We were in town looking for dinner and had already gone to three other spots but they were either not taking anyone or had a 1.5 hour wait. Finally decided on Yanagi for some sushi as they were open late. Upon arrival, we were seated right away. There was only two of us and they sat us in the back on a small 2 person table. They appeared pretty busy as most of the tables were filled with other patrons. We ordered: 1. California Roll 2. Spicy Hamachi Roll 3. Chicken Karaage 4. Salmon Sashimi with ponzu sauce 5. Miso Soup Everything was okay. Nothing was terrible. The ponzu sauce for the salmon had a hint of sweetness which I didnt care for. The chicken karaage was breaded a bit much for my liking but tasted good. The california roll was good and the spicy hamachi roll was okay. There was a young man who came to fill our drinks was nice and came often. Our server seemed to be very busy. She took our order but someone else brought out our food. The restaurant had many tables with little rooms that also had tables for seating. They also had seating at the sushi bar. I would return to try other items on the menu. read more

See all

The Late night specials are everything! You can't find better sushi on island - this is top notch. The restaurant is on the smaller side, but it will always be my favorite. The service is excellent, as well! You can't go wrong. read more

I took my team to lunch at Yanagi Sushi and I was very pleased. Our group of 10 was seated in a comfortable, private room. The food was delicious and reasonably priced, especially for the portion and quality. The servers were so attentive and our food came out of the kitchen pretty quickly (we had 11:30am reservations). The valet parking made it convenient to get in and out. I would definitely recommend this place to my colleagues for their department lunches. It's so close to downtown Honolulu, it only took a few minutes to get there by car. read more

Yanagi Sushi --Congrats on your gold 2023 Hale 'Aina Award for Best Sushi. This brought my attention specifically to this sushi place. Authentic local Japanese sushi restaurant with a usual long wait without a reservation, but we walked in around 10pm on Tuesdays with no problem. Lucky us! We were seated very quickly and service was 5/5. Very quick, efficient, polite, and filled our waters often. Ambiance is what you'd expect at an older Japanese sushi place. There's a sushi counter but we were seated at the booths which gave us more privacy and comfort. Food: We ordered off the sushi roll menu and late night menu (9pm to close). I had 2 clear favorites: *Salmon with sweet onion ($15.50) My favorite! The ponzu sauce with onions was addicting. 5/5 *Fried Baby Tako ($10.50) Nicely fried and juicy octopus. Nice with the fresh lemon juice. 5/5 *Rainbow Roll ($21) Fresh sushi roll. Met my expectations. 4/5 I would skip: *Negitoro roll ($12.50) this was okay, kind of had a paste-like taste. Didn't taste as fresh. Spicy sauce was artifical. 3/5 *Seattle Roll ($10.50) Pretty basic roll. Not that memorable but overall decent taste. 3.5/5 I saw they have Omakase menu for $60/$61 which I might try next time. For a late night sushi spot, this is a good place to stop! Especially since there's not many late night spots to eat in Hawaii. read more

I had Sashimi Deluxe for takeout before and liked it a lot, so had a high expectation for the actual dinner here. It had an old school Japanese restaurant look and atmosphere and made me feel nostalgic. The service was fast and our order came fairly quickly. We had Sashimi Deluxe, Sushi Ala Carte (Toro, Uni, Shimaaji, Unagi), Tororo, and Rice. Sashimi was really good just like when I had it as a takeout. Sushi was good except for Uni - it wasn't that fresh. Tororo was tasty but Rice didn't seem so fresh and dry - I was expecting moist sticky rice. Overall, it was a good meal and experience. Good enough but not beyond my expectations. read more

See all

Yanagi Sushi has always been one of our favorite places for sushi. Their offerings were always fresh, consistent, and delightfully tasty. We used to frequent their happy hours at late night with friends and their offerings during those special hours were had a great variety of samplings and truly made those hours "happy hour" every time. Now that we live in Seattle, every time we go back to Honolulu, Yanagi Sushi is usually our first stop. As soon as we land (usually late evening), we drive straight to Yanagi Sushi to satisfy our critical need to devour their salmon skin salad, uni, amaebi, dynamite, poke, spicy ahi roles, and more. This is a Korean-owned Japanese restaurant and they do offer kimchee as one of the side dishes and their kimchee is actually pretty amazing as well. I love this place. I still recognize a lot of faces when I go and some servers have been working their for over 2 decades! They are efficient, responsive, and professional. Ambiance feels very much traditional Japanese and the interior has not changed for as long as I can remember. One of our favorite places of all time. read more

