This place is wonderful. My favorites are the monkfish liver, assorted pickled vegetables, and their sea bass and flatfish karaage. They also have a pretty solid sake collection. read more

I loved everything about this restaurant! The food was amazing. The service was great & I adore the ambiance. It felt like a restaurant in Japan. read more

I've never been to Japan, but this is what I imagine it to be if I ever go. A small hole in the wall restaurant with Japanese hand writings on the wall. Even the sushi chefs in the back speaking in Japanese made me feel like I was some where else. It was kind of cool. Besides the table that I was on, there was one other couple across from us. It took a while for the food to come out but it was definitely worth the wait. My fiancé and I both got different combos and we loved it. We were really surprised at the quality and wondered why we've never been here before. This will definitely not be the first and only. We will be back for sure. Love their food! read more

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I've been here maybe 3 times in my lifetime, and I don't know why I haven't been more often. Went with some friends and had a great time! Parking is easy if it's not crowded, but we went on a Friday at 630pm so it was full but I found free street parking not far up the block and around the corner. Yippee! I ordered tea and water at first and tea came in one of those heavy large Japanese tea cups that warm your hands perfectly because we were sitting in very cold a/c. Tea stayed warm throughout our entire meal. I ordered the butterfish teishoku which took awhile to arrive, but when it did it was a nice large piece of miso butterfish and surprisingly mine didn't have any bones. Teishoku also comes with salad, miso soup with tofu, tsukemono, soba noodles, kinpira, konbu and rice. So much food! Lip-smackingly delicious, and totally worth the $24. My aunt paid so we were even MORE grateful! We'll be back, for sure! read more

Maguro-Ya - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Good food. A bit cramped. We made a reservation, busy on a Friday night. Paid parking behind.

This place is a bit pricey but worth for authentic Japanese food. I got the Maguro zukushi teishoku which was DELICIOUS. Agedashi tofu was good too. Sashimi so fresh! My bf food took a bit of time he had steak with his meal maybe it was that ? Or the tempura. My friend got Suzuki shioyake teishoku she enjoyed hers as well and she got a couple pieces of nigiri as well. Would definitely come back. Friendly service and they packed up my friends food to go! read more

Haven't been here in awhile but was glad I did since they had the deep fried Flounder! The maguro rib teishoku was also great! Quick and friendly service! Will definitely be back again! read more

This review is way overdue. I first started coming to this establishment over 6 years ago, and they still do not disappoint. If you're looking for some flawless, authentic Japanese food and service, this is your place. It has a relaxing ambiance and the waitstaff as well as the owners are super friendly. I love this place, what more can I say? read more

Been coming here for years. Busy for dinner. Sushi is great but it's the whole fish preparations that keeps me coming back. Friendly service and it comes out pretty quick. read more

Maguro-Ya - Nitsuke Suzuki - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Our family's go to neighborhood Japanese restaurant, we love the variety, consistency, and friendly familiar service of this family run restaurant. Our go to dishes are usually Chirashi if we're feeling raw, yosenabe or nabeyaki udon if we're feeling hot and soupy, and the maguro teishoku specials if we're feeling like a complete meal. I like the signature Maguro zukushi teishoku which serves the tuna in 3 different styles (sashimi, grilled and deep fried). Tonight I went with the yosenabe which you can get either Ala Carte or teishoku. It comes with clear shirataki noodles and seafood (3 oysters, clams, scallop, shrimp, fish) so this is a good option if you're trying to go low carb. They offer a lot of different fish options you can't normally find at many other places. Pops usually likes the nistuke style fish simmered in shoyu but tonight we got fried suzuki. We all shared the fried flounder, which is so crispy you can eat the fins and tail, as an appetizer . One evening I decided to go with a more conventional tempura , sushi combo dinner and then regretted I didn't stick to my go tos. Many options here so there is something for everyone who likes Japanese. read more

