We love the food. Service, this is family owned and operated business so don't expect top notch customer service. Place is pretty run down and not the most cleanest restaurant. However, we appreciate that they continue to keep it open and always enjoy the food! read more

It was lunch time and we were craving some Korean bbq of course with our Limited options we came back to this establishment..Its wasn't bz.Only 1table was occupied.We sat down the owner's were there they saw us when we Entered and of course no hello,welcome nothing.We weren't surprised.We sat down browsed at the menu but we knew what we wanted.As always we ordered the special for 2.All of The food came promptly.When everything came and the server left to do an errand we noticed that he forgot to give us our rice bowl's so my girl friend had to get up n ask for it.We were hungry basically anything tasted good..Unfortunately the food was not so good.The Teri chicken was over cooked n dry and also the Kalbi ribs.The meat Jun,shrimp tempura and chicken katsu was good!..Also it's jus wrong at a sit restaurant you have to get up n get your own water.Don't know when we will Be going back????.It might be a while....Also while we were there no one took away or Clean the tables from previous customers.They Just left them..Also it would be nice to upgrade the decor??? read more

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Ordered take out at 1pm on a weekday. Uncle overcharged us and we didn't realize til we got home. $27 for the basic bbq chicken and meat jun lunch combo??? Rice was dry, food wasn't great. Take your business somewhere else read more

I've come here on my last 2 trips to Kauai. I live on Oahu where we have all the other Kimchee restaurants so I figured the food would be good & I wasn't wrong. It's close to the airport so the perfect pre-flight meal. If you've been to any of the other ones then you should already know you're not coming here for the ambiance or even good service for that matter. Personally I didn't find a problem with their service like the other reviews but both times I've been here there was maybe only one other table there. The food comes out fast & hot with some sides. The kalbi, meat jun and shrimp tempura are delicious. No complaints and I will definitely be back the next time I'm on Kauai before my flight home. read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

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I rarely give less than three stars, but I'll do it this time to warn fellow Yelpers about the customer service here, yet have about the wonderful food. Meat jun, kalbi, fish jun, and zucchini katsu are all so delicious. Make sure you try either of those if you come here. That being said, come here if you desire minimal interaction, empathy and service. I don't think I'll return again (that's really difficult to do because of the meat jun alone), but after waiting 20 minutes for someone to clear the previous table and another 20 minutes for no one to take my order, I need to find somewhere else for Korean food. I get that people are shorthanded these days, but sheesh. Invest in automation if you don't have workers. read more

This restaurant has been operating on Kauai for a number of years. We got to our table and the server came by with delicious kimchee and water. We had just sat down ... she seemed annoyed we didn't have our order ready. When she returned, we made our order. The soup with the potstickers was good - plenty of potstickers and cabbage. The "small plate" shrimp was very generous. The menu said it included salad and rice. Little did I know the salad was Mac salad...it was better than most but a surprise! Server never came back to check on us. We ended up going to the register to pay so that we could be on time to a performance. Maybe it was an "off" night. Might return in the future with the knowledge the salad is made of Mac not lettuce! read more

I've been eating here my whole life so I've seen the quality drop over the years. The restaurant is dirty. The hours and quality of the food are inconsistent. I still like to eat here for nostalgic purposes if I can ever catch them when they're open. Still the best meat jun and Kalbi I ever had but I miss how the food used to be. read more

What Korean bbq place doesn't serve Kimchee with their $20+ plates?! What a disgrace And the gentleman taking orders and ringing you up has no personality very rude sucks because it's the only k bbq place on island and instead of capitalizing on that they just are horrible! They served plain raw cabbage with their plate and macaroni noodles with too much mayonnaise no vegetables or Kim chee and their name is frickin Kim chee read more

Absolutely amazing meat jun. Was referred here by the locals for this specifically. They are still take out only, but getting the meat jun plate lunch is worth it. Thier mac salad and kimchee were both excellent. read more

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So small portions on the sides. The lady was rude when I asked for a spoon.She looked grumpy. Expensive! No flavor on the meat Jin. I Use to Pearls Plate lunch Meat Jun read more

