Nuka - Japanese restaurant in Haiku - 780 Haiku Rd, USA

So I asked around with locals and this name kept coming up. Worth the drive and totally worth every cent! Sit at the counter and watch how fast the chefs are, fastest I've seen in all of the sushi places I've been too. Sushi is fresh and delicious. No reservations taken and this place is busy, seemingly from.open to close.

We arrived here with 45 minutes before closing time for a weekday lunch. We ordered 3 rolls (Nuka, Peahi and a hosomaki of avocado). Nuka was unique and great with its ponzu sauce. The other two were good. Atmosphere: The restaurant is situated in between the post office and a shopping plaza as if in the middle of parking lots. The decoration felt Japanese-y and low-key. Food: Low value for money. Service was quick and friendly.

There is a reason a line forms as soon as it’s open! We got here at 4:35, and luckily got the 2nd to last open table before the line started forming. All the fish is fresh, and tastes super clean. The food came out hot and flavorful as well, and the overall service and experience is wonderful too! We got the truffle edamame, chicken karaage, hurricane fries, sashimi platter, and Hawaiian Superman - all of which id recommend. Definitely come early when they open and give it a try!

For me it’s the #1 place to eat on the island. It opens at 1630 and people are queueing from 1600 to get the first sitting. Unsurprising. The food quality is superb - if you’ve been to good sushi places in Japan, you’ll know just how good this place is. Baked Eggplant is divine, as is the Godzilla roll, Sashimi plate and I can’t recommended enough the Hurricane Fries and I’m not a fan of fries! As for deserts - I loved the home made ice cream made with black sesame seeds. The service is wonderful and the prices are fine for the quality and service. Be patient if you have to queue. It’s totally worth it.

Everyone said Nuka was THE place to get sushi on Maui, and it didn’t disappoint! We were warned that there may be a long wait, so getting there right at opening time is your best bet. We arrived early, to a few parties also waiting for the doors to open. There is a decent sized sushi bar and maybe 20 tables inside… pretty cozy. Service was fast and friendly, and the food was amazing. Some of the freshest sushi I’ve ever had. Everything we ordered was presented beautifully and tasted great! Will definitely return!

Nuka is one of the best restaurants on island and some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. The chefs are world-class, and everything is fresh, delicious, and beautifully prepared. The line starts as soon as they open, so get there early and be prepared to wait (but it’s so worth it!) My favorite pairing is the Haiku roll with the lilikoi lemon drop, and the black sesame ice cream

My friend and I went to Nuka for dinner on a weekday around 5 pm and we had to wait for 15 minutes before we got seated. Nuka is a small and sleek Japanese restaurant with diverse small-plate list, sushi & specialty rolls, plus a range of drinks. My friend and I got karaage chicken and spicy garlic edamame for appetizers. Karaage chicken doesn't come with any sauces on the side. It comes with a lemon and that lemon was enough to make karaage my favorite dish of the night. The chicken was juicy and well cooked and the breading on the chicken was light and crispy. The spicy edamame was pretty good too. Some edamame were flavored more than the others but it was still really good. We also got Nuka and rainbow speciality rolls. Of the two speciality rolls, Rainbow was the better one. The rolls werent packed properly and it kept falling apart. They also used a very small cut of the fish. We also tried their panna cotta and double scoop ice cream - green tea and calamansi flavors. Panna cotta was not very flavorful. It was barely sweet. The fruit on top wasnt fresh. It was very dry. The two scoops of ice cream were pretty good. Calamansi flavor was citrusy so it was hard to finish it by itself towards the end (still pretty good though). Overall it was a good experience. The ambiance was great and the service was wonderful. Parking can be a bit tricky. We parked in the parking lot next door but I'm not sure if you are allowed to.

Very cute and authentic looking!! Friendly service. I must be honest though. My rainbow roll was small, fish was very thin.. for the price I was hoping for a fat roll. Acoustics were bad. Very loud inside. Not good for sensitive ears. Will recommend to others and go back to try something different.