Is authentic Japanese restaurant with great customer service. The sushi chef is amazing!!! I highly recommend it.

Maguro Kawa and the chef's selection 9 piece Ngiri was the right choice! I left full, happy, and ready to come back. Service was a little awkward and clumsy forcing the Chef to direct service to the counter at every instance. Hope that isn't the norm, but I was glad that the Chef was on top of things. Miso Soup, Hot Tea, and whole lotta fish made a wonderful meal. Hopefully, the service issues were a one time thing or are fixed before my next visit, but I will definitely be back. read more

Checked out Maguro-ya for the 1st time last night w/ hubby. We used to live in Kaimuki (arguably the best place to live, if you live in town) but had never gone. Couldn't decide on where to eat (and it was getting dangerously close to the "point of no return" for me, ya know, when you're so hungry you lose all ability to be rational?!), was going to try the dinner menu at Cafe Laufer, but at the last minute, tried this place since it's right next door. Food: we both ordered the "hot udon/tempura/sushi" set. It was good, not awesome, but solid good. The udon broth was good, again not awesome, but solid good. Same goes for tempura. The sushi was ok. But the 4 elderly customers next to us all ordered this dish where fried fish pieces are served inside a fried fish bone/body. It was served teishoku style w/ rice, tsukenomo, etc. It looked awesome! So we're def going to order that next time. Service: we went kinda early (5:30 pm) and got sat right away at the last table. There's not much to say here.....you don't expect superior service at a homey restaurant.....so the menu came, the water and hot tea were served, and our food came pretty fast. Ambience: it's small inside, with like 10 table, and a sushi bar for 8. Random Japanese wall decorations, wave design on one wall, and an odd boat on the ceiling that looks like it crashed into the restaurant. The tables are pretty close to each other, so don't go here if you want/need to gossip or have a heart-to-heart w/ anyone. Mos def the people around you will hear EVERYTHING. Parking: the lot has changed from meter to ticket w/ no validation. it's gotten eerily empty in the lot since the change, and I think that's great! The sign inside the restaurant said "$0.75/hour for the 1st 2 hours." Final words.....it's a solid Japanese restaurant for when you don't want to gamble. We're adding it to our repertoire. 2nd visit report: saba teishoiku and seafood salad rock! misoyaki maguro rib is awful! chawan-mushi, i've had better. maguro karaage was ok. read more

Used to come here a lot, before all these new izakayas showed up in town. So many to try now! Almost always ordering the Magurozukushi (Ahi Tuna made every which way in about 6 dishes) as its a good size and price, $16. Yoshie-san is the elderly lady who works here for many years and is very nice. She remembers you and gives you the down home country style Japanese service you can never find in Hawaii. She's always telling us about her travels. She is their Kanban musume, and without her, this place would never be the same. I would pass on their sushi. I'm not impressed. Much better at Imanas or Kahala Sushi (in Zippy's Kahala or Pearl City). Don't look past their noren and into the kitchen. Ugh. read more

Uncle took the family here when we were visiting him. The food here was delicious. I got the maguro rib karaage and I loved it! I would definitely go back if I could. read more

Maguro-Ya - Maguro rib karaage - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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The first thing that hits you when you enter is half of a good sized boat sticking out from the wall near the ceiling. It's pretty cool, I wonder if that's what traditional Japanese fishing boats look like? At first glance it just appears to be a huge version of the little sushi boats you'd find at a conveyor belt type sushi joint. Either way it's unique and neato daddy-o. We ordered the house sake cold which came in a nice bucket of ice to keep it chilled. It was smooth and good and got things started well. After much deliberating I decided on the butterfish teishoku which was really melt in your mouth kine good. The place was packed for a Sunday night and had quite a few Japanese speaking groups present which I noted as a good sign that we came to the right place. They have quite a few other things on the menu that looked good so I definitely will return. read more

Great restaurant for teishoku. It's a small restaurant so expect to be sitting right behind someone. But the food and service are great. Traditional Japanese taste in a clean restaurant. I'd recommend trying the maguro zukushi (it's a maguro made 3 ways). read more

This place provides a unique Japanese dining experience. I always get the maguro rib karaage special for lunch, that comes with maguro rib, sashimi sampler, rice, miso soup, and various pickled vegetables. The maguro ribs are very tasty and moist, as long as you don't mind looking undignified as you try to get the meat off the rib bones with your fingers or chopsticks. The entertainment is provided by the apprentice itamae. I watched him all through lunch as he peeled a big daikon into sheets so thin that they were see-through! Mean the knife skills! Sushi is also pretty good but not the main attraction for me here. Oishii! read more

Yes yes yes! I finally found a place that compares to NYC sushi. This place is a hidden gem near Kahala Mall. Highly recommend you make reservations if you come to dinner. The fish is very fresh and the service is great. Highly recommend it. read more

