Mostly all imported fish from Japan from an expert Japanese sushi chef from Japan. A truly fantastic omakase experience in the heart of Oahu. Frankly the price was very reasonable relative to the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dave Cichy
Best omakase we’ve had on island. Loved every bite.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Liliana Ballesteros
Thank you chef for such an amazing smorgasbord of gastrointestinal delight! Your omakase was life changing! Liliana
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rebecca Tsang
This might be one of my favorite if not my favorite sushi omakase places in town. Every single item was delicious and enjoyable. Nice intimidate ambiance without feeling restricted. Chef Hide and our server Katie were friendly and they joked around with us and the other 5 diners that night. The price was the standard pricing for omakase these days $150pp. Yeah so it was a perfect evening!
Chef Hide started off with an appetizer with crab, amaebi and abalone with liver paste. The crab was alright but everything else on that small plate was delish. I never had liver paste to go with abalone, what a great way to combine savory with sweetness! The items we had included shima-aji (striped jack), king salmon, deep sea bass, Japanese sardine, flounder with shiso, Mehikari (greeneye fish) tempura, chawanmushi with ikura, shrimp, crab and fish, uni nigiri, Hotate, toro, tsuke-maguro, Kaua‘i shrimp with garlic uni butter, temaki with chopped toro and pickled radish, and finally miso soup to conclude our 15-course meal.
First I gotta say the fish was of high quality cut by a highly skilled chef. There wasn’t even a small bit of stringiness to the fish. Every piece was melt in your mouth with the best cut. I initially was taken aback by being served salmon, but that piece of king salmon was very fresh and delicious. I was pleasantly surprised by how good sardine tasted. I thought it would be smelly and fishy but it blended well with the other top quality sashimi. It’s my first time having Mehikari. It’s fried whole and the whole thing including bones and head were all edible. It’s crispy on the outside and the meat was soft with a light sweetness. Very enjoyable and a good break from all the raw stuff. I’ve only made fried shishamo myself before and initially I thought that’s what I was served, but luckily it’s not so I could have a new experience. Now it made me want to try frying Mehikari! Their chawanmushi was one of the best I’ve had because it had the perfect consistency - not too watery and not too thick but still smooth. I appreciated all the goodies inside as well - all seafood! The uni was of top grade - not melting to liquid, sweet, savory, could be more firm but given the time it took to ship from Japan to Hawaii, we can’t expect it to be super duper fresh but still very fresh! I normally don’t like maguro coz it’s not fatty enough, but the cut was really good, smooth and melt in your mouth, great taste with the marinade and the jalapeño sauce as well! The garlic uni butter also went really well with the crunchy cooked Kaua‘i shrimp. And finally the temaki (hand roll) was the best hand roll I’ve had. Chef was fanning the nori over an open flame to make it extra crispy. The chopped toro and the pickled daikon together made a great flavorful combo. I thought my hubby was eating chips when he bit into his hand roll!
It’s rare for me to love everything I ate at a 15-course meal. The food, the ambiance, the service, and how it’s so convenient at the mall as well. The only downside was the lack of bathroom inside the restaurant (you have to go to the mall or other stores for it) so make sure you go before you start a 2-hour meal. I usually would wanna try a new restaurant especially if it’s a special occasion meal, but I might just come back again because I don’t know if I will like other sushi places as much…!
ありがとうございます Chef Hide and Katie for a wonderful evening!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Moath Hamed
Excellent first omakase experience! Chef Hideo welcomed us and showed love for his craft! 100% would do it again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kim Le
Best sushi in the world
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Edwina L
I really enjoy Amateresu. I have enjoyed it here a number of times. Recently took my aunts visiting from Hong Kong for lunch and they loved it. Sushi Chef Hideo is professional, polite and really takes the time to perfect the details of each serving. Will definitely be back. 🍣 Highlight of the meal is his signature Uni butter Kauai shrimp that tastes like a lobster. I really enjoy watching Chef Hideo crafting each course.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sam Le
Absolute 10/10 best Japanese in all of North America, never had anything this good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Crystal X
We came here for the lunch omakase, which included an appetizer, chawanmushi, 10 pieces of nigiri, and miso soup. Everything tasted fresh. Standouts bites for me were the Hokkaido uni, scallop, king salmon, and the chef's signature Kaua'i shrimp topped with uni garlic butter.