Kimchee No. 9 - a partially eaten meal in a styrofoam container - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

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I came here since my parents wanted to eat an Asian meal by the airport and I was with them. The offerings seem to be both Korean and Chinese dishes. I ordered the chicken and tofu stir fry. It was flavorful but way too salty. I got to try my mom's shrimp tempura. It was just okay; shrimp texture wasn't the fresh and crispy one. The batter was the right thickness though. Despite not having the most impressive food, their service was quick and better than the average Asian restaurant. I'm from the mainland and was in Kauai for vacation. I would rather have my Korean and Chinese fix back at home.... A million times better in places like Los Angeles and NYC. However this is an ok place if you really want something quick before flying out or if you just flew in and are hungry needing something to eat before driving to other parts of the island. Dishes are as pictured in other reviews...sorry I didn't take any. read more

$28 dollars for one piece of kalbi and meat Jun, not worth it. Flavor was okay, meat was tough but literally the smallest baby scoop of sides. Mac salad and cabbage. For the price at least give full scoops. read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

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Broke da mouth onolicious BEYOND delicious. Thank you for serving the best Meat Jun on planet earth and for being so generous with serving sizes. Reasonable prices for the QUALITY and GENEROUS HUGE PORTION AMOUNT! I got way more food than I expected especially the side of tofu was a huge block for such a low price and it includes delicious salad of bean sprouts with cucumbers carrots and sesame oil dressing. I'm eating here every day of my vacation! read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Best Meat Jun on planet earth. Tofu on the side was such a huge serving I got WAY more food than I expected for such a reasonable price! - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Ok customer service, waited quite a while for our food and it wasn't busy. The server wasn't friendly and the food was ok. I wouldn't come here again and I love Kimchee 1 in Kaneohe. read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

My husband and I wanted to try new and different foods while in Hawaii, so we sought this place out and were told it was some of the best in the area. The staff was very nice and helped us interpret the menu and decide what to order. We decided on a sampler of sorts, since neither of us had ever tried this kind of food. It was a TON of food. Unfortunately, almost everything that came out was fried or soaked in sauce. I'm not sure if this is reflective of the type of food or just this location, but that is not our style. We left full, but feeling crazy bloated from the heavy food. I don't think we will be trying this type of food again. read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

DO NOT EAT HERE!!! If I could give this place zero stars, I would. But I guess 1 star for decent service. My friend ordered a combo plate and a ramen. I ordered the meat jun. From the moment we ordered, I began reconsidering our choice to eat here (it was my first time). The place is dirty. Boxes stacked everywhere. Everything looks old and grimy. Just gross. But we were hungry and the place was busy so I figured how bad could it be? The man brought our Kim chee that came with our plates in ONE TINY dish that was clearly a serving for one person. This was no mistake as I saw him do the same with other tables. I wish I took photos but I was already too grossed out and disappointed to do so. I guess whether you eat here by yourself or with others, the table only gets one tiny serving to share. What a joke. The food took forever to come. My friend's ramen came and we immediately recognized the look and smell of it. I told her that it looked like they used a packet of Ichiban ramen. We both tasted it and sure enough that's exactly what it was. $14 for Ichiban ramen with Kim chee. Unreal!!! Then the rest of the food finally came. A tiny scoop of mac salad that tasted like just Mayo and macaroni. A few shreds of cabbage. The portion for the meat Jun itself was decent but it was so oily I couldn't stand to eat more than a few bites. $20 for that? Never again!!! I had to dab the excess oil off into my napkin. My friend's plate came with 1 mandoo as a part of it LOL! I looked at their side order menu and everything is $13-17 dollars... for sides. A side of mandoo was $14. LMAO! This place is not only way overpriced, the food is disgusting. Cheap ingredients and they charge an arm and a leg. I could have gone to a nicer restaurant and paid the same for a better meal and more food. Idk why they get so many good ratings. Seems a lot of people on this island don't know what real Korean food should taste like. I'm never eating here again. I do not recommend this place at all. Take your money somewhere else. read more

This place is nasty service. The lady is rude. I ask for and water and ice and she said it self service.

