We had the Washoku lunch a few years ago (it was excellent), so this time we tried the Teppanyaki dinner. I've had Benihana and Tanaka of Tokyo, so I was curious to see how Suntory compared. TLDR: Suntory is Mr. Miyagi and the other restaurants are like inexperienced Daniel-san from Karate Kid. Our party of six fit perfectly around one cooking station. I believe the other restaurants fit 8, so keep that in mind if you have a large party. Service was polite and efficient. Our party ordered a wide variety of steak cuts and price points so that we could compare them. Our chef was Japanese but he could speak some English. This is not like the other restaurants. You won't get an onion volcano, a heart made out of egg, flying shrimp into hats, or a musical performance from cooking utensils. What you will see is a master chef at work. Our chef had 18(!) years of experience. 15 in Japan and 3 in Hawaii. Every move was measured and calculated to perfection. The zucchini, mushrooms, and onions that are often afterthoughts at other restaurants were prepared so well. The natural sweetness and flavor of each vegetable was expertly revealed. My son who normally doesn't like shrimp said the panko shrimp was the best shrimp he's ever had. The lobster tails were so tender and sweet. The fried rice was one of the best I've tasted. Each steak was cooked to perfection according to their temperature preferences. I challenged the chef with "rare-plus", and he delivered it perfectly. He also created a flavored fat crackling from my sirloin. My only suggestion to them would be to offer a bit of good salt and grated fresh wasabi to add some more tasting options for the steak (although I probably should have just asked them then but didn't really think about it until after the meal). The Miyazaki wagyu was super rich and tender, but I preferred the cheaper Washyu personally. Suntory is a little more expensive than the highest cost menu at Tanaka, but well worth it! read more

Restaurant SUNTORY - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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This restaurant is located right in the strip. The staff here were super accommodating and friendly. We showed up in a big group of 10 with no reservation and were able to be seated. I cannot express how great the service here is. It is a smaller establishment and has a very peaceful and welcoming ambience to it. We had about 5 different orders of meat. It was super tender and the marinate was delicious. One of the best BBQ spots I have been to. read more

Restaurant SUNTORY - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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The service and the food here was so good! The restaurant itself was nice and clean. We opted to do the hibachi and I would describe it as an upscale version of what we are normally used to. No flares, tricks, or flames but what we have instead was delicate, skilled, and cooked to perfection. We were celebrating a birthday and on top of a cake at the end they surprised her with small bouquet of flowers. I also had a yuzu sorbet that came at the end it was so yummy I forgot to take a picture. read more

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Service here was excellent! The renovated dining area was spacious and elegant. Tried the Special Dinner Menu (Hitsumabushi Gozen $58) includes appetizer, sashimi, and Choice of Unagi or Crab and Seafood Hitsumabushi. The unagi rice with tea/dashi broth was comforting and filling. Also tried some ala carte dishes. Veggie tempura was nicely lightly battered, a tad oily. The hot soba was great. Didn't care for the macadamia nut tofu, a bit too rich for a tofu. read more

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Delicious teppanyaki! All the dishes were delicious as was the whisky, given it is Suntory. Loved our chef and waitress. Worth the price.

When looking for a nice lunch spot to celebrate a special occasion, Suntory is one of my go-tos. The lunch specials are great, even if they condensed their menu from what it was previously. There's a good variety for people from Tempura, udon, soba, sashimi and tepanyakki (just know it's a different seating area and reservation area notation) We came here to celebrate my coworkers birthday and the birthday ice cream was so cute, thank you for the little special touch! I tried the daily special that was salmon, ikura, and uni donburi. Originally I was nervous it wasn't going to be enough food, but it ended up being just the right amount with the miso soup, radish and salad. You could tell everything was high quality and fresh from the shine off the food and the fresh smell. So Ono!! You'll see me back here again to celebrate a special occasion for lunch. read more

