The food was amazing!!! Omg it was very much authentic Korean food. The service was amazing. Since it was our first time eating there the owner walked us through the steps of how to eat the food and cleanse your palate. It's a very classy place and the ambiance was all super cute. Perfect place for a girls lunch read more

Lani Sot - The presentation was beautiful - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Delicious meal, reasonable price, great service! Enjoyed the spicy eggplant bowl and tteokgalbi. First time trying Makgeolli and really loved it! read more

Lani Sot - Spicy eggplant bowl - meal set - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Let's start with the good. Located at Salt in Kaka'ako. Nice and clean area. Good vibes. Street parking or park at the lot, which the 1st hour is free with validation. Then a lot of other places after to get a drink or dessert right down stairs. You can sit outside and inside. Restaurant is very clean and ambiance is nice. Now the food. We got the Sotteok Sotteok, Bulgogi, Eel & Pollock, and side of the Kalbi. I've seen and read people say it's comparable to the food in Korea. I beg to differ. The Sotteok Sotteok could've been a bit sweeter, it was more on the salty side. The Bulgogi was bland and plain. All the sot-bap definitely needed something extra like gochujang or even soy sauce. I know it'll became just more like bibimbap at that point, it just needed something to help it - more seasoning? The Eel was better, but the portion size of the pollock was really small. The side LA kalbi was on the drier side and was bland as well. Overall, even if Sot-bap isn't intended to be eaten with gochujang, the flavor and seasoning was bland. The marinade on the meats was lacking as well. It's not what I would paint as authentic Korean food as others would put it. A twist is more like it. I've been pretty critical, but I'll say the food is alright for what it is. I will also say there was refills of side dishes, tea, and soup. The service was good too. And at the end, they give you a little cup of slush that tastes like Tang (powered orange drink). Now you're here at the end. You guys might be thinking, what does he know about Korean food or Sot-bap? I was born in Korea, been to Korea multiple times. And I went with my full Korean family who all had things to say. As with my other reviews, I'm just being real about the food. read more

If you enjoy set meals with a variety of side dishes, I recommend trying Lani Sot. I have been wanting to go here and I'm glad I finally got the chance to. Located in Salt at Kaka'ako, there is parking in the garage and you can either scan the QR code or go to the app to pay. We came on a weekday around 5pm and were immediately seated. They have a variety of set meals ranging from meat to vegetarian to soup options. The set meals come with rice, soup, side dishes and a steamed egg custard. We ordered the Eel and Pollack Roe Pot Rice and Bulgogi Jeongol (beef hot pot) set. Eel and Pollack Roe Pot Rice: The eel was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They give you a spoon and extra bowl, but we mixed everything in the hot pot which had the crispy rice on the bottom. Halfway through the bowl our server asked if we would like tea poured into the pot to finish the meal, like Japanese chazuke. Bulgogi Jeongol: When I ordered the Bulgogi Jeongol our waiter asked if we would like it as a set or ala carte. I chose the set. The portion looked smaller compared to the picture on the menu and I'm wondering if it's because I ordered the set meal rather than ala carte. I wish they added more clear noodles, but the food had good soy sauce flavor without being overly sweet or salty. I wish the portions were a little bigger given the price, but overall the quality and taste are top notch. Will definitely come again to try their other meal sets. read more

Lani Sot - Eel and Pollack Roe Pot Rice Set - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Small place so make reservations. Park in the SALT parking lot and get validation for discount parking. Small menu but full of wonderful choices. I ordered the garlic shrimp set. We also Ordered gemari, mandoo and korean chicken. All was crispy and well-seasoned. You just want to keep eating. The set had several large shrimp with lots of banchan on fragrant rice. Im not sure what everything was but it all tasted fresh and yummy. Just trust them. There was even savory chawan mushi. The barley tea that goes into the crispy rice bowl is so soothing. They end the meal with a nice sample of mango slush. Service was top tier. Cannot wait to go back. read more

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Wow-wee!!! 10 star service, & 20 star grub = an easy 5 star review on Yelp!!!! I took my sister folks & my dad to a Korean restaurant for here birthday, as I asked her where she wanted to eat? My sister picked this Korean restaurant called - "Lani Sot" due to her coworker telling her about how great this restaurant was. I guess my sister's coworker sure knows a good restaurant when she sees it, as the food here was F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S, and the service here was even greater! The restaurant itself is on the smaller side, but they do have indoor & outdoor seating. Very nice decor inside of the restaurant. We ordered the following items - 1. Hinoki Set ($99.89) cash price, ($102.89) credit card price. 2. Bulgogi Pot Rice ($29.99) cash price, ($30.89) credit card price. 3. Teri Chicken Pot Rice ($24.99) cash price, ($25.74) credit card price. I was the one who got the Teri Chicken Pot Rice. I must say the food portions here was more than generous, and the food was extremely tasty! My dad raved about how tasty his Bulgogi Pot Rice meal was. If pops like, than it's an automatic "5 Stars" in my book! Lol! Should I be craving some Korean grub, I wouldn't mind coming back here to try other items. read more