The food here is delicious. One of the few spots on the island that offers meat jun. This place is located in the Kukui Grove shopping center (so plenty of parking). The interior is shabby with a bunch of booth tables. I had read the reviews and had been forewarned of the bad service here. We weren't greeted or anything so we seated ourselves. A really nice lady came and brought us menus and ice water (and later plates). We ordered the kalbi (Korean short rib) and meat jun chef's special combo plate and the cold tofu (this one was under the side orders section). The food came out quickly. The cold tofu came out like three minutes after we ordered (but when you think about it - it's uncooked raw tofu and all the veggies on top are already prepared. The tofu was like a cold salad dish, topped with sprouts, cucumber, and carrots, and with some kind of soy sauce dressing. It was really refreshing and tasty. Our combo plate was also delicious. There was a lot of meat jun. The short rib/kalbi was really good too but there was just one rib so the portion of that was small compared to the meat jun. The combo also came with rice and mac salad. The mac salad was meh - just pasta noodles with mayo. There wa san kimchi but that was made with regular cabbage and not napa cabbage and it's not really fermented, so don't expect real kimchi. And don't expect banchan - this is a Korean-Hawaiian restaurant, not a Korean-Korean restaurant. There is warm barley tea that is lovely so that was nice. The lady who brought us our check was unfriendly and i suspect that she's why so many reviews reference bad customer service, because our server was really nice. MEAT JUN!!!!!! read more

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The food was okay and the portions were not bad. The only disappointing part was the service. If you needed something, you would have to get up and go find the waiter. To me, chicken katsu is all about the sauce and I didn't really care for the sauce here. It was the same sauce as the meat jun plate; which was just okay. read more

Good Korean food at reasonable prices! Friendly servers! Good service considering shortage of workers on this island!

Waitress didn't greet us when walking in the door to the time we sat down. She immediately asked "you ready". Self serve water in a corner with a pitcher. Food took forever. Food was served in to go boxes. Horrible service. Would not recommend. Last time I'll dine here. read more

I came here for nostalgic reasons. Whenever my family and I would come to Oahu to visit relatives, we would ALWAYS eat at Kimchee No. 2. So when my family and I were on Kauai and discovered Kimchee No. 9, we HAD to eat there! Our waitress brought us seaweed soup, which was great and really delicious. And of course she brought us the kim chee. Their version is still really crispy, which I like. For my main, I got the small portion of bbq chicken. There was quite a bit of fat on the chicken, and their mac salad was the worst one I have ever had. But the portion size was huge. We also got the kim chee fried rice with beef for the table, which was the best thing we ordered. read more

While visiting Kauai we were craving some local barbecue style plate lunches, so after doing a quick search on Yelp, we decided to head back to the Kukui Grove Shopping Center centrally located in Lihue for some Korean food at Kimchee. We had previously dined at other branches of the restaurant on Oahu, which were pretty good, so we figured it would be a decent option for lunch. My husband ordered the Chef's special consisting of Kalbi and Meat Jun, I ordered the Kimchee fried rice for myself and the cold tofu appetizer for my daughter. We were also served bowls of seaweed soup and some kimchee while we waited for our food. As you can see from my pictures, we were given pretty generous portions of food. The cold tofu appetizer was delicious adorned with some vegetables and topped in a tasty sweet sauce. My fried rice was a little disappointing, but I think I was expecting the fried rice to be a little more local-style like the dish from Big City Diner or the fried rice from Side Street Inn (Both on Oahu.) with some char siu, Portuguese sausage, and scrambled egg, topped off with a sunny-side up egg Our family left the restaurant pretty stuffed, but sadly we were unable to take any of our leftovers with us since there were no microwaves available at our hotel. Overall the food was decent and came out pretty quick, so we will probably be back the next time we're visiting Kauai. read more

