This place smelled wonderful when I walked by earlier, so I was eager to try it for dinner. Char siu noodles were too sweet - edible but disappointing. The unagi/yakitori chix donburi was decent. Customer service was a bit slow and just a little odd.
Christine Labeste
Feels like a diner but it’s 100% Japanese. Lucky for us there wasn’t a table at Pinapple’s down the block. Instead, we stumbled upon this gem in Hilo. Difficult to decide because everything sounded so delicious. We got the ahi carpaccio, spicy ahi rolls, spicy cucumber, and tan tan noodles. Service was so friendly and welcoming. Everything delicious! Noodles were just the right consistency of chewiness and firmness. Wish I had another stomach. I would have ordered the rest of the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erika Hodges
Really great food and the sake margarita was delicious. Decent prices and the staff was very nice. Cute inside and the food came out very fast!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jesse Rodriguez
Had some of the best food I’ve ever had! The smashed cucumber, char siu noodles and the Ahi Carpaccio. 10 out of 10! Food was so good. If you don’t know what to get, talk to the server or chef, their recommendations are great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Char Siu
Brianna Lyn Rapp
Veggie noodles bowl is usually pretty good and smashed Q roll
Melanie Boehm
Great bowls...loved the sushi and the presentation was nice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Haley
We got takeout to enjoy on the beach and it was amazing! The staff were so nice and made us feel welcome.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Char Siu
Dan K.
Great place. Very tasty noodles. This place is definitely overlooked by the crowd. There is never a wait.
Nandini Rajan
The owner/host really cares for her restaurant, staff and customers. There are thoughtful touches in the decor that are lovely and she made us a cocktail on request off the menu.We had delicious sushi, tan tan noodles and cocktails. We had a wonderful time and we will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ping Fu
We had tuna carpaccio, Saba & ginger, spicy tuna rolls and marlin sashimi salad. The only reason we give it 4 stars for food is its limited sushi selection. HOWEVER, everything was very tasty. We ordered Saba roll twice ? highly recommended.
i’m shaking my head at some of these negative reviews. What are these people thinking? this place is amazing. completely disagree about anything being overpriced, it’s beyond reasonable for the quality. some poor souls can’t recognize what’s good the owner/chef is a true Japanese homie. kind, generous, talented. the dishes felt like something your Japanese mom would cook you. Ingredients were fresh and local, dishes were unique and authentic.We got the mixed salad, so many textures bright flavors. saba+salmon, cold veggie noodles, and yaki tori don. Great attention to detail from the rice quality to beer selection. Surprise perk a great selection of whiskeys.Really lovely local feel to this place. pls try !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ping Ni
i’m shaking my head at some of these negative reviews. What are these people thinking? this place is amazing. completely disagree about anything being overpriced, it’s beyond reasonable for the quality. some poor souls can’t recognize what’s good the owner/chef is a true Japanese homie. kind, generous, talented. the dishes felt like something your Japanese mom would cook you. Ingredients were fresh and local, dishes were unique and authentic.We got the mixed salad, so many textures bright flavors. saba+salmon, cold veggie noodles, and yaki tori don. Great attention to detail from the rice quality to beer selection. Surprise perk a great selection of whiskeys.Really lovely local feel to this place. pls try !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ascher Kulich
Excellent and inventive sushi, noodles, salad, and rice, as well as a nice unique mix of cocktails, beer, and Japanese whiskey with a great attention to detail. Great playlist and super nice staff. One of the best homely Japanese spots I’ve ever been to!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
S. Chevalier
Enjoyed at delicious dinner at Moms Hilo. Great Sushi and Japanese cuisine. Our waitress Lindsay was attentive, professional and very cheerful.We had their Sushi Fresh Local Avocado Roll - which was light abd refreshingSmashed Q salad - very tasty and definitely deliciousWe both picked something from their Huihui NoodlesI tried their Char Siu Noodle - noodles flavored with Shoyu Sayand topped with fresh vegetables- also very tastyMy boyfriend had their Tan Tan Noodles - noodles flavored with sesame paste, topped with Miso ground pork (I loved the flavor) and topped with fresh vegetablesDefinitely will go back and try more of their sushi rolls and the Chef Specials. Although the restaurant was extremely busy our waitress Lindsay was wonderful. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Char Siu, Fresh Local Avocado Roll
josh borrowman
Sushi was pretty skimpy, didn’t have all the ingredients in the rolls, and taste was pretty bland. Honestly can buy better sushi pre-made from a grocery store. Not real expensive, but not even worth going. Menu is also mostly vegan? Just not what we expected, sad.
