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    Mama Kim’s

    4.6 (253 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:30 pm

    Order Mama Kim’s Takeout or Delivery

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    MAMA KIM’S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Mama Kim’s

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    Reviews With Photos

    Michelle D.

    The photos looked so good that I had to check this place out! They offer both pre-made bowls and a build-your-own option, which I'm familiar with. I chose to build my own since their preset bowls were similar to others I've had. They offer mentaiko ahi and wasabi furikake ahi...both new to me. I wanted to try both, but since it was my first visit, I went with their popular limu option. You also get to pick two sides and all the toppings you'd like. We ordered a hand roll as well, and it was huge for the price, such a great value!! Overall, everything was delicious and definitely worth it. I would for sure come back for the handrollllllls.

    Mama Kim's favorites
    Nicole I.

    I am a sucker for garlic seared salmon so I loved this!! Everything was super fresh and had the perfect amount of flavor. Nothing too overpowering which made it easier to just keep eating. The free miso soup for dine in was really nice too. Great service! I'd highly recommend!

    Neba neba bowl
    Jodi H.

    The best poke bowl spot for variety and options. Mama Kim's is only a short bus ride from the Waikiki strip of hotels. I saw them on my IG reels and was stoked to come for a late lunch before an evening of surf. Their menu is extensive. I was low-key overwhelmed, so just went with the one that caught my eye. I love me some natto, and the Neba Neba caught my eye with that slow-cooked runny egg. I ordered as takeout, and they made my bowl within 10 mins. Super friendly and chill service. They also have local cans of juice and coconut waters for sale. Neba Neba was good, but I think I would try another bowl next time. If you're not a fan of runny texture, I would go for something else. My bowl was so colorful and healthy, I def got good ratio of protein to rice. Hella fresh and didn't leave me bloated.

    Inside
    Jill F.

    @fortunefoodfinds: "You're SHRIMP-ly adora-BOWL! Had to get my Mama Kim's fix. Crunch Bowl: minced spicy ahi, crab salad, shrimp tempura, crunchy toppings, unagi sauce. Cali Crunch Sushi Burrito: crab salad, shrimp tempura, cucumbers, avocado, unagi sauce, wrapped in nori n' sushi rice. With so many ono options to choose from, even more reason to come back for other items n' them some!" Staff: fully staffed [[HIGHLIGHT]]Interior: small, some bar seating[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Exterior: has a few outside tables n' chairs[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Wait time: 10-15 mins Parking: metered street Overall comments: they have a variety of options in poke bowls n' sushi burritos, to handrolls n' sides. Be sure to check out their Specials. Have enjoyed everything that we've ordered from all of our visits. [[HIGHLIGHT]]There is something for everyone, including our kids.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] If you dine there you get a complimentary miso soup. The sushi burrito is great for on-the-go. Doesn't fall apart n' is yuMmmy. The crunch bowl has everything you want: the heat from the spicy ahi, crispy shrimp tempura, n' creamy crab salad. The food is really good n' has me coming back for more!

    Matthew C.

    Mama Kim's delivers bold flavors without trying to be flashy, and the spicy habanero trio is a great example of that. Each item had its own personality, but they all shared the same deep heat and seasoning that felt intentional rather than overpowering. The habanero spice built gradually and stayed balanced, letting the flavor come through instead of just the burn. Everything tasted fresh and well prepared, with portions that felt satisfying without being excessive. Service was warm and straightforward. Orders came out promptly, and the staff was happy to explain the menu and make suggestions, which is always appreciated when you are trying something new. It felt welcoming and unpretentious, the kind of place where regulars are clearly known. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The ambience is casual and comfortable, with a neighborhood feel that encourages you to relax and enjoy your meal.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Nothing overdesigned, just a space that matches the food and keeps the focus where it should be.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Overall, Mama Kim's is a solid go to when you want something flavorful, spicy, and thoughtfully made. I would gladly return to explore more of the menu.

    Julya B.

    Built my own boil...sooo yamyyy!spicy salmon and mintaiko ahi on salad base with edamame and seaweed salad

    Grant H.

    First stop to get poke, etc. For good parking in the side street. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's right in the business district on King St., so probably super busy on the weekdays.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We got lucky! Food was good, and it was a good so before going to Waiks.

    Kathy A.

    We walked a five mile round trip from Waikiki to find Mama Kim's after reading an article about the best poke on the island. Mama Kim's delivers! The fish is fresh, the rice is perfect and the crab salad is bomb. Didn't try the poke with sauce on it as a sashimi purist but would go back in a hot second! Super nice staff as well!

    Kilauea bowl
    Kylie S.

