Horinoya Restaurant

11/19/09

Not bad if your hotel is near by

by xnykr at Citysearch

Walking in, there was a distinct odor of bad fish. Add to that the fact there was only a table of two at 6:30 on a Saturday screamed get out. We had made a reservation so we decided to order a couple of pieces and at least give it a try since we had no fall back plan. The rest of the place smelled fine and the staff was very attentive as you can imagine. We sat at the bar and the sushi chef was very nice and skilled. The fish was better than expected from our 1st impression and the rice was THE best sushi rice we have ever had. While I will probably try someplace else next time,if you are in the area give it a try if for nothing else the rice.

• Pros: Service, rice, fish quality
• Cons: entryway odor, limited selection of fish

11/02/09

Rude service made great meal worthless

by George Ingmire at Citysearch

As a former waiter of 12 years, I understand a little bit about the service industry.

Earlier this evening we had a party of nine meet up for a going away party at Horinoya. The food was great as usual, but the way we treated by both the owner and the waitstaff was deplorable.

I would sooner eat fast food than consider enduring more abusive treatment by this restaurant. By doing everything from flipping chairs at the tables around us to telling us to hurry up with figuring out a check - it was a party of 9 paying one check - it was clear that they had no regard for us.

I've heard from others about their attitude - now I know firsthand and do not recommend them. There are plenty of kinder options that have comparable food.

• Pros: good food
• Cons: extremely rude service

01/19/09

My best sushi experience in New Orleans

by imuzi at Citysearch

I've lived in New Orleans for almost a couple years now and tried pretty much most of the sushi restaurants around including Ninja, Kyoto, Rock-n-Sake, Sushi Brothers, and Sake Cafe. Being Japanese and from California, I have to admit I love my sushi and have some high standards, and although the places listed above were not bad, I never felt truly satisfied or trusted the sashimi enough to order nigiri sushi (the simple slice of sashimi w/ rice). However, I have now found my favorite place for sushi in Horinoya. I cannot say how the other sushi chefs are, however, on this occasion I sat at the sushi bar and the sushi chef James made our sushi. He provided great service letting us know what sashimi he would recommend and the way the nigiri sushi came out was the perfect ratio of sashimi to rice, just the way I've had it back in Japan. By the perfect ratio, I mean that the slice of sashimi was so big, you couldn't even see the rice. Also as he recommended, the sashimi was perfect. The restaurant was clean, quiet enough to have a nice conversation, and had great attentive service. This is my first time writing a review and only because my experience was so good have I taken the time to write one. I would highly recommend Horinoya to anyone, particularly for their nigiri sushi!

• Pros: great nigiri sushi, great service