Hayashi Taro has been on my radar for a long time. I love sushi, but my main problem with the Orlando sushi scene is that the vast majority of the quality spots are only open for dinner, and most of my availability is during the daytime on weekdays. Enter Hayashi Taro, a sushi takeout box concept that is currently in its soft opening phase.
Orlando locals clearly love Japanese food. I came at 12 pm on a Thursday to pick up my order and there was already a line of people waiting for their food. The new udon spot right nearby, Udon Fifty, has also had a line out the door since opening. I drove by on a weeknight and saw the same thing, and it’s on my list to try.
The Omakase Box
Hayashi Taro also serves matcha, which can be preordered along with the food. I opted for the omakase box, which came out to $54 for 10 pieces of nigiri and a veggie roll. That works out to about $5 a piece, since I don’t consider the roll a high value item. The nigiri pieces are on the smaller side, but the ingredients are high quality.
The box came with a garnish of vegetables, some raw and some simmered. They don’t add much in terms of flavor and are more for texture and color, but the box looks very pretty.
Most of the fish is sourced straight from Japan, which I’m sure a lot of people care about. Honestly, I think high quality fish can come from anywhere as long as the purveyor is reputable and cares about their work. It might sound snooty, but my favorite uni is Santa Barbara uni, and I would much rather pay domestic prices for it than for Hokkaido uni that can go for hundreds of dollars a tray.
The taste of all the ingredients was great. The fish wasn’t dried out, the rice wasn’t hard, and even the wasabi was the good stuff.
Otoro
I noticed that my otoro piece was pretty lean. From the pictures, it isn’t easy to tell the otoro apart from the akami, so maybe I got a cut closer to the leaner meat. I don’t have much of a complaint personally. But if you’re expecting a really fatty piece of tuna belly, since it’s a pricey cut, you may be disappointed.
Veggie Roll Good
The roll was just rice, seaweed, avocado and tofu sheet simmered in sweet soy, and it was surprisingly good. It’s a simple roll, but it’s well balanced and one of the pleasant surprises of the box.
The Missing Scallop
The menu card I received mentioned scallop, but I didn’t get a piece of scallop nigiri in my box. I’m not an expert at identifying fish by its appearance on nigiri, but I can tell scallop, tuna and salmon apart, and there was no scallop in mine.
I still got my 10 pieces, so I either got a second piece of the same fish or a replacement fish that wasn’t on the card. The omakase box doesn’t come with a fish list when you preorder, so you get what you get on the day. It’s a small thing, but if you’re ordering the box for a specific piece like the scallop, don’t count on it.
Pickup Experience and Freshness
I picked up my order as soon as they opened, so it makes sense that everything was freshly prepared. If you’re doing walk-ins with their limited bento sets, or preordering for later hours, I’m not sure whether those are premade and sitting for a while or made to order right before pickup. Nigiri is something that needs to be eaten quickly after it’s made, since the rice really doesn’t sit well, so keep that in mind when you come.
- ✓A rare quality sushi option for weekday lunch.
- ✓Fresh fish, well made rice and real wasabi.
- ✓The veggie roll was a pleasant surprise.
- ✓No mandatory service charge, unlike Kadence’s boxes.
- ✗About $5 a piece, and the nigiri are on the small side.
- ✗My otoro was lean, and the scallop on the menu card was missing.
- ✗No fish list when you preorder the omakase box.
Is Hayashi Taro Worth It?
The price point is on the more expensive side, since good fish is a premium ingredient. They aren’t the first to do sushi takeout boxes, Kadence does it occasionally, but Kadence adds a mandatory 15% service charge, so Hayashi Taro’s pricing is still more approachable.
But for someone like me who craves a good sushi lunch option, this is one of the only players in the Orlando market, and the quality of what I got was good. I look forward to trying their futomaki box.
Tips for Visiting Hayashi Taro
- Come right when they open. I arrived at opening and everything tasted freshly made.
- Eat the nigiri quickly because the rice doesn’t sit well, so don’t let the box wait in the car.
- Expect a line at lunch. There was already one at noon on a Thursday, but if you preorder you can skip the line.
Have you tried Hayashi Taro? What did you think of the omakase box?