This place smelled wonderful when I walked by earlier, so I was eager to try it for dinner. Char siu noodles were too sweet - edible but disappointing. The unagi/yakitori chix donburi was decent. Customer service was a bit slow and just a little odd.
Feels like a diner but it’s 100% Japanese. Lucky for us there wasn’t a table at Pinapple’s down the block. Instead, we stumbled upon this gem in Hilo. Difficult to decide because everything sounded so delicious. We got the ahi carpaccio, spicy ahi rolls, spicy cucumber, and tan tan noodles. Service was so friendly and welcoming. Everything delicious! Noodles were just the right consistency of chewiness and firmness. Wish I had another stomach. I would have ordered the rest of the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Really great food and the sake margarita was delicious. Decent prices and the staff was very nice. Cute inside and the food came out very fast!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had some of the best food I’ve ever had! The smashed cucumber, char siu noodles and the Ahi Carpaccio. 10 out of 10! Food was so good. If you don’t know what to get, talk to the server or chef, their recommendations are great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Char Siu
Veggie noodles bowl is usually pretty good and smashed Q roll
Great bowls...loved the sushi and the presentation was nice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
We got takeout to enjoy on the beach and it was amazing! The staff were so nice and made us feel welcome.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Char Siu
Great place. Very tasty noodles. This place is definitely overlooked by the crowd. There is never a wait.
The owner/host really cares for her restaurant, staff and customers. There are thoughtful touches in the decor that are lovely and she made us a cocktail on request off the menu.We had delicious sushi, tan tan noodles and cocktails. We had a wonderful time and we will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had tuna carpaccio, Saba & ginger, spicy tuna rolls and marlin sashimi salad. The only reason we give it 4 stars for food is its limited sushi selection. HOWEVER, everything was very tasty. We ordered Saba roll twice ? highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
i’m shaking my head at some of these negative reviews. What are these people thinking? this place is amazing. completely disagree about anything being overpriced, it’s beyond reasonable for the quality. some poor souls can’t recognize what’s good the owner/chef is a true Japanese homie. kind, generous, talented. the dishes felt like something your Japanese mom would cook you. Ingredients were fresh and local, dishes were unique and authentic.We got the mixed salad, so many textures bright flavors. saba+salmon, cold veggie noodles, and yaki tori don. Great attention to detail from the rice quality to beer selection. Surprise perk a great selection of whiskeys.Really lovely local feel to this place. pls try !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
i’m shaking my head at some of these negative reviews. What are these people thinking? this place is amazing. completely disagree about anything being overpriced, it’s beyond reasonable for the quality. some poor souls can’t recognize what’s good the owner/chef is a true Japanese homie. kind, generous, talented. the dishes felt like something your Japanese mom would cook you. Ingredients were fresh and local, dishes were unique and authentic.We got the mixed salad, so many textures bright flavors. saba+salmon, cold veggie noodles, and yaki tori don. Great attention to detail from the rice quality to beer selection. Surprise perk a great selection of whiskeys.Really lovely local feel to this place. pls try !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent and inventive sushi, noodles, salad, and rice, as well as a nice unique mix of cocktails, beer, and Japanese whiskey with a great attention to detail. Great playlist and super nice staff. One of the best homely Japanese spots I’ve ever been to!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Enjoyed at delicious dinner at Moms Hilo. Great Sushi and Japanese cuisine. Our waitress Lindsay was attentive, professional and very cheerful.We had their Sushi Fresh Local Avocado Roll - which was light abd refreshingSmashed Q salad - very tasty and definitely deliciousWe both picked something from their Huihui NoodlesI tried their Char Siu Noodle - noodles flavored with Shoyu Sayand topped with fresh vegetables- also very tastyMy boyfriend had their Tan Tan Noodles - noodles flavored with sesame paste, topped with Miso ground pork (I loved the flavor) and topped with fresh vegetablesDefinitely will go back and try more of their sushi rolls and the Chef Specials. Although the restaurant was extremely busy our waitress Lindsay was wonderful. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Char Siu, Fresh Local Avocado Roll
Sushi was pretty skimpy, didn’t have all the ingredients in the rolls, and taste was pretty bland. Honestly can buy better sushi pre-made from a grocery store. Not real expensive, but not even worth going. Menu is also mostly vegan? Just not what we expected, sad.