Yohei Sushi Restaurant — Restaurant in Honolulu

MY birthday, we took a friend of mine for the first time as the food here is very nice. We made a reservation 3 hrs before and the restaurant was not full when we arrived. We were sat at the smallest table available that sits two comfortably but was too small for three people.We had to move the chairs to be able to move our arms to eat and was told by the waitress to please put the chairs back to the squeezed position. We explained that we didnt have any room to eat comfortably and maybe we could sit on the table for four which was now vacant next to us, the waitress stormed off in a huff and very not happy at our request. Even though we had put a reservation in 3 hours prior there were only two menus on the table for three people and one dirty old photo example of two of their set menus, that looked like it had a plastic cover on it from world war two, it was quite dirty. As soon as we picked up the menus the waitress, a very short woman with a doopy look who has never provided good service there before but we came back as the food was good, asked us if we were ready after 5 mins. We said no and continued to discuss the menu. She came back and and said "are you done with the photo card" and took it for another table before we had even had a chance to look at it. I do speak Japanese fluently and graduated with a Bachelor of Japanese Language and asked her politely if there was anyway we could customize a "sashimi moriawase"(various kinds of sashimi combination dish) and was looked at rudely and spoken back in pigeon english "no cannot" after I had spoken very polite Japanese to her. The food was bought out as the waitresses struggled to place our order on the small table for two (three of us) as the table for four stood vacant next to us. I was very embarrassed infront of my friend who I recommended the food to at this restaurant. We spent $108.00 for three of us and the food was good but service was disgusting! Ive spoken and dined Japanese as well as living in Japan for several years and never experienced anything like this in my life. I was very angry and called the owner of the store immediately after stating the facts that I have been going to his restaurant for months after a friend recommended it, but never again. I highly condemn the service we experienced last night and hope no tourists or locals to our state ever have to face this kind of terrible experience and attitude towards customers that are paying a premium price for this restaurant. The woman concerned is very short and has continually given us bad service but we liked the food so put up with it until tonight. I do recommend Yanagi Sushi as an alternative to this terrible place. No tip was given and if this was in Japan this would be highly condemned and Im sure would be out of business by now. This waitress needs a trip back to Japan and needs to experience Japanese etiquette training seriously....

So this was quite the experience. I'll start by saying the staff is excellent, the restaurant is super clean, and the food is great! Now, we are southerners; mainland Americans to the core. We speak and understand ZERO Japanese. This could have been a major problem at this place. The menu has lots of options, but zero descriptions. There's the item listed in English and then Japanese next to it, with zero pictures. The food is as authentic as it gets. We panicked and started googling EVERYTHING on the menu to try and educate ourselves enough to at least be able to order. We failed. So the staff came to our rescue! I actually think they enjoyed it and it was abundantly obvious that we were hopelessly lost. After lots of help and verbal descriptions from the wait staff, they helped us through ordering our food. We were scared to death and nervous as hell that we were about to get food we'd never be able to eat or that we'd end up having to dare each other to try first like one of those crazy dare game shows. Nothing of the sort came to fruition. Our food arrived promptly and was amazing. The sushi was so flavorful and fresh. The soup was outstanding. Honestly, this place deserves 6 out of 5 stars. Go check them out and be adventurous. Let them know when you arrive that you need help, then just enjoy a truly authentic Japanese dining experience. NOTE! IF YOU ORDER THE SOUP, DON'T TOUCH THE BOWL!!! IT WILL BE BOILING HOT AND YOU WILL LOSE YOUR FINGERPRINTS! ...

Tucked away in the back corner of a strip mall in the semi-industrial flatlands of Kalihi, this gloriously charming, nostalgia-inspiring Japanese restaurant is worth a visit, if you haven't been there before. Yohei is somehow both a place everyone has heard of, but also a place that feels like your little secret when you visit... especially when the staff starts to recognize you as a repeat customer. My dad is, and they make him feel like a VIP.

The sushi, and the sushi bar, are the star of the show. And you can't go wrong ordering anything off the sushi menu. But its the teishoku dinners and special combinations that keep me coming back. First timers should just go for the Sushi Zen combination, which is basically a sampling of all the best items available that day, depending on what fish and other ingredients were available.

One thing that you don't read about are the desserts, which are also special. I will admit, not knowing what I'm doing, some desserts have not been to my tastes. But I've never seen them anywhere else, and am totally willing to risk a couple of "not for me" items to find the...