most reviews are about food and service and vibe. I'd like to comment on the GM, John- he's phenomenal; he runs a tight ship, is always there and very knowledgeable. if I see John when we visit: I know it be a great night. he's not flashy or selfish. he's just "a good solid dude". makes a difference. if you go to place that is sloppy, inconsistent, stressed staff, or disorganized- it usually a jerkwad manager. John makes a difference read more

The Bao buns and sushi were great. Our server took great care of us. A very nice spot in downtown. Walked from hotel to dinner. read more

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Wow wow wow. What an experience! From the moment you arrive until the moment you leave, you'll go on a sushi experience. A sushi sommelier arrived at our table to guide us towards tasty choices- even gifting us nigiri to try. I got yellowtail, salmon, and a semi-cooked trout. My colleague ordered the wagyu tacos and the tartare toast. Everything was tender, perfect temperature, and buttery soft. Even the final donuts were piping hot and fluffy. This meal was memorable and satisfying- check it out if you love sushi or if you've never had it- you'll be in good hands. read more

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Excellent place with a great variety of rolls. This people are really creative and will come up with food that will make you remember them. The service is great and the prices go in accord with the quality and creativity of their food. If you are around Greenville, give a visit to this people. You'll not regret it. read more

We came here on a Saturday night and it was very busy so make sure you have a reservation, especially if it's more than 2 people. For us luckily there was space at the bar and it's great how you can see the preparation of the sushi right in front of you. I ordered sushi with raw fish and it was very fresh and delicious. There were plenty of options for non-seafood eaters, my partner ordered the pork plate and it was great. I also recommend the duck baos. The food was impeccable and the overall ambiance was great, our server despite being busy never forgot about us and we made sure to tip him well! 10/10 read more

We had the most amazing anniversary dinner at O-Ku. The food was good but the staff was amazing. John and Devin made us feel welcome from the moment we walked in and made our experience so special. The ambience is amazing, we visited on a holiday weekend but I'm sure on a regular weekend it's packed because the food is so good. Loved my cocktail and loved my meal. I got the short rib and not only was the portion a good size, the meat was so tender and the portion was big enough for leftovers. Everything was presented so nicely, don't hesitate to visit when you're in downtown Greenville. read more

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Best quality sushi you will find in Greenville! The atmosphere is nice and in a great location (very central downtown). Service is always great, just a little pricey. Happy hour is definitely worth it! read more

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I wanted to liked most of the food but but it was so hot in there and a fishy smell and the staff seemed cold and unwelcoming.

Very cool interior and the place was packed. We ordered a variety of sushi for the table (Reedy Roll, Red Passion), and honestly we were all a little underwhelmed. Our rolls were all falling apart when we picked them up. I wouldn't recommend the Black Magic roll. It was a little bland. I'm going to give this place another chance and try some different rolls. read more

O-Ku - Black Magic - Sushi Bars Near Me - Greenville, South Carolina

Right next to the bookstore in downtown Greenville, this restaurant was great! Such a sleek and modern interior - kind and attentive staff as well. Took advantage of the happy hour menu and ordered some food for the table, as well as to go -- all tasted great! Will definitely be back :) (PS - they can add various fruits and fresh flavors to your water which was great! Lemons, limes and cucumbers!) read more

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Wow. We absolutely loved this place. We really ordered all over the menu to get a good sampling of all they had to offer and it was the right move. We had a great server who made good recommendations and really made for an enjoyable dinner for us. The setting inside is really neat with floor to ceiling windows along the front of the restaurant and the back patio is open to a turf courtyard area where kids can entertain themselves. Everything we ordered was great, we especially loved the nigiris. The Gindara Nigiri is a must order! You won't be disappointed here. 10/10 read more

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By far the best sushi in Greenville. Excellent, fresh quality every time. The truffle edamame is an absolute must try!