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Way overly priced.. but true, there aren't too many Korean restaurants on Kauai, as compared to Oahu.. actually lot of locals used to eat here often, but not anymore. Rather eat at Kalena Korean restaurant! read more

Kalbi is da bomb litto bit pricey but Ono try take out no mo waiting jus pick up wen Dey tell goin be ready

Had the kalbi and meat jun chefs special. It's been awhile since I last went here and I dont remember it being this good lol. To be honest there were ants on the walls but we just kept telling ourselves that we're on Kauai...there are bugs, chickens and geckos everywhere. We didn't let the ants ruin our meal. Oh the cold tofu was really good (if you love cold tofu). Wish they had kimchee that was more fermented. Otherwise, I'd go back for sure. read more

Old school ambiance, but it's all good because that's what I remember growing up on O'ahu. Portions were huge. I love fish Jun and ordered the "mahi Jun" and it came a little too breaded for me but I ate it because I was hungry. We ordered the cold tofu and that was delicious with bean sprouts, carrots, zucchini. Portion was huge too. Hubby had the combo with teriyaki chicken and kalbi. He said the chicken was really tender and seasoned just right. So was the kalbi. Kimchee banchan was good too. Like many place coming out of COVID they were busy with limited wait staff. It was worth the wait tho. Will be back next time we're in Kaua'i. read more

Got the special for two. Ended up dining in but should have done take out instead. Not sure if they were short staffed but empty tables still were not cleared of dishes with left over food. Customer service was lacking. Food was good tho. However, with the amount of food given, the dipping sauces were small. When asked for katsu sauce, the response was, it's the same sauce as the meat jun...because we had high expectations from previous encounters, we gave it another shot-but take out. They gave more sauce and the food was food. So, if you're planning to go - best to have your food "to go" read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Special for Two - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

This to me is by far the best Korean BBQ Restaurant on Kaua'i. Right there in The heart of Lihue at The Mall next to Ross. Food is delicious and price is reasonable. It was a good drive from the west side of Kauai to town a 35 minute drive just to eat good Korean food and do some walking around after dinner at the mall. So if you ever hungry for Korean food go down to the mall in Lihue right next to Ross and the UPS store and enjoy the flavors of Korean BBQ. read more

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I thought my dish was really delicious, the chicken katsu. Such a huge portion too. The other thing was alright. Cleanliness of the place could be improved, as well as customer service. All locals in there, we were the only tourists. Regardless, i would come bqck again, maybe the server (looks like the owner) was not having a good day, but definitely not the most friendly person. read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Chicken Katsu - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

If you want over cooked top ramen noodles with bland soup for $9.50, this is the place to be! read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Kim Chee No. 9. Is located between Ross, UPS and Longs drugs at Kukui Grove Center. Personally, I think it's pretty good- considering it's like 1 of maybe 2 or 3 Korean restaurants on Kauai. The portions are pretty good and always come with a seaweed pork broth soup and the typical pickled and Kim Chee sides. I always get their Kalbi combo with shrimp tempura. I have to recommend their Kalbi! It's expensive, but tasty. It's not a typical short rib cut, rather a long strip of rib meat with a thick cut bone at one end- this way you get more meat without all that chewy gristle around every bone. The service is VERY Korean, they ask you for your order almost as soon as you sit down; Then they'll never ask you "how's everything" or "can I get you anything". It's OK though, they are NOT rude at all, and they give you your space; just flag them down if you need something. They also let you grab your own to go box if you need it (it's by the back wall near the drink fridge)! 4 stars for being the "Go-To" Kalbi place on Kauai! I can't rate anything else on the menu because I've only had the Kalbi combo! Reader beware... read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Kalbi and Shrimp Tempura combo (2 piece Kalbi, 2 Shrimp). Looks like it could use another shrimp right in the middle! - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT GET THE RAMEN!! It tastes and smells like packaged Top Ramen!!! Like WTF???!!!! For $10+ !!! What a joke!! Shame on them

