If you're at Waikele Premium Outlets and craving something truly satisfying, this spot is a must‑try. The combination plates are grand -- you get a little bit of everything, and every bite hits the spot. The miso butterfish is unbelievably tender, the shrimp tempura is perfectly crisp, the teriyaki chicken is flavorful, and the salmon is cooked just right. Even the miso soup (yes, hot miso soup, not "miso hot" like I almost said!) is comforting and delicious. It's authentic Japanese comfort food done right, and you can taste the care in every dish. I absolutely love this place and always leave happy and full. A fantastic stop during any shopping trip. Marie read more

Pre mom day for our mama..... We were the second ones to be seated for a party of 6. Everything was going ok....We got our waters and hot tea at a timely matter: But after that everything just went down hill. Waited almost an hour for our food while the people That came after us had already theirs. Then one at a time our food came out. Then it stalled.... Food was coming out like 10-15 minutes apart ... and it doesn't make sense to bring out bowls of rice and dipping sauce first when the main entree isn't ready yet. So the dipping sauce and rice ended up Getting cold. The unacceptable part was we were the ones who had to ask about our foods. No apologies. And this one server blamed it on the vent as to why the food was taking a long time. LMFAO !!!!!!!! If they only knew that a couple people on that table has had almost 35 years of restaurant experience. Like be honest call it what it is... yall couldn't handle. You screwed up. Etc.... The entire experience was disorganized. And some unnecessary attitude from the wait staff. Then one of our soups were wrong ! At that point we immediately asked for take our boxes and our check..... SO OVER IT!!! the whole mom day experience for us were ruined. Never ever again. ...... 0 stars !! read more

See all

When there is a lot of you, the party boat is a must have! It was fulfilling for my whole family. 2 adults, 4 children! Great service. Made sure we had everything we needed. As that our waters and tea were topped off when empty. Food was fresh and presentation great. read more

Restaurant Kunio - The Funamori Party Boat - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Girl's Day luncheon with family. My meal was a step down from the great food experience I come to expect from Restaurant Kunio. Service was on the slower side. A few minutes after the water was brought out the server came back and said ,you no what you want? With no smile. The tempura was the talk of the table. It came out white with no crunch. One guest mentioned that shrimp was not cooked through. I also had the Ikura maki sushi. The serving board was wet, only under the ikura. The other pieces of maki was ok. will try again. Enjoy read more

Restaurant Kunio - Miso Butter Fish and vegetable tempura. - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

The food is top notch here. The word is out as the lines are long even at 730 pm on a Monday. We decided the lines are wait was too long so we bought 2 gift cards. They sell gift cards in increments of $25 dollars. We asked for 2 with $100 on each. It was quick and painless and will use them in the future when the wait isn't over 30 minutes. I suggest you could spoil a friend or family member with a nice gift that they'll be grateful for. I guarantee it! read more

See all

Took a friend here for a belated birthday lunch. Comfortable atmosphere , prompt service and Ono food. The three of us all chose the combo with Miso Butterfish and a different second choice. The Butterfish was good although it was different than the last time we had it. Not as moist. One with beef, tempura shrimp and tempura veggies. read more

See all

Great japanese restaurant in waikele! Waikele doesn't have many food options so Kunio is always a solid option for good japanese food. I haven't been in years because the wait is always pretty long since they don't take reservations, but we went on Sunday around 2pm and didn't have to wait long. We ordered the gyudon and chicken katsudon. The chicken katsudon was great and was super flavorful, especially the rice that soaked up all the sauce. The gyudon was ok, some of the meat was pretty tough and there wasn't really a sauce on it so the rice was pretty plain. The noodles on top were a nice touch though. Service was really fast and very attentive. read more

Restaurant Kunio - gyudon - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

See all

Went in at 1040AM and was seated immediately. There were about 4 other tables already seated. Our order was taken immediately and food came out very quickly. By the time our food came out, the whole restaurant was already filled :)). Everything tasted YUMMY. My only complaint was the hamchi/tobiko roll I ordered was only 5 pieces, LOL. But it was good.. I felt like I was ripped some pieces, hahaha.. read more

