My husband and I got the enjoy a meal at Carp Dori when we were on vacation a couple of weeks back.. A lot of restaurants are going by reservation only, otherwise, you will most likely have a long wait. I was actually able to make a reservation a couple hours before we decided what we were craving.. Carp Dori was quite the walk from our hotel but it helped work off all the yummy food! I appreciated that they did temperature checks as well as made you sanitize your hands before seating you. They do have their own bathroom as well with Japanese style toilets. We ended up ordering: Value set of of yakitori each (came with 5 skewers of different types of meat) - they were very delicious but I recommend eating them right away as the meat can get a little bit chewy if you leave it sitting for awhile. Okonomiyaki - this was good but we ended up taking most of it back for leftovers as we were too full. Fried garlic - OH MY GOODNESS, I highly recommend this if you're a garlic lover. I couldn't get enough and probably could've consumed the whole order myself if I wasn't sharing. Beef carpaccio - this was ok. A little on the bland side but went well after you added the fried garlic. Rib-eye - tasty and came with a side salad. We also ordered the quail egg and chicken skewer as well as sake and a pitcher of beer. Next time we're back in town, I would definitely come back as service was attentive and friendly and the food was quite tasty. Would probably try some of the ramen dishes next time! read more

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Carp Dori is an interesting izakaya located in the upper-level corner of a small plaza. After sliding the door open, you're greeted by friendly waitresses and Japanese baseball inspired decorations. I came here late after a long flight from the mainland and was surprised to see a few small parties here. The menu is filled with options for grilled meats, ramen, and other quick bites--we ordered a bit of each and scarfed everything down. -tripe ramen: this was one of the best things I ate that night. Broth was flavorful, meat and noodles were plentiful -grilled meats and skewers: general feeling was meh, nothing special. Also, each order only comes with 1 skewer even though the menu shows more. I thought it was deceiving -pickled squid: interesting, never had anything like it -deep fried oyster: oysters were really good and the batter they use made it really crispy My overall feeling is that this is a local spot that pushes out certain plates really well, but there wasn't anything that would make me come back. read more

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The amount of skewers is so great, but I do have a few favorites. Their hamachi and kanpachi sashimi is very fresh and offered with hot mustard, radish, shiso, and lemon. Those simple things make the fish really the stand out. The sake and highball selection is also a good variety. I was a fan of the Kikusui Junmai Ginjo. Highly recommend this place for delicious yakitori. read more

Came to eat at around 7 on a Sunday night and it was pretty busy. Almost full house aside from two seats at the bar that my partner and I were seated at. Our order was the Okonomiyaki and mulitple meat skewers (too many to list). Okonomiyaki was our favorite and the meat skewers were tender and flavorfull. We did feel a bit neglegted but working in service I understand that a busy night can be overwheliming and the staff were very freindly and apologetic. Overall, would go again. read more

After unsuccessfully seeking out other izakaya establishments in the area, was able to find a table around 8 pm. The beef tongue and the octopus were excellent, while the salmon sashimi was fresh. As a plus, there is a bidet in the restroom. read more

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the food was so delicious and quick service! i tried the paitan ramen and an order of gyoza's and both were amazing. read more

Carp Dori - Paitan Ramen - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Make sure you make a reservation. Food is great! Service is great! Parking might be a little tight or hard to find.....

It is conveniently located on the second floor of the McCully Shopping Center.　 Parking is available at the shopping center and in the underground parking garage. This izakaya offers a variety of menu items, including yakitori, okonomiyaki, and sashimi. I feel that many of the customers are Japanese from Japan. I think it's because they play Japanese baseball games in the pub, which makes you feel like you are in a Japanese house.　 The owner is a native of Hiroshima and a deep-rooted baseball fan of the Hiroshima Carp. The ramen you get at the end of a meal at this izakaya is to die for! The reason is simple!　Because it's ramen made with the umami and richness that comes from so many chicken bones! And it's not greasy, so even though you're supposed to be full, you can still eat this ramen! There are a variety of alcoholic beverages available, including beer, shochu, and wine. Don't you feel like you've been to Japan at this izakaya? read more

Have not visited this place in years and it definitely has changed. Now, it has many offerings, not just the ramen. Moreover, inside has also been renovated. The "white"(pork bone) broth was on the thin/weak side, but portion was adequate. Services really lacking (not even one water refill!) and yet the suggested tips on the receipt indicated 18% and up. Sorry, the tips aren't automatic. You have to earned it! Reluctantly gave more than the server deserved/earned:-( read more

