Hayashi Sushi - New Westminster

Hayashi Sushi was pre-selected to be our go to place for lunch Monday, after a mid-morning medical appointment in New Westminster. We (as a threesome) arrived at the restaurant about 11:30 am, and were fortunate to find a parking spot very near the restaurant (the lot was busy).Once inside, seated (at a booth,) and able to take a look around, I found the premises and setup to be very clean and neat, walls and furniture warmly-coloured, with small, colourful designs on the walls, behind and above the booths. There is booth seating on each side of the restaurant (4-5 booths on each side,) and rows of small, 2-chair-size tables arranged in-between, running down the center of the place. We found the ambiance rather ’cozy’.We were greeted upon entering, and service was prompt and cordial throughout our stay. The food: — sashimi - assorted sashimi (15 pcs - with salmon, sockeye salmon, tuna, clam, a white fish, and egg) - it looked good, and tasted the same - nicely-cut pieces, very fresh tasting.— sushi - dynamite cone, and California combo (with California rolls, and assorted nigiri sushi - egg, clam, shrimp, a white fish, and salmon) - fine presentation of well-made, fresh tasting ingredients - really enjoyed the distinctive flavours, and their sushi rice was sure good, and not overly-proportioned to the other ingredients.— tempura - seafood tempura (shrimp, salmon, stick crabmeat, and tai) - first taste of an assorted seafood tempura, and it was very well-made - the tempura batter so flavourful and crispy, the fish and other ingredients inside, cooked perfectly, warm, moist, and tasty.— udon - seafood yaki udon (side note: the bill says chicken yaki udon, it was actually ordered, but we received seafood - no problem or complaint from us, and it was not reflected in an extra charge on the bill - udon noodles, shrimp, squid, mussel, crab leg, cabbage, broccoli, sweet corn, carrot, and stock) - a nice presentation, and well-prepared - the stock, so ‘light’ and flavourful, with no salt or oily taste, noodles and other ingredients cooked just right, without anything overcooked. We enjoyed our lunch at Hayashi Sushi — food presentations were colourful, dishes very well-prepared, and the service perfectly fine. It was definitely a “yum” experience, and they made some new fans!

We have frequented Hayashi Sushii at least 8 times for lunch in the past year. We started to go there due to its convenient location in Columbia Square. It consistently serves fresh food with excellent and innovative sushi choices on the menu. Side dishes like Gomae and Miso Soup are fantastic. Hayashi also has fast service with competitive pricing. We do not hesitate to recommend this restaurant to others.

Hayashi Sushi is located in the Columbia Square Plaza in New Westminster. The interior is adorned with paper lanterns and they have one side of the restaurant equipped with booths while smaller tables make up most of the seating in the middle of the restaurant.On my first visit here, I decided to try out their nigiri, along with some sashimi, a BC roll, and goma-ae. The Goma-ae $(4.95) was made with boiled spinach topped with sesame paste on top. I felt that they drowned the spinach a little too much with the sesame sauce.The Sockeye Salmon Sashimi $(6.95) was thin on one side and thicker at the other end but it had a clean taste and was served at the perfect temperature.The BC Roll was a little disappointing because they used too much sauce and the roll was not tight enough so it was difficult to pick up without the whole thing falling apart. As for the salmon skin, the skin itself was okay but not super crispy.As for the nigiri, I ordered the Sockeye Salmon $(1.95,) Tamago $(1.25,) Unagi $(2.25,) Toro $(1.75,) and Chopped Scallop $(2.00) The salmon had a nice long tail over the rice and the salmon was as fresh as the sashimi that I had previously eaten. The tamago was not bad but I felt like it was missing a sweetness to the egg. Both the unagi and toro were buttery soft but I felt like they used a bit too much rice with the tuna belly. Similarly, there was a bit too much rice with the chopped scallop but the large pieces of scallop did make up for it.I came back a couple of weeks later to try out some more of their sashimi as that seemed to be a safe bet. This time, I ordered the Assorted Sashimi $(16.95) which wound up including 2 pieces of thin but delicate Tai, 3 pieces of buttery soft Sockeye Salmon as well as 4 pieces of equally satisfying farmed Atlantic Salmon.There were also 3 pieces of regular Tuna, 2 pieces of the higher-grade Toro, an improved piece of Tamago which had a bit of sweetness to the egg, and a piece of Hokkaigai.I decided to come back the next month to try out some of their non-sashimi items and ended up ordering the Nabeyaki Udon $(13.95) This is a good option on a cold autumn day since it comes out piping hot. The thick, chewy noodles really hits the spot and the bowl comes with two prawn tempura, chicken (the same kind that they use for chicken teriyaki,) fish cake, veggies, and an egg which had a nice runny yolk.It doesn’t seem super busy here during lunch on weekdays so it’s a good option if you’re in the neighbourhood and looking for some sashimi.

This place is at times really good and at other times not so good. When it's good the best value is their boxed dinners. When it's bad the food and service lack any quality

Had a lovely meal here and great service from the lady who runs the place. The tempura roll was delicious! I'm not a raw sushi fan but there was still a lot of choice here for cooked meat dishes. The rice was also very well made, and the sake very tasty. It's not a huge place but every table is in its own subdivision'/booth which is nice. Highly recommended!