Kona Wave

Aw no! What a shame. I loved the sushi and the chef was so cute and funny, always giving complimentary plates with a joke to go along. Maybe they’ll open up another one some place else, hopefully… in the future…

Too bad that this place has closed. It was a decent local sushi restaurant. Their anago, hamachi, hotate, suzuki, and tamago were consistently good. However, their tako poke and uni were just okay.
The restaurant had its fans, though I must say the service was a hit and miss. One of the regular servers there wasn’t attentive at all. Toshi (the owner and sushi chef) also had an attitude when he was busy.
Anyway, I still rather see the restaurant survive than went under.

This used to be a great restaurant! Unfortunately, it closed down at least a month ago :(We stopped by one evening to have dinner, and they were closed for a friends + family only closing event. It’s sad :(
But, if you liked Kona Wave, try Mizu Sushi instead. The prices are similar, it’s much bigger, and nearby Kona Wave.

My husband and I have been coming for over 2 years and we love the Sushi rolls and sashimi. Toshi, owner and sushi chef, is so fun to talk to and provides quality fish and portion sizes for his guest. Our only complaint is that it can get busy on some nights and that they do not always have enough staff to serve all guest in a timely manner.
We would recommend the Dragon and Rainbow roll.

First off, just want to say that the reason we ended up here was because we purchased a certificate on
.
To continue on about our certificate, the waiter, when he finally came to our table seemed a little annoyed that we had a certificate. He flooded us with a bunch of rules that weren’t listed on the certificate. Another customer had a certificate also, and even the sushi chef came out to this guys table to hassle him. They are the ones that joined up with
, so why the attitude and trouble? I just dont get it. Oh and BTW, the sushi chef for some reason told the waiter and the man that the certificates will be expiring next month. ???
OK. We got here at 7pm on a Tuesday night. It took 20 minutes to get our drinks. (2 beers, a coke and 2 waters) Took 30 minutes to get the edemame that we had ordered when we ordered our drinks. Im NOT exaggerating at all. About 45 minutes in to this, the waiter FINALLY came and took our sushi order. I asked for seared salmon and he had to go ask if they could make seared salmon. Chef said NO. WTF? You cant sear salmon?
1 hour in to this, we finally get our sushi. Presentation looked good, except ½ of what I ordered was on everyone else’s plate and vise versa. Ridiculous. Sushi was just ok, but I will say that the fish was nice and thinly sliced.
2hrs in to this, I practically had to beg for our check. $ 115? WTF? Ok, I get that using a certificate they tack on 18% gratuity, but the rest? Normally the 3 of us spend about $ 65 at our regular sushi place.
Anyway, bottom line. They only staff one waiter, all the time (from what a couple others told us). The service was horrible. The food was ok.
I say skip it all together. There are so many other fun and yummy sushi restaurants out there, My favorite is Kazoo on Hamilton and Winchester. Go there,

THEY DON’T ACCEPT
anymore!
We used to go to Kona Wave once a month… but last time was a bad experience. Toshi started yelling, «I’m going to sue them!» when he saw we brought in a
coupon. Apparently, he canceled his
membership but people are still able to print certificates. The waitress said she would accept the coupon this last time only — but never again.
Well then — never again. The wasn’t that great anyway. Good luck Toshi!

love this little restaurant. came here because i had a
coupon as well. totally agree with Long D as this is one of the FEW good restaurants that site has to offer… we got there a bit early so there was no wait. the staff is SUPER nice. and the food came fast. there were a lot of families there, so it seems like a good place for a small or large party. the space is big so you’re not touching shoulders with the table next to you
anyways, we order:
— chirashi — this was decent. they gave you a variety of sashimi
— beef dish — ehhh i would skip, unless you wanted some meat
— KONA WAVE ROLL — (i think thats what it was called) but it was really good. roll with sashimi and sprinkled with almonds yummm

I picked this place was only because I received a $ 50 off coupon from
, but I tell you its a total rip off.
The food was ok only, I had way better sushi in taste, appearance and price all at Sushi Maru.
Kona Wave’s sushi taste average but the appearance looks like its made by amateurs of a 5 years old.
We had to order food of up to $ 100 (said so on the coupon which I totally didn’t see) + an 18% gratitude then plus tax and subtracting our discount… we ended up paying $ 72 eating some regular food and we’re still not full.
I don’t recommend this place unless you have no other choices.
As least I won’t be a returning customer.

One of the few restaurants that participates in the
gift certificate promo that’s actually good. And, I’ve been to many
restaurants, which are usually doing horribly and are mediocre.
The sushi and sashimi here are good. The sashimi was fresh. Only the Uni was bit off. The prices are comparable to other sushi joints. However, with the
gift certificate, it’s a good deal.
I’m definitely going back!

