Misa Station izakaya counter-seat date with ankimo maki: Haruto

I found a really delicious izakaya (Japanese-style pub) in Hanam called Haruto, and it's right in front of Misa Lake Park, so it's perfect for a walk after eating! My boyfriend and I both raved about the food,, and it's near Misa Station, so it's super easy to get to!!

Haruto hours, location and parking near Misa Station

Haruto is closed every Monday and open Tue–Sun from 17:30 to 1:30 a.m. (last order 00:30). Come out of Misa Station Exit 1 and walk straight toward Misa Lake Park for just 253 m and you're there!!

For parking, use basement levels 1 and 2 of The First Terrace building. You get up to 2 hours free when you dine at the restaurant.

Haruto is very close to Misa Lake Park, facing the park. There's a menu banner out front, and just from the names the dishes sound delicious, and they really are. We only ordered a few things, but we both loved them so much that I really, really want to try the others too...

What are Haruto's seating and atmosphere like?

Outside Haruto, there are tables set up under an awning, so it's a half-outdoor-pub kind of izakaya. Haha. There were lots of tables inside too, but it was completely full so I couldn't take photos.

Counter seats in front of the open kitchen

We sat at the counter seats on the kitchen side. The atmosphere there is really good. There are touch lamps and a mirror above, which I think makes the mood even better.

As you'd expect from an izakaya, there was a huge selection of sake!!

What's on Haruto's menu and how much does it cost?

Haruto has a menu board out front too, so we could browse the menu before going in.

Anki-moh maki, Haruto maki… I think "maki" means something like rolling or wrapping in Japanese? These are dishes where seafood is rolled up in seaweed. My stomach keeps growling while I write this, lol.

Also, 20 pieces of sashimi for ₩36,000 didn't seem outrageously expensive. Where I live, there are plenty of places over ₩40,000. There were lots of other dishes too, like noodles, nabe (hot pot) and fried dishes.

The kitchen is open, so we could watch everything being cooked, and a lot of people were ordering pasta. The abalone offal pasta looked so good... ;;

Haruto had lots of sake, as an izakaya should. I love Japanese food and I really love izakayas, but I don't know much about sake, so I was curious.

What did we order: Haruto maki and Anki-moh maki

The photo shows the complimentary starter. We ordered the Haruto maki for ₩28,000 and the Anki-moh maki for ₩20,000. The Haruto maki is fresh raw fish wrapped in seaweed and rice, and the Anki-moh maki is also a seaweed roll but topped with monkfish liver, I think.

And beer. We hadn't planned to drink that day. But as we ate, the food tasted so good that we just had to drink ;

Anki-moh maki overflowing with monkfish liver

The Haruto maki is on the left and the Anki-moh maki is on the right. You can probably see in the photo that they piled monkfish liver on the Anki-moh maki until it overflowed... Seriously... insanely good. It has a slight smoky char flavor and it's rich and melty. No bitterness at all. Really nutty and rich.

Haruto maki loaded with sashimi

I ate the Haruto maki first, and it was insanely good too. It's topped with moist, tasty sashimi. The cuts were all really good parts, tender, moist and chewy. They piled on so much fish that some fell off and I ate those separately, lol. There were also soft, chewy parts like fin.

Wait, what's this nutty, crunchy thing inside? Why is the texture so good? Turns out there's fried shrimp inside the Haruto maki. Even wrapped in rice and seaweed it stayed crunchy, so I thought, ah, Haruto must be great at fried food. Next time I have to order the ebi chili (chili shrimp).

This is how it looks without the lighting. Even the sauce on top goes well with it.. The fish is tossed with flying fish roe, so honestly you just have to try it.

The beer went down so easily, glug glug. My boyfriend was driving so he couldn't drink, and he said you absolutely have to drink at Haruto and was super jealous, getting his vicarious satisfaction from watching me drink... Sorry, babe...

What event dessert does Haruto serve?

• Follow on Naver (notification event) → mochi tofu
• Receipt review → ice cream of the day

This was really good too. It's like yogurt ice cream, but wait, this is just an event freebie, why are they giving so much?

If it were a plate at my house I'd have licked the plate clean, it was so good. And the portion was seriously big, so I got really full. I was originally going to eat cake as dessert at home after this, but I was too full, so I pushed it to the next day haha.

Is a walk in Misa Lake Park after Haruto a good date course?

Misa Lake Park is right in front of Haruto, so we took a walk after eating. It's so nice to walk after a meal that I think it works well as a date spot in Hanam.

I've gone on about it above, but the food was just so good. I received partial sponsorship, but this is a place I'd happily visit again and again on my own dime. And the open kitchen made it fun to watch the cooking!! Haha. The staff were all very kind too.

Forget everything else, the taste is guaranteed, so if you live in Hanam or you're looking for a great izakaya near Misa Station, please go, pretty please ㅠㅠ~~ My boyfriend and I were both really satisfied, so I'd wholeheartedly recommend it.