The reason for 4 stars instead of 5: a few of the nigiri pieces had too much wasabi, which overpowered the fish, and the appetizer felt a bit forgettable. Service was friendly but there were some awkward moments when our server tried to clear plates before we were finished. Still a great option if you're looking for edomae-style sushi though
Food: 4
Kevin Moy
Incredible, simple, low-key omakase. The chef is personable without being overbearing and the rest of the staff is kind and attentive. The atmosphere is laid back and comfortable, without being austere or stuffy at all. Obviously every single piece was delicious -- that goes without saying. Will be back again.
The restaurant clearly stated in advance that only guests ordering omakase may sit at the sushi bar, which we understood and respected. However, since our child wasn’t eating omakase, we chose to sit at a regular table so our family could stay together — meaning we had to give up the sushi bar experience ourselves. It was disappointing, as we had looked forward to this special meal. We hope the restaurant can consider more thoughtful arrangements for families in the future — perhaps allowing children to sit at the bar with their parents when it is not fully booked, even if not ordering, to avoid this kind of trade-off.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Kira Yamada
Delicious omakase course! The atmosphere was pleasant and relaxing. Much thought was taken into the selection of all the plates and bowls, adding to the beautiful presentation of each course. I very much enjoyed both the familiar and novel nigiri selections prepared right in front of me. The uni butter covered Kauai shrimp at the end was absolutely to die for!
Vicky Jang
Such a pleasant experience at Amaterasu. We came here for our last dinner of our honeymoon and couldn’t not have asked for a better meal. Each piece of the menu was delicious we can’t pick our favourites! The chefs and staff were lovely and welcoming. Highly recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Malia Johnson
This is an elegant, intimate sushi bar restaurant located at Ala Moana Shopping Center near Barnes and Noble. Don't worry, you will not feel like you are dining in one of the busiest shopping malls. As soon as you walk in, you are transported to a classy chef owned sushi bar in Ginza. This is a wonderful date night and special occassion restaurant for sushi aficionados. This sushi bar serves only a set price menu omakase for lunch and dinner, you can order some ala carte add ons after the seasonal set menu is finished. He flies in the freshest fish from Tsukiji Market in Toyosu, Japan. So the menu varies depending on what's best and in season when you dine. There are no califormia rolls here, just Edomae sushi which is more traditional. Chef Hideo does brush his own sauces and salts on each piece, so you will not find any soy sauce dish for you to dip in. One of my favorite bites was gently Poached shrimp with uni butter sauce, his uni was divinely sweet, his torched scallop was soft and smoky and his flounder fin engawa was unctutous. His omakase offerings, I would say would be appealing to most edomae sushi lovers. He doesn't serve anything that is too exotic, in my opinion. I've eaten at many omakase sushi bars in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Tokyo, NYC, LA and I count Amaterasu as one of my top 5 places. The service here is high attention and discreet, which is how it should be. Chef Hideo is younger and speaks English, and loves to engage with his customers. As you can see in the videos, the sushi bar seats are very comfortable and you get an up close view of chef preparing every piece of sushi for you. This is a secret hidden gem where you can still get a reservation fairly easily, which we love. This is our go to place whenever we have a sushi craving. The ambiance is so relaxing and serene, he puts a lot of attention to his tablescapes including his gold leaf sushi resin platform which he made to show off his sushi.
If you are looking for a set price omakase lunch or dinner, this is the place. This is not the place for ordering piece by piece sushi.
I highly recommend Amaterasu. Make your reservations now before the secret is out and you have to wait months for a seat at Chef Hideo's sushi bar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Simon Wu
Amazing experience! had a the lunch omakase to celebrate birthday and the chef and staff did an excellent job with the whole meal. I like how some of the pieces were creative and have Hawaiian influences. Very budget friendly as well for an omakase. It is located on the first floor of the shopping area.