See all

Update on 3-3-26. My brother took me husband and our 2 nieces out to lunch to celebrate girls day. Thank you Craig T. I had the beef sukiyaki and everybody else had their teishoku combo. My sukiyaki was good not to sweet and not salty. Had lots of noodles, tofu, beef, and bok choi cabbage, and 1 egg. I enjoyed the sukiyaki. The others enjoyed their combo I guess but my brother and husband said they wish the tempura was cooked a little longer it was white in color and the shrimp looks raw inside. Other than that it was good. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Beef sukiyaki - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

See all

My favorite place to go..I love coming here,they're located at the waikele shopping center however they get really busy & they do not take reservations so i recommend you to come early & put your name on that list!!food is amazing & never dissapoints,my kids love to get the salmon box & udon,if you want a variety of things & there's 4 of yall or more then the kunio boat is the way to go!!it comes with a variety of sashimi,sushi,shrimp/vegetable tempura.Shrimp,chicken katsu,steak,& lobster..it's also serve with salad,miso soup,& 3 different sides.They have so much food options to choose from & the employees are very friendly! read more

See all

Located in Waikele Shopping Center across the parking lot from Lowe's. In the same small lot where Baskin Robbin's, Genki and Subway are. They don't take ressies and the wait can get long. The menu offers hot and cold noodles, sushi, donburi and set lunches and combo's You can choose 2 items from 2 groups AB or just one group A or B. The price depends on the combo you choose. Everything comes with miso soup, appetizer and rice. The portions are big IMO and worth the $24-26 price. I chose the soft shell crab and mixed tempura combo (AB). The tempura was so good! Light and not overly greasy. There was shrimp, fish, sweet potato and other vegetable. I was full 3/4 of the meal so I didn't see what the other tempura was. The 2 small soft shell crab was juicy but maybe a little greasy- it wasn't a tempura battered. My other friends had the katsu ( tender and not dry) and scallop/miso butterfish combo. It was a pretty big piece of butterfish and was done just right- soft and tasty. It was lunch hour and the staff was pretty busy but we didn't have to wait too long. We did have to flag the servers down for refills on tea and water We all agreed that for what we got and the food was more reasonable than other comparable restaurants read more

Restaurant Kunio - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

See all

Arrived 5 minutes to opening at 10:30 and there was about 4 parties in front of us. Once the doors opened we were seated right away. If you come later or dinner you may have to wait a while. We ordered, food came out quick. My order is always a spider roll and the combo AB with miso butterfish and whatever else I feel like eating, this day was sashimi. Whenever I come with family and friends we order the boat which is a variety of a bunch of everyone's favorites. Anytime I come here it never disappoints. Can't wait to be back! read more

See all

Kunios has ALWAYS been a go to for our special occasions for years, we went on Valentine's Day this year and usually we get the party boat but tonight was just 3 of us so we had a chance to eat things we don't usually get. Everytime we go I always see people get the sizzling plates so I tried the ribeye and my mom and fiance got two AB combos which were also amazing. I was SOOOO impressed by the sheer size of my steak and it was amazing. Going out to eat for under 100$ is something hard to come by these days. & for this much food, we were full, happy, and had a whole meal to take home! The wait Time here can get long especially if you go at rush hour but it's definitely worth it. & special shoutout to Edison for always welcoming us with such a kind demeanor. Thanks kunios for making our valentines dinner a special one, and affordable one! read more

See all

Ordered tendon. It was ok but everything was very soggy and little flavor. The one star is because the waitress gave me an old menu. When actually the new menu prices were two to three dollars more on every item. This is the second time they do this to me. I keep going back for punishmemt cause my son likes japanese and theres not many options. read more

At 4:01 pm today, I placed a take out order for 3 meals. Pick-up time was 4:40 pm. Name and phone number provided. And the preciseness of the phone call is because it is saved in my call log. It was a 59 second call. Show up at exactly 4:40 pm and was told they don't have an order for me. No apologies. No nothing. My wife asked to speak with the manager, and the person working the register said there was no manager in. My wife said so you're working without a manager and the girl said I am the manager... Again, no apologies. No nothing. A+ customer service. read more

