I'm not too sure if you would call Monarch Seafood a hidden gem because if you're local, you just know that Monarch is bomb!! The most popular dish here is the crab stuffed ahi. It's ahi stuffed with crab, rolled in nori and deep fried, then topped with a creamy wasabi sauce. It is soooo good and hits the spot EVERYTIME. It does come with fresh greens and the house made dressing is so good too. Monarch also has fresh poke offerings as well. My favorite is the spicy ahi without the mayo. Easily one of my top favorite spicy ahi pokes on island. I'm sure there's a lot more to offer on Monarchs menu but for me, it's one of those places where the staples just keep you coming back for that each time. Heads up, parking is tight around here. I would suggest getting dropped off and picked up after grabbing your food if possible!!
Sarah L.
It's rare for me to be able to try these kinds of places because they're not open late on the weekends when I'm off. I had an opportunity to try them so I called in my order and the lady who answered was very kind and said my order would be ready right away. Pickup was hassle free. Workers were nice and there was a steady flow of customers coming in and out. Crabcake- standard Crab stuffed ahi- okay, a little dried. Not sure if it was supposed to come with a sauce but we ended up dipping it in the spicy mayo that came with the crab cake Ahi katsu- would get again but eat it sooner lol. Comes with a wasabi soy Spicy poke- very mild in taste but fresh
Ana Sousa
Very good price and very tasty good!!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Keoni K.
Price is mid range but all of their items on the menu are outstanding from the Ahi steak to the chicken so tasty! What makes this place even more amazing is that they are right down the street from where I work so easy access to the delicious plates they create!
Peter P.
How come I got plenty onion?? Where's the mushroom?? ...Lunch menu listed as " Garlic butter sauteed tiger shrimp with zucchini + mushroom over linguini."
Frank A.
I've driven past Monarch Foods dozens of times and really never noticed this place. I thought it was just a fish market. Wow, was I wrong LOL. I first came here years ago. A friend of mine brought me here for lunch. They serve the freshest poke as well as a daily plate lunch menu. By now, I've tried most on the menu, and they've never missed. If this is your first time, my go to is always the Nori Wrapped Crabmeat Stuffed Ahi. It is always a winner! My second "go to" would be the Ahi Katsu. It is not your typical chicken or tonkatsu katsu dish fried all the way. It is more of a seared ahi so although the outside appears crunchy, the inside is still raw. It is served with a shoyu wasabi sauce. Yummy! All plate lunches are served with fresh tossed salad. Parking is a bit challenging. Except for maybe two stalls on the side, they don't really have parking, it is mostly street parking on Curtis Street. There is no parking on Kalihi Street, and you can't park right out front on Kalihi Street either because there is a bus stop right there in front. There are a lot of businesses close by so be sure not to park anywhere or your car may be towed. Farthest I've parked was on Curtis Street almost to Foodland a block away. But for their food, the walk was worth it!
Alvin C.
My friend brought me to this place and told me to get the stuff crusted ahi and extra salad dressing on the side so i did and the the thing was cooked to perfection the plate didn't stand a chance I finished everything on the plate and the extra dressing is mandatory the dressing is so good I was craving it the other day I would honestly go back to try other stuff on the menu you can tell they take pride in their food!
Robert E
For a place that’s in the top 20 of Yelp Hawaii’s best places to eat, I expected a bit more. For reference, I think that Fresh Catch has better plate lunches.I got the famous crab stuffed ahi and my friend got the kukui ahi belly. The taste of the ahi roll was ok but there was a strong taste of wasabi. The ahi belly definitely could have used the help of a sauce, but the sauce they give you has an even stronger wasabi flavor.Prices are ok for a seafood plate lunch but portion sizes could have been larger.Overall I thought it would have been better if wasabi was served on the side for everything.
Hokulani T.
Food is good, but service sucks!! The lady answered the phone and was totally rude. She yelled at me and told me to call back when I was ready to order, but I repeated my order multiple times. I could understand if she couldn't hear me, but to be rude like that will not bring customers back.
Shana V.
