This place has amazing food! The food might be the best I've ever had. The location was a couple of blocks off the main strip in Carmel. The restaurant itself was plain and had a diner feel to it but the food was top shelf. I do recommend it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Elizabeth B.
The owner was very kind and the food came out well before it was promised for my to-go order. Unfortunately, the food itself was decidedly meh. A lot of people don't know this, but sushi isn't really about the fish. It's the rice, y'all. And in Hanagasa's case, the rice was... kind of sad. It wasn't properly seasoned sushi rice, and it wasn't properly formed. The hamachi nigiri ($12.95 per order. No, seriously) came with huge slabs of fish that was just okay, and the rice balls came apart as we picked up the nigiri to eat them. The saba tasted more interesting, but same problem with the rice. The caterpillar roll was utterly underwhelming. I paid premium prices for so-so sushi. Nothing tasted *bad*, it was just mediocre. Wouldn't remotely go back.
Genevieve Lucas-Conwell
Local gem & family owned restaurant. Great sushi. Definitely worth a visit!
Irene Patton
This place was simply amazing! We love sushi and let me tell you we fell in love with this place. The beer is super ice cold and the Monterey roll is one of the best we’ve ever had. It was worth the 6 Hour drive from Upland to visit Carmel and Monterey.As a matter fact we will be going back for sushi today.We had some salmon and tuna sushi as well and that was also super fresh.The owner is very kind. If you strike up a conversation with him he will chat with you. Very nice humble man. If you are and love sushi try this place out. ?
Neni P.
We visited this sushi joint on our vacation from Upland CA and absolutely love it. Some of the freshest sushi ever. The owner was very kind and very humble man. Our sushi was so damn good. We will be going back today. We LOVED it!!!
Pedro Leon
Horrible service, stay away. The entire staff is extremely "RUDE". We've lived in Carmel for over 8 years and this is worst experience we have ever had at a restaurant. This place doesn't represent what Carmel is about. The one thing that Carmel is known for the most is small Mom & Pops restaurant and businesses. For the most part Mom & Pops businesses are well known for excellent service, politeness, friendly, welcoming behavior but this place does not meet any of the above. The rude behavior starts from the minute you walk in and it continues until you leave. We ordered Hawaiian ahi poke appetizer and it was extremely spicy and it had only very few pieces of ahi tuna, we didn't touch it and returned it. The madwoman yelled at us as she removed it from our table. Then we can hear her and the chef yelling some more when she brought it back to the kitchen. At this moment we thought about leaving but decided to give it a chance. Wrong decision. The rest of the food was nothing to wright home about. However the bad service and the mean mugging continued on. Finally, we had enough and asked for the check, to our surprise they had added the previously returned appetizer to our bill. When we asked to please remove it, all hell broke loose. The madwoman and the chef (owner/manager) we're yelling and refused to remove it. After a few minutes of arguing, he finally accepted that his behavior was wrong although not happy, he finally removed it from our bill. But not before expressing his disagreement. He literally threw the recipe and pin at me to sign. Please stay away from this place. Horrible service.
Steve W.
This is an decent sushi restaurant if you don't care about ambiance or service. We had good food. But everything else was pretty blah-zay. Food (4/5): The star of our meal was the tempura calamari. Crispy batter with tender calamari. I would order 2 orders of this dish if I come back. We also had two rolls: The Carmel Valley and the Sun Set. I thought they were pretty good; my wife thought both were too sweet from the sauces that coated both rolls. This is a mom and pop place. If they were friendlier, I would try it again. Since they weren't, and their restaurant was pretty sad, I would look elsewhere for sushi in Carmel.
Steve Owen
I haunt this place. Hands down the best Japanese food in the Monterey Bay. Kind of a local spot tucked away. Worth seeking out
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kelly O'Hara
Intimate and modest but really good food ☺️
Josh Ohanian
I work in the same building that this restaurant is located and eat here every chance I get. The owners are wonderful people and the food is fantastic! Highly recommend!
My aunt and I came here tonight after a negative experience at another local sushi restaurant (other review posted) . We were feeling upset but right when we walked into this restaurant we were immediately greeted kindly by the owners and a local couple. It was our first time there and the locals told us everything was amazing and we couldn't go wrong. My aunt and I got the Hanagasa boat 2 and everything was delicious. I especially loved their crunchy roll and special roll. The nice local couple even bought us a bottle of sake as they were leaving. The great food, amazing service, and welcoming and friendly atmosphere completely turned our night around! I wish I lived closer so I could go back. I highly recommend!
Janice L.
