Chicken karaage was really good, super juicy and tasty. The people were especially nice. Would def…read morego again!

We wanted a last meal before board our flight home to Oakland. We spotted the YELP for Tenkatori,…read moreand while it was a ways from where we were, we went anyways... What a delight. Very clean, modern spot, a friendly family business! We had two chicken dishes- the karaage thighs, and a yakitori bento, and both were great! Plentiful, freshly fried (we were a little late, they have 2pm closing but they served us cheerfully). Service was amazing, and the other customers seem to be regulars! When the server had a moment, she told us that this is a Japanese franchise, and they also serve some of mom's special sides, which they have on a digital list. That's going to be our go to next time we are in town. What a find!!!

Best ramen in Hilo. I like how you can pick exactly how you want your bowl of ramen to be. My go-to…read moreis the miso ramen with the ajitama egg and spicy ball. If prices were a little lower for some other items on the menu, I would be willing to try more things. When they had the sushi available, it was really good too! Hopefully you bring back sushi again!

Love this place! We visited this local favorite on a trip to Hilo. We went for an early weekday…read morelunch, so it wasn't busy. There was parking in the shared lot, but spaces are tiny. Booth seating was perfect for us. The wait staff were super nice and patient with us. Their menu is huge and has a lot of options for customizing. Fortunately, there are diagrams on the wall to help you decide. I got a Miso Standard ramen ($20 with an Ajitama (seasoned soft boiled egg), hard texture, fried garlic, extra noodles. It was fabulous! Really hit the spot. Loved the chewier noodles and the rich, flavorful broth. DH got THE Garlic ramen ($26.50) also with an Ajitama, pork belly, and extra noodles, regular firmness. The kids wanted extra Naruto (fish cakes), 75 cents for 2 small pieces. One of our kids is under age 5, so we got a Miso mini ramen ($9.50 value) for free! Wow! Little one said he did not like the flavor of the seasoned egg. Noodles were very soft, but stayed together, and soaked up a ton of broth so they were flavorful. He said the Miso Mini comes with corn instead of fish cake. We loved all of the toppings. The pork belly was excellent! Portion sizes are great. We had some leftovers to take back. Overall, a fantastic place to satisfy those ramen cravings!

Phenomenal. Yes, you have to make reservations and they may take a while but it is 100% worth it…read more You can also order takeout out but it has to be in advance. I cannot recommend this place enough. The ambiance and experience are something to feel in person and watching the dishes being prepared with such precision was fascinating. The sushi is so fresh and just melts in your mouth. What a gem, truly thankful for being able to dine here. I also ordered Unagi but I ate it before I could snap a photo! Lol, it was yummy!

We made the trek (about a 2-hour drive) to try dinner here only to be met with a paper sign posted…read moreon the door that said reservations are booked until the end of the year! Wait, what? The worker was nice about it, but because they don't have a website, how were we supposed to know? We also usually try to make reservations ahead of time, but because there was no website, we figure it's a first come, first serve kind of spot. That's our bad for making that assumption, but now that I'm reading other Yelp reviews, this seems to be a years-old customer service issue. But it makes sense, since exclusivity seems to be part of the business plan (i.e. small/limited seating, reservations only). Must be working for them. Didn't work out for us though, at least in the moment. So even though we didn't try the food (I'm sure it's likely amazing), it sucked to make the drive out here. Pro tip: call first --months ahead before you plan to go here and make a reservation! After just reading some of the reviews, I learned you can do take out but must order ahead of time. Not sure how much more ahead of time. So calling would also be a good idea here. Honestly, the amount of work to just get info, a reservation, and ultimately a meal here is starting to feel cumbersome. I'm not sure I'd want to try making the effort again. We did turn a lemon situation into lemonade and instead had dinner at Ken's House of Pancakes, and they never disappoint! Had we eaten at Takenoko, we would've missed out on Ken's oxtail stew, which was listed as part of the day's special menu items, and it was one of the best meals we've had in Hilo. So, it all worked out.

Today, a quick trip to Onekahakaha requires a good bento. Actually if I had it my way I could go to…read moreKawamoto's at least 2-3 times a week. Kawamoto's has been a staple of authentic, home cooked (when no can home cook your own) meals. From regular everyday drop ins to birthday parties, celebrations of life and everything in between. Kawamoto's has been my Ohana's go-to for well over 50 years. Wait a min, I'm finding myself getting a little teary-eyed and homesick writing this review. And now im craving a bento that simply doesn't exist in Cali. To me, Kawamoto's is and will always be one of the best places to go and get of all the foods I love.

Stopped by to pick up breakfast. There were about 5 people in line around 8:30am, but it moved…read morepretty quickly. Staff were friendly and food was good. My favorite was the nori chicken. Parking is limited, but we were able to find street parking in front of the store.

The service, local food, and location ...also awesome choices to eat the Pancakes is unbelievable…read morehuge and there waitress service is amazing and fast the prices for eating your choices is amazingly affordable and walking out with full satisfaction

Great choices at great prices. The service is pretty good too. When very busy it can be a bit of…read moretime but well worth the wait.

