Manoa Sushi

Manoa Sushi is probably the WORST sushi I’ve had from an actual sushi store. To be completely honest, I have tasted supermarket sushi that tasted better than this. The fish was just horribly dry, old, and tasteless. The rice was hard and dried out. To be honest, I was not even completely sure what I was eating at times. Even the salmon nigiri, which is my «go to,» just tasted like cardboard. I tried this place before and hopes that it was just bad luck that it was so bad. But it seems that they just don’t buy fresh fish and don’t know how to make sushi.
Please don’t waste your money here. Choose one of many other low-​end sushi places.

No doubt that sushi is cheap. Unfortunately, it’s cash only. Fortunately, majority of the banks are in Manoa Marketplace! Personally, I don’t care for spicy food… But my tolerance is enough for the Crunch Don. Yes, this is the main thing you SHOULD get. Grab an Arizona for the BEST meal combo. The girl at the counter was also very welcoming… overall, great service.

Overall cheap.
We had a group of 16, ordered mounds of food. We asked for plates, they didn’t have any. They gave us a couple chop sticks, not enough for the amount of food, so we asked for forks too… then they took the chop sticks back? I said, «No, we’d like both.» Then they wouldn’t give napkins so we asked for some… they literally gave is THREE. THREE napkins for 16 people. While waiting, I asked for a glass of water… they have me half a glass. Wtf? They acted like we we’re paying customers.
The sushi is meh, not bad, not great, but okay. The crunch roll is good.
They forgot a roll on our order, had to go back.

Since I’ve been spending a lot of time studying at UH Manoa this semester I’ve been frequenting Manoa marketplace a lot. Tonight I stopped by Manoa sushi. When I walked in, I was pleasantly greeted by the girl behind the counter. She was nice and seemed happy to work there. That was a good sign. There were also a couple of kids who ordered before me that she knew the names to.
So far so good… til I got to UH Manoa and sat down to eat my food. I got a spicy tuny hand roll and a california roll. I wasnt that hungry but I wanted variety. The spicy tuna roll was good. It wasnt dry and had a lot of flavor. The california roll tho. I was surprised to see the crab meat still intact. Usually they chop it up and mix it with mayo and other stuff but not this one. Though the portions are big, a lot of it is due to the rice. Lots of rice and unfortunately this one was dry :(It come with 8 pieces and after the 2^nd one I had lost my appetite. I didnt want to waste it so I deconstructed it and just ate the insides.
So two stars. just for the friendly girl at the counter

Do you have 10 dollars? Go get a Crunch Don. If you do not have 10 dollars, go find 10 dollars and buy a Crunch Don

Ohmigosh. You have to try the Crunch Ahi Don bowl! I was skeptical after reading the reviews but I’m happy to say that I am now a true believer. After craving a spicy ahi don bowl, I decided to go out on a limb and try one at Manoa Sushi. The owner is very sweet, the service is fast, and her creation is amazing. I haven’t quite had anything like this before. There’s a layer of rice on the bottom, sprinkled liberally with furikake, then a scoop of spicy ahi which is surrounded by a ring of vegetable tempura soaked in a spicy sweet sauce. Note: not sure if the rice is sushi rice because I was too busy gobbling down my bowl. Will def be returning soon to get my husband addicted to this bowl too.

Not sure why my favorite sushi go-​to place has only 3.5 stars :(but this place has always been amazing to me!!! They recently acquired new owners that have decorated the place, but didn’t change anything about the recipes. Everything that they have is generous in portion, & yes, on the pricier side. It’s okay though! — they load on the spicy ahi when ordering the dynamite maki! And their sushi rolls are fat and thick! Not like the skinny ones you get from kozo sushi. My favorite thing to get is their dynamite maki, shrimp tempura maki «with spicy ahi sauce on top», Manoa bento, kid bento, and their Inari! Their Manoa bento has really good vegetable tempura. And it’s not a tiny one either! Tempura is crispy and not over done! Not super oily either!
The only thing that changed is the speed in which I get my food. Under old management, I got my food maybe 10 – 15 minutes after I ordered if I didn’t call for phone order take out. When I go in there and it’s crowded, it only took a 5 minute wait until I got my food. I do miss the old girls that worked there, but can’t beat the fast service anymore!

I love love Manoa Sushi!!! Very friendly and the restaurant is peaceful. The food however is ONO!!! I must try everything, for now Dragon Maki is my fave

Mom enjoyed the futo maki but at $ 5.49 s little high. My ikura chirashi was not bad but I went through the sashimi faster than the rice. The pieces are a little thicker than Sushi Spot but at $ 10.79 not as good a deal. In their defense the ikura portion was generous. But I am not a big fan of ikura. So maybe my fault for not appreciating it as much.

First and last time coming to this place…
Every time someone brings up this place I get super angry Urgh
Asked for half spicy poke half shoyu poke but owner said no
And simply just ask for the price of a shoyu poke bowl and got a unsure answer back…
Came out to be $ 12.50!!! I expected it to be a BIG bowl for that price…
No, went home opened it and almost flipped. Should’ve known when the back was really light.
Ahi was not mixed good with the amount of sea salt. I felt like my mouth was going to foam up like a slug from all this rock salt…
Anyways if you want poke, don’t be lazy like I was and just walk to Safeway and get s pound for a lot cheaper.
Fml never coming back.

I heard about the Crunchy Ahi Don from some friends so I had to try it. I went Sunday afternoon ordered a Spicy Ahi Don for my son and Crunchy Ahi Don for myself. It was so good my son ate most of mine going back tonight for dinner and getting him one of his own. I don’t want to share mine.