Restaurant SUNTORY - Donburi of the day, salmon, ikura and uni - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Shunsai-zen course at Suntory Waikiki is a splurge for lunch but worth it!!! James was our waiter, excellent service and this is the third time that we have come to experience this monthly special since October 2025. They have other specials that we were considering the next time. Parking has never been a problem and with validation from the restaurant we pay $3. read more

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4.5 stars from me for the delicious and friendly service kaseiki set I enjoyed. The atmosphere is classy and understated. We didnt do teppanyaki for our first time here, opting instead for à la carte appetizers and a set meal complemented with Suntory whiskey and beer. I got the washugyu sukiyaki and sushi set. It was delicious and such an experience going from small bites of diverse flavors and having a perfectly balanced beef sukiyaki hot pot. The service is very good, everyone extremely friendly and dutiful service. This is definitely a splurge but the ambiance and food made by very masterful chefs make this restaurant a standout in Honolulu. read more

Food was great! Very high quality ingredients and great atmosphere. If you are looking for a cook at your table show, this not that! It is just plain fantastic food! read more

We decided to celebrate our 30 year anniversary lunch here. Only one server in our seating area and he was fairly new. I asked about the specials and he said he prefers meat so he would order one of the other beef dishes. Good thing because my partner prefers meat too. I ordered the Shunsai-Zen lunch special. I enjoyed the sushi. Some of the items were a bit plain but it was fresh. I liked all the different dishes. I tasted the beef sirloin and it wasn't a super good piece of meat. It was okay, a bit thin and a lunch item. Room was nice, wooden walls, chairs, bench seats, and air conditioned. There were at least 12 other diners in our section. They had another section too. I would come back. It was relaxing and I liked the ambiance. I would like to try the other items on the menu too. read more

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Top grades for food, ambience and service. We had sukiyaki and the combo of sashimi and black cod, and it was excellent! We will go again on our next visit. This was our annual wedding anniversary trip and the food and service was much better here than at Chef Chai's (our real anniversary dinner). read more

Hands down the best Japanese teishoku and teppan in Hawaii. It never disappoint here and service is attentive and courteous. Ample parking at the Royal Hawaiian Center. For local kamaainas you can use the restaurant receipt to get more validation up to 3 hours at the customer service downstairs. The restaurant went through renovation in 2022 and the Japanese washoku side has wooden decors which give a warm feeling while the room overlooks to the Pink Lady (Royal Hawaiian Hotel). read more

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My wife found this local favorite for my birthday and it couldn't have been better. The food.. AMAZING! The service.. IMPECCABLE! And the atmosphere.. FANTASTIC! It's now my favorite restaurant on the island. Thanks SUNTORY! read more

I came here on Valentine's Day with my little one. This has been our favorite restaurant ever since my and her father found this gem before she was born!!! We always do teppanyaki side. We prefer this side because we love watching the cooking. The chef was polite and cooked our steaks perfectly. The servers kept our waters full and always were on point with when to ask for refills on other drinks. I love the location of the restaurant and set up. They are busy a lot so the fact they figured out how to make both sides of the restaurant run so smoothly is amazing. I recommend this place for any occasion. You won't be sorry ~ read more

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Made a reservation for 2 for their omakase seating at 5:30pm. It was our first time here, and we love omakases, so decided to give this place a try. This restaurant has a variety of dine in options other than omakase also. We arrived shortly before 5:30p, and they started with those who had reservations. I don't tryly understand the system as there were other folks waiting outside that didn't go with us towards the back in the private room for the omakase. Once we checked in, they guided us to a private room in the back. The inside was very clean with nice wood aesthetics. They are located on the 3rd floor of the Royal Hawaiian Center. Our Chef was Tomoya Makabe, who is originally from Hokkaido, Japan. He was nice and welcoming. He showed great technique and skills when preparing each item. Also explained everything throughout the course and appeared very sensitive to all guests present. He also asked if anyone had specific food allergies prior to serving. The other male staff member who assisted all throughout the course was also very kind and helpful. Overall, the omakase was great! Very fresh fish and they melted in our mouths. The chawanmushi was also very soft and delicious. The uni just melted in our mouths- yum! The mackerel was the only one that tasted a bit fishy (I've had before), but even the ikura wasn't fishy which was a pleasant surprise! I normally avoid ikura bc it tends to be fishy, but the one we had here was not even close to fishy. They also surprised us with an anniversary dessert bowl at the very end, which was a sweet gesture. Ambiance was also good- definitely more intimate. The Chefs greet us at the door after our course similar to other omakase restaurants. They also don't rush anyone out, but it is respectful to keep in mind that there is a next omakase seating if you are seated at the 5:30pm course. Our course was approx 1.5h. read more