Maguro-Ya - Ebi and uni - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

First Timer on Mother's Day! Misoyaki Maguro Teishoku - DELISH! Maguro was cooked perfectly. Soft, Juicy goodness. I love teishoku style! Tsukemono, Miso Soup, Salad and this one came with Chawanmushi. Now, I don't eat Chawammushi, but my sister loves it so she scored some extra! Spicy Ahi Roll - Older Japanese Men handcrafting your sushi will always be amazing! There is just nothing that will beat that! Yum! Shout out to *Rez! Good job, man! :) Small Restaurant, Definitely make a Reservation. I would recommend they create better signage inside for Specialty Items. We almost missed out on some yummy options! Will be back again to try more dishes! Can't believe I didn't take any pictures! :*( read more

We had the Maguro Zukushi and the Maguro Rib/Sashimi Teishoku. I know this is going to sound like blasphemy, but I didn't like it. Fried Ahi just seems to lose its good taste and moist texture when cooked all the way through. The miso soup was fabulous. Everyone seems to love this place. Sorry that I don't see why. Would have liked a new restaurant to be a fan of. read more

I've yet to have a bad experience on Waialae Avenue. Maguro-Ya now numbers among the best restaurants I've tried here. My husband found this place through the great Yelp reviews (but why O why did he ignore the karaage recommendations... sadly, there are some people who just don't know how to read a recommendation). We made reservations for a 7:45 two-fer on a Sunday, and sure enough got seated (although in the back by the waiting area. Not that this place is whopping huge). I was starving, so I wolfed down the sushi without the proper appreciation, except to register in my animal brain that I was eating something extremely fresh. We also ordered hamachi kama (yellowtail collar) and butterfish. Oh, back in the Bay Area, Japanese restaurants pretty much translate everything, so I was somewhat nonplussed by the transliteration, but minimal translation. Then I would've known to order the karaage (curses!). I also noticed inordinate amounts of glistening strips of unaju floating past. Okay, in the interests of fairness, that night I had a mildly upset stomach (3 on a scale of 1-10), while my husband had slightly more moderate digestive issues. I cannot say for sure this was due to Maguro-Ya (and we shared the same dishes), but hell, even if it was, I'd go back. Yes, it's that good. read more

I've been eating here on n off for about 10 years. Their big menu offers a lot of J-food to satisfy every type of eater. Try their new fruit dessert. It was nice n light. read more

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This place is really good!! We stumbled Upon it and we are happy we did! The food was delicious- we just kept it simple and my husband got the lunch special and my cousin had the butter fish - I had a California roll and a healthy roll just all veggies, a miso soup and a house salad - very satisfying and not too pricey- enjoy!! read more

I love their sushi! The itamai-San makes all different sushi to your liking. He says that some of the fish is imported directly from Japan. I don't have to go to Japan to have sushi for now. The price is kinda expensive. read more

LOVE LOVE LOVE Maguro-ya!!!!! One of my sushi places that i MUST go to whenever i come back to hawaii!!!! I actually never ate raw fish before, until I started to eat sushi here at Maguro-ya! My family usually always get Omakase...(spelling could be wrong?!?) but that basically means the sushi chef just makes sushi for you until you tell him to stop! There is no set price for this... Obviously price ranges on what sushi you get... you can always request of course for certain ones if you want. When it came to me.... bc i didnt eat raw... not even seared... i always ordered "cooked" sushi... but then i tried a searned nigiri... specifically hamachi aburi and it was absolutely delicious! i could eat that all night! Anyways so after a few times..i started doing "aburi" sushi! Which means "seared!" Which is a great way to start eating sushi for those who dont do raw sushi!!! Anyways, the fish here was absolutely delicious! The chefs definitely know what they are doing! Its an authentic japanese restaurant, so they better know what they are doing! :) They have other wonderful dishes that are a must order for me.... especially if you LOVE fish! First. Hamachi Kama (collar grilled)!!! Always a favorite! Second, is this dish (sorry cant remember the name, will find out and let you know) that has tuna wrapped in shiso (sort of like a japanese mint leaf...?) dipped in batter and fried! SOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!!! ITs my favorite! You might want to order two of them :) lol. Service is great! Everyone is nice!!!! I like places where i dont have to constantly ask to refill my drink (water or tea) and this place is always making sure its filled :) Haha, i know such a minor thing... but i feel like thats a sign of great service! read more

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Very good teishoku dinners. Particularly them sushi noodle tempura. For 19 bucks you get your choice of udon or soba hot or cold, tempura, and 4 Nigiri 2 tell a maki. A lot of good food for the money. They sushi is good not great. But for those they price it's an excellent value. The maguro zukushe is terrific. It comes with maguro multiple ways, all are made with attention to detail. Tuna tataki, sashimi, grilled, katsu. The potato salad Is out of this world. So is there cha wan mushi. This all cost less than 20 bucks. Their sushi is above average but wouldn't go their just for their sushi. Also particularly tasty is there fried flounder. They filet a flounder and bater and fry it. They bones are fried up nice and crispy and you eat it like a cracker. The bones are better than the fillets. Call for reservations the place is small and fills up quickly. read more

