Sheesh $33 for 2 choice teishoku. And they have the nerve to upcharge for certain items. If the food was high quality then I wouldn't post negative reviews, but Yanagi is a 3 star restaurant in my opinion. Restaurants nowadays price gouging the public. So annoying! at the very least, offer kama'aina rates. read more

To the terrible server with the glasses and the black mask. You sucked. I asked for a strawberry daiquiri, and he said the bartender couldn't make it, so he did, and if it sucked, "MY BAD." You're customer service was ass. My friend & I ordered the omakase, and he didn't even ask if we wanted wasabi or not. I also mentioned that it was her BIRTHDAY. She didn't get anything. She don't want no damn ice cream. Our server was standing right behind us and he looked miserable. If you're attitude is trash you're not getting tipped as much as you think! Everyone else working was nice and friendly except for him! 0/10 read more

Looking for a good Japanese restaurant for the family, this is the place for you. The service is good and it can accommodate large parties. Great place for vegetarians as well. Their Misoyaki butterfish was really good and the portions are really big. Their sushi is fresh and selection is good. We had the steak as well. read more

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I am extremely picky with my sushi. Because of that, I hardly go out of my way to eat it. I've done the top tier of Midori, Doraku, Sansei (bleh), Sushi ii, and Ginza. All of them had something in common: great quality but too pricey to go back, mid-quality with little portions, or just too much of a hassle to get to with reservations only. I'm glad I gave Yanagi Sushi a chance because these were my highlights- -Arrived 8:50pm on a Saturday night to sign up for the 9pm special happy hour. We were seated at 9:15pm. -Service was no nonsense: quick, prompt, and efficient. -Sushi was FAT and thick sliced brimming with freshness. Even the tamago was the best I had. Every morsel felt like the cliche melt in the mouth, no fishy aftertaste, that left me begging for more. -Even the non sushi items we ordered, like the tonkatsu, was top tier for a $9 side item. Wow, it was evenly breaded and crispy. -There's a lot on the menu, it can get overwhelming. But stick with sushi and I'm sure you'll be happy. -Don't skip out on the ice cream, because the green tea I had was enough to feed two people. Here are some tips that are going to inconvenience some people. -if you don't make reservations, you're going to have to wait. 9pm happy hour is popular, there will be people waiting to get in as soon as 8:30pm. -parking sucks but it's doable. The lot out front may be crowded but along the corner there's metered parking and street parking. If you're eating with someone, just have someone to put your name in and go find parking. Or take an Uber. -Yanagi is old and the building shows. While the inside is old school retro Japanese and there's photos displaying a bunch of celebrities, I would avoid looking up at the ceiling. There's definitely some grit up there that may be stains or mold. A deep clean or Renovation of the restaurant would be nice. Overall, despite me having a medical emergency the same night I went to Yanagi (unrelated! Not food poisoning, just dehydration and medication conflict) that caused me to upchuck, I'm still writing this review in admiration on how I'm looking forward to go back (without ending up at the ER) on late nights with my family and friends. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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We've done a lot of take out from Yanagi during the pandemic. While the sushi is fresh, it is on the cheaper side, but in my opinion you can't have high expectations when you're ordering take out sushi. There are many other sushi restaurants on the island with better quality at a higher price point, but if you're doing take out, I think the difference is marginal. Yanagi stands out if you like to eat hot food and sushi or are eating with someone who doesn't eat sushi. They have a ton of different options to choose from. I personally can eat sushi by itself all day long and I like coming here because it's convenient to place an order by phone. The portions for the teishoku set meal are very large and are more than enough for one person especially if you order a platter of sushi too. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Friendly staffs, good service. We always dine at the sushi bar. Soju are overpriced, sashimi and nigiri are fresh but for the price not really worth it. Thinly sliced sashimi and nigiri. We always spend between $300 to $400 for 2 of us. read more

Located on Mauka side of Kapiolani in the same place it has always been near Straub and Blaisdell Center. Parking is tough so they have valet parking. You can try find nearby parking but if not the you have to go with the valet. I asked my friend where is the freshest sushi and he said still Yanagi. I have 9 pictures of the current menu and it is fresh but it does come at a cost (see photos). You get what you pay for. All of the sashimi/sushi was indeed fresh. The food was great. The service was a bit abrupt. They also are pretty strict with the 2 hour time limit. I guess they were busy but would have been nice to hang out longer. The combination plates are a good option if you do not want sushi (see photo of teriyaki, tonkatsu, and tempura udon). The toro was great. Poke is definitely better, fresher (see photo), more expensive, and different than at other places or at the grocery store. The toro was fatty indeed. The seared salmon was very good. Too bad for the cost. Overall still very good. read more

