After trying other sushi restaurants in the area we decided to bop into Hanabi for a bite on a cold Sunday December evening. We admired the holiday decor from our seats at the bar, ordered miso soup, edamame, two beers (both Japanese, both on tap) and the shrimp shumai app. The problem started when the waiter (a very nice young guy) informed us that we could not substitute a spicy tuna roll for the Cali roll on the nigiri sampler, one roll with seven fish nigiri. We said that we would be willing to pay an additional cost-no biggie. He then came back and said, to his dismay, that the sushi bar would not substitute at all! We said okay, then when the manager walked by, I introduced us and talked about other restaurants in the area before inquiring about the no substitution policy. Her response was 1) if she let us substitute then what could she do when everybody wants to substitute? (heaven forbid!) and 2) food costs prohibit her changing from the Cali to the spicy tuna (even though they are both $6.00 on the menu!). The food was okay-we got the spicy tuna roll alone but lost the rest of our appetite. Not a big deal, but bad customer service on their part. Maybe that is why the place was 70% empty!
Pros: lots of available seating, no waiting
Cons: no spicy roll for you!
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