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Expensive but good. Great steak and seafood. Enjoyed the experience but it is community dining fyi

The week after you come back from Japan, you mope around the house wishing you were still in Japan, eating all the things that Japan has to offer, especially Kaiseki meals. You can experience a little bit of Japan right here in Waikiki (for a hefty price). Choose washoku or teppanyaki seating, I've done both and they are fantastic. We had all kinds of great dishes in the kaiseki meal, and also ordered the Miyazaki beef sukiyaki dipped in the soft boiled onsen egg. Ahhh. Perfection. Almost like Japan! read more

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When visiting Suntory, plan ahead and make reservations. Too often I've wanted to have a quick lunch at Suntory only to find out they're fully booked for lunch. My Mom loves Suntory and has been asking me to take her for awhile. Luckily I snagged reservations and ordered the limited set "Shunsai" lunch. Service at Suntory is always great. We were seated at a very nice and comfortable table. Our server was attentive and efficient. Not to mention the a/c was at a perfect temperature. Not too hot or cold which for me is hard to do. Everyone in our group found something to suit their taste. For me, the tempura and cold udon combo was excellent. Tempura was crispy, light, and had all the right vegetables with a fried shrimp. The cold udon was also good but maybe too light in flavor. My Dad had the Shunsai and he said it was special. While there wasn't a specific dish that stood out, he thought the entire set was well done and ample. My Mom had the cold soba and tempura. She enjoyed it and said it was very good. I wish they would bring back their lunch specials. I used to have this baked salmon avocado mayo dish that was very good. That was the only disappointment as I was looking forward to maybe ordering that dish. Since Suntory is located in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center parking was tight and validation limited. Overall lunch was relaxing and everyone enjoyed the food. We will definitely return! LOCATION: 4/5 FOOD: 4/5 SERVICE: 5/5 VALUE: 4/5 AMBIANCE: 5/5 PET FRIENDLY: no CLEANLINESS: 5/5 PARKING: 4/5 read more

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*Review is for sushi omakase service at Suntory* My friends' family from Japan treated me to the sushi omakase dinner service at Suntory. Upon entry the omakase is in the back and the walk just to get there felt like I was going into Narnia. It was fun though and the ambiance was stellar. The sushi section was a distinct counter style with only counter seating available, so reservations are a must when attending. Every single dish our chef prepared was excellent. I think one thing to note before going to this specific omakase was that the taste buds it was catered towards was Japanese people, meaning that the flavor of the food is not as pronounced or strong as American foods or other cultures where spices and seasoning are a prominent staple. Disregarding the sushi entirely, but the regular dishes served were very light and I enjoyed how it did not overpower the palate to the point where you cannot taste the other dishes. Sushi was 10/10. Most omakases are on-point here in Hawaii. Every single one I've been to has been on point. Chef obviously has trained a lot to be able to execute and cut certain fish to bring out its best. We also had friendly banter with our chef and I always have fun speaking Japanese to everyone so I had a lot of fun here lol. This omakase was no different, and expect an amazing experience. Also if you order the Pineapple or Grapefruit sour the workers will actually grind the fruit for you fresh and put it into your drink for you. Lol fancy. Other than that it's great and worth the price for a fancy outing. Or you can be like the other group on the other side of our table. Talking about boobs and then dancing to the Japanese club after :o They think I can't understand but I know what they are saying. Bits and pieces. LOL! read more

