Hamano Sushi

I really enjoyed this no-​frills sushi joint. Getting quality sushi in the city without paying an arm and a leg can be difficult, since a lot of the time you are paying for the ambiance/​experience etc. Hamano is a good place to go if you want to have quality sushi and be able to see and hear the person you’re eating lunch/​dinner with. We tried five different rolls and enjoyed them all, although we had to get five in order to feel full. I will definitely be back since I’m starting to feel like the trendier sushi spots are a little overrated.

Their lunch specials are of good value for the quality of fish that they serve. I enjoyed my sushi combo with a salmon roll and assortment of chef’s choice sushi. I like their house dressing on the salad they serve at the beginning of the meal to get your taste buds going. It’s tangy and the salad fresh. Service was friendly and efficient.

Incredibly good fresh fish. We really only had the sushi/​nigiri here so I can’t speak for the rolls. Other than that it is always busy, this place is the best! The fish pieces are huge and very very tasty.

We go here a lot, or at least we did, but last night something was clearly awry. The sushi bar had been «redecorated,» in the process losing several seats. Where the seats used to be was a floor to ceiling screen behind which two of the three sushi chefs now work. There was no «konichiwa» when we walked in, no bantering chit chat while we ate, no «arigato» when we left. Getting a suggestion of what to have – in the past, the sushi chefs liked to point out seasonal specials – was difficult. And these were not different people. They were the same sushi chefs we’d ordered from before. Quality wasn’t bad but not as good as before. Sayonara Hamano Sushi.

I recently ate at Hamano Sushi for the first time. I was pleased with their selection of quality food and service. The prices were also very reasonable. I had the Almond Shrimp, Almond Salmon and Spicy Tofu and loved it.

Really nice and tasty food coupled with the worst customer service. It’s always crowded, like a cattle call and they won’t take reservations. They hostesses are rude and inattentive. It takes forever to get seated and served. The food is served ad-​hoc with no methodology or consideration for the guests. One person may be on there third dish while the other has been served nothing. These waitresses are clueless. The hostesses lack any subtlety or sophistication.

Best sashimi ever!!!
Very good quality food and service. They also have a nice selection of wines and saki.
My favourite sashimi was the yellow tuna

Excellent sushi. Sat at the bar. Loved the Dolores Roll and the Mission Roll. Not sure why the low rating. A little surprised by the charge for green tea but two sips later and I knew why. Wow. Best tea with sushi in thirty years of my experience. BTW, tea was called supreme. One of 5 tea options.

I went to Hamano for lunch. I wanted to order the sashimi lunch special, but craved spinach. The server told me the curry came with spinach & that the curry also had potatoes. When it came, the chicken was underdone & sadly – no potatoes. The sauce was pretty gloppy, too. The spinach & asparagus looked fresh & tasty & I considered just eating those & the rice. But, I was hungry! So, I sent it back & ordered the sashimi lunch. The salmon was good, the maguro was better. The sushi chef was very nice & recommended the hamachi nigiri which I’d have ordered, too, but the waiter was kinda hurrying us out of there. Next time I’ll get there earlier.

Food and service was sub par. I expect reasonable quality when eating Japanese. My experience here was not satisfying.
Reasons;
Quality of rolls… Overly seasoned. onions piled on top of rolls… not sushi.
Passive aggressive wait staff… Not accommodating.
I will not patronize again.
If I can make better food at home I choose home over this.

I’ve only eaten Hamano Sushi during workday lunch hours, once as take out and once in the restaurant.
During my recent visit to the restaurant, I shared Edamame Dumplings with my friends which were tasty & I ordered the Salmon Teriyahi with rice, salad & tempura which was perfect portion satisfying and flavors were pretty good.
It’s a nice neighborhood sushi spot, with no wait during lunch, friendly service, food served quickly (important for work lunch) and the restaurant is casual for everyone kids included!

Hamano… I love Hamano! I come almost every week, like a pilgrim, for her weekly nigiri mecca.
And I eat a lot of Japanese food. I grow up in a country where we eat lots of Japanese. I’ve been to Japan. I’m learning Japanese. So there, trust me when I say it’s good. Here’s why:
— it doesn’t try to over-​charge you. sushi is expensive. fish is supposed to be expensive. you will still end up spending more eating here than at Subway, but it will be worth it.
— family friendly. I see lots of kids coming here all the time. However THEY DO NOT HAVE HIGHCHAIRs! So I end up bringing my own booster seat that I strap to the chair for my 10 mo old. They are never heeled very accommodating and friendly to babies.
— not just sushi but also more traditional family style Japanese food like unagi don
— High quality fish imported from Japan when in season. This is usually printed on the board at the bar.
This is important if you want to get good sushi here: order from the bar! Ask the chefs what is in season and what is good. They will tell you and make it for you. Don’t stick to your tuna or salmon, since if it’s not in season it is terrible. If you go to farmers market to get local in season food and think that is the right thing to do, you should do the same with fish.
I also like getting natto here. Once I asked them to give it to me plain on a bed a rice and they did it for me.
For tea, they have this no caffeinated soba cha (buckwheat tea) that is soooooo good. At least give it a try when you go.
For dessert I like the black sesame crème brûlée which is really really tasty. Creamy, smooth, and just the right amount of sweetness for me!
I love Hamano. I will come back to it again and again.