See all

Wow, I haven't come here in a while but from reading some of these reviews looks like we got lucky with the hit or miss experience. Kunio's is one of my family's go-to Japanese restaurants even though there is a couple places closer to our house. My sister's family came here last week for my niece's birthday and they got a boat so over the weekend, we were talking about "The Boat" of food and my cousin's husband got super excited about it. When my mom made plans to meet them for dinner, this was the place we chose to go. We got to the restaurant and put our name down around 5:30pm (on Monday 12/22/25) and was told it would be approximately 45 minutes to wait for a party of 7. No problem. We sat on a bench outside and just hung out and chatted. Small world, we knew the couple who were sitting on the bench, cousin of one of our aunties. So the time went fast and we watched the other families get called. Sure enough, the wait was just about 45 minutes. We also had time to really look at the menu (even though we knew we were gonna get the boat). Once we got seated and watered, we took another look at the menu for anything else we might want. The gal who seated us answered a few questions I had, specifically about the chawanmushi that I couldn't have cause it has shrimp inside. :( Super sad face. But I think I had asked that on a previous visit. I will keep looking for a no-shrimp chawanmushi. In addition to the Funamori Party Boat, we also got Kampyo (calabash gourd) and Kappa (cucumber) maki, keiki meal, and combo plate of fried scallops and vegetable tempura. Now let me tell you what is in the boat. It says "feeds 4" and comes with appetizer, miso soup, salad and rice. There is lobster tail, shrimp, shrimp and veggie tempura, chicken katsu, teriyaki beef, sashimi and sushi. The sushi is nigiri sushi that had ahi, salmon, shrimp and another fish (i forget what it was) while the sashimi was ahi, salmon and the other fish. Because we had a combo meal and kid's meal, we ended up having enough rice for everyone and didn't have to order extra sides! Everything tasted good....and we ate pretty much everything. I ended up taking home 3 pieces of katsu and a few slices of beef so I had a nice bit of leftovers to take to work. I would say if you have a group that will eat everything on the boat, definitely get the party boat! It was a nice deviation from my normal of just vegetable tempura and udon so I enjoyed it. Plus there was a lot of other people to eat the shrimp so I was totally ok with that. The keiki meal came with ice cream (we got vanilla for the baby) but we also got a scoop of melon ice cream which had small bits of mochi in it! Yum! read more

See all

Best Japanese restaurant hands down! We go here a few times a year and get the same thing the furinari boat!

Stopped in last Tuesday around 7pm--short wait. Tiny spot in the Waikele strip mall, but clean and refreshed. Friendly staff put us on the 10‑minute waitlist anyway--smart move. Fooled around with a combination plate for two. The miso butterfish combo plate packed flavor, and the shrimp tempura had real crunch. Execution overall good but not flawless. Noise level was noticeable when busy, and seating is tight. For $20‑30 per person, though, you get quality sushi, hearty bento combos, and vibe that says "this is Hawai'i Japanese comfort at its best." Would I go back? Yeah, for casual dinners or lunch on a weekday to skip rush." Overall Take Restaurant Kunio in Waipahu delivers decent Japanese food in generous portions with fresh ingredients and friendly service. It leans casual, slightly loud at peak times, and isn't omakase-level sushi--but it's reliable, satisfying, and a smart choice if you want a hearty Japanese meal without breaking the bank. The Funamori boat is worth the spectacle alone. If you're looking for upscale sushi finesse, skip it. If you want everyday authentic Japanese comfort food with a fun vibe in the 'burbs of Honolulu--this is your spot. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

My recommendation here is the tempura. It's crispy batter you can't really do at home. The sushi is also good. The only thing not a fan of is the chicken katsu which has a slight aftertaste I don't like. I like simple clean katsu taste. read more

Amazing food, ambiance is casual and the wait can be long. However well worth it! The staff our pleasant and friendly.