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What a pleasant surprise to find a sushi joint off the main drag that caters towards locals and most importantly serves quality product at a fair price with a good passionate service with lots of smiles and lots of TLC so if you go to Hawaii and you need to get to a sushi bar, definitely give this place a try because they have quality ingredients and because of the limited manpower and Waikiki it is definitely recommended that you make a reservation ahead of time... and don't forget to support small businesses and be patient because Hawaii is just getting going and there's still not enough laborers and servers and workers so thank you and keep up the good work and aloha and mahalo read more

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I almost feel bad to write about it because our waitress was super nice. These 2 stars are for her alone. However our omakase experience was such a joke. It was actually our first time coming to the restaurant because we happened to be around the neighborhood. Based on the good reviews, we decided to give a try. I had Omakase experience in other Japanese restaurants before, all had been awesome. However, it was my husband's first time so he was super excited to try. We sat at the sushi bar in front of the chef and he didn't talk to us at all. Okay. Maybe because of the language barrier, I gave him that. The sashimi pieces we got wasn't that great. When we were served the nigiri, the color of the fish wasn't that fresh. My husband was so sad to see that he gave us the old shrimp pieces and gave others the fresh ones. The shrimp we got was so chewy. And some sushi rice was hard. Doesn't taste fresh. When it was all pau, he didn't even tell us it was done. We were sitting there like idiots. We paid $90 each for the Omakase and that's what we got. The quality of fish was sooo bad. If you do want the great omakase experience, please DON'T COME HERE. I felt so bad for my husband. His first Omakase was just ruined. read more

Awesome friendly and attentive service throughout our visit! The owner & chef opened the door at 11:00am for the lunch service and welcomed us with a smile. The food here is oishii, very authentic, in my opinion. I had the salmon belly teishoku, it was fresh, fatty and wonderful. Requested that the skin be grilled crispy, came out perfect. My friend had the karei (flounder) prepared Nitsuke style and he was in heaven, enjoying every bite. Tempura, sushi and soba combos are the bomb. They were busy, a great sign for a local business. read more

I love going to Maguro-ya for their teishoku and sashimi. The place is always packed so we make sure to get reservations. The deep fried moi was amazing and I could eat most of the bones because it was cooked through! It's a great place to get traditional Japanese dishes as well. read more

Maguro-Ya - Deep fried moi - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Ate here for the first time. We got a table for 3 on a Friday night within 5 min without any reservation. Service was good. The sushi is delicious and they have a huge variety of choices. The slices of fish were thick and I really liked the various parts of the ahi they served on my maguro iro iro platter. My bf ordered the chefs selection and he enjoyed the various seafood on his plate as well. I would eat here again. read more

One of the things that makes Maguro-Ya so good is the owner is always there and working the sushi bar. Aside from having a great selection of fresh fish and plenty of other Japanese dishes, the service and staff are excellent and the prices are fair. I will return to Maguro-Ya anytime I'm ready for another great sushi experience. read more

Maguro-Ya - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Decided to eat some oishi sushi with my friend so arrived at this establishment with no reservations and waited 1/2 hour. Not bad and it was worth the wait. The wait staff was very patient with our order and checked up on us frequently to see if we were doing okay or wanted to order more. I wanted to keep on eating but was stuffed. Quality sushi and will definitely be back! Give them two chopsticks up! read more

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I love coming here. Cozy little nook in Kaimuki town around the corner from where i live, i do t have to venture too far into town to get great traditional Japanese food. Choose from omakase sushi, teishoku's or Ala carte dishes izakaya style. You're bound to find what you want here as far as Japanese food is concerned. They also have great quality so it's not just your average neighborhood restaurant. You know it's a good sign when you see Japanese nationals here wanting a taste of what they're use to back in Japan. Love the sets as well, especially the ones with sushi, tempura, and soba. For the price it's also great value too. Cheaper than some place like a Gyotoku but the food is better. Plenty of parking as well on the street or in the Kaimuki plaza parking lot. Great date place or for families as well. read more

