CONTRIBUTED BY ROSIE LEE
My husband and I love sushi; I’m sure a lot of readers out there do, too. We’re always looking for the next best sushi restaurant or an addition to our long list of favorite spots to hit on Okinawa. There are a lot of great sushi restaurants on island and we have visited most of them. We recently went to Newport Sushi; a newly opened sushi restaurant near Kadena. We were excited when we saw our American classics on their menu, caterpillar roll, rainbow roll, Philly roll, volcano roll and fried monkey balls. We were not disappointed; the sushi satisfied our stateside craving.
Hidetaki Takaira is the chef at Newport. He has over 10 years experience in Southern California. He owned his own restaurant in San Clemente, which had many great reviews. You can read the numerous reviews on his front window next to a posted menu. He has returned to Okinawa after many years and now opened Newport Sushi. It has a friendly staff, fast service and a great menu with traditional sushi, Okinawa classics, salads, appetizers and dinner combinations.
Although there were no children menus, we had no problem finding options for our 3 and 6 year olds. I tried the caterpillar and volcano rolls which have always been my favorites. Both were equally delicious. Sorry I didn’t take pictures of the food, but for some reason as soon as the food came to our table, I completely had a brain hiccup and forgot about my camera. The food was gone by the time I remembered.
Hours: Newport Sushi is open for dinner only - Every day except Wednesday, 4:30 to 10:30 PM.
Payment: They take yen or American dollars. The owner and chef, Hidetaka, speaks English.
Directions: Turn left out of Gate 1 Kadena. Head south on Highway 58, turn left on Kokutai road (Hwy 23). You will come to a white pedestrian overpass. Turn right at this traffic light and “NEWPORT SUSHI” will be located on your right (past Yoshi Hachi’s restaurant). 614-6 Kuwae Chatan Cho.
Phone: 098-926-0537
We just went here over the weekend and it is FABULOUS! We have tried lots of sushi places on this island and this is right up there at the top of the list. Loved the Crunchy Roll and they also have some rolls on their menu that I haven’t seen other places that were super yummy! A must try for sushi lovers. My son loved the teriyaki chicken, by the way.
This place is awesome. There was not one roll that we didn’t like and it actually exceeds our favorite sushi joint by a lot. Best found yet!!
Newport is our favorite sushi restaurant. The New Port Roll is excellent with spicy tuna on top and crab & asparagus tempura inside. The T Street roll is also amazing. It’s crab inside but the best part is the tuna and jalepenos (or chilis) on top. Hidetaki sears the tuna and peppers with a blowtorch. It gives the fish and peppers a smoky flavor and tastes amazing. The Diablo roll is my wife’s favorite. It’s a spicy roll served warm. On top, its got octopus, shrimp, and other seafood with a crab roll underneath. Great spicy sauce on top. All of the rolls I described are on the special sushi menus on the table.
Any of the appetizers are worth a try as well.
For kids, there is salmon teriyaki that our daughter loves.
Great service as they are all extremely friendly. This is a restaurant we will crave when we’re gone.
As avid sushi eaters, our family tried this place out three times before rendering a thumbs down. While the Nigiri tuna was some of the best we’ve ever had on-island, the rolls and appetizers were mediocre at best.
Upon our first visit, we were never served one of the appetizers we requested…we waited and finally asked about it after eating all of our other food. Apologies were made and a little issue with the language barrier kept us waiting a little while longer, before we figured out we just weren’t getting the order and they were waiting on us to leave.
The second visit- we tried a few new things, but ended up eating again at home because the food was underwhelming. But, the third visit “put the nail in the coffin” for us. One of the edamame/soy bean pods was beyond bad…slimy, and awful. I had already slid it between my teeth before the taste and consistency hit me. It was all I could do to keep from ralphing right then and there. I couldn’t get that taste out of my mouth all nite. Didn’t eat edamame for weeks after that.
I don’t write this lightly, and rarely complain about places. But, there needs to be a little balance in these reviews. I’m sure my experiences here can’t possibly be bad luck.
We ate here yesterday and all I can say it is so good. I am from California and I love crunchy rolls but no one out here ever knows what I am talking about and I am so excited that they have them here at Newport Sushi and they are delicious!!! We love this place and would recommend it to everyone!!