I don't care for Japanese restaurants since my mother always cooks the best Japanese food seeing as she is from there. Not to mention the Japanese restaurants are always over crowded, expensive, with mediocre food and very small portions. Maguroya on the other hand is fantastic!!! I love their natto and sashimi donburi. The fish is always fresh! And they give just the right amount. I dig that they're open for lunch and dinner and have lunch specials! I was very pleased how fast and efficient they were when I went there for lunch my first time. It is a bit pricey but totally worth it. They get pretty busy but I've never had to wait for table. I also noticed many of the customers are Japanese tourists, which is weird because why come to Hawaii to eat Japanese food? That's when I realized that's how good the food is at Maguroya! read more

Call for a reservation - especially if you want to sit at the counter. Order omakase. Be patient. When it's busy, it'll take longer to get your food, but it's worth it. read more

Very delicious. Caterering to Japanese tourists for a taste of home. Menu is Japanese characters and romanji only. Sushi was very tasty and had a large assortment. read more

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I made reservations for 2 at this place a few months ago but still waited about 30 minutes. Customers were mostly local. A large group came in after me and were seated right away. Service was ok, but the quality of the sushi was sub par. Prices were on the cheaper side. If you're looking for high quality sushi, I recommend looking elsewhere. But if you want value, then this place will be great for you. read more

The quality of the food and portions for the price is well worth it. To start we ordered sushi- chu toro, mirugai and hamachi. The hamachi was especially delicious and melted in the mouth- just the way hamachi should be. The chu toro and migurai were also delicious, but not quite as memorable as the hamachi. One of the specials that night was the maguro rib karaage and sashimi teishoku. There were 2 types of sashimi with this teishoku, the maguro, which was cut into beautifully delicious slices, and tai, which was good, but a little chewy. The maguro rib karaage was nothing like I have had before. The fish was just lightly breaded, seasoned and not overly cooked or oily. The cooking and preparation did not take away from the natural flavors of the maguro. I am looking forward to returning and trying more of the sushi! read more

Tried a variety of sushi, all was good but nothing exceptional. More traditional Japanese style sushi, clearly cater to that clientele since the menu is only in Japanese script. Atmosphere is ok but not very cozy. Service was very good. Might go back to try the baby squid. Worth a try. read more

The magurozukyshi is excellent, a great value, and very tasty!! Must soup, rice, salad, ahi katsu, sashimi, grilled tuna, fried tuna, definitely feast!! read more

Maguro-Ya - Magurozukushi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Need to work on service. Very inattentive to customers. Had to ask to order, had to ask about our order. Had to ask for tea refills. Had to ask for the bill when they were busy getting ready to close. Very disappointing. read more

I love this place. I worked in Kaimuki for a while and it isn't open during the day, so I wasn't familiar until I started hanging out in the evening hours. Parking is in the busy lot behind Waialae, cheap, but it can be brutal to find a space during peak hours. Suck it up and have an early dinner. The place opens at 5 pm, the selections are along the walls, in the menu, and in the table. Lots of fresh fish specials. I have had both the Saba and the Salmon belly -the salmon is sooooo good. I am hoping to try the moi next time, if they have it. Set meals are loaded with food and there is no need to order apps, though the sashimi is good, agedashi tofu is also nice. The pickles are lovely with a nice variety and they use good quality rice. I highly recommend the place. read more

I enjoy this restaurant when I am looking for a casual Japanese meal. Definitely at the too of its bracket but not in the top tier of sushi restaurants (in my opinion). I enjoy their sushi and teishoku's. Just had their salmon belly teishoku which was really delicious. I've had their tempura before and it's good but I think it could be better. Many other good things to eat here though. Service can be slow at times but I give it up to those mama-sans who do a good job considering there's only a few of them at a time. read more

My family and I love Maguro ya and go about 4x per year. The quality if their food, the flavor, the variety of okazu in a teishoku meal and the service are all wonderful! They are a little pricey, but you get what you pay for. The maguro prepared three ways is a wonderful standby. My daughter always gets the salmon teishoku and loves it. I like to try the various fish specials and have enjoyed all of them. read more

I love there egg custard thing but thy don't serve it during lunch. Otherwise than that it was really good. Service was good but my mom wanted more tea during her meal, but the lady came after we finished our meal and was paying for the bill. Definitely want to come back again read more

Maguro-Ya - Tempura teshyoku - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Came here for lunch after a yoga session next door. The only thing I had was the Karei Karaage (whole deep fried flounder) set lunch. The flounder was perfectly deep fired and tasted spectacular - not greasy at all and I could eat the entire fish, no kidding, including the fish head and bones. So yummy....... read more

