Sushi used to be one of my very favorite out-to-eat meals. Â I'd never be brave enough to try it at home and I love the delicious flavors and sauces and the excitement of seeing them first come out. Â It has been quite awhile since I've had sushi (I actually can't recall the last time)...and was super pumped to go to Oishii. Â After frequently the Bardstown location several times, the last time I'd had it at the Taylorsville location it had been busy and not as memorable. Â That all changed last night and my love for sushi and Oishii was reignited. Â
While I usually prefer the Bardstown area because its close to my home, I have to admit, the Taylorsville location provides much more seating. Â The walls are painted a calming blue, there are plenty of two tops that make meeting a friend for dinner super easy! Â There were several people there, but it wasn't crowded, for a Tuesday night around 7. Â Parking, however, was packed! Â
I had the soup and salad and they did not disappoint!  Rather standard, but also delicious!  Salad seemed a little more onion-y than normal, but I love their dressing!  In efforts to reduce calories, I ate half of both.  The sushi rolls were served before I even finished my salad!  Super quick!  We split two - The Crunch Munch Roll and the Happy Roll.  Crunch Munch Roll is a spicy tuna, shrimp and  topped with tempura chips and spicy mayo.  So good.  While I like many other complex rolls, this simple roll is just one of my favorites!  We also got the Happy Roll - pure heaven.  Shrimp, aspargus, cream cheese, avacado, strawberries, nuts and eel sauce.  The Chruch Munch roll is a mega one - almost too big for one bite (however, with practice you can achieve a piece per bite)! Â
Give Oishii a try (and invite me along)! Â I've heard that oishii means delicious in Japanese. Â And they're not lying!
Sush is a food group for me, and I am still working to have it included in the official food pyramid as such as I can justify how often I indulge in it. Â As such, I am always up for finding a new sushi place to try. Â Oishii has been a great find that hits the spot for those nights when I need some nori-maki to complete my day. Â I may leave each sushi outing feeling like a bird that ate too much rice from a wedding, but somehow it's worth it (is it true that too much rice does expand in your stomach causing it to explode and you to possibly die? Â I sure hope not, it would be a shame to miss out on all the sushi rolls I have yet to try)
Situated conveniently across from Bowman Field, Oishii is a cozy joint with both a bar and tables for seating. Â I have never eaten at the bar, but I have still never had to wait for a table when I have gone. Â The menu includes both sushi rolls and non-sushi entrees. Â I usually start with miso soup, which is an affordable $1.50 here. Â Next I get to go bananas with the sushi, as its usually something I split with friends. Â We each choose a roll or two and share with one another. Â The Geisha roll, YumYum roll, Dragon roll and Spicy Tuna are ones we consistently order so I would recommend any of those as long as you like the components. Â
Last time I was there my friend and I gaped at another table's amazing looking roll, which we were told is the "Randy Roll". Â We were almost tempted to order it in addition to what we had gotten, but somehow restrained ourselves for our next visit. Â
With an affordable menu, convenient location and excellent maki, this is one place not to miss on your culinary adventures through the 'ville!
You know when you go to a restaurant for the first time and your food is so damn good that you are 100% confident you needn't look any further for a better kind of its genre? Â Yep, that's Oishii. Â I do not feel compelled in the least to seek out better sushi in Lville. Â While everything we had was delicious and of ample size, I choose to focus this review on one thing. Â The Hamachi nigiri. Â I'm a bit of a yellowtail snob, getting buttery pieces that I can rave about maybe every 6th time of trying a new sushi restaurant. Â It's the one thing, that when absolutely fresh with no ocean skunk, will blow my mind. Â The pieces I had here were stellar quality. Â And the real bonus? Â You actually get TWO pieces for the price of one. Â The way the hamachi is cut is very generous and better priced than big city, big coast sushi. Â Please don't ever change this...
Review Source:Lo-ove Oishiis'. Â I have to say I've been here numerous times and still love it. I usually end up getting the UK roll or the Highland roll, if I want something sweet. Â The Uk roll has salmon on the outside, and usually does not need any soy sauce to enhance the flavor. Â The Highland roll has mango and other fruit and nut flavors that make it a treat for the mouth. Â I think my average rolls' are around 9-10 dollars. Â The fried rice is also a fine treat. It's a decent sized mound of rice on a plate and is very insatiable. Â No soy beans which I like.
Review Source:My boyfriend has been to this restaurant a few times, and I know of others who LOVE this place. He suggested sitting in front of the crew making the rolls. It was fun to watch them; especially drooling over one roll they were making that turned out to be ours. Awesome!
