A new omakase counter on Kalakaua Avenue is adding a show to the sushi. Sushi Sky runs two seatings a night: a quieter one at 5 pm and, at 7:30 pm, what it calls an Entertainment Course, pairing the sushi with live showmanship. The restaurant’s own menu page lists a 15-course omakase at $150 per person. We are not booking it this trip, and it has nothing to do with the food. It’s the clock. Here is what’s on offer and how we’d pick a seating if it were our celebration night.
What happened
On September 21, 2026, Aloha State Daily reported that Sushi Sky has its official opening on October 1, takes reservations on OpenTable, and seats about eight people. The chef, per that report, is Maki Goto, from Kyushu. The restaurant’s own site describes its itamae as one of Hawaii’s few female sushi chefs, trained at ichitaka in Fukuoka, and pitches the place as “Sushi Meets Showmanship”: Edomae sushi plus live entertainment, aimed at date nights, anniversaries, birthdays, business dinners and visitors.
The restaurant isn’t brand new, strictly speaking. Its news page says it soft-opened on August 12, 2026, and that sake, wine, beer and other alcoholic drinks are available.
What it changes for a Waikiki stay
Mostly, it gives you one more option for the night you have circled on the calendar. The two seatings are different meals, not the same meal at two times.
| 5 pm seating | 7:30 pm seating | |
|---|---|---|
| Time (official site) | 5:00-6:45 pm | 7:30-10:00 pm |
| Course name (official site) | Casual Course | Entertainment Course |
| Price | $100 per person, per Aloha State Daily | $150 per person, per Aloha State Daily and the official menu (15 courses) |
| What you get (Aloha State Daily) | Three appetizers, sashimi, eight nigiri, miso soup, dessert; no show | More courses, music, interactive and special presentations |
A few things worth knowing before you book:
- The show seating is the October one. Aloha State Daily says the entertainment experience officially begins in October, so a September booking may not get the full version.
- The 5 pm seating has a hard stop. It ends at 6:45 pm. Want to linger? The later seating runs two and a half hours.
- Closed Tuesdays. The site lists Wednesday through Monday, 5-11 pm.
- For two at 7:30, the math is $150 + $150 = $300 before tax and tip. Neither source spells out how tax, tip or a service charge are handled, so ask when you reserve.
- Location. The address is 1731 Kalakaua Ave, Space B, by Ki Club, Honolulu 96826. The restaurant’s news post describes it as “near Ala Moana and Waikiki.” Aloha State Daily notes a small parking lot with limited spaces.
At the media preview, Aloha State Daily’s writer had the entertainment course and listed some of what came out: corn potage served “shot style” to music, crab chawanmushi with trout roe, Hokkaido scallop, shrimp, zuke akami, torched washu beef, uni with gold leaf, maguro seared on the spot, and toro and takuan on toast with caviar and gold dust. The official site says the menu isn’t fixed and the itamae decides each day based on the fish. Read that list as “the kind of thing that shows up,” not a promise.
What we’d do, and what we wouldn’t
We have not eaten at Sushi Sky, and we are not planning to this trip. Two reasons, neither of them about the restaurant.
First, we don’t go sushi hunting in Hawaii. Rolls, sure, but a nigiri omakase is not where our Hawaii food money goes. Second, the timing. Our drinking day starts mid-afternoon, in the room with a cold beer. By 5 pm we are comfortably settled on the sofa, and getting dressed to be at a counter at a set time is the opposite of how our evenings go. A 7:30 pm start is later than most of our evening.
That said, we do like a show. We walked over to see Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Auana in Waikiki, and a sushi counter turning into an eight-seat stage is a fun idea. If this were our anniversary, here is how we’d book it:
- If the show is the point, book 7:30, and book it for October or later, when the entertainment course is officially running.
- If the fish is the point, the 5 pm Casual Course at the reported $100 gets you the counter without the production.
- If you’re driving, ask about the lot when you reserve; it’s small. Without a car, it’s a rideshare or a longer walk than central Waikiki, so build that into the plan.
The dish we kept rereading was the toro and takuan. Fatty tuna with crunchy pickled radish is a pairing that tends to make a drink go down easily. We’d be looking at the takuan before the gold dust.
Before you plan around this
Hours, seating times, the address and the 15-course $150 menu come from the restaurant’s own site, checked September 23, 2026. The $100 casual-course price, the eight seats, the October 1 opening, the chef’s name and the parking come from Aloha State Daily alone. The restaurant is still in its soft-opening stretch, so times and courses may change around the official opening. Confirm on the official site or OpenTable before you commit a birthday to it.
Details
- Sushi Sky, 1731 Kalakaua Ave, Space B, Honolulu, HI 96826
- Wednesday-Monday, 5-11 pm; closed Tuesday (official site, checked September 23, 2026)
- Seatings: 5:00-6:45 pm (Casual Course), 7:30-10:00 pm (Entertainment Course)
- Reservations: OpenTable
Somebody’s anniversary is going to be a very good night at that counter. Ours will probably look like a sofa, an open window and a second beer.
