Hana in Wayne

[productionjon]

Been past Hana more times than I can count. Never made it inside. Any insight on the place?

[FoolForFood]

I took a detour there once because I was running errands at the Farmer's Market and was just too lazy to drive to Osaka across the street.

It's a cozy, no frills restaurant, about half the size of Osaka. I ordered a lunch-sized portion of Chirashi. The fish was not fresh - in fact, the Genji boxes at Whole Foods would contain fresher fish at around the same cost. I don't remember the price point, but it was a small bowl of rice with limited amounts of small, dull-looking cube-like fish on top. Usually Chirashi comes with freshly sliched sashimi fish on top, so I was very disapointed. The texture of the fish was also bizarre and mushy.

This is not a great Japanese restaurant in my book, though many Philly chowhounders will disagree with me. If you're in the area, you should stick to Osaka. Great reliable lunch combos and specialty rolls.

[DanielleM]

i am one who stauchly disagrees, but i will not try to convince you otherwise b/c i have a hard enough time getting a table at Hana as it is. Osaka always has plenty of room.

[phungi]

I have never had a bad experience there... fresh good sushi rolls, reasonably priced, BYO... been there 5-6 times and always had a good meal.

[FoolForFood]

It's BYO? This must be the reason the Main Liners give it the thumbs up. Osaka is not BYO, but again, I've only eaten at both places during lunch hours.

[idia]

Drive another 5 minutes into Rosemont and try Samurai.
Even Margaret Kuo in Wayne (2 minutes down the road) has a decent Japanese section.

[Suefoo]

I once had an incredibly weird experience at Hana. I called ahead and made sure they were open, explaining I was on my way. When I got there they refused to seat me when they saw I was a single diner. They told me there were no more seats left (clearly not true upon viewing empty tables in the room), and I was upset because they could have said so on the phone 15 minutes prior to my arrival. It was just completely off putting and inexplicable, so I turned around and walked out and have never returned.

[idia]

Wow! That is incredible! Talk about bad business...
How stupid of them.

[DanielleM]

I am a big supporter of Hana, but they do have some really strange seating policies. They often have tables reserved say - a booth for two, and they will put a reserved sign on the table despite the fact that the reservation isn't due to show up for an hour (or more). I've called and made an 8pm reservation at 6pm sometimes just to make sure i don't get shut out.

It seems so strange for such a small place - they could easily turn those tables instead of turning people away .....

Then again I have had an equally strange experience at the Mayuree Cafe in its new location, where the owner is the only server, and basically before I even opened my mouth he said, "sorry, no tables tonight" -> despite the fact that the place was over 70% empty. He just couldn't handle it, and is too darn stubborn to hire someone else. It was enough for me to not go back there again, so believe me - I understand where you are coming from.