I don't usually award 5 stars to anyone, but Sushi Sam's has earned my heart to write this review, and I'm grateful to have been there to experience it myself. 5 stars for service! What an experience, and the wait was totally worth it. Not that we waited long; we had a reservation and got seated right away. 5 stars for service! Our waiter, Yuki, was super friendly, responsive, and really attentive to what we needed. We even met the owner and toasted to his hard work. 5 stars for food quality and quantity! The quality was super fresh and just the right amount. Each plate was plentiful and looked amazing. We had a bunch of sushi dishes, and the rib-eye steak was to die for. Cooked medium rare and so tender. 5 for the venue! It was clean, organized, and cozy. read more

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I'm not the best at making reservations, so I've actually been turned away at Sushi Sam's a few times. The food was delicious, beautifully prepared, and every bite lived up to the hype. Service was personable and quick without feeling rushed. It's just as scrumptious as all my neighbors and friends have been telling me for years. Sushi Sam's has definitely earned its reputation. read more

Sushi Sam’s - Volcano Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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Ran in here for quick bite, and so glad we did! They were full for dinner and had two seats left at the bar for a 630p reservation and sat us for dinner, giving us 30 minutes to eat. Their sushi chefs were so quick, We were done in 20. Yellowtail hamachi with jalapeños was so fresh, thick juicy cuts and perfect ponzu sauce. The avocado bomb was a pleasant surprise. Chopped spicy tuna tucked under thinly sliced avocados on a bed of crunchy tempura flakes. The combination of different textures and sweet from sauce and spicy fish was so good. The volcano roll was a great addition to round out our meal. Just enough food to hold us over before going to dinner. Fresh fish, clean restaurant. Service was fast, and I mean lightning fast, super kind and hospitable and greeted and thanked by everyone. Would love to come back the next time we have more time. Definitely make a reservation though, I can see why they are always so busy! Highly recommend. read more

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The highest quality sushi in Kona is found at Sushi Sam's! The restaurant is small, minimalist, and clean. Service is helpful and attentive. Reservations are a must to secure a table here, though walk-in seating at their bar might be available. You honestly can't go wrong with any choice here. The fish is astonishingly fresh and delicious. The raw scallop nigiri and baked scallop gunkan were my favorites, while my partner enjoyed the salmon skin roll and squid and eel nigiri the most. We both highly recommend the A5 wagyu if you want to treat your taste buds to something incredible. So rich and wonderfully unctuous! While prices are high ($5-10/nigiri), you get what you pay for in terms of quality and taste. The sushi at Sushi Sam's tastes just as good as the sushi we had on our trip to Hokkaido. If we didn't live in Hilo, this would be our go-to sushi spot! read more

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Great service. Such good sushi. Had toro and yellowtail sushi then a special roll. My son had miso soup which he loved, chicken teriyaki and rice. We shared edamame. Staff was friendly and everything was yummy.. read more

Sushi Sam’s - Special roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

This place is awesome. It's so clean and perfect inside. We ordered the hamachi and tuna app which was great. We also got the collar tuna (not my fav) we got the special roll and another roll I can't remember the name of but they were so good. We also got grilled eel which was amazing. The service was amazing. She was very informative. I would def come back! read more

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They started the lunch service so I had to check it out! We ordered a la carte as well as the lunch bento box. Everything was delicious! read more

Sushi Sam’s - Lunch Bento Box - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Really great sushi made with fresh, quality ingredients. Good service. Convenient parking. Consistently good.

Hands down the best sushi i've ever had. The fish was so fresh!! The service was also amazing. Make reservations ahead of time!!! read more

Sushi Sam’s - Assorted sashimi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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I saw Ray reviews. I was craving a mommy and miso, the miso was delicious but small for my preferences, I recommend it the flavor is unique and one I'll remember read more

Sushi Sam’s - Updated menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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We had dinner at Sushi Sam's again last night and decided to sit at the sushi bar. So glad we did. Had an amazing dinner and enjoyed a pleasant conversation with the chef as well as another frequent customer Chris. The food is always delicious and so fresh. We had the hamachi with serrano and ponzu truffle, seafood sunomono, ahi tataki, tempura, oysters on the half shell and a super California roll with real crab and unagi on top. Everything was executed perfectly and the flavors were divine. Two draft Sapporos and a delightful house sake completed an excellent meal. read more