We tried the Cardinal roll, Santa roll, and another one which I can't remember the name of now. I really enjoyed the Cardinal roll and the one I can't recall the name of. My mouth is watering at the thought of sushi so I must go back soon!
Oishii is not the best Sushi in Louisville, but it certainly is the best bang for your buck. It took me ages to even try this gem due to the fact that it is closed between the hours of 2pm and 5pm. Now that it's location has moved to Taylorsville road it has more space than the Bardstown rd location. However, it is still packed full almost every time I go.
My advice is this: Always order from the specialty roll menu. They are gigantic and are reasonably affordable between $9 and $12. My personal favorites are the Zen Roll and the Spicy Mary Roll. I also am a huge fan of the Pork Gyoza appetizer. You could argue that Oishii's rolls gain their large stature from an overuse of spicy crab, crunch and rice as filler. Regardless of these issues, I still call Oishi one of my favorite Sushi restaurants in Louisville.
I've thoroughly enjoyed just about every sushi roll I've eaten at Oishii, which is no where near the complete menu because I don't like cream cheese or mayo. There's one roll in particular I'd like to call attention to, which is the tofu and avocado roll. Pair that with the spicy salmon roll and you've got a filling meal for $12. Sometimes, I find it better to get two rolls instead of one specialty roll that I'd get tired of after 3 or 4 pieces. Â
It is refreshing to see a sushi place have a unique pairing (at least in comparison to the other places I've been in Louisville) that is not a high-priced specialty roll...yes, I'm talking about that tofu and avocado roll again.
Each piece of Oishii rolls are huge in comparison to other places, which can make for some awkward times trying to stuff the whole piece in your mouth while still leaving enough room to chew and swallow without it exploding onto the table. Too much detail?
Not my favorite in the 'Ville, but not bad.
I can't really comment on the service, as we were there with a rather large party and it was kind of a free-for-all melee. Parking for the place *sucks* but I was lucky enough to find a spot in the lot.
My rolls were pretty decent. They were priced the same as something I normally get at higher end sushi places. The Crunch Munch roll is a favorite of mine. The one here is literally covered in a pile of tempura flakes, which is unnecessary. I also got the Santa Roll. It is HUGE, but I like crab and tobiko so that's why I got it.
If prices were different enough that it would save me money, this could possibly become my go-to place. But since the kind of rolls I get are pretty much equal in price at every place I go, I am more likely to go to my favorite places first. I wouldn't put up a fight, though, if I was going with other people and they wanted to come here.
Not the best sushi you'll ever have but definitely the best in town, especially considering price and portion. It's super affordable and you get a huge roll. It's always really fresh and really tasty. I usually make a point to go at least once a week. However I will say that since they moved to the new location the service has declined, not saying it's bad, just not as good as it used to be.
Review Source:I'll start by saying I'm a recent convert to sushi and  I don't pretend to know what authentic sushi tastes like.  As long as it tastes good, I'll come back.... and Oishii keeps me coming back and back again.  The rolls are big, tastes good and cheap!  As far as good restaurants go, that's all you need.  I'm not a big fan of raw sushi yet, so my favorites are Hawaiian roll (topped with mango) and the Cardinal roll (topped with seared salmon).  It's also a good place to take someone who never had sushi before, I took my coworker (who is in her 50s and never had sushi before) and she loved it!
Review Source:LOVE this place! Good for lunch with friends(a small group of up to 4 for the Bardstown Rd store and larger groups for the new Taylorsville Rd. store). Each of you order a roll and then share. I do get the ginger salad as well just because I like to drink the juice out of the bowl. Yeah, I know I'm gross but I don't really care. I love the volcano roll and pretty much everything else. I did just try the new bigger version on Taylorsville Rd. the other night. It was good as well but I made the mistake of ordering two fried/cooked rolls for the HH and myself. Oops! Won't do that again. Definitely stick to the raw & super fresh sushi that I love. A roll is usually around $9 and it will FILL YOU UP! So with one roll, a drink and a salad I am usually looking at a $13 bill. You can easily get one roll and a water and keep it under $10! In fact just writing this  is making me CRAVE some Oishii! Four stars instead of 5 because of the WAIT at either place being uncomfortable. (Bathroom hallway at Taylorsville and breathing on someone at Bardstown)
Review Source:My wife and I very much enjoyed our first visit to Oishii Sushi. We were invited by our friends after a night of performing for the Louisville Ballet. My wife had already eaten dinner earlier, but she did enjoy her dessert that I will get to later.
