Sushi ii

This place is wonderful. We went in without a reservation (I recommend you do make one) but were fortunate to get a table for two for 80 minutes. That was enough time to have a great meal and have a couple of 300 ml bottles of one of my favorite sake, Hakkaisan junmai ginjo. We started with the normal maguro, ama ebi (with cooked atama), unagi, sake (salmon) and ordered hamachi, but got a special ‘cold water’ hamachi — nice. All the nigiri were terrific. But the highlight was ordering different types of fish from Japan that I have never had. It was really a treat and I will be coming back as often as I can. The price was reasonable for the quality.

First time going last night. Everything was amazing. We got the oyster sampler to start, and they were soooooo good. I love oysters, and these did not disappoint. Some of the best oysters I’ve had in a while.
The fried moi was my favorite dish. The fish came right off the bone. Paired with the sauce, it was perfect
From the sushi, you could not go wrong with the Uni. So creamy and smooth! By far the best quality uni I’ve ever had. I was not disappointed by anything we ordered. The fish is high quality, and you can tell.
Overall, I definitely recommend this place. They do not scrimp on quality, and the food made very well. $ 90 bill on oysters, fried moi, 3 orders of nigiri and two rolls. Not bad for a quality sushi place.

We had lunch there one day cause I heard so many good things about ii.
1. Miso butter fish was really good… hence the 1 star.
2. The other dishes were just so so, even Yanagi had better fish. ii is no comparison to Gaku or Sasabune.
3. The server asked me if I wanna put 15%, 18%, or 20% on the tips… See I did not like this one bit.
All in all ii I’ll never go back to you again… Sorry you really suck.

Fantastic. Great quality and some unique dishes. I’d highly recommend. Some of the best sushi on Oahu. A must go for sushi lovers. The owner happened to be in when I was in and noticed a nice bottle of whisky on he shelf. It wasn’t for sale, but he let me try some while I was there. I appreciated that.

This officially makes my top sushi list. We came here recently to celebrate my birthday and having been my second time in I was so excited to celebrate at this restaurant.
The food was absolutely delicious and they did not disappoint. The Chirashi Sushi and the live abalone are a must.
Make sure to make a reservation. It’s hard to get in without one.

All in all, a nice omakase experience in Honolulu. Reservations seem hard to acquire and we lucked out, scoring 2 counter seats around 9 pm, cold calling 30 minutes prior.
The fish selection is unique for Hawaii, a lot of imported varieties from Japan. The chef seems to go for more sensation than subtlety — langoustine sushi, snow crab with kani miso, 2 types of super super fatty toro, the fattiest I’ve had maybe.
The omakase felt a bit rushed sometimes, the timing could have been a bit downtempo. I will return, but next time I will probably order ala carte, with some kitchen items. The grilled oysters and the warabi (bracken fern) tempura dish from the kitchen were our favorites that evening.

Hmmm, we felt very lucky to choose this authentic sushi restaurant for my fiancé birthday. All the sushi that we ordered was perfect, they served us with all the sushi which was imported from Japan. And our chef was very generous too, he gave us special birthday sushi. Love the welk, the texture was awesome. The o toro was perfect. They also had the special fish (I forgot the name of the fish) ate the Uni, so it’s very difficult for them to clean, the meat was very good, sweet too. The other dishes from the kitchen were good too, love the abalone and the butter fish. Omg, every piece of meat they served you was delicious. They were very nice and friendly, they also had a lot of beers imported from Japan. Best sushi ever.

So I am recalibration my scoring system bc I think I should be reserving the fives for super exceptional ones and make those more rare. So I gave a four for this place and I truly enjoyed the food and service experience here. Had the omakase and so much more relaxed than sasabune. Friendly English and Japanese speaking sushi chef making interesting nigiri. Also have a choice to get sashimi omakase. Had a lot of interesting white fishes, a pink trout, super soft anago, and of course amaze balls foie gras. Had two really nice sakes — one of them was a super awesome junmai daiginjo that was called dassai 23. Servers very attentive, nice sushi chef.
People next to us got this uni pasta that looked amazing. We think we overheard him saying u have to call ahead to get this? Not sure.
All in all a good experience and if I do omakase sushi again I’ll come here over sasabune anytime.
The parking lot is a bit narrow and Samsung plaza ain’t fifth ave so little bit of a disconnect with the high quality food and location. But then again many places like this here. Rundown exteriors that belie the excellence within.

This place was just ok to me. It’s not bad, but I wasn’t wowed by anything. They did have a few sushi/​nigiris that were pretty unique and that I haven’t seen at other places. They had uni from Japan, which I don’t recall ever having. It taste a little different than normal. The sushi chef was nice enough to make us mini nigiri pieces so we can try both the uni from Japan and the uni from california. Prices were a little higher, for two people we spent $ 135 with tip — we weren’t terribly hungry. I’m thinking we ate about ¾ of what we normally would for a sushi meal.

