Stephanie L.

Other than the fact that parking will usually be a struggle bus in downtown, I really enjoyed Aloha Bento! One of my girlfriends tasked me with picking up her large order on a random Thursday and aside from the panic of trying to find parking, I was able to located Aloha Bento fairly quickly. They are located inside of the newly renovated CPB in downtown. I felt a little awkward walking past an events area where they were setting up for a conference and loungers in the TidePools area, but got over it as soon as I saw the mini food hall located inside. The first floor is multi-use with desks, a conference room, coffee shop, bar, and lounge. It is NOT meant to be a fine dining atmosphere. Think similar to a college cafeteria. It's bustling and busy. The food was well packed and there was a ton of packaged wasabi and ginger for each individual order. My girlfriend surprised me with a 10 piece bento and Shaka roll. I enjoyed it at home and let me tell you, it was the best take out sushi I've ever had! The 10 piece nigiri was carefully crafted and the Shaka roll was delicious! It was garlicky and a little zesty which paired well with the spicy ahi and hamachi. It's a splurge bento and roll, for sure. But I'm at the point of my life where I no longer want to fill my stomach up with cheap eats just for the sake of being cheap. Life is stressful... Splurge for the sushi and bring your happiness levels up during a chaotic workweek!

Lori L.

If you are in the downtown area, Aloha Bento is a great spot for takeout. Its dine-in dinner service is still working out the kinks. After 4pm you can get a validation for the CPB building and sit within the Tidepools area. When there is live music, the space is loud with music bouncing off all the smooth surfaces. The security guards are at their station on their walkie talkies and the cleaning crew for the building wants to finish cleaning the lobby so they are emptying building trash cans and cleaning the floors around you as you eat. While you order at the counter, they bring the plates out to your table. Be patient, the kitchen gets backed up, and you might have to ask for everything you want including plates and chopsticks, shoyu and wasabi, and water. The food is very good for the price. The sashimi and raw oysters were fresh and sweet. The baked oysters and lobster, served motoyaki style, were tender and juicy. If you want to check out Aloha Bento, I would suggest lunch takeout as they do run out of items by the end of the night. Order online so your food will be ready when you arrive and then go find a comfortable place to eat.

Melody K.

Best omakase set on island! Chef Cosmo is a long time friend and I can assure you anything he creates always turns out delicious. Some might've seen him previously at Kona Kai and Senyu Sushi. I had the 8 piece omakase set and a few pieces of the house roll. My omakase set came with tuna, salmon, hamachi, ika (squid), ikura, scallop, unagi, and the last one I couldn't quite figure out. The quality of seafood is top notch! You can taste the sweetness and freshness of the seafood. I don't normally like squid or scallop, but it was prepared so well that I was left wanting more. Each piece was seasoned to perfection! No extra wasabi or shoyu needed (that's a good indicator of a good sushi chef) I'm already daydreaming about the next time I eat here! Need to go back Thanks for reading my reviews! Let me know what I should try next!

Reid A.

Great quality at a reasonable price. A co-worker was raving about this place and one day we went to downtown for lunch. We parking at the post office metered parking 1 hour max and walked over. I got the Hamachi bowl. Or if you eat at some places they serve you poor man hamachi, which is "kanpachi". lol This was hamachi I'm pretty sure. I wasn't there watching them cut it up...but ya. The bowl comes with sushi rice, green onions, and an awesome shoyu/yuzu jelly that's slightly spicy. It's amazing! They give you shoyu on the side, but you don't need it with the jelly. I was blown away by the bowl. So simple, but very delicious. I just wish there was more of it. Co-workers tried the spicy ahi bowl. They offered me to try it but I didn't. Ordering that is like ordering a teriyaki ribeye. I mean do as you please, but why mask it, you know? I hear they have dinner. I bet its worth a try.

Dathan C.