I ordered the typical salmon and tuna sushi since I never really know what the things on the menu are. They were very good and fresh and enjoyable. My friends on the other hand were much more experienced in the realm and ordered some great choices. They ordered a hand roll that was very impressive. They also ordered a fried calamari sushi that was to die for. The other plate they ordered was a deep fried shrimp tempura roll that I could not believe was sushi. It was all so GOOD!
Now to my wife's dessert. She ordered the mango ice cream that was made to look like a miniature mango sliced with tooth picks for picking it up and eating. She loved them.
If I had one complaint about this place, it would have to be the decor or lack there of. There was nothing about this place that screamed Japan to me. With this level of sushi I would have liked a little more ambiance to set the scene.
Best sushi in town, hands down! Their rolls are HUGE, and so good! I love their deep fried oishii roll! The prices are very reasonable, I usually get a roll for $9 and a ginger salad for $2.
Only down side is that their building is TINY, it's only has about 7 tables, and is always packed when I go. I always wait though, it's worth it. It only feels a little awkward cause there's no place to stand while you wait, so you end up trying not to breath down people's neck while they're eating.
They did just open a second location on taylorsville rd. And it is about 4 times the size. I've been there 3 times already and is just as good!
Oiishi is my go-to spot when the sushi cravings are out of control. I can get any of the standard sushi fare I want (for cheap) and the special rolls are fun. The presentations are beautiful and flavor combinations unique. You can call it 'Americanized' all you want but I prefer to see it as Oiishi using localized ingredients to create fresh, new combinations to pique your palate. We're landlocked in the middle of America. Sushi originated by the sea. Adapting to the world around you isn't a bad thing, especially for a food medium that requires fresh ingredients.
Oiishi's use of sweeter ingredients like mango and strawberry in combination with traditionally used raw tuna, avocado and nori have helped me introduce my (then 5 year old) to sushi in a kid-friendly manner. We started off with the California and Philly rolls and worked our way up. We'll head to Oiishi on Bardstown for dinner (early evening, to beat the rush) and then maybe to Great Escape to check out comics or the Pie Kitchen for dessert. Win for both of us in a location that offers a little bit of everything.
If you are a strict sushi traditionalist, Oiishi may not be your #1 spot. For "the rest of us" the ingredients are fresh, the service is friendly and the atmosphere is fun.
PS - New news to me: Â they will create "to-go" orders for you, at lunchtime yesterday there were a steady stream of take-out orders. Good to know.
Went to the Taylorsville Road location for dinner tonight and was impressed with the sushi - great taste, lots of choices and very affordable. The place is small but can surprisingly accommodate a sizable crowd without seeming congested...so you don't have to worry about jabbing the person at the next table in the eye with your chopsticks! The sake was very good. The Chicken Katsu was just fried chicken with Panko breading and not much flavor but the peanut sauce that accompanied it was great for dipping the chicken. I've had better katsu elsewhere. Service was pretty good despite it being so busy. I'm definitely going back here.
Review Source:The joint is small and cozy, nothing fancy,employees are very nice but they tend to look tired because they are super busy. Sushi here is very cheap, the rolls are very big I recommend crunch munch roll and
for appetizers their soft shell crab. They have one of the best house salads in town. If you order to go make sure you eat the sushi fast , the people are ver careful about getting the to go order correct. Â :)
I will preface this review by saying that I am a sushi snob. After coming to Louisville to attend college from Hawaii (where I was born and raised) I was looking for a sushi place that was reasonably delicious. I was raised on fresh raw fish, rice, and nori. So when I found Oishii I wasn't expecting anything comparable to home --that just wouldn't be fair comparison to begin with.
Keeping that in mind, I do really like this place and have been there several times. It is certainly a restaurant that is capable of satisfying a craving for sushi at reasonable prices. It is, however, more trendy/Americanized sushi. So for those of you expecting an authentic experience, you won't get it here. Traditional sushi is supposed to be simple, uncomplicated by many ingredients --the centerpiece should be the quality of the fish.  They serve, what I consider, dressed up sushi to maybe make up for a lack of access to fresh, unfrozen fish.  A lot of their specialty rolls (which are quite tasty) contain mayo or cream cheese, which I don't  necessarily mind. The Cardinal Roll comes highly recommend, as does the house salad with miso dressing.  I have not been brave enough to try their sashimi yet --that requires some quality Ahi that I am just not convinced they have access to. Â
The establishment is small, but the wait (at least for me) has never been outrageous. The prices are also reasonable and every sushi roll I have tried, I have enjoyed. Â That said, Â the sushi is good --not excellent, not great --which is why I can only give it 3 stars.