After wanting to try this place for sometime, I finally went a few nights ago. I had reservations at 8:30, and I would highly recommend reservations because it was still busy late Thursday night. I can only imagine how busy it can get on weekends!
Okay so a group of us ordered the omakase, as I heard that’s the way to go along with some apps. For apps, we had the agedashi tofu, which was pretty standard. Agemochi and cheese only came with 3 pieces, was a little pricey for the amount we got. The brusslesprouts with prosciutto and egg, was good. Very rich, so good to share! We also ordered the daily oysters, so fresh and good!
For the omakase was great!!! I can’t even remember everything I ate! I loved that they would explain each item and give the American and Japanese name, or some kind of translation we would understand. Some of my favorites was the toro, uni from Hokkaido and Santa Clara, and the Crab Miso on a Prawn (now dubbed the Sky). I was truly surprised how good the crab miso was, because that has to be fresh or else it tastes horrible!
I wish they were still byob, but what can you do. It’s for sure more lucrative for them to sell alcohol. Although they have extensive sake list! Very nice!
Overall, I really liked this place, and would love to go again. I thought the staff was great, but I think that it is more expensive than Morio’s. However, reservations are easier to get here. I also do think that they do more exotic mixes of things. Itadakimasu!!!

I gave 4 stars (in the end) because the QUALITY of the fish and seafood was FRESH!
On to my humble albeit useless review…
(Pictures attached. But I apologize as the Sushi Chef just plopped each in front of me and mumble the descriptions of each which I didn’t bother writing down after a while!!)…
Omakase (おまかせ) means a meal (not just sushi) selected by the (Sushi) Chef.
Lunch Omakase was «Nigiri» sushi only. I had 12 (1 piece sushi) and wasn’t full at all. However I would think that would make the Sushi Chef happy because I will spend more!
***In defense of any Sushi Bar I do not care for rice! (YES! I am a weird Asian)… I eat ¼ of the rice given.***
Nope!
Sushi Chef seemed annoyed and finally just asked if I was full enough to stop since they were closing. (Really???)…
Maybe I came too late in the «Lunch hour» but the place wasn’t terribly packed. (Got there at 12:30 and they close at 13:30).
Service from the hostess/​waitress was OK. She refilled my water twice.
I will caution people who love chicken karaage that Sushi ii has a Panko-​crusted breading that is not reminiscent of the Chicken karaage I know and love…
Again this could just be my preference but it just tasted like fried chicken from Foodland to me…
I have learned a lesson from this go-​around (which I never would have learned from any other Sushi bar before so this is progress!)…
I have to ask if Miso soup and sashimi platters and other specialty rolls come with the Omakase.
Let me be clear, I have paid upwards of $ 250 per person for Omakase so paying the $ 60 for this Omakase is not the problem (I thought it was actually very reasonable for the quality)…
But when I order Omakase (Lunch OR Dinner) I expect to get more than just !! Sushi ii is supposed to be known for their oysters too! I wish the Sushi Chef would have served oysters or another «House specialty»…
I’ll just consider this an error on my part for not being a proactive participant!
Sigh… Ok rant over. All in all the Lunch Omakase is well worth the price because the QUALITY is GOOD. But I would not go back for Omakase as I seem to have a very different idea of what that means… (Yes — Chef selection but normally it is NOT LIMITED TO NIGIRI SUSHI)…
Maybe the Dinner Omakase is much better?
***pontificating heavily with beer***

Highly recommended by a friend, we decided to try this place out. Here’s what we decided to order:
1. Fresh live abalone. This was my first time trying live abalone. There’s a strong ocean taste on each bite. It was very chewy, like biting on cartilage. The ponzu sauce definitely helps.
2. Fried shrimp: small size shrimps, crispy, good breading, not oily. Easy to eat.
3. Sushi roll combo: 8 nigiri and a tuna roll. Small rice, good ratio between fish and rice. I don’t remember all the fish we got, but they were velvety, smooth and melts in your mouth.
If you need to use the bathroom, you have to ask for a key, and it’s located outside. The bathroom is fairly clean, just a little hassle since it’s shared by the whole complex.
Parking is in private lot, you do have to pay, I think it’s around $ 1 – 2 .
Overall, it’s a pretty good place, but doesn’t necessarily justify the price point. I’m glad we gave it a shot though!