Mostly all imported fish from Japan from an expert Japanese sushi chef from Japan. A truly fantastic omakase experience in the heart of Oahu. Frankly the price was very reasonable relative to the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best omakase we’ve had on island. Loved every bite.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Thank you chef for such an amazing smorgasbord of gastrointestinal delight! Your omakase was life changing! Liliana
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This might be one of my favorite if not my favorite sushi omakase places in town. Every single item was delicious and enjoyable. Nice intimidate ambiance without feeling restricted. Chef Hide and our server Katie were friendly and they joked around with us and the other 5 diners that night. The price was the standard pricing for omakase these days $150pp. Yeah so it was a perfect evening!
Chef Hide started off with an appetizer with crab, amaebi and abalone with liver paste. The crab was alright but everything else on that small plate was delish. I never had liver paste to go with abalone, what a great way to combine savory with sweetness! The items we had included shima-aji (striped jack), king salmon, deep sea bass, Japanese sardine, flounder with shiso, Mehikari (greeneye fish) tempura, chawanmushi with ikura, shrimp, crab and fish, uni nigiri, Hotate, toro, tsuke-maguro, Kaua‘i shrimp with garlic uni butter, temaki with chopped toro and pickled radish, and finally miso soup to conclude our 15-course meal.
First I gotta say the fish was of high quality cut by a highly skilled chef. There wasn’t even a small bit of stringiness to the fish. Every piece was melt in your mouth with the best cut. I initially was taken aback by being served salmon, but that piece of king salmon was very fresh and delicious. I was pleasantly surprised by how good sardine tasted. I thought it would be smelly and fishy but it blended well with the other top quality sashimi. It’s my first time having Mehikari. It’s fried whole and the whole thing including bones and head were all edible. It’s crispy on the outside and the meat was soft with a light sweetness. Very enjoyable and a good break from all the raw stuff. I’ve only made fried shishamo myself before and initially I thought that’s what I was served, but luckily it’s not so I could have a new experience. Now it made me want to try frying Mehikari! Their chawanmushi was one of the best I’ve had because it had the perfect consistency - not too watery and not too thick but still smooth. I appreciated all the goodies inside as well - all seafood! The uni was of top grade - not melting to liquid, sweet, savory, could be more firm but given the time it took to ship from Japan to Hawaii, we can’t expect it to be super duper fresh but still very fresh! I normally don’t like maguro coz it’s not fatty enough, but the cut was really good, smooth and melt in your mouth, great taste with the marinade and the jalapeño sauce as well! The garlic uni butter also went really well with the crunchy cooked Kaua‘i shrimp. And finally the temaki (hand roll) was the best hand roll I’ve had. Chef was fanning the nori over an open flame to make it extra crispy. The chopped toro and the pickled daikon together made a great flavorful combo. I thought my hubby was eating chips when he bit into his hand roll!
It’s rare for me to love everything I ate at a 15-course meal. The food, the ambiance, the service, and how it’s so convenient at the mall as well. The only downside was the lack of bathroom inside the restaurant (you have to go to the mall or other stores for it) so make sure you go before you start a 2-hour meal. I usually would wanna try a new restaurant especially if it’s a special occasion meal, but I might just come back again because I don’t know if I will like other sushi places as much…!
ありがとうございます Chef Hide and Katie for a wonderful evening!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent first omakase experience! Chef Hideo welcomed us and showed love for his craft! 100% would do it again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best sushi in the world
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I really enjoy Amateresu. I have enjoyed it here a number of times. Recently took my aunts visiting from Hong Kong for lunch and they loved it. Sushi Chef Hideo is professional, polite and really takes the time to perfect the details of each serving. Will definitely be back. 🍣 Highlight of the meal is his signature Uni butter Kauai shrimp that tastes like a lobster. I really enjoy watching Chef Hideo crafting each course.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolute 10/10 best Japanese in all of North America, never had anything this good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We came here for the lunch omakase, which included an appetizer, chawanmushi, 10 pieces of nigiri, and miso soup. Everything tasted fresh. Standouts bites for me were the Hokkaido uni, scallop, king salmon, and the chef's signature Kaua'i shrimp topped with uni garlic butter.