See all

I've been here 2x already and I loveeee this place! The first time we had a big group of us so they gave us a room to the right. I like how intimate it can be and you just feel like you're the only ones there when you're still a part of the restaurant. The second time I came here was recently with my girl friends and this time they gave us a room to the left. Our waiters are all so nice! The food was amazing! I cant recall what I ordered the first time but the second time I got the 3 choice and boy that was a lot of food!!!!! If you already ate get something smaller because it's actually a lot of food. I got the tonkatsu, fried oysters and the spicy ahi roll. The tonkatsu comes with rice. To start they gave us appetizers and that was really interesting because I never knew you could eat the whole shrimp. Me being Filipino, peeled the shrimp body wondering what happened to all my friends shrimp peelings LOL! They also gave salad and something ginger looking. I didn't know majority of the dishes I chose had a side to it so I definitely ate a lot of greens! We also drank a lot of green tea for the soul. Parking is a little junk, it can be tight and we came at 6pm so it was valet. I read the reviews before I came here a second time and it's only valet. That's nice so you don't have to fight for parking because it's so small. Try to carpool if you can! 10/10 would come back here! read more

See all

Good to know that Yanagi Sushi is still in business I remember back in the day when I use to come here . I haven't been here over 20 years . It's still the same lay out no renovations once you enter the sushi bar than tables all the way back in the restaurant. Only Valet parking is available although it's complementary just tips accepted. I ordered their 2 choice lunch Shrimp tempura & vegetable along with Pork cutlet. Their lunch specials comes with rice, toss salad, miso soup, appetizer and ice cream for dessert. My sister and brother in law ordered salmon skin hand roll with Negitori Hand roll along with their lunch. My sister said the salmon skin hand roll was chopped into small pieces compared to most place they have the whole skin . Service was ok waiter came around frequently to fill our water and hot tea . Prices are on the high end compared to other places overall I would rate them a solid 4 stars Support local read more

Yanagi Sushi - 2 choice Teishoku - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Haven't been here in a long time I mean long time. My brother wanted to take us for lunch because he said he hasn't been here in awhile too. Got there when they 1st open at 1100am and 1 family was waiting in line already we were next. Got seated right away. I ordered the combo with 2 selections shrimp veg tempura and Teri chicken. I also wanted to eat sushi so I ordered 2 handrolls crispy salmon skin roll and negitoro boy I was full really full. First of all it comes out with miso soup, toss salad, edamame beans, bean sprouts, and 1 small broil prawn. My husband ordered fried chicken wings, and pork tonokatsu. My brother had the shrimp tempura with vegs and the pork tonokatsu. We didn't know it came with ice cream for dessert. I must say it didn't disappoint. Try them. It's valet just tip them. read more

See all

One of my favorite restaurants in Oahu. They have a very interesting menu, and do so many things well. Open late too.... Love this place. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Just sat down... - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Restaurant Review: Yanagi Sushi While I've been coming to Yanagi Sushi for decades for their teishuko lunch combinations, with either two or three dishes, the competition (Rinka, Maguro-ya, Izakaya Nonbei, Tonkatsu Tamafuji) with much better quality & taste is now swaying me away. To be fair, this review and *** rating is only for their non-sushi & sashimi items. Recommended Order & Rating: Misoyaki Butterfish = A Unagi = A Broiled Salmon = B Chirashi Deluxe = C Mini NY Steak Teriyaki = C Not recommended: Chicken Teriyaki = D Assorted Tempura = D Tempura Udon = D https://www.yanagisushi-hawaii.com/ read more

See all

Yanagi was a welcome change after a disappointing and overpriced Japanese meal elsewhere a few weeks prior. Yanagi has been here forever but I hadn't been in ages. We had no reservations on a weeknight at 6pm but were offered seats at the sushi bar which we gladly accepted. I had forgotten how huge the menu was and was surprised to see that the dinnertime combination meals were about the same price as the disappointing family restaurant that we'd been frequenting. I was sure that a 2-item combo would be enough ($31) but for a few more dollars, I went with 3-item for $37. These days, that's about the same price or just a tad more than other spots and the three items themselves (tempura, CA room, tonkatsu) were enormous and served with miso soup and a nice salad. There's even more greens on some of the items/plates which I really appreciated. Even a big eater like me had plenty of leftovers to take home, which made for a nice lunch in the office the next day. Pro tip: Valet parking is free but can get full. Street parking starts at 630pm along Kapiolani Blvd! read more

