My friend Deanna said it best when she dragged me there the first time: “It’s not fancy, but you will absolutely eat too much.” She was right on both counts. Hiro 88 in the Haymarket has been a consistent anchor of Lincoln’s pan-Asian dining scene for years, and I keep going back not because it’s the trendiest place on the block but because almost nothing on the menu has ever let me down.
The restaurant sits on Canopy Street in the Haymarket district, the kind of block where foot traffic peaks on game days and dies off on Tuesday afternoons. I went on a rainy Saturday in late October, the kind of day when you want something with broth or something fried and salty and hot. The dining room is roomy without feeling cavernous — dark wood, low lighting, tables spaced generously enough that you can have an actual conversation. It doesn’t try too hard with the décor, which I appreciate.
What Hiro 88 does is an eclectic roll call of Japanese-inspired dishes alongside pan-Asian small plates and sushi. That could easily go sideways, but the kitchen keeps it coherent. I started with the edamame, which is nothing revelatory but perfectly salted and comes fast. Then I ordered the Spicy Tuna Crunch roll — crunchy tempura flakes on top, a clean hit of heat — and followed it with the lobster wontons, which I will defend to anyone who asks. They’re rich and slightly sweet and the dipping sauce cuts through it exactly right.
If you go with more than two people, the small plates format makes the most sense. Order four or five things, eat slowly, let the table fill up. The portions are reasonable rather than absurd. For two people expecting to split a few plates and a couple of rolls, budget somewhere in the $45–$65 range before drinks, possibly more if someone orders a cocktail or two. The sake list is decent; I usually stick to beer.
The staff on that rainy Saturday were attentive without being intrusive, which is rarer than it should be. Our server knew the menu well and steered us toward the lobster wontons when I was waffling between that and the gyoza. Good call.
What keeps Hiro 88 worth talking about after all these years is the consistency. Lincoln’s restaurant landscape turns over fast — places that everyone loves in January are sometimes gone by fall. Hiro 88 has stayed because the food is reliably good and the experience doesn’t require any particular occasion. I’ve been there for birthday dinners, I’ve been there solo at the bar, I’ve been there after a show at a nearby venue when it was 9:30 and I hadn’t eaten since noon. It works in all those configurations.
Parking in the Haymarket on a Saturday night is its own small adventure, but the city garage on Canopy is usually manageable if you get there before 7. I’d aim for 6 or 6:30 if you want a table without a wait on weekends. Weeknights are noticeably calmer and sometimes I actually prefer the quieter version of the place — easier to hear yourself think, easier to slow down and order one more roll than you planned.
Deanna still makes me go back at least once a season. I don’t put up much of a fight.
