Hamachi House

Hamachi House is one of the best sushi joints in Halifax. It has won The Coast's Best Sushi in Halifax for the last three years in a row. It has also won many other awards. It is probably the most popular place in town. That is why it is very important to make your reservations as early as possibly, especially if there are four or more in your party.

So what makes this place so great? It is a very cozy restaurant and pleasantly decorated. When you walk in the first thing you see are the chefs behind the sushi bar working away on satisfied customer's orders. What will catch your eye is the chain of boats floating around the bar. Its too bad that they aren't laden with all you can eat sushi. In the front are tables with chairs and in the back behind the bar are tables with comfy bench seating, this area can easily be converted to seat a large group.

Now for the good part, the sushi! Hamachi is well known for its quality and presentation. Each dish is a work of art. There are decorative pieces of lemon or lime, carrots and other veggies. Sometimes it looks too good to eat, but who am I kidding? You can always eat sushi, no matter how nice it looks.

So for the maki rolls, they have a great variety of standard rolls with some exceptional specialty rolls. I recommend the Deep Sea California rolls, they are the California rolls but they are dipped in tempura and served with a wasabi mayo. Another signature roll is their spicy tuna or salmon, which have little bits of tempura that make them nice a crunchy.

The nigiri is always delicious, the cuts of sashimi are large and satisfying. One thing that they do not do is add some wasabi between the sashimi and the rice. The Unagi is always great. If you are a fan of nigiri, I must recommend trying "The Boat". It is actually served on a boat. It comes with seven pieces of nigiri, six California rolls and either a spicy tuna or salmon hand roll. Served with miso and salad, at $20 it is an exceptional meal.

For all the hardcore sushi fans, the sashimi. Always tasty, tender and fresh; never a disappointment. They have a large variety and several meal options. With two different sashimi plates and an excellent chirashi, there is always something for everyone. The sashimi dinners do not come with rice but an excellent variety of fish. Usually there is two of each and either five or seven types of fish. Now my favorite meal, the chirashi, also affectionately known as the box of fish. It is a box with rice on the bottom and a beautiful display of fish and garnish on top. There are generally seven types of fish in it and it is the chef's choice. The chef's have excellent discretion. You sometimes get a piece or two of some of the exotic fish, always a nice treat.

For all you that don't like fish in your sushi, they have a good selection of veggie sushi. The best rolls are the avocado rolls with spicy sauce and the tempura veggie roll with sweet potato. Both are very filling.

The staff is very friendly and professional. Service is generally fast but that depends on how busy it is. Hamachi has always been a good experience.

The bad parts; the only negative thing that I have to say about this place is that due to its popularity it may be a little hard to get a table during peak times, that is why it is important to call and make reservations.

One more thing, Happy Maki Hour! An hour before close most maki rolls are a dollar off, along with some of the drinks (that is if I remember correctly). I have been a few times but they were a while ago.

Hamachi is an excellent place for both the new sushi explorers and the seasoned sushi lovers. They also have a variety of teriyaki and noodle dishes too. Their tempura appetizers are definitely worth trying.