Cute little Japanese restaurant, boyfriend was craving sushi but wanted to eat at somewhere nearby. The interior was clean and nice, quiet too. They have a lot of things on the menu. We got our appetizers and we liked all of the stuff we picked out. The unagi, on the unagi roll had a Smokey flavor from being grilled. So good! My favorite was the chawamushi it was light and sit well with my stomach. Nice flavor. Our entree's came out, presentation was nice and I was satisfied with mines, boyfriend was with his but he felt that his uni nigiri wasn't that great. He said that it tasted weird not to what he's used to. Service was okay, server didn't really go over what was in our dishes or was descriptive but that was fine. It took a while for our server to notice our water cups were empty before refilling it. Price wise, it is on the pricey side depending on what you're getting. read more

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Solid, old school restaurant on Waialae Ave. We went here for a work lunch the other week. I got the maguro rib karaage that came with some sashimi, miso soup, salad, and tsukemono. It was wonderful and not the expensive. The fish was fresh and quite tasty. I also liked the maguro rib karaage. The fish was moist and cooked perfectly. Also, the bones were large, so it was easy to eat the meat around the bones. The fish came with a ponzu dipping sauce that complimented the fish well. Finally. I ordered the green tea ice cream with mochi topped with kinako. The dessert was magnificent. This is a solid spot to get great Japanese food. read more

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A nice informal old school Japanese restaurant with warm and friendly service. I only opted for a 3 star because to me it is a good restaurant but not an outstanding one. I met someone for a business lunch upon a recommendation she had that the sushi was top notch. We actually found it quaint and comfortable with a more homey food quality in comparison to the many other sushi restaurants around. The sushi rice was not that flavorful as I like and the fish quality was good but did not have the fresh caught taste. I have to say the owner was very friendly and helpful and it's a great place to have good conversation as it is not noisy. read more

This place used to be very good... I understand covid messed with a lot of business but it's lack of SVC and dry old fish I'd no excuse for a sushi bar known for the good stuff. Waitress didn't even ask how it was...she must've known....sad but this place should be put out of its misery. read more

Maguro-Ya - Chirashi dry old fish - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Very friendly staff and an awesome lunch atmosphere ..family Ohana feeling. So many to choose from. read more

Maguro-Ya - Nabeyaki udon Omakase lunch sushi ..so Ono! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

There Maguro poke is great! It's different from poke in town - lots of sesame oil and sea asparagus.

I Love, this place! Came here for lunch. My brother got Todays lunch special, which was spicy tuna don, and Udon for $12, also got sashimi for another $3. For that price i thought it was going to be a mini spicy tuna bowl and a mini Udon. Nope, they were both regular portions. It was a lot of food enough for another meal. The spicy tuna was good, a touch of kochijang i think, but a bit more spicy. The udon tasted like the ones ive had in Japan. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/_LqvV6lYTQ7yFLPOMOXIhQ?select=wytaP3QbKnIXnurDeuTrIw I was so tempted to get the daily special but the place is called Maguro-ya (Tuna shop) and specializes in tuna and is known for using different parts, so i had to get something out of the ordinary or special. I got the Maguro Iroiro ($19) for 8 peices (4 different cuts) of tuna nigiri. It came with Chu toro, Oh toro, negi toro, 2 maguro, and 3 seared peices, D-lish! It was just enough for me to be content and not full. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/_LqvV6lYTQ7yFLPOMOXIhQ?select=ny94HxP_r18Va0_sBW77zg Maguro Kawa (tuna skin) $5 also caught my attention, i had to ask. She said it was tuna skin with ponzu sauce. There is a similar dish that they serve at some yakitori shops, kawasu (boiled chicken skin). So i gave it a try, it was a small portion, sliced thinley into noodles served in ponzu sauce. I liked it, but my brother didn't. Im adverterous like that. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/_LqvV6lYTQ7yFLPOMOXIhQ?select=2KcvBHri74Ax729wts_ZTA The lunch special changes weekly, and is a great deal. If you love tuna sushi and sashimi, or want to try different cuts or part of the tuna, this is the place for you. 5 stars for value on lunch specials, freshness and variety of tuna. Tips: Parking is in the back in a pay lot or on the street in front. It's packed at dinner, make a reservation or go during lunch hours and get the lunch special. read more

