I come here frequently to order the pork ginger plate. It’s great when you’re craving home style Japanese comfort food.Sides:The house made pickles with is super good (not sweet, but refreshingly acidic).The potato salad is on the dense side - I think has Japanese pickles inside which is unique and adds some fun bursts of flavor.Salad is topped with Japanese style shoyu dressing with grated onions. Has a lot of flavor - almost like a dipping sauce.The hamburger steak is also good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Paul L.
The interior is VERY clean and modern looking. So much so, that it's hard to believe this is the old Hide Chan space. Portions were small for the price. I'm well aware of inflation and ingredient pricing, but $15-20 for a plate lunch is still on the very high end of acceptable as far as I'm concerned. The taco rice was a bit too spicy for me, and could definitely have benefitted from a crunchy component. Sadly I was too late for the pork wrapped musubi. Service was also a bit slow, considering I was the only person in the shop at the time. There are a few other menu items that looked interesting, and it's an area I'm around often, so I will undoubtedly be back.
Robert Maudlin
I’ve lived in Japan and my wife is Japanese and this place has legit Japanese food. This is homestyle quality with the Japanese rice, portions and recipes. Japanese comfort food at its finest. Don’t come in here expecting huge portions and you will leave with a full soul.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stewed Hamburger Steak
Nick F
very tasty new bento and musubi place! friendly staff, authentic japanese musubi. hope they stick aroundKid-friendliness: always let my daughter ring the bell. she’s so excited walking home from church
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Nanban
Marissa K.
This is located where the old Hide-Chan used to be. Got their Stewed hamburger steak. yummy spot with great lunch options. The plates are made to order. Parking can be a bit tricky but there's a few stalls around the corner and also some street parking if you're lucky.
Lance N.
Another restaurant like Pioneer Saloon. I give all of these restaurants credit for coming into town this game so late. Staff Front lady helping out and taking orders up front was very friendly and welcoming. Makes u wanna come back just to support her. Food Tori Nanban and Karaage Unfortunately the food just wasn't too good. Again, I am comparing to pioneer saloon and also kotetsu chaya. Tori Nanban just lacked flavor. Usually it is their egg tartar on top that brings the flavor along with the sauce that the chicken is dipped in. However both of the sauce lacked flavor. It didn't hit me the way other Tori Nanban does. Their potato salad was subpar as well. Karaage This is a plate that you can try anywhere and it will tell you a lot about the overall place. This Karaage was a disappointment. Chicken was not crispy and lacked flavor. It was juicy but I think a lot was due to oil. If you can make a good Karaage then it will be kind of difficult to survive. Kombu Musubi Not thing special. Wanna good Musubi u gotta go to STIX ASIA in Waikiki. U eat a musubi there and u can't eat another. Price Way too expensive. They are definitely trying to make money. U gotta do these restaurants because u love it and want to give people good food. Not to make money. Again, running a place like this and this late in the game u gotta do something special or u gotta go low on the price. Parking 3 stalls outside Just gotta make sure that u don't mind driving up or down curbs. Overall, this place has a lot to offer. But the overall flavor and quality needs to step up in order to be successful. I'm gonna give them a couple months then go back to try out the same dishes to see how it has improved.
Kimin John Cho
Good place to have
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Karaage Bento
Kiyoshi O.
Limited menu, but the chicken was tender and tasty. We had teri chicken and chicken banchan. And the rice was good quality. I would recommend their bentos. Limited parking though.
Kelly L
Worthless. The rice so hard. Looked like it had been recycled. VERY NO GOOD.
Wenz T.
Convenient location, parking right outside the restaurant and clean. The food was delicious, portion is small for the price. The Chicken Nanban was probably 1 piece of chicken chopped into cubes and deep fried and the hamburger steak comes with one pattie. They do use a higher premium rice which most plate lunch establishment lack. The service was very friendly and quick. The restaurant ambiance is casual, clean and spacious.
I love a good Japanese plate lunch. Over the years I tried many but always go back to the same handful. Glad to say this now also makes my list! The menu isn't big so you have to go in craving something from the list of 8 or so. If it's your first time, I highly recommend the chicken nanban. Light and slightly crispy, the chicken is juicy and the sauce on top is delicious. All the plates come with green salad, potato salad, pickles and garlic edamame. The rice they use is koshihikari rice! They have about 5 rice balls. I tried the tsukune (chicken meatball). Texture was a little soft for me and didn't quite have enough flavor. Probably will stick to the plate lunches. Parking is the hardest part because they don't have a lot and street parking gets full quick. Either call in or order online for a quicker pick up! If you choose to dine in there's about 7 tables.
Robyn M.