I have to say some of their items are EXPENSIVE., I mean sushi is always pricey but the ikura chirashi I ordered seemed more pricey than usual. The proportion was pretty unique… It had ikura, tamago, ahi, octopus, cucumber, and daikon, layered over rice. While it was delicious I had to question the amount I paid for those items when it wasn’t necessarily good quality fish or seafood items, especially with the cucumber and daikon in the bowl. While the bowl itself was quite tasty they do only accept cash and the employees or owners (couldn’t tell which they were) didn’t seem very friendly or helpful. You can sit down and eat but the ambience of the location isn’t very inviting nor does it seem like the employees/​owners want you to sit down, which is probably why I took my food to go.

At first glance, the fake sushi in the front window and the pics inside do not do the food justice.
I had the Spicy Ahi roll — it’s spicy! But it is gooooood.
I also had the roll with Eel (unagi) and avocado (can’t remember the exact name). It also was good.
The portions for the rolls are BIG — not those little bite-​size pieces. I could only eat half of each roll (saved the rest for next day’s lunch).
The place lacks any ambiance — just white walls and ceiling, save for the pics on one wall.
And I don’t like that it’s cash only. If I’m dropping $ 20+ on food, I want my airline miles too.
All in all, I’ll go here again, and often. The portions and taste make up for anything else I may have found lacking.

Yum! But spicy! We ordered the spicy ahi don and the crunch ahi don… Cash only a little over $ 21. The ahi is fresh and chopped into just right sized pieces and the crunchy tempura is really good! The lady at the counter was really nice but the inside a/​c was on a little too high for me (brrrr!)

RUDE! I would rate ZERO STARS if i could just because of the service.
My friends always tell me to come here to get the Crunch Don so I came here to try it. When I entered and looked at the menu, I felt intimidated like she was trying to rush me to order. I got the Crunch Don and it was good, but the service here is rude. So I usually get «to go» instead of dine-​in because I don’t always finish my food and I like to bring it home. But I was really hungry and wanted to eat outside, but it was really cold yesterday. So I sat down inside and started to eat. Right after a few bites, the woman who took my order came over and took my plastic bag and soy sauce! Without even saying anything. I was so taken aback I just looked at her and I guess she caught it so she offered water. It wasn’t even a full cup. I was so stunned I almost just left but I was really hungry so I ate a little and then asked for the plastic bag back and left.
Just because I was eating in, I wasted their money of a packet of soy sauce and plastic bag? I just paid TEN DOLLARS for a sushi bowl. Right after she took it she went to the back and the man she worked with started talking really loud but I couldn’t understand. They were probably mad that I ate in and wasted what they buy in BUNDLE anyway. NOT COMING BACK. You should learn some manners first.

Went here for lunch today. It was tasty. Downside is cash only. I am not one to carry cash a lot… but lucky we had some! I had the Mix Tempura Don (I think that’s what it was called), my daughter had the tempura udon, my son the kake udon and my husband had the vegetarian maki. What was unusual in my dish was that there were cut up cucumbers and daikon — that was different.
Cute little place in Manoa Marketplace. They close early on a Sunday afternoon. We got out at 2:15pm and the man locked the door after us. I glanced at the sign and was like «Oh, my! We stayed past closing!»

Ok, don’t kill me sushi man makiki. I wanted to try Manoa Sushi after hearing good things about it. I got the dynamite maki, and it was BOMB. Fresh chunks of ahi, perfect spicy-​mayo, and crispy flash fried tempura.
I think I may have found my new sushi place.
One star off for being pricey.

After I teach yoga on Friday nights in Manoa, I bring my Japanese mother-​in-​law some nigiri.
When I come in here the lady is SOOOO FRIENDERY!
And fast! I am in and out in less than 10 minutes for hand made nigiri.
And inexpensive! 7 bucks. Notice I didn’t say cheap. This is just as good as more expensive stuff.
My mother-​in-​law is always sooo happy.

Had three things here the other day – the Gyoza (6 gyoza for $ 4.09), the Spicy Ahi Ebiko Nigiri (3 pieces for $ 3.69), and the California with Unagi Roll ($ 3.49).
Gyoza were small but came out hot. The skin was a little weird though – there was spots that seemed uncooked so I didn’t eat those parts.
Spicy Ahi Ebiko Nigiri was pretty good – definitely lived up to the «spicy» in its name! The ahi wasn’t exactly fresh but this isn’t a five-​star sushi bar so yeah…
California with Unagi Roll was strange. It came uncut but was too bulky to be eaten daintily like a hand roll so I was not exactly pleased. Rice in it isn’t the rice that sushi is typically made with so texture was off. You know how Japanese food usually gives you the feeling that the chef made it with care and love? Yeah, well, that feeling was sorely lacking with this roll. Did they have an inexperienced intern make this?!
Overall, this place is alright. It’s not at the top of my list but I wouldn’t mind coming back to try some of their other items.

Just like Lanie, I too think the spicy ahi salad is frickin’ good! It’s a really good amount of spicy ahi that they give you (I was expecting a little scoop of it on top of tons of greens), and it’s one of the spiciest spicy ahis I’ve ever had (next to Kochi)…but I’m just getting into super spicy things, so I may just be a spicy sissy!
I’ve also tried other sushis from there and all was fresh and really good! I really like the Spider Roll (soft shell crab), that’s always good to have! The curry though, was not that good. It was really thin and watery looking… the taste was alright, but i didn’t like that it was so runny: P
The place is really nice and clean — not much tables though… it can get packed at lunch time! The lady that’s usually there is really sweet and nice too!