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    Sazanami Hamba-Gu

    4.3 (36 reviews)
    ModerateJapanese
    Closed 11:30 am - 3:30 pm, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

    Order Sazanami Hamba-Gu Takeout or Delivery

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    SAZANAMI HAMBA-GU ATMOSPHERE

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    Hamba-gu set
    Greg P.

    Nice modern Japanese style decor, the staff is very friendly and speaks Japanese. There is street parking which can fill up on a weekend. I have never been a big fan of Japanese style Hamburgs, until today. Everything was so good its as if we took a mini trip to Japan. The sets take some time to come out as everything is made fresh, but it is well worth the wait. We got the original Hamba-gu sets with Red Wine Demi-glace and the Ponzu, both fantastic! The portion size is great! The Hamburgs are absolutely juicy, tender and packed full of flavor! The chawanmushi side is perfect with a nice umami mushroom flavor. I wholeheartedly recommend Sazanami. I look forward to coming back soon!

    Ponzu HAMBA-GU
    Tanya A.

    First time trying Japanese Hamba-Gu and loved it! The most flavorful, soft meat with tasty toppings to choose from! We started w the yellowtail jalapeño sashimi and negi toro, followed by our hamba-gus. The trays were accompanied w miso soup, egg custard, rice, radish and salad. Food was excellent but we waited 45 minutes for our starters and another 25 for our main. The restaurant itself is small with about 12 parties seated on a Friday night. Slow service and difficult parking but food is worth returning for!

    yuzu tomato
    Patrick W.

    TLDR: If you don't know what a hamba-gu is, maybe you should. Great and reasonably priced new addition to Edgewater. Get the original, add mushrooms + gorgonzola and some small plates - enjoy. For apps, ebi fry, karaage, yuzu tomato. There's not a whole lot of awareness around the hamba-gu concept. Typically it's an afterthought at most Japanese/Korean shops. Sazanami has made it the theme of their new restaurant that took over the old AYCE sushi place on River Road. The menu has some small plates with fried goodies and/or crudo bites. Munch on these while you wait - because each hamba-gu is cooked to order. A hamba-gu is basically an Asian style hamburger that's made without the bun. You can get the original which is typically with both ground beef/pork or they have a 100% angus beef one. Both are very juicy and I'd say unless you have an aversion or preference to avoid pork - the original is my favorite. It takes about 20 minutes for them to make. I've tried a bunch of the apps. Yuzu tomato a must, PAPER-thin slices of tomato in a tangy and slightly sweet yuzu dressing with a dusting of parmesan cheese. The tuna and salmon tartares are small but good - however there is a thicker and slightly sweet sauce so just be aware of that. Ebi fry is superb, plump shrimp but a very crispy coating. The karaage is also great. The 8 oz (big) hamba-gu patties come in a set with rice, soup, salad, chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard) and some veggies to go with your burger. On average it's about $25ish. They have six sauces and I'm silly - so I tried all six. Gorgonzola is my favorite, it's creamy with that funkiness but not too much. This is great with the mushrooms. If you're coming with a friend, I'd also got the oroshi ponzu which is grated radish and yuzu. Split the sauces because the cheese is heavy but the ponzu is very refreshing. Chimichurri (not too common) is good with a nice spice. Demi-glace is classic slightly sweet and velvety tomato, what you'd find on omurice usually. Onion is good too but on the sweeter side. Tomato is probably my least favorite but if you like Asian style tomato sauce - this is a good one. The burger itself is INCREDIBLY juicy, your chopsticks will pull it apart easily. So juicy that it may even fall apart when you're dipping the sauce. You can get the burger dressed but if you have multiple sauces, it may be better to keep them separate. I've been twice and will definitely be coming many more times.

    Genevieve B.

    The food was actually pretty good here but I did knock down a star due to very slow/inattentive service. The restaurant was not busy but it took some doing to get service. They were friendly but definitely need to pay more attention to their customers. The Gorgonzola sauce for the Hamba-Gu was really good. The soy-onion sauce was very salty.

    Irene C.

    The restaurant owner has another restaurant in Fort Lee that specializes in Curry , and this newly opened restaurant in Edgewater is servicing Japanese style hamburger steaks. I've tried both restaurants and I like this place better. The hamburger steaks are very juicy and you can select sauces , you can ask the staff to give you recommendations as some sauces are sweeter than others. I've had soy onions sauce and Yuzu sauce and they are both very good. If you don't like hamburger steak, they also have friend pork cutlet ( Tonkatsu ) and Kaisen Don ( sashimi over rice ), price is reasonable and the portion is satisfying. Parking situation is the only thing that I don't like about this restaurant, it's street parking only and it's a bit challenging to find the parking spot.

    Crispy & Spicy
    May L.

    Third time I've been here, new kitchen staff so the food is even BETTER. Wow, juicy and filling hambagu with meal set with soy onion sauce and I added perfectly ripe and sliced avocados. I need variety in front of me and this is perfect. My favorite is the steamed egg custard, so silky and soft and bursting with umami deliciousness. The Kinako ice cream is still great, I love when they go heavy on the black sugar syrup. Mmmmmm can't wait to come back. Around 6pm on a Saturday it's packed but waiting for a table didn't take long. The 2 girls working the floor are always busy but calm and the place is always clean. Parking is easier if you find a spot on the restaurant side so you don't have to wait forever to cross the busy road.