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Restaurant SUNTORY houses 4 different dining areas - the Sushi Counter (by TOKIWA), a Teppan Room, a Washoku Room, and a Lounge. There is also a Private Room for group gatherings that could be reserved in advance. We were fortunate to try out TOKIWA - note that there are only 9 seats at the counter, and the experience is intimate and cozy. All the chefs that are assigned are kind and friendly, and you can tell that they are quite experts! Each course that was provided during the omakase was fresh and thoughtful. Located at the Royal Hawaiian Center, reservations are required. +try TOKIWA +reservations are required +located at the Royal Hawaiian Center read more

horrible experience from this restaurant. I checked the official website and made reservations thro open table app and sent them email to pre-order the special food just for march. And I mentioned we would love to private room for friend birthday. So I got called back the current morning from the receptionist and tell me No march special food available because it's limited, and not sure able to fit us in private room she needs call manager to confirm. And she trying to let me go to the smoking smelling teriyaki area which we all don't like it. We love fine dining with private space and their website clearly shows minimum 4 people and minimum 200$ spending for private room, which absolutely fine n I spoke to the lady thro the phone money is not a problem we just need good environment for our friend birthday celebration. She said she will call back to confirm if the manager give us private room or not. And then I missed thier 2 calls so I called back, 4 times! 4 times they never picked up the call and my reservation automatically got cancelled!!! Such horrible feeling from this restaurant. Me n my friends always go to fine dining and never be treated in this way! You guys big lose... we end up to go to another private restaurant spending 1500$ and enjoyed our time. read more

Restaurant SUNTORY - They never pick up the call!!! Horrible - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Celebrated my friend's birthday here at lunch (it's difficult to find a good birthday lunch place). The service is great and the menu is the limited seasonal menu (winter). Look how beautiful and great variety the dishes are! We all were satisfied . Thank you very much! read more

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11/17/18: for Honolulu Restaurant Week (11/9- 11/17/24), its shunsaizen lunch set (limit to 18/day) was for only $40 (instead of it's usual $46). Everything was so delicious and fresh. Great price for the variety, quality and thoughtfulness in the menu. It's been a while, but I just had to get the fresh pineapple sour (thanks to my bf for doing all the juicing.) He really enjoyed the cocktails he had. We used to get their shunsaizen lunch set every month, but they gradually kept increasing the price so we don't go as often, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to get it at this discounted price. Service is always really friendly (the servers tend to remember us). Tip: free parking up to 3 hours with special validation for kamaaina and military, just have to show your appropriate ID and @royalhwnctr receipt(s) ($10 total minimum) at Helumoa Hale Guest Services on the bottom floor. read more

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I wanted to like this place just because our waitress was attentive and helpful but I genuinely do not think I will ever come back. The food was not bad by any means but totally overpriced in a city where so much excellent traditional Japanese food can be had. First off, the restaurant uses cheap wooden chopsticks. They were made in Japan but they broke into splinters when you first split them. Horrible. We asked if we could get real chopsticks and they replied they had none. Unreal! Second, the food is not special. We opted for some hot pot style sets and I can say with certainty that Haidilao or Chong Qing Yaomei hotpot would offer same quality meat and vegetables at a lower price point. There is simply no flavor in the Japanese hot pots offered and the sauces were literally nothing special (sesame and an almost ponzu like sauce that was too heavy on vinegar). I consider this a travesty--sauces are critical to good hot pot. Third, our ice cream (which came with our expensive hotpot sets) had freezer burn on them still when they were served to us. Totally unacceptable and a lack of attention to detail. As a counterpoint, my brother-in-law ordered the unagi set that comes with sashimi and some small bites a la kaiseki. He said it was delicious. My sister, on the other hand, ordered the salmon chazuke and thought it was basic. Perhaps the only dish worth ordering is the hamachi kama. Large portion, juicy, and delicious. That dish alone is what is preventing my review from being a 1-star. Finally, there is a teppanyaki style of the restaurant that seemed to be more popular. But my impression is that it probably totally overpriced for what it is! read more