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Food, drinks, service, loved it all. We enjoyed the meat Jun and the sauce it came with, felt healthy and didn't feel sluggish at all even with all the amount of food we got. Would come back here again! Sunday near 5 pm, seated right away but soon after they did receive more foot traffic. Which is no surprise with the delicious food they serve. Husband enjoyed his high ball drink (: I got the eggplant while he got the teri pork, we both cleaned up all of the plates... nice lighting and noise level of the music wasn't too loud, perfect place to get together with friends or go on a date! read more

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Eel and bulgogi bowls were good, liked that the bulgogi wasn't too sweet. Free refills of the sides! Service was very friendly. read more

Lani Sot - Eel and pollock roe rice bowl - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Located inside of SALT where the old Butcher and Bird used to be (next to Mana+Pua). Quaint shop with long tables of 4-6pax. Simple, straight to the point menu with no frills about it. Been here twice and the servers have always been very accommodating. Once we had a 2-year old with us, to which the woman server was very keen to. As for the food, the kimchee is on point, as are their other sides that we've had included in our set. I was pleasantly surprised to see chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) served, as that's very rare to come by. Towards the end of the meal, you can ask for hot tea to be poured into your rice bowl, to make another soup out of it. Though for me, it watered down the flavor of the spicy garlic shrimp, so I think I'll politely decline the next time around. All in all, a very comforting and filling experience. read more

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It was my first time trying this place yesterday with my little sister to celebrate her birthday a little earlier since I won't be here for it. I was trying to look for something that's a bit healthier but also has a Korean kick to it. I've always wanted to try this place and it was great because it wasn't too busy when we got there so we were able to get a table right away. The service was great. The aunty that was helping us was very nice. She even offered us hot tea because it was a bit windy outside. I got the mushroom set and my sister got the eggplant set. She really enjoyed hers and I also really enjoyed mines. I really like that everything was portioned just right. They had little side dishes as well as an egg white custard that was good and tasty. I will definitely be back to try other sets that they have and I don't feel so guilty eating it because it felt like it was on the healthier side of things with lots of veggies and barley tea as well! If you haven't tried yet, I would definitely recommend you to try this place!! read more

Lani Sot - Mushroom set - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Came here with 4 friends on a Sunday night, it was all of our first time here and we all throughly enjoyed it! I didn't get the name of our server but she was fantastic! she gave us good suggestions on what to order based on our preferences. I got the spicy pork pot which came with soup, 3 sides of ban chan (was told the soup and ban chan rotates so may be different each time), chawanmushi and my main dish of spicy pork , All of the food was excellent! They had a fish cake soup today when i went and it was really good. Their kim chee is so ono and my spicy pork was so good, spicy but tolerable. They pour hot tea into your rice pot after you empty most of the contents out so that you can eat the rice stuck to the pot. How neat! We also learned from our server that you can make any of the other dishes a meal set with the soup, rice, ban chan and chawanmushi for an added price. Location is on the second floor of SALT in Kakaako, you get one hour parking validated for free. We all can't wait to be back to try more dishes. read more

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Lani Sot is a Korean restaurant that specializes in hot pot rice--think dolsot bibimbap with a metal rather than stone pot. When ordering your hot pot rice, you have the choice of vegetables (eggplant, mushroom) or meat (chicken, pork, shrimp) as your primary topping / protein. Unless you order one of the premium options (bulgogi, short rib, eel), your standard pot of rice also comes topped with lotus root, green onions, a pepper medley, and other vegetables. Each set comes with three banchan and soup, which rotate on a daily basis, as well as chawanmushi. The restaurant regularly posts their banchan and soup on their Instagram account, so check that out if you're picky about your sides. I thought my teri chicken hot pot was good, with a nice mix of traditional and local flavors that made for an enjoyable dish. I lucked into an excellent seaweed soup as part of my set, and I would gladly eat that soup on every visit if it were possible. I appreciated how staff automatically added barley tea to the hot pot at the end of the meal to make nurungji or scorched rice, ensuring that we left full and satisfied. My only critique would be price: at $24.99, the price of the restaurant's offerings are on the upper end for what I'd be willing to pay for similar fare. The restaurant is relatively small, so I'd recommend making a reservation if you'd like to avoid waiting at prime meal times or if you come with a larger group. But I had no trouble getting a table for two shortly after opening on a weekday. Since the restaurant is located in SALT, it provides discounted parking for the adjacent parking garage. With validation, parking is $2 for 2 hours, $3 for 3 hours, or $4 for 4 hours (plus a 99 cent service fee). Note that the parking garage requires the use of an app/website as well as a credit card. read more

