Ahi Lovers is my favorite sushi lunch order for the office. There was a little mix up with my order last week and they sure made up for it when I ordered again this week. It shows how much they care about their customers, and I truly appreciate them for that. I definitely recommend Ahi Lovers. read more

I'm happy Ahi Lovers is still open and doing well in downtown Honolulu. I stopped by to pick up lunch before 12pm and they were busy. The line was coming out the door to order but it was moving. Some of my favorites over the years have been the ahi poke bowl and the local bowl (kalua pig, lomi salmon, rice). This time, I got the seared salmon bowl with black/purple rice. My food was under $15 and I consider that a pretty good deal for downtown. The salmon was cooked perfect and it was well seasoned. The black/purple rice texture was good too. After you order and pay, they don't give you a number so just watch who was before you and that's when you'll know your food is ready for pick up. The inside is small and they have a few seats but those were all taken. The wait for food was much faster than the wait time to order. If you work in the downtown area or you're passing by on a weekday, do check this place out. They accept cash and card. For card payments, there's a 3% fee. read more

For years I've been living within half a block of this place but have never tried it. I think it's mostly because I work nights so I'm usually asleep during the day. This past Friday Joe K was in town and we wanted to grab a quick lunch so we decided on Ahi Lovers, definitely a good choice. We came around 2pm and the lunch crowd was over so it wasn't very busy. There is a to choose from but we decided on a the Unagi Bento (#6) and Sushi (#2) and split them. Both were really good. The bento came with 2 pieces of unagi, Teri beef, and Teri chicken. All the proteins were tender and flavorful. You get a choice of the type of rice, we opted for black rice since I haven't had that in ages and Joe has never had it. The bento also came with some veggies and pickled ginger. The sushi #2 option had 2 each of ahi and salmon nigiri, and spicy ahi and spicy salmon nigiri...this was also really good. I really need to come here more often since it's so close. read more

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Right around the corner from Mark Ys place and we were hungry. In this part of downtown there are too many choices. So we looked to Yelp reviews to narrow things down. Bright and clean and pretty much empty because we missed the lunch rush. Lots of selection. We decided to split a plate and a sushi plate. We chose a teriyaki plate with unagi, chicken, and beef - all three were yummy and the textures were good. Definitely recommend. read more

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Went for lunch. There's a few seats inside. Most ppl were grabbing their food to go. When I got there and ordered there was only a few people before me. Someone after me ordered the same thing. The cashier gave my meal to the other person that came after me, even though I walked up to the register to get my meal. She told me the other customer was there first and gave it to him but that was not true. I had to wait an extra 15 minutes for my meal. I corrected the cashier. The food was just ok. Similar to Genki quality. Didn't care much for the miso soup. read more

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I wanted to try out a new spot instead of going to one of my usual places for lunch. The bento boxes pictured on Ahi Lovers' menu seemed like a sure bet, albeit on the slightly more expensive side for just a few pieces of fish. Unfortunately, I can't base this review on the food because I never got it. Here's what happened... I placed my order (bento #10) and asked the cashier how long the wait is for my order to be ready. There was a small group ahead of me so I anticipated a bit of a wait. She told me that it would be 10 minutes which was exactly enough time for me to go across the street to run an errand. I told her I would come right back to pick up my food. I completed my errand, returned to Ahi Lovers, and it all took about 15 minutes. Upon my return, I saw that the store had emptied out except for two customers sitting down to eat. The cashier asked me if my order was bento #1. She checked the two orders ready for pickup. I reminded her that it was #10. She immediately returned one of the two bento plates to the kitchen and told me that someone else had taken my order. And that it would be a few more minutes while they prepared my food. I don't know if someone had actually taken my order by mistake, or if she had given it to someone else in error, or if she had given the kitchen the incorrect order. All I know was that I had to make one more stop before returning to work. I could hear the flurry of action coming from the kitchen, but I could not spend another 5 minutes waiting around. I asked for my money back and ended up grabbing a delicious ready-made rice bowl from one of my favorite places for $5 less. read more

Ordered the spicy ahi and ikura bowl, salad, miso soup. Salad was some romaine lettuce with slivers of carrots. Sesame dressing was watered down. Miso soup was good. Ikura was fine. The spicy ahi reminded me of red colored canned tuna with some sriracha sauce. You couldn't tell that it was actual ahi. For $20...I'm heading to somewhere that you can tell the spicy ahi is real ahi. read more

