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.

This review is grossly tardy; about a group of 20 friends came here to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday last year. I had been meaning to come back to follow up but this'll have to do for now.

It was my first experience at an Izakaya. We were one of the first people to show up and were seated promptly to our reserved tables after a server finally showed up at the lobby area. Slowly the group shuffled in and we started running through their menus. We took on several pitchers of mohitos amidst various other mixed and non-alcoholic drinks. Ordering was left to the other dining guests - I believe we ordered a total of 13 different dishes, needing 3-4 of each dish to cover our flock. Creative ingredients with equally artistic plating masked smallish portions. Notables I enjoyed included the Noma Harumaki, a rice noodle roll with crab, mayo and avocado and the Kinoko Meshi, which was a rice dish cooked in a hot stone bowl tableside, cracked egg and all. The Yubi Spinach and Kabocha Salad were a refreshing palette cleanser. The more usual lineup of Ebi-mayo, the Ahi Tuna Sashimi, the udon and various other dishes supplemented us partygoers.

Service was clearly the sore point of the evening. We had 4 different servers for the night but couldn't be consistently counted on outside of them delivering our food and drinks. A few of us gave a couple of them ample time to bring extra napkins, plates, flatware and drink refills to no avail. Excellent disappearing acts. We ended up having a server waiting on a neighbouring table to see to us. Our servers were mildly friendly but lacked social skills.

Decor is modern, great vibe with the buzzing patrons, but the obnoxiously loud techno music in the background was a nuisance.

Their menu is inspiring and the dishes themselves deliver what they promise (at the time). On the whole, it was a great experience but the execution from the food, to the waitresses, to the loud, club type music screamed flamboyance. Had it not been for a birthday ocassion I would've nowhere near enjoyed my time here.

Great place for a large group, however I will digress. I've seen places like this with lofty expectations and an imposing menu disguised underneath a flashy, prententious shell. Service is already mediocre here and it only takes another blip before they're thrown into the large heap of other fallen eateries with all talk, and no walk.

Reminiscing, circa July 2007.

I love Japanese tapas spots and last week I went to Hapa for a brithday party. If you have more than 12 guests, you are forced to order a set menu that is $30 per person. Luckily, the confirmed party was less than 12 people.

My pregnant friend and I were the first to arrive and they quickly seated us at the round table right by the door. We were asked to take off our boots and climb into the seats. Other tables were just regular tables which didn't require patrons to take off their shoes. But the server was adamant about us taking off our shoes after I mentioned that my friend is pregnant (I have a big belly so I could pass off as pregnant too) and that I had a foot injury (which my foot was wrapped) and I was comfortable with taking off my shoes. The server insisted that we did and my friend was struggling to take her shoes off in that small hole where you put your feet. I said "You're making a pregnant woman struggle!" Finally, the server gave us a table upstairs.

Our party had ordered about 20 different varieties from the menu. If you want to have something in your tummy, the rice and the noodles are the way to go with other tapas. Ordering mulitple tapa dishes on its own will leave you hungry for sure.

One couple ordered only tapas and their bill was $130 for 2. My friend and I ordered one rice, one noodle dish, 2 drinks and shared a gyoza tapas for about $60 for both of us. So your bill really depends on your ordering common sense.

The drinks were yummy, and costs an average of $8 per drink. They are not large but it's delicious. The servers will ask you repeated if you need another drink when you still have a quarter left. If you say yes, they will take the drink with the quarter left so say no until you have finished your drink.

If you haven't noticed the music, after awhile, it will get to you. I'm used to the clubbing scene and even the techno/rave music and its volume will get to you when you're trying to have a conversation (perhaps being upstairs mean we're closer to the speakers). My friend said he feels like he's shopping in a boutique or something.

The tea service was exceptional, they kept topping my tea with hot tea. Probably because tea is $1.50 each.

The waitresses are very friendly, and some dresses quite provocatively to get the male patrons to return.

For the value, I would go to another Japa tapas establishment and not return to Hapa unless someone is having another birthday there and has to be a good friend.

Like many previous reviewers have mentioned, the one word that could sum up what this place is teeming with is "pretentiousness". Food aside, the service itself is pretending to be something that it is not. From the arrogant self claiming hot-shot owner to the pretty, totally dolled-up waitresses, (and even pretty good looking chedfs....) service was both awkward and uncomfortable from beginning to end. I came here with a friend with a semi-empty stomach and was attracted by the eclectic and energic atmosphere that could be seen and heard from the outside. Like all other izakayas in the lower mainland, they greet you with over-powering hollers and screams - i quite like it actually , and they don't over do-it here like at some other places.. (ie. they don't holler out every single order when taking your order...). The owner sat us at the bar, but we had so many bags and things on us that he had to move us to a bigger table. Great! We had our bags and things spread out amonst the empty chairs at our table and was seated comfortable, but before we could even pick up our menu, the owner comes and tells us NOT to leave our things on the chairs like that, because he might need to use them. Err!!?? So we ended up having to put all our stuff on the floor.. hm very sanitary! We then took one glance at the menu and realized everything was extremely over-priced, and there was no way we'd eat until we'd get full without blasting a hole in our wallet. We should have just left at this point since i'm sure the establishment wouldn't be making any money off us, but since we were here anyway i might as well try something. i settled on a sashimi appetizer that the waitress claimed was her favorite dish. It came some 25 minutes later, I ate the whole thing in one bite, paid, and left quite frankly, unimpressed. Definitely not a place to come on an empty or even semi-empty stomach. If you love to drink and party and have a fabulously loud time with a bunch of your friends while sharing a bunch of tapas-sized food, then this place will suit you to a T. Maybe I just came on the wrong night with the wrong type of company. I've always been a believer that customers are at least half responsible for creating their own atmosphere, so having fun with your friends wherever you are is key. I'll shall keep that in mind on my next visit here.