Love this lace!! After shopping all day, this place has sushi bar, beer, so good japanese food. Lots of parking, first come first serve. Staff is always so nice and welcoming. They have the real Shrimp tempura, no frozen please. All the food is on point and never disappoints. Chill and comfortable, restaurant. Everything was so flavorful fresh and tasteful. Been coming here like forever, and I hope to continue many more years. See you there, cheery read more

See all

A locals favorite, always a long wait. The food is decent at best. The traditional Japanese meal is good. Service was inconsistent at best, we did have problems with the order how our food came out. read more

See all

I went in on a Thursday night and it wasn't that busy. We had no wait! I guess it was just luck. It's a small restaurant. We ordered two different combination plates and the oyakodon. The food was good, but in total it cost $100. It didn't really make us full. The dynamite roll we got was about $12, but it didn't even look like full roll. The service was a bit slow and they didn't really check up on us. And you could tell other customers were feeling a bit frustrated, some came to the receptionist because they got tired of waiting. read more

See all

We met with my eldest sister to take care of family business before my upcoming scheduled knee replacement surgery in late July. She suggested having a casual lunch at Waikele's Restaurant Kunio, where she and her late husband often dined since moving to O'ahu from California some twenty years ago. As soon as she mentioned this restaurant, we told her we had eaten there regularly from the late 1980s through the 1990s because we'd often golf at West O'ahu courses with our golf buddies. However, since our and our golf buddies' residences were closer to the 'Aiea and Mānoa neighborhoods, we changed our 19th hole eating and drinking closer to home. Still, her lunch suggestion was appreciated as we fondly remembered the friendly and cozy family atmosphere, delicious authentic or classic Japanese cuisine, and value in West O'ahu. My sister decided to drive and arrived at the restaurant around 1 p.m. A group of eight people was waiting outside the restaurant, and when we signed into the wait list, we saw how busy the restaurant was. A server called us into the restaurant and seated our threesome with menus in a booth. Our server quickly brought us glasses of iced water and told us she'd return to take our order as she hurried to assist another table. We weren't in a rush and understood she was slammed with other diners seated before us. Besides, waiting gave us more time to decide on our meals, even though my husband and I considered ordering the Lunch Specials. Alas, my sister had other plans. She informed us that she would be treating us to lunch since we had treated her and her other lady friend at Da Seafood Cartel. She also ordered the Funamori Party Boat (feeds 4) $164.99, saying that we're "fellow Chowhounds" who would truly enjoy it with her. In the past, we have seen the Funamori Party Boat being delivered to other tables, but our golf foursome never ordered it. The server jokingly said, "You must be hungry since you're ordering the party boat." Yes, we were hungry since all three of us had eaten a very light breakfast earlier in the morning. The server returned to the kitchen with three sets of hot miso soup, appetizers, and house salad. Between servicing the other tables, she checked our eating progress and returned to clear our table. Then came "SHOWTIME!" Our server hefted the nearly 3-foot-long Funamori Party Boat to our table, and other diners gawked as she passed before them. The Funamori Party Boat had a serving area a little better than 30" which was piled high with two lobster tails, ramekins of clarified butter, shrimp, and assorted vegetables tempura, a ramekin of tentsuyu, beef teriyaki, chicken katsu, tonkatsu, a ramekin of katsu sauce, eight pieces of assorted nigiri sushi, and sashimi. As she set the humongous boat on the table, she said she'd be right back with bowls of steamed rice, and several other diners came by to admire our order. We attacked the Funamori Party Boat like termites infesting a prime piece of pine wood by starting with and finishing the fresh sashimi and made-to-order nigiri sushi. Then, we moved on to the lobster tails with liberal clarified butter dipping. My husband was the first to eat the airy and crunchy crisp shrimp tempura, chicken katsu, and tonkatsu. At the same time, my sister and I dove into the vegetable tempura and beef teriyaki. Before we knew it, we had eaten all the seafood and tempura. We had leftover chicken katsu, tonkatsu, and beef teriyaki, which the server happily boxed for us along with an extra serving of miso soup, appetizers, and rice to take home. During our feast, we thanked my sister for reminding us about Restaurant Kunio's good food, service, and value. She was glad to see us enjoy this restaurant's specialty and said she had been waiting for some time to order it to share. read more