Lani Sot - Teri chicken ($24.99) - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This is a newish Korean restaurant on the second floor of SALT. It's a somewhat limited menu because they focus on the pot rice set and that's their specialty and they do it very well. I was able to make a reservation for Saturday evening using Google assistant (good for those with phone anxiety) since there is currently not an online reservation system. I went with a group of 4 including my 9 year old. We are vegetarian so we all got either the spicy or regular eggplant. My daughter got just the set with plain white rice she enjoyed putting the cucumbers and kimchee and mixing it with the rice. The eggplant rice had a mix of other veggies including my favorite, lotus. There's also a steamed egg on the side and the soup of the day. I was pretty hungry and ate it all quickly and probably could have eaten more. No worries, thats what the downstairs ice cream is for. The spicy eggplant rice was not overly spicy but had a nice kick. I liked that I didn't feel heavy afterwards, it's a generally healthy hearty meal. I would have liked some more appetizer options but what I got was really good. After a few minutes they come around and offer to put barley tea in the pot so you can eat the crispy rice with it. I don't know why I expected it to be more flavorful since it's just barley tea but I needed a little bit of salt or something to add more flavor but nevertheless I thought that was pretty cool. It reminds me of the crispy tadiq on the bottom of Persian rice. It had rained so the outdoor tables weren't available but the setting was nice with about 10-12 tables inside. Service was fine, a little explanation about the concept would have been a little appreciated for newbies like me but it's pretty self explanatory read more

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Been wanting to try this new restaurant because I love a good bibimbap and was not disappointed!! The rice pot was delicious!! All the staff were sweet and attentive. They even helped us make a tea rice with our pots after eating which was sooo comforting. The star of the meal was definitely the fresh daily made banchan. That cucumber salad was so fresh and delicious, I immediately went home to make some myself!!! read more

Lani Sot - Spicy pork rice pot set - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Cute spot for a date - cold inside so we sat outside - nice decor - we both like sets - the rice was tasty - came with steamed egg and a few sides - did not care much for the kim chi soup- read more

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I recently saw on a friend's IG feed her experience at Lani Sot and I knew I wanted to check them out. Located upstairs at SALT Kakaako, Lani Sot specializes in Korean Pot Rice sets. Although they opened a few months ago, they are currently still offering a soft opening menu of six different pot rice sets: Eggplant, Mushroom, Garlic Shrimp, Teri Pork, Spicy Eggplant, and Spicy Pork. Priced at $24.99, each set comes with a variety of sides and soup. I tried the spicy pork rice set and loved it! I enjoyed every side dish including the very tasty beef soup. My spicy pork was delicious and not fatty which I appreciated. Service was great, but it got a little busy at the restaurant so we didn't get the roasted barley tea added to our pots to create the rice soup at the end of the meal. I wouldn't have been able to finish the soup since I was so stuffed, but I would like to try it the next time. The restaurant has a great feel with seating inside and outside. Lani Sot is open daily from 11am. Be sure to scan their QR code at the restaurant to receive discounted parking. read more

Going to be honest here, we intended to go Highway Inn to have our out-of-town guest try Hawaiian food. But that line was epic. Walking around evaluating our choices, we spotted Lani Sot, which was on my list of places to try. Located in the former Butcher and Bird on the second floor of the SALT complex, (which relocated and reinvented itself as the Local General Store in Kaimuki, go there too, Jason Chow is amazing, they even have in-house made spam), Lani Sot offers a very limited menu of mostly Korean rice pot sets. Our party of three was able to get walk in seating for three and we quickly ordered two Teri pork and one spicy pork Korean rice pot sets. The piping hot metal bowls were filled with seasoned rice, vegetables, and meat, creating that lovely crispy rice in a sort of bibimbap way. The dish was accompanied by chawanmushi and the usual Korean banchan. The Teri pork was tender, flavorful, delicious with a good amount of pork. No complaints here. The amount of food is deceptive though. It doesn't look like that much, but when you're about three fourths of the way done, you start to feel full. The wait staff also came around with barley tea and suggested filling our crispy rice coated pots with barley tea to create a soup of sorts. I'm not into barley water, but my dining companions went for it. The restaurant is a bit dark, but clean with a polite, efficient wait staff. There is partially validated parking. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. read more