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Came here at the invite of a coworker, of he which he raved about their fresh and delicious sushi. Did not disappoint. Their menu is extensive with a lot of bento/combo options, but really you can't go wrong with any of the choices. To kick off, the sashimi platter was SO fresh and came with thick slices. The maki and nigiri plate was equally as delicious, and I was almost hesitant to share (but had to be on my best behavior cause work dinner ). I was also able to sample the fried pork cutlet, the assorted tempura, and a hunky slice of salmon. All were very good and hit the spot. To end it off I was able to cleanse my palate with some green tea ice cream. In terms of ambiance, the restaurant makes use of its small real estate with booths and room cut outs sprinkled throughout. The service was on point with super friendly servers. Parking can be a hassle as it's a small lot, but manageable. read more

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Love yanagi, great selection of Japanese dishes and always the best quality. The staff is great and works fast! Be sure to make reservations if they are taking it cause if not you'll be waiting for 1+ hours, but it's worth the wait! The late night menu is the best deal for the quality of food!! read more

Yanagi Sushi - Ahi tataki, fresh salmon with onions and honeymoon roll - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We have been here before but was over 5 years ago. Reservation for 5 at 6pm on Friday. Every table was full by the time we finished (about 1.5 hours). Time limit was 2 hours which seemed to be OK. We had a private room, ambiance was nice and the food overall was OK but the quality of the food overall was average. Maybe they were full and too busy to details (such as sake and hamachi nigiri were not fresh). We thought our first time here in the past was much better. Just want to suggest not to sacrifice quality over being too busy. read more

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We wanted to get Japanese food in Honolulu and were recommended this restaurant. We got broiled eel, 2 rolls, salmon katsu, and sashimi. Loved the eel, it was fantastic! Both rolls were really good, don't know which one is better as they are both good in different ways. The sashimi, MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH, its so so good. The only thing I'd say is the salmon katsu is definitely not worth it. Theres not much flavor to it, and theres too much breading bigger than the actual fish. Overall I give it a 8/10. read more

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Love coming to yanagis but don't recommend walking in without reservations. The sushi is really good if that's up your ally but my favorite thing to order is the Zaru soba with fresh wasabi- it takes about 15-20 mins so order it as soon as possible). Prices a high but you get what you pay for (especially with the sushi). Definitely a must try if you haven't been before. Side note-Their late night happy hour (9:00pm) is always a must because a handful of there regular menu items are discounted at a great price. read more

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Yanagi Sushi is one of my favorite late night spots to frequent with my friends. Their late night happy hour menu is so worth it, the staff is always friendly, and the food is excellent. If I had really to pick one thing to "complain" about, I'd have to say how crowded it is because of its late night popularity. Depending on my mood, I normally get their ahi poke, salmon with onions/ponzu sauce, teriyaki NY steak, tonkatsu, yakitori chicken, or a spicy ahi bowl. Those are some of my favorites but they have so much more to offer. Add in a pitcher of Kirin Ichiban and/or their extensive sake selection and we have a winner! Oh, they also have green tea and vanilla macadamia nut ice cream for dessert. How can you go wrong with that? 5 stars for sure!! Check it out!! read more

Yanagi Sushi - Nothing like a pitcher of Kirin Ichiban to wash everything down .. - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Came on a Friday night without any reservations. Waiting area was outside, and there were plenty people waiting for a table. (Long line is usually a good sign at a restaurant) My husband and I got here just a little past 9:00pm, and we were advised that the wait was about 45 minutes. We got seated around 10pm, and ordered right away. They gave us a hand sanitizer for the table (much appreciated!) We ordered quite a few items, and some from their late night special menu as well. Our order: *Volcano Roll *Choice of two combo: chicken teriyaki and shrimp tempura *spicy tuna roll (from late night menu) also available on the regular menu, it was just a little cheaper * Mixed Sashimi *Ahi Katsu *Deep fried Baby octopus *Oyster dynamite Food was delicious and service was great! I ordered the oyster dynamite at the end, and they kind of forgot about it, but that's okay. It was a busy night, so it's understandable! read more