The reason for 4 stars instead of 5: a few of the nigiri pieces had too much wasabi, which overpowered the fish, and the appetizer felt a bit forgettable. Service was friendly but there were some awkward moments when our server tried to clear plates before we were finished. Still a great option if you're looking for edomae-style sushi though
Food: 4
Incredible, simple, low-key omakase. The chef is personable without being overbearing and the rest of the staff is kind and attentive. The atmosphere is laid back and comfortable, without being austere or stuffy at all. Obviously every single piece was delicious -- that goes without saying. Will be back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The restaurant clearly stated in advance that only guests ordering omakase may sit at the sushi bar, which we understood and respected.
However, since our child wasn’t eating omakase, we chose to sit at a regular table so our family could stay together — meaning we had to give up the sushi bar experience ourselves.
It was disappointing, as we had looked forward to this special meal. We hope the restaurant can consider more thoughtful arrangements for families in the future — perhaps allowing children to sit at the bar with their parents when it is not fully booked, even if not ordering, to avoid this kind of trade-off.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Delicious omakase course! The atmosphere was pleasant and relaxing. Much thought was taken into the selection of all the plates and bowls, adding to the beautiful presentation of each course. I very much enjoyed both the familiar and novel nigiri selections prepared right in front of me. The uni butter covered Kauai shrimp at the end was absolutely to die for!
Such a pleasant experience at Amaterasu. We came here for our last dinner of our honeymoon and couldn’t not have asked for a better meal. Each piece of the menu was delicious we can’t pick our favourites! The chefs and staff were lovely and welcoming. Highly recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is an elegant, intimate sushi bar restaurant located at Ala Moana Shopping Center near Barnes and Noble. Don't worry, you will not feel like you are dining in one of the busiest shopping malls. As soon as you walk in, you are transported to a classy chef owned sushi bar in Ginza. This is a wonderful date night and special occassion restaurant for sushi aficionados. This sushi bar serves only a set price menu omakase for lunch and dinner, you can order some ala carte add ons after the seasonal set menu is finished. He flies in the freshest fish from Tsukiji Market in Toyosu, Japan. So the menu varies depending on what's best and in season when you dine. There are no califormia rolls here, just Edomae sushi which is more traditional. Chef Hideo does brush his own sauces and salts on each piece, so you will not find any soy sauce dish for you to dip in. One of my favorite bites was gently Poached shrimp with uni butter sauce, his uni was divinely sweet, his torched scallop was soft and smoky and his flounder fin engawa was unctutous.
His omakase offerings, I would say would be appealing to most edomae sushi lovers. He doesn't serve anything that is too exotic, in my opinion. I've eaten at many omakase sushi bars in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Tokyo, NYC, LA and I count Amaterasu as one of my top 5 places. The service here is high attention and discreet, which is how it should be. Chef Hideo is younger and speaks English, and loves to engage with his customers. As you can see in the videos, the sushi bar seats are very comfortable and you get an up close view of chef preparing every piece of sushi for you. This is a secret hidden gem where you can still get a reservation fairly easily, which we love. This is our go to place whenever we have a sushi craving. The ambiance is so relaxing and serene, he puts a lot of attention to his tablescapes including his gold leaf sushi resin platform which he made to show off his sushi.
If you are looking for a set price omakase lunch or dinner, this is the place. This is not the place for ordering piece by piece sushi.
I highly recommend Amaterasu. Make your reservations now before the secret is out and you have to wait months for a seat at Chef Hideo's sushi bar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing experience! had a
the lunch omakase to celebrate birthday and the chef and staff did an excellent job with the whole meal. I like how some of the pieces were creative and have Hawaiian influences. Very budget friendly as well for an omakase. It is located on the first floor of the shopping area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loading...