We ordered for a co-workers birthday. I called in the order for 9 plates at 10:00 am for pick up at 11:00 am. The shop is on a corner with some parking around the back. It's a small store front, but you can see all your food being prepared. I had the furikake salmon which was very tasty. I really enjoy the salad dressing they serve with the greens. Everyone enjoyed their food and pickup was quick and easy.
We found fresh tasty poke in first day at Honolulu Cute wall and cute Original shirt Salad dressing was so good
Mochi O.
- Hawaiian plate: the luau in the lau lau was so juicy but the meat inside was dry and no salt. I drowned the kalua pig in shoyu too. They don't give aloha shoyu either they give some off brand. My scoop of rice was from the bottom of the rice cooker and it was all brown and hard. I didn't get it w lomi salmon so no feedback on that. - poke bowl: my coworker got this one. See attached photo. The poke on the poke bowl was a TINY amount. Nothing like any poke bowl I've ever seen. The poke was good quality fish but needed more flavor. The spicy ahi didn't look anything like how spicy ahi usually looks but we phone ordered so not their fault. - monarch bento: my other coworker got this he said it was good. Idk if we caught them on an off day but I heard this place was good. Maybe I got the wrong thing. But the poke kind of blew my mind how tiny it was
Arrianna S.
My FAVORITE crabcakes. EVER!!! Family owned. Used to work right next door and always see the same happy, funny, hard working people. Love them! Love the food!
Clyde C.
I finally got my foot in the door of this great local style take out in the heart of Kalihi. I tried the Mochiko/ Deep Fried Poke combo, great taste! This place is small and has no parking. Best to call in and pick up or have someone drop you off. They have a great local style menu from Furikake Salmon to Hawaiian Plate. When you walk in The menu is posted on your right side on the wall. Its kind of hard to see. This place is like a small deli, eveything is made and packed where the food is cooked. The service is good and they are efficient. The price is reasonable and they are always busy.
Rachelle C.
So good, I can eat it everyday! And the salad that comes with it, dressing is good! Everything is fresh! It's a hidden gem here in Kalihi! I suggest doing a phone order, not too much street parking.
I'm not too sure if you would call Monarch Seafood a hidden gem because if you're local, you just know that Monarch is bomb!! The most popular dish here is the crab stuffed ahi. It's ahi stuffed with crab, rolled in nori and deep fried, then topped with a creamy wasabi sauce. It is soooo good and hits the spot EVERYTIME. It does come with fresh greens and the house made dressing is so good too. Monarch also has fresh poke offerings as well. My favorite is the spicy ahi without the mayo. Easily one of my top favorite spicy ahi pokes on island. I'm sure there's a lot more to offer on Monarchs menu but for me, it's one of those places where the staples just keep you coming back for that each time. Heads up, parking is tight around here. I would suggest getting dropped off and picked up after grabbing your food if possible!!
It's rare for me to be able to try these kinds of places because they're not open late on the weekends when I'm off. I had an opportunity to try them so I called in my order and the lady who answered was very kind and said my order would be ready right away. Pickup was hassle free. Workers were nice and there was a steady flow of customers coming in and out. Crabcake- standard Crab stuffed ahi- okay, a little dried. Not sure if it was supposed to come with a sauce but we ended up dipping it in the spicy mayo that came with the crab cake Ahi katsu- would get again but eat it sooner lol. Comes with a wasabi soy Spicy poke- very mild in taste but fresh
Very good price and very tasty good!!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Price is mid range but all of their items on the menu are outstanding from the Ahi steak to the chicken so tasty! What makes this place even more amazing is that they are right down the street from where I work so easy access to the delicious plates they create!
How come I got plenty onion?? Where's the mushroom?? ...Lunch menu listed as " Garlic butter sauteed tiger shrimp with zucchini + mushroom over linguini."