See all

Got treated to Yanagi Sushi and it was pretty good. I ordered the seared blackened ahi, oysters, and got to try the tempura, misoyaki butterfish and other food. The service was attentive no issues there. I was surprised by the portion of the seared ahi, they give a lot of fish and a ton of daikon! It was almost swimming in the ponzu sauce as well. I really liked this dish but it was have been perfect if they sliced the ahi thinner, and reduced the amount of sauce overall. Some of the ahi were just huge chunks and it wasn't very appealing. The oysters were really fresh. I enjoyed these the most. The shrimp tempura didn't have much flavor. The misoyaki butterfish was good but not the best. They should broil it more to get that charred flavor. This place was pretty busy even at midnight. I'm glad I got to try it out. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Seared blackened ahi! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Great food. Fast service. Friendly environment. The sushi was fresh and overall cleanliness. read more

See all

Luckily the 2 times I came here, there was no wait. Upon walking in, I felt as if I was in Japan again - from the décor and atmosphere, it was very comforting. If I lived in Hawaii, this would definitely be one of my go-to late night spots for Japanese food. I love their late night specials - everything is so good and reasonably priced, including the sake. You can't really go wrong with what you order - everything we ordered was delicious which included the: Katsu, Blackend Ahi Sashimi, Fresh Salmon w/ Sweet Round Onion,Oyster Shooters, Miso Soup, Fried Baby Tako, and Chicken Karaage. Also love that they give you a little side dish on the house before your meal comes (edamame, bean sprouts and a shrimp).  Service was excellent here. read more

See all

I met a former high school friend who I have not seen in more than 35 years. This is special sushi with a wonderful, cultural experience, that doesn't even talk about the fantastic fish we had and warm Service. We had salmon cheeks we had Tuna we had raw shrimp scallops.. We actually didn't eat sushi rice so I can't tell you how the sushi rice was. Of the quality and freshness of the fish was outstanding. Reuniting with a friend from the past eating sushi, knowing that you've worked hard and played hard appoint in life where the food in that moment taste it all the better read more

Yanagi Sushi - I've never had better fish anywhere and that includes Japan - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Another amazing meal! Very traditional Japanese food. The butterfish mizoyaki was perfect. We loved the chawsmushi! Can't go wrong w anything here read more

Food was overall great BUT the service was absolutely garbage. We arrived at 6:30 pm (without reservation) and were greeted with utmost rudeness as if we were not welcomed. They were giving side-eyes to a point where we felt like we were homeless. We were told to leave at 8:10 pm without first welcoming us. And the host didn't want us to show the seats again and felt absolutely unwelcome and beside he constantly reminding us to leave by 8:10 even though their store has two hours seating policy. The waitress lady did not explain anything and whatever questions we had, she impatiently told us to just check the picture repeatedly. When we asked for a pair of chopsticks, the another waiter gave us a side-eye. Overall, the atmosphere was very terrible. Just giving two stars for the food. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The tempura donbori, shrimp and vegetable tempura was soggy and tasted less than desirable. The salmon kama was two smallest pieces of collar with more bone than anything to eat. read more

Make sure to call in for a reservation! They don't really do walk-in especially during peak hours and even when they do it'll be a long wait time. They also do valet parking! First thing I noticed is that they serve high quality green tea that they will refill as you eat. Another thing is that there is a two hour limit for each table because of how busy they are, which I don't think is a huge problem for most groups. For us, we only took 1.5 hours, but towards the end it seems like they were rushing for us to leave. All their rolls were excellent. The fish on the rainbow roll was fresh, the eel on the honeymoon roll was soft and juicy. We also added a spider roll towards the end, we did 8 pieces, but we definitely should've done 4 because those pieces were huge. Besides that we also had sushi deluxe and the miso butterfish. Miso butterfish was super flavorful, soft and flaky. It went great with some plain white rice. For me, I wasn't a huge fan of their tempura or their udon. The tempura was a little bland even with the dipping sauce and that didn't go well together and the udon was a bit too salty for my taste. read more

See all

Service is top tier before your drink is half empty the staff is at your table filling it back up. The food is good and the atmosphere is comfortable. read more

