Aloha Bento Has Us Eating Premium Sushi and Sashimi in a Bank

Photo: Mari Taketa

You don’t expect much from takeout sushi—not with a name like Aloha Bento, not when Aloha Bento is in a bank headquarters next to a Starbucks. Which makes its nigiri sushi all the more remarkable. It’s a combination of Edomae and more typical kaisen sushi, made by an itamae who co-owned Mō‘ili‘ili’s omakase Senyu Sushi.

Aloha Bento’s nigiri sets are lunchtime treats that line a cold case if you get to Central Pacific Plaza in Downtown early enough; otherwise, they’re made to order for online and walk-in customers. Standard sets come with 6, 8 or 10 pieces ($15, $18, $21) of kaisen sushi—the kind of fresh-off-the-boat or -plane stuff you find at most sushi bars and all conveyor belt and takeout sushi chains. They usually include ‘ahi, hamachi and salmon, which is good enough if you’re looking for a craft sushi lunch that won’t break the bank (ha!). I focus on the sushi because that’s what blows me away. For more about Aloha Bento’s larger menu of sashimi and sushi rolls that aren’t limited to lunchtime, keep scrolling.

Pau hana snack: Small sashimi plate and a sake flight. Photo: Mari Taketa

But if you’re into things like nodoguro or Moloka‘i amaebi or hamachi otoro or whatever is chef’s choice that day, go ahead and splurge on an 8-piece omakase ($27) or 8-piece premium omakase ($40) lunch set. Many of the pieces are lightly cured and aged using Edomae techniques to intensify the seafood’s natural flavors and harmonize them with vinegared sushi rice. For these sets, whose contents change frequently, Aloha Bento co-owner and sushi chef Cosmo Hirai flies in snow crab and hon maguro from Japan, blue prawns from New Caledonia, saba from Norway, king salmon from New Zealand. Other seafood including ‘ahi is sourced locally.

Premium omakase nigiri set on a recent weekday (clockwise from top left): otoro maguro bluefin tuna belly with nikiri shoyu, hamachi belly with jalapeño shoyu jelly and lime zest, king salmon belly seared with sweet miso, nodoguro blackthroat seaperch with lemon and dashi shoyu, kohada cured gizzard shad with nikiri shoyu and shiso, ika squid with white shoyu shiso and mentaiko, Hokkaido scallop with dashi salt and truffle purée, Hawaiian ama ebi with roasted shrimp shell salt. Photo: Mari Taketa

“We’re not a restaurant or anything, we are just a bento place. But there are customers who enjoy having omakase sets or premium sets. So I’ll bring in some fish so it can rotate and be a little bit different every week,” Hirai says. “At the same time, it’s not at the full omakase level that uses everything I’ve learned. It’s a more simplified level that I can offer to everybody. That’s the whole concept.”

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Hirai studied Edomae techniques while making sushi at Kona Kai in Kaimukī, since closed, and eating his way through sushi bars around Japan. Wherever he could, he picked the brains of established itamae, including Sushi Sho’s Keiji Nakazawa, regarded as the king of Edomae in Japan, when he came to eat at Kona Kai. How did they cure saba or kohada? How did they adjust techniques to accommodate the qualities of Hawai‘i seafood?

Temaki hand rolls. Photo: Mari Taketa

Hirai’s other main job is as the third-generation bishop of Todaiji Hawai‘i temple in Nu‘uanu (which makes Aloha Bento’s Monday to Friday hours a perfect fit). The menu at the eatery, which he co-owns with entrepreneur Tyler Hiranaka, shifts at pau hana time to a focus on sashimi (market price), sushi rolls (from $9 for a California roll to $17 for a more elaborate one stuffed with shrimp tempura and topped with spicy ahi and tempura flakes), hand rolls (mostly $5, less for cucumber and ume, more for salmon skin or salmon and avocado) and items like hamachi kama.

Hosomaki skinny rolls: ume shiso ika (left, $7) and toro with takuan ($8). Photo: Mari Taketa

All the time, there are Aloha Beers, which formerly occupied Aloha Bento’s corner space next to Starbucks and accounts for the first part of its name; and a well-curated selection of sakes, including flights. Seating is at tables in the air-conditioned space or on the lānai fronting King Street. Parking in the Central Pacific Bank building is free with validation if you enter after 4 p.m.

Finally, Aloha Bento is open Monday and Tuesday this week and closed Wednesday to Friday for Thanksgiving. Regular hours are below.

Open Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (lunch menu until 2 p.m.), 220 S. King St., alohabento.com, @alohabentoco