Hana Japanese Eatery = Super-Awesome 5-Star Joint.
1. Freshest fish in Phoenix. The sashimi and nigiri are remarkable in texture and taste. So good, in fact, that each bite makes the lucky biter pause and savor. I almost died without their salmon and tuna nigiri when I was preggers. (And maybe I snuck a piece or two, but don't tell.)
2. Fantastic Japanese dishes rare enough that you won't find them in other sushi restaurants. Be daring and explore uncommon foods off their specials board. I've never been grossed out, only happily wowed, even when a whole fish, with skin on, arrived in front of us on one occasion. Seriously, it was great.
3. REAL wasabi if you ask for it. (Did you know that paste is not wasabi's natural state when observed in the wild?)
4. BYOB. It's fun! BYOS (sake) for even more fun.
5. Great atmosphere: Not a hole-in-the-wall, yet not so trendy that they blare the club jamz and that the waitresses are all augmented.
6. Locally owned.
7. Attentive service! Sometimes sassy service!
Go there! Eat fish!