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Mon-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 1:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Okini is a BYOB up the street from Reservoir Park: we saw a large party celebrating a birthday, with an equally large bottle of wine. We held off on alcohol, most of us getting coconut juice drinks ($2.50/each). None had many coconut pieces, which was a minor downer.
The place is a decent size. The Saturday evening I was there, it got crowded quickly. Even with the crowd, our (many) servers never let us feel neglected.
Okini offers Thai, Japanese, and Chinese dishes. For starters, we shared a Pink Lady sushi roll ($15), which had spicy tuna, cucumbers, avocado, and shrimp tempura all wrapped in pink soy paper. Its crunchy texture was enjoyable, and it tasted good, too!
For an entree, I had the pad kee mao ($9), sauteed broad noodles with shrimp, egg, onion, bell pepper chili and basil. Strangely, it came with chicken, when I asked for shrimp. They substituted thinner pad thai noodles (they were out of the normal ones). It wasn't bad, and it helped that it was spiced flaming hot, per my request.
Decent spot considering where it is. I left satisfied.
NOTE: Okini has a lunch special where you can pick two or three sushi rolls, and you get a miso soup and salad. (Two rolls set you back $8, three $10; credit cards accepted.)
So it's become tradition that everytime my friend and I see each other, we go out for sushi as the first meal we share together. Having gone to Japan together, it's now a solidified tradition. We live on opposite coasts so having meals together happens once or twice a year.
I was on her side of the country for our friend's wedding. She picked me up from BWI and we headed back to Harrisburg for some sushi, chatting and flailing the entire evening away as we do.
Okini is nice blend of different Asian food. They're not specialized in one cuisine but fairly decent in most that I've tried. Usually, I stick to sushi and some of the rolls.
The fish is at room temperature, which bothers me slightly. I'm used to my fish being colder than my lukewarm soda! The rolls are about average as well.
I don't know too many places that has sort of decent sushi in Pennsylvania but this place is pretty good when you're in the area.
Sushi is very good. Service is also good.
A previous reviewer wrote that she doesn't like her sushi if it's not cold. Unfortunately for her, Okini serves their sushi and sashimi at the correct temperature. Just like a good cheese needs to be brought up to room temperature to breathe, the same holds true for sushi.
I thoroughly enjoy this place and would consider giving it 5 stars if it wasn't an old Pizza Hut that pipes local crap-pop radio through the speaker system.
BYOB
A great place!
Service is great, they provide little cups if you BYOB of sake, service is fast and polite. Sushi has been some of the best I've ever had. I recommend Yellow Submarine roll and Crazy Friday roll. I've also had salmon which was very fresh. Atmosphere is intimate. This seems to be a popular place; I hosted an Amici event there and we had about 20 people show up.
Wow . . . I'm bucking the tend. I wasn't overly impressed. The ambiance was nice, the service was very good, but I found the food to be just average. Nothing was bad, but nothing seemed to be particularly amazing. Daughter though the complimentary edamame was nifty. It was fine, but typical.
Since this was our first time, we decided to go with standard Asian fare so we could compare it to other places with the same items.
We ordered two Crispy Vegetable Rolls ($3) for a starter. They were as expected. Nothing special.
When I order sushi I usually can gauge the probable size of the serving based upon the price tag. I was wrong. I ordered a Naruto roll ($9) and it was tiny. I left the place starving. It was supposed to have three different fish (salmon, tuna, yellow tail) and avocado wrapped in cucumber. It had barely any fish in it, what little fish was in tiny little bits, and the avocado was almost imperceptible. I barely saw any green - perhaps they were out of avocado. For $9 I want more fish than cucumber! I will, however, say that the garnish was absolutely beautiful. The inside seeded section of the cucumber (not used to wrap the roll) was cut in two, at an angle, and placed in the middle of the plate . . . making for a little cucumber twin-towers scene.
The kids had the wonton soup ($2) which tasted good. But, again, nothing out of the ordinary. Broth with wonton.
Hubby and I can't remember what he ordered . . . which is odd for us and means that it was pretty unremarkable. Wait, I remember, he had the pad thai ($9) which was very bland. It needed citrus and hot peppers just to taste good . . . and they didn't offer any. Yup, unremarkable.
The price tag was pretty high for what we received . . . I'm not sure if I'd return. We spent a large portion of the night staring out the window and watching people struggle to park in the lot. Our car was almost smashed twice. Maybe I'll have to go back and try something different. I'm not sure if I'm ready for another visit. We'll see . . .
Yet another generic pan-Asian restaurant in central PA. Seems that the only Asian places are either buffet or pan-Asian...