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Everyone in Kona knows this is the best and freshest sushi on the island. It can get busy, so reservations are a must. You will not be disappointed. I only wish they had a still nigori sake, but they only serve a sparkling. The wagyu steak dumplings blow my mind every time. Keep up the great work, Sam! read more

The fish quality was absolutely great. My Negitoro roll definitely had too much rice, but still had wonderful buttery texture. My partner's nigir combo was also stellar. I really like that they chop fresh ahi for the spicy tuna and you can taste the difference. Unfortunately the service was atrocious. Our waiter was far more interested in talking to someone at the bar and at one point 2 tables had not one, but 2 rounds of sushi in the time it took to take out my single roll. The wait became so bad that we left hungry as we didn't want to have to sit another 30min for a few bites. Another group had the same issue, but certain tables were getting very prompt service. I would maybe try it again, but wouldn't recommend going there. read more

They prepare actual fresh wasabi here which was an unreadable surprise to me! I thought I would have to go to Japan to experience real wasabi! The special roll was one of the best scallop rolls I've ever eaten. The sushi here is actually fresh and they do specials here of locally caught fish. The waiter and waitress were very warm and welcoming. read more

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This Sushi is a must !! The fish is fresh and the Chef is amazing and delivers with every bite!!

Loved food and service. We remember Sam from Monstaros and so happy to have his sushi again.

The sushi was great and the service was amazing. The ribeye steak was my favorite by far! The restaurant has a nice vibe to it! read more

Sushi Sam’s - Ribeye Steak - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

It a nice place but the menu is limited. Sushi is great I did enjoy it. My husband prefers to eat other things but not too much to choose from. The wait help was attentive read more

Really love this place! Super intimate, def pays to make a reservation. Loved the sake as well read more

Sushi Sam’s - Delicious food! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

We managed to get into this quite small restaurant by calling right at 5. Apparently they mostly take reservations, and we scored secrets at the sushi bar. The menu is mostly traditional, and the quality of the nigiri is SUPERB. I loved the ama-ebi (served with head) and the Hokkaido uni nigiri in particular. Excellent quality! The sushi rise was also excellent, I've definitely found my new spot for sushi in downtown Kona. read more

Absolutely blown away by this spot. Having had sushi all over the world, this place competes with all of them. The service is absolutely top notch, the sushi is absolutely top notch. If you know of a place with better Unagi I'd kill to try it. I will honestly fly back to the island just to go here, I feel very fortunate to have come across this spot read more

Excellent sushi and sashimi, discreet and prompt service in a cozy atmosphere. The staff is friendly and attentive and if sitting at the counter you may be served by the man himself. This is a very small place so reservations are always a good idea. read more

Nice find in Kona. Sushi was fresh and a big selection to choose from. Giants,Salmon lovers were very good. Hot green tea. Service was excellent from the moment we entered until leaving super friendly and polite Thanks for hacks a clean restroom. read more

Sushi Sam's is amazing. Starting with the delicious selection of fresh fish served directly to you, cut to order cannot be beat. Everyone is extremely friendly, and gives great selection advice, as well as a pairing recommendation for sake, or Japanese whiskey! The place is neat, tidy, and locally operated! We will be back! Thank you Sam! read more

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We loved this place so much, we came back at the end of our stay in Kona. Some of the best sushi we've ever had! I ordered the combo plate and my husband ordered his sushi a la cart. We devoured the simple, but delicious nigiri pieces one by one. And I also tried the house sake which was a fun touch in the little wooden box. The servers were very sweet and kind creating a nice, cozy environment. Nothing fancy, just good! read more

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Mediocre sushi, a pretty poor appetizer (veggie tempura), and absolutely horrendous service. Really not much good to say about this place. I guess its high rating comes from being a rare sushi joint in a tourist-heavy area. But based on my experience, it certainly doesn't deserve 4+ stars. The veggie "tempura" was a hastily breaded nightmare. It featured a poor patchwork of tempura, and was clearly fried too quickly/in cold oil. The veggies were raw, it was such a waste of an appetizer. For sushi, I got a "spicy" ahi roll. Zero spice, but this place can't do much right, so I guess that's to be expected. And then otherwise a very pedestrian roll, absolutely nothing stood out. Finally, service was comically bad. The sushi chef denied me counter seating, claiming all remaining three seats were reserved. The female server begrudgingly allowed me to sit at a table, under the condition that I had to finish in roughly 35 minutes. Both the sushi chef and the server then refused to make eye contact with me for my entire meal, which I finished in under 20 minutes out of respect for the artificial time limit imposed on me. While I was there, three tables were empty, and the entire counter emptied out save two seats for a couple who walked in, no reservation. I don't want to speculate on why the chef and server were so rude to me, but if you have a mediocre restaurant near a major hotel, don't be such a curmudgeon about serving tourists. I left a 20+% tip but they truly did not deserve it. read more

