Cozy izakaya with great food humbly priced. I highly recommend the draft beer, butterfish, and saba sashimi.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Mackerel Sashimi, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Grilled Beef Tongue, Grilled Miso Butter Fish
Lichun Li
Amazing food at very affordable price. Cozy space with a lively atmosphere
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Quail Egg Marinated in Dashi Shoyu, Pork Ear w Shibazuke, Grilled Beef Tongue
Jesse Clymer
This place is a true hidden gem. Reservations by phone only, it's quite small so I'd recommend doing so. Ice cold beer mugs are always bonus points for me. Truly everything we ate was incredible. The beef tongue has layers of flavors to it. The mackerel flash fired table side is just impressive. And the surprise of the night was taco rice. What a fun delicious dish they came up with.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hamachi Carpaccio, Mackerel Sashimi, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Grilled Beef Tongue, Home Made Gyoza
Liz
Terrible customer service. We entered and asked how long the wait would be for a table. Right after asking and still speaking to the waitress, one of us needed to use the bathroom and started walking in, the waitress yelled ‘where are you going! It’s for customers only!’ I guess trying to wait for a table is not counted as a customer and we need to be treated in such a RUDE manner. Never going back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Rollin W
Love this place, great food, cool atmosphere. Love the various awamori.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hamachi Carpaccio, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Grilled Beef Tongue, Oven Grilled Berkshire Pork with Yuzu Kosho
GIAN MAR
Still, after many years of service great food, service and smiling faces. Probably best Okinawan dishes on the island. Thank you!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Home Made Gyoza
S.J.
Food is good. Staff is good. Small place but that is beauty of Izakaya.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mike Boccuzzi
Best meal we had while on the island. It feels like you’re in Japan when you walk in the door. The drinks were amazing, and everything that hit the table was perfect. Get the Taco Rice and Miso Butter Fish!! Will come here every time we’re in Oahu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Hamachi Carpaccio, Miso Butterfish, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Gyoza Pizza, Home Made Gyoza
John Li
Food was pretty good and it’s a cute place but the whole experience was ruined by the rude hostess/waitress. I feel almost bad posting this as the other wait staff seem nice enough but still does not make up for the horrible experience we had.We got there soon after they opened so there were only 1 table filled and 2 people at bar, lucky us! Except when we requested a table away from the door, the hostess told us those were for only reservations. Fair enough, we’ll just take any free table then (it’s a small place but they had about 6 tables). So we sit and are given a few minutes with our menus. When the waitress (same lady as hostess) came by and asked what we wanted to drink, we indicated water would be fine. She gave us the meanest side look I’ve seen in a long time and walked away in a huff. Not 2 minutes later, she comes back and says in a very direct manner that “all” tables are reserved and we need to move to the bar. No apology that she made the mistake and didn’t seat us properly in the first place, I was also a bit suspicious that she was only moving us because she’s mad we were not ordering alcohol. We were hungry and looking forward to the food given the high rating of this place so we went along and sat at the bar as she directed.The rest of the meal was mostly uneventful, as we enjoyed the efficient and friendly service of the grill master and other staff. The food was enjoyable and may have been more delicious than what I remember if my experience hadn’t been tainted.As time went past during our dinner, it became more and more obvious that those “reserved tables” were not reserved at all. After us, 2 more parties came in and sat at tables so 3 tables were left empty until we left. I just had this gross feeling that the hostess/waitress straight up lied to us and were purposefully rude because we were not ordering alcohol. We left the customary 20% tip and ordered a decent amount of food but I knew wait staff prefer when alcohol is involved as that can inflate the bill/tip.We will definitely not go back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Jp Bulaquena
This place is AWESOME! If you've never been, it's definitely a place to try! I recommend that you make a reservation for any party bigger than 2 people. This place is always packed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seared Saba, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Oven Grilled Berkshire Pork with Yuzu Kosho, Grilled Miso Butter Fish
Wonderful atmosphere. Very slow service. Decent food. Avoid the shark cartilage. The taco rice tastes like tacos. Gyoza is great. Seared mackerel was delicious. Food is fresh. Small, quaint and fairly loud. Beef tongue is yummy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Seared Saba, Grilled Beef Tongue, Home Made Gyoza
Ivan Z
Food is ok. The service is awful, and server is racist. No water served and never took away the dishes. We were still missing few dishes at the end. After asking for them for few times, we were told “I’m pretty sure we already served those.” I wouldn’t recommend anyone to come, except if you are Japanese.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
J S
The Japanese owner opened this shop by himself 17 years ago. Customers gather here for the friendly and kind owner and delicious Japanese izakaya food.I'm just a tourist who loves Hawaii, but I was introduced to this shop by a real estate agent who lives in Hawaii and is very knowledgeable about Hawaii.I can see that it is loved by the Hawaiian community! Recommended if you come to Hawaii and want to eat Japanese food ?Parking: It's next to
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rongqian Ma
It was our favorite Japanese izakaya place when we first came to Honolulu in 2021, so this time we went back. Very authentic Japanese izakaya experience. The food along with the highballs and the Awamori drinks were great! Recommend the quill eggs, hamachi carpaccio, & the chicken karaage. A bit loud and crowded, although you can think of it as a part of the experience as well :)Kid-friendliness: Not kids friendlyWheelchair accessibility: Not good. The place is small and packed
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Hamachi Carpaccio, Quail Eggs, Home Made Gyoza
Aki Vogel
Really adored this tiny Izakaya. Quaint atmosphere and friendly staff. The food was fantastic and easily shareable between our party of 4. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Gyoza Pizza, Home Made Gyoza, Grilled Miso Butter Fish