Expensive for what you get. Curry is meh. They either need to increase portion size or decrease prices.
Terri O.
I completely disagree with the person or any others who say Minatoku's prices are too high for what you get. First of all, have you seen how high a Starbucks drink cost these days? Everybody's forced to raise their prices. It's called inflation. Secondly, their food is quality. I mean Japanese quality. You can taste the difference in the rice. You get four sides. That's right...four: green salad, pickled veggies, Japanese potato salad, and edamame. Who offers that in their plate lunch? I ordered the chicken namban. The chicken was soooo tender. Very hard to find. Almost everyone overcooks their chicken. Was delish! Hubby ordered the teri chicken. Also super tender. Not as tasty as mine though. They could bump up the flavor on the teri sauce or maybe marinate longer. The person working up front was super nice, happy, and sweet. Inside was really clean. We did a take-out but had to sit down to wait for our order. The bench seats were really comfortable. When I was done with my lunch, I closed the lid and saw the cute message and happy face. (Hubby opened my lid, so i didn't see it earlier.) Who does that? Totally warmed my heart and made my day. Definitely coming back. One last note: I'm usually skeptical with new businesses who have few reviews, and wonder whether or not these reviews are true reviews or just friends and family. Disclaimer...I don't know the owners or anyone who works here. If you follow me, you'll know I'm kindly honest with my reviews for new businesses. All this being said, I hope you give them a chance. So hard running a business these days.
Craig S.
First of all, the food is on point. I had the stewed hamburger steak. It was prepared and seasoned perfectly. The only thing is for the PRICE, the portions are too SMALL. Your tastebuds will definitely be happy but you're also definitely going to walk away still hungry...and your wallet will be lighter.
Shari T.
Stopped by Minatoku Kitchen for lunch. I felt ridiculously sad stepping into the space that is no longer Hide-Chan's but things change. I asked if there was an Okinawan connection because they have Taco Rice on their menu but nope. Customer service was good. I got there at Noon and there wasn't all of the rice ball options like the tsukune and the soboro. The lady there suggested I call next time so they can set some aside if they still have. My Ginger Pork special was around $18. Overall good and I would get again! I'm looking forward to trying their other dishes. There was an onion kind of dressing which was overpowering, will ask for less next visit. Plate lunch came with some edamame, Japanese style potato salad (with olives?) and some pickled veggies. They don't accept cash. Credit cards only. There are 3-4 stalls in the lot. Dine in and take out.
I come here frequently to order the pork ginger plate. It’s great when you’re craving home style Japanese comfort food.Sides:The house made pickles with is super good (not sweet, but refreshingly acidic).The potato salad is on the dense side - I think has Japanese pickles inside which is unique and adds some fun bursts of flavor.Salad is topped with Japanese style shoyu dressing with grated onions. Has a lot of flavor - almost like a dipping sauce.The hamburger steak is also good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The interior is VERY clean and modern looking. So much so, that it's hard to believe this is the old Hide Chan space. Portions were small for the price. I'm well aware of inflation and ingredient pricing, but $15-20 for a plate lunch is still on the very high end of acceptable as far as I'm concerned. The taco rice was a bit too spicy for me, and could definitely have benefitted from a crunchy component. Sadly I was too late for the pork wrapped musubi. Service was also a bit slow, considering I was the only person in the shop at the time. There are a few other menu items that looked interesting, and it's an area I'm around often, so I will undoubtedly be back.
I’ve lived in Japan and my wife is Japanese and this place has legit Japanese food. This is homestyle quality with the Japanese rice, portions and recipes. Japanese comfort food at its finest. Don’t come in here expecting huge portions and you will leave with a full soul.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Stewed Hamburger Steak
very tasty new bento and musubi place! friendly staff, authentic japanese musubi. hope they stick aroundKid-friendliness: always let my daughter ring the bell. she’s so excited walking home from church
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Nanban
This is located where the old Hide-Chan used to be. Got their Stewed hamburger steak. yummy spot with great lunch options. The plates are made to order. Parking can be a bit tricky but there's a few stalls around the corner and also some street parking if you're lucky.