Pros:
1. The decor is fairly nice, with some quirky decorations that made me smile.
2. Their sushi rolls (I'll admit I only had one) were actually not terrible...although at the time I hadn't had any for a while.
3. Free edamame!
Cons:
1. Service is poor...so poor that I thought I was in a real Asian restaurant until I ate the food. Our party (6 people) had their food come at random times...they even lost the orders for two of our members. Don't get me wrong, they were super nice...but given the amount of people there at the time there was no excuse for the neglect.
So in summary, the pros are not strong, the cons are not many, but in the end it is another generic pan-Asian restaurant with sub-par service.
3 stars = meh...if everyone else is going
Friday, 6/6/08 8pm: Mind altering food, superior service.
Sizzling teriyaki was on special, you'd be a fool to pass it up.
Dinner for 2 with appetizers = $56
tipped 25% for excellent service.
please read my full review at: http://www.we8there.co...
This place is hit or miss. I've had amazing meals here and I can go back and have it taste completely different. Sometimes the dishes will be ultra spicy, sometimes not spicy at all. The consistency is a bit off as far as the thai food goes, maybe due to different cooks. ?? The times when I go and it's good, its REALLY good. The Chow Kueh Teow is awesome -- try it
Ok, I'll be the lone one out on a limb. Just don't push me over because of it.
This place was due for an update after I visited a number of times since my first review. And not an in a good way update.
There are some very good items here. But what I've come to realize that when you miss, and order something bad, it's downright unedible. Take the Hibachi. I had such a craving for a good hibachi dinner and my wife wanted sushi (like usual) so we decided to come here. Hibachi, you usually expect fried rice with egg, zuccinni, squash, sprouts, and the meat, right? Wrong. Not at Okini.
Here the Hibachi interpretation is: NOODLES??????!?!?!?!?!?!?! (lo-mein) with seasame seeds, chinese take-out style chicken drenched in a sweet sauce with some odd mix of vegetables. Soggy, limp and not fresh tasting. And yes, you read that correctly. No rice.
What? No rice?
Yes.
No rice.
It was basically a chinese take-out dish which was covered in some sort of sweet sauce. I thought I had ordered Chicken Hibachi and they gave me Seasame Chicken... from the take-out place down the road. It made me gag.
I've been to countless Hibachi retsurants and even when you don't get it made right in front of you, but rather in the kitchen, they always serve it with rice. Always. This was shocking.
To top it all off, the sushi hasn't been up to par at all. Unfresh fish is a sure way to kill a sushi lover's appetite and we found that to happen a couple times here. Another bad one is Pad Thai. If you ever had Pad Thai in a frozen or dry boxed form, this is what you will get here. The sauce is waaaaay off, like a cream sauce that held the noodles together. You couldn't separate the noodles and the sauce. It was almost liked it was baked.
I still love their Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice and the Cocunut Rice with Shrimp was very, very good. To summarize, order with care.
I was pleasantly surprised. For some reason my wife and I had sworn we had eaten here before and… Read more »
Good place for rolls, not outstanding sushi. Good prices...service is attentive.
I am still convinced that this is the best sushi restaurant in Harrisburg. They do have a pretty big menu selection of various asian dishes as well, but the sushi in particular is just incredible here.
I've been to Okini on numerous occasions and tried something different every time without ever being disappointed. Sure the outside is an old Pizza Hut, but the inside is nicely decorated, even quaint. Prices are very reasonable and the service is okay. I fully endorse Okini.
ok... seems a little overpriced. Food is good and service is very good. Lots of parking. Little bit of everything here...worth trying if you are on the fence.
this place is wonderful! i was getting a major japanese food craving and decided to check out Okini after reading the reviews for this place. Let me just say, as a girl who's had her fair share of good Japanese food, this place is AWESOME. I got the 2 roll special, a California roll and a salmon & avacado roll. With the rolls came miso soup and a salad. All with the total of $8.46 w/out tip. And let me just say the wasabi kicked ass! (one of my indications for good Japanese food) :] I also brought my roommate for her first try of sushi and Thai food. She ordered the Pad-see-ew. I didn't get a chance to try it, but my roommate said that she really enjoyed it.
I'll definitely be coming here for another one of my asian food cravings. I can't wait to try their other stuff.
Solid. Sushi is pretty good, service is better than other sushi places in the area, and the non-sushi food I see coming out of the kitchen looks very good. They have nice lunch specials, too -- the mango chicken is probably my favorite cheap (less than $10) meals in the area.
It's not the best sushi you'll ever have, but you won't leave angry. Yay for backhanded compliments!