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Called in last minute around 8:30pm to reserve. Was told there were seats open so my wife and I went ahead and walked in. Was seated right away in a pretty isolated booth (which we liked). We both ordered the "omakase" around $56 each. We also ordered, baby octopus along with a side order of scallop mayo. Got a bunch of different items: nigiri, rolls, tamago etc. everything was awesome. The otoro, although we only received one each was super soft, and juicy. The rolls although a bit small was of great quality. 10 out of 10 for sure! Servers were attentive, even joked around about basketball which made it even more of an experience. Parking of course is always fairly difficult around the 96815 area but, they offer complimentary valet. read more

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Hubbs made reservations for a Friday night since I was craving sushi and we were celebrating our 5th anniversary. The lady was able to accommodate date us before it got crowded at 7pm. She called him to ensure we were on our way. I thought that was odd but hubbs explained its bc she squeezed us in. Anywhos, we arrived and valet was complimentary. To me it was a little unnecessary, I prefer to park my own vehicle and an open stall was on my right soon as I entered. Once we walked in, we were greeted, scanned our own temperatures at the stand up machine and then a guy escorted us to our booth. We had to sit towards the wall inside the booth and then he placed a sign on the seat close to the aisle. They are practicing social distancing. Sanitizers were on the table. Sushi was delicious. Not the best I've had but it was tasteful and great quality fish. My friend from Japan says this is her favorite sushi spot on island so that tells me this place is legit. The butterfish was super duper flavorful! Hubbs said that was his favorite. I was already full by the time it came but enjoyed some bites. I asked him to save me some but he demolished the whole plate! Grrrr. Service was on par! We never had to wait to order. Miso soup kept me warm. Not sure if it was just my hormones, but I was freezing the entire time. I'd love to come back later and enjoy the different sake options they had. read more

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Been here a couple of late night dinners. I'm very pleased to say that the food quality has improved from my last review 2 years ago. It's 10:30pm and still had to wait an hour to be seated. Mask had to be worn, hand sanitizer was offered at the front, contact information was taken, and tables were spread apart for social distancing. At the sushi bar where we sat, there were pexi-glass between us and the next party. It felt very safe and comfortable. We had to order fast because the new pandemic hours close at 12 midnight. We had Otoro with Uni, Butterfish, Nigiri-Ikura, Hamachi, Unagai, and King Crab. We also had Salmon Sashimi, Ribeye Steak, Volcano Roll, and Avocado Shrimp Roll. Very simple and easy review, everything was fresh, portioned nicely and had excellent taste. My fav was the Otoro with Uni and the Butterfish. The Otoro just firmly melted away with a burst of flavor as soon as you popped it in your mouth. And the Butterfish was moist and cooked perfectly with an amazing flavor. We were the last table with lot's of take home leftovers. Looking forward to our next late night outing. read more

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Amazing sushi and great service! Love their late happy hour. It is great to be able to have a later dinner and food with great quality for reasonable prices. read more

the parking is kinda sus. there were like 2 cars behind us in the lot unsure whether the valet was working kr not. i dont think theres any background music playing in here. at least in the section we were sotting in. we were seperated by another party with a shower curtain. it was kind of uncomfortable because we could hear their conversation about p diddy and epstein. the food was ok. my friends got rolls and nigeris ala carte. fancy pretty rolls were ok (volcano &honeumoon). think the more basic rolls were better (spicy tuna roll). i got the sushi combo wirh sashimi. the otoro and salmon were really good, but the sashimi was mid. i think just getting rolls next time. wouldnt recommend the cocktails. i got a chi chi and friend got the red one. its like shaved ice that doesnt mix with the ice well. after a while i wad just chewing on icr. read more

Yanagi Sushi - chi chi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Another visit for dinner last night, another nice experience! Our go to sushi place when in town. Quality and freshness is always go good, prices are what you expect at a sushi bar, really good selection on dishes and drinks. I like to order a big sashimi platter, bowls of sushi rice, and then other things on the side. Sometimes parking can get very busy but there are a couple of valets so it isn't a problem. Just pull on in, give them your keys and enjoy your meal! Been coming here for 30 years, and guaranteed to get the same consistent quality and service !! read more

