Amaterasu — Restaurant in Honolulu

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...

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...

Don’t be fooled by its unassuming location - sandwiched between Barnes & Noble and Macy’s, Amaterasu is a true hidden gem.

Sushi Chef Hideo Ohmiya breaks from rigid tradition, delivering a refreshingly inventive omakase that pushes the boundaries of classic sushi.

Highlights include Hawaiian-style uni with garlic butter, perfectly tender shrimp, seared sumo katsuo (bonito), and tai delicately finished with umami-rich moshio (Japanese seaweed salt) and a hint of soft lemon. Each bite is a savory revelation.

The flavors here don’t just impress—they command your attention. The sushi flavors burst through the palate, leaving no room for anything bland or forgettable. Much of what’s offered is both seasonal and rare, elevating the experience beyond the ordinary.

Amaterasu has quickly earned a top spot in my dining rotation. Though new to the scene, Chef Hideo is not to be underestimated—he delivers a masterclass in bold, flavor-driven sushi that both honors and...