Clean restaurant and has three tables to use and dine inside. Sushi was not the best but was fresh and can tell it was hand made. It was okay. Price was misleading. It was advertised for $14.99 but was charged for $16.20 with GET. Credit card fee add on? Who knows Hmm.. if craving sushi or don't wanna wait for 30 mins for an order of the half super sub at Storto's next door, eat here instead. Cashiers was nice and they accept credit cards too. read more

Ahi Lovers - Bento B1 (Ahi and Salmon Nigiri and Spicy Ahi and Salmon Sushi) - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

It was okay, I honestly liked the dipping sauce for the Gyoza the most and the Miso soup & Salad were so bland. I know someone else commented they're similar to Genki but Genki Sushi is way better. read more

Ahi Lovers - L to R Sashimi Bowl, Gyoza, add-on Miso Soup and Salad - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Came here on my lunch break finding something to make me full, man it really hit the spot and got the job done. I ordered the ahi lovers special and it was really yummy. it comes with a miso soup! Will becoming back when I need to order lunch. read more

Ahi Lovers - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Hands down the best sushi lunch spots in downtown! The fish is always super fresh, portions are generous, and prices are reasonable in this economy. The workers are so friendly and welcoming, and the food always comes out in a timely manner even during lunch rush. Great quality, great value and great vibe. Definitely my go to spot for sushi and will recommend to everyone! read more

This is a cute takeout sushi spot in the center of downtown. I usually come here while I'm waiting for my car to get detailed. LOCATION: Off of Queen Street (Mauka side) between Bishop St and Alakea St. PARKING: None. This place is accessible by foot. There's some street parking on Bishop Street and most buildings have paid parking. It's downtown, you know how parking goes. SERVICE: The Korean lady that works here is super sweet. I usually eat my order there. They have 2 tables, a single and a 2-top that are available inside. It's a very small takeout counter type of place. FOOD: The quality of their fish is pretty good. Not too fond of their salmon but the rest of their food is pretty fresh as far as takeout sushi places go. They have keto options as well. Overall, it's a cool place to stop by and have your sushi fix. read more

Ahi Lovers - Shrimp Tempura and Gyoza - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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"Put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right foot in and you shake it all about. You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about!" The lyrics to this classic children's song is how my friends and I felt about this amazing mom-and-pop poke shop. After arriving to Oahu, we immediately sought out a poke place to wash away the memory of our sad plane food. We decided to check this place out based on the high reviews everyone gave it. It is always a good sign when you see more locals than tourists come into the store, which was the case. Based around a business district, there were only parking garages available. There is a garage around the corner to this shop. I forget the rate/hour but I remember it being steep. The shop itself is small but they have a good amount of poke options. However, their vegetarian options are limited, so I chose the natto bowl. You also have the option to choose other rice options, like purple or brown rice. Our bowls came out quickly and we decided to eat in the store. If your party is large, I'd take your order to-go, as the store doesn't have a lot of seating space. My friends gave high praise to their ahi poke bowls and commented how fresh and flavorful the fish was. I generally like natto, but after that meal I actually prefer it not to be the main course. This variety of natto did taste deeper and earthier than the varieties I'm used to. It was good, but eating two big scoops of natto was too much for me. The ahjummas there were really nice and one woman had a great sense of humor! We appreciated her hospitality to combine the tables and clean up our trays, even though we offered to bus it ourselves. We came out of that store stuffed and contented. My friend probably did do the hokey pokey, based on how many times she recalled this place fondly during our trip! Anyway, come check out this place! read more

Ahi Lovers - Natto Bowl Special, Spicy Ahi Bowl, Ahi Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I REALLY love Ahi and was craving some fresh fish so I decided to come here as it's been a while. I've been here a few times previously as it's a close walk in proximity to my job. I was having a hard time deciding between getting a bento or a bowl, but I ended up choosing the $14 spicy ahi & ikura bowl. The really liked their spicy ahi and the ikura tasted fresh. The bowl also came with some miso soup to cleanse your palette after your meal. The portion was big for me so I had a little left over for a late snack before leaving the office. The prices are very reasonable for downtown. The prices listed are the prices you pay out the door. read more

Ahi Lovers - Spicy Ahi & Ikura Combo Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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The person taking our order was friendly and I thought the food came out quickly considering the lunch rush downtown. I ordered the Avacado Ahi Poke Salad and I was happy with the amount of fish I got. I will definitely be going back for lunch another time! read more

