Hanami doesn’t ease you in. It greets you with chandeliers, velvet chairs and a taxidermied bear.

Then come the paintings, orchids, antique lamps, dolls, framed prints, teapots, figurines and an open book on a stand showing a 1908 Japanese fable. The name Hanami means “flower viewing,” the Japanese tradition of gathering under cherry blossoms, and here, you do. They arc overhead, climb through the room. By the time a cocktail arrives wearing an orchid of its own, the restaurant has made its position clear: Subtlety is available elsewhere. 

Located at 1525 Fourth St., Hanami is tucked into the Rosemary District’s historic Citrus Exchange building, where fresh Florida citrus was once packed and shipped across the country. It’s just far enough from downtown’s most obvious foot traffic to feel slightly like you’ve stumbled on something cool and almost secret. And while the address has seen turnover over the years, Hanami already feels inhabited.

Just inside the entrance is a small memorial with a photo of a handsome man alongside mementos. It’s a tribute to co-owner Samuel Ray, who died unexpectedly in April, shortly after Hanami opened. Ray, who was known for his design sense, handiwork and zest for life and documented much of Hanami’s build-out on his social media accounts, also co-owned Tsunami Sushi & Hibachi and was well known in the nearby Central Cocoanut neighborhood for the six-foot Laughing Buddha he placed outside his home. He remains part of Hanami’s DNA.

On a Thursday night in May, soon after it opened, Hanami’s dining room was booked. That left my party of four the choice of eating at the bar, with the cool kids, or in the lounge that precedes the more formal dining room in the back. We chose the lounge. 

The bar and lounge are first-come, first-served; the dining room takes reservations. The lounge felt like the more fun option. We settled onto a couch around a coffee table, close enough to pass plates without ceremony, while dishes came and went. Everywhere you look, a story appears to be underway. The room is lush and layered, eclectic without seeming careless, an artistic confetti of curated, thrifted and thoughtfully placed curiosities.

Hanami calls itself Japanese fine dining—and sushi is central—but the kitchen wanders through curry, ceviche, hibachi, Korean barbecue short ribs, noodles and fried rice. Some entrées come with soup or salad, a familiar American assurance.

Our meal’s showstopper was the Lava Rock appetizer ($29). Thin strips of raw filet mignon arrive on a plate alongside a hot searing stone and two ramekins, one with butter to prep the stone and another with a slightly sweet and savory brown sauce for dipping. I appreciated being trusted with the blazing-hot stone. There’s something delightful about sizzling butter yourself, then searing each piece of beef to the temperature you like. The filet went down like silk on the palate.

The sashimi sampler ($18) was clean, cool and fresh, the fish requiring no fuss, establishing that Hanami can leave well enough alone, too.

The sushi rolls, by contrast, arrived fully dressed. The Fancy Dragon Roll ($20), with eel, cream cheese, avocado, tuna, salmon and yellowtail, moved in several directions at once but held together. The Climax Roll ($18), topped with tuna, salmon and masago, came bright with roe and lacquered in eel sauce and spicy mayonnaise.

The Monkey Brain ($15) has the kind of name that makes diners pause, then order it anyway. On the plate, it’s a lightly fried, stuffed avocado with spicy tuna, kani, eel sauce and spicy mayo. It was rich, creamy and crisp at the edges.

Served with white rice and broccoli, the walnut shrimp ($32) was crunchy beneath a scattering of chopped nuts and a creamy walnut dip that leaned sweet. The Yakisoba, ordered with filet mignon ($30), was more grounded: springy Japanese wheat noodles tangled with beef and vegetables in a savory glaze.

The extras begin with cocktails. The vodka-based Disco Geisha ($18) was dangerous in the way the easy-drinking libations can be: a little vanilla, a little lychee, bright enough to avoid syrupy sweetness. For those who want a more Japanese experience, order a flight of five premium sakes ($25).

The city has plenty of polished dining rooms that know how to flatter wealth, plenty of casual spots that know how to feed regulars and plenty of new openings eager to explain their concept. Hanami is elaborate without being slick and entertaining without feeling engineered. It’s a place of crosscurrents—Japanese, Korean, broadly Asian, American dining-room comfort, lounge theatrics, sushi-bar freshness and steakhouse  pleasure—all in the same frame.

And if the dining room is booked, take the lounge. Curl up on the couch. Eat off the coffee table. Let the dishes arrive out of order and disappear the same way. Try the sizzling filet stone. Drink the dangerously easy cocktail. Polish off the soup or salad. Hanami is not asking to be analyzed, but to be enjoyed.

Hanami Fine Dining, Sushi, Cocktails & Lounge | 1525 Fourth St., Sarasota, (941) 366-1033, hanamifl.com