Cozy izakaya with great food humbly priced. I highly recommend the draft beer, butterfish, and saba sashimi.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Mackerel Sashimi, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Grilled Beef Tongue, Grilled Miso Butter Fish
Amazing food at very affordable price. Cozy space with a lively atmosphere
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Quail Egg Marinated in Dashi Shoyu, Pork Ear w Shibazuke, Grilled Beef Tongue
This place is a true hidden gem. Reservations by phone only, it's quite small so I'd recommend doing so. Ice cold beer mugs are always bonus points for me. Truly everything we ate was incredible. The beef tongue has layers of flavors to it. The mackerel flash fired table side is just impressive. And the surprise of the night was taco rice. What a fun delicious dish they came up with.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hamachi Carpaccio, Mackerel Sashimi, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Grilled Beef Tongue, Home Made Gyoza
Terrible customer service. We entered and asked how long the wait would be for a table. Right after asking and still speaking to the waitress, one of us needed to use the bathroom and started walking in, the waitress yelled ‘where are you going! It’s for customers only!’ I guess trying to wait for a table is not counted as a customer and we need to be treated in such a RUDE manner. Never going back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Love this place, great food, cool atmosphere. Love the various awamori.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hamachi Carpaccio, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Grilled Beef Tongue, Oven Grilled Berkshire Pork with Yuzu Kosho
Still, after many years of service great food, service and smiling faces. Probably best Okinawan dishes on the island. Thank you!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Home Made Gyoza
Food is good. Staff is good. Small place but that is beauty of Izakaya.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best meal we had while on the island. It feels like you’re in Japan when you walk in the door. The drinks were amazing, and everything that hit the table was perfect. Get the Taco Rice and Miso Butter Fish!! Will come here every time we’re in Oahu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Hamachi Carpaccio, Miso Butterfish, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Gyoza Pizza, Home Made Gyoza
Food was pretty good and it’s a cute place but the whole experience was ruined by the rude hostess/waitress. I feel almost bad posting this as the other wait staff seem nice enough but still does not make up for the horrible experience we had.We got there soon after they opened so there were only 1 table filled and 2 people at bar, lucky us! Except when we requested a table away from the door, the hostess told us those were for only reservations. Fair enough, we’ll just take any free table then (it’s a small place but they had about 6 tables). So we sit and are given a few minutes with our menus. When the waitress (same lady as hostess) came by and asked what we wanted to drink, we indicated water would be fine. She gave us the meanest side look I’ve seen in a long time and walked away in a huff. Not 2 minutes later, she comes back and says in a very direct manner that “all” tables are reserved and we need to move to the bar. No apology that she made the mistake and didn’t seat us properly in the first place, I was also a bit suspicious that she was only moving us because she’s mad we were not ordering alcohol. We were hungry and looking forward to the food given the high rating of this place so we went along and sat at the bar as she directed.The rest of the meal was mostly uneventful, as we enjoyed the efficient and friendly service of the grill master and other staff. The food was enjoyable and may have been more delicious than what I remember if my experience hadn’t been tainted.As time went past during our dinner, it became more and more obvious that those “reserved tables” were not reserved at all. After us, 2 more parties came in and sat at tables so 3 tables were left empty until we left. I just had this gross feeling that the hostess/waitress straight up lied to us and were purposefully rude because we were not ordering alcohol. We left the customary 20% tip and ordered a decent amount of food but I knew wait staff prefer when alcohol is involved as that can inflate the bill/tip.We will definitely not go back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
This place is AWESOME! If you've never been, it's definitely a place to try! I recommend that you make a reservation for any party bigger than 2 people. This place is always packed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seared Saba, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Oven Grilled Berkshire Pork with Yuzu Kosho, Grilled Miso Butter Fish
Restaurantji Recommends
Wonderful atmosphere. Very slow service. Decent food. Avoid the shark cartilage. The taco rice tastes like tacos. Gyoza is great. Seared mackerel was delicious. Food is fresh. Small, quaint and fairly loud. Beef tongue is yummy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Seared Saba, Grilled Beef Tongue, Home Made Gyoza
Food is ok. The service is awful, and server is racist. No water served and never took away the dishes. We were still missing few dishes at the end. After asking for them for few times, we were told “I’m pretty sure we already served those.” I wouldn’t recommend anyone to come, except if you are Japanese.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
The Japanese owner opened this shop by himself 17 years ago. Customers gather here for the friendly and kind owner and delicious Japanese izakaya food.I'm just a tourist who loves Hawaii, but I was introduced to this shop by a real estate agent who lives in Hawaii and is very knowledgeable about Hawaii.I can see that it is loved by the Hawaiian community! Recommended if you come to Hawaii and want to eat Japanese food ?Parking: It's next to
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It was our favorite Japanese izakaya place when we first came to Honolulu in 2021, so this time we went back. Very authentic Japanese izakaya experience. The food along with the highballs and the Awamori drinks were great! Recommend the quill eggs, hamachi carpaccio, & the chicken karaage. A bit loud and crowded, although you can think of it as a part of the experience as well :)Kid-friendliness: Not kids friendlyWheelchair accessibility: Not good. The place is small and packed
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Hamachi Carpaccio, Quail Eggs, Home Made Gyoza
Really adored this tiny Izakaya. Quaint atmosphere and friendly staff. The food was fantastic and easily shareable between our party of 4. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Taco Rice in a Hot Stone Pot, Gyoza Pizza, Home Made Gyoza, Grilled Miso Butter Fish