Nicely prepared sashimi and nigiri. Rolls are a little… lacking. I don’t know what it is. All fresh and good fish, just very traditional and nothing I’ve been «wowed» by. However, Its consistent and is one of the better sushi joints in noe valley area. Try the sea bass nigiri! I used to be a tuna fiend then a salmon fiend but the sea bass is just great. Their Aji (spanish mackerel) wasn’t too fishy smelling or fishy tasting either, which was nice!
But nothing can beat Saru on 24^th ;)

This place serves American style Japanese food. I tried lunch combo (Teriyaki Salmon with California roll) and they were fresh and tasted good. Coming back for lunch sometime again.

Great place for casual sushi! Not that many wine options but the food is pretty cheap and yummy. I am a vegetarian and I love that they have a separate section for Vegetable sushi.
Midori is a pretty good sushi roll!
Spicy Tofu tempura is a must try for a vegetarian appetizer. Edamame dumplings are really yummy too.
I come here at least twice a month for sushi. It’s my go to casual sushi place. Not that expensive.

My go-​to. Always consistent, and perfect for maki rolls, sashimi and when I need udon while sick. Service is kind and friendly, and it’s a relaxed, family type of place.
Favorite rolls are the Sunset roll, Ikura nigiri, the Sanchez, their delicious house salad, and their vegetarian rolls.

I came here last night for a light meal before dinner elsewhere. We ordered the Black Cod Appetizer and 24^th Street/​Castro Rolls.
The rolls had 6 – 7 pieces and were relatively cheap, the rolls were pretty good but the grilled cod was the real deal. All of us thought it was the better dish among the 3 we ordered. It is small in size but just so perfect and slightly sweet. They should definitely make a entrée dish and grill the entire fish!
This place is located near Little Chihuahua in the heart of Noe Valley.

Great sushi as told to me by some of the best sushi chefs whose art I have had the pleasure of experiencing should be gauged on 3 criteria:
1. Cleanliness
2. Quality of ingredients
3. Technique
After a near 40 minute wait I was seated at the sushi bar with the luck of the draw getting the head sushi chef. Decided to go a la carte and order whatever sparked interest, Ocean Trout, Aji, Sardine, Salmon Belly, Ikura and Hamachi.
Presentation for all nigiri was very neatly packaged, no rice falling apart with fish well cut. Sushi rice was good, I can get a hint of the seasoning but wish there was a little more. All fish was cool temperature wise, definitely a good sign for food safety sake. The Ocean Trout was smooth and clean tasting similar to Scottish Salmon. Ikura was prepared well, the eggs firm enough so you get that nice pop and hint of saltiness. The Salmon Belly was probably the best tasting bite of the night. Slightly seared, it was soft while maintaining just enough sashimi texture with a terrific buttery finish. I could have done three orders of that easily.
Service was a little off but I will give the benefit of the doubt because the place was packed. I will be back again to try some of the other fish offerings and maybe some appetizers as long as I get the head chef again. Thumbs up, Oishi.

