You know that feeling when you stumble into a tiny izakaya and instantly think, yes, this is the one? That’s Hachimaru Izakaya.
Tucked away at 349 Beach Road, this small izakaya doesn’t shout for attention. It doesn’t need to. Step inside and you’re transported straight into a dim, cozy Tokyo backstreet, the kind of room where dinner stretches for hours and nobody’s checking the time. Which is convenient, because they’re open until 2am.
So, is it worth your night? Short answer: absolutely.
So, What Kind of Izakaya Is Hachimaru?
It’s a compact Japanese restaurant built for exactly the kind of evening you’re craving: fresh sashimi, a spread of yakitori, grilled seafood, comforting rice dishes, and plenty of sake and beers to keep things moving.
The formula feels familiar to anyone who loves drinking and eating in Japan: order several small plates, pass them around the table, add another round when something catches your eye, and keep going.
Nothing here screams fine-dining. And that’s the point. Hachimaru is casual, warm and a little lived-in, with a 4.7/5 Google rating from over 600 reviews backing it up. Current Chope diners also continue to praise its sashimi, food and relaxed atmosphere.
This is a spot for sharing dishes with friends, not a hushed sushi counter.
The extensive menu also means different appetites are easy to accommodate. Raw fish, sushi rolls, skewers, fried dishes, tempura, noodles and rice all sit comfortably together.
When to Go for the Best Hachimaru Buzz
Small. Dim. Buzzy. That’s the mood.
The room’s intimate, with tables close together and a rustic, weathered charm that makes you feel like you’ve found a secret. Early evening? Relaxed and easy for conversation. Later, once a drinking group rolls in, it gets loud, the good kind of loud, where the energy lifts and the sake starts flowing faster.
Want a quieter table? Go earlier. Want the full lively izakaya buzz? Come late. Either way, you win.
What to Order Once You Sit Down
Here’s where Hachimaru earns its stripes. The menu is broad: sashimi, sushi, maki, kushiyaki, grilled fish, tempura, rice, ramen, other noodles, and a great selection of drinks.
It’s designed for grazing, so order in rounds and share everything.
Let’s talk about what to actually get.
Start With the Fresh Fish and Sashimi
This is the headline act. The fresh sashimi, especially the salmon, is the food diners rave about again and again. Review feedback repeatedly comes back to freshness, presentation and overall taste.
The appeal is simple: thick slices, clean flavour and a soft texture that doesn’t need much interference. A little soy sauce on the side is enough to keep the focus on the fish.
The sashimi selection goes well beyond salmon too, with tuna and other seafood appearing across Hachimaru’s broader raw-fish menu. If you’re ordering for several diners, a mixed selection makes more sense than everyone choosing the same fish.
If sashimi is the main event for your table, our guide to the best fresh sashimi in Singapore for izakaya nights with sake and shared plates is a good next stop before you decide where to book.
Tai gives you another style of fresh fish entirely, lighter than fatty tuna or salmon and useful if you’re building a mixed platter for the table.
If you’re ordering for several diners, a mixed selection makes more sense than everyone ordering the same fish. One bite can be lean tuna, the next buttery salmon belly, and the next something firmer and cleaner.
Bara Chirashi Don and Other Rice Bowls
If you want your raw fish with rice, diners have also mentioned the bara chirashi don.
It takes the freshness of the sashimi and turns it into something more substantial, making it useful when a few small plates aren’t quite enough to anchor dinner.
There are other rice-based options too. The current menu lists a Negitoro Don built around diced tuna, creamy avocado and sushi rice, showing just how broad the rice section can get beyond fried rice.
Fresh seafood over rice after a couple of drinks? Hard to argue with that.
Don't Skip the Yakitori and Chicken Meatballs
Now for the grill. The yakitori selection is a highlight, and the chicken meatballs are a recurring recommendation from diners. Juicy, savoury and made for a cold beer.
The kushiyaki goes beyond straightforward chicken too. Beef tongue, scallop and foie gras have all appeared in published coverage of Hachimaru’s skewers.
