AYCE Nights: My Favorite All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Spot in Honolulu

Kats Sushi is the only place you can find made-to-order AYCE sushi that’s not on a buffet table.

March 17, 2023

Maddy Chow,

AYCE Nights brings together my favorite spots to eat when my friends and I are craving LOTS of food. Being students at UH Mānoa means we’re always trying to find the best deals. All-you-can-eat places always come up and lucky for us, there are many options in the Honolulu area!

Kats Sushi is a gem if you are looking for somewhere to go with a large party or for a special date night. Make sure you make a reservation, because even on a Wednesday, it will be booked for the night. Seating is limited, especially during the wet weather season because their outdoor seating is not covered. The restaurant inside is on the smaller side, fitting medium-size parties on two tables with six seats at the sushi bar.

Photo: Maddy Chow

For $30, their AYCE menu is one of the best deals in town. I have never been to an AYCE sushi restaurant before, but now I can tell you that it is worth every penny. You can order up to five types of sushi: nigiri, hand rolls, or a combination of both. You can order as many, quantity wise, as you would like from the five that you select. Did I mention it’s BYOB? So bring on the sake and beer to enjoy with your mountain of sushi.

There are 11 nigiri options and 17 types of hand rolls. For nigiri choices, Kats offers maguro, hamachi, tai, salmon, hokkigai (clam), ika, unagi, tako, ebi, saba and tamago. Hand roll choices include California, scallop, ikura, tobiko, masago, salmon skin, natto, Hawaiian, ume, spicy tuna, spicy hamachi, spicy salmon, spicy unagi, ‘ahi, (canned) tuna, cucumber and oshinko (pickled daikon).

Photo: Maddy Chow

Each nigiri and hand roll is made to order. The seafood is fresh and so smooth. It melts in my mouth and the quality is quite high for the price. We sit at the sushi bar and the chef hands us our order right away. The rice is perfectly seasoned and still warm if you eat it right away. The nori for the hand rolls is crisp and so easy to tear apart when biting into it.

Photo: Maddy Chow

Surprisingly, the nigiri is not overstuffed with rice. I was amazed by my first bite because I have experienced restaurants that put so much more rice. I try almost all of the nigiri that they have to offer and hamachi is my favorite. But the hand rolls will fill you up. Out of the many options, salmon skin is my favorite because it is so crisp and the salmon skin still has some bits of salmon. I try to limit myself on these though because I do not want to leave having only eaten hand rolls. Between my friend and I, we manage to put away a total of 44 nigiri and 10 handrolls.

Although they are very busy with large parties, they always notice when you are finishing up your plate so that you can order the next round. Each order takes around 10 minutes to arrive so make sure you order a little before you clear your plate. Also, don’t over order. You’ll be charged the à la carte price of each nigiri or hand roll that is unfinished (including the rice).

Parking is a little complicated. There is only street parking and a small lot behind the building, but I recommend parking on the street. It was empty with lots of spaces on the side road.

Open Monday to Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., 715 S King St #105, Honolulu, HI., (808) 526-1268