Very ambient establishment with low lighting and natural light coming from the outdoor section right next door. Sitting at the sushi bar was sometimes rough to receive service from the waiter but was on task getting our order. The food itself was a variety of flavor that worked in a complete perfect bite for every roll. Funnily enough, the strawberry shortcake was outclassed by the vanilla ice cream it came with would definitely recommend. read more

O-Ku - Rainbow roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Greenville, South Carolina

Amazing night at O-Ku Greenville! Kaylee nailed recommendations. Stunning nigiri (uni-topped toro, scallop vibes) + rolls. Super fresh & flavorful. Must-visit! read more

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I had a great time at O-Ku last night. As always, the ambiance is beautiful. I love the modern decor and lively atmosphere. It reminds me of sushi places I would go to in NYC. It was packed! It was a Saturday night, and there was a concert at the Peace Center, so service was a little slow, but I did not mind that. I sat at the counter and was able to watch the sushi rolls being made, which was fun to watch. The guy making the rolls was very friendly. The first couple of times I went to O-Ku, I thought it was okay, but this time I thought it was great, so I wonder if the last time I went was an off night because last night it was top tier to me. I started with a cocktail, the Sugar and Spice, and I loved the little bit of heat the drink had. I got the edamame, which is hard to mess that up. Then I got 2 pieces of Otoro Sashimi, and it was so fresh and delicious. I love fatty tuna; it was so good. I also got the Crispy Crunch Roll. I wish I could have tasted the cucumber in it, and I wish I told them not to add the aioli on it, but that is just my preference because it was very tasty. All in all, it was a perfect evening with great sushi. read more

We decided to try out O-Ku in Greenville although there is one back home in Charleston since we're heard good things about it. The indoor area was very nice and had nice lighting and ambiance. We chose to sit outside since it was pretty nice and finally cooled down. I love me some sake so that was my first stop on the menu and hubby got the "Just got back" margarita. He didn't love it bc of the spicy flavor but that was solely preference. I enjoyed his drink and my nigori sake. We skipped the appetizers and settled on 3 sushi rolls. The server was very helpful in guiding us towards the GF ones since hubby has celiac. We got one with shrimp, one with tuna and another fish. Everything tasted very fresh and it was quite filling. I will say we kinda knew coming in that it would be pricier so we ended up spending over $100. You can definitely tell they use quality ingredients but sushi nights like this are definitely a "treat" when you're spending that much for just a few rolls and drinks. We enjoyed ourselves and our server took good care of us and accommodated our allergy. read more

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The restaurant is trendy with a fun vibe. Although every table was filled, it wasn't as noisy as I expected. We could hear all members of our large group with ease. David greeted our group and Noah was our waiter. The service was impeccable. We had a large group and all ordered different dishes. My personal favorite was the Magic roll. The Otoro shots are a must! The cocktails and Pink Lady Sake were incredible. We have traveled to Japan many times so it's difficult to impress us with sushi, but we all agreed that everything was delicious. We will definitely return. It was a perfect evening! read more

O-Ku - Sushi Bars Near Me - Greenville, South Carolina

Decided to check this place out during my trip to Greenville. Initially ordered few including 10 pieces of nigiri and hamachi dish with disappointment in fish quality. Thought I may have ordered wrong dish so ordered few more with further disappointment. It's very pricey for the quality of food I got. Server was very attentive though, which was nice though. Overall, not the quality I expect at this price point. read more

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All I can say is *arigato*!!!! I stumbled in to O-Ku on my own on a Saturday night for a solo dinner and was treated to an experience. I had a great Russian River Chardonnay start things off and then went to the miso soup which was perfect. Leah was my sweet waitress and she made sure I was happy. I ordered on her recommendation the signature hamachi nigiri w/yozu miso aioli and Serrano pepper for that little bite and followed that up with the "tuna crunch", a superb makimono composed of spicy tuna, cucumber, fried onions, sweet soy and spicy aioli! That was gunna be it, but the chef sought my favor by sending me some tasty freebies! Two separate lovely samples of hamachi carpaccio and salmon usuzukuri!!!!! And for dessert, I treated myself to these incredible sugared donuts (Sata andagi) with miso caramel sauce! The manager John came over and checked on me too! I felt so pampered. I HIGHLY recommend this for the discriminating diner. I just hope you get the VIP treatment I did. read more

Best sushi I've had. Knowledgeable and kind service, it is 100% worth every penny. The interior design and ambiance was relaxed and modern.