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We went around 5:30pm and there's not a wait - would be better to call ahead to get reservation cuz they tend to get busy around that time. They have happy hour 5-6:45pm and 10-1130pm. We started off with a peach chu-hi and it was quite refreshing. The ox tongue skewer is our favorite - it's so tender and flavorful!! The squid is a bit plain and I personally don't like it but the corn is super juicy. We also ordered the fried garlic out of curiosity - definitely would recommend to a garlic person! The oyster kamameshi was quite a long wait - we waited around 35-40min for it but it's so so good 10/10 would recommend!! The kulu kulu cheesecake is also a pleasant surprise - we weren't craving for desserts but saw the cheesecake on the today's special menu, it is fluffy, not too sweet, and the brûlée on top blends really well with the cheesecake :) read more

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Okay, In all honestly, I hesitated to write this review. Not because it's bad but because we loved it so much and we didn't have fight a much crowd on a Saturday! Today we were looking for a place to have lunch with my brother-in-law who "hates" wasting time standing in line but wanted to eat out and it was already 12:15. After racking our brains, we called Carp Dori and they said 'no reservations for lunch but just come'. This place is upstairs in the McCully Shopping Center so there is free parking and we were lucky to find a space right away. We got there a little before 1 pm and were surprised that there were lots of open tables and were seated right away. Even better, shorts, t-shirt and rubber slippers are thumbs up! Their menu ... I can't say enough about the fact that their prices are reasonable and their Lunch Special Teishoku choices are a good deal. They also have ramen, udon, okonomiyaki and a ton of different skewers to select from. But, you cannot miss the deep fried chicken skin, chicken wings and yaki musubi. So good! The items that are grilled are over charcoal which adds to the flavor. We all left with smiles on our bellies. We will be back for sure. read more

We were coming pretty often since our daughter worked in waikiki till late. Unless you're a Japanese national (not local Japanese) the service is bad. The quality of food is not like it was - the chicken skewers were really dry, the tongue was tough - about thy only thing that was good was the fries. Sadly I don't think we'll be coming back any more. read more

We were looking for a place for a late second dinner, this place closed around mid night, perfect. Located at the second floor of the McCully shopping center. We got there around 10 PM and the restaurant is 90% full, most of the customers is Japanese speaking. We ordered 5 dishes which you can see in our photos. One of the dish we really like is the grill oyster, however, there is a rubber band in the salad that my wife almost swallowed, we told the restaurant about it, and the chef came out to apologize and remove the item from my bill. The fried chick wings is too dry to our tasting, but the other items are pretty good. We are a bit confuse about the restaurant name because I also saw review for Carp Dori for the same restaurant. read more

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Carp Dori is located upstairs at the McCully Shopping Center. I went there because my friend wanted to go for the ramen. For a change, I decided to order the cold ramen. I must say, they served a lot of noodles, but I could not eat it. The noodles were too hard for my taste. Also, the dipping sauce tasted like shoyu with a little bit of vinegar. I would not order it again. There was lots of parking downstairs. The restaurant only had two tables occupied, but I still had to ask for our tea and water cups to be filled. read more

Carp Dori - Cold Ramen with dipping sauce - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Taken there by good family friends who take me to different styles of Japanese Restaurants they discover while living in Hawaii.Carp Dori is where we arrived for dinner on a Fri evening around 5:30. A few patrons were seated & they knew MAIKO who treated us like family! She has a very bubbly personality & deep Japanese voice, which added to the authenticity of the restaurant & vibe.They have a wide range of Japanese dishes from ramen to Yaki Tori & everything in between. We started off with draft Sapporo glasses & worked our way to beef tongue, Cartilage, wings,liver. gizzards, shrimp all prepared on their back charcoal burner, so none of the smoke reaches the dining room. Sides of Kim Chee ,tofu salad,Agedashi Tofu filled the sides. We elected to try the Okonomiyaki, Paitan Ramen & Yaki musubi! All the food was delicious, except for the cartilage which I didn't care for the crunchy texture. All of the dishes can be shared or you can order by amount needed per party. Excellent service by MAIKO& staff, very prompt,efficient & friendly service ! For 3 hungry diners we enjoyed food & drinks, Highballs included. A very delightful dining experience & recommend you try this Japanese eatery! Like you are somewhere in Japan, but really on Kapiolani Blvd in Honolulu Hawaii! Prices are very reasonable , see pictures below! read more

