Oishii Sushi Bar

Looking for a hole-​in-​the-​wall place for good sushi? well, is this the place for you! High quality fish, authentic sushi, friendly chefs. So why did I dock a star? There’s just no privacy…
I stopped by here on a Saturday night around 730pm. There was a long wait already and since there was such little waiting space, my friend and I had to stand outside in the cold. but this was worth it b/​c the food was delicious.
This is definitely not the right place to go if you have a large party… I think the entire restaurant sits about 14 people? (with 8 seats are by the bar and one large table on the side) We had the misfortune of sitting next to a really obnoxious guy that kept asking us what we got and making obscene sounds every time he ate a piece of sushi. Just thinking about it is giving me goosebumps: bleh:
Other than the privacy issue, the food was reasonably priced, service was fast, and, again, fish was so fresh! Probably will go back again but will try my best to sit at a table.

I love this sushi place ! They are always busy teamed with people! Though the price is a bit on the high end, it totally worths your money. I hangout with my friends a couple times there and one time we ordered a sushi with golden flakes, let me repeat, golden flakes on them ! But I forgot their name, so next time when you r there, just ask for sushi that has golden flakes! Haha you will enjoy them.

This is probably the best sushi place in the Boston area. It’s in a small hole-​in-​the-​wall location in Chestnut Hill, some limited street meter parking.
Their sushi is on point, their rolls are amazing, and they have an incredible selection of some rare cuts of fish, like Bluefin Toro, the extra fatty tuna. This is a great place for a 1-​on-​1 hangout or date.
I recommend their Bluefin Toro, it literally melts in your mouth.
Other good dishes are their tempura veggies, they always great crispy batter without nuking the inside to mush. Great texture and bite.
Their handrolls are stuffed plentifully with lots of fish.
Bring a date. Chew, close your eyes, and enjoy.

Sucks never again!!! It’s not always about the food but also the service. I didn’t appreciate them asking me what I wanted when we were waiting and then once we sat bringing everything out virtually at once. Way too small and not good at all. Bad date night experience.

What a wonderful little nook and cranny in Chestnut Hill. It’s like setting into old-​world Japan.
Setting: The place is on the smaller side with the sushi bar taking up most of the space. The sushi bar and tables are first-​come, first serve. If one has a larger party, it appears you could make a reservation, but most of the regulars there said they show up and its «worth the wait». I couldn’t agree more!
Service: Great, attentive waitstaff often working in tandem. Drinks were refilled, orders promptly taken, even on a busy weekend night. The staff are helpful with their explanations and recommendations according to tastes and palate.
Food: The sushi here is top notch. The king salmon was my particular favorite. They had hamachi, amberjack, and lots of great more difficult to find sushi at reasonable prices. The sashimi came out in large chunks. Some of their more inventive dishes here are ones I had not even seen before. I love the customer maki rolls based on suggestions that have been a hit. The gyoza and salads were pretty decent, too, but the sushi and sashimi is where it’s at. I’m still drooling over the freshness and flavors. For the adventurous, try to shotglass of sea urchin and quail egg. Yowza!
Price: Not bad for the money. Certainly not as cheap as Super Fushion Cusine in Brookline but the wider selection of fish makes it very worth the drive and much cheaper than O-​ya!

I’ve eaten in and had delivery. The customer service and food quality for delivery was very very poor. The order was placed correctly through a second party, correct on the receipt– then they didn’t give me exactly what I ordered and the food wasn’t good. The fish was tired and the rolls were not made properly.
Dining in, the main draw is the fish. But the rice and flavor from appetizers are also poor. Not to mention that you can’t talk to the sushi chefs even though it’s a crowded little place. They try to get away with too much. There are better options in Boston.

I have come here for years and something is different? Somethings changed with the rice, it doesn’t seem like the nice sticky short-​grain rice they used before… I feel like it’s gone downhill in general

Excellent Sushi and great service. Everything my girlfriend and I have tried here has been excellent. I find the service to be prompt and friendly. Also helpful when trying to order something new.

Hmmm… I would say this place is okay, pricey, and way too teeny.
We came for a quick dinner during the week and had the crazy roll, the Tokyo Style Soft Shell Crab Maki and chicken teriyaki (20 for a lunch sized portion at dinner– not worth it). The crazy roll was very underwhelming. I order it all the time and it’s always overflowing with tobiko, not so much here. The soft shell crab maki was a bit better because the radish was interesting but both of them only came with 4 pieces. There are SOME sushi places that can get away with giving me 4 pieces of delicious sushi but that was not the case here. Also the chicken teriyaki wasn’t good. I thought that was impossible but it happens!
Overall it was underwhelming but service was good and the ingredients were fresh.