The decor, style, and plating are all spot-on and congruent. The service is attentive and the food here comes at a steady pace. The biggest gripe is that their dishes are extravagantly priced considering what they offer you. None of the Hakozushi is worth it. Too expensive and fairly uninteresting at the price point. The edamame is flavorful but besides that, the appetizers also aren't anywhere worth it. For the price of the salmon usuzukuri, you could just get a full roll. It's ridiculous. You can get food comp'd for your birthday, mainly depends on how nice you and your server are. So if want to try this place, do it for a special occasion. read more

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Visited Greenville for a business trip. Stopped at O-Ku for sushi. This place came highly recommended. We sat outside and the area was cute. We orders the edamame to start. I would say it was ok. Nothing special. Next we ordered the the falls and the reedy river. Both were good but not exceptional. The rolls seemed small all together. The tastes were equally small. Perhaps my expectations were too high based on the recommendations? Overall great atmosphere and cute location. When in town again will give it another try read more

This is fall 2024 update. Wow....so this place is cool has a cool, hip, vibe with dining area and two bars one for drinks ( where you can also eat food) and a separate sushi bar( where you can also get drinks.) We started with the Salmon Usuzukuri (Which has "pickled wasabi, lava salt, truffle ponzu" sauce.) This is delicious to me really tasty and fresh. Next we ordered the Brussell sprout appetizer, the Wagyu Sando and The G.O.A.T. roll. See following pics. Brussel sprout were great with some thin sliced green squash, onions & were stringy. The Wagyu Sando....bluntly... not good. This is a greasy, heavy oily taste in your mouth. Not worth the high price tag ($65). This tasted more like pot roast on toast. (Seriously) but it wasn't even tender.. We will definitely NOT get again . The GOAT roll with salmon and crab a d mango and lemon(?) Is delicious and refreshing and thank goodness we left some of these eat after the "Wagyu ". It least it partially cleaned my pallet. We ended with the donut dessert...totally bad for you but delicious.. We will go back but stick with true sushi. I should also mention staff is kind and attentive. Thumbs up to them. read more

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Second time here.... The sushi is extremely tasty and the staff is always super helpful when asking any questions. Setting is extremely dark and filled with neon light for anyone who isn't into that type of stuff. It's a place we'll come 1-2x a year given the price of everything. Regardless, it's always a 5 star experience and can't wait to come back! read more

O-Ku - The G.O.A.T - Sushi Bars Near Me - Greenville, South Carolina

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This is my favorite sushi spot in Greenville. The food is always great! (Granted, I only order rolls and sushi and sometimes appetizers so not sure what their other cooked dishes are like.) Sushi has always been fresh every time I've eaten here and rolls are flavorful and don't fall apart when picked up. Cocktails are great as well and are not overly sweet or strong. The inside decorations are trendy and staff are knowledgeable and friendly. Other negative reviews mention price and slow service - yes, this place IS pricey and is not the place where you can get full on a budget. However they do have happy hours on Mondays and Tuesdays when you can get rolls half off. Service can be slow if they're very busy and behind on orders, also depending on what you order, but I personally think the food here is worth a little wait. read more

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O-Ku is a good trendy sushi option in downtown Greenville. It has a great ambiance and while we sat inside, it looked like they had a very nice outdoor area as well. I thought everything was very fresh. We started with truffle edamame, which was amazing; shisito peppers, pretty good; crispy rice, I thought could have been better; and miso soup, tasty but very salty. I had the rainbow roll, which I thought was good, pretty basic, as I know a rainbow roll usually is. We finished with green tea and vanilla mochi. The green tea mochi was tasty, but a little dry. The vanilla was sweeter and a but less dry, but I thought the exterior was a little drier than they should be. I had the purple lotus as my cocktail and thought it was very good! Our server was attentive, however, our drinks took forever to come out. They came after some of our appetizers. Overall, I would go again, but it didn't blow me out of the water. read more

O-Ku - Rainbow roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Greenville, South Carolina

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Went here for date night! It was pretty good, very busy though. The tables kinda felt right on top of one another. The cocktails were not our favorite, but really good food though. We got miso soup, chicken hibachi, and some sushi rolls. Would probably not come again, the layout of the restaurant was overstimulating. The bathrooms were really fancy and nice. read more

