BYOB at Hana
For the moment, at least, you gotta bring your own Sapporo.
We got a tip this week that Hana, the recently opened Japanese steakhouse on Western in Guilderland, was BYOB. How about that, we thought. So we checked with the hostess there this afternoon. And yep, it's true.
Apparently Hana is caught in the dreaded liquor license limbo. The upside -- of sorts -- is that they're cool with people bringing in their own until the license is approved. And they're not charging a corking fee, either.
One kind of funny twist about all this: the BYOB policy at Hana has led to increased sales of Sapporo at the Westemere Beverage Center up the road. One of the guys working there this afternoon said people have been coming in at night looking to pick up some Japanese beer so they can take it to Hana.
The restaurant hopes to have its liquor license sometime in the next few weeks.
(Thanks, Rob!)
Find It
Hana
1620 Western Ave
Albany, NY 12203
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Comments
The food was mediocore and we felt the space could have been better utilized as an upscale bbq lodge or comfort food type of restaurant. The area has too many mediocore "Asian" restaurants and Hana didn't stand out.
... said Mark on Sep 21, 2008 at 8:51 PM | link
"we felt the space could have been better utilized as an upscale bbq lodge or comfort food type of restaurant."
The building used to be a Fresno's, so I'm sure Hana just bought the building and moved in. That would probably explain why it might look funny inside.
Kind of like the old Colorado Mine Company on Central... an "Asian" restaurant moved into it, kept the sign in the front and just put "Tokyo ____" (I forget the name) next to the big pickaxe on the sign.
... said Matt on Sep 22, 2008 at 9:44 AM | link