Ahi Lovers - Avocado Ahi Poke Salad - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

As a lover of ahi, Ahi Lovers made me love it a little less. Ahi Lovers is your usual sushi spot with rice bowls, rolls, bentos, and etc. It's located Downtown along Queen St in between Alakea and Bishop. Parking? Good luck. I've been meaning to come here for a while, but I never got to or really considered it until I was introduced to it at a going away lunch at the office. I ordered the Bento #10 that comes with 8 different nigiris so I could try a bit of everything (ikura, salmon, ahi, spicy salmon, spicy ahi, Masago, Unagi, and ika. This was decent! The sushi rice was moist, but lacked seasoning if it had any to begin with. Soy sauce saves the day here. The ikura was my favorite for obvious reasons. There was so little Masago to have any meaning. The salmon was good, but the slice was pretty thin to enjoy the richness. Ahi was the typical, average quality. Ika was chewy. Unagi was decent size, but lacked the Unagi sauce! Spicy ahi and spicy salmon were both good. Tasty and not mushy, and the fish wasn't too mutilated. The Bento was solid enough for me to visit Ahi Lovers a 2nd and even a 3rd time. Got the Unagi Maki, and this was HUGE! Very filling and full afterwards. The inside had a nice size shrimp tempura and picked vegetables with thin slices of unagi and tempura flakes. When I opened the box, it was warm, which was very nice. The shrimp tempura maintained its crunchiness and had a nice flavor. The unagi was just too thin and didn't cover the top layer, and there was not enough sauce. It didn't feel like an Unagi maki. Also, the rice was not prepared well. It was bland and mushy. Overall bland and light. During my second visit, I noticed there was a sign with rice choices hidden on the side that's only viewable at the counter. Black rice was a choice too! I always thought it was automatically sushi rice, but the unagi maki I had was mushy white rice. Third visit, I opted for black rice for the Bento #1, 2 pieces each of Ahi and Salmon nigiri, and spicy ahi and salmon nigiri. Also grabbed a fried gyoza since a co-worker suggested that. The Gyoza was good. Crispy wrapping with decent veggie filling. The ahi and salmon were noticeably thin when I could see the black rice through it. It was so thin that you couldn't even taste the fish. The spicy salmon was okay. Lacked taste and flavor, and the salmon was too minced up. The spicy ahi fared better. Bigger pieces, but still lacked taste. Each meal comes with miso soup, but it's not anything to write about. Overall, the food was very light and very thin to really enjoy the fish. Everything was just okay. I don't believe I will return for a 4th time, not for sashimi anyway. It's nice that Ahi Lovers offers different rice choices, including black rice, and there's a nice variety of rolls, bowls, bentos, and salads all ranging from $8-15. It's definitely a healthier option for lunch. I just wish the fish pieces were thicker so you can taste the freshness and natural flavors. The lady at the front is really nice, friendly, courteous, and welcoming with awesome service. Not quite for Ahi Lovers. Probably for Healthy Lovers. read more

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I'm a "lover" of Ahi Lovers! Fresh, yummy, and total dealz! How can you not love them? Located across the street from the Pacific Guardian Center, you'll find this cute little shop. Due to COVID, the one table in the shop may or may not be available for use. It's best if you take it back to your office to eat or possibly find some seating across the street on the planter walls. In regard to parking...#gl, it's downtown. Jk. The closest without validation may be the post office..with their metered stalls. Or else there is parking in the building and in the other buildings. Like I mention, the fish is fresh which is something I love. You're also not paying super crazy prices either. They have all types of plates, from bowls (rice or salad) to nigiris. Thank goodness I'm somewhat far away from them...or it'd be so hard to pass them up every week! I'm not sure if they're related, but they also remind me of Ahi and Vegetable on Fort Street Mall. If you're a sushi/fish "lover", be sure to check them out! read more

Ahi Lovers - Spicy salmon bowl - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This is one of my favorite poke places on the island. The fish is always fresh and the dishes are consistently great. I also love the variety on their menu. I feel like their pricing is good and their portions are generous. Even if they have a line of people, their make orders quickly. I highly recommend this place. read more

Occasionally I come here for lunch. My fav thing to order is the Tsunami Bowl. I order with poke and extra sauce. So delicious and perfect size for lunch. It also comes with a miso soup. They have some decent bentos also with different rolls, nigiri and chicken etc. reasonable prices and the ladies are always friendly. read more

