Back for More: Haru Teppanyaki and Sushi Bar

What’s not to like about teppanyaki? You have everything you could ask for: a social seating arrangement, entertaining flourishes of a talented chef, free-pour beer and sake, and, best of all, steak.

Haru, located on the sleepy second floor of Taikoo Li North, is a more high-end option to indulge in compared to some of the alternative teppanyaki joints in the district, but the glossy Sanlitun branch has an edge over its neighborhood competitor, Tairyo, in terms of aesthetics with its sleek minimalist interior. And unlike its rival, it also hasn’t caught fire in recent memory.

We shuffled through the corridors to our spacious private room, which, aside from a sushi bar, make up the brunt of the space in Haru. Starting out with a selection of sashimi, we polished off a platter of cuts (RMB 168) as fresh as any we’ve sampled in Beijing, the highlights being the heavyweight Canadian prawn and a mind-blowing Norwegian salmon.

But it was the sushi that stole the show. The signature sweet shrimp and foie gras, caramelized at the table using a blow torch to our giddy delight, was a worthy winner.

Then attention moved to the iron plate as an exquisite fillet mignon (RMB 285) was prepared with garlic and mushrooms. Almost full to bursting, the final flourish came in the form of the delightful Amy Roll (deep fried shrimp, sweet shrimp, avocado, salmon roe for RMB 108), an imaginative explosion of taste so rich, we could barely manage more than a couple of slices.

While a tad on the expensive side (you can expect to pay upwards of RMB 300 per head for a good fill), Haru does offer a wide selection of value-priced lunch sets for afternoon diners (RMB 85-255), but artistic presentation, attentive service and fresh ingredients make Haru an experience worth repeating.

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Photos: Judy Zhou