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reviewed on May 30, 2008

I’ve long maintained that the big advantage mom-and-pop restaurants have over the big guns is the personal touch they bring to a restaurant. Dining is a social experience, and part of that is the welcoming feeling you get from your host, and the sense that you’re truly a guest. Nobody likes feeling like you’re just another stomach to be fed. Nowhere is this maxim more true than in ethnic restaurants where cultural obstacles often add to the feeling of not belonging. This week we not only had a terrific dinner at Haru Sushi and Asian Bistro, but we witnessed a master at making people feel completely at home. 

Haru Sushi is the brainchild of Marvin Chang, better known to his fans as Mr. Sushi because of the Mr. Sushi restaurant he also owns on West Bowles east of Wadsworth. What Chang has done with Haru Sushi is transform an old Wendy’s on South Golden Road into a first-class sushi restaurant. There isn’t another sushi restaurant for miles around which means either no one’s been tempted to invest the money in Golden and see what happens, or everyone’s convinced Golden is a town that really isn’t into sushi. So there, along a stretch of highway that’s very slowly changing from the time-worn, forgotten back way into Golden into a stretch of modern supermarkets, glitzy restaurant chains and attractive strip malls

The first problem Chang had to face was redoing that Wendy’s, which involved basically gutting the place to the bones, putting in a new tile floor, a bar, a sushi bar, and a beautiful Japanese interior featuring lots of oak and simple, clothless tables. It’s clean, it’s comfy and, on the mid-week night we visited, it’s packed with young people, seniors, children, and any other demographic you can imagine. And through it all, Chang weaves his way across the floor, stopping at every table, eliciting smiles with his easy, confident, winning way.

We nibble on a plate of edamame, big crystals of salt clinging tenuously to the pale green exterior, sip warm sake and people-watch while waiting for our miso soup, the first part of the Sushi and Sashimi Combo for two which is to follow. The miso is warm and tasty. While I love miso, I’ve never really had any that wasn’t—well, miso. So we finish off the edamame with the miso just in time for the arrival of the entrée, a monstrous platter loaded with silky slices of white tuna, salmon, red snapper, yellow tail and more, along with beautifully presented sushi involving many of the same fish. A good test of any sushi restaurant is how they do when they depart from the traditional, usually exhibited in their specialty rolls. So, additionally, from among rolls like the Dragon Roll, Sunrise Roll, and Spicy Pink Lady, we get the Sumo Roll and the eponymous Marvin’s Roll. Both are huge and flavorful baked rolls filled with shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado, crab and spicy tuna.

If sushi’s not your thing, you’ll find lots of other options on the menu, from tempura of vegetables, shrimp and calamari, sweet and sour chicken or beef, cashew shrimp, pad thai, and about a dozen other Asian favorites all at affordable prices. No matter what you go for, ultimately it will be Marvin Chang who makes your evening and guarantees you’ll be back for seconds.

Haru Sushi and Asian Bistro
17525 S. Golden Road
303-279-5231
http://www.harusushigolden.com