Kitchen Umeko is little walk up/take out place with handmade sushi rolls, bentos, fresh fish &…read moremore. The service has always been good. The people are really nice & helpful. Some of my favorites so far are the crab cone sushi, the smoked hamachi roll & of course the poke bowl that definitely has another name. I forgot what it is called. It is on the pricier side but in this case I really feel you get what you pay for. Everything is so fresh! When you want to treat yourself or someone else try Kitchen Umeko!

Fantastic & authentic food! The sashimi was very fresh and the gobo kinpira, poke, and mitarashi…read moredango were all excellent. Service was very friendly. It's a small, to-go only spot. Parking was easy & convenient.

Amazing taste, and perfectly cooked. Good service too…read more Located across from city municipalities.

Came on a whim, we and the family had to get out because we just needed the change of pace. Once…read morethat was done , everyone was hungry. I have had this place in my collection for a while. And was a few minutes from opening. Perfect. So we drove from the Walmart area. The parking lot was almost already full when we got there, always a good sign. People taking out their food. Once inside busy. Efficient service. Sat and given menus. Four adults. We decided that we should share a meal because portions were giant. Pork cutlet, ramen, and pork chops. I would pass on the ramen . But the pork was fire. We had enough to share . Everyone was full. We all shared the ice cream cookie . Didn't look like a lot but the bowl was definitely full. And so were we.

Quaint local restaurant that has a creative menu with a personal flare of the Owner chef. Staff is…read morevery knowledgeable about their menu and makes excellent recommendations. My husband and I sat at the bar and enjoyed the excellent company of our bartender server who gave excellent descriptions of the menu items ...making our mouth water before we even ordered our dinner. At Her recommendation, we enjoyed the ricotta gnocchi's As our shared starter and the pan seared local Opah fish dish which was amazing.. Reservations are highly recommend as this is a locals favorite... so tables fill quickly.. and you don't want to miss this exquisite restaurant in service and food quality!

I usually avoid writing reviews for heavily reviewed businesses, but I'm making an exception for…read morethis one as it was the best eatery my wife and I visited during our nearly week long honeymoon on the Big Island split between Hilo and Kona. We ordered the risotto, fresh catch (marlin), crispy rice, gnocchi, and finished off with the mac nut ganache mascarpone pots de crème. We did share a Lemon peel lemonade cocktail. The Lemon peel lemonade was basically spiked lemonade. Well balanced for being a tart oriented drink, but I didn't care for the floating bits. The risotto which comes in full and half order, was very rich and had chunks of mushrooms for flavor. We're glad we got the half as this was a heavy, rich, and cheesy entrée on its own. If you love risotto, you will love this dish. The marlin was perfectly cooked and balanced out with a locally inspired vegetable succotash. Fried bits of kalo were also added in for added texture. The special and new item, the gnocchi was the star of the show. This is by far the fluffiest gnocchi we've ever had. Crispy on the outside, little potato clouds of fluff on the inside. The gnocchi came over a tasty sauce with bits of fried onion for absolute perfection. The crisp rice was recommended by Yelpers and it was alright, crispy rice with a spoon of poke. Not bad, but did not live up to the hype. Get another order of the gnocchi instead. It's fairly rare to see pots de crème on restaurant menus, specials or not, so we had to get this. It came in a cute little glass jar, with rich chocolate and mascarpone flavor with a hint of mac nut. This desert was an absolutely delicious perfect end to the meal. You can make reservations online, street parking is quite limited, and it can get busy as the night goes on, so recommended to get an earlier dinning time. Staffs regularly checked in on us and were polite and efficient.

Food is okay, service is not great, we have to wait for a refill as our server (we feel like)…read moreflirting with a customer, and she did not pay attention to what we need like water, etc, ambiance is okay.

Got takeout for someone's birthday dinner, so I can't speak to the dine-in experience. We got a few…read morerolls to split -- all were exactly what you'd expect. The guy who took our order was awesome. An old menu we found online showed they carried unagi donburi, but the more recent menus no longer showed it as an option. The guy we spoke to on the phone to place our order was awesome -- he told us he could make anything we wanted so, alas, we got an unagi donburi. It was also tasty, but nothing you wouldn't expect. The udon we got was really good and felt like the most unique thing we had ordered, however, it was a little on the salty side. Overall a great experience and a great addition to the Japanese food scene in Hilo

Dropped by here for lunch, super friendly staff!…read more Handful of poke options, I got the 2 choice poke bowl with ahi Taegu and ahi honey garlic. Both soo good! Will be back next time I'm in Hilo and try the other ones.

This is a fish market so you can get fresh fish and poke at competitive prices…read more They close at 3:00 p.m. so they're usually busy and it does attract tourists as well. We went on a Monday afternoon and there was a couple of people in front of us and a small line forming behind us. The employee that helped us was friendly, patient and helped us sample many different pokes, answered our questions and made helpful suggestions. I got the shoyu and Korean poke, and my friend got the Korean Marlin. Decent portions and you know it's fresh. Great place for poke bowls.