Hinode

The largest bento box I have ever eaten! I almost gave five stars but the overall taste of food kept my review at 4 stars. We enjoyed sitting outside by the creek, prices were good for the amount of food, service was good. I will return. Thanks.

I tried to like Hinode. The location is wonderful, and they have a great place. I am a huge sushi fan.
The few times I have gone, the service has been poor. I worked in restaurants for years, so I am very understanding if the restaurant is busy, or if the cooks make a mistake the server has to take the blame for, etc. I consider myself an easy customer to please.
Both times I have gone (once on Valentine’s day!) the service has been really bad. There should not be any trouble locating the server or putting an order in when the restaurant is empty. Both times the service was slow and unprofessional, with one server clearly playing his own personal music over the speakers. There is a reason why this place is almost always empty.
I have heard good things about the Hinode in Rockville, so I can only assume the owners/​managers are rarely around. Really disappointing.

The first time I was here was at least a year ago and it was only for sake and Sapporo at the bar. I recall the bartender was pleasant and didn’t seem put off that we weren’t eating.
This weather last weekend was so nice I decided to take the kiddo out with me for lunch downtown. I planned to go to the restaurant next door but the patio was full so I decided to try Hinode’s food instead. Plus I was encouraged since there was already a mom eating alone with her baby in a stroller outside. Both the hostess and server were very nice and didn’t seem to mind that it was just me for lunch.
I ordered myself the shrimp tempura roll as well as the California roll with crab. Both were fine but honestly, the sushi wasn’t better than what I’d get at Whole Foods. At least the shrimp roll was huge. The strawberries on the plate were kind of strange presentation to me. I also got sweet potato roll with cream cheese to take home to the bf and that was just average as well.
Maybe next time I’ll try one of the lunch boxes since those seemed to be popular with the diners around me. I can deal with average food in exchange for kind service and a lovely view of the creek with plenty of room for a stroller.

The service and the sushi I got here today was terrible. The only reason I’m giving Hinode one star is because the seaweed salad I got was pretty tasty
I called in a lunch order and was told it would be about 15 minutes, so I made a short walk to Hinode and ended up waiting 45 minutes along with about 4 other people who had called in orders. Now I work in a restaurant so I understand if you suddenly get swamped. However, there were only two tables and one person sitting at the sushi bar. Not to mention, the servers and chefs were blaming each other instead of just apologizing for the wait.
After my wait I was handed my food, made my walk home, and found my sushi was hot. I got cold rolls that were hot. Gross. The only thing edible was my seaweed salad. A total waste of 22 dollars and 45 minutes. Normally I would give a place a second chance, but there was really nothing redeemable about this place.

We have been here a few times and we are always the only people in the restaurant. My experience is that the wait staff is overly attentive, hovers, and chimes in to our personal conversations. We are not crazy diners, always polite, and we always tip heavily. This past visit we were with another couple, and the only patrons in the restaurant. We overheard the waiter going off about us to another employee– he had split the check per couple (his own decision) and we had decided to pay for the whole meal. So we had paid cash for both bills and tipped more than 20%. He was livid with us because he had split the bill and hadn’t needed to. As a server you have to expect people to be buying their friends dinner! It happens sometimes. Maybe he was having a bad day, but come on dude. At least complain about us where we can’t hear you!

The food is great! I had a dragon roll that was to die for. The hot sake is also delicious. It only gets three stars because the service, like many others have mentioned, is not great. It was a quiet night when we were there and the waitress was literally hovering over our table, engaging in our private conversation. It was weird.

Melissa is the best bartender. So friendly and attentive. Teriyaki chicken was great.

Last night was a wonderful Tuesday evening. We have lived in Downtown Frederick for one year today. We have heard about this wonderful sushi place on the creek and it was Amazing! The atmosphere and décor are so wonderful its very posh and hip in there. We were Greeted Graciously by Valerie and she sat us down at the bar and was the most wonderful waitress/​hostess the entire evening. Food came very quickly. We ordered a seaweed Salad and spring rolls to start, and man was that great. Our sushi Chef Sam was awesome and made the most delicious, fresh sushi for us and put it all on a beautiful plate with rose pedals. The food presentation is lovely.
Highly Recommend The :
Baltimore Roll with fresh crab and old bay — yummmmmmmmmmmmm
They also have outside seating overlooking the beautiful creek but we chose to sit at the sushi bar and it was lovely.
Thank you again for your wonderful hospitality and cuisine!

