With a trip to Koiso Sushi Bar, you can enjoy an authentic sushi dining experience, complete with one-on-one service and scrumptious fresh fish creations. Located in the heart of Kihei, this eatery only opens its doors for dinner service limited to 16 people each night. They start seating everyone at 6 pm sharp, and then spend the next hour and a half preparing all their menu items to order.
To get a seat, you have to make reservations well in advance. In fact, the limited seats fill up so fast that you must book your spot at least one month ahead of your trip. Since they’re only open in the evenings, time your call for right at 5 pm. Once you have your reservations made, do all you can to keep them or risk missing out big time.
Upon arriving at this popular eatery, the intimate atmosphere will undoubtedly make you feel right at home. The owner of the shop, Hiro, warmly welcomes everyone through the doors and then serves as the talented master chef. The waitress offers a friendly hello as well and then leads you to your table. You can get tea, sake, or another beverage to sip on to start off your meal.
After that, you’ll get a full menu to pour over while the chef finishes the preparations for dinner service. Although you could definitely choose your selections one by one, most people go with the omakase, or chef’s choice sushi. Upon uttering that magic word, Hiro will start preparing a decadent spread of nigiri, sushi rolls, and other excellent offerings. If you feel like anything is missing from the experience, just add it to the spread.
Hiro remains hard at work throughout the evening, set front and center of the restaurant. You can see all the action take place right in front of you, so don’t hesitate to watch the master show off his skills. If you need anything at all during your visit, just let your waitress know and they’ll get it for you.
Popular menu items include:
Smoked Salmon
Whether you get the Smoked Salmon as an appetizer or main entrée, prepare yourself for a delightfully smokey kick. A simple preparation, this dish features a generous portion of smoked salmon laid across a hand-formed ball of sushi rice. You can get soy sauce for dipping if you’d like, but it’s plenty good on its own.
Negi-Toro
The Negi-Toro treats you to a wide array of complex flavors all wrapped up in a battleship roll. The chef makes this popular dish by wrapping sushi rice with nori, and then filling the top with chopped fatty tuna belly. Diced chives land on top to bring all the rich flavors together while adding interest to the plate.
Kajiki
If you love rich red meat fish, then get the Kajiki, for sure. Made using fresh swordfish, or marlin, this nigiri roll promises to delight your tastebuds as soon as it hits your tongue. The lightly sweet sushi rice perfectly balances the bold ocean flavors while the soy sauce helps complete this picture of perfection.
If you’d like to take your next event to great heights, order sushi takeout platters to serve your guests. Their base platter comes with 24 pieces of nigiri and varies in variety depending on what the chef dreams up. At each price point, the platter increases by 12 extra pieces, maxing out at 60 nigiri total. You must order the platters at least a week in advance to ensure they’re ready on your desired pickup date. When that day arrives, you’ll need to come to the sushi shop at 5:30 pm to get your order.
Insider Tips:
-On Tuesday through Saturday, call at 5 pm on the dot to ask if they have any cancellations. If you’re lucky, you’ll land a spot that night.
-Need to use the restroom? Ask for the key and find the door on the outside of the restaurant.