Haru (Broadway)

Went to Haru for lunch with some coworkers.  Haru is a sushi/Japanese restaurant located in Times square.

It’s a casual restaurant with a very cool decor.   I usually avoid Times Square restaurants, as its full of chains (although there are some good independents) and uber touristy.   However, lunch in Times Square can be nice, since many of the restaurants cater to the surrounding businesses.

The restaurant looks plain from the outside, but once you enter, you walk into a bright, beautiful and modern multilevel restaurant.  There is a main dining room which is sectioned by bamboo to create booths and smaller dining sections for more privacy.  There is a full bar and a sushi bar.  The decor was definitely more than I expected.

 

As this is a lunch review, the dress is (business) casual and the atmosphere is perfect for a business lunch, meeting or a meal with friends.   I would say the vibe is low key.  Tables are nicely spaced and you can have a conversation without straining.  This is not a restaurant I would take children.

We had to wait about 5 minutes to be seated, although we had a reservation.  Once seated we had to wait another 5 minutes for our server to acknowledge us.

The menu appears to be pretty basic and reasonably priced for lunch.  We ordered chicken Teriyaki, Salmon Teriyaki and tofu steak.  Those each came with a California roll, rock shrimp kakiage, rice and miso soup or house salad.  In addition we orders some rolls and Rock Shrimp appetizers.

The items were presented nicely although one person had a special request that was denied, yet when pointed out, quickly corrected.  Overall the food was nicely prepared and tasty.

The services was uneven as we had to wait even though we had a reservation and our server seemed to be distracted either with other tables or just unattentive.  It’s hard to tell when the person serving you has no emotions.

The price for the portions and location were justified.  Entrees around $15 dollars in the Times Square area of Manhattan are what I would consider normal.

My conclusion is this is an average lunchtime restaurant with a lovely decor.  I would return again, most likely for dinner so I can compare the the services.  For average Sushi, this is good, considering there are other high end Sushi/Japanese restaurants in the vicinity.

Haru (Broadway)
205 West 43 Street
New York, NY  10036
212-398-9810
WEB:  http://www.harusushi.com/locations.aspx?page=103