Well this place has a bit of a complex history. I last visited it about 16 months ago, when it went by the name "Soban" and had a distinctly Korean focus (but with a fair bit of Japanese / sushi on the menu, as I recall). I'm not sure how long it had been open at that point, but it looked fairly new. A few months later, it was reinvented (seemingly overnight) as Witches Table; basically the same food in a ridiculous occult-chic setting. Less than a year later, the owners apparently decided the sure path to success was to dive headlong into the already saturated Yonge St. sushi market, and Sushi Hana was born.
Like last week's nearby Sushi & BBQ, Sushi Hana is a Korean-Japanese hybrid. However Sushi Hana is a little more stylish, the dishes a little fancier, and the prices a little higher.
In keeping with the Korean restaurant tradition (I guess), they brought a couple complimentary appetizers: a tiny bowl of noodles in broth, and a tasty little pastry thing the waitress described as "Korean pizza".
Once again, I went for a bento box anchored by a Korean meat dish, this time Kalbi BBQ ribs, along with veggie and shrimp tempura, gyoza, and some California rolls. I asked the waitress if it came with miso soup and she said no but she'd bring me some anyway, which was nice. My free miso soup was smallish but one of the better miso soups I've had recently. I think the ribs could've stood to be a little less well done, but I guess if I wanted them rare I should've asked for them that way.
Delving into the maki menu, I found the Miami Roll, consisting of crab stick and cucumber topped with unagi (eel) and avocado. I like all those things, so I liked the Miami Roll.
Somehow, the waitress misheard my order of a small Sapporo as "small hot sake". I decided to let it slide, on the grounds that I've always kinda wanted to try hot sake. As an added bonus, it turned out to be cheaper than the beer. But I'll tell you this: small or not, that was more freaking 140-proof rice wine than this lightweight needs in one sitting. I am drunk, man.
I'm not sure what this place is doing wrong, but I had the room entirely to myself until about 10 minutes before I left, when a couple finally wandered in. Hopefully it was just an unusually slow Monday night; otherwise I fear yet another rebranding is in the cards for Soban / Witches Table / Sushi Hana. Might I suggest cook-at-your-table Korean BBQ? That way they'd only be the 5th such place on the strip, instead of 13th-and-counting.
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