I had a really enjoyable omakase sushi dinner at Hinata recently. Hinata, which is on Van Ness and Eddy on the edge of the Tenderloin, opened in 2016 with a pretty affordably priced $78 omakase. The price of omakase is now $125, still fairly reasonably priced I think. I was seated at the bar.
Eater blurb from way back in 2016:
Three Starters (clockwise starting from top):
UMI MASU
Ocean Trout
The trout was complemented nicely by the tomato and fresh sweet sauce.
UMAKI
Eel Rolled Egg Omelet
Umami, sweet. A rolled Japanese omelet stuffed with a piece of eel.
MOZUKU
Okinawa Silky Seaweed
Topped with a slice of octopus. Was instructed to take this like a shot. Gelatinous.
Sashimi
Two kinds of chef’s selection
Actually 3 kinds. Clockwise from top was akami (lean tuna) that had been aged 2 weeks, hirame / flounder, and madai / red seabream. All good, I liked the hirame the best.
Gindara
Miso Glazed Black Cod/Uni Cream
On the top, sushi rice with shaved truffles. On the bottom, sweet lightly cooked flaky cod. On top of a creamy sauce flavored with uni.
Sawara
Cherry Wood Smoked King Mackerel
Smoked mackerel with two sauces. On the left, soy sauce and seaweed. On the right, ponzu, radish, and garlic.
Nigiri
Chef Choice Nine Kinds of Sushi
Next came the sushi!
Shima Aji
Striped Jack. Topped with lemon, this was delicious!
Ishira
Japanese Butterfish. Miso on top, torched. Also delicious.
Hotate
Scallop. From Hokkaido. With lemon and crunchy coarse salt. So good.
Akami
Lean tuna, dry aged 2 weeks. Delicious, meaty, umami.
Kamasu
Japanese Barracuda. Torched. Topped with yuzu kosho.
Chutoro
Medium fatty tuna. I think this was marinated in soy sauce. So good.
Ankimo
Monkfish liver with ponzu marinade. Delicious, creamy.
Ikura
Trout roe. With shaved frozen uni on top and sushi rice on the bottom. Delicious briny sweet pops, with creamy frozen uni that melted in your mouth.
Negitoro
Last of the scheduled sushi, a hand roll of minced fatty tuna. Delicious. Crispy nori with the rich toro filling accented with finely chopped chives.
You can add more sushi at this time, I added on a couple more.
Engawa (+$8)
Flounder fin with grated radish and a spicy sauce. This was recommended by my server as her favorite. And it was delicious - bit of a smoky grilled flavor, meaty.
Toro Hand Roll (+$18)
Fatty Tuna w/Pickled Daikon
And another toro roll because the last one was so good. This one had pickled daikon in it.
TOME-WAN
Fish Broth/Red Miso
After the nigiri, a very nice miso soup.
DESSERT
House made Yuzu Sherbet
Dessert was a simple refreshing yuzu sherbet with berries and crunchy balls.
An excellent omakase dinner, with very friendly service.