Sushi is one of great passions in my life. I used to live in NYC and had superb sushi there. I also love Fukugaya in Boston, an very old-​fashioned, high-​quality pricy sushi restaurant.
I discovered Oishii last July. The fish at Oishii is comparable to the best-​quality NYC sushi restaurants. They always have a wide variety of fresh fish from the USA, Canada and Japan. Last night, I had sashimi (3 large pieces of each type) with a bowl of brown rice on the side. They offered two types of toro, from the belly and from the back of the tuna. The back toro was buttery, soft and exquisite. I also had uni, sweet shrimp, hamachi, hokigai, tamago and oshinko pickles. Everything was excellent. I always know a sushi place is high quality when they serve sashimi with shiso leaves, which are delicious. If you haven’t eaten shiso, do so next time. Oishii also makes their own tamago.
The place is small with 11 seats at the sushi bar and one table. Service is knowledgeable, fast and friendly. They do a huge takeout business, hence the four sushi chefs. The house Otokoyama cold sake is a very god medium-​priced sake. I had two small bottles of sake. My bill, before tip, was $ 103. Worth every cent!

wonderful meal. We came on Saturday around 7pm, and we only waited for 4,5 minutes and got seated, so lucky. It only has 14 seating and they dont take reservation, make sure you pick a good time

⁵⁄₅!!!
Aside from the fact that it’s tiny, and only fits 15 people, it’s wonderful!
You can get every single type of sushi your heart desires and it is amazing!
My favorite is getting ikura with quail eggs, unagi, Uni etc.
I also got their udon soup! Very flavorful.
Portions are superb, and the quality of fish is excellent!

Came here on a Wednesday evening — right before they were about to close which was a mistake. We asked if they could still serve us when we walked in and they assured us they could but that it was last call. We sat at the sushi bar (only two diners in the restaurant) and looked at the menu for about 3 minutes before the server came over to take our order so not a ton of time to look at the menu. But since it was on the later side, we ordered spicy tuna handrolls and then asked the server for recommendations on a few more rolls partly because it didn’t appear he was going to give us anymore time with the menu. The sushi was prepared in record time (we were the only table after all) and was really good — fish is fresh and some of their dishes are unique.
I had actually given my credit card to the server just after we ordered because I was trying to outpay my dining companion. And they left the check for us to sign after delivering the food — which would have been fine but one of the employees came by after 2 minutes (meaning mid-​meal) to insist I sign the check. Meanwhile, while we are eating, the rest of the staff is clearing out and cleaning — which made for a bit of an awkward experience for us because it’s increasingly clear that they want us out of here. As I mentioned, we had asked before sitting if it was ok for us to come in — and while the food was good, the dining experience was terrible. Imagine if you went to someone’s house for dinner and they spent the entire time hovering around you waiting for you to finish and essentially cleaning things around you. At the end of our meal — we commented to the server that we felt rushed and that we did have high expectations but were disappointed with the experience. While he did sort of apologize — he didn’t acknowledge the issue which was one of hospitality. He was a bit defensive and inquired only whether the food was good. Had he apologized and perhaps suggested that we come back another time we may have considered it. We had really high expectations for this place because of the way that people rave about the food but due to service/​experience we will not be back.

Good sushi, not overwhelmingly mayonnaisey as some rolls can be. The place is very small with just one table and the sushi bar — but we actually didn’t have to wait very long. Tip — you put your name on the list hanging on the wall in front of you when you walk in.

Don’t order sushi combos here, the chefs won’t put as much care in your order. Order the fresh specials of the day, the special varieties of salmon (white salmon), tuna (toros), uni (Hokkaido vs CA or Maine), shrimp, scallops, etc. Order the special makis and appetizers. This is where all the hype about Oishii comes from.
The sushi here is the most fresh in Boston. If you order the specials, you can be assured of their super freshness and quality, and the skills the chefs put in preparing those piece of fish. I think there is a new crop of chefs in Boston who have arrived and are coming who were trained in the superior skills and creative flavors of Oishii.
Fish Market was the first I knew about, and it seems more are cropping up, like Koi in Quincy. Now try the original and see if you can perceive the difference yourself. Even if the skills of the chef are up to standard, most haven’t developed the long term relationship w/​suppliers that Oishii has, so their fish won’t be as extremely fresh or so high quality.
I go here and not the South End one because that seems too large and impersonal. The menu seems more expensive there to compensate for the space! Also, I saw the recent new locals, Tom Brady and Gisele leaving here last year. I was standing next to the door about to go in, and he and Gisele walked out. I was an arm span’s a ways, and the closest I will be to gods.
Lastly, you can eat gold here if you want, but we should all strive towards losing weight.