Carp Dori - MAIKO (in black shirt on right) ask for her! Excellent personality & super service! My lovely friend Monica - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Didn't realize that not too many places in town are open after 10:30PM. After enjoying a nice evening play "Once Upon a Time" we decided to grab a quick bite afterwards. Found Hiroshima Japan Yakitori Izakaya Ramen at the McCully Shopping Center (2nd floor, opposite end of 7Eleven). The front entrance door slides open like a lot of the restaurants in Japan. It reminded us a lot of being in Japan. There were many Japan-speaking patrons! That's a good thing! We wanted something quick since we went straight to the play from work and was really getting hungry! The ramen tasted good and we loved the broth! Slurping the noodles brought back fond memories of the noodle shops in Japan! Lots of Japanese baseball memorabilia on the walls. Next time we want to try the yakitori sticks! Oishi! BTW, excellent service! Two thumbs up!!! Will be back! read more

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Enjoyed my lunch at carp Dori. This is a hidden gem. Other yakitori restaurants on Oahu always have a long wait, but when we came it was fairly empty (lunch on a weekday). I was stressed that the emptiness was a bad sign at first but in the end the food was great and I had no regrets! I got their pork and shiso, beef, shishito, and enoki mushrooms. Each yakitori ranged from $1.50 to $3. I also got their grilled musubi on the side. For that entire dish it was about $14. The pork and shiso was delicious! In addition to yaki Tori they also have a set, sushi, noodle dishes, and rice dishes. I'll definitely be back (: read more

Carp Dori - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Place to get skewers at a great price and quality. Every skwer tastes great and service is good. Restaurant has a great theme and good vibe. read more

Carp Dori - Front - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Yay to places like this! I loved all the Hiroshima baseball collectible items they displayed on the walls! My Greatgrandpa is from Hiroshima so it's cool to see a place like this! We went for happy hour! Great prices and they have a variety of all kinds of food from sashimi, sushi, ramen, tsukemen, to even Yakitori! I had the chicken ume yakitori stick and Paitan shoyu ramen. I shared with friends their fries, gyoza, and agedashi tofu. Gotta order their flavored Chu-his too! Next time I want to come back and try their Hiroshima okonomiyaki and their scorched cheesecake dessert! Fun spot on the 2nd floor of McCully shopping center! read more

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Went with the hubs to get some ramen. I know they're known for their yakitori, but to be honest, their ramen looked really appetizing, and that's what we were in the mood for. We didn't have reservations but we got sat right away. We ordered gyoza and our ramen. Will come back to try their yakitori. But the ramen was perfect. Everything came out in a timely manner. Service was great. Food was awesome. No complaints. We were able to find parking in the parking lot near the stairs to get to the restaurant. It was also an affordable meal. Will consider when in the area and in the mood for ramen. read more

Carp Dori - Paitan ramen! - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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"I have come to the conclusions that just as the Japanese live to work, Asians live to eat." ~ Anastacia Oaikhena Japanese food - the one that I cannot say no when it comes to food. I simply find it cozy and comforting. So this review goes to one of the Japanese eatery that's close to the neighborhood. Dinner in here! Located in the strip of McCully Shopping Center you'll find this gem. Carp Dori - came here and saw few patrons enjoying their meal. So Japanesey and love the vibe. Welcoming atmosphere and the staff have been wonderful enough to greet as the moment we stepped inside. T'was a good start! FOOD: Oolong Tea (unsweetened) - started with tea while waiting for the rest of our order. It warmed up our soul and did enjoy the tea especially me (as I enjoyed my tea without sugar). Miso Soup - was straight forward and did a good job too warm us enough. Umami flavor is so rich, with funky, salty-sweet richness on it. The flavor is well balanced! Tori Don Set - a bed of rice with yakitori chicken, stir fry greens and meat balls on toppings and a pickled ginger on the side. T'was the meal for the day. I did enjoy the savory rich flavor. The chicken yakitori taste goos and its meat ain't dry at all. T'was tender and tangy. Love the overall texture and the balance of flavor. Yakitori Value Set Meal - basically a meat ball, chicken meat, pork meat and tongue (beef) on a stick. Good but not the best. Marinated well and cooked just right. You gotta put a pinch on salt to really savor the additional flavor from it. Edamame - we ended our meal with this. Fun eating this and not to mention that this was the first time that bandit have eaten edamame for the first time. Lightly salted and cook just right. Perfect for pika-pika! Overall meal was wonderful. It doesn't fill you up that much but it was a good small eats for anyone. The ambiance, the service and the food compliments well. Would love to come back here with my bandit again. Mahalo for reading and happy juandering fellow yeeps! read more