Part of the pleasure is moving between different meats and seafood rather than committing to one main course. One skewer can be richer and fattier, the next lighter, and the next carry more smoke from the charcoal.
Charcoal-grilled chicken and skewers are a recurring part of Hachimaru’s cooked menu, reinforcing how much of its izakaya identity comes from the grill.
One honest heads-up: a few skewers can run salty. Chope feedback specifically mentions the kushimono being too salty for one diner, so pace the richer skewers with something fresh and a drink.
Foie Gras, Scallop and the More Indulgent Skewers
Hachimaru’s kushiyaki selection gets more interesting once you move beyond chicken.
Tatler has specifically highlighted beef tongue with spring onion, scallop and foie gras among its skewers, giving the grill section a richer side than you might expect from a casual Beach Road izakaya.
The foie gras is naturally the most indulgent of the bunch, with that familiar soft, buttery richness and higher fat content making it better as a single decadent bite than something you’d order repeatedly through dinner.
Scallop goes in another direction. The current menu also lists grilled scallop with a creamy spicy sauce, giving seafood lovers something warmer and more assertively seasoned after the sashimi.
Garlic Fried Rice, Wagyu Beef and Hot Plate Beef Rice
Need something hearty to anchor the table? The garlic fried rice is a reliable crowd-pleaser, fragrant, comforting and perfect alongside your skewers.
The hot plate beef rice has also been popping up in reviews, with diners praising the tender beef and comforting flavour.
If you want to go richer, Hachimaru’s meat selection has also included wagyu beef, pushing the grill side beyond straightforward chicken skewers.
The contrast works especially well after several lighter plates. Sashimi gives you that clean start; grilled meats, wagyu and rice bring the fuller, more satisfying finish.
Truffle Fries, Gyoza and More Small Plates
Yes, truffle fries have a place at an izakaya too.
Diners have mentioned ordering them alongside skewers and bara chirashi, which tells you a lot about how Hachimaru is meant to be eaten. You aren’t expected to follow some strict progression. Put sashimi, fried food and yakitori on the same table and let everyone pick.
You’ll also find gyoza among the casual drinking-food options, and recent Burpple listings confirm it alongside the Salmon Ebi Fry Maki and other izakaya snacks.
The fried section now runs even wider, with current listings for ebi tempura, soft-shell crab, fried oysters, karaage and mixed tempura combining prawns, vegetables and other seafood.
This is exactly why the extensive menu works: not every dish needs to be the star. Some are simply there to keep the drinks and conversation moving.
Sushi Rolls, Unagi and Salmon Ebi Fry Maki
The sushi side goes further than straightforward nigiri.
Tatler notes an extensive maki selection, including combinations that let you sample unagi and anago on the same platter.
There are also richer contemporary sushi rolls for diners who like more toppings, sauces and contrasting textures.
The Salmon Ebi Fry Maki brings together ebi, salmon, mayo and ikura in one satisfying roll. Burpple’s current listing confirms that combination.
The fried prawn gives each bite crunch, while salmon and mayo bring a softer, creamy contrast. It’s much richer than plain sashimi, so I’d order one roll for the table rather than making it the whole meal.
Unagi appears elsewhere on the current menu too, including Unagi Kabayaki and Unagi Chahan, so eel fans have more than one direction to go.
Charcoal Grilled Seafood Beyond the Sashimi
If you want seafood without another round of raw fish, Hachimaru gives you plenty of room to move.
Grilled mackerel is a recurring favourite, especially paired with garlic fried rice. Tatler also highlights grilled cod and prawns with mentaiko among the seafood choices.
The current menu extends that with grilled yellowtail collar and other grilled fish, while its charcoal section includes smoky charcoal grilled chicken.
That shift between raw, fried and grilled seafood is one of the restaurant’s strengths. You get different flavours and textures without leaving the seafood side of the menu.