Ahi Lovers - Tsunami Special Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

STILL OPEN FOR TAKEOUT got the tsunami bowl with spicy ahi on salad A lot of different things on here that don't necessarily go together. Sweet pickles were an odd pairing. Spicy ahi was spicy though, so that was good. Came on a large bed of romaine, so a good sized salad. Next time ill get something a little plainer. Their spicy ahi is more like a negitoro where its ground up and not chunks of fish. read more

Ahi Lovers - Tsunami bowl: spicy ahi on salad Gyoza - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Ahi Lovers is a located on Queen and makes for a quick Poke or Bento fix near the Pacific Guardian towers. A large variety of bowls and bentos, and today I got the Ahi Poke with half salad and half steamed rice. It came with soup, dressing and wasabi neatly packed in to go containers. Only a couple of tables inside so walking acrOss the street to the PG plaza or cafe tables is comfortable on a nice day. The Ahi was fresh and completely free of that white gristle other places forget to trim off. Additionally, the shoyu Ahi was NOT o. Over-marinated and had the right level of salt. All for $10 including tax Perfect quick fix if you're near Queen. read more

Ahi Lovers - Specials - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Just a bunch of rice in all their bentos and overpriced. Not very good at all. Nice people who work there just wish they could add a little value for what you pay for. read more

Spicy ahi pop pop bowl with sushi rice!!! My favorite. Comes with a miso soup, too. I love the ladies that work there, always so sweet!!! & they've never messed up my large work orders. read more

Whenever I "forget" to take home lunch, I like to hit up Ahi Lovers for my favorite: Hurricane bowl. You can order their bowls over salad, rice, or black rice. I've had it all three ways. But this say I felt like being healthy. Their fish is extremely fresh. This bowl has both ahi and salmon. Sometimes sashimi salmon tastes fishy... but theirs always taste mild and buttery. The Gochujang dressing was on point. Made my lips nice and juju... just the way I like it! The thing about eating spicy food... you have to keep eating or else it'll burn . This place also sells different rolls, udon and platters, too! Perfect for office potlucks. read more

Ahi Lovers - Hurricane Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

More of a pop-in and take out of place for sushi, bowls and teishoku plates. They tout their fish as being fresh from the pier. They do have tables inside with shoyu, mayo sauce and sesame oil in bottles. Friendly service. Can't compare this place with a restaurant level of sushi places, but it wasn't to my taste/liking. The ahi and salmon sushi was fresh, but I personally like a little more vinegar in my rice and a shmear of wasabi under the fish on the rice piece. There was no wasabi packet included in box or take out bag. Would've liked a little pickled pink ginger, too. Mr. Bland loved it because of the lack of wasabi and the sushi pieces fit in his mouth easily. He also noted that overall it wasn't salty. read more

Ahi Lovers - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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First review of 2022. I was going to go to my usual lunch spot ----- Da Lunch Spot (ha ha) at Pioneer Plaza. My coworker said that he was going to pick up a sashimi bowl f Ahi Lover's on Queen Street so I said "Why not try something different today." As we walked closer to the shop, we noticed a long line of people standing along the raised walkway. Phew! The line was for Storto's, a couple of shops over. There were 3 people waiting outside of Ahi Lover's who already placed their orders and nobody in the shop. My coworker ordered the Sashimi Bowl with salmon and ahi sashimi. I ordered the Local Bowl ($13) with brown rice and ahi poke. The Local Bowl comes with kalua pig, lomilomi salmon and pickled ginger. I liked the combination of the Hawaiian food items and the poke. The poke was tasty (not a lot of added flavor, just salt & onions) and only one piece was stringy. The kalua pig was standard. The lomilomi salmon tasted very fresh with freshly diced tomatoes, onions and green onions. The poke bowl comes with a small container of complimentary miso soup. Next time I'll get the sushi rice instead of brown rice. Brown rice tends to be dry, but I was trying to be healthier. Ha ha. The Thunder, Tsunami and Hurricane Bowls sound interesting. I'll have to try them on my next 3 visits. read more

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I live a block away from here, so I always drop by whenever I'm craving poke. Needless to say, this place is very innovative when it comes to their poke bowls! There's nothing like a good old fashioned spicy ahi bowl, but I always order the "Thunder Bowl" when I want that extra spice from the onions, jalapeño, and spicy mayo. The tempura and pickles are also a great touch as they add in a nice crunch to the dish. The place gets really busy during lunch rush hour (12:00-1:00pm), so I suggest coming in a little earlier than that. The staff was very accommodating though. They apologized multiple times while running late and even offered drinks for their customers since it was so hot outside! Great food, great service, great vibes! read more