Another restaurant like Pioneer Saloon. I give all of these restaurants credit for coming into town this game so late. Staff Front lady helping out and taking orders up front was very friendly and welcoming. Makes u wanna come back just to support her. Food Tori Nanban and Karaage Unfortunately the food just wasn't too good. Again, I am comparing to pioneer saloon and also kotetsu chaya. Tori Nanban just lacked flavor. Usually it is their egg tartar on top that brings the flavor along with the sauce that the chicken is dipped in. However both of the sauce lacked flavor. It didn't hit me the way other Tori Nanban does. Their potato salad was subpar as well. Karaage This is a plate that you can try anywhere and it will tell you a lot about the overall place. This Karaage was a disappointment. Chicken was not crispy and lacked flavor. It was juicy but I think a lot was due to oil. If you can make a good Karaage then it will be kind of difficult to survive. Kombu Musubi Not thing special. Wanna good Musubi u gotta go to STIX ASIA in Waikiki. U eat a musubi there and u can't eat another. Price Way too expensive. They are definitely trying to make money. U gotta do these restaurants because u love it and want to give people good food. Not to make money. Again, running a place like this and this late in the game u gotta do something special or u gotta go low on the price. Parking 3 stalls outside Just gotta make sure that u don't mind driving up or down curbs. Overall, this place has a lot to offer. But the overall flavor and quality needs to step up in order to be successful. I'm gonna give them a couple months then go back to try out the same dishes to see how it has improved.
Good place to have
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Karaage Bento
Limited menu, but the chicken was tender and tasty. We had teri chicken and chicken banchan. And the rice was good quality. I would recommend their bentos. Limited parking though.
Worthless. The rice so hard. Looked like it had been recycled. VERY NO GOOD.
Convenient location, parking right outside the restaurant and clean. The food was delicious, portion is small for the price. The Chicken Nanban was probably 1 piece of chicken chopped into cubes and deep fried and the hamburger steak comes with one pattie. They do use a higher premium rice which most plate lunch establishment lack. The service was very friendly and quick. The restaurant ambiance is casual, clean and spacious.
Restaurantji Recommends
I love a good Japanese plate lunch. Over the years I tried many but always go back to the same handful. Glad to say this now also makes my list! The menu isn't big so you have to go in craving something from the list of 8 or so. If it's your first time, I highly recommend the chicken nanban. Light and slightly crispy, the chicken is juicy and the sauce on top is delicious. All the plates come with green salad, potato salad, pickles and garlic edamame. The rice they use is koshihikari rice! They have about 5 rice balls. I tried the tsukune (chicken meatball). Texture was a little soft for me and didn't quite have enough flavor. Probably will stick to the plate lunches. Parking is the hardest part because they don't have a lot and street parking gets full quick. Either call in or order online for a quicker pick up! If you choose to dine in there's about 7 tables.
Expensive for what you get. Curry is meh. They either need to increase portion size or decrease prices.
I completely disagree with the person or any others who say Minatoku's prices are too high for what you get. First of all, have you seen how high a Starbucks drink cost these days? Everybody's forced to raise their prices. It's called inflation. Secondly, their food is quality. I mean Japanese quality. You can taste the difference in the rice. You get four sides. That's right...four: green salad, pickled veggies, Japanese potato salad, and edamame. Who offers that in their plate lunch? I ordered the chicken namban. The chicken was soooo tender. Very hard to find. Almost everyone overcooks their chicken. Was delish! Hubby ordered the teri chicken. Also super tender. Not as tasty as mine though. They could bump up the flavor on the teri sauce or maybe marinate longer. The person working up front was super nice, happy, and sweet. Inside was really clean. We did a take-out but had to sit down to wait for our order. The bench seats were really comfortable. When I was done with my lunch, I closed the lid and saw the cute message and happy face. (Hubby opened my lid, so i didn't see it earlier.) Who does that? Totally warmed my heart and made my day. Definitely coming back. One last note: I'm usually skeptical with new businesses who have few reviews, and wonder whether or not these reviews are true reviews or just friends and family. Disclaimer...I don't know the owners or anyone who works here. If you follow me, you'll know I'm kindly honest with my reviews for new businesses. All this being said, I hope you give them a chance. So hard running a business these days.
First of all, the food is on point. I had the stewed hamburger steak. It was prepared and seasoned perfectly. The only thing is for the PRICE, the portions are too SMALL. Your tastebuds will definitely be happy but you're also definitely going to walk away still hungry...and your wallet will be lighter.
Stopped by Minatoku Kitchen for lunch. I felt ridiculously sad stepping into the space that is no longer Hide-Chan's but things change. I asked if there was an Okinawan connection because they have Taco Rice on their menu but nope. Customer service was good. I got there at Noon and there wasn't all of the rice ball options like the tsukune and the soboro. The lady there suggested I call next time so they can set some aside if they still have. My Ginger Pork special was around $18. Overall good and I would get again! I'm looking forward to trying their other dishes. There was an onion kind of dressing which was overpowering, will ask for less next visit. Plate lunch came with some edamame, Japanese style potato salad (with olives?) and some pickled veggies. They don't accept cash. Credit cards only. There are 3-4 stalls in the lot. Dine in and take out.