The Islands Sushi and Pupu Bar

Good. Nothing special. It’s a hotel sushi bar so the prices are exorbitant (as to be expected). We went on an extremely busy night during Kingdom Con so service was extremely slow (as to be expected). It was a trifle annoying that the waiters and the sushi chefs didn’t seem to be communicating at all.
Since the service was so slow and our waiter was no where to be found, my boyfriend went to order at the sushi bar and once the chef found out that he wanted to take his order with him to his seat threw a mini tantrum and said he would not take his order because it was the absentee waiter’s job so as not to confuse tickets (which seems reasonable until you consider that he would have been paying cash up front at the bar). So we ended up waiting forever. Not the end of the world, but certainly not an experience that I am seeking to replicate.
Sushi was okay. Drinks were alright. Nothing spectacular although acceptable taste-​wise.

The Tokyo Tea did the job!
The food is pretty good. I liked the loaded potato skins. Spam musubi and pizza sushi roll were tasty.
I did not like the island chicken wings. Sauce was OK but I think the wings should be fried, it needs some crunch.

We had such a great meal the first night we went, that we had to go back a second night. The first night Leonard made us some great rolls and introduced us to some local favorites. We went back and the second night we just let George make us some of his favorites. That was such the way to go… fabulous flavors and a great dinner! I would highly recommend this place! Great quality and a very friendly environment!

If I could pick 0 stars, I would. The raw fish behind the bar looks ill. I managed to get down the salmon, the tuna was chewy and tough with an awful taste, not eating the other piece. The yellow tail, same thing. The salad is not edible, brown and wilting. Chef is bragging and flirting with 2 girls at the bar saying he is a sushi snob and this is absolutely terrible. I will not even finish my meal, walking out now.

So expensive! OMG!
I am a fan of sushi and I do not expect it to be the $ 4 fake crab salad kind either but geez! This sushi bar is expensive as shit.
I was staying at the hotel last week while out of town on business and after 14+ hours of travel the last thing I wanted to do was get back in my car and drive somewhere for dinner after checking in. I had tried to get sushi at the airport and had missed my chance so now that I had it on my brain I was going to have to have it. I saw it as fortuitous that the hotel had a sushi bar so I dropped all my stuff in the room and came down to the bar to get some sushi.
I ended up getting a Seaweed Salad with seared tuna on top — it had around 6 fairly good sized pieces of tuna on a normal portion of seaweed salad and was $ 17 I believe…
They had several sushi rolls that sounded good and I went with the Duke roll I believe it was called — which had more tuna and a few other things — for $ 16.
I changed my mind a few moments later but they weren’t very crowded and the guy had already made my roll — bummer. So I had more tuna to go with my tuna… my fault really. Should’ve ordered better.
Anyway — the roll size was decent and had a decent amount of ingredients — but a tuna seaweed salad and one roll for $ 35? I drank water! Geeeez!
Meh, not so much. It’s a bar area so it’s sort’a dive-​y and for that much money I want to go sit in a traditional sushi establishment or hibachi place which is quiet and had ambiance.
I just wasn’t blown away. My waitress was cute and friendly though so service was just fine and my food was out very quickly — like 5 mins or less.

Wow Leonard was rude as hell!!! I’m on vacation and was not expecting rude service. There was no accommodating nor friendliness at this sushi place… All I received was attitued and no reccomendations. I don’t care what it’s called else where this is what we carry… really poor poor customer service. Help me out and try to ask me questions of what I get. I should have drove somewhere else and spent my money elsewhere. Now what I had to work with, the sushi was good but I feel isolated at this sushi bar and no one should feel this way on vacation or while they are eating. FYI the lava cake was good and the only good part of my meal was Brian!!! He was on point and should replace Leonard his customer service skills are top notch.

I was trying to find a somewhat tropical place not too far from me that wasn’t in Gaslamp and not Bali Hai. Found this on Unilocal.
Got free parking without having to get it validated but I’m not sure if that’s the norm as there was a parking attendant.
I had a lava flow and it was fairly good and price was $ 7. Had sushi which was just your average sushi.
Place was empty when I got there but then it started to fill up. Most of the people there looked more like business travelers since this is at the Crown Plaza Hotel.
I would go there again. Had a lowkey ambiance.

I only had drinks at the bar but the service was excellent and the drinks were great. When I walked by customers with food, it looked quite good. I really like the island theme. Our bartender (I think it was Brian) was super friendly and gave us some to-​go water cups which were very appreciated.

Went here for the last Tiki drinks we’d ever have in San Diego, which was conveniently located in Crowne Plaza since we were staying there. What was more convenient was that we could pick any drink off their Tiki menu and pick the collectible mug it goes in.
I had the Chi Chi upon the bartender’s recommendation, and the boyfriend had the Zombie. Mine was sweet and more of a blended drink. Hahaha… The amount the recipe calls for would’ve overflowed from my mug, so the bartender gave me a second glass. Zombie, of course, was super strong and helped KO the boyfriend once we got back to the room. It was also nice of the bartender to send us off with water — much appreciated!
The bartender was super chill, friendly and quite informative. Example: We found out that Tiki conventions/​festivals actually exist.

