Mitch’s Fish Market – Honolulu, Hawaii

September 30, 2008 Other Sushi Randomness

Mitch's Fish Market

I love sushi. Duh, Allison, of course you do. Well yes, my adoration of sushi is just a wee bit obvious. After all, I wouldn’t have this sushi blog if I didn’t love it, now would I? As with any trip I take, my first thought is of what sort of good food can be found in the area, specifically great sushi bars. Hearing that Mitch’s Fish Market has the best sushi ever? Obviously, I had to try.

Mitch's Fish Market

We arrived at Mitch’s after a day that included a yummy breakfast, a visit to the botanical gardens, and various beaches and tidepools as we drove the big loop around Oahu. We were tired and definitely hungry. When you walk into the sushi bar, it’s obvious that the primary business is the fish market – the sushi bar is almost an afterthought. The restaurant is very small… it could easily have been an office that was turned into a restaurant. There are two or three tables, and a sushi bar that might seat four, at most. You don’t go to Mitch’s for the ambiance… nope, you go there for the sashimi.

Mitch's Fish Market

We had heard that Mitch’s was one of the few places you could get lobster sashimi, so of course we had to order that. We also decided to get the Chirashi Deluxe, so we could try their wide array of sashimi accompanied by a seasoned bowl of rice. As an afterthought, we also decided to get an extra order of hotate (scallop) sashimi… I’m a wee bit addicted to hotate. 😀

Mitch's Fish Market

The sashimi was undoubtedly the best sashimi I have tasted. Ever. Since you’re eating at a fish market, you know it’s fresh, but there’s just no way to describe how amazing the sashimi was. The shrimp were sweet, the chu toro (tuna, just one level below toro) melted in my mouth, the yellowtail not even close to how stringy it normally is. The hotate were a scallop-lover’s dream come true, and the sweet tamago almost fluffy. The salmon was amazingly soft, the uni incredibly smooth, the tako (octopus) slightly chewy, and the ikura incredibly fresh. As for the chirashi rice that came with the plate of sashimi, I enjoyed it immensely. Something about the mushroom pieces, nori strips, and other seasonings sprinkled on top made me think of New Year’s. I believe the flavor may have been something that I am used to tasting in the various dishes we used to enjoy at the New Year’s celebrations at my great aunt’s husband’s parents’ house. It was delicious.

Mitch's Fish Market

And now, the lobster! After we ordered but before our meal, we were surprised to see them bring out a live lobster for us to approve of for our sashimi. Talk about fresh… you can’t get much fresher than that. The lobster sashimi was… interesting. We rather enjoyed it, although for the price ($52) I’m not sure we would purchase it again. The sushi chefs sliced up the lobster tail for us to eat, accompanying it with the typical wasabi (the real stuff!) and gari.

The flavor of the lobster was very clean, fresh, and although it was mostly flavorless, it was just a little sweet. The texture is crunchy which is a little odd at first, but easy to get used to. Overall we enjoyed the lobster sashimi… but wait, there’s more!

Mitch's Fish Market

Once we finished the sashimi, the waitress came and took the shell of the lobster tail, “to put in the soup.” Huh? I hadn’t heard anything about any soup. What’s this? Not too long later, she came back with two bowls with the rest of the lobster parts sticking out of it. They sure know how to use a lobster… not a single part went to waste. The lobster miso soup was similar to regular miso soup, except that we got to pick the lobster meat out of the head and claws. Delicious! It was a very nice surprise to end our meal at Mitch’s.

Mitch's Fish Market

The cost of the meal totaled $130, including tax and tip, for the two of us. Mitch’s only serves tea and ice water, so if you want alcohol or other drinks with your meal, you have to bring your own. They will, however, gladly provide glasses for you. If ever in Honolulu, I highly recommend visiting Mitch’s. Everyone who works there is incredibly friendly, and will make you feel like family. Heck, they’ll even let you take a picture of the lobster you’re going to eat! Besides, who can resist such amazing sashimi?

Mitch's Fish Market

20 thoughts on “Mitch’s Fish Market – Honolulu, Hawaii”

  2. Yvo -

    Yum yum! That looks delicious. That’s not the kind of lobster I get here in NY, that’s for sure (looks like a spiny lobster maybe? Wonder if it’s cold water or not…). BTW, not to be nitpicky, but… how do you know that’s “the real thing” when it came to the wasabi? Because it doesn’t look like fresh wasabi and from my understanding, it is very, very few restaurants that have real wasabi, which is almost always grated fresh in front of you on a sharkskin grater… I COULD BE WRONG, but I’m just curious

    Yvo’s last blog post… Zaro’s Bread Basket to Politicians: BITE ME!!!

  3. Allison -

    rachel – It was definitely amazing! 🙂 And so worth it.

    Yvo – I believe it was spiny lobster. As for the wasabi, Son is a bit of a wasabi connoisseur, so I’m going entirely off of his judgement that the wasabi tasted more like the real stuff than the fake stuff. I didn’t have any, so I can’t verify that, but I have seen real wasabi that looks just like what we had. 🙂

  5. Ann -

    Your pictures were wonderful, felt like I was looking at a Conde Nast publication.
    Miss the Pacific sushi, now live on the Atlantic and it’s not quite the same.

  6. Helen -

    Wow! How interesting that the texture of the lobster was crunchy! I never could have predicted that. I also love what they did with the lobster, using the tail in the soup – that is lovely.

  7. Jamie Simmerman -

    Looks beautiful, especially coming from Hawaii. But you know, living on a farm changed the way I look at food. I’m not sure I could eat anything raw. Cook it all! Kill the bacteria! (I side with James)

    LOL, At least I can appreciate the beauty of sushi, eh?

    Jamie Simmerman’s last blog post… Go Bucks!

  8. Allison -

    Nate – It was! Most amazing sashimi I have ever had. Son was very proud of the pictures he took. 🙂

    Ann – Thank you so much. 😀

    Helen – Yeah, definitely not what we would have expected, but still delicious. 🙂

    Jamie – Haha yeah, I *do* love my raw fish. 😀 But yes, of course you can appreciate the beauty of it, even if you refuse to eat it! 😉

  11. hyung lee -

    Hi,

    I am a Chairman of THE EAST Business Newspaper in the UK.
    Is there any chance we could publish your articles in our paper and reintroduce them on our website, of course, with your full credit?

    Many thanks and kind regards,

    Hyung Wook Lee
    Chairman / Editor in Chief
    MBA(Edin)

    THE EAST, The East Asian Monthly Business Newspaper,
    Elephant Consulting Limited, 160 Central Road, Worcester Park, Surrey, KT4 8HQ, UK
    Tel : + 44 (0) 7912 608 321 / Web site: http://www.theeast.org / E mail : info@theeast.org
    Registered in England & Wales, Company No. 6254454

  13. Allison -

    LA Woodstock – Too bad, but if you ever visit Honolulu, Mitch’s is a must-visit. 🙂

    Marie – It’s just the lobster tail that becomes sashimi, so it actually isn’t that much. One person could probably finish it by themselves, assuming they like it and don’t eat much other sashimi. 🙂

    hyung lee – No, but thanks for asking.

    Eugene – You’re very welcome!

  14. Aquarium Stores -

    I have not tasted Sushi till date. The reason is how can you eat raw fish. OMG! the thought of eating raw fish makes me yuck. All this with due respect to those who love Sushi. These are my thoughts.

    I love the pictures on this article. Very nice and tempting (except Sushi)

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