Maru Sushi Hawaii

My goodness this place is the real deal. First you’re treated with the utmost respect followed with one of the most exquisite dinners I’ve ever experienced. Hard to speak higher about Maru and the staff.

I had a wonderful experience at Maru Sushi. The Chef Tsukasa Okino was a wonderful host. His skill and artistry was on full display. Each dish was precise and delicious. Chef Okino explained where each dish was from and what each dish was. During our meal everything on the menu with the exception of the Abalone was shipped directly from Japan. At the completion of the meal Chef Okino gave each guest the option to have any of the dishes a second time. I was full and content at the end of the meal.

The staff and chef were so welcoming and friendly. Any questions were answered promptly and with great detail. The staff was quick and efficient throughout the entire meal.

The atmosphere was intimate and cozy. The restaurant seats at most 10 people for each seating. You receive the staff and Chefs entire attention. It was a wonderful and educational experience.

I will definitely return to Maru whenever I am visiting Honolulu. It's worth the price and then some.

This was my first time to this restaurant and my first omakase experience. The space is small, but very comfortable. The staff were helpful and friendly and provided useful tips to help guide those less experienced with some of the traditions through this amazing meal. The sushi was nearly all sourced from Japan (with the exception of the abalone). I enjoyed every part of this meal and experience!

Incredible sushi. Creative, varied, and delicious. The best omakase we've ever had - which includes several top restaurants worldwide. Would highly recommend!

Truly an experience we will never forget and would emphatically recommend. All of the dishes were so well prepared, flavorful, beautifully presented, and completely changed our perception on some sushi, sashimi, and seafood. The octopus and sea urchin for example were to die for. The staff were wonderful and provided recommendations on eating each dish and it was so much fun to watch each option prepared infront of you by very skilled chefs. It is a small 10 seater restaurant, so intimate, but very worth it. Would go again in a heartbeat.

It WAS the most mediocre omakase dinner in my life! The 1 star is for the attentive and friendly female Service staff! Extremely Overpriced for the low quality ingredients used. Sushi counter manned by an extremely messy / amateurish and young chef that “butchered” the seafood. Lost my appetite just looking at him touching and slicing the fish. Senior chef owner was not around but later appeared to do some fish slicing for a private party but used the wrong sushi knife Utterly disappointed with Chef Owner and the way he operates his restaurant! Went 2 weeks ago but only found the time to do the reviews now.

My husband and I have eaten at a lot of Omakase places around the United States and in Japan as well. Our experience at Maru Sushi was horribly impacted by the poor service and lack of attention to detail.

The fish was all from Japan and about half of the dishes completely wowed us. That aside, the service really damaged things. For our first platter we served sashimi with a short dark, thick hair in it. To compensate they replaced the sashimi but did not take anything off the bill. I was shocked at this. Throughout the night they reached and grabbed across us, brought food and placed it in front of us when we were mid-bite with other plates right in front of us, and never explained a single item unless we asked.

At this price point you expect fully checked platters and exquisite service. Not this. I hope the owner reads this and considers their standards.

This was the best omakase meal I have ever had. I have had several omakase meals in San Francisco and Los Angeles and this was just next level. Everything apart from one dish, the albacore, came directly from Japan.

Every other party at the dinner was late, so we had the chance to chat with the chefs and servers a little bit at the beginning of the meal which was very cool. They also gave us some complimentary drinks and bites for waiting.

If you are looking for the top of the top of the top of the line, this is it.

Overall I find it is ok compared to Ginza Onodera. The one thing is Ginza Onoderadoesn’t take tips like other Omakase.however it comes to my surprise when they ask for tips.

Some fresh ingredients imported directly from Sapporo are simply delicious. I can only eat sea urchin from Maru Sushi.

I am from Japan and I believe that this is the best sushi restaurant in Oahu. Taisho (a chief chef) ’s artistic work and experience purely from Japan is marvelous.

He shared with us the origins of each fish and how he prepared. His story coming about each sushi with his artistic work enhances the flavor!

Ariagato gozaimasu.

Do not go here. Please save your time and money. For $280 a person it is not worth it. My husband took me here for our anniversary as a surprise, and we both left very unhappy. The most I would’ve spent here was $50 a person. 1) If you speak Japanese maybe it’s more worth it for you. I noticed the chef made conversation with all the Japanese customers, and after counting and noticing all the sushi being handed out, the ones speaking Japanese with the chef would get way more pieces. For this price point I would expect it to be fair. I saw the bills when they came out and we were all charged the same. Even at the end the chef kept asking if the Japanese speaking customers wanted more and COMPLETELY ignored me and my husband and the couple next to me who didn’t speak Japanese. We spoke with the other couple afterwards and they too noticed we all got way less portions than the others.
2) They are constantly reaching over us grabbing things out of the way. It made for a very unpleasant experience and made us feel very rushed.
3) The fish was ok…. The staff was not very friendly and did not explain the dishes very well. They also seemed annoyed when asked multiple times what the dish was. They even prepared other dishes right in front of us, but then put it in a takeout box for someone else. Very unprofessional. Will not be returning.

Truthfully what bothered me the most was the unfairness in service. If you are going to charge that much it should at least be even with how much food every customer is getting. The Japanese speaking customers got significantly more food than us, and us and the other couples watched with no food while the others had extra pieces. The chef would only offer them more in Japanese and it was very uncomfortable. My husband and I felt very slighted. We called asking if they would do anything to compensate us for the negative experience but they said no. Definitely better places on the island for better service, food, and price.

This might be hands down the best omakase experience I’ve ever had. Usually there’s always one or two dishes that I’m not impressed with, but every dish was extremely detail oriented and melt in your mouth delicious. The rice was just so perfect! The staff were attentive and kind. It was also nice to be surrounded by other nice guests from around the world. I would 1000 percent come back and highly recommend it. It was worth $300 per person. I don’t have a lot of photos, but pictures will never do it justice.

This is one of those meals where it makes me sad to brush my teeth at the end of the night. Savor the flavors, it's just so good!

For those new to omakase, come eat here AFTER trying a couple of other places so that you can truly appreciate how unique the dishes at Maru can be from the typical omakase.

My husband called a week in advance for reservations. About 9-10 seats at the counter, it was a full house, I was one of 3 parties that night. Each specific party had their own matching chopstick rests, I love small details. I dined alone at the counter (my birthday gift from the husband was a nice meal and a night off without the baby) and it wasn't awkward at all. The chef is friendly and my dinner mates that night were warm and welcoming. There's no printed menu but the chef explained each dish well. The table was told that Chef Kawasaki is semi-retired, only coming in to help with food prep. Regardless, we were in good hands with Chef Okino.

My favorite courses of the night were the Tako, Saba, and the Abalone in its own liver sauce. Also loved the white shrimp amuse bouche, tasted like a shrimp chip but way better. Would love to have a bowl of them while drinking a cold beer.

Also in my experience, Lyft doesn't directly take you to Maru but drops off around the block in front of the strip club. Just walk back towards the main streets and around the block, they have a small parking lot.