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Here's my update after coming to this restaurant basically weekly since they opened. It's still a hit for me and definitely worth a visit. Lani Sot is probably my favorite restaurant. Everything about this place is wonderful. Located on the second floor of salt above the gelato place and directly across from Mana + Púa sits Lani Sot. There is plenty of seating both inside and outside, however, I have never sat outside. Even when full, the restaurant noise level remains low and you are able to hold a conversational tone with your table. Upon entering, you agreed greeted by one of the friendly servers and usually seated immediately. If you pre-order the Hinoki box, there will be a stove top attached to your table. However, if you order directly from the menu, there are many other options that are accidentally priced and delicious. I like to get the sets with the spicy pork being my favorite. in the pictures you see that you don't just get spicy pork with rice you get a lot of sides to go along with your meal. You will definitely not leave hungry after you come to eat here. The nice thing about this is that the sets start at $24.99. this restaurant does not offer alcohol so if that's something that you were looking for, unfortunately will not find it here . The food is excellent and comes out quickly, and the service is equally extraordinary. The servers pay a lot of attention to each table and make sure you have awonderful experience. the food is consistent week after week and I tell you this because I do eat here week after week. Their kimchi is probably the best I've had in a long time. I highly recommend coming with friends or even for a solo meal for either lunch or dinner. You'll have an excellent meal with great service and your appetite will be satiated. For those driving, there is validation for discounted parking available. read more

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Finally made it out to try Lani Sot! I really enjoyed the rice bowls. There's a separate bowl to mix everything together and once you scrap everything out of the stainless steel bowl, they'll pour some barley tea to get the crispy goodness out. Came with the family and we really enjoyed the meal. Definitely left full! Any extra orders of rice also comes in the stainless steel bowl and takes 8 minutes, so something to think about if you order Ala carte. read more

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Social media brought me here. Our server was super friendly, I had reservations but my friends were running late due to rush hour traffic. Food was yummy. It's BYOB!! So grab some booze from village and head up. read more

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We heard from our friends that Lani Sot had some really good sets and we finally decided to check it out! ***What I ordered: **Teri Pork Pot Rice (10/10) ~ The teriyaki was not overly sweet nor overpowering anything. The rice was cooked to perfection! It was very fluffy. The soup of the day paired VERY WELL with everything. We weren't entirely sure what it was, but it was a type of beef broth with daikon and beef! It was so good. As for the Banchan the cucumber was my favorite. It was refreshing and had a nice bite to it. Overall, I would totally come back! Service is a little slow because there is just one person manning the front. But they are super friendly. Food was also super delicious. I highly recommend you come and give Lani Sot a try for their soft opening :) read more

Lani Sot - Teri Pork Pot Rice - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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The mystery of this newbie... Newest Kaka'ako spot at the former Butcher & Bird location which I do love as it's on the second floor and does have some outdoor seating giving it a birds eye view of the area is nice and chill. Walking in is nice of the simplicity of the the decor and as they're still in the soft opening menu there are six menu item choices. - Eggplant - Mushroom - Garlic Shrimp - Spicy Eggplant - Teri Pork - Spicy Pork All choices are made into Pot rice which is exactly what they are. While all orders come with three banchan and soup of the day, tofu chawanmushi, I decided on the Mushroom Pot Rice (similar to takikomi gohan for Japanese dish) as the rice is cooked in the pot you're to scrape it all out with the exception of the crispy layer on the bottom which will be soaked in tea to be scraped off and enjoyed is something new and fun experience though was quite earthy in my opinion for some that my wonder. The banchan wasn't quite my kind of choice but we both LOVED the tofu chawanmushi I just wished that the menu include some basic ingredients that's in the pot along with description of the soup of the day and what are the banchan as it all was very simple menu description. Too many instructions that could be a table side read as we both forgot what we were supposed to do and discussing what some of the ingredients were but did enjoy our pot and hope to see more information regarding the system. Thank you! read more

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One of my former coworkers recommended this place, so my friend and I decided to give it a try. The Yelp reviews made it look really good also. We went when they were fairly new, so I think they were still working on some things. And they only had the one lady serving, taking orders and doing everything on the front end so give her so much credit! She had such a positive attitude even though I could tell she was a little stressed. I got the shrimp set and my friend got the pork set. It came with 3 different banchans, chawan mushi, and soup. Both of ours was really tasty but I think my friends one was a little more flavorful. After you're done eating, they come and pour barley tea into your main dish bowl and you're supposed to enjoy the leftover crispy cooked rice. Mine was really good but my friends one wasn't so good. I thought she was joking when she said that and thought how different could it taste from mine but I think because her dish had spice, it completely changed the taste of the tea. Nonetheless, the dishes itself were really good! I definitely would come back. The dishes look small but it's more than enough especially with all the sides. They're located upstairs of SALT next to Mana + Pua. And don't forget to validate your ticket before leaving the restaurant! read more