I can't remember the last time I ate here, maybe back in the 80's after clubbing? The place looks the same and hasn't changed much since back in the day. The only difference I saw is they installed some kawaii curtains between some of the tables (maybe from covid). Parking is in-house valet so you only need to tip, there is NO self parking anymore, or maybe we went on a weekend so was busy. Suggest to make reservations, I've tried to go there before without reservations and they will not take you or you have to wait over an hour or more, so make reservations before going. Our buss help was so helpful and nice, our server was all business, not much personality (luck of the draw), but she did what her job was, so it was fine. Forgot how big the menu is and took some time for us to figure out what we were ordering, etc. We ended up ordering Omakase Sushi, this was delish, accept was not familiar with some items on the platter not problem hubby will eat it, The Dynamite it was okay, mixed tempura was okay, didn't like the batter, karaage chicken this was standard nothing special, and grandma had a nabe this looked good. Next time we will ask for some suggestions, don't think we selected the popular or best items on the menu, first time in ages so rusty on ordering from their menu. read more

See all

Hate to be writing this one, but I let the hype of this place get to me. Yanagi Sushi came highly recommended, so I tried making reservations one night and was told they were out of reservations. Wow, so the next night I had my girlfriend make reservations. When we got there, there was zero parking, but luckily there was free valet. So this place must really be hot fire right? Eh. I ordered the omakase, but they were out so I had the Nigiri Deluxe Combo which was like $18 cheaper. It had everything from tuna, salmon, Cali rolls, maguro--lots of stuff! It wasn't that good. Normally on my dates if I really liked something, I'd offer a bite to my girlfriend--I didn't even do that. I want her to experience the great flavors I'm having, but this wasn't it, captain. Aside from the parking, the saving grace was the free ice cream at the end. They had some exotic flavors, and no lie--the green tea one was one of the best green tea ice creams I ever had! I probably won't be coming back though, especially if what I actually want to order isn't gonna be available despite closing at 1am. read more

See all

This place is extremely unpleasant, with unwelcoming and rude service. They did not apologize for taking the wrong order and insisted it was our fault, claiming it was not their responsibility. We were very shocked that the waiter took our plates away without saying anything and did not check if we were finished, even though we left the food there. The service was terrible! This place should be closed down!! read more

Yanagi Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We visited Yanagi for lunch for the first time and it was a wonderful experience! Parking is valet only. The front lot gets busy and crammed as a FYI but I was told they sometimes park cars in another area. Upon entering the restaurant was busy as waitstaff walked back and forth and there was plenty of chatter from diners. The walls are filled with photos of visitors - many whom I assume are famous. They were very kind to give us our own room as we had an infant in our party. Didn't get a chance to look at the other dining area but they were decently full around 1pm. We were given each a wet wipe towelette and small sectioned dish of bean sprouts, edamame, and something else I am blanking on. We ordered the teriyaki chicken and chicken katsu combo, nigiri lunch omakase, calamari, toro, california roll, baked roll w/unagi, and marinated fish. This was plenty of food for 4 adults and we left with a to-go box. All of the seafood was fresh, dishes were flavorful, and we were all satisfied with our meal. My husband and I really enjoyed the lunch omakase nigiri! We would happily dine in again. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Lunch omakase nigiri - YUM! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Looking for Amazing Japanese food with a flare of Korean here's the spot. Best of both worlds I can guarantee you'll have a hard time deciding as everything looks and taste amazing. Best advice-Call and make a reservations valet service as long as your dining in It's always busy read more

See all

Gillian: We are a group of talented visionary artists. We had some difficulty locating the table, but the corner we were sat in was cozy. The sashimi was fresh and service was good. Kalani: great food. Cozy setting. Lisette: Good voibes Kim: bomb food ! very authentic ! Quality service. We almost ran out of space on table. It was like a jigsaw lol but we had a good time Kristle: food good Alex: ‍ excellent Me: a very peaceful place if you like peace and quiet.(no music) sashimi was fresh and delicious. Dining available in little rooms created an intimate setting. Mm yummy yummy. read more

See all

Delicious! Always fresh and nice warm setting. There is a wonderful Happy Hour as well with discounted items.

Another great place to get sushi for your cravings. Came here to celebrate my friends bday so we started with a round of their cocktails which were delicious. They were not strong but tasted so sweet. I had the chuhi which was about $8, not too bad. Now onto the food, the sushi was soo yummy and came out really fast. My favorite had to be the calamari which was crispy while still having that chewy but not too chewy inside. The rainbow roll was also really good because we got to try different types of fish. And the volcano roll which was broiled so that the top was a little cooked. The service was super quick, and our servers checked up on us often (sometimes too often haha). We made a reservation which I would highly recommend but be aware that they have a 2 hour seating limit which they do enforce. They also have free valet parking, just gotta tip the valet drivers. I will definitely be coming back! read more

See all

Perfect for lunch meetings and late night happy hour. Service is good too. I suggest making reservations.