So for starters first rude place I've been to on the island , small place wanted to try it love Korean bbq but we had a reservation but wasn't ready nor was 6ft apart from any tables , table was dirty I asked nicely if we could have them wiped she showed attitude and threw the menus on a chair wiped the wet spots on the table and threw our menus on our other table that she didn't wipe. I have young kids and during this pandemic least you could do is guide your customers to a clean table not get upset that I asked "nicely if you could wipe it " I work hard for my money too ! And I won't be wasting it here even if I wanted to try it ! read more

Id give this place a zero star if Yelp allows it. Don't go here, if you had a choice- please go elsewhere! We saw this place when we were shopping at the mall & since it was our first day on Kauai, My Hubby loves the Kim Chee restaurant chain on Oahu. So for dinner, as it was our first night, I let him choose & since he chose this place, he said he will take care of the bill. ( I was so glad he did as I will not be happy if Id pay for food that taste like crap!) The only person that enjoyed the food was my hubby! mayb the kids? I guess they were hungry! My dad who is a vegetarian, couldn't eat anything! I ordered the tofu veggie stir fry- he only ate a bite of it & he could not eat the rice as he said it was too watery! The hubby ended up with the leftovers- he ate it the nexts day at the hotel. Food taste nothing like the Kim Chee here on Oahu. I don't really know if there are any relations. Service was sooo bad! The owner wasn't friendly! She only cared about collecting money! Small portions, prices are very high for this type of food! 4 plates ran us over 65.00! I don't mind the hubby paying for this, if it was for good food! Sorry for the bad reviews but this is my true feeling for this place! Nexts time I vacation on Kauai, I will skip the Korean part til I get home. read more

Who would have thought a restaurant called Kimchee #9 in a mall would offer delicious Korean-Hawaiian food?! Was shopping at the Kukui Grove mall and got hungry. Instead of succumbing to the L&L BBQ chain, we thought we'd try this modest sit-down place call Kimchee #9 for lunch. Surprisingly it was pretty busy with a lot of local-looking Hawaiian people. Mixed BBQ Plate (~$10) - 4.25 stars. Came with an ample portion of BBQ beef, chicken, and fried mandoo (fancy word for dumpling). Bit oily but everything tasted great. And came with the standard rice and mac salad. Only minor gripe is that the booths are really old so all the cushions underneath you are well worn. I felt like I was sitting in a big crater left by the buttcheeks of a a 500-lb Hawaiian guy.. Bottom line: Don't dismiss Kimchee #9 for it's name. It did me good. read more

Kimchee No. 9 - Mixed bbq plate - Korean Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

I've brought my Ohana here many times and usually enjoy the food. Tonight it was difficulty to enjoy the food due to the horrible customer service. We were not greeted warmly, and the food was mediocre, no one ever came back to check on us and our waters were never refilled. The check is never brought to you, so you pay at the register. As my family members stood to use the bathroom, the owner eyed me the entire time and then came to my table "You pay ova dea!" , pointing to the register. When I payed the bill it was the EXACT amount. I'm now boycotting this place. Our family does not deserve this kind of service and there are other places that have exceptional food AND service. read more

I ate here a few years back and really enjoyed it. This last go around was really disappointing. The food was ok and had the price been right I would have been ok with it. Instead we ended up paying over 50 dollars for two plate lunch's and a couple of cokes. Not going back read more

Food is delicious, you never leave hungry (soup, kimchee, vegetables, etc etc). However, the staff could not be more unfriendly. The prices on the menus don't reflect the actual price of food items. And I don't know how they haven't been shut down by the department of health yet. DIRTY. Driving from Kalaheo last night I was in the mood for some Kalbi. Saimin Dojo came to mind, but I decided stop half way at KC #9. Came home with a delicious meal, and a LIVE BOMBUCHA 3" COCKROACH in my to-go carry out box. Sad to say, I'll never be going back. read more

I went to Kimchee No.9 today for lunch with my family. And let me say it wasn't the most pleasant. There were so much flies at our table!! It was absolutely disgusting. But the food was alright. I hope you guys can fix the fly problem! read more