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This unique little Korean restaurant in Salt at Kakaako just opened up 3 months ago. They are still in their soft opening phase and working out the kinks, but I have to say, I was very impressed. I throughly enjoyed my experience and meal and everything was really tasty. A few things to keep in mind: their menu is SUPER limited. There's a total of 8 things on their menu. The tteokgalbi did NOT look like the picture when it arrived, which was a disappointment. Best part: the sweet & spicy ribs were amazing! Not too spicy but soooo tender. Meat was cooked perfectly! I got the mushroom set, which was really yummy and a lot of food. My husband got the Teri pork. We split half and half to make our own pork/mushroom set and it was perfect. I don't think I would have been satisfied with only the mushrooms. I really love that they bring barely tea to eat your left over rice with at the end... it totally hits the spot! Worst part: the Mac salad. I hope they get rid of it and replace it with an actual Korean side dish. It honestly just didn't go with the meal! I also hope they consider adding a non-spicy mushroom & Teri pork combined option. Service: Great! They were very attentive and welcoming. Ambiance: Super cute! It's a really small space on the second floor of Salt. I appreciated how intimate it was. One down side is that it is difficult to get reservations. I had to call and wait 24hrs for a return call to secure my reservation. Overall, it's a great little Korean joint in Salt and I would 100% go back! read more

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I have heard about this new place on social media. We were in kakaako to find dinner and decided to give this place a try. We didn't have a reservation but arrived for an early dinner so they were able to seat us quick. The restaurant felt very clean. The chair cushions are very comfortable. We had an option to seat inside or outside along the lanai. We decided to stay inside. The worker was very nice and gave us a run down on how it worked. For a soft opening menu, the limited options make sense but I have seen some signs that they are working to expand their menu. We ordered the Tteokgalbi, the spicy pork pot rice, and the spicy eggplant pot rice. The presentation of the dishes was impressive. We were instructed to mix the rice pot, move it to the bowl and they will pour tea in the pot to loosen the remaining rice. The worker said it should turn porridge-like. For the food itself, it didn't give me authentic Korean flavors, but it was delicious. I loved the experience. I look forward to return for the expanded menu. read more

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It's so good. The service was great. Wasn't busy while I was there. Food tasted great. Good size serving. Fair prices. Helpful staff explaining the menu really helped me decide what I wanted. Great setting. read more

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I had heard a bunch of mixed reviews for this restaurant and sad to say I was a bit let down. The restaurant was open before it's actual hours. We walked in and they allowed us to sit in because it was hot outside but wouldn't let us order until 11 when they actually open. Since we got there when they just opened, it wasn't busy. Service was okay. Took our orders and took about 30 minutes for us to get all our food. Only checked on us once to refill our water. We had food to take home, but they only have the flimsy brown takeout boxes. So we couldn't take home any soups or the sauce from the ribs since it couldn't hold in the container. We ordered the Mushroom, Garlic Shrimp, and Spicy Pork sets. We also got the Teokgalbi and Sweet & Spicy Ribs. They all came out at around the same time, but the placesetting of the sets are huge so it doesn't leave much room on the table. For the sets, all the side dishes are the same. We had kimchi, ocean salad and egg, steamed eggs, meat and radish soup, and spicy daikon. All the side dishes lacked taste so it was very underwhelming and didn't compliment the dishes. There really isn't much more to say about that. However, it seems that all the flavor was just in the main dishes. However, the spicy pork and ribs weren't spicy despite it have a bright red color. The flavor wasn't as traditional as I was expecting, it's more local style tasting. For the price, the set is decent. But I wouldn't go back again unless they introduce other items or did better with the flavoring of the sides. read more

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Lunch in Kaka'ako, Honolulu, Hawaii... As a spur of the moment decision, I went to Lani Sot at the SALT complex on the upper floor. There is a parking structure with a minimal fee, but I had found free street parking about a block away. This new restaurant features Korean cuisine and is in its Soft Opening stage. I didn't have a reservation. The cozy interior was full, so I sat outside. There was a slight breeze and some light on and off drizzling rain. It was relatively peaceful. Service was very good by Katerina. She seemed to be the only worker because she was doing everything: seating customers, taking orders, serving meals, and cleaning up! She's awesome! I ordered the Garlic Shrimp Pot Rice set. It came with spicy soup, banchan, and the hot pot with everything in it! When I was almost done, Katerina helped me scrape the remains of the pot into my bowl and poured tea into the pot so the rest of the rice could be removed from the surface easier. That was kinda fun! It was an interesting and educational experience! Everything was tasty and beautifully presented! I would return! read more

