We’ve eaten at a lot of the best sushi places on Oahu. Sometimes it is really hard to compare them as they are all very different sorts of places. I can’t say that I’ve had BAD sushi on Oahu, although the places below are all GOOD sushi, so if they aren’t listed….you are taking your own chances.
My favorite all around, day to day sushi place is Ninja Sushi. They have a few locations and they are all great. Kailua and downtown are the two I know best. Ninja is cheap, fast, delicious, and did I say cheap? My favorite thing there is a Shogun Dunburi. It is a bowl of rice with eel, ahi, salmon roe, avocado, and other tasty things poured on top. Runs about $6 and is totally filling.
If you want to drink lots of strange saki and have interesting sushi served in a great ambience than you have to go to Tokkuri-Tei at 611Kapahulu avenue. Mapquest it. GREAT sushi. You will pay more for it her than at Ninja, but it is worth it.
Sushi Sasabune at 1419 South King Street is a Japanese style omakase. That means the chef chooses what you eat. We went there for our friends birthday last week and the sushi was INCREDIBLE. The price was pretty steep (about $120 each) but this place is damn good. Eat slowly and with respect and by all means don’t piss off the chef or he will boot you.
In stark contrast to that, last year, Mink Hippie took me to Mitch’s Sushi Bar at 524 Ohohia St in Honolulu near the airport. Mitch’s can be just as expensive as Sasabune and the fish just as fresh and delicious. It’s a byob place with a bathroom upstairs in the warehouse. Mitch, a retired fisherman and his chef Hideo Mitsui make sure everything is perfect. It was when we were there. Mink had Hideo kill a lobster in front of me and we ate it basicly while the heart was still beating. It was delicious and disturbing.
California Rock and Sushi at 404 Ward Ave in Honolulu is a fun place. My friends Tina and Brian took me there a few years ago for my birthday. We drank a lot of saki and ate several of the tempura spider rolls. Yummy.
Sushi Kai at 20 Kainehe Street in Kailua is a budget chic place. More expensive than Ninja and not as chic as Tukkuri-tei or as fun as California Rock and Sushi. It works.