Ahi Lovers - Thunder Bowl packs a real spice! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The best quality ahi , service and servers -- recommend highly to all ahi lovers. I often bring in food to my collleagues from ahi lovers !! read more

Disappointed today. Either I got the wrong order or they changed the format. Maybe because prices went up $2. I have been here numerous times and always got the Tsunami Bowl. Usually with black rice. Today what I got was not what was pictured, or the usual Tsunami bowl I got in the past from them. It had 1/2 salmon and 1/2 ahi poke. I don't like salmon. Then the bowl had alot of romaine lettuce with spicy korean sauce as the dressing. It is way too spicy to use as a dressing so I used my own dressing. I was like hey I didn't order a salad but oh well I didn't wanna walk back. Lo and behold after I had already eaten the fish and started working on the heaps of lettuce, I discovered there was the black rice under it! WTH. Either give lettuce or rice, but not both. This is so dang weird. I can't imagine anyone wanting rice under their lettuce. Was this a mistake?? By that time the fish was eaten so I didn't enjoy the plain rice. And the lettuce with my own dressing wasn't what I was expecting to eat today. At $13 for this I'm not sure I will gamble going back. read more

Ahi Lovers - Not Tsunami bowl pictured. Rice was under the lettuce - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Loved it!! I've never had a maki roll with pickles (daikon, kanpyo, cucumber) inside so that was a delicious surprise. The rice is very sticky so it made eating it easier. I hate when rolls fall apart because the rice is too dry. My friend that doesn't like sushi tried a piece and she said it was bomb! Turned a sushi hater into a believer with their food, so good!! Each item comes with miso soup too so that was a huge bonus. loveeee the ong choi that comes in the bowls. You don't see that too often either. Great value for the price and the quality is really high. Super affordable and filling. We had leftovers. Must try!! read more

Ahi Lovers - Spicy Ahi Bowl Tiger Maki miso soup - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Ordered a thunder bowl and bento 6 via door dash. Items came spilled and all over the bag. The thunder bowl ($15) had less that a quarter cup of spicy ahi, if even that. Pretty disappointed to say the least. Won't be coming here again read more

Ahi Lovers - Spill plus thunder bowl with almost no spicy ahi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

$14 for a 2-row Sashimi salad bowl is a good deal. Especially since ahi veg across the way changed ownership and name. This restaurant remains consistent with portions. Doesn't up charge for credit card usage fee like the other ahi place. What you see on the menu board is what you pay! Hoping you stay in business for a long time. Lots of great food joints closing around downtown lately. read more

Overall: good place to get a sashimi set with good rice and miso soup Parking: downtown parking (hope you have a spot downtown, if not, check out the Ali'i parking structure) Seating: They have a few small tables. Good for a lunch with a friend. Recommended dish: whichever sashimi, sushi or poke you like, with the black rice combo Would I come here again?: Yup; it's one of my go-to places during the work week Tucked away in the back of the Davies Pacific Center, Ahi Lovers is a good place for a filling downtown Japanese bento style lunch. The maguro and salmon sashimi and poke are fresh, the miso soup and black rice are good, and the service is friendly. When I am craving poke, this is where I come. And even though I am not one for spicy food at all, I do enjoy their spicy ahi bento and salad There is some seating in Ahi Lovers. It may be a little (too) cozy for some, but I've enjoyed having lunch with my friends. Enjoy! read more

Best Korean style Poke on the island in our opinion, and that is saying something. While other standbys have declined in quality (Foodland) and others have gone out of business or jacked up prices to crazy levels, Ahi Lovers delivers a consistently excellent poke bowl with fresh ahi you can truly taste. The women who work here are also so friendly and warm. read more

I love ordering takeout from here!!! Fresh seafood and the option for black rice, yum! I like ordering the seared salmon bowl with black rice, which also comes with miso soup. read more