This place is what one would call «the worst.» I live 2 blocks away but avoid it like the plague. Overpriced sushi, terrible service — go elsewhere.

Stopped in for a late lunch and some sake. Big mistake! Ordered steamed gyoza and shumai and both were cold as ice. Sushi rice was terrible — too soft and watery, the maguro was tasteless, and the ikura was stale. At least the bottle of cold junmai sake was delicious. Too bad. This is a beautiful location on the lovelyCarroll Creek in Frederick MD. NOT a do-​over. :-(

I keep trying to give this place another chance but it keeps disappointing. This most recent trip was the worst. We were one of two tables on the water. The service was fine, nothing to complain about. But I swear, neither of us had any alcohol in our drinks. I had some citrus mojito which tasted like orange juice and my friend had a vodka tonic… or just tonic with lime, I should say. The food was not edible. The rice was mush, the fish was nonexistent and we didn’t even finish it. We paid the bill– which lacked a drink charge, that was promptly added, and I left most of the food on the table… $ 40 later– I went somewhere else and had a «snack». I’ve given this place enough tries.

ordered veggie tempura and a large order of sushi.
Tempura was crunchy, light and not too greasy. The dipping sauce was, unfortunately, very soy-​sauce heavy, salty with very little hint of sweetness.
The sushi was very good; not too much rice.
Our caucasian waitress was very nice, but unprofessional. Way too interested in her new cellphone. The other waitress working was in a horrible mood and very mouthy and negative.

Hinode is a totally solid and tasty place for a sushi dinner date night. It is by no means the best, and it certainly is not worth the prices they charge, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with the food or the place when we were there. The service was friendly — if a bit slow — and the atmosphere was plain but certainly unoffensive. We decided to sit out on the patio because it was a nice evening and we felt the need for some fresh air. Our waitress was friendly if a little inexperienced, and while the service was slow, they never missed anything and got all of our requests out correctly.
We noticed that the prices seemed pretty high for the area in terms of food, but I will say that the drink specials were a steal. I had to specialty mojitos that were strong and tasty while also proving to be very reasonably priced. Their wine selection is more extensive than those at most sushi places I’ve visited, and they had the standard beers, too.
In regards to food, we ordered quite a bit. The tempura was interesting because they served with veggies and calamari instead of the shrimp that I’m used to seeing. The taste was good, standard tempura. We also ordered some veggie gyoza which were fine but not magical. For dinner, my fiancé had a big sushi platter that he seemed to really enjoy, and I had the vegetable maki combination, which was so enormous that I couldn’t even finish it the night before a half marathon race. The sushi was really quite good… not overly imaginative, and the menu didn’t offer much in the way of specialty rolls, but what they did have was well-​made and really tasty.
We certainly enjoyed our evening relaxing on Carrol Creek, sitting back with some nice cocktails and tasty sushi. If we were in the area again, we would certainly consider going back, though I would be much more likely to do so if they lowered their prices a tad. Overall, a nice dinner.

Love love love the sashimi. The presentation is always beautiful and the portions are generous. Plus, it’s so nice to sit out on the Creek…

We had several sushi rolls and they were all very good. Although the food was delicious the restaurant really lacks in ambiance. The décor is not very appealing and the music is pretty awful. I would go back next time I have a serious sushi craving, but hope they improve on the music at least.

I’ve dined here many times but haven’t recently due to poor service. It was a friends birthday and he wanted to dine at Hinode (15 Aug 2013). Fine — maybe things have improved.
Four of us sat at the sushi bar. Service was less than par from the moment we sat down. Mandy, the bartender/​server took her time to take our drink and food orders. When she asked what we wanted to drink, one of us replied. Then she proceeded to walk away to talk to another person at the sushi bar. This went on through the night. She never stoppped to do one thing before moving onto the next thing.
Our food was very good. I had the sushi/​sashimi combo. The white tuna is my favorite. Others had a sushi platter and the chicken teriyaki bento box.
My husband and I shared three bottles of sake. At the end of dinner, I looked at the bill and noticed there were four orders of sake. I told Mandy she made a mistake, to which she dove in and argued that the bill had already been paid, that she couldn’t correct the error, and «I tried to be nice to all of you all night long.» Tried?! Isn’t that her job to be a good server? Besides, what does that have to do with her either accidently overcharging or ripping us off.
I told her that she could get the manager to work out the money situation. Eventually, after more rude comments from her, she gave me the money out of her pocket. Hmmm.
Not sure I’ll step food inside Hinode again… unless I know I have a different server.