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fun new casual spot in salt kakaako! I saw that this restaurant was listed as "dog friendly" so i confirmed with the restaurant just in case and it was indeed dog friendly! Yay! reservations are made through phone, but i think walk in is ok! There is maybe 4 tables inside and a few tables outside. We sat outside so we can come with our pup. The space between the table and the walkway can be narrow if you bring along your stroller with you. They were even nice to bring out iced water for Simba! Their posted hours is 11-9pm i think, but i think they actually have a inbetween time when they close. I made reservations at 5pm, and the worker informed me that they would be open in 9 mins or so, which is no problem! The menu was small - maybe 6 items. we ordered the shrimp and mushroom rice pot, both $25 each. both were yummy! while waiting for my friend, the menu flew off the table and to a restaurant below. the server thought he didn't drop a extra menu to our table, but i explained the one we had flew away. Parking is within the building - there is a QR code now and you'll need to get it validated. theres a code inside of their door so don't forget to do that. I didnt park inside, but on the street nearby since it was a sunday. read more

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Visited Lani Sot during their soft opening! Can't wait to try the new additions to their menu when available. Parking: Located in Salt with 1 hour free parking. The restaurant might validate for longer but my party was out in less than an hour. Service: Great overall Ambiance: A great addition to SALT! Cute, casual place for lunch or dinner Food: Each set comes with banchan, soup, steamed egg, and your entree. The draw is the individualized set portions allowing you to try a little bit of everything. As a fusion place, it's not your traditional Korean options, but it's worth a try to get your fix read more

Lani Sot - Mushroom - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The food here is so good and the price is worth it! You get so much food for a reasonable amount and can add as needed. I recommend getting the meat jun and the spicy pork sets. read more

Lani Sot - Spicy Pork - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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During this past year, my addiction to binge watching Asian (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Filipino) dramas has gotten full-blown after cruising East Asian countries. Shortly after we returned from our April 2024 cruise, we signed up for another cruise to Japan and Korea which is upcoming in May 2025. Since then, I've been researching both comfort food and gourmet places to eat while on-shore with free time after excursions. In January, I read about the opening of DamSot, a South Korean-based chain restaurant specializing in sot bap 솥밥 or pot rice in Los Angeles' Koreatown and excitedly jotted down locations of DamSot which would be near to us after our excursions. I was drawn to their menu selections and presentation when serendipitiously, we stumbled across Lani Sot in the SALT at Kaka'ako shopping mall. Have you ever heard of sot bap 솥밥? It's a traditional Korean dish of pot rice dish where rice is cooked in either a heavy metal or stone pot (called "sot") with various toppings like meats, seafood, vegetables. I would liken it to the Chinese claypot rice version, except that after removing most of the rice and toppings from the pot, you need to pour either barley tea or hot water into pot where the "precious" toasted rice crust has formed and drink/eat it to finsh your meal.. We found Lani Sot located on the second floor of SALT at Kaka'ako, in the former location of Butcher and Bird. They're still in their Soft Opening stage, offer a limited menu of only six sot bap sets includes banchan and soup of the day for $24.99 and two side dishes or appetizers (Tteokgalbi $12.99 and Spicy & Sweet Pork Baby Back Ribs $19.99/$39.99) and seating inside their dining room and outside on the balcony. When we entered, we saw most of the tables hadn't been cleared yet and there were several families enjoying their meals. There were two females working the front of the house and both greeted us with smiles while asking us to wait a few minutes before being seated. As soon as they cleared some tables, they seated us with menus and asked if we had any questions. We understand they're in the soft opening phase and we weren't in a rush anyway so we took a few minutes to decide. I inquired about the spice level since I considered ordering one of the spicy pot rice meals. Luckily, the sauce spice level is mild-medium and has a slight sweetness to offset any potential burn. After ordering, our server told us it would take about 15 minutes for our meal to be released from the kitchen as everything (rice and toppings) is cooked to order in the heavy metal pot or bowl. Also, she said she'd show how to eat the sot bap. FOOD: -Sweet and Spicy Pork Baby Back Ribs (half order or 6): we originally ordered the Tteokgalbi which are Korean-style grilled shortrib patties wrapped around asparagus spears but they were sold out by the time we came in for lunch. So, we happily changed our order to the pork baby back ribs. The six pork ribs were soft, succulent, and melt-in-your mouth tender and we rolled the ribs into the bowl sop up its well-balanced spicy and sweet sauce. 6/$19.99 -Garlic Shrimp Sot Bap: the sot bap was topped with six perfectly cooked shell-on shrimp. The cooked shrimp texture was tender with a slight bouncey chew and the garlic flavor wasn't overpowering. The lunch set came with the soup of the day (bowl of beef and squash soup), steamed eggs or gyeran jjim (chawanmushi), and four types of banchan. $24.99 -Spicy Eggplant Sot Bap: the mild-medium tender cooked long eggplant was a great vegetarian meat substitute. Even after devouring the pork baby back ribs, I liked having a vegetarian entree. The glossy short-grained rice was plump, slightly sticky, chewy, and pleasantly sweet. Because it was slightly sticky, it clumped together, and its mild sweetness paired well with the spicy eggplant. This lunch set also included the soup of the day (bowl of beef and squash soup), steamed eggs or gyeran jjim (chawanmushi), and four types of banchan. $24.99 After taking photos of our meal, the server came by to scrape the rice and toppings into the empty bowl while preserving a layer of toasted rice crust or nurungi 누룽지 in the searing hot metal bowl. She then poured hot barley tea to loosen the rice crust and covered it to create another rice treat, sungnyung 숭늉 or scorched rice tea. The lunch sets provides a lot of delicious food and I can't think of any other local Korean restaurant that serves sot bap. Well, I think the closest food item is bibimbap but we've never poured tea or water into the stone pot. We welcome Lani Sot to our Kaka'ako neighborhood and we're looking forward to returning. P.S. Since they're still in Soft Opening phase, please be patient with the service as currently there are only two workers in the dining room. The kitchen appears to be fully staffed and because the food is cooked to order, please allow at least 15 minutes for the unctuous pot rice meal. read more