I have to agree that this is one of the best sushi places on Oahu. You wouldn’t think so, since it’s hidden in a strip mall across the street from Walmart, not in some fancy hotel in Waikiki. It’s in the Samsung shopping plaza by the Korean bar Gangum. The signage is unnoticeable because you would think it said «Sushi ii», but it’s just two curves with two dots above. Take a look at my picture attached. Parking is validated for two hours. Just be sure not to lose your ticket or it’ll cost you $ 15! Make reservations! There are only about 4 tables and maybe 6 seats at the bar. They rotate specials and have a nice selection of sake.
The sautéed garlic butter abalone is chewy, but not like beef jerky chewy where you expect your jaw to be sore later. This is a good kind of chewy where with each chomp you can really taste the buttery garlic goodness mesh well with the ocean saltiness of the abalone. The salmon sashimi is a great cut that melts in your mouth. We did try one of the rolls, but for the life of me, I can’t remember which one! (That was either due to the fact it wasn’t anything remarkable or the fact I had two bottles of unfiltered Snow Sake!) The uni is smooth and creamy. Overall, the service was okay. There was only one girl serving all of the tables, so maybe that’s why it was so slow. Be careful coming out of the parking lot. It’s a pretty tight space.

Won’t be a long review but this is my go to place for sushi in Honolulu when I don’t have off island visitors (Sasabune) nor want something cheap (Genki) or close /​late night (Yanagi). I love the homely feel to this place, the friendliness of the staff and especially the chefs, and because every time I order omakase about 80% of the dishes are unique every time I go which lends me to believe their chef’s boast that they provide the widest and freshest selection of seafood on island. No comment on the particular dishes as they vary when I order but all excellent, even the ones I traditionally don’t like.
As a bonus they got free parking also; only negative is you really need a reservation between 6pm and 9pm most (all?) evenings and usually need to reserve a day or two out. Will repeat, have did so a couple times. Also expect to spend some money, rarely leave here with less than $ 150 a person, usually more around $ 200.

«No, it is blow your pants off good but it’s not tentacle porn good»
That was the general consensus of my party of 8 after a birthday dinner here. We’d all been watching an animé cooking series involving a young chef’s ability to make girls worship him because of his amazing cooking. so sorry for the weird into but that was too great of a line to not include in my review. :-)
The food here is excellent though. We order several sushi rolls, nigiri, and a bunch of the specials. They had a country fried steelhead salmon with a shio sauce that was amazing and the foie gras torchon is as delectable as my fellow Unilocalers have mentioned.
We also loved the lamb lollipops and ika geso karaage. Sadly there were a number of items on the specials menu that they were out of that sounded amazingly yummy!
It can get a bit pricey though especially if you’re doing family style dining and everyone is pretty hungry. But for a smaller party it shouldn’t be a problem.
The service was really wonderful. They were able to accommodate a last minute addition to our party and kept checking on us and filling water and tea.
I can definitely see myself coming back here. No tentacle porn necessary.

The restaurant was close by to where we were staying so we walked over rather than deal with the parking situation. The parking situation actually wasn’t bad around 5pm on a weekday, plus Walmart is across the street and the mall is just a few blocks away. I’ve seen worse parking the past 8 days I’ve been here. The parking attendant does disappear often and not always easy to fine to validate the parking ticket.
Our order:
Sashimi Omakase (MP): This came out to be $ 85 and the highlight of the plate was the 4 pieces of otoro. The abalone was fresh but on the chewy and firm side. The uni was sweet and delectable but just a few dollops on the plate. The better option would have been the small sashimi combo and order some of the otoro on the side. Overall good but since we’re not locals we could have ordered another dish if we had gone with the sashimi combo, which is cheaper.
Fried Moi: Doesn’t fried whole fishes taste pretty much the same? Not this time. The fried Moi is a must get. It’s local only to Hawaii so you’re not going to get this anywhere else. The skin is crispy and the meat inside is tasty and stands on its own. We were given a side of dipping sauce but the sauce actually overpowered the fish even though it was a light sauce. We used the dipping sauce for our sashimi instead since the soy sauce was too salty. We polished off everything including the head. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Iidako Karaage: Lightly battered deep fried baby octopus. Tender. Good item to get as an appetizer. ⁹⁄₁₀
Foie gras torchon with apple butter: As good as others have stated. It’s foie gras pâté served with 4 buttered and toasted banquette and apple butter. Enough foie gras to smear on a generous portion onto each piece of bread. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Spicy tuna roll: Spicy tuna is on the spicy side. About nine pieces for $ 8. A good cheaper option used to fill us up. ⁸⁄₁₀
Salmon skin roll: Better than the spicy tuna roll if spiciness is not your thing. Another cheap option to fill you up. ⁸⁄₁₀
After tip came out to be close to $ 100 per person. The rolls actually helped fill us up. Cutting the Omakase and ordering a Kama entrée might have helped fill us up without the need to order two rolls. Restaurant was recommended to us by an employee from Nanzan GiroGiro.

