Akai Hana

1173 Old Henderson Rd, Columbus, OH 43220
(614) 451-5411

When I need a sushi fix, I can't help but think about Akai Hana. Located a bit out of the way, up on Old Henderson Road, it's unlikely that you'll find fresher raw fish in the city. I've been to Akai Hana on several special occasions, from dates to watching friends leave town and have had a wonderful time with most all of my visits. Unfortunately my last visit was, less than spectacular on certain levels.

The particular day that we dined at this sushi house, was a very special day from Brandon and myself, I had made reservations two weeks in advance so that we could have a particularly pleasant experience. When we arrived, our reservations had been lost, and we were placed in line with quite a few groups waiting behind us. Greatly confused by the situation, we began looking up other potential dinner spots.Within 15 minutes or so, we were given the first available table, making up for us losing our initial spot.

We were quickly greeted by our waitress, yet were told that an order of sushi would take a bit longer due to the capacity of the restaurant. We ordered a bottle of wine, and decided to go for the sushi regardless of the wait. We had ordered a boat (a bit of a tradition for the two of us) as well as uni and their famed sweet potato roll. 

First to the table was our uni. We ordered two pieces, as it was the first time he had ever tried the baby poo looking blob, and I wasn't about to let him go alone (I like sea urchin). We both took a sampling of the sweet glob and I must report Brandon to not be in favor. Soon after came the sweet potato roll and our boat of assorted rolls.

The sweet potato roll has been a usual favorite of mine. It's slightly warm and well composed with slightly spicy beet spouts poking out for great contrast to the creamy spud. This time, the potato was slightly under-cooked, causing an off-putting mouth feel. Our boat was large and easily split by two people without getting any extra rolls.

Each fish offering was fresh, and every roll was bound tight. The only great complaints came from the squid piece and the salmon roe. The squid was rather tough and unpleasant, strongly flavored and far too chewy. The roe tasted as it should, but could have used more rice to offset the texture of the pea-sized pearls. I will note that almost every piece of sushi had an abundance of wasabi, this was not problem for me, but Brandon found it a bit off-putting. I've heard that this has been a recurring problem as of late across the board of Akai Hana, and Tensuki market.

Although I still hold Akai Hana as having some of the best sushi in town, my last experience has restarted my quest to find better sushi in town. I'd recommend going to Akai Hana for your next night out, but consider calling ahead and double checking the wasabi on your plate.

Keep Eating,

JTFussy