O-Ku

Everything was yum but I really want to say the service here was great! We had a long wait on food but our waiter went above and beyond

Let me preface this review by saying that I am the biggest fan in the world of Chef Sean Park, the man who originally put O-​Ku on the map. I’ve eaten many many times at his latest venture, and finally was in the area and hungry, so I decided to give O-​Ku a shot. As an added note, this was at about 10:53PM on a Saturday night, so I was the last person seated and served (kitchen closes at 11, though the bar stays open later).
The atmosphere is definitely a little bit on the pretentious side, what with the super-​modern ultra-​lounge thing they were going for. That’s not really a big deal, as I was able to be seated just fine while wearing jeans and a t-​shirt. Admittedly it was a very nice pair of jeans and a very nice t-​shirt, but I don’t think they would have cared terribly if it wasn’t. The only reason I mention the slightly pretentious vibe is that a) this is the section of King St. that’s mostly college bars, so it’s a little bit out of character, b) everyone in there was way overdressed, but this is a general issue with Charleston — people for some reason insist on wearing poorly-​fitted suits and cocktail dresses no matter what they’re doing, and c) some of the other reviewers mention that they felt out of place with the pretentiousness, and I have to say I didn’t feel like it was pushed on me (I didn’t get a snotty vibe or any attitude from anyone working there). Plus, Charleston is just pretentious in general.
I sat at the sushi bar, because it seemed silly to take up a two-​top when I was eating by myself, and was waited on by a Kevin. Kevin, in case his manager reads this, is a fantastic server. He was prompt, attentive, knowledgeable, and actually seemed to care about doing a good job. This was even more surprising given that I had been seated in his section literally 5 minutes before the kitchen closed, so he certainly had a right to despise me. In trying to keep things easy for him, I got something simple and straightforward: a glass of still water and the O-​Ku Nigiri plate.
The dish was quite good. Two pieces of (IIRC from the photos) Red Snapper with a small slice of jalapeño and a mint leaf, two pieces of salmon with a thin slice of avacado and some ikura on top, two pieces of Toro with a leaf and some flavored something that I cannot for the life of me remember, and two pieces of seared wagyu with pickled onions and crispy potato sticks as toppings. That last one sounds weird, and doesn’t really jive with the rest of the dish, but it tasted good, and I’m always happy when I get something tasty that I wasn’t expecting.
Overall, the quality of the fish was top notch (despite, again, the lateness of my visit). Everything was prepared competently. The presentation was good — not terribly original, but pleasing to look at. My server, Kevin, was top notch. And the price was good ($ 30 for the dish). In fact, given that they were clearly trying to put out massive upscale vibes, I was shocked at how cheap the menu was.
O-​Ku is a good sushi place. It’s not a great sushi place, though, and it’s obvious that they have scrubbed all traces of Chef Park’s influence. The flavors were a little conflicted, and the combinations were a little odd. Mostly, though, it was just a little gimmicky. It’s a good sushi joint trying to pretend to be a great sushi joint with atmosphere and overly complicated flavor profiles. But despite that, it’s still a good sushi place. Which is remarkably rare in Charleston. One would think that a major port city would be able to come up with more than two passable raw fish places, but I guess not.

A very chic upscale sushi place. Kind of pricy for the portions but excellent sushi by any standards. The mini sashimi tacos were the cutest things I’ve ever seen. Good for special occasions or a date. Big fan.

O Ku is never a disappointment. No matter what time or day, the sushi always is amazing. I normally get the potato roll while my boyfriend gets either the spicy tuna crunch roll or the tuna tataki. They also recently revamped their cocktail menu. My favorite has to be The Killa Feeling. Whether you’re a local or on vacation O Ku is always a good choice.

Ordered the tacos under «chef specialities» which were literally less than 2 inches long. Seriously, at least say they are 4 mini tacos so I at least know I’m getting Barbie sized food for $ 10. They were good flavor but I hate the ambiguity of the menu. The manager checked on our table and I told him I wasn’t thrilled with the portion size. He did offer to bring me a couple more Barbie tacos. Even thought the environment and service was great I won’t be back due to the mystery menu tiny portion sizes at $ 11+.