We are sushi snobs and all the places we looked at near Waikiki looked overpriced and touristy, so we were happy to find Yanagi, a more local place recommended by a concierge at the Hyatt. We were able to get an early table last minute, at 5:30 on Friday, and we were advised that we only had two hours. No problem, we're hungry! The place is super old-school and we loved the vibe. Cavernous booths and pictures all over the walls. It's obvious this is a Honolulu staple. Our nigiri sushi was good, not amazing, but fresh and reasonably priced. We especially loved the Uni and the Toro. The sake menu was great and we enjoyed a nice cold dry sake and cold beer, always great after a long day in the humidity. It was a short Uber ride from Waikiki and we took the bus back home. It was definitely worth the extra time and effort if you are a visiting sushi lover. read more

Yanagi Sushi - Uni, from Japan - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I can honestly say that this was my first time ever eating here. There were a few attempts after late night football games or concerts but 1. They were always so busy and we didn't have any reservations or 2. There was never any parking. Even when opening back up again for dine-in, this place is PACKED! And they have a bunch of take-out orders lined up by the front, so good for them! Word of advice, get the combo sets so you can try a little bit of everything! And what surprised us at the end of the night was the mango sorbet! It didn't quite taste like a strong mango flavor, but it had a hint of peach or lychee in it, that was so refreshing! If anybody ever figures out what that aftertaste is, please let me know! I'm not sure when they'll be open for late night specials but I heard those times were amazing! Hopefully it's not a thing of the past. read more

Yanagi Sushi - NY Steak Teriyaki - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Nice butterfish appetizer and oyster shooter. Spider roll is delicious!Sashimi is very fresh .

Came here for a quick lunch and luckily got seats! We enjoyed the deluxe sushi set and teriyaki beef with miso butterfish. Will definitely return again soon! read more

See all

Food: Yanagi has been a staple for families in Oahu for over a decade at this point and been going here since I was a little Kid. The Quality really depends whos your sushi man for that night and I still feel like its worth it for for a late night sushi spot dinner or if you have a big party. Also the Koreans all know that Yanagi secretly has some of the best kimchi on the island. The Maui Onion Salmon which was one of my favorites growing up isnt the same anymore I'm not sure why.. Service: Great service the staff are super efficient here. Ambiance: Great spot for families or if you need a late night spot for some dinner and drinks. read more

See all

Might be the freshest sushi we've ever had. We walked in without reservations. They managed to find us a table in the back - because someone didn't show up. Bonus for us. Make the reservation! Order everything. There wasn't anything that wasn't amazing. read more

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

See all

Great Japanese restaurant and very popular place . Always enjoy going there when I landed to Honolulu . Very appreciative that open lunch hours . Highly recommended read more

Yanagi Sushi - Big Futo Maki my favorite. It's always good to go to lunch time . Chef is friendly and nice . I love going there for lunch . Great sushi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

I have no idea how I haven't reviewed Yanagi Sushi yet. I love Yanagi...it's my go to Japanese restaurant when I don't feel like driving outside of Honolulu or its late at night. It has a old school feel and you know they've been around for many years as you can see the walls are lined with pictures of celebrities that have dined there through out the years. I love my teishoku meals, so when I dine in, I will almost always get the teishoku meal...it's just a matter of whether I get two or three choices. Typically, I'll order beef teriyaki and vegetable tempura. It's the standard Japanese food, but it always hits the spot, especially if the tempura is cooked perfectly where it's light, crispy, and not oily. The teishoku meal comes with salad, appetizers, tsukemono, rice, miso soup, and ice cream. They have a huge menu so there is a variety of sushi, sashimi, nabe, donburi, and many side dishes and appetizers to choose from so even the pickiest of eaters will find something they'll enjoy. While the regular prices can be a tad on the higher side (about $30+ per person), one of the great things about Yanagi is their happy hour and late night specials...you can find some great deals on food and beer if you dine in at the right time. read more

Food, service, and prices!! 52 years old and I have traveled the world. This the freshest, best tasting sushi I have ever had! EVERRR!!! Nothing else to say except, try them. Prices and portions are better too! read more

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