The mixed tempura also brings vegetables into the spread, useful when your table needs something lighter between all the fish and meats.
And if oysters appeal, note the distinction: the current menu clearly lists fried oysters, but I wouldn’t promise fresh oysters unless the restaurant confirms they are available that day.
Ramen and Noodles If You Need More Carbs
If rice isn’t enough, the menu also includes ramen, zaru soba, yakisoba and other noodles.
The yakisoba combines noodles with vegetables and chicken, while ramen gives you the more familiar broth-and-noodle comfort-food route.
You probably don’t need both noodles and fried rice unless the table is seriously hungry, but having the choice helps explain why Hachimaru works for groups with completely different appetites.
The Team Is Warm, Just Don’t Rush Them
The staff here are one of the best parts. Warm, welcoming and attentive, the kind of team that makes you want to come back.
Recent Chope feedback continues to praise the food and ambience, with one March 2026 diner calling the dishes fresh, flavorful and satisfying.
That said, diners also mention the team feeling stretched when the restaurant gets busy. That means service can slow during peak hours.
Nothing that ruins the night, but if you’re in a rush, this isn’t the place.
Then again, why rush?
Before You Head Over: Hours, Spend and Booking
Here’s what you need to know before you go:
Address: 349 Beach Road, Singapore 199570
Nearest MRT: Nicoll Highway, about a 7 to 8 minute walk
Hours: Lunch Monday to Friday, 11:30am to 2:30pm; dinner daily, 6pm to 2am
Spend: Roughly S$30 to S$80 per person, depending on how much sashimi and alcohol lands on the table.
Reservations: Available through Chope
Chope currently confirms those opening hours and accepts reservations directly.
Friday and Saturday nights get packed, so book ahead if you’re bringing a group.
One caveat on value: some diners find portions a touch small, which fits the izakaya style of ordering several small plates rather than one big main. Think of the money as going across a whole spread rather than one oversized dish.
So, Is Hachimaru Izakaya Worth the Night?
Yes, especially if you love the idea of a long, easy night of fresh sashimi, skewers and sake.
Bring: Friends, casual date nights, after-work drinks, and late-night cravings around Beach Road and Kampong Glam.
Skip this one if: You want a quiet fine-dining room, big individual mains, or a strict budget without ordering premium sashimi and alcohol.
Hachimaru Izakaya nails the thing that matters most in an izakaya: the feeling. Fresh food, warm service, a cozy room, and a kitchen that keeps going until 2am.
From tuna, salmon and tai to yakitori, wagyu, charcoal grilled dishes, noodles and rice, there’s enough variety to keep a table ordering in rounds.
Drink slowly, try a few different dishes, and let the night stretch.
Hachimaru Before You Go: Quick Answers
What are the opening hours?
Lunch runs Monday to Friday, 11:30am to 2:30pm. Dinner is daily, 6pm to 2am, making it a strong late-night option.What should we order?
Start with the fresh sashimi, with salmon as a favourite, then look at the chicken meatball yakitori, garlic fried rice, grilled mackerel and hot plate beef rice. Truffle fries, foie gras kushiyaki, gyoza and the Salmon Ebi Fry Maki are worth a look too.Does Hachimaru serve tuna and tai sashimi?
Yes. Current menu listings include akami, chutoro and otoro tuna, as well as tai sashimi, salmon, salmon belly and other seafood.Does Hachimaru serve sushi rolls?
Yes. Its maki selection goes beyond basic sushi, with combinations including salmon, fried prawn, ikura, unagi and other richer toppings.Are there non-seafood options?
Yes. Current listings include wagyu beef, grilled chicken, pork, yakisoba, ramen, fried rice and vegetable tempura, so the menu isn’t dependent entirely on fish.How much does it cost?
Google currently places Hachimaru in the S$30 to S$80 per person range. A lighter meal can land lower, while extra sashimi and drinks can push the bill up quickly.Do we need a reservation?
Not mandatory, but smart for Friday and Saturday dinners. Booking is available through Chope.
