Tokkuri-Tei

This place has a menu that goes on and on. It's fun to just get lost in there fun descriptions of their items. While reservations are recommended, I'd pick this place over the over hyped tonkatsu restaurant next door (the one with the slooow as molasses line). The wait staff is always friendly and go out of their way to accommodate. My husband and I eat there about once a month!

Tokkuri-tei is a hole-in-the-wall spot with a reputation for unique offerings, and my recent visit was a mixed experience. We tried several rolls, including the Kilauea, Spicy Scallop, and Spicy Rock and Roll. These rolls leaned heavily into the creative, non-traditional side of sushi. While they were interesting and bold in flavor, they didn't quite hit the mark for me, and I likely wouldn't return specifically for their rolls.On the other hand, the sashimi was absolutely incredible. The deluxe sashimi plate was a standout, featuring generous cuts of fresh, buttery fish that melted in the mouth. It was a perfect showcase of quality seafood. Similarly, the deluxe chirashi bowl was exceptional--offered at an amazing price for the portion size, it was beautifully presented and packed with an array of fresh fish.If you're visiting Tokkuri-tei, I'd recommend focusing on their sashimi and chirashi options for an impressive meal that won't disappoint. The rolls, while creative, may not appeal to those seeking more authentic or balanced flavors. All in all, it's worth a visit for their quality raw fish offerings and reasonable pricing.

This is a tardy review from April 2024, so may no longer be applicable. We come here every trip, and in our experience, you need to be careful what you order as the quality varies considerably. Over several visits, we have determined that it's best to avoid most cooked foods from the kitchen as well as the sushi rolls, as they are often very disappointing. However, if you stick to sashimi, nigiri sushi and some of the traditional Japanese raw dishes, you will have much better luck. This visit we had:the grilled mushrooms - these are oddly dried out, yet watery white mushrooms that have a perfunctory brief char on a grill, with some cold sauce on top. Best avoided. Grilled Cocktail wieners - my husband, who did not grow up in Japan, inexplicably ordered this. I grew up in Japan, and have fond memories of these from my childhood, but know I wouldn't like these now. Yeah, he totally regretted his order, lol. Chawan mushi - this was actually ok, but not anything special Sushi rolls - this trip, we limited ourselves to just the umeshisho maki as we have found on previous visits that their rolled sushi isn't that great. The umeshisho maki had an enormous amount of rice, was sloppily made, and overall, was a big disappointment, as I love this dish. Nigiri sushi - the fish we got over several visits this trip were all excellent! We sat at the bar, so the chef gave us a few freebies because we had come so often, lol. Deluxe sashimi platter - I have no idea what happened to my photo, but it was impressive looking and the fish was fabulous Maguro with yamakake - this varies wildly. Sometimes, it's fresh and delicious, other times it tastes like it was made yesterday, sat in the fridge overnight, and they're just trying to get rid of it. I got both on this trip. The service is always friendly and welcoming. They really seemed thankful that we came so often. It gets pretty busy, so make reservations unless you go early when they just open. Normally I would rate a place like this 2-3 stars, but as I said, if you stick to what they do best, the food is pretty good value. At least it was,as of April 2024.

I think based on my recent visit, they should add a few more $ signs to their title because the prices are quite high. Especially for the sushi plates and the amount you get. Just go to Kats and get all you can eat sushi for 32 bucks.

I wish we had taken more photos! Went with some friends because it is a longstanding favorite of theirs. We had the cucumbers with ume sauce, unagi don, unagi risotto, rock n roll, spider roll, stuffed mushrooms, and enoki chips. Definite favorites were unagi don and enoki chips, so ono!It was fairly busy for a Friday night and service was decent. Aunties were so nice at da end and helpful getting us everything we needed.

Did a review two years ago and everything was pretty consistent. Food was good and sushi was fresh. We were placed in the corner near closing time so I was staring at old shelves the entire time. The service was friendly but we had to keep calling them over for refills on water and other stuff. I still like coming here and will dine here when in the area.

Sad to see how much this place has fallen since years after our first visit. We had such a good time a year or so ago on our visit here- and it used to be such a solid popular sushi spot. Now- the quality has gone down so much. I'm pretty sure they are just using old fish. If you look at the photos of my nigiri- the scallop/ hotate just doesn't look right. It seems like they tried to sear it or something to mask the old fish, but it was just bad. Amaebi had no sweet flavor, and the salmon was inedible and we had to send it back. Roll was ok but a slightly fishy taste from the spicy tuna. The only thing decent here was the chicken karage and the kushi yakis - but some of them were too over seasoned/ salty. I'm sad how much this place's quality has gone down. The service was good but probably won't be returning.

One of the best dinner I've had since I been here. Fresh fish. Tasty green salad. Intense flavor of oyster shots. Expensive sushi comparing to sushi in mainland. But the quality of fresh fish is unbeatable.3 stars because it took a very long time for our food to come out. We had our salad. Waited an additional 30 minutes for Toku Joe. Then additional 15 minutes for our oyster shots. We decided to order an extra order of uni. But ended up canceling after 30 minutes of waiting. The uni was ready. The server forgotten to bring it out. Only remember because we asked for it. We left the restaurant feeling more hungrier than we got there because there was a long wait between the dishes. My advice is to order everything at once. And if you wait too long, chase down a server to remind them of your food.

The food here was spectacular. Everything was super flavorful and came out to us very quickly. Service was amazing. They were very attentive and helpful with giving reccomensations. The ambiance was very mom and pop like and seems like they cared about their customers. They have us a complimentsrsry dish which was very much appreciated for our first dinner here in Hawaii. Would 100% recommend this place to anyone.

Again, again, and again, best sushi and Omakase ever! The scallops, salmon with the cream sauce and and anything you choose will never disappoint. My guest from Tokyo was overwhelmed, too. Hahahaha, right here in Honolulu. You have to go!!! Mahalo Kazu sama. See you next week.