Yanagi Sushi — Restaurant in Honolulu

At first the service was fast and friendly until I got my waiter. I told him what roll I wanted and I was asking if it was the tempera. He misunderstood and thought I was ordering a tempera shrimp roll along with a salmon roll. I wish he would have asked because it's unlikely that I'm going to eat two 8 piece rolls plus sashimi all by myself. No smiles, not friendly from the beginning. Seemed like he just wanted to get out of there. Once the order arrived I acknowleged the miscommunication, I could have read the menu more closely. Even after admitting my fault in it he just said well this is what you ordered and walked away. I called him back and said I can't eat both and that I misunderstood. I was hoping he would say do you want me to take shrimp roll off. I then inquired if the salmon roll could be tempera fried but he said the chefs were gone because they were closing at 2:00 p.m.. When I suggested that they remove it he said but they already made it. I said yes but I can't eat both and it's my mistake. FInally, and rudely, he took my plate away and you could hear him scraping the roll off the plate and then he brought it back to me. Nice. Talk about making a customer feel bad! When the bill came I still tipped 20% because they split it among all the servers and the other servers shouldn't be punished because of him. I asked to speak to the manager As any restaurant knows I should be able to speak with a manager of alone. Instead she went and got the waiter and I had to talk to both of them at the same time. Of course because the manager was there he's saying all the right things. He told me he was the one that suggested the roll be removed. I guess you could say that but the truth is he wasn't suggesting it in the nice, customer service friendly way he was suggesting it in a rude off-putting way. I told them both to their face the food was excellent. It was the freshest sashimi I've ever had. I also told them that even though the roll hadn't been tempera fried that I really liked it. So the manager says that he could have been nicer to me. Of course he denies everything right in front of her and at that point I knew it was pointless to talk to either of them. So as I was turning to leave you could see it on both of their faces that they were looking at me like I was the problem. I hate to use the word racist But you could tell about because I wasn't Asian they were definitely treating me differently. It's kind of like those places that always protect the employees and the customer is wrong and you kind of know when you leave. I would never go back due to their...

I messaged my Oahu Yelp friend, Fran C., and asked where his favorite Japanese restaurant on the rock was, which is how we ended up here. Great recommendation, BTW. Mahalo!

PARKING: I thought we'd have no problem finding parking at opening time of 5:30pm but I was wrong. The tiny lot was packed. But not to worry as they have complimentary valet parking. The attendant will meet you.

ATMOSPHERE: It's a cozy but bustling space with two sushi bars and tables & booths in every available nook and cranny. The walls were covered with food pictures and tons of personal photos of people I didn't recognize. Posted signs reminded you of a 2-hour dining limit.

MENU: Extensive offerings of everything including sake, shochu, wine & beer, sushi, Japanese apps, entrees, combo dinners and desserts.

BEVERAGE: Decoy Sauvignon Blanc - $9.95 Aside from the icky lipstick on the plastic wine glass, it was a mild but decent SB. Thankfully my spouse had saniwipes.

FOOD: Appetizer - On the house Instead of bread you get a minuscule ramekin of soy beans, bean sprouts, single head-on shrimp, cabbage and ginger. Nice and light.

Nabeyaki Udon - $21.50 I have yet to find a version that can top the benchmark found at Ichiban Restaurant on Maui. For me, it's all about the broth as udon is udon. The flavoring, while on the savory side was extremely subtle. Adding a swish of shoyu didn't help much. But, there were positives including the poached egg, chunks of chicken, crispy shrimp tempura, kamaboko and generous amount of won bok cabbage.

Yanagi Special Combination Dinner - $41.00 (3 choices) My spouse's dish in which he chose the Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura, Mini N.Y. Steak Teriyaki (U.S. Choice +$2) and Spicy Tuna Roll. Wow, what a huge meal! The tempura consisted of two shrimp, two green beans, two carrots and two pumpkin pieces. The mini steak was a sizable guesstimate of 8-ounces or so with the sushi boasting 8-pieces. Don't forget about the included green salad, miso soup and scoop of ice cream too. Sheesh. He really liked his meal.

Alaskan King Crab California - $24.00 Not only do you get real crab meat but the roll is even rolled in tobiko, producing a vibrant orange crust that literally popped with every chew.

RESERVATIONS: Let's just say it's required as walk-in's that were behind us were turned away. Phone-in the old school way.

SERVICE: Everyone was friendly but there was no follow-up throughout the meal. Food delivery was quick.

OVERALL: Traditional fare with generous portions and...

Update: I hate it here and will not return! Rude sushi chefs, rude, unwelcoming staff, warm sushi rice, I've given this place many chances to correct their behavior but my family and I have had it! They don't need our money and never shows any appreciation when we've been there. Sushi chefs are tired, makes us feel like we are imposing on them, unwelcoming, just awful! They act like they want to close this place. Why don't you just do it??? Is it a money laundering front? I don't understand why these kinds of places exist! I would much rather give my money to Yohei, Maruyama. Maguroya, Sushi I'i, even Doraku (which isn't really a sushi counter place).

Great selection that others in this plandemic said were not possible to have like Hokkaido uni! They also had uni from Santa Barbara and delicious Shima Aji! We are also welcomed to the sushi counter where 3 sushi chefs spoke to us and were courteous. Valet parking attendant was 🤷‍♀️. Like many young kids only cared to go after tips so I had to open my own passenger door. The young, male waiter knew nothing about today's special or the sake selection, saying, "I don't drink sake" 🙄. We asked for the senior woman who happily recommended the sake we finally chose since it was delicious and hard to get but she honestly said was too expensive for her😹. We loved it and the engawa was delicious. Chu toro was also good. Most generous offering of wasabi we've had from a sushi restaurant. Very nice. We were offered free ice cream. The prices were far better than Akasaka. Atmosphere isn't romantic and sophisticated like Doraku. We will...