Genki Sushi — Restaurant in Oʻahu

Oh, Genki sushi in Waikele, where do I even begin? Well, let's just say it was an... interesting experience.

First, we were greeted by a young lady who seemed like she could use a double shot of espresso to brighten up her day. Maybe she needed some sushi to lift her spirits! Speaking of seating, they must have a thing for corners, as they tucked us away in a tiny spot right next to the employees' doorway. So close, I could almost hear their lunch break gossip!

Now, about the staff, they must have an age requirement like some secret sushi club. I'm not entirely sure if there was a responsible adult in charge that evening - it felt like being at a sushi daycare!

The food was a rollercoaster ride too. Our spicy ahi bombs were swimming in sauce, making the sushi rice as soggy as a wet sponge. And that Agadashi tofu? We ordered it right away, but it took an eternity to arrive. It was as if they were handcrafting it in the kitchen with delicate precision! Oh, wait, they said that's what they were doing, but it arrived barely lukewarm. Bravo, guys.

On the bright side, they must've been worried we'd dry up like parched seaweed, so they kept refilling our waters, kudos for that.

But hold on, I became the sushi-spy in the corner and noticed an unexpected sushi ingredient - dust! Yuck! Are they serving dust bunnies as a secret delicacy? I hope not!

The only shining star in this constellation of misadventures was the tiny young lady who kindly served us water and the check. I felt like giving her a superhero cape for her extraordinary service amidst the chaos!

Honestly, I'm torn about going back. It's been a while since we last visited, especially since they made the headlines for their seafood mishap. And let's be real, the service alone won't have me lining up at their door.

So, Genki sushi, you've left me with mixed feelings and a craving for a more "genki" sushi...

We haven't been to this location in 4 years and it's really gone downhill. Customer service used to be quick, friendly and energetic.. you felt welcome, but not now. It was dead when we walked in but we waited at the counter for about 3 minutes before a bored looking male came out of the back chewing something and seated us. The tired looking, disheveled waiter with a dirty uniform looked like he just rolled out of bed in his work clothes 5 minutes prior. We ordered waters and he sent them over without straws on a robot that kept repeating "your meal is here" over and over until we took the waters. Could he not have carried the waters and straws that 8 feet himself? Ridiculous. Then, instead if ordering from a tablet we had to scan a code and order from our phones. Ugh. The rap music was out of place for the clientele and waaay too loud. The sushi itself was just mediocre, sloppily rolled and overpriced. They have better sushi at 7-11 without an eye rolling waiter, pointless robot and having to tip for crap service and below average food. We could see and hear the other 2 tables near us weren't enjoying the experience either. I think this location will fail if they don't hire a better more cheerful staff. Bring back the old Genki Sushi with friendly, professional human...

Had an amazing time at this Genki Sushi location! The service was absolutely top notch and were happy to answer all of my silly (first timer) questions on what to expect and how to order. I was also surprised to see they had an alcohol menu.

If you're new to this kind of place like I was, essentially you order your menu items (up to 4 at a time) from an iPad like device and the food is delivered to your table via a conveyor belt system from the kitchen. You take the food off the belt and you press the yellow button to send the tray back. At the very end when you want to pay, you call the waiter over and they count the plates on your table and depending on the colors of plates, the final price is determined. The price/color for each item is also on the iPad ordering device. They do give 10% military discounts here Sun-Thurs!

The menu is very extensive and had a bunch of Japanese favorites! My total (with discount) was about $84 for myself and my wife.. $14 of which were my two large beers. We spent more than we expected to, but we also tried a lot of foods that looked good too, so next time we'll have a better idea as to what we like and the bill will be smaller.

We left absolutely stuffed and...