Niwano Hana Japanese Restaurant

Service was okay, hence the two stars. Food wasn’t great, didn’t enjoy the meal at all. Ordered the alligator roll. Didn’t finish it. Avocado to eel proportion was a bit off. Not tasty! Was hoping for a brown or back rice option over white rice, no joy.
Miso soup was bland at best. Had been craving the soup, and it was a terrible disappointment. A side dish of noodles was $ 8, just as plain/​bland.
Will not dine here again. :-(service was okay, food just wasn’t.

This was my favorite place growing up in Rockville. Before this recent visit, I last ate here over 6 years ago. My all time favorite was the spicy scallop so I got the lunch tempura bento and substituted for spicy scallop roll. Was a bit pricey perhaps for lunch, but I wanted my roll. Sadly, it was good, but it was not as good as I remembered. I think the flavor changed. It used to be more mayo and less spice. Now it was less creamy and more spicy. I still ate every last bite. The tempura was good and with the free soup and salad that always comes, I couldn’t finish everything. Service was good except a waitress took away my tempura sauce before I realized it when she was cleaning up my husbands bento.

Price isn’t bad and what is why I didn’t give it the full 5 stars. Parking and finding the location was fine. Staff is very attentive. Food was very delicious! Just a bit pricey depending on what you get.

I’ve been here twice, and enjoyed the ambience, friendly service, and delicious sushi and noodle soups. This place was recommended to me by a friend, and I would probably not have known about it, if she hadn’t mentioned it. I am so glad she did!

I really like this restaurant — it’s definitely nothing fancy when it comes to décor but the sushi is really good and definitely not too expensive at all.

A very good meal, the staff was very accommodating. The restaurant is clean and was quite busy with diners and take out. The sushi rolls were good, the miso soup full of tofu and the salad had just the right amount of ginger dressing. We had the spicy crunchy tuna roll, salmon roll, tuna sushi, chicken teriyaki and a salmon mango roll. We were there with 2 children who would only eat plain tofu or rice. The staff was more than willing to accommodate us. Everything was fresh and tasty will be back on our next visit to the DC area.

Japanese McDonald’s. Low quality food sadly. Good staff.
Went here again today. Should have stayed away as planned. Got the volcano roll (keep expecting the original with the spicy creamy orange sauce) and the spicy crunchy tuna roll. The spicy crunchy tuna was not spicy and not even crunchy; poorly pieced together pieces had seaweed coming apart; very bland; the roll had mashed tuna with moist/​soft «crunchy» bits which tasted so bland and strange I could not eat it. Tea was good and free. People/​staff were friendly, except one.
I wish the food was better because otherwise it could have been a cozy little spot.
If it makes a difference, last two times I went here during the slow hours, before dinner. Some places are better in the evenings or whenever they have their best chef there?

Went here for the first time and was extremely disappointed with the food. The service was excellent but the food was subpar. The sushi lacked flavor. The rice was bland, and the ingredients didn’t add to the flavor. I didn’t think that a volcano or spicy scallop roll would lack flavor but this did. They don’t offer refills on soda either. If that’s the case, just serve it with the can so its clear that there are no refills. The tempura wasn’t light and crispy. It seemed overdone. Overall I’d stick with Rolls & Rice or Sushi House and skip this place.

I am definitely a regular here!
I love the atmosphere even though it is a little tight and always crowded. It gives off a very intimate feel and is similar to sushi restaurants in Japan.
The entire staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. I love taking big group to this place and have a memorable eating experience.
I love the strews especially during colder weather to warm me up.
I love ordering from the specials board for something new, always great choices.

My favorite sushi place. Back in day the owner used to greet you coming and going in Japanese. It was a fun atmosphere and the sushi is always fresh and they have great specials. They have gone thru changes with owners but that didn’t change the quality of the food. They have a good selection for vegetarians other than steam veggies or salad and it’s actually really flavorful. I love their Tofu Steak. It’s four slices of steam tofu with a slightly sweet savory sauce. One of my favorite things to eat anywhere. They have udon and a selection of different Tempura and the usual Teriyaki chicken beef or salmon. It’s small and cozy so it’s great for date night.

Let’s just say I’m a huge fans of quality Japanese food. Niwano Hana certainly fits nicely into that category of great food! Noodles to be more precisely. It was a Friday evening at around 9pm-​ish, and I went there expecting no lines. And I was wrong… It was quite full and bustling, but the hostess was quickly able to clear up a table and seat me within 5 minutes.
But forget the service, environment, noises, and ambiance (because they were so-​so), the food was amazing! I ordered the Seafood Udon noodle soup, and a side of garlic shrimp as appetizer. The garlic shrimp was perfectly seasoned and the green peppers made the dish superbly tasty. As an appetizer, I would definitely recommend that dish for anyone that likes spice and seasonings. As for my night snack, the noodles, it was unforgettable. One, it’s $ 15 for a bowl of soup (so it was a bit of a wallet squeezer) but two, the content in there was so good, I probably would pay up to $ 25 for it. I just remember the noodle soup having lots of different ingredients (mussels, calamari, clams, shrimp, imitation crab, fish paste), and the seasoning was light enough so the proteins highlighted the dish!
Overall I would definitely NOT rate the experience of my visit to Niwano Hana a ⁵⁄₅ (4.5÷5 is probably the correct score), but because the food was so scrumptious, I had to bump the score up. I mean I go to restaurants to eat: and since Niwano’s food was so delicious, I’m willing to overlook the loud noises, over crowdedness, and not-​so-​amazing service.