I find it befuddling that this place is held in such high regard by my fellow Unilocal reviewers. Sure, the dishes are beautifully plated, the food is vibrant and colorful, and service is wonderful. But, and this is a big but, the food isn’t that good.
I’ve loved sushi my entire life and while I was blown away by their take on the California roll, everything else was just «eh». I loved how they take a chance and try to incorporate truffles into some rolls and an ice cream dish (which was certainly not to my liking) but its just too overpowering. Obviously I’m not a trained chef, but it seemed like they ordered too much and were trying desperately to use it all before it spoiled. That being said if you have an adventurous pallet and a fat wallet give this place a shot.

Place is wayyyy tiny. During the winter, sitting by the entrance is the worst. Service was neither good nor bad. Food was OK.

i think i’ll be the only one giving a 1 star review but i gotta be honest with how i feel.
one word: UNIMPRESSED.
i never trust chinese owned sushi places and this place solidified my belief. we came bc we had a gift card here. heard good things about this place from several ppl. mostly those who’s never lived in japan or non japanese. but with all these 5 star reviews, i had high expectations of the place.
we got miso soup, avocado salad, and chef’s sushi deluxe. not 1 item was authentically japanese. it was like one of those chinese restaurants that serve sushi and the late night post clubbing crowd type of food. comparing it to Ginza and Suishaya in chinatown. the sushi was not fresh, the sushi rice was sour, not the right mixture. the smell made me almost vomit. shrimp was tough and old. i was so appalled by it all. the only thing thats authentic is the set up of the restaurant, small with limited room (which is a sad imitation of japan — bc thats japan’s only downside) the waiters/​hosts were all chinese or vietnamese, yelling loudly as they run around the place trying to organize/​direct traffic. their nails were long and it was in my miso soup as they brought it to me. ya. nothing else needs to be said.
i am sooo unimpressed with this place, regretting we went there. but had to bc of the kind gesture a friend did — getting us a big gift card there. i wish i liked it but it’s so not good that i’m beyond boggled at their rating on Unilocal.ask any japanese person to rate this restaurant and you will see.

Couldn’t agree more with Pamela’s review. I spent a number of years in Southern California before the sushi craze spread across the US. Truly great sushi is hard to find here (as is good Mexican). However, while Oishii (Newton) is good, it’s not 5 stars.
Perhaps it was because I went for lunch versus dinner, but I expect the bar to be more upbeat and the chefs to be engaging with their customers. Granted I am not a regular, so perhaps my expectations are too high, but I am used to a little chatter with the itamae-​san. I got there around 11:45 and it was packed by lunch time.
Forewarned, I am a sushi purist. I don’t do the silly rolls and don’t mind paying top dollar for top quality. Sushi is not where you should look for a bargain. Service was prompt.
Here is the play by play:
Uni — excellent, fresh and firm — the sign of a good sushi restaurant
Hamachi — good, but slices were skimpy
Tako — very good
Ama-​Ebi — very good, excellent job frying the heads, nice presentation
Saba — very good
Unagi — disappointing, eel sauce was thin and lacked flavor
I would definitely go back and would recommend it to anyone looking for good sushi. If I lived closer I could see this being a regular spot for dinner.

Having gone to school in Newton, I had no idea this hole-​in-​the-​wall existed! I’ve definitely driven past this spot a million times as well. My first experience here was superb!!!
I arrived at 5pm, but this place got PACKED by the time I left at 6:15pm. My suggestion is to go early. The place is also pretty small as well. However, I don’t think it’d be too long of a wait seeing how they bring out your food lightning quick. We probably got our sushi within 10 mins of ordering it. I had the Tokyo Style Soft Shell Crab maki and the Crispy maki with tuna… I think that’s what it was called??? Regardless, all the fish was extremely fresh.
Can’t wait to try the entrees next time!

Very good sushi. However, I didn’t approach this place correctly. I came here during lunch one day and ordered the lunch special (Boston Maki). Mistake. Don’t get me wrong, the sushi was fresh and delicious but in a place that offers very innovative rolls (sea urchin, kobe beef, etc.) this felt like a waste. The lunch special came with miso (good), green salad (I’ve had better ginger dressing elsewhere) and 3 pieces of sashimi and 6 pieces of sushi. Good but c’mon — snoozefest. I had to order a special roll to go just to feel like I tried something here.
I didn’t inspect the menu thoroughly until after I ordered. The really crazy rolls on the special menu (they even have a foie gras roll — which I don’t eat but I’ve never seen that before) are pricey but are definitely a treat for the sushi lover looking for something new.
I’d absolutely come back here to try some of the more fun rolls.
The service was quick and good but I was also one of the only customers at the time. It is a small and popular place and tends to get packed/​busy at certain times. I did stop by here once on a Saturday afternoon (mid) and there was a 20 minute wait so we left.