness/mirin.

Scallop was incredible, and the diced scallop sashimi was +

Price is $35, but the value is there. Everything tastes fresh and the whole experience is perfectly balanced.

Fresh fish good service. A bit pricier than many of the sushi restaurants in the area but good and better than many of the others.

Best authentic Japanese food possibly in the Lower Mainland, don't let the price scare you, one of the few places where the food quality matches the bill, The Establishment seems to actually care about its loyal customers unlike the many restaurants I used to frequent that have turned to garbage due to the pandemic and recession making ingredients expensive. Please don't change!

Horrible they do not even know the basics of sushi. This was completely disgusting. I have eaten alot of sushi in my life but this was the worst experience ever. Disgusting, I should add why are they charging the same price as the most elite sushi places downtown? And providing literally the lowest level. The only thing that was even remotely decent was the prawn tempura and thats where it ended. No idea what they are doing. You guys should go visit some of the top sushi resteraunts in vancouver and learn how sushi is made. NEVER AGAIN.

Our family ordered takeout one evening for dinner from Hanako restaurant and we were pleasantly surprised. They had recently just changed new ownership, so we didn't know how it was going to turn out. We ordered two dishes, one was the chirashi bowl and the second dish was the chicken teriyaki meal.
The chicken teriyaki meal was made for a giant. What I meant by that was the vegetables in the dish were cut in big portions. The vegetables were colorfully presented with different peppers, cabbage, eggplant, carrots, and broccoli. The sauce flavour was not overbearing and it fit well with the chicken teriyaki. The chicken was lightly breaded and very tasty.
The second dish was the chirashi bowl, the rice was soft and not dry at all. One thing that significantly stood out was the freshness of the seafood. The tuna, salmon, tobiko, bbq eel, sashimi on top of the rice did not have that fishy smell which is usually a sign of non-freshness. The presentation was top notch and had a variety of seafood items.
The price was a little steep but well worth it because of the high quality food that we experienced.

MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE SUSHI RESTAURANT ️ literally every other sushi place lays on so much rice that the ratio between fish: rice is like 1: 2. But this place just lays the perfect amount.

The food quality is great, we really enjoyed all the food that we ordered.
But the service was not that great. There were two ladies serving us, The trainee was nice. Even with a mask, we can feel her smile and kindness. The other elder server was not even smiling, and after we confirmed few times with our order, she still got it wrong.

I'm very saddened to write this review, as Hanako used to be my favourite sushi restaurant in Greater Vancouver. I would drive from downtown Vancouver to Surrey just to eat there, had so many great meals, and even one of my first dates with my now wife was at Hanako when I simply Googled "best sushi in Surrey" when we had first met.

The last time we'd been to Hanako was quite awhile ago during the pandemic, and when we went there today we did not know that the previous owner/chef had left. When the first plate of sushi came out I noticed immediately that the fish looked to be of far lower quality than it had been previously. Being a big fan of toro, Hanako always had some of the best in town, it was always glistening with its own oils and silky smooth and delicious. Today it was translucent and tasteless, much like the toro you would get in a cheaper restaurant like Sushi Garden, and one of them even had a bone in it.

Speaking of Sushi Garden, it appears that the new owner is following that business model where while you do get a large piece of fish on every nigiri, the quality is so poor that I honestly had a hard time finishing it.

The following dishes were equally as disappointing as the toro, and the taste of the chopped scallop nigiri had me wondering if the scallops were spoiled. The tako was still a bit frozen, and don't even get me started on the saba. Even the ginger was now of the same fibrous and raspy quality you'd get in a low end sushi restaurant. Worst of all the prices are still that of a high end sushi restaurant. The only thing I enjoyed was the green tea.

My wife and I were so dismayed by the reduction in quality that we asked the waitress at the end if the owners had changed, and were unsurprised to learn that indeed they had. A sad end to a great restaurant, we won't be back.