I’ve been coming to Niwano Hana for over ten years now. While the service, once spectacular is now nothing special, the food is still good.
The eel bowl or unadon is still tasty, with a small garnish of varied Japanese pickles. They still have my favorite salad dressing, with less onion then I remember but still pleasingly savory rather than sweet.
I recommend them, it is a good place to find authentic Japanese food.

Taking into consideration that other personnel within my party who ate at this place expressed negative views, such as salmon sashimi being hard & not refresh, etc., I decided to downgrade the star to three vice previous five, so as not to mislead those who may read my review for reference. Thank you!

Niwana Hana is one of my favorite local sushi restaurants in the area. I feel that their fish is always fresh, service is good, and the restaurant is very clean.
My favorite rolls are their alligator roll and spicy scallop rolls. They give you a good portion and their miso soup is very flavorful.
Yes, their prices are a bit more expensive but their ingredients are quality so why complain?

Our go-​to local sushi place. Through the years this place has had consistently tasty sushi. The owner is Japanese and if no one tells you, you wouldn’t be able to point him out. A humble man with a humbly successful business.
Favorite must-​have rolls each time we come:
1) Volcano roll
2) Salmon skin roll
3) Spicy scallop roll

I came here with a friend who has been coming here for the many decades as it’s been open. He raves about this place so I was game.
As soon as we walked in, we were greeted & seated. I allowed my friend to take full control & do the ordering for me… indeed a rarity LOL.
We started off with a Seaweed Salad, it was pretty good & the Edamame came right after the salad, hot & a nice portion.
I’m not a Sake drinker yet got schooled on the tradition of pouring for the person who ordered as you’re not suppose to drink alone… learn something new everyday.
Now when the O-​toro came out, I was hesitant as I love Sashimi yet this was a different presentation, especially of the «head» area. I have no inhibitions & so I tried it… my goodness, it was so delicious! It had a nice grill to it with a slight drizzle of sweet glaze, really was very good. I then had my usual of Smoked Salmon, Eel & White Tuna, good slices/​portions & was pretty fresh.
Our server was young Jason & he was on point the entire time. I’m excited to have a new place for Sushi.

I was impressed with cleanliness of the place, the servers were very inviting and that set the tone for the meal
After soup and salad I ended with 4 rolls and was pleasantly surprised how large they were
The Cali with Eel was a great start, the Dynamite Rolls had a good kick from the chili seasoning but the highlights were the specialty rolls
I love a good spicy Volcano Roll and these didn’t disappoint in the least, and topped the meal off with the Alligator Rolls which where filled with Shrimp Tempura and topped with Avocado and Eel
It was all very filling for sure and was a great choice for lunch

I haven’t been to this place in years. On a Wed evening the restaurant was only a 3^rd full. They had a lot of sushi roll specials on their black boards. Fortunately for me my eye sight is still ²⁰⁄₂₀ and I could read the specials from our table but I’m not sure how others can view them if they are seated at a table at one of the ends of the restauarant. The waitress didn’t tell us anything beyond what was on the boards.
My all time favorite roll is the spider roll. it was mediocre here but maybe that’s because soft shell crabs are not in season right now. The fried oyster roll from the black board specials was not that much better. I was still recovering from a cold so for my main entre I chose the seafood udon. I have to admit it hit the spot. The broth was seasoned perfectly and the dish had plenty of seafood — mussels, scallops, shrimp.
Nothing seriously to complain about. The service was good and the food was fresh but nothing spectacular to write about either. Solid 3 stars.

For me the best sushi place in Rockville so far. Sushi Deluxe and Rainbow Roll were delicious, the service perfect and it was very easy to park just on the back of the restaurant. I also liked the soft light and the quietness inside, it’s suitable for a date. We spent just 40 dollars for a dinner (two people) that’s absolutely not bad for the overall quality :)

Underwhelmed! I came here with a friend a little while ago. Back then, Temari Café was fresh in my mind (went there again rather recently, too) and I was expecting something of the same caliber. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I got something similar — salmon teriyaki. What came out was pretty sorry-​looking and it was frankly quite flavorless. The place was empty enough but the service was lackluster. Maybe the sushi is different but with how not authentic the place appears to be, I personally wouldn’t bother.