Chirashi bowl, $ 38. Get it!
Service was on point. Reservations highly recommended.

Hands down one of my top 5 sushi restaurants on the island!!! Being that I’ve tried just about every sushi joint on the island, making it to my top 5 says quite a bit. The sushi chef Steve is very welcoming, knowledgeable, and creatve. I would recommend asking for him if you’re planning to order omakase and sit at the sushi bar. If you decide not to go with the omakase, keep in mind that their chirashi is no doubt the best chirashi around in town also. Everything served here is extremely high quality and fresh. I’ve never had a bite of sushi here and thought of it as subpar. This place is highly recommended!!!

This place has been open nearly 5 years, and I just had my first experience last night… and thank goodness. If I discovered this place 5 years ago, I would be broke. This is a place where the food is the highest quality, creative, and so delicious that you find yourself constantly ordering more and more without doing the math in your head.
This is what we ordered: Hamachi, Scallop, and Toro sashimi. All extremely tasty, flavorful and fresh. The toro was by far the best, but keep in mind the Market Price was $ 50 for 8 pieces. We also ordered Abalone nigiri which was also incredible, and a plate of more common sushi.
Other dishes: Tataki salad (refreshing), Berries and Foie Gras (buttery), Lamb Lollipops (delicious), White Peach Tempura (creative), and my very favorite pan seared tako with a chorizo sauce. The sauce was so good.
There were probably another 5 – 10 dishes I wanted to try, but too full to enjoy them. Next time definitely going to try the crispy Moi.
Must make reservations. Witnessed a lot of walk-​ins get turned away, and even those that got there 10 minutes before opening.
The service was fantastic. It is a very friendly, welcoming place. Never felt rushed, crowded or noisy.
My only wish is that they offered desert. I would love to see what these creative geniuses would do with desert. On second thought, maybe I would skip dessert and get another plate of Toro!

I think I’m a shoo in to win the award of «worst Japanese person, ever». For the longest time I had no flippin’ idea how to pronounce the name of this place. Um, yeah, Japanese class was full when I tried to register for it in high school. So I wondered, is it Sushi ‘e-​e’? Or is it just Sushi 2? For those who are just as clueless as I was, it’s Sushi ‘ee’, which means good in Japanese!
This cozy little restaurant has both counter and table top seating, but due to limited seats reservations are a must! While I hoped that I would have been able to snag seats at the counter, it was already full by the time I called a few days ahead. You can try your luck at walking in for dinner, but during our meal I saw a few people try to do so only to be told that their next opening was 3 hours later. You’ve been warned!
I know everyone says to go to the omakase, but I really wanted to go against the grain and just go ahead and order all the stuff I had previously ogled on Unilocal.There’s a whole bunch but favorites include:
–Hamachi Kama: WTF. Seriously, the minute you sit your butt down, order this. It takes 40 mins for the kitchen to prepare, but it’s so worth it. Meaty, tender, moist and huge! Definitely unlike any other Hamachi Kama I’ve ever had I don’t know what kind of black magic they use to cook it, but whatever it is, it works.
–Fried Moi: Amazingly crunchy and crispy on the outside, but tender, perfectly flaky and moist on the inside. Eat it alone or dipped in the citrusy house ponzu sauce, you cannot go wrong with this.
–Warabi Salad: While you can find it pretty much everywhere in Hilo, warabi in Honolulu is a rare find. Loved this refreshing salad, and the light soy-​ponzu dressing was on point! The smoked tako is unique; instead of typical thick and chewy cuts, they give you only the little sucker parts!
–Jellyfish: Common in Chinese cuisine, but I’ve never had jellyfish like this before. This app came served over a bed of thinly cut cucumber in a refreshing citrusy soy sauce. The texture of the jellyfish was similar to that of cartilage, and the cuts were perfectly bite sized tidbits.
–Sushi/​Sashimi anything: We ordered a small sashimi platter, and I was blown away by the freshness of the fish they have. The hamachi, ahi and salmon were buttery smooth and ultimately fresh. If you’re crazy for raw fish, definitely don’t miss the sashimi here. I’m in love with the otoro nigiri. Amazing!
Service here is on point. Since the restaurant is cozy, they were really attentive and friendly, especially giving us tips and suggestions on what to order. We were total first timers and a little overwhelmed with so many goodies to choose from, so I appreciated their patience toward our noobiness!
Honestly, I’d eat here all the time if the wallet allowed for it. The food here is amazing, but it’s a splurge. Definitely worth keeping in mind for special occassions!