Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar

For the love of foie gras… Seared foie gras nigiri! Yes and thank you. Everything we ordered or always have ordered has always been exceptional! Crab ramen w Asian truffle broth, panko crusted ahi, shrimp dynamite, miso butterfish and ribeye steak was the order for the evening. No complaints.

Sansei has Happy Hours discount for different times of the week as shown below. We came here on a friend’s recommendation on Fri night. Queue started to build up at 930pm for 10pm session, so it does look to be a popular place. They also have Karaōke singing. The food is ok, and good value with 50% off. Somw drinks are on specials too. Staff are friendly.
Early Bird
— — — — –
Sunday’s & Monday’s
5:15 pm — 6:00 pm
50% off most food & sushi
Tuesday thru Saturday
5:30 pm — 6:00 pm
(Extended to 6:30 for Marriott Hotel Guests)
25% off most food & sushi
Late Night
Friday 10:00 pm — 1:00 am
50% off food & sushi
Drink specials
…Free Karaōke…
Saturday 10:00 pm — 1:00 am
50% off food & sushi
Drink specials

Even Sensei is not on top three according to Honolulu magazine, their business probably is number one!

Just a little back ground on me. I’m currently a server at 2 Japanese restaurants and I was previously a pastry cook in a few kitchens.
So last night I went in to eat at Sansei at 12 after I finished work. My friend said that they were open pretty late and that there was a happy hour so I figured ah why not. So we get there, first they checked id’s which was to be expected. Then we were told to go around the corner. We waited at the host stand but no one helped us so we asked and apparently it’s free seating so where ever is available. Okay so we sat at the counter as far from the one blasting speaker from the karaōke haha. After we sat no one gave us menus for quite some time. Quick note all the waiters were just talking with eachother and not really working. So after the waiter came we ordered drinks the sashimi moriawasei and 2 piece of uni nigiri. The drinks came at a decent speed then we waited and waited after 30 min the uni nigiri finally came out. And I asked for the manager. She came and I told her we had been waiting at this point 40 min for our sashimi platter and that I was very disappointed in the service. She apologized and talked to the chef the sashimi plater came out in 5 min. First of all there was 3 sushi chefs in there and it wasn’t even busy. There wasn’t food flying out of the kitchen and there wasn’t many orders. So after that we ordered 2 regular rolls, one small roll the panko fried ahi and drinks. The ahi came out very quicky from the kitchen and again the drinks came out quickly in under 5 minutes. Then we waited and waited for about 20 minutes so it was 2 minutes before last call. Then all our rolls came out all at the same time. Then he did last call on us. so what that tells me is he was biding his time so that he didn’t have to make anymore food. So he said take your time. At this point the waiters service improved because they were trying to make us leave. My friend got 1 drink and at 1:20 some guy came over and told us in 10min I’m collecting all the cups… we asked like the water cups? No all the cups. Okay so we finished and left.
To sum it up, big name restaurant bad service long waits and really not worth it to go. I would never go back.

I came here twice for dinner because it had good ratings on Unilocal,offered sushi, and was conveniently located inside my hotel.
The first night, I sat at the sushi bar because the restaurant was packed — all the tables were fully reserved due to the holiday week. I had the spicy yellowtail roll and seared ahi salad — both were good.
The second night, I placed an order to go to take back to my hotel room and tried the ocean salad (seaweed salad marinated in a sweet toasted sesame dressing) and the Sansei special roll (included sweet Thai chili sauce), which the server recommended. The roll was very tasty — light yet still flavorful. Wish they had that in Houston. My brother tried their famous Mango Crab Salad Hand roll, which looked a burrito-​sized hand roll cut in half. He’s not a sushi fan but really liked it.
In terms of service for both nights, the servers were great. I expected that being surrounded by tourists ²⁴⁄₇ during the busy holiday season would drive anyone cray cray, but they were all very patient all the time. I guess they’re used to us, tourists.
Definitely recommend this place on Waikiki for sushi. If you want authentic sushi from an authentic Japanese restaurant, so elsewhere. You’ll be able to find some behind the Waikiki strip.