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Located in the former Butcher and Bird space at Salt, Lani Sot offers rice pot set meals that will light up your taste buds. I love a meal that gives you variety in every bite, and this one hits all the marks with different temperatures, textures, and flavors. With your set, you choose a protein and get rice served in a hot metal bowl that crisps the longer it sits. The side dishes include kim chee, fish cake, potato salad, steamed egg, and soup. Ask for barley tea toward the end to help loosen the crispy rice stuck to the bowl and turn it into a savory last bite. Come hungry. It is a lot of food. There is both indoor and outdoor seating available. Attentive service. If you love crispy rice, balanced bites, and comfort food with depth, Lani Sot deserves a spot on your must-try list. read more

Great service, the food is very tasty with lots of flavor, and the ambiance outside is nice because you're up on a loft area at Salt. Definitely a restaurant that I will be recommending to friends. read more

Lani Sot - Garlic shrimp with rice - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I just had lunch with my family at Lani Sot, located in the former Butcher and Bird location at Salt Kaka'ako. They're in the process of a soft opening so the menu is currently limited to 2 different appetizers and 6 different hot pot style entrees. They offer both indoor and outdoor seating with table service. The decor is fairly elegant and upscale although the chairs aren't as comfortable as they looked. They also didn't have any high chairs for my granddaughter, so she stayed in her stroller at the table. Service was good, with all the dishes being explained in detail. We ordered the Tteokgalbi to start and then one each of the Garlic shrimp, Spicy pork, and Teri pork pot rice entrees. Although the Tteokgalbi didn't look anything like the menu picture, it tasted very good, albiet a bit dry. Instead of meat wrapped around asparagus spears, it was 3 small patties with very skinny asparagus draped over them, covered in sauce. All the dishes were very tasty and came with the traditional banchan side dishes. It also included a chopped meat soup with daikon and a dish much like chawanmushi (steamed savory egg custard). The Garlic shrimp rice was my favorite, although everything was delicious and filling. The spicy pork was fairly mild and, along with the Teri pork (and even the Tteokgalbi) were on the sweeter side. After scooping out the rice bowl ingredients and mixing them up to eat in a separate bowl, they will fill your hot pot with tea to allow you to scrape the sticky, crunchy last bite of rice from the bottom of the bowl to eat. **Pro tip** When scraping your bowl with the spoon, do it away from you rather than scraping towards you. This will prevent accidentally splashing hot tea over yourself. It would also help if they provided a larger soup spoon, much like you'd use for ramen, rather than the standard sized teaspoon. It would make it so much easier to finish the tea. Hopefully they will add more dishes and get things smoothed out in the near future, but all in all, the food and service were good. On a side note, the new parking system at Salt leaves much to be desired. It's completely app driven and they've raised parking prices in addition to charging a service fee for using it! It almost doubled what we used to pay before. ‍ read more

