Hakuba feels like it should be in an upmarket dining complex or on an upper floor of a skyscraper hotel - tall wine glasses on every table, immaculate staff, an inviting bar area and a dimly-lit interior with sleek, dark wooden partitions.
The menu, however, is less impressive. A fairly standard line up of sushi, some bento-box type bog standards (the inevitable teriyakis...) and predictable side dishes. Even the "Hakuba signature dishes" involving fried calamari, scallops and marinated sashimi didn't look especially exciting. And, as well as their predictability, the prices put me off trying any of the standard stuff, £14.90 for salmon teriyaki - yikes! Nothing wrong with standard fare but a restaurant that so obvsiouly tries to be something a little special might do well to put as much effort into its choice of menu as it does into its light fittings.
Having flicked through the menu a few times, three of us went for salads while LS opted for a light snack of the gyoza - which actually looked quite good and homemade.
I ordered the sashimi salad and I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived. It was very nicely presented and not quite as small as I had expected (although it did cost £8.90). JA's light fried soft shell crab salad and AM's avocado and tofu version looked equally pretty. On closer inspection, the sashimi was cut incredibly thin and was somewhat dull in colour. It tasted fine but nothing out the ordinary at all. The others gave similar feedback and I suspect that much of our satisfaction came down to our intelligent menu choices rather than any magic in the kitchen. In fact, I could see just from the texture of AM's tofu that it was of the long-life variety.
We all decided that Hakuba would definitely be worth a return visit to properly explore the full range of dishes, drink at the bar, sample the sake and entertain guests. On the condition that it went it on expenses. If it's your money, spend it elsewhere.
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