The week before Christmas Eve, we made last-​minute plans to get together with my husband’s side of the family. Luckily, we were able to get reservations, through
, at this restaurant as they’re often busy. For the rest of the week, I eagerly looked forward to dining here.
We purposely made dinner reservations at 5:30PM because we had heard so much about their Happy Hour. We arrived on time and proceeded to the hostess desk, which by the way is located PAST d. k Steakhouse as both restaurants share the same entrance. A line had formed and several people were already sitting in their lobby. The hostesses greeted us with cheerful Holiday Spirit and escorted us to our reserved table. We were glad that we were seated facing Tiki’s Grill & Bar rather than overlooking Kuhio Beach as the sun was still glowing and it was warm out.
Our server passed by to greet us and informed us of the HH specials and Christmas Eve dinner specials while taking our beverage order. We discussed the menu and we were ready to order when our server returned with our beers.
Sansei is noted for their Asian Fusion sushi and cuisine. We ordered a couple of their signature appetizers, sushi and shared two entrées. All of the food was fresh, flavorful and prepared well. Sansei lived up to their fine reputation and did not disappoint. Our feast consisted of the following dishes:
— Japanese Calamari Salad: calamari fritte tossed in spicy kochujang vinaigrette and placed in a crisp won ton wrapper bowl over local greens
— Sansei Dynamite Shrimp: crispy tempura fried shrimp tossed in garlic Masago aioli and unagi glaze drizzle
— Spicy Tuna (Ahi) Roll: fresh Hawaiian ahi and spicy sambal in a maki roll
— Spicy Hamachi Roll: fresh Yellowtail or Japanese Amberjack and spicy sambal in a maki roll
— Shiso-​Mentaiko Roll: shiso leaf (perilla) and spicy cod fish roe maki roll
— Salmon Skin Roll: crispy salmon skin rolled with gobo (burdock root), cucumber and katsuobushi (dried, fermented and smoked skipjack tuna) maki
— Ginger Hoisin Smoked Duck Breast: medium rare smoked duck breast served atop sautéed spinach with fingerling potatoes and shiitake mushrooms in a sweet soy demi-​glacé
— Cracked Peppercorn Grilled New York Steak: medium rare and tender grilled NY steak served on a bed of baby arugula and fingerling potatoes with grape tomato salad
The food was plated well and encouraged our appetites as we double ordered some of the maki sushi rolls. Service was paced well and we were fortunate enough to place our orders in time to take advantage of the HH special pricing (25% discount).
We found parking in the hotel parking lot and were happy that the restaurant fully validated our stay. It was apparent that many of their restaurants or activities were booked as this was Christmas Eve… we found a parking space on the top floor. I don’t like this lot because the turns are sharp and sort of «blind» so one needs to use the domed mirrors to see around the corners.
Overall, it was a great evening with family and good food in this contemporary sushi bar. The restaurant wasn’t too noisy and offered us a nice comfortable dining ambiance.

#501

I’ve only been to Sansei once & for the price you pay, I was really not that impressed. Don’t get me wrong, they definitely aren’t bad but for some reason, I just expected mind-​blowing, mouthgasms with every bite & I did not get that.
My friends & I all picked off one another’s plates so I tried a little of everything from shrimp & veggie tempura, various sushi, calamari, onion rings, Caesar salad, edamame, ahi, crab cake, the brownie sundae, apple tart & macadamia deep fried ice cream.
The workers are all great here & the atmosphere is laid-​back. I also like the general layout of the restaurant; they do not have the typical open floor but instead separate large rooms where four or five separate parties can be seated. My friends & I tend to get pretty loud & rowdy whenever we get together so this was great for us.

I came with two other people so it was the three of us and we were hangry so we ordered a bunch of food. We got the restaurant week menu and shared that and ordered a la carte.
The restaurant week menu came with:
Kona kampachi carpaccio
Seared Cajun salmon salad
Seared tuna flatbread
Pan-​seared Opah linguini: this was my favorite dish! So good!
Honey lemon green tea brûlée
A la carte:
Panko-​crusted fresh ahi sashimi: my second favorite dish
DK’s crab ramen with Asian truffle broth
Miso butter fish: actually this is a tie for first place, super soft and buttery
Sansei special roll
It was a lot of food but good food and service was great!

My experience paralleled many of the previous Sansei reviews. Two words: Happy Hour. The seafood’s fresh, their dishes are awesome and they’re also located in a hotel in Waikiki so their food comes with a pretty price tag too. Sansei is located on the second floor of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. They open at 5:30 pm for happy hour and people begin lining up for happy hour at about a quarter after 5.
I like the ambiance in the restaurant. The lights may be a little too dim but the Asian-​style décor and soft music make it a really nice atmosphere to wind down from work in. The customer service was great and the servers were really polite and helpful. The wait also wasn’t very long for our food.
The sushi didn’t disappoint and loved that everything was so fresh. It’s hard to choose a favorite because everything was tasty but I loved the Ikura, Tobiko (always a fave for me), and Uni. Sushi isn’t the only thing they do well-​their teriyaki steak and dessert are pretty damn good too. The meat was really tender and really flavorful but didn’t ruin the flavor of the meat. The only dish that I didn’t enjoy was a chicken dish which seemed mushy and the flavor just wasn’t there. I wasn’t too disappointed though because the sushi was totally on point and let’s face it-​most people don’t go to a sushi joint to eat chicken.
Last but definitely not least, Sansei does dessert right too. I recommend the ice cream tempura but the crème brulee isn’t bad either! Sansei is definitely a contender for one of the best sushi restaurants on Oahu. The prices reflect just that but if you go during happy hour, your bill shouldn’t be too bad. The restaurant provides parking validation and not to mention-​you would be dining at a beautiful Waikiki resort just across the street from the beach.

What a treat this place is. If you get here right at 5:30 no problem getting in during the week. I eat a lot of sushi and this is one of the best experience I’ve had since eating in Japan.
The waiter was great a very dry sense of humor. You never felt as though he was trying to sell you anything, just guiding you through the menu. I tried the Panko crusted ahi sashimi, now I know why it is award winning. So I opted to have another! Then the lobster & blue crab ravioli in a rich butter sauce. Then the seafood pasta with scallops and tiger prawns… delish! Then the Issei sushi combo; yellow tail, salmon, tuna, tamago nigiri sushi and a spicy tuna roll. Fantastic!
I generally dip sushi in a bit of soy with wasabi mixed in. I barely touched the soy sauce and didn’t use any wasabi or ginger. Everything was too good to add any other favors to it. The kicker is most of the items were 20% off if ordered before 6:00pm…stick a chopstick in me I’m sold and done! Can’t wait to come back for more.

Visiting from LA. Good sushi. Teriyaki beef also good. Fois Gras sushi was a miss.