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I honestly feel like this place is slightly expensive for what you get. But after reading other reviews, I think we just ordered the wrong thing. First my boyfriend and I split a spicy ahi maki, which consisted of 5 pieces. I didn't care for it. The ahi was fresh and of excellent quality but you could taste the siracha or obvious hot sauce. I don't like that kind of spicy ahi, I like the creamy, subtly spicy seasoned ahi that you would get at places like waipuna or sushi company. My boyfriend and I each ordered the sushi/tempura/udon combo which is $17. I guess I should be happy with that price, but our "sushi" was 1 piece of maguro, 1 hamachi, 1 ika and 1 tekka maki. Of course they were fresh and of good quality, but then our tempura consisted of 1 shrimp, 1 eggplant, 1 sweet potato and 1 brocolli. Kinda small. And I ordered the cold udon, my boyfriend the hot udon. The noodles were fresh but obviously I guess if I wanted super good udon, I should just go to Jimbo's. I didn't think it was worth $17. I think we could have found the equivalent for maybe like $12... but I can't think of a place right now so MAYBE I'M JUST BEING PICKY ! It was pretty busy for a random Wednesday night at 8pm! But the Japanese aunties that work there are really nice and the service was great. Atmosphere ok, the sushi bar is the typical 9-10 seater sushi bar where you can see the fresh fish. In the front of the restaurant, they have like half of a rowboat protruding from the wall hanging from above which is cool. We were sitting at the table closest to the kitchen though so it was kind of noisy, but still pleasant. Anyways, bottom line, the food was good quality, but we were still hungry afterwards. They have plenty of teishoku, but all appeared to be over $20 and we were just going for a dinner under $40. I saw people ordering the specials of the day which were like cooked Maguro and Saba dishes. Those ran for anywhere between $18 and $25. They looked and smelled delicious, so I would suggest ordering those... it would make sense anyway, from a place called "Maguro-ya." I would give the place another shot! read more

It was our first time ordering at this Japanese restaurant. We ordered their mother day special and everyone just loved this special. One order could have fed 2 people. Every item in special was so good, I can't wait to dine in. read more

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Maguro Ya is one of my "go to" places when I'm in the mood for a good teishoku. I usually get the Unagi teishoku, which is served with sashimi, mini Zaru soba, green salad, miso soup & a cooked spinach dish. They used to serve the teishoku with chawanmushi as one of the items, but it was replaced by a cooked spinach dish. The unagi is perfectly grilled & tender. I was feeling hungrier than usual since I missed lunch today, so we ordered ankimo - monkfish liver (special menu item on the wall) and uni nigiri. My bf had the tempura combo with Zaru soba & ume shiso maki roll. The ankimo is 4 slices of monkfish liver with cucumbers, radishes, grated daikon, green onions & served with ponzu dipping sauce for flavor. My uni nigiri was very fresh. My bf enjoyed his ume shiso maki roll & crispy tempura which was offset by the cold Zaru soba. They have a wine, beer & sake menu & I had the ume on the rocks & my bf had the large Asahi beer. Good drinks to accompany the tasty food. Service is quick & friendly. Reservations are recommended as this small restaurant of about 10 tables + sushi bar, is popular with groups for family dinners & couples having dinner out. read more

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Haven't been back here for 4 years. It has changed. The food is just ok now and the grade of fish they use is not as good as it used to be. I had a couple of pieces that I couldn't chew because of the tendon. I had to spit it out. Also the batter is in excess for the tempura.. I guess this Pandemic hit them in a different way and buying cheap products now. Prices do not compare to the lousy quality of food you get now. Another one bites the dust. read more