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Da grindages here is freakin' ono cuz!!! It's been a long time since I've dined at Yanagi Sushi, and I think part of the reason what deters me from coming to this fine dining establishment more often is the parking situation. Yes, they have free valet parking, but since we're livin' in a pandemic (Covid-19), it's not the best thing to have a stranger drive your car, although I did noticed the Yanagi valet workers wore mask, and were wearing rubber gloves. Inside of the restaurant is not too big, but they did their best to separate tables so patrons could do the dine in thingy. As for me, I came here with a coworker for lunch, and this was a place of choice. The lunch menu had some wonderful DEALAGES, as they offered this "Yanagi Special Combination Lunch" for just ($25.95), where you can choose (2) entrées, and your lunch meal came with a green salad, appetizer, miso soup, rice, pickled vegetables, & dessert (ice cream). If you're really hungry, they also offer a (3) choice meal for ($30.95), but I would say the (2) choice meal was pretty plenty food in itself. For my entrées for my (2) choice meal, I decided to get the Chicken Teriyaki and Nigiri Sushi. What can I say about the grub? The food portions were very generous @ Yanagi's, and the preparation of my meal was made to perfection! They used a wonderful teri sauce on my Chicken Teriyaki, and the chicken had a nice grilled flavor. As for the Nigiri Sushi, it came with (4 pcs Nigiri + 3 pcs Roll Sushi), more than enough to eat, considering they also gave you a full bowl of rice (which I barely touched). Overall, a wonderful dining experience for this long time established Japanese restaurant. If I could only find parking easier, I would clearly come here more often. read more

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I don't know what happened but this place isn't good. Yes, lots of hype. Maybe we were unfortunate to have poor service, slow delivery, and subpar quality. When we came, there wasn't many people and we were seated in a small room. Maybe that was a problem. We waited for quite a while to order. This as we were seeing wait help clear down tables but didn't bother to check in. As others indicated, the server who took our order was borderline rude. No water, just the small little food tray. Eventually someone walked by so they brought tea. We ordered teishoku with tempura and sashimi. Ordered three choices sashimi (they choose), and sashimi special. Volcano roll. Rice came. For 15 minutes. That's all. Then side salad (way overdressed). Then salmon salad. Then longer pause. Tempura came before the sashimi. What? How can hot come before cold, your were not that busy and your cutting raw fish. I could see the people at the sushi counter. Tempura was okay. Sashimi was cut inconsistently. Different thickness, unclean lines so the edges were ragged. Ikura, fish eggs , were really salty. Volcano roll was borderline disgusting. The rice was overcooked and mushy. The top had an off putting flavor, and the overall temperature was room temperature even though it supposedly was braised. Food really was lacking quality all around. We only saw our server four times. One to take our order, one to give us a bowl of rice, one time to give us the bill, and then returned. But the other help just seemed to ignore us and focused only on cleaning tables. A couple of times they did bring us tea. Our service took so long that even the valet shut down. At least one less expense. We left before we got our included ice cream because service was that bad and that slow. I told my family, Never again. read more

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A lot of my friends have loved this place and I finally made it here too try it out. This spot is pretty bomb! Food was super good and the service here was great. The prices are about average when compared to more traditional Japanese restaurants. The sushi here is great and they have sets or ala carte options. You also can get combination sets of their Japanese food, which seems like a great deal (comes with sides and you can choose two or three options from their selection of main dishes). I'll definitely try this next time, but I just had to get the sushi this time around. They're open pretty late, for COVID times, so it's pretty convenient. Definitely make reservations if you plan on dining in. They're pretty popular and with capacity limitations, you may not be able to just walk in. The tables are pretty spaced out from each other and they have sectioned of areas too. The walkways are a bit small though, so it's easy to bump into a worker as you make your way through. read more

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Great fresh food. Service terrific ambiance authentic. Must go for epic Japanese food

Local late night spot for sushi. I've been coming here for over 30 years. Even though I live on the mainland , I still come back here every time I go back to Hawaii. What I love about this place is its consistency in quality food and service they have provided through all the yrs I've been coming here. The fish is always fresh, never had a bad meal here. The atmosphere is intimate and cozy , almost if you were at a izakaya in Japan. When I come eat at this restaurant, it reminds me of coming back my grandma's home to eat a home cooked meal read more

The sushi and sashimi were delicious. I hadn't been here for many years. I forgot how good it was. Both dinner and lunch were wonderful.

I can't think of one bad thing to say about Yanagi sushi except that they are always busy so reservations days before are highly recommended. Everything we've eaten was delicious. read more

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Our favorite late night spot in the Kakaako area. One of the few remaining spots (it seems) open past 9. Ambiance and service are excellent as always, food came out quick and delicious as usual! We ordered out favorites off the late night menu: unagi donburi and spicy ahi donburi. Trust me, they are as consistent as they come. I personally love unagi and this is one of my favorite spots for unagi on the island. The spicy ahi was as good as usual too. Highly recommend! read more