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My mother was from Hiroshima. This is an excellent, authentic, oishii-desu, Hiroshima style Japanese restaurant. This place is Nirvana. The baseball carp theme is fun, the food is just perfect, the service is good but suffers a little from the well deserved popularity of the place. If you're the sort of person who equates "Asian" with "Chinese," or if you like sushi made by "Asians," you might be disappointed here. Then again, maybe you'll learn something. But if you want some excellent, saiko no, ichiban desu, authentic, best-tasting Hiroshima type Japanese food, this is the absolute best place in the whole United States. If I ever win the lotto, I'm moving across the street and I'm going to eat here every day, and hire a sumo wrestler to remove anyone waiting ahead of me in line. read more

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This small restaurant gets crowded! The food is okay. Small portions but it's the atmosphere with friends that gives the points here. read more

The food was very good and served nicely. This place has a very authentic vibe. Service was great and fast. The portion size was big enough for a very reasonable price. I would recommend trying this place for some good Japanese food!! read more

Another izakaya to check off the list! This place reminds me so much of the izakayas I went to in Japan. The inside is very cozy, a little loud from all the fun conversations, and full of delicious aromas. We got the chefs choice yakitori, okonomiyaki, and tsukune ramen. Everything tasted very homey and totally hit the spot on a chilly night. Just a word of warning though, the spice level for the ramen is surprisingly intense. Can't wait to try the motsunabe next time! read more

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Fun + phenomenal The atmosphere was quaint + inviting- it took me back to Hiroshima or a low key izakaya in Tokyo. Shishito peppers & tako wasabi were the highlights of the night. However the staff & nook helped us ease in to a groovy vibe. 5 stars - will be back for sure read more

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Great food, tasty draft beer and the you can get a table with a rez days in advance like other yakitori spots

The food was tasty and comes out fast!! Like their happy hour!! The place is clean. Don't know why their review wasn't so good at Yelp but me and my friends definitely like this place !! read more

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ramen no flavor beef sticks dry. no flavor poor service. try somewhere else I was hoping for a replacement ramen place since my go to closed. but this is not it read more

We saw there were great reviews for Carp Dori, and yakitori just sounded amazing that day. It was a last minute decision, and when we got there, there was a short wait because it was happy hour. The restaurant is quite small, located upstairs in the shopping center. It's pretty cool inside, with the jersey's of Japanese baseball players etc. Great atmosphere. We were seated in a booth and were excited to eat! There are so many options for skewers and others. We started with some cold sake, I had a few. For food, we started with the beef bites on the first page. They were delicious, packed with flavor and grilled to perfection. For skewers, we started with the combination; chicken meatball, beef, beef tongue, chicken w/ green onion and pork? They were all amazing! My favorite was the chicken w/ green onion and my GF really liked the chicken meatball. We ordered again, and this time added on the chicken gizzards, cartilage, bacon wrapped enoki, squid, more beef and more chicken. Everything came out SO good. Everything was grilled perfectly, not too much, just great. The flavor was awesome, and it had the smokey flavor that's a must. We also went with the assorted sashimi plate. I was SHOCKED how fresh the fish was. Each piece was so soft, salmon, tuna, hamachi etc. There were 5 different kinds and each one was awesome, except the one that came in a small bowl, I wasn't a fan of that one. I don't remember what it was though. The salmon was so good, I ordered another order of just salmon. WOW. What a great meal! The food was amazing, great vibes all around. The staff was friendly. We'll definitely come back! read more

I really love this restaurant. Came here for lunch and it was not busy. I got seated right away. The ambiance was of japanese baseball team. Baseball caps and signed memorabilias on the walls. TV was also in japanese. The service and food was awesome. We ordered the okonomiyaki, paitan ramen, and yakitori meats to share for 2 people. The food was so delicious!! I especially loved the ramen. The broth flavor was tasty. I would definitely come back to try other menu items. read more

Came here for the first time with my wife. Had no idea this place existed. The only time I come to the McCully Shopping Center, it's for Fook Yuen, but we wanted something with a little bit faster service. We ordered some poke mix, skewer mix, ramen, and the steak. The ramen was ok, but everything else was delicious and juicy. I loved the steak with the salad and the skewer mix which had steak, beef tongue, chicken, ground chicken, and pork. The food was decently priced for the quality of food that we ordered. The staff are friendly and fast. The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor opposite from Fook Yuen. The parking is a bit tight even for a smAller vehicle. read more

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Tucked in the corner of a strip mall, this was a nice find. Various Japanese isakaya foods from yakidori to ramen to sushi with a good list of drinks. Quick and friendly service with great prices. Food was great - skewers were smokey and flavorful and the ramen was spicy with lots of ingredients. read more

Carp Dori - Cold noodles, hot ramen, various skewers and pickled veggies - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Skewers are fantastic. You can really taste the nice smoke from the grill. I got the value set, & loved everything on it. The edamame was seasoned perfect. The spicy (not really spicy) mustard for dipping takes the flavor up a level. Overall, prices are wonderful. Food is delicious. Staff are friendly. Highly recommend for a cute date night spot or a dinner with friends. read more