Food is always good here. We just let Leonard choose what to serve, but we did ask for the loco moco. Bomb freaking loco moco, love the steak and gravy! ! The sushi is consistently good. Will continue to return as my go to sushi place.

One hour wait for food at the bar.
A 5 top got seated before I did.
There are four open seats at the bar.
This place is poorly run.
A total and complete shit show.
Im afraid of what the food is going to be like. If it’s anything like I’ve experienced so far, im afraid. Very afraid.

The sushi was exceptional and I have eaten all over the world including Japan. The specialty roll (hanani bay roll) was out of this world — wish I could eat here again but I’m leaving. Fish tacos were great as well !!!

Came here with some friends to start the comic-​con extravaganza weekend. Everything we ate was chef’s choice, so I don’t know or remember the name of any of the dishes we ate. All I know that it was deliciousness in my mouth and I could not stop stuffing my face.
The chef was very talented and worked very quickly and fluidly at putting out dish after dish to feed eight mouths. Everything was fresh and the texture was soft and fluffy.
Overall, I could see myself eating here everyday during comic-​con if I stayed nearby.

If I could, this would be a Zero star rating!
We usually head in for dinner/​sushi — which is pretty good — and decided to pop in for lunch. Found out that the sushi bar isn’t open for lunch but they do have a regular menu at lunch time. I don’t think I have ever had a more miserable and disgusting experience.
1. Service was lousy at best — what is wait staff any way?
2. Had to ask for the children’s menu — even though it was obvious that we had a child with us.
3. The food — let’s just say that McDonald’s Happy Meal seemed gourmet after this experience.
Never again… never never never ever!

I have been to Island Sushi & Pupu almost every time I visit San Siego. Being from Hawaii, I know what good sushi, poke and pupu should be. This is one of the best sushi places that I’ve been to on the mainland. For the price and portion, it is well worth it.
I only sit at the sushi bar and the sushi chefs are friendly and attentive! They provide fantastic service and the cuts of fish on the sushi is large and good quality. Much mahalo goes out to sushi chef, John, for always making my visit memorable! Actually, everyone is extremely friendly and provides great service.
Once again, I left extremely full and happy! I will be back again in October!
Definitely a place I’d take my friends!

Wow! This WAS one of our favorite sushi places for Happy Hour until recently. We went in the other day and asked for the Happy Hour menu, but was told they no longer have a Happy Hour due to a recent GM change. This is a Bar/​Lounge, not a restaurant, so why wouldn’t you have a Happy Hour? The sushi is way overpriced and not worth the visit. The Happy Hour is what people why people frequented this place. A poor decision by management will keep this regular customer and many others from returning.
A bar/​lounge without happy hour prices? Really?
Aloha!

USED TO LOVE THIS PLACE ! this was one of my favorite places to go for happy hour, which is gone now ! Sad to say I won’t be returning, ever again. Along with happy hour being gone the quality of the food must of gone right out of the window! Lack of color in the fish in our sushi, our chicken wings were all bone and the prices are outrageous and not worth it. Very disappointed

I read the reviews hoping that this place was the real deal; sad to say I was disappointed.
–Overpriced $$$
–Unauthentic Hawaiian Plate (I’m a bit of a snob)
–Sushi was mediocre
–Spam Masubi for $ 4 bucks (good lawd), not even cut?!
–Sashimi no, rice offering…
–Loco Moco, over cooked egg and gravy with mushrooms???
–waiter had a radio voice, not to friendly acted like a robot (where the Aloha spirit)
–Specialty alcohol drink «Hanalei Bay Breeze was weak
–Not kid friendly, no kids menu
–Cafeteria seating
Gave the entire establishment a «1», most likely not eat here again

My expectations were high since I’ve heard great reviews about this sushi bar.
Our server was very nice and he was always attentive.
I decided to take a couple of my friends here since we’re from Hawaii and it would give my friend a feeling of being home since he just returned from a year deployment. Before arriving, I looked at the pictures and prices of the Sushi Rolls and figured okay this is a little more pricier than most places that are half decent. No worries, I figure it must be a really nice place especially to have a «Hawaii-​Islander» feel.
When we arrived I didn’t realize that the Sushi Bar was in the lobby of Crowne Plaza. We decided to still try it out.
Food:
— Pikake Pupu Platter: Egg Rolls, Coconut Shrimp, Wings, Gyoza and
Edamame
— Cubed Ahi Poke with Sesame Seed Oil, Soy Sauce, Masago,
Green Onion, Togarashi and Seaweed (yummy)
— Pizza Roll
— Spicy Tuna Roll
— Spicy Hamachi Roll
I had a Tokyo Tea which didn’t seem mixed well. Needed more Midori rather than soda (7-​UP: not sure what they use).
It was a really nice chill environment though. Nothing really stood out to me that blew me away. I will definitely try HH instead. Monday — Friday 4:00pm — 7:00pm and 9:00pm until closing.

Great sushi. Their signature roll, the Hanalei Roll, is with Eel, Crab Mix, Cream Cheese and Avocado, cooked to a golden crust atop a creamy Eel Sauce. It is indeed a must, if you’re here for a roll.
The spicy tuna roll was definitely spicy!
The atmosphere is nice but it is an open air seating area in the lobby of the hotel. There tends to be a lot of activity as guests walk by and gaze upon the plates and rolls.