I saw this Japanese restaurant when I had my hair done at Evolve Salon next door. It's a pretty under the radar looking place, not a lot of bells and whistles nor much seating. There are two outdoor tables and we took one as our dog was with us. I went in and called out if anyone was there. A woman appeared, and a man was at the sushi bar. Maybe they are husband and wife? She came out to the table and we asked for some water and an ice tea. Bottled water was brought out along with place settings. She took our orders, a mixed Tempura, a Crunchy Roll and a three item combination box. There were several nice choices to choose from, three sections, choose one item per section. I choose Teriyaki Chicken, Spicy tuna Roll, and Gyoza. Out came our Tempura and it's sauce. It consisted of a prawn, sweet potato, and zucchini. We sat there a bit waiting for plates, but none came. I went in and found our server and asked if we could have some plates. The Tempura was a nice light batter and very hot. She then brought the Miso soup. Normally I don't care for Miso soup, but this was very good. I think it can taste like a dirty sock. After she cleared those plates, she brought the remainder of our order. The Crunch Roll consisted of Shrimp Tempura, crab, avocado and cucumber. Presentation was nice and my husband enjoyed it. My combination box also had a very nice presentation. The traditional scoop of white rice, green salad, 8 pieces of Spicy Tuna Roll, four Gyoza, and sliced Teriyaki Chicken. It was also good. $20.75 even though the menu stated less. If you are looking for good, fresh, Japanese food this is a good choice. If you are looking for a lively place with some ambiance it might not be for you.
Carlos Zapata
Nice, hidden Gem!! if you go to Carmel-by-the-Sea and you are craving for good quality, awesome flavor sushi, you have to stop by Hanagasa!! fresh ingredients, fast service and nice service to top it off. we are definitely coming back!!
Aleksandr Korneevskii
Lovely place, approach it with kindness and it will shine back. Get some spicy sushi rolls!
Lane Nonnenberg
We arrived around 5:30 on Friday evening for dinner. We asked if we could sit down, and the waitress didn’t appear to be too happy that we were there. After being seated, we waited while 3 or 4 take-out orders were filled over the next 20-25 minutes. We were never asked if we wanted something to drink, and we found our own menus. We asked if we could order something, and she said she was busy and proceeded to serve one or two more take-out customers. Finally, after waiting about 25 minutes and never being waited on, we left. Seems like there are only two people working there, but they had managed somehow to serve three other tables of customers. I’ve heard the food is good, but it looks like take-out might be the only option to get served. Very unfortunate. It might be nice if they could communicate that to you when you arrive, but the server wasn’t very interested in talking (or taking an order for drinks or food).
This place has amazing food! The food might be the best I've ever had. The location was a couple of blocks off the main strip in Carmel. The restaurant itself was plain and had a diner feel to it but the food was top shelf. I do recommend it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
The owner was very kind and the food came out well before it was promised for my to-go order. Unfortunately, the food itself was decidedly meh. A lot of people don't know this, but sushi isn't really about the fish. It's the rice, y'all. And in Hanagasa's case, the rice was... kind of sad. It wasn't properly seasoned sushi rice, and it wasn't properly formed. The hamachi nigiri ($12.95 per order. No, seriously) came with huge slabs of fish that was just okay, and the rice balls came apart as we picked up the nigiri to eat them. The saba tasted more interesting, but same problem with the rice. The caterpillar roll was utterly underwhelming. I paid premium prices for so-so sushi. Nothing tasted *bad*, it was just mediocre. Wouldn't remotely go back.
Local gem & family owned restaurant. Great sushi. Definitely worth a visit!
This place was simply amazing! We love sushi and let me tell you we fell in love with this place. The beer is super ice cold and the Monterey roll is one of the best we’ve ever had. It was worth the 6 Hour drive from Upland to visit Carmel and Monterey.As a matter fact we will be going back for sushi today.We had some salmon and tuna sushi as well and that was also super fresh.The owner is very kind. If you strike up a conversation with him he will chat with you. Very nice humble man. If you are and love sushi try this place out. ?
We visited this sushi joint on our vacation from Upland CA and absolutely love it. Some of the freshest sushi ever. The owner was very kind and very humble man. Our sushi was so damn good. We will be going back today. We LOVED it!!!