Very busy. Fun and energetic atmosphere. Tempura oysters were worth the wait. So amazing.

Sometimes a restaurant goes so far above and beyond what you were hoping/​expecting that you have to write a review as soon as you get home!
My husband and I managed to get last minute reservations for the Friday night Happy Hour, and brought along our two-​year-​old boy to share the 2-​top. I was apprehensive about bringing him on a Friday night — it’s not really geared up for children, but they were okay with it (he sat on our laps in a booth seat). And then the good stuff started happening.
It started simply: they didn’t have any disposable/​plastic cups suitable for a little boy, so our server made him a special kids’ water cup by cutting a hole in a plastic container, which worked great. Then, while we were waiting for our food to come (it was Friday, and they were busy), our server brought a complimentary plate of rice for our son that we hadn’t EVEN thought of asking for — again, so thoughtful! By that point, we were having a great time and our lives were basically complete, but the O-​Ku staff were on a roll.
One of our rolls was the Green Dragon, which comes with ikura (salmon roe) on it. We thought it’d be a fun experience for our son to taste one of the «bubbles». He proceeded to eat ALL of them! Then, when the manager came by to check on us, we told him that we were surprised at how much our son loved the ikura. «Let me bring you some more then!» he said. He gave us about DOUBLE the amount that was on the Green Dragon roll in the first place (and of course our son finished it!). I was BLOWN AWAY as I know that stuff is not cheap!
We have been to O-​Ku on three occasions now (two of which were birthdays) and each time the service has been outstanding. The sushi is fantastic, as are the cocktails, but what really stands out is the service. O-​Ku really outdid itself tonight, and we could not be more pleased.

Salmon tartare, salmon + lemon roll, and veggie tempura roll were so insane that my sister and I ate there two nights in a row! Yup. That happened. ;) Hey! We were on vacation.
Very BUSY scene, so don’t go there if you are already hungry. And be sure to miss happy hour. Unless you like happy hour and like waiting an extremely loooong time for your food. It’s worth it. But it is a wait. Grab a seat at the bar. The gals running it are sweet + attentive.

Great sushi and outstanding service. Very nice atmosphere. We met Victor, the manager and he was terrific. Stopped by the table several times to make sure everything was to our expectation and top off our wine glasses.
I would highly recommend O-​ku!

Come here if you want to spend a lot of money and still be hungry! My whole party left feeling so hungry that we went home and ate instant ramen. The sushi&sashimi tasted okay and the prices were crazy! In LA, you get better quality sashimi, double the portion and half the price.
Also, my server didn’t know what was in the combo sets and it was hard to flag her down. The place was only half full yet it took an hr for the food to arrive.
The only positives were the décor, the pretty wasabi shape and the unlimited lemons you get for your drink!
If you do want to try it out, definitely make a reservation. The first time my friends and I tried to come here, we were told all the empty tables were reserved and that we would have to wait 2 hrs.

Good food. Nothing special. Sushi quality dropped this to a three star versus four — also very pricey.

I absolutely love sushi. The sushi here is fresh and tasty! I’d recommend trying some of their specialty rolls as well as some nigiri and sashimi. The rock shrimp salad will blow you away as well. It’s got a cool trendy vibe that you’ll like as well! Go for it!

Went for happy hour today and will definitely go back. We got there at 5 and sat at the sushi bar. I started off with the bourbon basil berry lemonade and it was perfectly refreshing. I ordered the potato roll and my boyfriend got the scallop roll and the crab crunch roll. All three were delicious! The potato roll was my fave though. I ended up ordering another one. Our waiter was excellent as well!

This place was super cute and holds a special place in my heart, as this is where I made my relationship «official» with my partner — we sat at the bar and enjoyed a few cocktails. The service was good and I just learned that they’re opening a location right down the street from me in Charlotte!
Can’t wait to try it.