Carp Dori - Value Set w/side Gyoza - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

My boyfriend and I have been going here almost once a month for the last year and a half. it's our favorite spot. the food is so delicious and everything is reasonably priced. we'll both get a ton of skewers, an appetizer, and a pitcher of beer, and it's always under $100 for the both of us, which is unheard of in hawaii. the inside in so cute and makes me feel like we entered a portal straight to japan. it can get a little cramped when they're busy but i've never minded. I'm pretty sure there's only 2 or 3 employees there who work as servers because we always see the same couple of people working every time we go. They're all so nice to us though and I can understand if they seem stressed sometimes, its probably not easy you and only one other person serving an entire restaurant all day, every day! But yeah we love it so much here and I appreciate all the cooks and servers who work so hard to provide us enjoyable service & food every time we go :) read more

It's been more than a year since we had it while on vacation, but shame on me for not placing a review last visit. Outstanding meal with incredible food and service. Had a large group, ordered some of everything on the menu and left nothing behind. We are planning another trip to Waikiki this summer and have Carp Dori as a must stop! read more

Yakitori was great, staff was friendly. This was just what I was looking for, off the beaten path from busy Waikiki.

Missing Japan? This cute izakaya-like restaurant is truly a little shop that will transport you. My parents made a reservation for five of us for my brothers birthday. The shop is on the smaller side, but they did have some covid precautions in place. The waiter took our temperatures before seating us. The tables were separated by partitions that separated different parties dining in. The restaurant is baseball themed after the Hiroshima Carps. Inside is decorated with baseball hats and memorabilia which is one of the reasons why we chose it for my brothers birthday. There is a small happy hour menu until 6 pm that has discounted drinks and appetizers. We started off with a pitcher of beer, fries (lol), and karaage from the happy hour menu. This shop specializes in yakitori, but also has a big menu with many other side and main dishes. Since the restaurant is Hiroshima inspired, they also have dishes that you would find in Hiroshima such as Oysters and Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. We ordered a bunch of things, but some of the most memorable were: -oysters in sauteed in butter -hiroshima style okonomiyaki -beef tongue (from the specials menu) -oyster kamameshi (takes around 20-30 minutes) Omg! If you love oysters this is the place to be. They have many different variations of oyster dishes and the two above were my favorite. The oyster kamameshi takes a while to cook, so you should order it early or towards the middle of your meal. The beef tongue special was also sooo tender. It was a lot better than the yakitori skewer version as the meat was so soft, you would forget that you were eating beef tongue! We also ordered a bunch of skewers ala carte - each order comes with one skewer each and the prices range from $2-4 each. My brother liked the pepper stuffed with ground chicken the best. Super good izakaya food to pick and try a bunch of new dishes! This place is a great place to sit back and enjoy a meal with your family or small group of friends. It was packed with local Japanese which is always a great sign. There isn't a seating limit, so you can really take your time and enjoy your meal. There were only two servers working the whole restaurant so I really appreciated that they were working so hard to get all of our food to our table! I'll be back soon. read more

I love Carp Dori! The atmosphere is always so cozy and chill. It's our go-to after a weekend surfing in Waiks or when we meet up with friends. I always get The Set. It comes with beef, chicken meatball, chicken & onion and beef tongue skewers with a dab of daikon and hot mustard. We also like the Mentaiko Tamagoyaki omelet. Super ono. They also have really good Chicken Paitan and Shoyu Ramen. I like them both. When I have big appetite I'll grab one as well. Check them out of you haven't. Tell the Jeremy sent you! read more

Carp Dori - Yakitori Set. Tofu Agedashi. Mentaiko omelet. Miso soup. - Izakaya Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I was SO sad that the old Ramen shop (Yottekoya) closed - it was my family's favorite ramen shop, with the best Paitan ramen on the island, but I figured I should check out the new restaurant that opened in its place. My friends and I came by at around 8pm for a light dinner. The restaurant was pretty empty, except for two occupied tables. There were two servers and both were very sweet Japanese ladies, but we found it difficult to wave them down to get our orders in, even though the restaurant wasn't busy... The Agedashi Tofu barely had any dashi, which made me think, Why even call it an Agedashi Tofu in the first place? I feel like I was eating more green onions and sliced onions than actual tofu. The menu was also confusing, as the yakitori pictures show two to three skewers per order, but in reality, each order only comes with one skewer. The food was not bad, and the service was average, but I'm not sure if it's a restaurant I would want to come back to any time soon. read more

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