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Haiku
Uptown 3: Napoleon To Audubon: 4430 Magazine St.. 504-301-0850. Map.
Casual.
DS MC V
Website
ANECDOTES AND ANALYSIS By Thomas Pearce Haiku is unlike any other Japanese restaurant I’ve tried around town. It has a sort of hybrid feeling, reminiscent both of the highest-caliber sushi bars and the quirky neighborhood joint. You get a relaxed, classy experience, but at prices that won't break the budget of anyone who has a budget. (How's yours?) The a restaurant's multiple dining areas give adaptable moods. The menu caters to both the novice and the hard-to-please sushi palate, with excellent, very fresh daily specials and custom orders.
WHAT'S GOOD I’ve had two very successful meals at Haiku, taking different routes through both the premises and the menu. That still left areas to be explored, with the help of the knowledgeable wait staff. On our first visit, I asked the a very friendly server Chris for a bottle of Black & Gold sake. He suggested I try a newer, cheaper, and better unfiltered sake. It was much tastier and a better option for what we were getting into. That started with something off the menu: an uni shooter. If you’re the adventurous type, try it. Chef laid down a raw quail egg, salmon roe, and uni (sea urchin). Then, also off the menu, some top-end king salmon. We continued on to a variety of sashimi and sushi, followed by another customized idea from Chris. “What do you guys like in a sushi roll?” he asked. We wound up with a fresh tuna and mango tartare roll with tuna tataki and avocado on top. One of the best sushi rolls I’ve had anywhere. After a bit more sake and some red bean mochi for dessert, we I were hooked. I returned about two weeks later to see if that first experience held up. I sat down at the bar and asked chef to give me his best cuts of sashimi. Well prepared to enjoy myself, and the expectations were fulfilled. The fish was very fresh and cut ideally. These guys know their fish.
BACKSTORY The building, a couple of blocks off Napoleon on Magazine Street, used to be the Courtyard Grill, a regrettably extinct Turkish restaurant.
DINING ROOM
A shotgun house with a large, offset covered porch to the right, The dining areas offer a flexibility that you don't often see in sushi restaurants, notably the patio seating. The back of the patio opens up to the sushi bar. You can really cater your experience by where you sit. The interior is a bit ostentatious with lots of low, colorful soft lights. The music varies it seems based on the staff at the time but it never really hit the mark for "universally accepted."
[title type="h6"]FULL ONLINE MENU[/title]
BEST DISHES
Shrimp shumai
Soft shell crab
Beef negimaki (sautéed beef rolled around green onions)
Spinach scallop
Tuna tataki
Salmon poké
Ginger salad
Avocado salad
Seaweed salad
Sushi and/or sashimi deluxe
Spicy hamachi hand roll with avocado, smelt roe, green onion
Salmon skin hand roll
King cake roll (cream cheese, coconut shrimp, tuna, eel sauce, almonds)
Hidden dragon (spicy tuna, mango, salmon with torched spicy mayo and eel glaze)
FOR BEST RESULTS
Go in with an open mind, and ask for the specials.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The whimsical environment is not for everybody, with distracting music and lighting. It's not Las Vegas, but the setting is a bit less serious than the food served.
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
- Dining Environment -1
- Consistency +1
- Service+1
- Value +1
- Attitude +2
- Wine & Bar
- Hipness +1
- Local Color +1
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Courtyard or deck dining
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Open some holidays
- Open all afternoon
- Easy, nearby parking
- Reservations accepted