We went to Newport Sushi last night. I have to say the BEST place on island we have found. Which the best sushi we had ever had before this was, in my opinion still, was in Albuferia, Portugal! We’ve been to Yoshi’s (over rated and overpriced) been to Sushi Zen (ok but don’t care for the attitude of some of the staff and the sushi is just ok, not the best) We’ve been to uumm, forget the name, the place all the locals swear is the best, it is located beside Bovino’s on the road I call “no name road”. (That was the worst sushi experienced yet! Hair in a roll we got and the taste… I wanted to throw up all night! Guess that’s why I don’t remember the name because we will not be returning) We’ve eaten at Samurai Sushi & Izakaya. (I like them for other items other than sushi) We’ve been to Kitakaisen (one of our kids favorites and if you have none sushi eaters in the group, the menu is full of lots of items to make everyone happy. I think the Monday night half price sushi is worth the price, but still not the best sushi. The staff is wonderful and the owner gets to know you if you return several times. I would have to say a family favorite just for a dinning out night) So in our opinion for now it’s Newport Sushi for a wonderful sushi experience! A little known fact that a lot of people don’t consider…. for the best sushi at whatever is your favorite sushi place you must pay attention to that mornings sea conditions. If the water is rough and the fishing wasn’t good your not going to get the freshest sushi! So make sure you check that sea condition for that day before eating sushi that night!
Just wanted to add that they also take debit/credit cards. Good sushi (though not the best I’ve had, there was lots of selection!), very nice and friendly staff!
Thanks Jenna. Your comment is really helpful.
George, I am interested in which sushi spot you recommend.
Thankyou ladies for telling me about this place. Last night we went with some friends and were not dissapointed. They has some of the best sushi I have ever had. The girls were so nice and spoke great english. They were ok when we paid half in yen and half in dollars, I think we tipped a little because we were kind of confused but they were really nice about it. The prices were awesome as well, I took a few pictures but I can’t upload them on this comment. If you go get the Capitans Boat (i think is what it was called) it was kind of pricey for 2 pieces of sushi but it was slammin!
ALL I CAN SAY IS WOOWWWWW!!!! This place was just absolutely amazing and delicious!! I tried their halibut sashimi ( they put lime and sea salt and ask you to eat it by itself without any soy) and it absolutely blew my mind away! The fish was so fresh and their rolls were absolutely fabulous. When I usually have Crunchy Rolls at other sushi restraunts, the inside is usually soggy by the time it hits the table but Newport Sushi some how still retained that amazing crunchiness. I also tried the Newport Roll and that litterally made me convince that this was the best sushi i have ever had in my life. I’m half Japanese and have been having sushi since i was a little kid and this place now has a resident eater(me) there. The owner is the chef and you can tell that he really takes care of his fish.. his name is taka( very nice and use to live in California). I really recommend this place and when its busy it might take a lil more time but the wait is absolutely worth it!!!
This place was fab! My husband doesn’t eat sushi and there was chicken for him to eat.
Went last night because I was craving sushi. Delicious. I can’t wait to go back. The chef recommended one of the specials of the day, a tuna. I ordered it as sashimi and it was the best sashimi I’ve ever had. So amazingly fresh and tender.
Thank you for all the support and love from all of our customers!! We will be doing customer appreciation month during november and have deals of $1=100 Yen!! Come out and try our New Port Roll, Diablo, Halibut Sashimi w/ sea salt and lime, and more of our fresh fish:) you guys will not regret our love, sushi, and service!
I just went there last night and I was blown away with the quality of the sushi they serve. I had their halibut sashimi with lime and sea salt and the chef told me not to eat it with soy sauce…. Sure enough, the flavor of the freshness of the sushi exploded in my mouth!! I also tired Dynamite Tuna and Newport Roll and they were both amazing! looking forward to coming back soon!!!
Service is good, food is good.
However, mind the cockroaches. Found one of the little buggers hiding out in our napkin cup.
I want to make a correction about our business days.
We are now,
open : Thursday to Tuesday
closed : Wednesday
We are waiting for you.
Newport Sushi
yep glad that I called we just went there today loved it !
We are open January 1st and 2nd, and we will be closed January 3rd, 4th and 5th.