Fantastically expensive, abjectly mediocre. There's too much going on in the menu to really expand meaningfully on that point. The service was a bit bumbling, and environment a bit huddled, but all in all it passes for a decent dining experience. read more

This is the same Suntory that does all the whiskies, and they have a lot of their classic whiskies on display for decor. They have regular tables and also a teppanyaki tables. We had a private room for a party of 12, which was so nice, especially since we had 5 kids with us. My friend also ordered ahead for the table, but we were able to adjust the order the same day, which was nice. Drinks: - Mai tai: fairly standard but not overly sweet - Yuzu highball: light, refreshing Starters: - Sashimi platter: very fresh, a mix of hamachi, various tunas, hotate, amaebi - Salmon sashimi - Chutoro sashimi - Ahi poke: great seasoning and depth of flavor, better than your casual poke place - Sake steamed Asari clams: the broth was amazing, with a mix of clams and shimeji mushrooms - Blanched spinach: great texture, with shimeji mushrooms, bonito flakes, and Dashi; this was a surprising hit with the kids! And a rare opportunity for vegetables - Chawanmushi: with clam, shrimp, mushrooms Carbs: - Thin Inaniwa udon (hot): flavorful clear broth, simple, great noodle texture - Buckwheat soba: cold, classic sauce, scallions, wasabi - Chazuke: with salmon, nori, wasabi on the side Main proteins: - Grilled miso black cod: a close second to the hamachi kama - Grilled hamachi kama: they only had one serving that night, so good thing we ordered ahead! This was the favorite fish. - Grilled miso marinated salmon belly - Miyazaki Wagyu tenderloin with teppanyaki sauces: so tender and melt in your mouth Desserts: - Warabi Mochi with Kuromitsu: hard to find on the mainland! - Ichigo Daifuku: beautiful strawberries with red bean paste in mochi - Sakekasu cheesecake with sake lees: light, not sweet, my favorite of the desserts In addition to the servers being extremely gracious, everything was very kid friendly: they had crayons and coloring sheets, kid plates and smaller utensils, and plastic cups with short straws. The servers were so polite and non intrusive but very on top of it clearing plates and bringing new dishes. The private room was the perfect setting for the dinner, and it is not cheap, but all the food was great (even the kids loved it!) read more

The food is good - had both steaks and the seafood options. It's just lacking a little something to make it great. Drinks are on the sweet side but a Suntory draft is always good. The meat was cooked perfectly so the chef knew what he was doing. read more

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TL;DR Upscale and refined Japanese dining in the heart of Waikiki. NOTE: this review is for the Washoku dining experience. ----- My wife, daughter, and I dined at Suntory on a Friday night. We were able to secure a reservation at 5:30pm opening and were seated promptly. Parking is available at the Royal Hawaiian Center and is validated by the restaurant. Of course, we kicked off the night with a couple ice cold Suntory draft beers. Yummy!!! I ordered the "TOKI" hot pot and sushi course plus an ikura temaki, my wife ordered the "IRODORI" seasonal kamameshi course plus an uni temaki, and we ordered a bowl of hot soba and the miso salmon belly for our daughter. Everything was delicious. The highlights from my meal were the mini wagyu sukiyaki, the tempura (fried dish), and the miso black cod (grilled dish). My wife's favorites were the chawanmushi and the kamameshi. The service was fantastic (very attentive!) throughout the meal. As a parent, I also appreciated their valet service for strollers. It's pricey here but definitely worth it. I'm excited to return to try their teppan offering. read more