    I love Mama Kim's. My uber eats history will confirm this lol I've literally ordered from them two days in a row.. My go to is always a two choice poke bowl, usually with spicy ahi and shoyu ahi. Comes with 3 sides, I usually go with avocado, crab salad and takuan. Definitely add on the toppings such as furikake or garlic chips! Bowls have the option of regular white rice or sushi rice (always get the sushi rice)! The fish is always fresh and good quality! I've also tried the Kilauea bowl which was seared salmon and spicy salmon with toppings like crab salad and unagi sauce. So yummy!! No question that I will continue to support them!

    Celine L.

    One of the top poke spots we went to. I love all the customizations they do to their poke and everything was perfect. Customer service is great, [[HIGHLIGHT]]seating is small, but the food was phenomenal.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Their fish and tamago egg is great and get all the toppings. Just delicious. I still dream about this place from time to time.

    Marissa K.

    Love their poke bowls! I got their spicy ahi with avacado poke bowl! This hit the spot! One of the best poke bowl spots on the island! Sooo good!

    Poké with a view
    Sarah G.

    Mama Kim's famous poke was a delicious last meal in Honolulu. We got a half salad, half sushi rice bowl with soy salmon and tuna sashimi, seaweed salad (extra seaweed), cucumber salad, crab salad, garlic chips, furikake, Bubu Arare, and a spicy Ahi handroll. The poke was fresh, flavorful. The Pokéman were super friendly and we received a top notch service! A perfect goodbye to the island's food scene.

    E- P.

    OMG!! Was referred to Mama Kim's and this place did not disappoint!!!! Glad we got to eat here on our quick vacay trip. Had the Red Dragon Bowl and the Chirashi Bowl. By far the BEST meal we've eaten in Oahu!! Can't wait to come back!!!

    Seared Garlic Salmon Poke- delicious!

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    4 months ago

    I had the spicy tuna hand roll & the spicy scallop hand roll. Both so good & full filling!

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    Soonie K.

    Mahalo Steph for stopping by!!! We hope to see you again soon :)

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    Soonie K.

    Mahalo Nick for your review and we hope to see and your wife soon! :)

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    3 months ago

    Only been there once but salmon poke bowl was very good and natto hand roll was very good also. Service was great.

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    Food was excellent, very tasty!!! Portion sizes were small but definitely worth going back to try…read moremore dishes! Corn, rib eye sticks, Kalbi bao buns!!!!

    Little Plum is always an enjoyable experience. First of all, the restaurant is quaint and…read morecomfortable. The dining area is one open area, the table setting is cozy with its crochet coaster and wooden chopsticks rest. There's an open kitchen so you can watch the chefs put love into each dish. My server even pointed out who will be making my crispy pork belly. The wait staff is so helpful and welcoming. They made sure our vegan friend was well-taken care of. She suggested the mushroom jook where they would put the chicken on the side. They even added more mushroom to elevate his dining experience! Today we ordered family style, which they happily accommodated for us. They served the rice on the side. Our menu included short rib bao and shiitake bao (vegan), ume tomato, namul, spicy miso eggplant, crispy pork belly, menchi katsu, and mushroom jook. The standouts were the crispy pork belly with its watercress tomato onion salad, the ume tomato on whipped tofu, and spicy miso eggplant. The mushroom jook is so comforting, hearty and full of flavor served with chicken confit and a soy egg. The two desserts offered are both winners. The mochi churro with kinako and anglaise is crispy, light and creamy. The pineapple orange pudding is so cool and refreshing. And, 100% of dessert sales go to the culinary team! What?! Love this place. Plus, with you check are some fun asian candies -white rabbit and haw flakes! I haven't been there for dinner yet. That'll be next.

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    Ki Club

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    Went here for my birthday dinner. Thoroughly surprised at how good the food was and the service…read more Beautiful, modern interior and the atmosphere was chic. The menu has changed to a more tapa style. We went with our two young children & they were very accommodating. We ordered a bunch of stuff but most notable was the Ensalada Salad, Croquette Cordero, Taco Raisu, Karaage Pollo, and for dessert, the Piña Borracha. We ordered some pork and steak skewers. These were ok, I would skip these next time. A little burnt. My favorite was the Ensalada Salad. The crab was sweet and the salsa opaca was so refreshing with the apple foam. Was told to smash the crisp on top and combine it with everything and that took it to another level! So good that we ordered another one. The price of this was so affordable too! The Croquette Cordero was like a mini curry ball with chimuchirri sauce. A little heavy but if you love curry, this is for you! The Taco Raisu surprised us. The taco meat was so flavorful!! Even though we were stuffed, we kept going back for more. It's like a deconstructed taco & you use the lettuce as a wrap. The Karaage Pollo came with a Cucumber Escabeche. It was so tangy and refreshing, which perfectly cuts through the rich, savory oiliness of the fried chicken. We got the Piña Borracha for dessert and that had a coconut cake, coconut lime mousse, banana lilikoi curd, and pasted pineapple on top. Amazing!! Great way to end the night. Everything was top notch. You can tell they put a lot of effort into each dish. Can't wait to go back!