Maguro-Ya - Karei Karaage set lunch - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I wanted to eat here the night before, but since they were open for lunch, I decided to eat there the day I was leaving Honolulu. My mom and I were the only people in the restaurant as it opened around 11:00 a.m. The parking lot in back of the restaurant was CROWDED, but it's Hawaii, so you figure... The decor is very casual, and I like the fact that the restaurant items are posted on the wall in handwritten signs. I ordered the magurozukushi while my mom ordered the butterfish misoyaki. Be careful, if you order something without a price, make sure you ask how much it is. My mom spent a half hour after leaving the restaurant trying to figure out the price since she thought it was rather expensive. My dish had a nice mixture of fish, chicken, tonkatsu, and tsukemono. I ordered from the dinner menu since I read previous reviews which also recommended this dish. My mom's butterfish was on the smaller side (which made her question the price) and she had less side dishes. I ended with two desserts (warabi mochi and a scoop of coffee ice cream). Next time, I will come here for dinner and try some of the other dishes recommended on this site. read more

Words can not express how much I love this place. I come here a lot with friends, usually during lunch time (11am-2pm) since it's a bit cheaper than dinner time. The staff is very friendly! The food is always on time and if it isn't the staff comes by and makes sure you're alright, sometimes even talks story. They are legit authentic Japanese cuisine and I recommend them to everyone! Their food is pricey but worth it! Even the Natto sushi is divine! And if you have any questions with the menu, just ask the staff! read more

Maguro-ya is our go-to Japanese restaurant. My wife is from Japan, and I lived in Nara and Osaka for more than five years myself. This restaurant offers authentic Japanese cuisine at an affordable price. Combined with fairly easy parking in Kaimuki, this is a no brainier for a good meal out on the town. While restaurants in Japan are more specialized (if you want to eat sushi, you go to a sushi restaurant, if udon, you go to an udon restaurant), most Japanese places in Hawaii and the rest of the States tend to combine different types of food. This is the same at Maguro-ya. You can get your sushi, udon, and soba all on the same menu. On one hand, this is convenient if you are not sure what type of Japanese food you want. However, this also means that the restaurant may not actually be great at any particular type of food. I have not found Maguro-ya to be such a place - all the dishes I have eaten here have been good. I especially like the chirashi bowls. The fish is always fresh and rice cooked right. The down side is that the place is a bit small and usually crowded. You can usually get a place to sit during lunch time, but prepare to wait if later int he afternoon towards evening. The service is okay, but far from stellar, and the decor could be updated. Lots of paper taped to the walls displaying the specials are more of a distraction that cheapens up the looks rather than actually being helpful. However, overall this place is a great place if you want authentic fresh Japanese food at a reasonable price for Honolulu. In addition, Kaimuki is a great little town that you can explore after your meal. read more

Amazing place. So legit you feel like you're in Japan because the menu is in Japanese, everything is really well done. Great for value. One of the best butterfish I've ever had. read more

ate there last month. 1- chinese waitress to pushy, loud, and not friendly 2- food was terrible where I didn't eat 3/4 of my teshoku. 3- very expensive 4- only positive is the sushi chef behind the counter was nice and applogized for the wait read more

Tucked away in a corner, the restaurant has a variety of menu items to select from, the food is prepared well and tasty. Service is great. Need to get there again to try more of their menu items! read more

I've eaten at the sushi bar here a few times it's very traditional style, no specialty rolls , but today I'm picking up takeout for my mom whole grilled moi , her favorite , a few restaurants have this item , she says it's the best . Restaurant seems really clean , staff is really nice and very accommodating , I'd highly recommend this place to get your Japanese cuisine read more

Positives: Great service. Paid lot outside. Full of parking. Great sushi and hot dishes. Negatives: Limited tables. Make reservations. We ate various sushi such as: Maguro, hamachi, ebi, unagi, sake. Good quality and ample rice. Also, tried Shrimp tempura, beef teriyaki, Saba, miso butterfish. All dishes had good flavor and were average size. Customer mix: mainly local and some tourists. Great place for a business lunch or dinner. read more

Came in for lunch. Personally, it's a bit pricey for lunch, but you have to treat yourself every once in a while right? I got the zaru soba/sushi lunch combo. If you're a big eater, it may not fill you up. But it's delicious. The service is good. You must remember that even though it's a small place, they only have a few servers the amount of tables they have to serve. Oh, made a take out order of the maguro poke bowl. So delicious. So good. read more

Fish was not fresh. They did not have lunch menu when I went in at 1 pm. I ordered $29 chirashi. Fish eggs and even cucumber tasted several days old. I ate at this restaurant before. My experience this time was very different and disappointed. read more