On date nights, there’s only one thing on my mind. Getting some… cock. Cocktails, that is!
I was all stoked to go to Padrecito for their happy hour cocktails until he asked, «Can we go to somewhere else that’s reasonably cheap?»
«Ok, what do you suggest?», I replied.
«Sushi?», he said.
«Well, that’s an oxymoron», I said.
«Wow, I’m proud of you, you’re using big girl words», he replied.
«WTF, are you implying that I’m dumb?», I huffed.
«Unlimited alkie on me», he excitedly said.
OK, SOLD! He sure knows the way to this girl’s heart…
We had a great experience the first time at Hamano Sushi and it’s on the way home, so we decided to pay them a second visit.
Let me first say, I was expecting a Japanese owned restaurant after scoring through all the reviews. Several people made reference to «Jiro» and «omakase» so I expected to find an elder Japanese fellow behind the counter. Imagine my surprise when I found Cantonese speaking chefs behind the counter. I was skeptical especially we were the only Asian customers there. I told Mr. NSS that we should order conservatively.
A true test of a solid sushi restaurant is their nigiri. Not only did Hamano pass, they truly exceeded our expectations. After our second visit, they’re one of the top three Chinese sushi restaurants in SF next to Sakesan (Inner Richmond) and Amami (San Bruno) in my book.
Prices are a scotch higher than other Japanese restaurants but we’re in Noe Valley after all. I didn’t find their happy hour special for drinks (20% off till 6:30 pm) a good deal though. A large Sapporo during HH is $ 6.75 which is the regular price at most other Japanese restaurants.
Over the course of two visits, we have tried the following:
A P P S
*Shrimp & Veggie Tempura ($ 10.20):
*Puffy Scallop: raw scallops wrapped w/​phyllo dough ($ 6.95):
*Almond Shrimp ($ 6.95):
*Kakuni: 10 hour braised pork belly ($ 6.95):
For their fried items, they use pretty good frying technique (not oily or greasy). The tempura is solid with a light and airy batter. If you’re a Chinese walnut shrimp fan, the puffy scallop and almond shrimp are good fusion apps to try. Skip the corn starchy kakuni pork belly.
N I G I R I (prices are for pairs)
*Hon Masu: Cherry Trout ($ 8.95):
*Umi Masu: Ocean Trout ($ 6.95):
*Kanpachi: Amberjack ($ 7.95):
*Aji: Spanish Mackerel ($ 6.50):
*Hamachi Toro: Yellowtail Belly ($ 6.50):
*Uni w/​Quail Egg ($ 9.45):
*Sake Toro: Salmon Belly ($ 5.95):
*Chu Toro: Medium Fat Tuna Belly ($ 12.95):
Hamano excels in their nigiri. The fish is super fresh and their shari (sushi rice) is well seasoned albeit it has a tendency to fall apart easily. Every nigiri we ordered, we have liked but the stand outs are their sake toro and aji. For the sake toro, they lightly torch it to give it a nice smokiness. The aji is brushed with their housemade sauce (no need for soy). For the price, I favor Hamano over nearby Saru.
R O L L S
*Salmon Skin Roll ($ 6.50):
*Valencia Roll: asparagus tempura & sake ($ 8.95): see link above
*Burning Man: crab, avocado, scallop, spicy mayo ($ 12.95):
*Spider Roll ($ 8.95):
We usually don’t order rolls but to keep our bill down, we order it as fillers. The burning man was my fav; fresh and creamy with a fiery kick.
Service-​wise, the staff was very polite and attentive (both visits). Not your typical Chinese sushi restaurant that’s for sure. They kept our water glasses filled which is always a good sign.
Ambiance is whatevers. Not exactly a place for a date but I would choose sushi bar seats over the tables.
Finding street parking in the area has never been an issue.
With a mixture of apps, nigiri, rolls, and beer, our bill was about $ 90 for two. Considering, we usually spend $ 75-​$ 100 pp when eating sushi, it wasn’t too shabby. We did have room for more sushi but we had to be «reasonable». That’s why pizza by the slice exist! Both times like fatasses, we went to The Pizza Shop in The Mission after Hamano.
Thank you, Meghan Trainor for bringing (I) back:
!

8÷1÷13 Dinner
Never thought a Japanese in such a neighborhood as Noe Valley would serve authentic food, just I wanted to try nonetheless. It was amazing. After two recommendations, including a Japanese lady and a fellow blogger, I bit the bullet and went for dinner.
Restaurant décor is uninspiring but very clean and pristine. It reminds me of a typical hotel lobby restaurant. We were promptly seated and genmaicha served. A great beginning.
In Japan most restaurants are specialty, meaning they only serve one or two types of food. There’s a tempura specialty restaurant, a ramen restaurant, etc. Hamano, like almost every of its counterparts here has a big menu. I’m impressed they offer traditional dishes in addition the Americanized rolls.
*Gyozas: A bit overdone but the flavor is very good. The bottom very crispy.
*Buta Kakuni: Slow braised pork belly is nothing to be faulted at. The meat comes off as I picked it up with chopsticks. Served with an egg.
*Assorted tempura: Batter is very light and thin. Tempura is a tricky item, very difficult to master but Hamano’s is above average.
*Chirashi: One of the best in terms of flavor and freshness. Ikura, mackerel, tuna, albacore tuna, yellowtail, shrimp, octopus, and eel over very tasty vinegary rice. It’s also the best value in the entire Castro, Noe, and Mission area.
*Tempura Roll: The usual makimono roll with a shrimp tempura cut. It’s worthy of a try if you’re into rolls.
A most pleasant surprise. Service is very attentive and cordial. Hamano is now my to-​go Japanese restaurant if I crave a chirashi and some traditional appetizers dishes. Fish is fresh and is of higher grade than most Japanese restaurants in town. Atmosphere is quiet and cozy.