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    Miro Kaimuki - The Counter

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    Became a fan of Chef Kajioka after dining at Cafe Miro in January. As we were planning a trip back…read morein August for the wifey's bday, I definitely wanted to head back and made reservations for The Counter as I saw pics on IG of their meal here. We lucked out and found street parking nearby. As we walked into the restaurant, we were quickly greeted by the host/server who showed us to our seats along the U shaped counter. Loved the clean and modern decor inside the restaurant. As we sat down, our water cups were quickly filled and the only few questions they had for us was whether we wanted the wine pairing and we wanted to add the caviar toast and shaved truffles. We opted for the wine pairing, caviar toast and truffles. The meal was fantastic from start to finish. The most notable dishes for me were the ahi and caviar toast, cold corn soup, the lobster and the dessert. Sadly the portion of the toast here was about 1/2 the size of what we had at the cafe and unfortunately they didn't have uni for the night (maybe don't go on a Tuesday). Service was fantastic but they did have a few hiccups which were tolerable as the food was amazing. The wine pairing was also good and paired well with the dishes. As we are currently planning our trip back later this year, we will definitely head back to either the cafe (if the remodel is completed) or back to the counter for another meal. This is likely the best meal we've had in HNL in quite some time and highly recommend it.

    Beautiful food, prix fixe menu that delivers texture, creativity and luscious flavor…read more Unexpected gem in a cute Honolulu neighborhood.

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    Morimoto Asia Waikiki

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    My bad review is entirely based on how terrible the food was. For context, we ordered Tonkatsu…read moreramen and Tsukemen dipping ramen. Ramen, according to the server, was the most popular thing on the menu, so how likely could it get messed up? Tonkatsu: Rich, but lacked any salt or had very little. We requested some salt and that instantly made the ramen better. The noodles had enough salt to carry it, but the broth was not great. It tasted like the broth was watered down or reconstituted, however no seasoning was added to re-adjust the broth. Broth: Had little salt and lacked punch, umami, and was brown instead of white. Noodles: Had enough salt to taste good, but was slightly overcooked Pork: Extremely bland. Tasted like zero salt was added during cooking. Toppings: Greatly lacking in toppings Tsukemen: The Tsukemen had a lot of the same issues. Now being a dipping ramen, the broth should be even richer and more flavorful than any normal ramen. Tsukemen -- no matter where you have it in Japan, should be richer and saltier than most broths, but the broth here was severely lacking. For $26 a bowl this was worse than your DIY frozen ramen packs. Now I'm not asking for Japan-level of ramen mastery here, this is after all, just a tourist spot -- but if your Tonkatsu is the best selling item, you have to step it up. Our server did mention that some people complained about the amount of salt in ramen, so they adjusted it. But dare I say, instead of diluting the normal salt/seasoning amount for everyone, couldn't you just add a separate, flavor-light version for people inexperienced with ramen, instead of diluting the original for everyone else? If you're reading this Mr. Morimoto, I would highly encourage you to fly here and order the ramen. I think you and I would share the same opinions. P.S. I've also been to your other Morimoto spots and it was not this bad.

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    So glad we ate here! Looks like there are lots of hip options in Chinatown, and we would have…read morewalked around and tried even more if we had had more time. We had a 4 hour layover in Honolulu and it was a quick 15 minute Lyft ride here to Lucky Belly. We were the only party here right at 5:30 pm. Loved the art and clean simple elegance of the exposed brick wall and wood tables. We were greeted and served by a very friendly host. We had the duck tacos, plus the special dim sum appetizer combo of pork belly bao, lobster dumplings and oxtail dumplings. We could not pick a favorite. The variety of textures was fantastic and each of the meat fillings were perfectly seasoned and tender, delicious! Each had a different sauce- just enough, not too much. Nothing was spicy but there was chili oil on the table if you wanted to add more heat. We got 2 nonalcoholic spritzers, one lilikoi and one hibiscus, which were each refreshing and complimented the meal. Since the service was so efficient, after eating, we still had time to zip over to Magic Island to stroll around, take in the scene and enjoy the sunset before heading back to the airport. Our last evening in Hawaii was really special thanks to this delightful restaurant!

    Unfortunately I can only give 1 star. This used to be one of our favorite places to eat. Sadly- we…read morewon't go back. Started with the appearance. Everything seemed unkept, dusty, window seal by door had not been wiped in a long time. Looked like old Christmas decorations... and it's now august. The white walls had gecko dropping running down them. The final straw were the roaches that visited us at the bar. We could see them in the bar mats . I did bring it to the attention of the young girl behind the bar- she said "Oh sorry" shrugged her shoulders and said- "that's Chinatown." I can't believe how rundown this place has gotten. Oh, we did eat there- prior to seeing the roaches- food was not the same. Chicken mandarin salad lacked dressing, Beast bowl broth was disappointing.

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    Mama Kim’s - poke - Updated August 2026

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