I really like this place. Â The sushi is fresh and interesting, great atmosphere. Â Love the Seaweed Salad, Caterpillar Roll, Hamachi Carpaccio and must try the Black Sesame Ice Cream. Â The only negative is the service. Â The servers are nice but not very attentive and I find myself with dirty dishes and glasses sitting on my table, especially towards later in the evening. Â Â I still go because I like it but if the service could be a bit better, I might come more often :)
Review Source:This is a wonderful sushi restaurant in the quiet, country town of Haiku. Head chef Hiro Takanashi has crafted a well-balanced menu that draws heavily on the abundance of delicious local seafood in Maui. The sashimi plate featured an assortment of melt-in-your-mouth cuts of fish, although my personal favorite, surprisingly enough, was the surf clam. Other highlights: the smoky sweet ponzu sauce that accompanied the sashimi plate, the jumbo-sized bottle of Hitachino beer, and the pleasantly, mildly sweet black sesame ice cream.
Hiro had a great sense of humor, and the wait staff were all very personable; in fact, we ended up chatting with one of the servers until well after closing time. And the best part? It's not overrun with tourists! I will definitely be visiting again on my next trip to Maui.
The restaurant is really lovely. Â They have incorporated a lot of creative touches which make the place feel comfortable and artistic. Â Lights stream through the slatted ceiling. Â Bottle lights line the bar. Â The finishing on the walls is so beautiful - a trip to the bathroom is necessary to truly appreciate the work that has gone into putting this place together in Haiku. Â
My favorite things to order here are the hot items - hands down, this place has potentially the best udon I've ever had. Â I asked them to make me a vegetable tenpura udon instead of the shrimp. Â I asked for a side of tenpura sauce. Â The broth was divine. Â It was perfectly smoky from the smoked bonito flakes. Â It had just the right amount of everything. Â The noodles were perfectly cooked and the tenpura was delis with the sauce and without. Â I was able to try the ahi katsu donburi as well which was fantastic. Â When the ahi is cooked that much - the fish is so fresh it actually kind of tastes like chicken. Â But I say that in a good way. Â That was a delicious bowl of goodness. Â The seared ahi tuna salad is delish as well with a miso sesame dressing that is extremely tasty. Â We also had the miso butterfish which was fantastic. Â The previous night we tried the miso eggplant and that too was amazing.
The haleakala roll is quite good as well.
It's a nice addition to Haiku... we will be back again and again.
We were at Nuka on Friday night, we got there around 6pm and didn't have to wait long to be seated. They don't take reservations so we went early. The service was great - friendly, relaxed and happy to make recommendations. Full bar, varied menu, high quality, beautiful decor. It was a really great experience and so nice to have another offering in Haiku Center.
Review Source:SKIP DOWN FOR FOOD REVIEW.
    We were there that night as well attending as friends of the owners. My uncle fishes with Dewitt (one of the owners along with his wife Moon and Yuri). After the Hawaiian blessing outside of Nuka a groundswell of people gathered around peaking their heads in to see what was a going on.
  I can see how easily a seating mistake could have happened with all the local anticipation of Dewitt and Moon opening a Japanese and Sushi restaurant after the success of their Paia Fish Market.  (they should have had a "private party" sign on the door) Tuesday and Wednesday were the restaurant's  soft opening with some of the waitress's waiting for their first time. Even non workers were helping out taking orders getting drinks etc.
 Anyway they opened to the public this Friday and I'm sure the kinks have been worked out and onto the food:
THE FOOD
   We first got some edamame with a soy sauce garlic spicy sauce. Dewitt brought by some shredded cabbage side with a citrusy sauce,miso soup kinda the basics. My dads a vegetarian he had tempura veggies with some peppers, Serrano maybe? That we all really liked, my sister got Udon noodles with tempura shrimp, my uncle got Onaga nigiri from a 10 pounder he was reeling in the night before. We also got a spider roll and a spicy tuna roll. Both perfectly executed. The two gems of the evening were the Hamachi Tataki with jalapeno peppers with ponzu sauce and the Ahi tuna carpaccio, both were on par with the new style of sashimi of Nobu or Matsuhisa. GRINDZ! both were on the front insert page in the menu and I'm thinking that's were I'm gonna order from the majority of the time. lots of goodies.
We had black sesame ice cream(yum)and assorted mochi balls for dessert.
  Yeah there are tons of other sushi places on Maui, some of which I love and go to all the time (makawao deli) But if you want something a little more progressive than your run of the mill pedestrian California roll bullshit, go here. Sit at the bar  and ask sushi chef Hiro what's good. Be Amazed by the freshness that Dewitt and his crew bring. Enjoy. ALOHA.
We are here now eating, check out the photos we posted..
I was head sushi chef at Jacks La Jolla for a year before they closed and I will critique Nuka fairly.
This place is beautiful! It is really going to be the start of a new chapter for Haiku town and Nuka was the first character Introduced. The service is great and staff is calm even on the first nights if craziness... It's packed in here an people like it!
The menu is too big in my opinion. So many good options, but sometimes at a Japanese place less is more... Regardless, the food is great! The timing on kitchen to sushi bar was a bit off but it's just the first day!
The fish is amazing, it is filleted and kept with Integrity. The many special rolls are very tasty, on the "pinched" side of sushi rolls If you sushi goers know what I mean... But very creative and tasty!
The sushi is cut well, being traditionally trained I give it an 8.. Sashimi was very fresh but was a tad droopy, I always like life and height In my sashimi plates.
There are options on the menu for kids and the staff is local. We know everyone :)
Great place! Gives us a place to always go out without going far and without going to places we don't like!
8.5 overall experience... It is a fusion joint with a traditional feel.
Many of us Haiku residents have been waiting and watching the transformation of an old run-down building near the post office turn into a promising sushi restaurant. Yesterday, we were thrilled to see it was open, cars in the lot, and people going in and out. A group of friends and I go out to dinner every Wednesday and were thrilled to try the new sushi restaurant Nuka (opened by familiar and well established Maui restaurant owners).
We walked up, were greeted, seated, given menus. The restaurant was beautiful. The staff was friendly. Just as a waitress was bringing water to our table... which was a welcome sight... a woman comes up to us and asks us if we're friends of someone. A name I can't remember. We said no, and she promptly asked us to leave.
Yes, we were greeted, asked how many in our party, seated, settled in, then kicked out.
The waitress was asked to take the waters back and told we were leaving.
Apparently it was a private opening, and not open to the public until Friday.
That would be fine and good if there was some notice outside... or if the staff had mentioned that at the door, not as we were about to order. We love sushi, too.
In all fairness, the woman who booted us was polite, did say "I'm sorry" at some point despite not seeming sorry. She also offered that we could look at a menu and decide what we wanted on Friday when they actually open... which I found more offensive and presumptuous coming from someone who just asked us to leave. Friday? Really?
Nuka & Staff:
If you SEAT someone, you may want to make good on it. If it was my establishment and I'd made that mistake, I'd have sucked it up and made sure the customer felt welcome. It would go a long way for loyalty, and loyal customers are something you definitely want in a little place on Kokomo Rd. And if for some outrageous reason it really was impossible to correct the mistake, I'd recommend a greater gesture or at least more than one simple apology.
Regardless, I'm sure the place will be nice. It certainly seemed nice. But you only get one chance to make a first impression. I hope we feel like trying again someday, but in my mind Nuka will always be "Nuka: Â The Only Restaurant I've Ever Been Kicked Out Of"
Prologue
We went to the Makawao Steak House instead. They have a rib-eye that is similar to Kobe raised beef, and it was delicious.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,971 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,316 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,912 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,986 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