Really wanted a good sashimi place in Frederick. Wow! This salmon sashimi and maki lobster roll are fantastic! Miso soup is delicate, petite tofu with fresh scallions and seaweed. The tempura is great, both shrimp and veggies. The green tea is good. This is much better than the reviews by others suggest. Beautiful presentation of fish. As good as Blue C Sushi, our regular sashimi hot spot in Bellevue, WA near Seattle.

My co-​workers and I (4 of us) went to Sushi Hinode for lunch based on a co-​worker recommendation. We all got bento box lunches.
All of the food was out of spec for temperature. The miso soup was cold, as if it had been made hours before and allowed to sit out at room temperature. The tempura dishes were not only cold, but were greasy as well. The vegetable tempura was undercooked and hard to bite into. My sushi was room temperature (not cool, as it should be if the fish had been under refrigeration), and very fishy smelling. None of us could finish our food.

So first encounter with Hinode was not for eating at, initially. We were on a huge scavenger hunt for the Key City Roller Derby team of Frederick and needed chopsticks. We went to Hinode and explained and said that it would end in 45 minutes and my wife and I wanted to come back and eat. He manager looked at me really oddly. and just said «Gimme a dollar»… acting like some weird playground bully. I said ‘really’??? and he nodded. ok — i have no problem paying for them but to give such an attitude to future customers, was horrible.
So 3 months later our friends decide they want to eat there. I decided to give them another chance. It was a sunday @ 5:30. We stood at the reception area for 5 minutes before the sushi chef yelled to us «go sit. we ll find you»… so we sat. On our way in we told asked the waiter for a high chair for our 16 month old and he said sure thing.
15 MINUTES later he comes and asks us for drink orders. we tell him and ask for a high chair again… he mumbled something and went off.
15 more minutes pass and we get our drinks. My water tasted like metal and he was so fast throwing the drinks on the table and running off we couldnt even ask about the high chair. Our friend got a fat buddha or something and she said it was revolting. her boyfriend got sake — in a bottle. with no glass.
We asked the waiter again for a high chair and a glass for him. 10 more minutes (40 total) and nothing. We go looking and get our own high chair.
We cant order sushi as he still has yet to give us our menus.
We looked at each other, looked around, and only 1 table had sushi — and it was 1 roll…
Our friend paid for her mixed drink, and he politely told another waitress he didnt want — as we were leaving. She grunted at him, snatched the bottle from him, and TOSSED it into a sink. He told her the bottle was unopened so…
We will never go back. Ever again.
(I asked our usual sushi place, Miyako, what chopsticks costs and he said he wasnt sure but easily under 5 cents).

When the place is almost deserted and the white servers complain to the next booth over about the place being a Korean-​owned Japanese restaurant, you kinda have to be embarrassed for them. And then there’s the food…
Large hot sake was okay, pretty middle of the road stuff. Charles insists they have an excellent cold sake to offer, but it was just too chilly a night to indulge in it. Bento box is a good portion of food, though I was certainly puzzled by their choice of forcing us to use the tempura dipping sauce as the only soy sauce source for the sushi. Wasabi and pickled ginger were provided, but not even bottles on the table? Odd. Miso soup is standard, small halved cubes of tofu and a pinch of scallion. Shrimp and veggie tempura were a little heavy, could’ve used seasoning and a little more drain time before plating. Tempura yam slice on the bottom was a nice soaker, resulting in me leaving it half-​uneaten. Steamed rice was okay, presented with a fried appearance but it wasn’t greasy and the grains were just al dente enough. Unfortunately the peas mixed in could’ve been cooked a little longer. Gyoza were average, acceptable amount of grease on the outside, but lukewarm temperature and the filling had a mealy texture. California roll B was pretty average, but still tasted fresher than my poorly molded nigiri. Yellowtail had an unpleasant texture, like I’d gotten a corner piece that had been exposed to the air long enough to dry out. The rest of the fish were of acceptable quality, but sloppy sushi assembly all around, and no wasabi in the nigiri.
Service was attentive, even friendly enough to deliver the news on the Ravens-​Steelers game. Hinode’s website advertises casual dress code, which is a nice minimum that unfortunately clashes with the obvious investment in modern décor and LCD displays. The oldies’ music is equally incongruent, though there’s nothing wrong with a little REO Speedwagon in your day. Won’t be back for the sushi, if at all.