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.
The building, a couple of blocks off Napoleon on Magazine Street, used to be the Courtyard Grill, a regrettably extinct Turkish restaurant.
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."
Go in with an open mind, and ask for the specials.
| Attitude | 2 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 0 |
| Hipness | 1 |
| Local Color | 1 |
| Service | 1 |
| Value | 1 |
| Wine | 0 |