Yanagi Sushi - Unagi donburi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Wanted to really like this place but our takeout items were mediocre. We ordered: - Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) - Chicken cutlet - Spicy tuna roll - Mini udon Both the chicken and pork cutlets had a good crispness to it but once I bit into it.. I instantly knew it was over cooked. The meat was so dry, even dunking it into the sauce didn't help. The spicy tuna roll was so-so, not the best I've had. The mini udon was decent, I was able to enjoy that at least. Such a bummer that I didn't have a good experience esp after reading all the positive reviews. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Tonkatsu, chicken cutlet, spicy tuna roll, mini udon - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

One of the best sushi and happy hours in the island! We also got the dynamite oyster which was so good. The servers are very attentive and were always refilling our water/tea. We came towards the later half of the day so it wasn't too crowded, but i reccomend making a reservation if going with a big party. The parking lot is small but they have valet during lunch hours which is very helpful! read more

Yanagi Sushi - caterpillar roll - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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We had an amazing dinner at this place. We ordered tons of food, like toro, yellow fin Kama, katsu, sushi roll, ahi poke, salmon, sushi roll, and we even ordered a few items from the late night special. We were so full and so satisfied and the bill was surprisingly reasonable. The fish there is very fresh and even I don't like salmon, I end up eating two salmon dishes there. Overall we are very happy about this place and we will definitely come again. read more

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Didn't live up to the hype for me. We came for late night menu around 10:00pm and there was a 30 minute wait. That was fine, since we had heard great things and were super excited. due to the recently instated liquor laws due to Covid-19, liquor wasn't being served which again was unfortunate, but we expected it. We ordered lots of food including a variety of sushi, a few appetizers including gyoza and miso soup and one of the late night combo plates. The only things that were really enjoyable was the Chicken Teriyaki and the Miso Soup. Sadly, the sushi wasn't very good. Many of the rolls had a slightly off putting aftertaste and we couldn't pinpoint what it could be coming from. We were super exited for the Oyster Shooters that we had ordered but they didn't come out until after all of our other food and an Oyster Shooter is the last thing I would ever want to eat on a full stomach. Service was decent, but there wasn't anything that stuck out enough to make this our regular Sushi spot. read more

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ALWAYS great service, quality food, and reasonable prices...especially after 9pm! Service is always attentive and friendly, and the food is fast and delicious! Highly recommended! read more

Forgot to take pictures of their sushi rolls. We had the salmon cream cheese avocado roll and the shrimp tempura with cucumber roll topped with sesame seeds with special sauce on the bottom. The service was good set in a friendly ambience. read more

Yanagi Sushi - New York - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I've been going to Yanagi restaurant on n off for years and always satisfied with whatever I order there.

I love coming to Yanagi Sushi. They are always busy so make reservations ahead of time! We enjoy sitting at the sushi bar because you get to see them make the sushi and order from them. It is always fresh and delicious. The service is always great. I love going there! I also love their miso soup, the quality of the food is always great. read more

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This is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Hawaii. My uncle, who has lived in Hawaii for 40 years, highly recommended this place to me. This place is always pretty crowded. I usually have a Chirashi Deluxe. The quality of the fish is pretty nice, especially for the price. I do think that it's a little pricey ($36.50), but the quality menu is worth the price. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Chirashi Deluxe, very fresh!! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This my go to spot for late night happy hour after 9p.m. It does not disappointed. I will always go to my go to order get baby tako and spicy ahi roll. I love looking around seeing all the celebrities and famous athletes on the wall seeing who came to eat here before. The service is awesome especially the chefs when we ordered otoro they gave us 3 extra pieces no charge! This will always be my go to spot to eat! read more

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The day we went was really crowded! Tip: when you enter, you do a temperature check. We were ushered into one of the side rooms. It was a little narrow, but they had cute short chairs and cute sushi curtains that was separating the room into two. Great service! They check on you often, but that is a good thing. They place a hand sanitizer on the table in the beginning, but they do take it away. I tried the broiled eel dinner with the combo dinner set. The combo set you get a side salad, miso soup, appetizers, and an ice cream at the end. The appetizers were edamame, sprouts, and a shrimp. They were all delicious, especially the eel. You get two slabs of eel in a beautiful box. Also tried the salmon salad. There are pieces of salmon skin in a sprout salad. It was delicious, but the sprouts were spicy. The azuki ice cream was the best at the end of a delicious meal. I am glad that we could take our left overs home. You think that you won't get enough food, but we were super stuffed lol. Will want to go again. read more

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Super cute place, servers were fast and friendly. Happy hour starts at 9pm and stays open until 1am or so. Large menu with tons of options. Tried out the spicy toro roll, salmon in sweet maui onion and a nigiri special with small tempura udon. All was delicious! read more

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