COVID has not been kind to downtown, with a sizable number of restaurants closing so it's nice to see new stuff open downtown. Restaurateurs are a brave folk. Anyways, Aloha Bento is replacing Aloha Beer, open for lunch and dinner offering high quality sushi, sashimi, and sake for the downtown office crew. They got hand rolls, cut rolls, omakase, sashimi, all super fresh and very tasty. I got four of the hand rolls, which are comparable to Pitch's but just a bit more expensive, which I blame on the downtown rents. Where's that NYC "The Rent is too DARN HIGH" guy when you need him? Anyways, the fish was buttery and I had no complaints. The rest of my office got the large sashimi plate that came with salmon, Hamachi, saba (mackerel), tune, scallops, squid, and other fresh choices, for about $1 per slice of fish. For the quality, that's a deal. It's recommended to make reservations for dinner if you have a large party as they're located in the Central Pacific Plaza lobby and there aren't that many large tables. Parking as of course a mess, but if you come at night, lots of street parking opens up, lunch time, not so much. One thing I did find weird is that some items are served in takeout containers and others in actual black ceramic plates.

Gillian D.

I'm sooo glad this place opened because I am desperate for a good pau hana deal close to work. Aloha Bento is located inside CPB and they use the Starbucks tables in the evening. I walked over on a Friday and at 5pm it was surprisingly more empty than I expected. The staff told me you can either just sit at a table to be served, or come up to the counter in the corner and order there before sitting down. They have a selection of beer and sake to go with the fish. I ordered a beer and we got raw oysters, the large sashimi platter, and kampachi carpaccio. I was seriously blown away by the sashimi dishes. The large sashimi was such a good deal for the price and included ahi, chu-toro, salmon, hamachi, ika, and scallop. My absolute favorite was the kampachi carpaccio which had an addictive tangy sauce with a hint of truffle. I tried bites of some handrolls which were yummy too. I'd pass on the oysters next time as they were on the small side and nothing special. Aloha Bento will definitely become a staple for pau hana for me. I'm eager to try their sushi options for lunch too!

Mark E.

My first time here. Coworkers and I decided to come here after work for some sushi and beers after a long week at the office. Their sushi, sashimi, and oysters here are awesome! Love the presentation. Fresh, clean, and delicious. Their shoyu is their own (house made) and tastes better than your typical Aloha or Kikoman shoyu. Paying a premium but you're getting the best quality food here. Definitely worth very penny. Service is awesome and great! Attentive and shows that they care for their customers. Restaurant is basically in Central Pacific Building (CPB) where Aloha Beer used to be and shares the dining tables/area with Starbucks. Area is maintained and clean. Parking is also validated by restaurant in CPB. Highly recommended to try this place out during lunch and/or after work. I will definitely wanna come back to take out for lunch for their Chirashi and Nigiri sushi bentos and hopefully their tiramisu. Can preorder online before heading there (previewed website and ordering seems to be a breeze). Or come back here for another pau hana or take a date here (wink).

Kira K.

Came here a little after they opened at 11am, but was told they are behind due to their grand opening being today. No problem :) we came back like 45 minutes later, and even though we already ate lunch, I really wanted to try their sushi so I got an 8-piece nigiri bento for later LOL This place is located next to the Starbucks in CPB in downtown all the way towards the back where there's an "aloha beer sign" (I think they are so new that they haven't had a chance to remove this sign yet). Once you get back there, there's a little register and you can order. The menu placement is odd, but it's up on the wall where the sushi is made, so you kind of have to go in closer and peer in to look at the menu. (Pic of the menu is attached!) They didn't have the omakase specials today, so I ordered an 8-piece nigiri bento and a spicy ahi hand roll. Total was like a little over $22, and I ended up waiting like 15-20 min for it. Although I ate it a few hours later, the fish still tasted fresh, and I was pretty impressed by how buttery the salmon was! Also, no stringy pieces of ahi :). I wasn't a fan of the ika as it was super rubbery, but I appreciated how they garnished each piece. The bento came with 2 ahi, 2 ika, 2 salmon, and 2 hamachi. I think the salmon was my favorite, and I also loved the piece of hamachi where they garnished it with some kind of citrus rind (lime maybe?) as it really brightened the dish The spicy ahi hand roll ($5) was good and well-priced. They also had a mini fridge where you can buy bowls, hand rolls, and some drink options. Overall, I am impressed by the quality of fish that they serve for the good prices.. especially In today's world where everything is so expensive. I'll definitely be back to try the omakase :) Also, for parking, I'm not sure if they have a specific area where customers are supposed to park, but iolani palace and the post office both have lots where you can pay to park and easily walk over.