My teenage son and I ate here last week. We've been wanting to try it based on a recommendation from family. First, It's pretty nice inside considering it had once been pizza hut and still looks like it outside. Second, the service was great. Very friendly staff checking back frequently. The complimentary edamame was nice. The menu was extensive and I want to go back and try some more dishes. I ordered the Vietnamese Beef. Sauce was great. Some of the meat was a bit chewy though.My son had soup (wonton) and sushi it was decent. We also shared a calamari appetizer. the calamari had a good texture and a sauce that I really liked but I guess I prefer a light batter rather than the powdery coating on this. Interesting though. We want to return to try additional menu items.
This is a great little place that is on the corner of Walnut and North 34th street, in Susquehanna twp, close to Progress Ave. It serves a combination of Chinese, Thai, Malaysian and Japanese food. They have a wide variety of appetizers and entrees that range from 4.00 up to the sushi love boat for two which is 42.95. It has a very beautiful interior with all new tables and chairs. Its parking lot is pretty large with room for about 45 cars. Every friday and saturday it is totally packed. The food is so hot and delicious. Okini's sushi is among the best on the east shore (i still think personally Tokyo Diner and Sapporo East are better)
they have great lunch specials around 6.75 you get a salad with ginger dressing, either wonton or miso soup, any two rolls for 7.99 or you can choose an other item like grandfather chicken, black beef basil, mango shrimp, mango chicken, etc. duck fajitas and roti canai are pretty good too. their edamame is kick ass. they have some specials on sushi also if you look they have the maki combo and a few others. their spicy tuna & spicy salmon are good and their crab and octopus rolls are great. their food is great, in line with Hong Kong City.
The owner of this place used to run another place called GoBo on lucknow street, closer to 6th and linglestown. the service is excellent, but be prepared to wait, it can be quite busy there. it is really decent on the inside, mahogany tables, nice silverwear, awesome sushi bar. it is really a high class affair. you'll notice that right when you walk in the waiters are usually pretty friendly and the manager, Kelly, will make you feel welcome.
update 9-01-08: Katsu mania has arrived, what is katsu you might ask, its just breaded fish, pork or chicken. i tried the fish, thought it was okay, but the sauce was insanely good!
The sushi was great! The Pad Thai was good. And the mango fish thing was an excellent discovery.
Highly recommended! I think this is my place to go for sushi in Harrisburg.
Update: Solid 4 not 5 stars for consistency. 5 out 5 for the food. The sushi chef can kick the orders out if he ever gets them.
Original review posted below.
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I ate the food made by one of the owners of this restaurant back when he had a little hole in the wall off north six street in Harrisburg. It was good then but it is great now. As you drive up you may say to yourself, "hmm, looks like a pizza joint" and thats because it was. They converted an old Pizza Hut. Once you walk inside all such notions quickly disappear. The decor is upscale. Lots of dark mahogany looking wood. They have a small sushi bar up front in the middle of the restaurant.
The food lives up to the name. There is something here for everyone from Thai, to Malaysian to Japanese. The sushi is among the best I have had. The prices are excellent particularly the specials. The plates look like works of art when they are delivered to your table. As good as the food looks it tastes even better. Nice place for a business lunch to a family dinner.
Harrisburg list of good local restaurants is steadily growing.
I've been going to Okini for better than 6 months now, exclusively for lunch. I am a big fan of their sushi, but recently tried a thai dish there, basil chicken, and now I count this as one of my favorite all round restaurants! I was a little hesitant at first to try anything other than the sushi, because when I get the three roll sushi with Miso soup lunch special and at $10, it's a deal, but I was hankering for thai, and my buddy really wanted sushi, so we went to Okini. At $6.75 for soup, entree, rice, and fried spring roll. It was a home run. As I said the flavor was right on, and I'd stack them against any Thai restaurant in the area.
I can't wait to sample some other dishes, to see what path they lead me down on my next trip in.
On an atmosphere note... The inside is very nice and looks nothing like the 1970's era Pizza Hut that it once was. I know that people have commented on the "Pizza Hut" exterior, I think since they have repainted the trim outside (It's now orange) it looks less like the previous tenant.
I went here many times with Central Pa Sushi and I must say they always aim to please. If doesn't matter how many is in your party or how much you order the one chap behind the sushi bar always whips it up fast and take extra detail to the presentation. The special rolls like Crazy Friday and Pink Lady might not be what you call "traditional sushi" but they are creative, huge and oh so yummy.
never had a bad roll or dish and the service has always been great
bybo
love this place gf and i go at least once a month
Lunch special is a great deal and they deliver all over Harrisburg as well
Harrisburg, PA
Category: Sushi Bars
Harrisburg, PA
Category: Sushi Bars
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Harrisburg, PA
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Harrisburg, PA
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