    HAMBA-GU
    Amy K.

    Hambagu restaurant?! A must try! I actually prefer hambagu over donkatsu since most katsu places offer hambagu, but it's rare to find a restaurant that truly specializes in it. Just look at that portion size! The meal comes as a set, and you get to choose two toppings for your hambagu. It also includes a great variety of sides. So good! I was so full by the end of the meal that we took advantage of the park right across the street and went for a little walk after eating. The restaurant is located on a busy main road in Edgewater. There's plenty of street parking, but be careful during rush hour as it can get hectic. Make sure to give yourself enough time to find parking. I'm already craving it again!

    Hambagu  Original Beef with ponzu sauce (onion & avocado slices topping)
    Phyoe T.

    The lady who took the call for reservation was so friendly and took care of our table so well. It was my first time trying hambagu and it was great. I love the Chawanmushi and all the side dishes. I'm not a big eater so I had to pack the leftovers back home. I'd love to try more appetizers and dessert next time.

    1 of 2 menu. June 2025
    David Y.

    Came here on a Friday afternoon. My friend suggested this spot and mentioned the place was fairly new so I was looking forward to trying this place out. Once we entered, we got seated to our table. I ended up getting the Hamba-gu Original with cheddar ($21). It was pretty good, it's similar to the hamba-gu I had in mitsuwa. The cheddar gave it a cheeseburger vibe. The meal came with soup, salad, rice and some sort of mushroom soufflé all very tasty. The presentation was on point including the utensils. My friend got the hamba-gu 100% ground angus beef with chimichuri ($23) which was really good. The chimichuri sauce was surprisingly good. If you're in the mood for hamba-gu, I highly recommend this spot. * Street parking * TV playing movie

    Jason S.

    Passed by this a few times, so decided to try it. Parking is a bit of a hassle, but worth it! Every dish we got was delicious. It does take a little bit of time, but again...worth it! My biggest love is their chawanmushi. It's been years, even decades since I found a restaurant that serves it. Couldn't have been happier!

    HAMBA-GU Set with mushrooms and corn add on. (Angus beef)
    Sarah V.

    Came here around ~530pm on a Sunday with no reservation and was immediately sat down. Ordering was straight forward and food came out as it was ready. Food was great and really yummy. I noted that the hamburger was pretty big. The place itself wasn't average size and not too loud. Overall, we enjoyed our meal and would definitely come back to try the different sauces.

    Nancy W.

    We went to Sazanami Hamba - Gu for a dinner. As a group, this was our first time here and we knew it would be a good dinner. Our food was good, definitely worth the price of the overall meal if you decide on having a Hamba- Gu. You choose how you want your Hamba- Gu (whether its 100% Angis beef or one with a mix of beef and pork), sauces choices and then added toppings. There is no buns, just with all the sides come with it which makes the overall price worth it. (If you are wondering what is Chawanmushi - one of the sides, it is steamed egg with mushrooms and fishcake - it was good) Mine was the Hamba- Gu with 100% Angus beef, Cheesy cheddar and added avocados. Service was slow. You can tell it was a small staff, however they were working hard. All payments is accepted. Parking can be difficult, read the street signs and watch out when you cross the street.

    Salad, radish, chawanmushi, rice, miso soup, 8oz hamburg steak with a red-wine demiglaze and sauteed onions.
    Matt B.

    Nice small establishment with a nice, more modern vibe and seatings available for a variety of groups. The staff was professional: friendly, punctual, and attentive. Regarding the food, I got the 8oz hamburg steak with a red-wine demiglaze and sauteed onions. A thick/hefty steak thats tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Comes apart easily with chopsticks. Combined with all the sides (every side was wonderful and had great flavor), it was a very refreshing meal. I had hot tea along with it and was satisfied. It was worth the price all-in-all. I would come back to try the other sauces or other dishes with other company.

    Hamburger steak with demi glace  Fried egg topping

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    2 months ago

    Great service and place looks very stylish. We had originality wanted to try the curry at the other location but mistakenly came here.

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    1 year ago

    Price is very reasonable. Portion is big and food was decent The chawamushi was the best part of the meal. I would go back

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    11 months ago

    meat was sweet so ahh, also service not so good. no water refill to remove the bad taste

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    I recently visited Sushi Kai for the omakase. It was an elevated experience and perfect for a date…read morenight/special occasion. It's also a BYOB which is a plus. The interior is very modern and sleek with clean lines.There is a counter with about 10 seats and 2 other tables so reservations are a must. There are purse hooks under the counter which is great because it can get a little tight. The omakase experience is an intimate, 16-course meal. The fish is super fresh. The fatty tuna was by far my favorite course that melted in my mouth. I also really enjoyed the Black Sesame crème brûlée and wish I had more! Service was good and there was someone who came around to pour more wine. Sushi chefs were friendly and happy to answer questions. Parking is challenging, but that's normal for the Fort Lee area. Highly recommend checking out Sushi Kai for a unique experience.

    Sazanami Hamba-Gu - japanese - Updated May 2026

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