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Would not recommend this place. The food was okay, but the service was awful. The server lied to us about our order. We arrived 30 minutes after they opened, but the server told us they were already out of the set menu and that we could only order one. It didn't make sense, but we accepted it and ordered something else. However, two women came in after we ordered and were able to get the set menu that we were told was unavailable. Please do not remove this Yelp review. I originally posted this about a year ago, and I don't understand why it keeps getting taken down. read more

Suntory is my favorite Japanese restaurant to come to. Food is off the hook , everything is very fresh. Service is excellent, NEVER DISAPPOINT. very very clean restaurant. They also have full shelves of Hebiki whiskey bottles for display only , too bad it's not for sale. lol read more

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We had the omakase, so please keep that in mind. This is what you would expect for a high class, upper echelon omakase. The fish is fresh, and there are some unique and delicious versions of the classic. In this place, you won't find california rolls or that fusion stuff. This is the what I call the traditional version. The ambiance is calm and collected, like being in a high end, private dinning room. You don't hear any of the other customers outside. The executive Takuya Kanto was at the helm of the 9 seater and provided excellent service. It does help enormously if you could speak Japanese, however, he's still gracious and tries to his best. The service was excellent as the other servers could speak English well. The Sake is great, we asked for a recommended course and he asked how many sake. We said three, and we got excellent (and expensive) choices. After the omakase, be sure to save room - there's an opportunity to get a repeat of what you like. AND there may be other items you could request that you were not aware of. For example, he busted out the blow torch and we got wagyu nigiri. Will definitely go again! We want to try the lunch omakase (which should be just as good - and we'll ask for Chef Kanto again, too!) read more

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Great evening at the Teppanyaki table. We shared a 5oz filet dinner set and a la carte Hokkaido scallops, king oyster mushrooms and tamago nigiri. We started with the nigiri and my god, we could've been in Japan, it was that good (and I was just in Japan 1 week ago). Scallops were absolutely massive and succulent, my sister thoroughly enjoyed here well done (!) steak, and all the veges were delicious. Honestly, even the steamed white rice was incredible. Service was impeccable, though the Teppanyaki chef we had was a bit rude and argumentative when we questioned the bean sprouts he served us (which we specifically requested to omit), hence the 4 stars. read more

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Heard about this restaurant on Waikiki and decided to try it. Everything we had was fresh! I wouldn't say it blew me off but sashimi was fresh and I guess this is important. My sukiyaki was not out of ordinary but could be better. I like the ambiance, very simple Japanese designs - clean. Restaurant is well lit and quiet. Service is excellent too. read more

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Excellent food quality. Ambiance is traditional Japanese but with Waikiki vibe and view. Tempura and Wagyu are outstanding. Very good service. Easier to park at the international Market Place. read more

Just came back from Mother's Day dinner and I'm kind of disappointed how much it has changed from my past experiences. The food is now much more expensive but the quality is somehow worse. We spent $400 for 4 people to eat mediocre food. First of all, if you're charging almost $50 for 5 pieces of nigiri sushi, you have to make sure it's better than conveyer belt sushi. I was shocked to see that there were large gristles in sushi and sashimi. There was a couple otoro sashimi that I had that was completely inedible due to the whole piece being gristly. Second, service was OK, but that's not acceptable for an expensive fine dining restaurant. Kind of slow, not very attentive, not everything came out at the right timing. Three of us got the sukiyaki course menu, but I felt that we didn't get $250 worth of sukiyaki. I felt it was maybe worth $150 at most. We didn't get much meat. Overall, I don't think I'll be back. I used to love the sukiyaki here and the prices were more reasonable. I was shocked how expensive it was and expected better quality if I was going to end up paying more, but it did not meet my expectations. read more

