26 October 2008

Hakane Sushi

Posted by Lelah under: Food; Ojai; Ojai Restaurants .

There’s a new sushi restaurant in town. You’d never know the small wooden building across from the Firebird Plaza used to be a dark, slightly crowded video store. Now Hakane Sushi, it has been totally redone with bright white walls and attractive dark wooden furnishings. There is a long sushi bar as you come in the left, with tables filling up the rest of the bright room, and nice airy outdoor seating on the patio to the right.

I went there in a group of three a few days after they opened. They still need to get the rhythm of the kitchen and sushi bar down (ie: the food took a while), but the greeting was warm and friendly, they had plenty of waitstaff on hand, and were prompt about refilling drinks and water. The food was good–not exceptional sushi, but fresh and tasty. The menus are glossy and filled with pictures. The prices are a bit higher than I expected, a lunch combo was about 11 dollars, but the food was plentiful. Many of the rolls on the menu are in the 12 dollar range, but what you get is a large plate with a giant colorful roll. I also tried the shrimp and veggie tempura, the salad with the obligatory (but yummy) ginger carrot dressing, plain white rice, gyoza and a tuna roll and it was all good. They thoughtfully offer both regular and low sodium soy sauce on the table, and have green tea ice cream for dessert. They also have hot and cold green tea to drink; the cold is refreshing but is a bit of an acquired taste. Altogether, Hakane Sushi is a good option for downtown Ojai if you are hankering for something different.

Hakane Sushi. 967 E. Ojai Ave. 805.640.3070 Open 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 Friday and Saturday. Street parking on Ojai Avenue is free and plentiful.

Update 5/20/09: I revisited Hakane Sushi the other day. They’ve been open for about seven months and I was impressed with the uptick in service. The food was prepared much more quickly and overall the service was smoother. The food was decent. It isn’t amazing sushi, but it is quite serviceable. They have a pleasant outdoor dining option with lots of plants and shade from the sun. I made a point to sit with my back to the televisions in the main dining area, but the Lakers game was on, so I did appreciate being able to check the score occasionally while I ate my tuna rolls and chicken yakisoba.

One Comment so far...

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.