This a fantastic lunch spot; small space, don't come here during lunch time thinking you are guaranteed a seat. Wait time, during lunch time, is anywhere from 5' to 10' minutes after you placed an order, not too bad. Parking is not available as it is downtown, so keep that in mind, as well. To the food; they specialize in seafood like sushi rolls, some nigiri choices and, what else, poke bowls. You can have salmon, ahi, spicy or regular. I chose the ahi poke bowl and chose sushi rice vs regular. The tuna was delicious, super fresh, red, melted in your mouth. I highly recommend it and you will not regret ordering it. The nigiri was ok; the fish was fresh but the slices were paper thin on top of a huge rectangle of rice. I would not get that again for that reason alone. So, 5-stars because I came here for ahi poke and what is what I got and it was awesome. read more

Working in Downtown, Ahi Lovers is my go-to when I don't know what to eat for lunch. I'm usually there at least once a month, if not more. I think I went 3x this past December. My go-to is the spicy ahi bowl with black rice for $9. I always ask for extra choy sum (no additional cost). If you do order this, just keep in mind no credit card transactions allowed under $10 so bring some cash with you. Once in a while I switch it up and get one of their bento sets. I've tried B1 (spicy ahi, spicy salmon, ahi nigiri, and salmon nigiri) B3 (spicy ahi, spicy salmon, poke, and rice) B4 (spicy ahi, poke, california roll, and rice) B5 (spicy ahi, ahi sashimi, salmon sashimi, teriyaki chicken, and rice) Any of those options are all $11 each, so feel free to use your card! The fish tastes super fresh and I love that the rice isn't super hot. Super hot rice and cold fish is not a good match in my opinion. Another plus is they are super fast. Even when there's a line out the door, I'm usually in and out in under 10 minutes max.Oh! and they give you free miso soup too :D read more

This little known place has not been around for long I think less than 2 months. But I am sure that you will recognize a couple of friendly faces from the old ahi veg II location. ( I have always wondered where they went) This location is not as large as the previous ahi veg II but still has options for seating. The on screen menus are crisp and eye catching. The whole restaurant is well kept and clean. Don't be discouraged if they happen to have a long line, you won't have to wait more than 5 minutes to place your order. They only buy the freshest of fish everyday for our enjoyment. Also they have a new rice from korea that looks delicious and healthier than white rice (its called black rice). My favorites: Spice ahi, spicy salmon with half sushi rice and half black rice!!! Oh so good.. If you were looking for the nice friendly faces from the former ahi place. Look no further! PS. They still deliver. read more

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There are not a lot of choices during the pandemic shutdown in downtown HNL for lunch but Ahi Lovers remains open. They offer a large selection of bento variety box lunches and all kinds of sushi selections. My bento box consisted of some ahi poke, spicy ahi, a healthy serving of california roll sushi and more rice. It was more than enough to satisfy my lunch hunger and everything was prepared perfectly. We also ordered a small sampling of nigiri sushi which was very nicely presented and tasted awesome. I'm glad Ahi lovers is still open and I will be back again! read more

Ahi Lovers - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Nicole K. and Sara S. convinced me that Ahi Lovers was the place to go downtown for poke. I never doubt them, so we went. Ahi Lovers is a difficult establishment to find. It;s on the bottom floor of one of those downtown buildings, so the address doesn't really match up with what street it actually is on. The establishment itself is small, with only a couple tables. It also gets very crowded during lunch time with business workers. The line is not a problem though, as they are very efficient in making the food. I only waited a minute or two before my spicy ahi bowl was ready. The spicy ahi bowl will run you a little over $8 (a little more pricy than Foodland or Onos), but you get a choice of what kind of rice you want with your bowl as well as some greens with your choice of poke. I opted for the black rice, which I highly recommend. I also thoroughly enjoyed the flavor and texture of the spicy ahi. Ahi Lovers prepares the spicy ahi similar to Kozo; the ahi isn't cubed, it's like....mashed(?). It's kinda hard to explain, so if you don't like that sort of texture, I'd go for the regular poke, which is prepared in the cubed way. The menu is set up so that you can order very easily, but there isn't exactly the right combination of spicy ahi and salmon nigiri that I want in the combo options. Oh well, maybe I can share with someone next time....or just suck it up and eat the maguro. Haha. The miso soup that came with my spicy ahi bowl was also surprisingly good, but maybe it was just because it was a particularly cold day and I was hungry. Due to the limited seating, we ended up going across the street to eat. It seems like most people take their food back to their offices. As I don't work downtown, parking in a muni lot to come here and eat outside is kinda out of the way for me, but I'd happily do it again, especially to have lunch with my downtown-working friends. read more

Ahi Lovers - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii