Horinoya

[uptownlibrarian]

I had an outstanding meal at Horinoya last night; easily in my top 10-15 lifetime meals at restaurants. Through all 7 courses, nothing was not outstandingly delicious and we ate literally everything on every plate except maybe some wasabi.

I have the impression that visitors don't make it to this restaurant because it's "ethnic". First of all, is this true, or is this just my impression? Second, how does Horinoya compare to really good Japanese restaurants in other American cities? It is by far the best I've ever had, but best in New Orleans is perhaps not on par with best in SF, LA, or NY. So is it really a shame that visitors don't go to Horinoya, or can most people get similar quality and value at home?

[mesohungree]

You can get better quality in Hammond at Kirin! I have yet to find a sushi restaurant in New Orleans that rivals Kirin.

[mtleahy]

I ditto that a hundred times!!! It is by far the best sushi around. Very fresh tasting. Only knock is sometimes service is so-so because a lot of the servers are college age and there is a good bit of turnover. However, it is worth chancing the service to get the best local sushi.

[localfoodie]

I agree I think that the sushi is great, but it is very exspensive. I usually have to go to Ninja where the prices are little bit more reasonable.

[Hungry Celeste]

It's good, easily the best in NOLA. I think that the food is fairly austere--not a whole bunch of embellishment, but usually good quality fish & often local, fresh gulf fish. Good pickled ginger--not artifically sweetened or colored. No escolar or generic frozen sea bass. It's not your standard completely americanized sushi joint. To each his own--I'm happy that it's not overrun with throngs of people...that would disrupt the whole vibe of the place, imho.

[N.O.Food]

FYI - From what I understand, U.S. law requires all fish served raw to be frozen before reaching the table.

[Hungry Celeste]

I know about the freeze-to-kill parasites requirements--I should have been more clear and used the word "local" as opposed to "fresh". What I meant is that Horinoya often features gulf fish---local species--as opposed to all-pacific species. I'd rather eat cobia/lemonfish, red snapper, flounder, etc. than escolar flown thousands of miles.

[roro1831]

Ok, maybe it's been a while since I went there but I was not impressed at all

[cereed007]

no i agree with you. Its near my work...so I go there for lunch when i get my sushi craving....and i feel like everytime its mediocre..as well as pricey.