Horrible service, stay away. The entire staff is extremely "RUDE". We've lived in Carmel for over 8 years and this is worst experience we have ever had at a restaurant. This place doesn't represent what Carmel is about. The one thing that Carmel is known for the most is small Mom & Pops restaurant and businesses. For the most part Mom & Pops businesses are well known for excellent service, politeness, friendly, welcoming behavior but this place does not meet any of the above. The rude behavior starts from the minute you walk in and it continues until you leave. We ordered Hawaiian ahi poke appetizer and it was extremely spicy and it had only very few pieces of ahi tuna, we didn't touch it and returned it. The madwoman yelled at us as she removed it from our table. Then we can hear her and the chef yelling some more when she brought it back to the kitchen. At this moment we thought about leaving but decided to give it a chance. Wrong decision. The rest of the food was nothing to wright home about. However the bad service and the mean mugging continued on. Finally, we had enough and asked for the check, to our surprise they had added the previously returned appetizer to our bill. When we asked to please remove it, all hell broke loose. The madwoman and the chef (owner/manager) we're yelling and refused to remove it. After a few minutes of arguing, he finally accepted that his behavior was wrong although not happy, he finally removed it from our bill. But not before expressing his disagreement. He literally threw the recipe and pin at me to sign. Please stay away from this place. Horrible service.
This is an decent sushi restaurant if you don't care about ambiance or service. We had good food. But everything else was pretty blah-zay. Food (4/5): The star of our meal was the tempura calamari. Crispy batter with tender calamari. I would order 2 orders of this dish if I come back. We also had two rolls: The Carmel Valley and the Sun Set. I thought they were pretty good; my wife thought both were too sweet from the sauces that coated both rolls. This is a mom and pop place. If they were friendlier, I would try it again. Since they weren't, and their restaurant was pretty sad, I would look elsewhere for sushi in Carmel.
I haunt this place. Hands down the best Japanese food in the Monterey Bay. Kind of a local spot tucked away. Worth seeking out
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Intimate and modest but really good food ☺️
I work in the same building that this restaurant is located and eat here every chance I get. The owners are wonderful people and the food is fantastic! Highly recommend!
Restaurantji Recommends
My aunt and I came here tonight after a negative experience at another local sushi restaurant (other review posted) . We were feeling upset but right when we walked into this restaurant we were immediately greeted kindly by the owners and a local couple. It was our first time there and the locals told us everything was amazing and we couldn't go wrong. My aunt and I got the Hanagasa boat 2 and everything was delicious. I especially loved their crunchy roll and special roll. The nice local couple even bought us a bottle of sake as they were leaving. The great food, amazing service, and welcoming and friendly atmosphere completely turned our night around! I wish I lived closer so I could go back. I highly recommend!
I saw this Japanese restaurant when I had my hair done at Evolve Salon next door. It's a pretty under the radar looking place, not a lot of bells and whistles nor much seating. There are two outdoor tables and we took one as our dog was with us. I went in and called out if anyone was there. A woman appeared, and a man was at the sushi bar. Maybe they are husband and wife? She came out to the table and we asked for some water and an ice tea. Bottled water was brought out along with place settings. She took our orders, a mixed Tempura, a Crunchy Roll and a three item combination box. There were several nice choices to choose from, three sections, choose one item per section. I choose Teriyaki Chicken, Spicy tuna Roll, and Gyoza. Out came our Tempura and it's sauce. It consisted of a prawn, sweet potato, and zucchini. We sat there a bit waiting for plates, but none came. I went in and found our server and asked if we could have some plates. The Tempura was a nice light batter and very hot. She then brought the Miso soup. Normally I don't care for Miso soup, but this was very good. I think it can taste like a dirty sock. After she cleared those plates, she brought the remainder of our order. The Crunch Roll consisted of Shrimp Tempura, crab, avocado and cucumber. Presentation was nice and my husband enjoyed it. My combination box also had a very nice presentation. The traditional scoop of white rice, green salad, 8 pieces of Spicy Tuna Roll, four Gyoza, and sliced Teriyaki Chicken. It was also good. $20.75 even though the menu stated less. If you are looking for good, fresh, Japanese food this is a good choice. If you are looking for a lively place with some ambiance it might not be for you.
Nice, hidden Gem!! if you go to Carmel-by-the-Sea and you are craving for good quality, awesome flavor sushi, you have to stop by Hanagasa!! fresh ingredients, fast service and nice service to top it off. we are definitely coming back!!
Lovely place, approach it with kindness and it will shine back. Get some spicy sushi rolls!
We arrived around 5:30 on Friday evening for dinner. We asked if we could sit down, and the waitress didn’t appear to be too happy that we were there. After being seated, we waited while 3 or 4 take-out orders were filled over the next 20-25 minutes. We were never asked if we wanted something to drink, and we found our own menus. We asked if we could order something, and she said she was busy and proceeded to serve one or two more take-out customers. Finally, after waiting about 25 minutes and never being waited on, we left. Seems like there are only two people working there, but they had managed somehow to serve three other tables of customers. I’ve heard the food is good, but it looks like take-out might be the only option to get served. Very unfortunate. It might be nice if they could communicate that to you when you arrive, but the server wasn’t very interested in talking (or taking an order for drinks or food).