Maguro-Ya - Too much batter - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Yagura was closed on Thursday - so we wandered all the way up to Kaimuki. Thought about the new Kaimuki Cafe(former Laufer) but needed more food.... Post gym means hungry. We ordered two teishoku, one, the Triple Combo and the other the Mix Tempura. And we got a California roll to pass the time. The Triple was huge, lots of food and small dishes including the miso soup, the pickles, a small salad, and a tuna flaked appetizer. The triple has sashimi, tempura and steak. Whew..... The best was the steak with a nice shoyu/mirin/shredded turnip/garlic dipping sauce with onions and bean sprouts sautéed under the steak. Really tender steak! The Mix Tempura was very nice with three nice size fish tempura and two shrimp tempura - then add seven veggie tempura morsels. Came with the same sides as the Triple. We probably should not have ordered the California roll, as it was pretty meaty and mildly filled us up. Add a couple beers and we were about $90 all in for two. One star is taken away for the seating arrangement. There are four 4 tops on the Ewa side and it is a challenge getting to your seats as the table are way to close to each other. When you need to get to the inner wall tables you have to squeeze by and place your butt or your frontal manhood on someone's table to get by....Not too appetizing for that table! And we are not of of the heavier variety - can you imagine heftier patrons trying to get by?......not pretty. We barely finished everything. Ugghhhh........cardio tomorrow is required since we imitated a Year of the Pig celebration. Oink Oink. Two piggies grinding out in the actual Year of the Dog. We rolled out of there and moaned as we walked up Waialae Avenue to the car. read more

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The menu is full of various dishes from teishoku style items to udon and soups and sushi. This place is great for different tastes and while there are many different items the quality remained high on all of the dishes. read more

Maguro-Ya - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This place is packed with Japanese folks, speaking Japanese. Maybe I saw 2 white people eating here? This spot is traditional. Omakase here was pretty good. I think it's a local spot for Kaimuki folks. I ain't gunna sugar coat anything and I'll be up front with you now - I am willing to try everything once and obscure foods do not scare me. We asked what the special of the day was. It was fish sperm. Fish sperm grilled and fried in tempura. Omakase means the chef decides. So ya - I ate fish sperm, tempura fried and grilled. And both styles were tasty!! Maybe Maguro-Ya doesn't have 4-5 stars cuz this place is so traditional it's not for the faint of heart? Regardless, I dig this place. It may not be my all time favorite place in HNL, but it's pretty good. The maguro plate is also pretty money - maguro served 8 different ways! Each one, delicious. read more

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Came here for the fried moi, grilled mirugai, and uni to name a few things. We sat down and are waitress brought us hot tea and water. I ordered our food but they did not have mirugai:( ok no problem they had everything else. I ordered amaebi uni, maguro natto, that ahi shiso dish, deep fried moi, natto hand roll, ume chiso temaki. First up was the amaebi uni. The uni looked brown and unappetizing so I asked the waitress if it was Japan uni which she did not know and had to ask the sushi chef. He replies no it's Boston uni ewwwwww! I made a disappointed face then the chef said they could take off the uni so it would be cheaper. I reply is ok well just eat it. The waitress tells me next time you should ask when you're ordering! Wtf? You're the waitress! You should know if it's Boston or Japan and YOU should tell the customer upon ordering! This is a Japanese restaurant and most of the yelp pics are Japan uni so you'd assume the uni is from Japan and not the cheap Boston stuff! That was pretty rude! Every thing else was really good. Would I return? Probably not as there's a lot of flies and other little bugs constantly flying around and on hour food! So gross....... read more

Maguro-Ya - Natto hand roll! Yummy! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Food: I always get the miso butterfish teishoku, and it's always amazing! There is also free refills for rice which is a plus. Parking: Make sure to go before the peak lunch hour to get a parking spot. Parking is $1.50. I made it 4 stars because it is a bit pricy. read more