O-Ku - Miso soup - Sushi Bars Near Me - Greenville, South Carolina

OMG what an experience. First the service impressed us right off the bat. We were greeted by the hostess and she handed us off to the best server I may have ever had. Alanna was our server and they do not come any better. She listened and made great recommendations. I went with the upstate and the GOAT. They were both amazing. Think of the upstate as a surf and turf roll. It paired really nice with a blending of flavors. Then the GOAT, appropriately named. That is a must, the salmon, blue crab and avacado was a flavor bomb. Alanna treated us to the Salmon UZU, holy cow. The salmon just melted in your mouth. We had the tokiyo for drinks, think of it was a Japanese Manhattan. Real good and not too sweet. As we ordered our second round of sushi we added in the fingerling potatoes. Real good and crisp and the aioli was amazing. This is the first 5 star for me in a while but this was 5 star plus service from Alanna (did I tell you she make the wasabi ) that started the night. But the food is truly on par with the service. The staff and the patrons were super friendly, great atmosphere in a cool place. I will definitely visit again when in town. Great job UKU and great job Alanna. Amazing experience!!! read more

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Nice place very intimate but food wasn't all that service was ok they were a little busy

I am looking at two rolls....one is 90% rice and tastes like raw lemon, the other is smothered in a "aoli" that tastes like mayonnaise. This place is trying to be hip at the expense of good sushi. Grocery store tuna is better I promise. read more

Sat at the bar on a Friday night. Jesse (Jesse's girl!) Sammy (Minnie Driver doppelgänger), and Clint ("as in Eastwood" LOL) were our bartenders and they were AMAZING! Jesse knew everything about the different items on the dinner menu! We dubbed her "Master Sushi"! Excellent service, delicious food, and best atmosphere! Ask for the Sugar + Spice w/ Mezcal! We will be back! #soleisworld read more

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Absolutely spectacular. My wife and I went last night to celebrate our anniversary and it was top-notch through and through... We spent three weeks in Japan last year and this was seriously right up there with anything that we ate in Japan. As it was a special occasion, we kind of went large and had drinks and including tip was right about 250 for the two of us. One could certainly have a great meal for less, but it was incredibly worth it. We will certainly be back and you should go as well! read more

Service was good and various roll and sushi options were very original and creatively assembled. Definitely will be back although it is pricey. read more

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I expected a solid meal, not a great meal. The whole experience was great. The food was outstanding. A classy twist to high quality standard sushi that I love at Sushi Masa. The service was very good and the ambiance was fantastic. I'm looking forward to my next visit. Only advice to them would be to speed up the service a bit. read more

Always a quality dining experience with great service. Servers are well educated and friendly, and will adapt to the level of involvement you want on their part. The ambience is more of a nightlife louder vibe on the inside, and a quieter more romantic vibe on the outside. Always good food, but dishes that prioritize nigiri and sashimi are best! The hamachi carpaccio is spectacular, and you will want the base sauce for every dish read more

We had the best night at Oku. The manager John and our waitress Kalee couldn't have been more welcoming and accommodating. I rarely leave reviews but this was special. The service, food and ambience were 5 stars. By far the bet sushi we've had in forever. Can't wait to come back. read more

Great food, pretty ambience inside, serve could be better. Overall great dining meal wise. read more

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I've been to O-Ku twice during my visit to Greenville, and found it to be something of a mixed bag. During my first visit, I really enjoyed the crispy rice appetizer, topped with (very) spicy diced raw fish, and a slice of a jalapeño. It's absolutely delicious. I had this again on my second visit, and it was just as good if not even better. I also enjoyed the chef's choice sushi dinner, though found it pricey for the selection at $70. Most sushi restaurants do one piece of each fish for a sushi set, but they had two pieces of each fish. I would have liked a little more variety. They do have a nice sake selection, which I appreciate. On my second visit, my friend's sushi roll was literally falling apart as she tried to eat it, which at around $18 for a fairly small roll, there's really no excuse for. I had the roasted salmon on this visit, which was just ok. Again, overpriced for the quality. The dining room is very pleasant and chic, and has an urban buzz to it. If you're looking for a place to enjoy some cocktails and appetizers, and maybe a few pieces of nigiri, O-Ku is fine, but I just can't recommend it on the whole. read more

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food was okay, pretty pricey for 8 pieces of sushi. Chicken teriyaki was good. Very chatty staff, the introvert in me wanted to have a peaceful , slow meal. read more

This place is incredible!! We ordered the edamame with truffle, rock shrimp, and mushrooms to start off and I was extremely Impressed! Absolutely delicious. For dinner we ordered the steak roll and black magic, which is their lobster roll. I wasn't too impressed by lobster roll but I think that's because the steak roll was just that delicious. 10/10!! read more

O-Ku - Sushi Bars Near Me - Greenville, South Carolina