| rev:text
| - They say the Japanese eat with their eyes. A lot of that comes through in sushi preparation and service. You want your nigiri to be sharply prepared, with tight rice and well cut and presented fish. When you take the piece in your hand or your sticks, the entire nigiri should be as one piece - a combination of visual flavor and delicious colors.
This was a second choice for us tonight, since our usual sushi joint was overflowing with customers and had a 1 hour wait. There is a reason for that.
When we arrived at Hanabi, there was no wait. Indeed, this is usually a positive, but in a foodie town like Vegas, this sometimes means that the fare simply does not match up to a discerning palate, and the punters go elsewhere.
I wish the presentation was better, but I can deal with that as long as the food is good. Unfortunately the sushi tasted less than fresh, and this was especially apparent in the mackerel, the tuna and the salmon nigiri - all of which are especially unforgiving of poor preparation and in which freshness is paramount. You can understand why I did not want to try any of the rolls, which are usually designed to mask bad fish behind heavy sauces and creamy bases. The nigiri had a paucity of quality fish, overwhelmed by too much under-seasoned rice underneath.
The servers were attentive but frequently intrusive - standing around very close by while we tried to enjoy the meal. Unfortunately, they had to go back to the chef's station multiple times to check on overdue orders that I asked for but only sometimes received. It did not help that the chef seemed to be more focused on supervising and guiding a trainee or novice chef instead of getting orders out promptly.
Hanabi is a laudable effort but it doesn't work in this part of town. Unfortunately, all the empty chairs on a normally busy night bodes poorly for this spot. 808 Tapas also did not fare well for the same reason - it could be the unforgiving location with high rents, but also the picky customers in Summerlin. The Grand Opening sign in December when the restaurant has been open since June also is topic for a laugh.
I wish them well but there's a long way to go to be successful.
My recommendations:
1. Lower your AYCE prices by 10-15% immediately in order to stay competitive.
2. Add Happy Hour specials to include generous drinks along with the food - they don't have to be expensive drinks, well-grade sake is more than enough.
3. Groupon all day every day.
4. You need to get a better sushi fish purveyor. Something is not right about the nigiri and the sashimi.
5. Include sashimi in the AYCE.
6. Loyalty program to keep the locals coming - buy 4 AYCE and get next one free.
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