Hono Sushi & Wok Restaurant

September 2023
Who would have guessed?
The most amazing sushi comes out of the small kitchen of an almost street restaurant, one of a string of eateries in a covered shopping center in Givat Shmuel.

Hono Sushi & Wok doesn't look like much, but you will discover that looks can be deceptive. It is certainly safe to say that Hono has some of the best sushi in Israel. In our long search I don't remember any better, at far fancier and more expensive restaurants.

In the last year Hono Restaurant was acquired by new owners. The new owners made some renovations but mostly they improved the foods by leaps and bounds. Hono specializes in sushi. There is a good selection of sushi types but few other dishes. As we always say, a restaurant should focus on what they do best. And at Hono, the specialty is sushi.

During the day, Hono is a self-serve restaurant. Step up to the counter and choose your meal from the screen. Then grab a seat at one of the high or low tables under the covered patio. There is a steady flow of diners so seats become available intermittently. In the evening the atmosphere changes and Hono becomes more restaurant-like. Menus are brought to the table and there is waiter service. There is beer on tap and alcoholic drinks.

We visited Hono Sushi & Wok for a late lunch mid week. While the younger people were at the high tables we took our seats at a standard height table. At the recommendation of the restaurant we started our meal with one order of Gyoza. The Gyoza is hand made at Hono and is one of their specialties. The Gyoza is first steamed and then browned on the Plancha. You can see the browning at the bottom of the Gyoza. We chose the veggie Gyoza filled with mushrooms and edamame. There is also a meat version of Gyoza. Like so many Asian foods, the Gyoza gets much more interesting when dipped in the smoked soy sauce.

We then tried two of the restaurant's signature sushi dishes. The Crazy sushi is so called because it has just about everything on it. Not only was the sushi beautifully presented, it was strikingly delicious. Smear a little wasabi on a piece and plunk the whole thing in your mouth. Yum. Enjoy the burst of flavors.

Now try the Samurai sushi, they said. I suppose my companion and I can share another roll. Crunch! Where did that come from? And another crunch. How did they do that? Black and white sesame seeds top off this roll, which i could not get enough of.

Man does not live by sushi alone. Certainly not my man. After sharing the Gyoza and the sushi rolls my companion dug into a large bowl of Coco Curry, a dish of warm green noodles with chicken and a large selection of vegetables, topped with a sprinkle of peanut chips. This dish is noted as spicy in the menu and indeed my companion felt the burn as the food went down. Ahh. He loves it.

We welcome Asian style restaurants that produce their own desserts and we were assured that Hono has a selection of home made sweets. The dessert that came to our table was an ice cold slice of chocolate fudge covered in chocolate icing and paired with salty bagel cookies. (from Biscotti) This is a very rich chocolate hit. dioecious and their most popular dessert.

The restaurant does a lively take away business and for good reason. Who wouldn't want to feast on this excellent sushi in their homes. Order directly from the restaurant or through on of the delivery services. The eLuna discount applies on take away orders made through the restaurant only.

We like the creative ideas that Hono has brought to the table. Mishloach Manot for example.


From the Menu
Gyoza NIS 34/38
Coco Curry stir fried NIS 68
Hono Crazy veggie/salmon NIS 50/57
Samurai sushi
Ban sandwiches NIS 60
Chocolate Bagel Dessert NIS 39.