I've driven past Monarch Foods dozens of times and really never noticed this place. I thought it was just a fish market. Wow, was I wrong LOL. I first came here years ago. A friend of mine brought me here for lunch. They serve the freshest poke as well as a daily plate lunch menu. By now, I've tried most on the menu, and they've never missed. If this is your first time, my go to is always the Nori Wrapped Crabmeat Stuffed Ahi. It is always a winner! My second "go to" would be the Ahi Katsu. It is not your typical chicken or tonkatsu katsu dish fried all the way. It is more of a seared ahi so although the outside appears crunchy, the inside is still raw. It is served with a shoyu wasabi sauce. Yummy! All plate lunches are served with fresh tossed salad. Parking is a bit challenging. Except for maybe two stalls on the side, they don't really have parking, it is mostly street parking on Curtis Street. There is no parking on Kalihi Street, and you can't park right out front on Kalihi Street either because there is a bus stop right there in front. There are a lot of businesses close by so be sure not to park anywhere or your car may be towed. Farthest I've parked was on Curtis Street almost to Foodland a block away. But for their food, the walk was worth it!
My friend brought me to this place and told me to get the stuff crusted ahi and extra salad dressing on the side so i did and the the thing was cooked to perfection the plate didn't stand a chance I finished everything on the plate and the extra dressing is mandatory the dressing is so good I was craving it the other day I would honestly go back to try other stuff on the menu you can tell they take pride in their food!
For a place that’s in the top 20 of Yelp Hawaii’s best places to eat, I expected a bit more. For reference, I think that Fresh Catch has better plate lunches.I got the famous crab stuffed ahi and my friend got the kukui ahi belly. The taste of the ahi roll was ok but there was a strong taste of wasabi. The ahi belly definitely could have used the help of a sauce, but the sauce they give you has an even stronger wasabi flavor.Prices are ok for a seafood plate lunch but portion sizes could have been larger.Overall I thought it would have been better if wasabi was served on the side for everything.
Food is good, but service sucks!! The lady answered the phone and was totally rude. She yelled at me and told me to call back when I was ready to order, but I repeated my order multiple times. I could understand if she couldn't hear me, but to be rude like that will not bring customers back.
We ordered for a co-workers birthday. I called in the order for 9 plates at 10:00 am for pick up at 11:00 am. The shop is on a corner with some parking around the back. It's a small store front, but you can see all your food being prepared. I had the furikake salmon which was very tasty. I really enjoy the salad dressing they serve with the greens. Everyone enjoyed their food and pickup was quick and easy.
Restaurantji Recommends
We found fresh tasty poke in first day at Honolulu Cute wall and cute Original shirt Salad dressing was so good
- Hawaiian plate: the luau in the lau lau was so juicy but the meat inside was dry and no salt. I drowned the kalua pig in shoyu too. They don't give aloha shoyu either they give some off brand. My scoop of rice was from the bottom of the rice cooker and it was all brown and hard. I didn't get it w lomi salmon so no feedback on that. - poke bowl: my coworker got this one. See attached photo. The poke on the poke bowl was a TINY amount. Nothing like any poke bowl I've ever seen. The poke was good quality fish but needed more flavor. The spicy ahi didn't look anything like how spicy ahi usually looks but we phone ordered so not their fault. - monarch bento: my other coworker got this he said it was good. Idk if we caught them on an off day but I heard this place was good. Maybe I got the wrong thing. But the poke kind of blew my mind how tiny it was
My FAVORITE crabcakes. EVER!!! Family owned. Used to work right next door and always see the same happy, funny, hard working people. Love them! Love the food!
I finally got my foot in the door of this great local style take out in the heart of Kalihi. I tried the Mochiko/ Deep Fried Poke combo, great taste! This place is small and has no parking. Best to call in and pick up or have someone drop you off. They have a great local style menu from Furikake Salmon to Hawaiian Plate. When you walk in The menu is posted on your right side on the wall. Its kind of hard to see. This place is like a small deli, eveything is made and packed where the food is cooked. The service is good and they are efficient. The price is reasonable and they are always busy.
So good, I can eat it everyday! And the salad that comes with it, dressing is good! Everything is fresh! It's a hidden gem here in Kalihi! I suggest doing a phone order, not too much street parking.