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We ordered the hinoki wood steamed dish (only 25 served a day, $99, and suggested for 2-3 people) and two rice bowl meals (eggplant and bulgogi) and easily fed 5 adults. The hinoki steamed dish was so cool! The top tier consisted of a big squid, some clams, shumai, mandoo, eggplant slices, mushrooms slices and a cabbage flower. The bottom tier was comprised of thinly sliced beef and pork separated by asparagus all on a thin bed of cabbage. It is left to steam tableside over a pot of soy based stock. It was served with three dipping sauces: 1) citrus soy 2) miso vinegar? And 3) peanut chili. Afterwards they cook somen in the stock that has the drippings from both tiers in it. Delicious! The rice meals were so beautiful as they were served with a side of savory egg custard, a soup, and three ban chan. The eggplant was delicious. We also ordered the bulgogi. Afterwards they pour barley tea into the stainless steel bowl to loosen the hard baked on rice from the sides. The flavor made me nostalgic for Japan in the summer time. It is very mild so don't expect a "soup." The server was newer but did a god job explaining what to expect and how and when to eat things. (You need to wait for the hinoki steamer food to cook which took around 11 minutes? And for the hard rice to loosen from the bowl at the end). read more

Lani Sot - Eggplant rice bowl meal - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Checked out Lani Sot during their soft opening and had a good first experience. The menu is limited, but worth checking out if you're in the area. We ordered the spicy pork pot rice and the mushroom pot rice sets. The spicy pork had a nice kick without being overwhelming, super flavorful and satisfying. The mushroom pot rice reminded me of a lighter, sweeter mushroom risotto, comforting but not too heavy. At the end, they pour in some barley tea so you can enjoy the leftover rice in the pot like a soup. They give a variety of banchan; our set came with kimchi, potato salad, japchae, chawanmushi, and spicy beef radish soup. It's $24.99 for each pot set and $3.50 for drinks, which felt fair for the portions and quality. We got there around 11:30am and it wasn't too busy, but by noon it started to fill up fast, which is good sign! We were in and out in under an hour. Parking was free with no validation needed, but there's a QR code on the exit door if you need it for a longer stay. Definitely planning to come back when the full menu is up! read more

Lani Sot - Spicy pork pot rice set - Korean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I was super excited to try this place and went for their soft opening. Food was really good but they have a long way to go with customer service. The food took way too long to come out and we were all very famished. I say maybe have a snack before you go. Our lunch ended up taking almost 3 hrs... We also had to cancel the dduk galbi appetizer because they forgot about it and we didn't want to wait longer for it. We really enjoyed the food though! Maybe when they hire more people in the kitchen and more servers, it'll be a better experience! read more

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I was excited to see a Korean "sotbap" pot rice restaurant open here in Hawaii! After seeing their sign on the second floor of SALT, I visited Lani Sot during their soft opening. The interior is modern and clean with additional seating outside. The varieties of pot rice sets they offer include: Spicy pork, teri pork, eggplant, spicy eggplant, and garlic shrimp. Each set comes with a freshly steamed cast iron pot of rice topped with the main dish. Sides include banchan, bone broth with beef slices inside, and soymilk noodles. The menu also included ala carte orders of tteokgalbi (Korean meatball) and ribs. I love this style of meal because you get to scoop out everything from the rice pot, leaving only the crispy rice edges (nurungji) behind. Then, the staff will pour barley tea into the pot, creating a warm, comforting crispy rice soup to finish off the meal. I thoroughly enjoyed everything that came with the spicy pork set I got. The meat was flavorful, plentiful, and decently spicy. The variety of side dishes was honestly impressive considering the price of $25 for the set. I especially loved the addition of the soymilk noodles and bone broth. Needless to say, I was very full by the time I finished. I recently visited a restaurant similar to this one in LA, and I have to say this meal from Lani Sot was just as good, if not better. I am looking forward to trying them again when they fully open! read more

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No offense, but I have tasted better Korean food elsewhere. Their food is standard and I think the only standout was the spicy eggplant, but other than that I feel like a lot of this place is just window dressing. First and foremost I think the prep for the rice bowl was a bit lacking as I noticed the rice was a bit soggy upon eating our rice sets. Side dishes were standard but nothing to scream about. I understand SALT Kakaako is a more upscale sort of area - so they have the decor set up to be inviting upon entrance. My water was never refilled and they forced us to switch seats for another party. It also seemed as if they really want to just get you out of there to appease more customers coming in. I will pass but the rest of these reviewers that think this is the best place to eat can have it lol. read more

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