Reviews

First-time visitors arriving for lunch must wonder why when they step from charmless King Street into a room that could be home to any cuisine if it weren't for the sushi counter at the rear.

 

At lunchtime, when businessfolk are ploughing into set-price bento boxes, Hanabishi gives little away. It's only when you sit down to dinner - and the more extensive menu - that you realise why people rave.

 

It's not the room or even the service (which can be patchy); it's purely about the food.

 

One of the joys of a Japanese meal is the contrast between simple and complex courses, something that plays out well at Hanabishi.

 

A dish of wagyu beef is sensibly unadulterated, leaving the rich meat to speak for itself; other dishes are more complex, as in baked butterfish wrapped with aromatic wood, or an incredible special of scampi cut into chunks and deep-fried with potato shreds, arriving dry and crisp outside, meltingly hot and sweet within.

 

More variety would be welcome in the tuna- and salmon-heavy sashimi options, but the quality of the substantial tiles of fish (served in bamboo boats over ice) is outstanding.'