The sushi was fresh. I didn't have a reservation but they let me sit at the sushi bar. The service was great and the restaurant ambiance was very nice read more

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Very friendly staff and a nice atmosphere. I really enjoyed the Wagyu and the Toro was excellent as well. Sushi chef was also very friendly and he made the meal more fun :) I certainly will be back. I did a walk in with no reservation but my guess is you may want to call ahead as I was there on off hours. read more

soooo good ! the food is amazing the service impeccable. the room is a little loud for ambiance, but it's ok .. the food and service makes up for it read more

Memorably great sushi experience. And not all sushi experiences are created equal, by any means. Very friendly servers and fresh well presented plates of seafood that resonated with all the senses. Why am I leaving this review? Because I am craving my next experience here. Detailed descriptions fail me other than to say once you are seated and interacted with the servers and are brought your first few plates your expectations rise and were exceeded with each order. read more

We did not expect to be able to find a good/ authentic sushi spot since we left Honolulu and Sushi Sam was a decent surprise! We made a same day dinner booking at the sushi bar. Staff were welcoming and our bar chef even recommended a few spots for us to visit around Kona. Their sushi were all very fresh, we liked the oysters, avocado bomb, signature roll and all the fresh nigiri we ordered. Highly recommended! read more

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Was on Da Big Island craving some sushi......so impressed with Sushi Sam's. The proof is in the quality.....fresh fish you can taste. Delicious. read more

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Vegetable tempura are lightly coated in what seems very fresh oil. Delicious. Sushi rolls have just enough sauce, not overpowering the fish taste. I modified my roll to add some spicy, and it was perfect! Ordered a side of rice with eel sauce, yum! The chefs were both friendly and happy to see us :) as well as the two lovely food attendants. This made it feel like a family restaurant. Definitely not a fast food feel. I would definitely eat here many more times and bring friends. PRO TIP: at 5pm they open, that's when you call to make your reservation for the following day or following week. read more

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Been to Sushi Sam's multiple times with my son. Most of the reviews have highlighted the excellent sushi. I thought readers would like to see the other offerings. On a recent visit we ordered vegetarian apps before having sashimi, capping with nigiri uni, ikura with quail egg. Sapporo draft beer of course. Attentive service by Aki. Chef Sam himself presented the nigiri at our table. How special was that? Thank you Sam for a great meal. read more

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There are many sushi restaurants to choose from in Kona. But not many are good. I prefer Sushi Sam's because it is as fresh and authentic as you can get anywhere in the area. The service is also genuine and friendly. I believe we have ordered just about everything on the menu and I recommend the Signature Roll, Toro Nigiri, and Thin Sliced Hamachi. They often have Wagyu Gyoza as a special and we always order this because it is so good. Sam has been there every night we have come. He seems to always be keeping his eye on the service, and food to make sure the customers are satisfied. read more

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Great service and good...authentic and a must when you're here and a sushi fan! The quality was great and no fake rolls but authentic rolls!

THE BEST. Delicious fresh fish and great service. Called for reservation an hour before and when we arrived they were even able to accommodate us earlier. Sat at the bar and chef gave us a 'mistake' roll and a shrimp head. Cannot recommend enough. read more

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Best sushi in Kona. Fish is super fresh and Sam and his chefs are very experienced and super quick preparing dishes.

The best maguro (tuna) sushi in Kona. All the sushi are great, but the choice is limited. They don't have appetizers much...

Best sushi in Kona...hands down! Every (and I mean EVERY) dish I ordered pleased the palette. From traditional cuisine to modern presentation, this spot has it all. What they do with local ingredients is really special and authentic. The variety and quality of fish is well worth the price! Sushi Sam's really raised the bar in Kona and I can only hope to see more restaurants of this caliber in the future. read more

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