Haiku - Worcester, MA - Ian

The evening started with a hankering for sushi. So, we thought, "Let's go over to Baba!" It's this sushi bar I heard of in Worcester that was supposed to be really good. Someone told me it's the place to go for sushi in Worcester.

Well, it was completely packed when we got there and we didn't have a reservation so we figured that we would try it another time and go down the street to try out Haiku. I had heard that it made runner up for best new restaurant in the Worcester Magazine - Best of Worcester 2007. We had a pretty good experience.




The Ambiance and Location

We drove a couple of blocks down Park Avenue to where Haiku is located, right across from Biago's Grill.

Inside, we found the ambiance to be modern, not too noisy, and comfortable. The temperature was great (even though we were sitting right next to the door) and the atmosphere was very warm. The appearance of the patrons told us that this was a classy place. We were excited.

The Service

Well, I'm trying to find a good balance between fair and honest when making an assessment of the service at Haiku. I should note that all of us, except for one, waited over an hour for our entrees. But the floor manager did make a personal appearance at our table and explained that they were unexpectedly short staffed and they informed us that we would be receiving a free dessert spread. This was an impressive gesture since we were a party of 6. We were well-compensated for our inconvenience.

Also deserving notable mention is the fact that, when we first arrived, we were told that they only had seating for 4, but when we insisted on staying, they pulled an extra table out of storage to seat all of us. I was very pleased with the service at this point.

The Food

My wife and I split an order of vegetable tempura for an appetizer. It was pleasingly light and the accompanying dipping sauce was tangy and very well-balanced. It included shrimp, onions, asparagus (which I am a fan of) and sweet potato.

For my entree, I ordered the Tiger Eye Maki, a sushi-roll that is cut into 6 pieces. It surely was a salmon-wrapped delight that was filled with tuna and asparagus and then lightly covered in tempura. It was finished off with what I believed to be some kind of Japanese-soy-mayo-with -srirachi (a spicy element) kind of sauce. And of course, I dipped it into my low-sodium soy and wasabi mixture.

All in all the Tiger Eye Maki is outstanding.

My wife also made a positive comment about the sushi at Haiku: Many times, even though she enjoys sushi, she sometimes experience a gag-reflex kind of feeling when eating it. But she commented that she especially enjoyed the sushi at Haiku that night because she didn't get that feeling at all. She ordered the Philly Roll and was very pleased.

For dessert, we all sampled the platter they brought: A yummy chocolate cake, bananas flambee, ginger ice cream and these crispy strawberry rolls. They even poured some alcohol over the top of it all and gave us a little pyro show. Everybody was digging in, and lovin' it.

In summary, Haiku certainly satisfied my hankering for sushi. I'm confident that if you're feeling like a sushi night, Haiku won't let you down.

Here's the scorecard:

// Menu Selection: 9.2
// Taste: 8.9
// Presentation: 8.9
// Ambiance/Atmosphere: 8.8
// Service: 7