Hapa Izakaya is definitely one of my favorite Japanese izakayas. Every single time I visit, I always order the Juan Karaage, Ishiyaki, and Tuna Tataki. Firstly, Juan Karaage is Hapa's version of the standard chicken karaage - it is 'to die for'. I'm usually not the type to order common dishes like the chicken karaage, but Hapa's is definitely worth trying. It is always hot, fresh, juicy, and tasty. As a bonus, it's boneless chicken! Secondly, Ishiyaki is a mix of rice with a variety of meat, vegetables, and mildly spicy sauce. It is mixed in a hot, sizzling stone bowl; you can be sure it's fresh and tasty since it's basically cooked right in front of you. This is basically the order to make you feel 'filled'. Thirdly, Tuna Tataki is not vastly different from other tuna tatakis, but I just like Hapa's zesty sauce coupled with red and green onions. Another dish I recommend is the Saba, which is just regular Saba sashimi with a twist - they sear the sashimi at your table. It's just something a little unique to get your night started. The Kabocha, which seems more like a dessert to me, is also great. The Kabocha consists of biscuits with mashed yam and whipping cream toppings. It's a sweet appetizer to begin your stay at Hapa.

As much as I love Hapa's menu, here are a few that I suggest future visitors avoid: tuna/beef lettuce wrap and negitoro. The lettuce wrap was a little messy to eat, and there just wasn't anything special about it. The negitoro was extremely disappointing, considering that I order this dish everytime I go to a Japanese restaurant. However, Hapa's was a failure. The portion is extremely small, the taste ranges from spicy-to-sour-to-sweet (what kind of taste is that??), and the bread that comes with it is just hard and tasteless.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Hapa no longer accepts debit cards. I wish someone would have told me, so I'm telling all you future visitors now :)

We really love Hapa Izakaya. The food is delicious and always hot and creative.

Service can be a little bit slow, but it's worth it since the place is always packed.

Highly recommend anything off the grill, and of course the Hello Kitty drinks. Amazing. Also love the bacon wrapped asparagus and the sablefish...

Ambiance is very cool.

I have gone here a few times with friends. It's a fun place to hang out and have sake but the food is nothing extraordinary. They do present it nicely, but the flavors are bland and the portions are small. I find that no matter how much we order, it doesn't fill us up....and we're girls!! The ambiance is great, however. And the service is good. We'll go back for the sake, but not for the food.

After years of hearing about this place and patronizing Vancouver's other Izakaya haunts instead, I finally made it out to Hapa. Sadly, it was not the experience that I had hoped for. A few questions arise. Were all the glowing reviews for an entirely different restaurant? Do people have no taste buds? Has Hapa on Robson simply not aged well due to complacency and or laziness? Is having two other locations to blame for poor management?

For a Friday night about a week from the Olympics, one would expect a healthy, vibrant restaurant to be a full house. This was far from the case. There weren't tumbleweeds blowing through or crickets chirping, but the scene was depressingly similar. Nearby, there is a visible wait at both Gyoza King and Guu with Garlic. Surely Hapa management realizes that they are doing something wrong.

Anyhow, lets get to the food. Izakaya fare isn't what many would consider particularly fancy or complicated food yet somehow the Hapa people manage to get it wrong. The two biggest offenders at Hapa were the yaki-udon and the seared mackerel.

Their take on yaki-udon is an extremely westernized one. Think generic stir fried chow mein at a food court dining option called something like Wok N' Roll and you'll get the idea. This would be completely acceptable if I weren't paying double or more what I would at the aforementioned establishment.

The Saba was the dinner and show portion of the evening. I've seen this table-side blow torch display before (at a Yaletown Izakaya that closed down a while ago.. my memory fails me when it comes to the name) and its awkward and underwhelming every time. It could have been the description on the menu or my poor reading skills, but I was looking forward to mackerel that was more thoroughly cooked. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my raw fish but Hapa's version of Saba was wholly unpleasant. The product wasn't outright rotten, but more cooking it with a less gimmicky a more robata/bbq method would have toned down the fishiness to an edible level.

I won't go into too much detail about the restaurant's appearance other than saying that its Cactus Club's Asian cousin in terms of the aesthetics of the space and staff. As for service, food came all at once quickly (which can be good or bad) and there were frequent water refills. Not outstanding and there's nothing to really complain about.

Lastly, not so many Asian people apart from the staff... Virtually no Japanese customers. You know where I'm going with this. It's OK for me to bring this up. I'm Asian.

Great food. Great Design. Great ambiance. HORRIFIC SERVICE.

Waitress walked away without taking half of our drink orders. Never ever came back to see if anyone wanted another drink or more food. HELLO. This is a tapas style restaurant.