Swanky but decently priced sushi in a seafood city. Night with the wife at a great location for a stroll after dinner. She loves a specific sushi roll and also gets the same thing but I like new and different sushi. I remember loving the Black Dragon Roll, as it was delicious and went down fast but nothing too memorable for the price. We also get edamame with sushi and it was kinda bland.
The atmosphere is a swanky but the restaurant has beautiful style, tons of tables (entry and waiting is a little small). We had a reservation but had to wait 10 minutes to sit, which iterated me a bit, as the table was obviously empty. Waitress was new, obviously a little nervous but was great. She offered us a free sample of green-​tea ice cream; it was delicious as well but I dont know if I could eat a full order. We had plans for dessert in mind already anyway (down the street at Jeni’s 5 out of 5 btw).

Came here on a Saturday night around 9pm & it was crowded with people for dinner and/​or drinks (you should def make a reservation). The place is beautiful inside; I loved the décor & lounge type feel.
Had the dim sum platter for an appetizer — Pretty standard Asian dumplings that were just ok. I did like that they gave sweet chili sauce on the side for dipping the dumplings. My friends ordered some sushi rolls and pork belly, which they both said were delicious. I tried the potato roll and was very impressed with the taste. It reminded me of a fresh, hand cut French fry; the type you get in the summer on the boardwalk.
I got the udon, which was ok… It wasn’t prepared how I’m used to (soup based), and was more like a stew. It was nice that they tried to make it into a unique type of Asian noodle dish (Something you would never actually see at an authentic Asian restaurant). It had udon noodles with pumpkin, peppers & onions, mushrooms and what seemed to be slow cooked beef, which was topped with seaweed and scallions. The flavors were very strong & almost didn’t compliment one another that well, but overall it wasn’t bad.

We stopped in on a Friday night with no reservation and we sat at the sushi bar almost instantly. The service at the sushi bar was great by both the server and the sushi chefs. The food was amazing! Fresh, creative, beautifully presented, and delicious. The Pear Sake was also delicious

I met up with friends last night for happy hour. If you don’t make a reservation, as we quickly learned, you will have to stalk the people at the bar or lounge for seats. Luckily, a group left the lounge area and we were able to sit there.
I have eaten sushi two other times in my life and was never super impressed but I was excited to give it another try. My friend suggested the potato roll (tempura shrimp, avocado, wrapped with shoe-​string potatoes, eel sauce and sweet chili mango). It was absolutely delicious! I am definitely looking forward to going back to eat some more!
I also tried the Paradise Found cocktail. It was good but if you have texture issues, just know that there are pieces of coconut or something floating around in the drink and it will block your straw or come right up it.

Visited all the way from Virginia and Had our Bachelorette dinner and had made reservations ahead of time. The place was very different compared to other sushi places. It was decored differently with branches hanging from the columns, no usual covered up windows, but same type of lighting a bit dark, makes the mood a bit mysterious.
Ordered their sushi and it was very delicious, it maybe a bit pricey than other Sushi places, but its worth it. The owner and waitress was very nice and gave a free round of shots to our table. They hold a great places for any occasion and I recommend this place, because I know that you will definitely get taken cared of and have a great experience.

I’m giving O Ku four stars because of how incredible our server was. It took FOREVER for us to receive our food and as a result, our sweet server gave us three appetizers to try over the course of a couple of hours. We got the edamame and then seaweed salads. I will definitely be ordering the seaweed salad again and highly recommend it. We got an assortment of rolls and they were all excellent! We also ordered the soba noodles which were too spicy for my tastebuds but still delicious. I tried the strawberry basil lemonade which was good but the basil was too heavy in my opinion. For the second one I asked for only one basil leaf to be added to the drink and it was MUCH better.
Perfect place for a special evening out with the girls but maybe a little too loud for a romantic evening with your SO.