Can't believe everyone isn't giving this place 5 stars. It's small, yes...but the little hole-in-the-wall places are always the best! I've never really had to wait too long, and I've been here at least 5 times.
Sushi is super fresh, rolls are large, without too much rice. My favorite is the Oishii roll (with strawberries) - minus the crab (don't eat it). Anything with salmon is delicious.
Undoubtedly the best sushi place in Louisville. (My husband is a HUGE sushi snob, from the East Coast, and admits that this place is awesome...)
This a fabulous little sushi place that I frequent for takeout. It is small on the inside and a little cramped but I dint mind. The sushi rolls are huge and I inevitably order too much every time. They have the standard ginger house salads and all the good basic rolls. The fish is always fresh and I have not been disappointed yet. Its great sushi. If I am going to a nice night out I would probably go to my other favorite, sake blue for the ambiance and larger selection with the hibachi grills. For a good cheaper night of quality sushi or takeout though, this place fits the bill!!
Review Source:After needing two trips to actually get a table, I was underwhelmed by Oishii. Â The small space is cozy, so I won't fault them for always being crowded. Â Once we were seated, the staff was very prompt and reasonably attentive - I couldn't believe how quickly our sushi was prepared.
I might have scored them higher if I had skipped the list of special rolls. Â My yellow tail and green onion roll was wonderful. Â The pieces were generously sized, but still a reasonable portion. Â So thumbs up for the standard menu.
Most of the offerings on the special menu contained mayo or cream cheese, and as I care for neither of those things, they were off my list. I did try the sunset roll, but I wasn't impressed.
The notion of a california roll topped with salmon and lime sounded quite good, and the presentation was visually appealing. Â Unfortunately, the presentation was also considerably larger than my actual mouth.
There was no way to enjoy the flavor combination as it was intended, because you either needed to take a bite so giant you could barely close your  mouth around it, or eat the thing in sections.  My companion's order was similarly oversized.
Everything tasted good, but having to take apart and reassemble your food at the table seems kind of counter to what sushi is supposed to be about.
Well, how should I describe it?
1. Big Rolls. But we were not looking for little bit of fish in a whole bowl of rice, with mayo dressing. It's great if you like to get full on cheap sushi.
2. Rolls fell apart when we dipped them into our soy sauce- a sure sign of
a lack of experience and trying to put too much stuffings into a sushi roll.
3. Fishy
4. Friendly staff, but cramped seating, and lack of atmosphere.
You definitely get every penny of what you pay to eat here...the rolls are huge and they are very generous with the amount of fish they put in the sushi. I can't believe the amount of food I got for 10 bucks. The sushi itself is amazing. Not really traditional, but very delicious. My only quam is the wait staff, but it would never stop me from going. It can be crowded and cold in there, but it's worth it. If you want to avoid this, just get takeout. So worth it.
Review Source:I love this place. It's very near my house and we have been 3 times in the past month. the fish is so fresh and the rolls are creative and tasty. I am not a fan of the mayo sauces but that's just me. The rolls are huge. We have finally learned that 1 roll per person is plenty. I recommend the wasabi (spicy crab, and tuna) and the sunshine (calif roll with salmon and lime on top). Yum.
Review Source:opens during LUNCH!!!
small place but HUGE SUSHI rolls around $6 + for 5
really HUGE sashmi on top!
but pooor waiter...he didnt smile or greet...
we thought we will never hear his voice....til at the end when he asked if we are all set for today....-_-hmm... pooor and slow service!
bathroom is quite big and clean!
i maybe go there again..maybe!
Meh. Â Was not impressed whatsoever in Oishii. Â I came here with a group of coworkers on a Friday afternoon for lunch. Â It is really popular, so very hard to get a table, and the service is pretty surly.
The rolls are ginormous - very difficult to fit into your mouth in one bite, and everyone knows you can't really bite a roll piece in half without it falling apart.
The best part of my meal was the tofu and avocado roll. Â The flavors were clean and fresh. Â The randy roll I got was schizophrenic with all of the sauces - the roll was sitting in a bed of sweet and sour sauce...really, like a 1/4 inch of sauce. Â Also, an obscene amount of spicy sauce and eel sauce drizzled over the top. Â They completely ruined the roll (moderation can be a good thing)! Â I attempted to eat the tuna across the top of the roll, but it had a fishy taste which turned me off - maybe it wasn't so fresh?