Neither she nor her manager could provide meaningful assistance to deal with allergy issues. If owned this joint I would be in there cleaning house.

Sorry Mr. Manager a few complimentary desserts don't cut it.

WAKE UP

my first feelings about this restaurant is that it's going to be great because i love Japanese Tapas.

we waited for almost an hour cause we didnt make reservations. this is a busy packed restaurant lounge.

we had a large group and sat on a round table. i mean we were surrounded by dark walls, semi lighted area, but nothing that special. those round tables were soo hard to get in because u have to walk up on this uprised thing that was soo stickyyyy because people are drinking.

we ordered around 5 or 6 plates and the portions were really tiny. they seem as if they were snacks for the drinks but not meant to be as a meal. for the price of the portion we were getting with average quality i didnt think the dishes were worth it at all.

the workers were veryy happy, helpful and outgoing.
i even saw a worker drink a shot with a table. is that even allowed?

anyway i will only come here if i have a party or sth.

My first visit to Hapa (Kitsilano) was not a good experience at all, however I was forced back for a second visit for a friend's birthday at the Robson location and it was waaaay better. The birthday girl, having spent 3 years in Japan teaching English, had recommended that we all order the Omakase as it would be a better value for our large group. I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality and the quantity of the food. The Omakase came with Edamame and one choice of salad, plus 9 entrees all for $30. My favorites were the sable fish, negitoro, and ebi may. Since I do not eat red meat, I was not able to eat all of the entrees (2 were red meat) but I was still quite full at the end. The Hello Kitty drink is a must try too.

I probably will never go back to the Kits location, but will definitely visit the Robson location again.

(if you want the cliffnotes version skip to paragraph 3)

Hapa Izakaya on Robson is an interesting little place. If you aren't looking for it, you might just walk past its nondescript outer walls.

Once inside, however, you find yourself in a dimly lit and classy looking place while being greeted by the oft-heard "Irashai!". Expectations at this point are usually quite high, as you see an array of pretty Asian waitresses prancing about. After being seated, you are served a warm, moist towel to clean your hands and as the waitress hands you a menu and directs you to a sheet of hand-written fresh specials, your anticipation is almost palpable.

HOWEVER, as you'll soon discover, Hapa is more of a deceptive facade than anything. The food is good, not great however, especially for the price it carries. Some dishes are quite good, while others are uninspired. The waitresses are beautiful and they seem to be more interested in making sure you know that than providing good service. Service has been hit and miss for me, as I've visited Hapa a number of times. I've had really good service, but most of the time the service has been without a smile and not much enthusiasm. The best aspect of the restaurant, I'd say, is the ambiance. It is a swanky looking place.
However you'll soon find that there isn't really anything super special about anything else.

The description says 'funky', but truly there is nothing funky about this place at all. It's pretentious, really. The only time I ever go to Hapa is if someone else invites me to go there, or all the other izakayas near the area are packed solid.

Wow what a drastic change! I haven't been here for 2 years, I remember this place used to be so good, we ordered a pan fried kimchi udon noodle, the noodles came out warm, not hot, there was no kimchi taste, the noodles were soggy and it was like eating baby food. The baked salmon was bland, nothing special to it, the salmon was overcooked. The chicken karrage was very greasy. Even the oolong tea tasted bad. The only thing that was decent was the amaebi (prawn sashimi) and the pork belly, which was very tasty and very nicely done with the steam bun on the side. We did not even want dessert after all the disappointment even though I always get dessert. Wow, this place definitely went downhill!

This night started with my lovely girlfriend and I deciding to dine at a Japanese restaurant. After hearing recommendations from my co-workers we decided to give it a try. We were greeted by a busy waitress who asked us if we wanted to grab a spot at the bar since it would be a 45 minute wait for a table. So we gladly took the seat and absorbed the ambiance. It was quite loud at the bar as the chefs shout out the order everytime a waitress brings it in. It is also quite dark inside, we almost walked right by the place.

Anyway, for the food itself we ordered the King Crab roll, Lamb chops, Ebi Mayo and the Ishi-Yaki (which is the rice in a stone bowl).

The King Crab Roll was quite nice with a nice savory sauce. The amount of rolls for the price was about right, but if you are really hungry, you may need to have two orders.

The Ebi Mayo was good, but it was not spectacular. It was a standard tapa.
The Rice bowl we had was unmemorable, it was just average but filling.

However, the lamb chop was surprisingly good at an Asian restaurant. It was cooked medium rare and served with some type of a sweet and sour sauce.

All in all, we do recommend this place, whether you are craving Japanese or want to impress a date. The food is good but not spectacular.

A side note, we actually came back another day around 8:30 and there was 2 couples ahead of us. We requested a table of 4 and were bluntly told that it was "not going to happen". So we went to Ebisu instead but that's another story.