Decided to give this place a try due to our $ 25 coupon from
. Initially we were a bit disappointed at the prices, they are a bit high, especially given the location and interior décor. Service started out decent, and our order was quickly taken. From there things slowly declined. My meal came out 10 minutes before the rest of the family. While the food was of higher quality than most Sushi joints the presentation was not on par. After numerous requests for drink refills and over 20 minutes waiting for our plates to be cleared I stomped out with the kids and left the hubby to pay.
Lucky for them, the coupon added 18% gratuity, because they didn’t earn much in my eyes. The coupon pretty much just brought the meal to what most Sushi restaurants would have charged in the first place. What a shame, since our first impression will be our last!

Sad to say that the only reason that we came here was that my wife got a $ 25 coupon for this place. Even that didn’t help.
Kona is located in what could best be described as a low rent strip mall across the street from a major hospital that caters to those that don’t have insurance, so you can guess at the type of neighborhood that surrounds this place.
First impression was that the place was just beginning to fill up. There was another family with some kids (a plus), as well as one or two folks at the sushi bar (also a huge plus).
Our initial order was taken quite quickly, but the waitress didn’t seem more than passingly interested in our table. This ended up being the high point of the dinner.
Our initial order for appetizers was taken and we waited at least 15 minutes for the main course order. This whole time the waitress was completely overwhelmed by the few tables that were also occupied.
The food was about on par with other Japanese restaurants in the area, but by no means noteworthy. I can drive less than 10 minutes to Santana Row and get much better sushi for lower prices, and be in Santana Row to boot.
We ordered a mix of nigiri, bento, and rolls. My wife’s food showed up 15 minutes before everyone elses, my two youngest kids didnt get their food for what seemed like ages, which was strange when taking into account that they ordered the simplest items, Kappa rolls and rice.
Major sore point for the evening was that my wife asked at least twice for a straw, never got it. I stopped asking for a refill on tea after two requests with nothing to show for it.
Service was horrible. This is the main reason that I am giving this place only 1 star. The food (being about average and on par for restaurants within a 15 minute drive radius) almost brought up the rating to two stars, but the service was THAT BAD…
Then to rub in how bad the service was, the waitress had to come over and explain to me how they have to add an 18% tip because of the coupon. I will admit that I saw that on the coupon, and almost decided to argue that forcing a customer to tip is illegal, but had already spent far too much of my time waiting for food and checks to want to be at this place for even a second longer.
I will definitely never be coming back here!

Hmm… I’m conflicted about how to rate this place. I’ll just share my experience here:
Came here last Saturday with my family using a
$ 25 coupon. They honored it — yay! (Dinner only, min $ 35, dine-​in only and not valid on Friday nights, I think)
The place was pretty packed when we arrived, so it looked promising. But there seemed to be only 1 – 2 waiters available and they were both really busy so we were standing around for a while.
We ordered: Nigiri Sushi special (6 pcs nigiri chef’s choice and 6 pcs of salmon roll [you can choose btwn CA roll, tuna roll, salmon roll or spicy tuna roll]; 2 dinner combos — 5 pcs mixed sashimi + salmon teriyaki and 5 pcs tuna sashimi + chicken teriyaki; and 10 pcs assorted sashimi dinner. Each came with miso soup and salad.
Nigiri sushi: really good and fresh fish. Really thick pieces of sashimi. My mom didn’t like that, but I liked it, since that meant more fish! And the salmon roll was decent — nothing special, but not bad. Price = $ 15
Dinner combos: the sashimi was really fresh and decently sized. Both the salmon and chicken teriyaki were cooked really well. I loved that there wasn’t too much fat on the chicken teriyaki and it had just enough marinade so it didn’t feel overloaded with sauce. Only thing — I wish they were both bigger portions though! Also came with a potato croquette (I think that’s what they’re called). Price = $ 14 each
Assorted sashimi dinner: my brother was pretty disappointed — he had originally ordered a hamachi sashimi dinner, but… they ran out of hamachi. WTH? Does that actually happen at Japanese restaurants? That seems kinda ridiculous to me. Oh well. The assorted sashimi dinner was still good, but I wish they gave more pieces of sashimi and more assortment — it included salmon, tuna and albacore (I think). Price = $ 17.
I don’t like to bash bad service, especially because our waiter seemed like he was new. So I guess just a heads up — be a little patient with the new guy. I wish he refilled our drinks and would clear our plates a little quicker, but honestly he was only 1 of 2 waiters for a restaurant full of customers. They seriously need to hire more servers.
Overall, my experience was OK. The food was great, just wish they gave you more food for what you end up paying. With the
coupon it was decently priced, but it’s a bit overpriced when you pay the full cost. The service isn’t that great, but I might have just come on a busy night.
If I had another
coupon, I wouldn’t mind coming back, but it’s not exactly top of mind for sushi restaurants in SJ for me.

I really wanted to like this place especially since it’s run by Japanese people which in I find translates to better Japanese food. But I was somewhat disappointed, the food was decent but nothing I’d go out of my way for. Prices were fair, ambience was ok if you like the Giants games playing while you eat.
The main problem was that the service never came by even once to check on us and just paying the bill took 15 minutes and that was with me getting up to help move it along. They had a full staff that night so i’m not sure what was up. Overall it was decent and if you live nearby well I could think of worse places to go.
P. S. I do like the Hawaiian theme here but spam sushi was as bad as it’s sounds, I’d avoid that.