See all

Takeout Dinner from Waikele, O'ahu, Hawaii... I read some stellar reviews and some not so great ones. Only Gabriel's review was within the past year, so I felt relatively safe in getting a meal here. Located in the lower part of Waikele Premium Outlet, next to what used to be Party City, Restaurant Kunio was very busy on a Sunday night. The parking lot was full, too! I had to park past Genki... over by Chili's! People who wanted to dine-in signed up on the clipboard... and waited patiently outside. Some sat next door at Baskin-Robbins where there's tables and chairs on the sidewalk. The cashier was busy, but was able to take my order and let me know that it would be about a half an hour wait. I paid and sat outside on a bench in perfect 70°F weather at 8pm in January! No jacket nor shoes needed. Yay! A nice man called my name and handed me a brown paper bag with 4 containers of food stacked up! The top container was miso soup. It fell over a couple of times in the car, but didn't leak! The other containers carried teriyaki beef in one; rice, edamame, wakame, and green salad in another; and miso butterfish and tonkatsu on the bottom! Everything tasted great! The beef teriyaki had some grilled flavor! The tonkatsu's panko was still crunchy! The miso butterfish had some koge tips... yum! Nothing was hard nor dry! They were all cooked to perfection! Maybe I'll get a chance to dine in one day... read more

See all

went on a Saturday at 2 PM and it was crowded waited about 20 minutes for a seat for 4 people. The food came quickly and it was hot and good quality. The teri beef is worth. i would not get the tempura again because it was a little soggy but the butterfish was good. lot of servers and always got a water refill. read more

Every single time I come to waikele for dinner or lunch there is literally always people in front of this restaurant and today I finally was able to stand in front of this restaurant with them to wait to go sit inside and eat. Upon coming, you go inside and sign in on a paper and you choose dining or sushi with only me and my boyfriend and no kids with us. We chose the sushi bar so we didn't have a wait at all. Inside is a bit tight I can see that you could bring a stroller or a wheelchair but you would need some maneuvering around because it is pretty tight in there. Their sashimi is so fresh and I really enjoyed it. The sushi was also pretty good. The rolls that we got did not disappoint and the sushi rice however they make it was pretty good too. I didn't really like the Unagi that I ordered. It was a little bit too fishy for me, but everything else was very good. Their hamachi Kama was a nice big portion and the butter fish was also very tasty and cooked perfectly. It seems to me that the plates all come with me so soup and a salad. The salad was really good more of a sesame balsamic dressing or something and the miso soup was also pretty good too a nice way to start off our meal. They also give a little appetizer that came with edamame, bean, sprouts, and seaweed. The service here is also really good. Our server was really nice. This was our first time and she knew so she gave us some recommendations. We definitely wanna come back for another date night to try out the menu more. We didn't get to dessert because we ordered a little bit too much, but I'm definitely gonna try their dessert next time. Parking does get pretty tough because the parking lot doesn't have too much spaces, but there is a lot of parking around the area so we just parked across the street closer to Lowe's and it wasn't a bad walk. It's literally across the street. read more

See all

This place is pretty good, located in Waikele Shopping Center. I'd rate the food quality around 7/10 not the best, but decent. The ambience is a solid 9/10 since the decor really captures the feel of a traditional Japanese restaurant, and the servers were friendly. We were seated immediately upon arrival, so I'd give the accommodation a 10/10. Our waitress came by right away to hand us the menus and take our drink orders. She gave us plenty of time to look over the menu, which was great, and when she returned to take our order, she was polite and attentive. One downside is the parking it's pretty limited. If you're coming around dinner time (5-6 PM), finding a spot nearby can be tough. You might have to park across the street at Lowe's. We ordered the party boat, which was $165. While it's meant to serve four adults, it felt a bit lacking for us even though it was just me, my wife, and our two small kids. Maybe we just eat a lot, but it seemed like there was too much shrimp tempura and not enough sushi or chicken katsu. Overall, we had a great experience and will definitely return, though we'll probably skip the party boat next time. I'd rate the overall experience 8/10. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Party Boat - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