Chris K.

New sushi joint! Came during their soft opening. Don't be confused with the aloha beer sign, they took up that spot in the cpb bank. They have a small refrigerator with premade sushi bentos and bowls or if you want they will make everything in the bento or what not fresh. The menu location is slightly awkward against the wall that you don't face when ordering but all good. We got there a little before lunch rush and during their soft opening they are adding omakase toppings for free. I'm not sure how much it costs extra normally but it definitely elevated the sushi a bit. Service and staff were super friendly. They let us order and then find seating in the lunch area. Good amount of seats and it's AC which is important! The sushi is of good quality and it says a lot to me when the fish fully covers the rice. I also really appreciate sushi spots that have a little bit of wasabi between the rice and fish. I was told the sauce...not quite soy sauce was made by the chef. Also the ginger...I don't normally eat ginger given at sushi spots but this one I did. It doesn't have that super in your face nostral clearing ginger bite! I don't even know how to describe what they did to it, but it was good! They are also open for pau hana which I need to come back and check out one of these days after work.

Russel M.

Great service! Amazing quality! Good price! Clean location Centrally located. Chef Cosmo knows his

Frankie A.

This review is based on attending Aloha Bento's grand opening event. Aloha Bento is located at Central Pacific Plaza's Tidepools, enter the lobby and is to your right. They have outside seating available, in which I relaxed at (and caught up with a few colleagues) before the reserved table I was assigned to was ready. During the grand opening the interior table were reserved tables as I can recall can seat tables of four to seating up to twelve. You can now either do walk-in or contact via phone or email to make reservation seating. Open floor concept gives way for people to mingle around. Aloha Bento provides quality fresh sushi at affordable prices. I had their hamachi bowl & baked lobster tail (soo bomb!). Other offerings include the cali hand rolls, unagi bento, & spicy tuna bowl. Fish was really fresh and the service was on point. My favorite was the lobster tail, so much so I order a second tail! Check them out the next time you're downtown!

Jonathan T.

Hidden gem! 100% recommend tourists visit 10 piece nigiri for $25 is very affordable pricing, especially for this quality, I ate nigiri at multiple other highly rated restaurants and none beat the quality + pricing combo here. Fat slabs of yummy fish To note: Wasabi is in the nigiri Location in the lobby of a bank is tidy and clean, enough trash cans surrounding the area Service is good, not fast not too slow, what's more important is the output stays high quality, which is achieved

Lauren A.

Aloha Bento is my go-to spot whenever I'm downtown and craving some good vibes and delicious food. I've been many times and my favorite dish is their oyster shooters. They're only available on Fridays, but trust me, they're worth the wait. Fresh oysters, ikura, house-made sauce - it's like unreal. On top of that they have an outstanding sake selection. They partner with a local company to bring sake from Japan, so they have a selection often not available in stores. What really sets this place apart is the vibe. The staff is super friendly, and the atmosphere is perfect for many occasions. It's the perfect spot to hang out with coworkers after work or during the work day if you're tired of the office. Plus, having a Starbucks in the shared space is nice to grab coffee if I need it. Highly recommend Aloha Bento. Fresh fish, great prices, & friendly staff!