It’s been awhile since I’d been to Kona Wave, but a coupon we got in the mail lured us back. I’m so glad we did! We got the Hawaiian Crunch and the Salmon Skin rolls again and hot damn they were still GOOD!
Hawaiian Crunch had a nice crunch and the salmon on top was nice and fresh.
The Salmon Skin roll had large pieces of salmon skin, not like most other salmon skin rolls that have little pieces of salmon skin «sprinkles».
This time we also had the beef/​salmon teri bento box. Fresh, flavorful and filling!!! Neither of them were dry, like most teriyakis I’ve had.
BONUS: They have a large TV screen that was showing the Giants game and the owner seems to be quite the Giants fan! I just wish we had been here more during the season. I hear that this is also the place to be for MNF.
Double Bonus: They also serve on of my fave brews — Kona Longboard.
I love that this place is laid back and there’s lots of room — you’re not elbow-​to-​elbow with other diners. They also play Hawaiian music. And the owner and workers are so friendly! Definitely reminds me of the islands. Which reminds me, must go back to sample their poke and lomilomi.

A friend and I decided to try Kona Wave since we had a
gift certificate. It’s a hole in the wall that is easily missed. That might explain why it was relatively empty when we went. We ordered the poke, gyoza, and two rolls, the names of which I now can’t recall, unfortunately. (If only their website had the menu to review, then I could look it up!) The poke was good, but not quite what I expected as it included bell peppers and tomatoes. The gyoza was also good, but nothing special. Both of the rolls were great and super tasty. (Dang it, I wish I could remember! One was called the Hawaiian something, but it wasn’t the Hawaiian Crunch and the other one had cream cheese in it.) At the end of the meal, the super friendly chef brought out mochi on the house! Awesome!
I have only two minor complaints about our visit. One, once we were finished with the meal, service became a tad slow. It took a while to get our check and change. Two, the price seemed a tad bit on the high end for rolls that were on the smaller side. That said, I would definitely go back, but only with another gift certificate.

Came here with the fam and the place was pretty deserted… probably due to the location, which is unfortunate. It made me wonder how fresh the fish would be considering the slow customer flow, but the fish was fine. They also have a tatami room in one corner if you want to bring a group for that :)
We split an Hawaiian Crunch Roll, Spider Roll, beef teriyaki & tonkatsu combo dinner, and assorted tempura dinner entrée. It was enough for the 4 of us, and we were pretty hungry! The rolls were pretty good, though they seemed kind of small for the price. The spider roll was a little too salty though. The teriyaki & tonkatsu were standard, and the tempura was perfectly fried, with lots of shrimp!

Monday — Thursday nights = Half off of sake & beer!
Half off booze = super happiness!
And, the sushi isn’t bad either. I am a fan of anything that has spicy tuna in it, so I liked the Hawaiian Crunch roll with salmon on top.

I came here awhile back when Kona Wave first opened, and I just stopped by yesterday since I was in the area. I’m glad to see that they’re still open and doing fairly well with the lunch crowd.
I would say that it’s a cute restaurant with a Hawaiian theme, and the food is average. We had the saba shioyaki lunch combination which came with 2 pieces of saba, rice, salad, and miso soup. The flavor of the saba was good, but it was very oily. I had a hard time finishing both pieces because of this.
The nabeyaki udon was standard. However, I thought that it was a little pricey at 10.75 for lunch.
Service was pretty quick for lunch time, and the waitress was courteous.

Such good sushi! I would’ve never expected such good fish at this place (being on Bascom in an obscure location), but it’s great. Really friendly service, and probably THE best fish I’ve had in San Jose.
Don’t let the Hawaii/​Elvis kitsch make you think this ain’t the real deal. A great surprise.

We had dinner here the night before Thanksgiving, (i figured it was as far from Thanksgiving food as we could get.)
I really wanted to like this place, i really did… but I just couldn’t.
I’ve been trying some new sushi places lately, and this fell at the very bottom of the list.
The service was ok, but the food, wasn’t.
I had the miso black cod, and it was so salty it was almost inedible.
Besides the salt, the flavor was ok. Unfortunately, the saltiness ruined it.
We shared the dragon roll. Another salty disaster. They had way too much sauce drizzled over the roll, and it was so salty it also bordered on inedible. Another minus for this dish,(and many others on the menu) they only use fake crab at this place. I find fake crab to be very strong in flavor. It tastes nothing like real crab.
Between the saltiness, and the overwhelming fake crab taste, this roll was awful. I’ve had similar rolls other places, and I’ve loved them. This was a big disappointment.
I think they are a bit overpriced. I’ve been to similar style restaurants, and none were priced as high. I was a bit surprised they were charging so much for the rolls containing fake crab. They were more than similar rolls with real crab at other restaurants.
i won’t be back, but if lack of business is any indication, they may not be there much longer anyway.