Maguro-Ya - Sashimi tempura teishoku - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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What? I haven't written a review for this gem yet? I am a sushi lover and this place is a must. Not only do they have fresh and seasonal quality sushi, their kitchen items are also amazing. There is something for everyone here for sure. Even my now 10 year old son loves coming here. And he's a picky eater too! But best of all, the owner/sushi chef Goro is one of the sweetest man. He always makes it so welcoming when we come here. I guess I need to go there tonight for dinner. I'm getting hungry writing this review. read more

First time here though I live a block and a half away, very good Japanese food. Menu has a good selection of Japanese dishes and served similar the way it's done in Japan. Prices are fair or better, comparing to other Japanese restaurants in Hawaii. read more

Pricey, but quality eats. It took awhile for each dish to come out so it sucked from a parking stand point. We parked in their lot, but it is paid for by the hour. We usually go to other businesses in that area so we are there under an hour normally. Make sure you bring enough cash/coins!! We were seated at 630pm and it was pretty empty. By 8pm it was packed!! They have a HUGE menu. It was very overwhelming on where to start. We didn't know where to begin so it took us awhile to order. The chef nigiri set was a good choice. You get a nice variety of the popular fish choices (ahi, salmon, hamachi, etc.) and a miso soup. It's a set menu though and they don't offer any ala carte nigiri so I was a little disappointed. We don't like all of the nigiri offered, but it was the only one they had where we liked most of them. I ordered the unagi roll for myself and I loved it!! It was pretty filling and larger than I thought. Very happy with the roll. The miso eggplant was delicious too. I had to scrape off some miso because it was getting really salty. It was 1/4-1/2 inch thick of miso on top of the eggplant. I love how generous they were with the miso, but it was too strong/salty after a couple bites. Freshly made because man that was hot!! Super steamy...it took awhile to cool down before I could eat it. The teishoku was amazing! He couldn't decide what to get since there were over 3 pages of teishoku to pick from. He went with what was popular. We can see why! It was sooo tender and flavorful. We'd both love to order that one again! We picked coming here based on the dollar signs listed for this business but it's definitely more expensive than what Yelp suggests. For a sushi night, this was one of the most expensive places we've been to. Make sure to look at the prices on the menu before deciding to come. It tasted great though! read more

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Had the Triple trio and it was good but a bit pricey for what you get. Was hungry so i had to order the ahi karage which was good. Would pick this place 3rd or 4th if i want to eat Japanese. read more

If you follow my other posts, I usually focus on service. Or in this case, the lack of service. Yesterday we visited Maguro-ya and after the long wait we received to get our food, and the obvious lack of service for our table, we won't return. It began when we checked in at 5pm. Except for my party of three, there was only one other table of patrons with three other people as well. They seemed to be waiting for others. We were greeted as we walked in and menus were given. May I offer a suggestion to the management here: Get new menus. The ones we had were very worn down, held by tape along the spines and were also discolored and stained. The rest of the restaurant is clean and organized so why not round the experience off with clean and new menus? I digress , back to the service. As we sat there and were deciding on what to order, the waiter went to the other table and served them tea.....then totally walked past our table to go and serve tea to another couple that just sat down. Also a father and two boys went to the counter and sat down. The original table of three grew to at least six as more people came in. They then ordered. Mind you, this was AFTER we ordered. By now we wanted tea so I flagged down a waitress and asked for tea. So as time ticks away, the larger six party table start getting their food. The father and two boys at the counter got their sushi and their steak meals and the other couple on another table also got their meals.....all before our table!! We finally received our meals at 5:43pm. May I offer another suggestion to management: Visit your customers tables and apologize if it's taking longer than normal and also service each table equally. For example, don't ignore a table and not serve them something as small as a cup of tea, and yet serve all others around them. I hope that management takes the time to read the reviews here and takes the suggestions to heart. With exception of getting new menus, the improvements will cost nothing to implement, but will provide a large payoff in the end with return customers and better word-of-mouth reviews. read more

The best Japanese food on the island! They also have the freshest sashimi. Highly highly recommend. Super authentic 10/10