I love an early dinner at Hana Japan in the Berkeley Marina. I discovered this restaurant several years ago when my intense pregnancy beef craving had me googling “Neiman Ranch Berkeley” (and found only these guys and Cactus Taqueria). For a few years, it was my family’s birthday tradition for parents and grandparents, so over the years, we’ve tested it out with infants, barely-eating babies, crazy toddlers, and curious preschoolers. All good.
Hana Japan is a Teppanyaki restaurant with tabletop grilling, knife-twirling, and smoking onion guaranteed to thrill the kids (and impress the adults).
Seriously, the chefs do a train thing with puffing “smoke” emerging from chugging onions. My three-year-old declared it was “Super fun.”
The food is dramatically prepared but the tastes are straightforward fresh meats, vegetables, and rice with Japanese dipping sauces. One chef made “just a scrambled egg” for my one-year-old (for free!), but my little guy wolfed down the real food too.
What’s not to like for families at Hana Japan?
Before you pack up your family, IÂ would caution you about two things:
- It ain’t cheap. There’s a good reason to go on your birthday where one entree is free with the purchase of three (if your family is not that big, one meal can be to go)
- It gets crowded on later evenings and weekends. Busy times are busy times. Go early!
- Picky eaters might be disappointed. If you don’t like fresh fish, steak, chicken, or rice AT ALL then stay away. There is no mac n cheese option, at least I don’t think so.
Pro tip: These foods pack up deliciously as leftovers so my picky non-eater ordered a kids’ meal to go and we ate it for lunch the next day!
I love it, but I would hesitate to drag Whitney’s family there because I think her meat-refusing kids would eat only raw vegetables and then she might get stuck paying entree prices for a few strips of bell pepper. Perfect place to go with visiting from out-of-town family. Tables seat eight so if your party is smaller, you will have to share.
Hana Japan is located across the street from Adventure Playground in Berkeley.