See all

I came here for my birthday dinner. Years ago pre covid, they used to offer free birthday meals, but now no more. I know they can get very busy with long wait times so I went early around 4:30pm ish to beat the dinner rush. My mom and I ordered the combo bento AA. I got the shrimp tempura and salmon and she got the shrimp tempura and miso butterfish. The food was absolutely delicious!! The combo bento comes with miso soup and veggie sides. Our server kept asking us throughout our meal if we wanted hot tea and we kept declining because we thought there was a charge on it haha! We finally figured out it was free when she asked one more time when she gave us our bill! Next time we know! I noticed the restaurant filled up around 5:15 ish so we came at a good time! :) read more

Restaurant Kunio - Combination AA set - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

We dined here for dinner. Unfortunately the night we went, the sushi chef was not there. So we could not order anything from the sushi menu. We were going to order the sushi boat to share. I ended up ordering the beef teriyaki, miso butterfish, and tonkatsu. The beef teriyaki and tonkatsu were good. The miso butterfish need a sauce. Mines was dry while my spouses one had a sauce on. I ended up pouring shoyu over it to give it flavor. Though the food of OK, our server was great. She kept checking in on us and refilled water glasses. read more

Still the best! Always a line though no matter lunch or dinner. Staff usually seem on edge but are good at getting to you. Small and crowded is this restaurant. read more

See all

Japanese comfort food in Hawaii is just the best! This spot is a classic, Japanese spot that serves everything ranging from tempura, sushi, bentos, soba, rice bowls and more! I got lunch special sushi set, as well as an unagi don. My dad loved his soba and tempura set, and we were absolutely stuffed and satisfied after the end of our meal. Also, the miso soup here was really good! Definitely recommend checking it out if you're in Waipahu, especially after shopping at the outlets. read more

See all

One of our favorite go to Japanese restaurants. You do get salad, miso soup, and some pickled veggies. Service is always excellent, ambiance represents local Japanese art in a cozy and comfy restaurant. Our fave waitress Kaitlyn always gives us excellent service. This is a must try! read more

Restaurant Kunio - Ribeye and lobster tail - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

See all

We made brunch reservations for our group of 13 (I think reservations are only for large parties) a few weeks ago for this past Sunday at 12pm. They called our party in at around 12:05pm. I've been to this place a handful of times and the food is always really good. A few of my family members went for the funamori party boat but I wasn't that hungry so I ordered a chirashi bowl for myself. The seafood was very fresh in my chirashi. The service was good & everyone enjoyed their food. I just wouldn't recommend coming here with a group larger than 6 people. It was really tight with the 13 of us. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Chirashi - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

See all

Great food & service! Cannot go wrong with the fresh fish everyday! Gatta call to make sure the fish bar is open and what times! Wait time sometimes long but worth da wait! read more

Food here are always good. My favorite is the Nabeyaki Udon , although prices has gone up. This is still one of my favorite Japanese restaurant on the west side. Staff here are very knowledgeable so the menu and very friendly, inside this restaurant is very clean as well. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Shrimp tempura - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

See all

Haven't been to this restaurant in a while, i know it gets crowded so went at opening at 10:30 am so i didn't have to wait for a table. The food here is still great as always. I got my combination A-A which was a choice of two items from the A menu and i got shrimp tempura and miso butterfish for $22.75. Comes with miso soup, appetizers, and you can ask for complimentary hot green tea. The miso butterfish was a generous portion and very juicy. The tempura was great as well. The price is good for what you get compared to other places that charge a lot more for miso butterfish. Service here was top notch as always. read more

See all

This place is a local favorite and always has a wait. We always order the bento boxes. For me I get the butterfish and shrimp tempura. My husband gets the chicken katsu, Teri beef and sashimi. And we get the salmon box sushi to share. It's always a hit and the prices are reasonable. It's super cute and homey inside with very good service. We love coming here. read more

See all

I went here for weekday lunch, and it was not busy at all, which made the experience really smooth. The fish was very good, fresh, and definitely the highlight of the meal. Parking was easy, with no issues finding a spot, making the visit even more convenient. read more

At one time 5 stars. Our family always used to love eating there. Food was great and staff were nice. Minus 4 stars. Lately, the food not so good and even the staff are uncourteous. Not worth it anymore to wait for a table because the food and the help are no longer worth waiting for. read more