Wow wow wow. What an incredible meal. I had an opportunity to dine at Restaurant Suntory this evening and had a chance to try out the washoku experience. The entire meal was absolutely spectacular. There was not a single dish that did not completely exceed my expectations. My wife got the chef recommended kaiseki course -- "HIBIKI", while I ended up getting the seasonal kamameshi course -- "IRODORI". For $180 and $86 respectively, there is a pretty big difference in price. That said, I would highly recommend this combination for couples who want to try a bit of everything. Without going into every single course, my favorite course was probably the most mundane one: the kamameshi (iron pot rice). The perfectly cooked rice was served with a wonderful assortment of toppings, including picked plum, roasted seaweed, and more. A close second was probably the grilled fish: perfectly char, and super buttery. I would say this dish was on par with the miso cod from Nobu. The nigiri course also did not disappoint: the uni, Hokkaido scallop, and tuna were fresh, sweet, and succulent. The tuna had a wonderful balance of fattiness and meatiness as well. Definitely some of the best fish I've encountered in Oahu. If you are celebrating a special occasion and have the means to splurge in a big way on a meal, Suntory does not disappoint. The food here is absolutely exceptional, and service and drink offerings are top notch as well. read more

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Wow, what an experience on Wakiki. Reservation is highly recommended. Came here for lunch and had a memorable meal that I will recommend to my Yelp community. Suntory is all about quality and service. I will be coming back every time visiting the island. read more

Very fun! Suntory is in the heart of Waikiki in the Royal Hawaiian Center, known for their amazing Japanese dishes. Came here with my mom (we come regularly for lunch). Today we decided to try the new local lunch set! It comes with a salad, very fresh, with bell peppers, tomatoes and a very nice acidic and tangy vinaigrette. It was lovely and a nice appetizer. The main course; sushi roll with salmon skin and ikura on top. The flavor was delicate and perfectly balanced. The ikura was not fishy at all. The steak, medium rare, was perfect, the flavor was amazing, simple and cooked to expectation. If I were to add, a bowl of rice to pair with the steak would have been perfect, however it was as still very good and the steak was very balanced, light, and had a mild beef flavor which didn't overpower the mouth. Overall, amazing lunch menu for a nice meal or a business meet. Clean and simple :) read more

Restaurant SUNTORY - Local Lunch Set - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This review is for the omakase at Sushi Tokiwa, a separate room within Restaurant Suntory. Make reservations online. Though not terribly busy for a weekday lunch. It was about 13 pieces for the lunch omakase. The five star review is really because the quality of the food and experience + the cost of it ($100pp). Compared to a good handful of other omakases we've had in Seattle and various other metro cities, many of which felt like good to try once but not a repeat, I feel like this one is well worth it and to come again. At the end of the meal, I was contemplating if we should try to make another one before our one week vacation was over. Added photos of just a few of the items that were highlights during the meal. read more

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So... I can only judge local standards based on what we've tried thus far, but by my standards (at a mostly NYC baseline, with once-frequent trips to Tokyo), the set lunch menus at Suntory at lunch are ok, not standout. I'd love to try the omakase at dinner sometime, which some Yelp reviewers I trust have reviewed well... but not while we are this jetlagged, sadly. Those might be the real draw! My sashimi set included tako (octopus), hamachi (yellowtail), maguro / akami (lean tuna), isaki, and swordfish. The isaki came with a lot of tough skin still attached. It was attractive but difficult to chew and eat. In general, the sashimi were so-so, of fair, but not excellent quality, and would be considered pedestrian for the price in NYC. Plating was beautiful. Accompanying miso soup was good, rice fair, and takuan standard issue. A tempura / soba set meal was also just ok, the tempura varied (oyster mushroom, eggplant, pumpkin, shiso, shrimp, and some sort of fish that my little one said was salmon; I don't think it was), but overly oily and not properly blotted before serving. Soba was the correct texture and came in a plentiful serving size, with a fairly good soup / dipping sauce, a pile of negi (scallions) and grated daikon radish for garnish. Our servers were lovely, but spread thin, it was clear. We enjoyed the third floor view over the mall green where we'd just enjoyed a hula dance class. The table next to us had a beautiful-looking shabu shabu, which I hadn't even seen on the menu. Next time! read more

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