For those that like the clean, simple, fresh flavors of sushi, in the traditional smaller portion size, Oishii may not be the place for you.
This place is way better than Sapporo. The fish is really fresh, the menu isn't overwhelming, and the atmosphere is way nicer. The sushi chefs are very nice and chat with you, but the waitress service is just okay.
The price your own sashimi plate is awesome (for $15 we had about 20 pieces of sashimi, all very fresh). As for the rolls, there is way too much cream cheese in the special rolls. However, the rolls we tried (the crazy eel and the randy rolls) were both very good.
There is also a lot of cooked fish in the rolls, but maybe that's what the clientele here requires. Â For me, I would like more fresh fish. There is also a lack of squid and octopus on the sushi/sashimi list, but again it may be the clientele doesn't support that.
Overall a great place to try sushi.
The last time I went to this place was a year ago. I went recently and was reminded of why it has been a year since the last visit. The fish is actually pretty fresh. However, it is pretty common knowledge among sushi folks that nigiri is supposed to be eaten in one bite. Oishii's is way too large to do so. Perhaps they're trying to give folks the appearance of value through large portions.. I don't know. I do know that sushi isn't about filling up, it is about the experience on the palate.
Also, they served me an oyster roll with entirely too much cream cheese and, it was served before my nigiri, another no-no in the sushi world. The courses should progress from simple to complex.
On top of all this, I waited 40 minutes for my food. To my best recollection, the food took way too long last year.
There are a couple of positives: It was a nice and cozy atmosphere and, as mentioned before, the fish is pretty fresh.
Anyway, unless I learn that they have changed their ways, I will only visit this place reluctantly.......by way of peer pressure.
MR says ... way too much cream cheese
MRS says... we're a regular here at Oishi Sushi because of the price your own sashimi. we like the freshness and portion of tuna, salmon and yellowtail sashimi.
what we noticed though lately is the increasing number of sushi rolls with "cream cheese". i could understand the Philadelphia roll but why put cream cheese in aloha and derby roll? it gets a little bit too much sometimes. its like eating an italian dish smothered in butter!
still, we like this place. reasonable price, great portion and friendly servers including the sushi crew.
As it was mentioned before, this sushi joint is pretty much middle of the road.
I went here for lunch several weeks ago, and ordered several rolls with a friend of mine. Â Although the name of the rolls escapes me at this moment, I recall the majority of them falling apart fairly easily. Â Then again, that may just be a style. Â A sushi aficionado I am not.
What did stick out was any roll that contained mayo, contained way, way too much of it. Â Literally half the roll way mayonnaise. Â Kind of gross.
Anyway, that was my one experience there. Â Your mileage may vary.
I came here on a date. The waitress was rude, not helpful and slow. Once our order was finally taken we waited30 minutes beofre we cancelled our orders and left. What made the most mad about the siituation was that 3 other groups came in and ordered after us and got their food within 10-15 minutes. Â Not going back
Review Source:Oishii is a great casual sushi restaurant. Â It is much cheaper than Sapporo, and the quality of the fish has always been excellent for me. Â I have had nothing but positive experiences at Oishii. Â The waitresses are pleasant and remember customers from past visits, and the chefs behind the counter stop and say hello and goodbye to customers entering and exiting. Â The price is very reasonable (I have always averaged less than $25 for two people, including a couple of beers). Â The space is small, but I have never had a problem getting a table.
Review Source:I have found Oishii to be hit or miss. When they first opened it was great, then there was a little slump where their business was picking up and I think quality control slid a little, now they're getting better. The quality of the fish is good and their lighter rolls are great, but I find anything involving mayo or spicy mayo to be way too mayo-ey if you know what I mean. The fried oyster roll would be great with a lighter sauce, but the over gooeyness ruins it. Their tempura is great though, not too greasy.
The staff is great and the take out pick up process is smooth - I've never had my order messed up here which I find occurs frequently at other sushi restaurants, even if the screw up is some missed avocado or something. It's biggest asset is said service and the fact that it's never that crowded, plus they have a bar to wait at or simply eat at if the tables are full.
They are open for lunch which was a hole in Highlands-area sushi availability, and service is much better then. The sushi is good but not Sapporo-level good (but then again, it's nowhere near as expensive as Sapporo either).
I went twice for dinner and first time sat at the bar service was good, but came back with a group late one night and service ground to a halt--they did give us a free entree to make up for it.
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