For the longest time, I didn’t know that all-you-can-eat sushi was a Reno staple. After moving here, I took the common offering for granted. It wasn’t until my out-of-town friends starting gushing over the bottomless bowls of miso and endless parade of colorful rolls that I realized this was something special to the city I called home.
Fast forward to when the shutdown happened and sushi places were trying to offer their closest comparisons to all-you-can-eat sushi in a to-go format. The specials were good, but it wasn’t the same. With restaurants open for dine-in service again, we can celebrate with a stomach full of rice, raw fish and tempura vegetables. And what better place to do it at than Hinoki Sushi on Longley Lane?
Let’s break it down.
When you walk into Hinoki, you’re seated at a table and given long paper menus—the standard process for similar restaurants throughout town. You mark what you want to order from the list and hand it to your server. Then, your courses will come out in sessions as you eat your way through a mound of sushi and other foods. At any point you can order more, but don’t leave too many leftovers on your plate or you will be charged for the waste.
Here, I always start with edamame and tempura vegetables. The veggies change up, but you can typically count on sweet potatoes and some sort of squash to be included. The edamame is salted. When you get to your table, each person is also immediately served a plate of ginger, wasabi and two kinds of soy sauce to accompany your order.
When it comes to rolls, the menu is extensive. And I warn you, each roll is a good-size so you won’t be able to chow your way through as many as you want to.
Here, I gravitate toward several of the vegetarian rolls. In my opinion, they do vegetarian sushi better than other establishments where the options are often basic and pretty limited.
The Fuji Mountain roll is filled with cream cheese, zucchini, carrot, and sweet potato, loaded with thinly sliced fuji apple slices and finished with mango and teriyaki sauce. If you didn’t start with tempura veggies as an appetizer—or hell, even if you did—the Tempura Veggie roll is a good second choice, filled with zucchini, carrot, sweet potato and avocado before being finished with a teriyaki sauce.
From the deep-fried rolls list, the Happy tickles my fancy, slightly spicy and filled with cream cheese, cooked salmon and jalapeño and drizzled with teriyaki sauce. Add some nigiri to this order and it’s more than you’ll likely be able to finish.
If you’re looking for more decadent rolls, the Mountain is a colorful choice that looks as good as it tastes. The roll is filled with avocado and raw fish but it’s also topped with different types of fish including salmon, yellowtail, tuna and crystal shrimp. The signature teriyaki drizzle is added over a bed of crab mix that stretches across the rolls.
To mix it up, try the Mermaid. This roll has a mild kick, served with spicy crab, tempura, shrimp, ebi shrimp, scallops, avocado and cream cheese and drizzled with teriyaki. In both the Mermaid and the Happy, the cream cheese balances the spice well so that it isn’t overwhelming.
Each roll is made fresh and the presentation is part of what makes Hinoki my favorite sushi spot in Reno. Each roll is delivered looking like a masterpiece, with colorful fish or avocado spread over the tops and mounds of fresh ingredients decorating many. Plus, the price is fair for all-you-can-eat: $21.99 for lunch and $26.99 for dinner.
As far as COVID-19 protocols go, guests are required to wear masks upon entering. Once you reach the table, socially distanced from other tables, you can remove it to enjoy your meal. Staff wears masks at all times.
Details:
Visit: 5270 Longley Ln #110, Reno, NV 89511
Hours: Daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Online: https://www.facebook.com/HinokiSushi/ or https://www.clover.com/online-ordering/hinoki-sushi-reno
Call: 775-409-4994
