I'd give this restaurant more than 5 stars if I could. We came here THREE days in a row during our…read moreone week stay in Oahu. I've heard this place gets pretty busy, but thankfully we didn't have to wait all three times (perhaps it was because we went after 7pm and it was storming all week?..). While the food was absolutely amazing, Jesse (especially) and the rest of the guys here, made our meals so special and fun each time. We got the Nishiki and Take each time (last time with the Ikura Shower!) and tried the crab, salmon and regular miso soup, and udon. We're so sad SoCal doesn't have anything like this at this price point. We'd highly recommend giving this a try (and making a reservation if needed!!!).

From start to finish, we had a wonderful time at this pleasant little spot. The staff is kind and…read morewelcoming. We were lucky we got here before the Friday lunch rush. Otherwise, be prepared for a bit of a wait. Our bowls were well balanced, flavorful and delicious. You could tell ingredient was selected and treated with care. The shrimp was incredibly sweet and succulent. We enjoyed the homemade soy sauce, fresh wasabi and yuzu ginger as well. My partner got the egg yolk shoyu dipping sauce, which added a layer of unctuous richnesss to the bowl. They are currently byob and Waialae mini mart is just a few doors down. We had a lovely time and hope to come back soon.

The highlight of our Hawaii trip! We loved Ginza Bairin so much that we went TWICE during our trip…read more We visited on our previous trip to Hawaii, and it was an absolute must-revisit this time around. If you're visiting Honolulu and love Japanese tonkatsu, do yourself a favor and put this place on your list! The absolute star of the show is the Specialty Kurobuta Pork Loin Katsu. Out of this world! Kurobuta pork is basically the Waygu of the pork world. This pork comes from the Berkshire pig which produces more flavorful, more tender pork. The pork is perfectly cooked, incredibly tender, and coated in a beautifully crispy breading. Every bite is exactly what you want from a great tonkatsu. And PLEASE, don't sleep on the unlimited refills of cabbage, miso soup, and rice! The rice deserves its own shoutout. Ginza Bairin serves premium Tsuyahime white rice from Yamagata, Japan, and it is hands down the best rice I've ever had. The grains are plump, fluffy, and delicious, with that wonderful texture that makes you keep reaching for another bowl. Shamelessly admitting that I ate THREE bowls of rice, and I have absolutely zero regrets. My husband doesn't eat pork or beef, so he ordered the chicken katsu and said it was the best chicken katsu he's ever had. That's a pretty impressive endorsement, especially from someone who eats chicken katsu regularly. Families with little ones, this place is fantastic! They're incredibly kid-friendly, with child-sized cups, forks, spoons, and plates. Even better, the kids' meals come in the cutest little blue or pink car-shaped trays that my son absolutely loved. You can choose chicken katsu or shrimp tempura, served with rice, cabbage salad, macaroni salad, and a kids' juice box. It's thoughtful touches like these that make dining out with a toddler so much more enjoyable. The service was amazing, too. Everyone was friendly, welcoming, and attentive, making the whole experience even better. A few helpful tips: - Make a reservation ahead of time if you can, but walk-ins are welcome, too. - There are two "restaurants": the main dining room primarily accommodates reservations, while the other side is mainly for walk-ins. Don't worry, the food is impeccable on both sides! - Free validated parking for up to 1.5 hours is available at the Bank of Hawaii Waikiki Business Center underground garage, which is a huge plus in Waikiki. Ginza Bairin checks all the boxes: exceptional food, premium ingredients, generous refills, warm service, and a genuinely family-friendly atmosphere. The fact that we went twice in one trip says everything. This is one of those restaurants that stays on your must-visit list every time you return to Hawaii. Already dreaming about that pork katsu and another three bowls of rice!

This is my favorite tonkatsu place by far, and we love this place for it's Kurobota katsu, but you…read morehave to get here early to try it. They only have about 20 orders available daily, so we always make sure to make early reservations for dinner. It's a small place, so seating can be limited, and although they do take walk ins, you really should make a reservation. Free validated parking is available next door in the parking garage beneath the Bank of Hawaii building. I really like how light and crispy their tonkatsu is here. And the Kurobota katsu just melts in your mouth! If they don't have that available their Bairin Pork Tenderloin Katsu is always excellent too! My girlfriend also likes their Katsu-Dons. Sets come with free refills of rice, miso soup, cabbage, and pickles. Last night they also had several new wagyu additions to the menu that we haven't seen before, along with a wagyu beef nigiri that we had to try and thoroughly enjoyed. Service here is fast and very friendly! We have always enjoyed coming here and the staff take great care of their customers. They also offer a Kamaaina discount for locals with a Hawaii ID, which is really fantastic for people like us who live here and enjoy this place!

Wen to this place with my husband last night , the food was very good and beautiful place ,read more

TLDR: Highly anticipated and successfully delivered, with incredibly fresh food and that comes to…read moreyour table with a little extra touch I booked this place extraordinarily last minute but seeing that I was going solo I was able to get a space open during my ideal time! Best believe I would not be late. Food: Shrimp Tempura: 5/5 - I think this is the best shrimp I've had, ever. The tempura was fried to quintessential perfection. Seasoned, light, not greasy and a decent size? My god Experience: 5/5 I'm calling this experience because they do something different here which is you get to grind your sesame with mortar and pestle to create your sauce which I think is a genius interactive element that not only adds to food knowledge but also makes you present. You are partially eating what you create and I like that immersiveness. Part of what also makes it cool is the open kitchen concept. Being seated in the middle of the bar i was able to watch the chefs' process from start to finish which is always such fun to see. Otherwise the service was really good! Ambiance It was what I would call an elevated casual. Not too loud or feeling like you need to be very quiet. I think the price was fair for what I got and all its fixings but its definitely not cheap. With that being said though I do think its extremely worth it if you can get a seat!

Happy Hour 3-5pm! I…read morelike this izakaya side more than Mitch's original sushi restaurant because there's more variety of foods. Cooked dishes, fried dishes, lots of cooked seafood. Happy Hour chicken wings were tasty: we tried the spicy rub and sweet shoyu glaze and they were both great! Sushi is still available and delicious, and we also tried the butter scallops and Hokkaido crap tempura with matcha salt (yum!) Service was great and casual seating in booths or tables.

As you can already see this place has 5 stars for several reasons…read more 1. Quality of the food. 2. Variety 3. Everything freshly made. 4. Super friendly and accommodating staff 5. Easy access with street parking Yes it's somewhat off the beaten path, but a path worth taking. Was so ono!!

I've regularly visited Marugame at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, and this location was great if…read morenot better! I got kake udon and added 2 shrimp tempura, my usual order. Everything tasted consistent, which I was happy about. This place has a lot more seating available compared to South Coast Plaza, and there wasn't much of a wait (although we did go early at around 4:30 pm). Service was quick as always, and when I went to return my tray to the bins, one of the staff stepped in and offered to take my tray for me. Overall, this was a great dinner to have on our rainy last day in Oahu.

Some of the best udon I've had. Service is so incredibly fast, and not really a place to casually…read morechill and eat in. People come in and out constantly We got the #1 and #2 and some tempera on the side. The noodles are surprisingly filling just for a regular bowl that we barely finished our tempera. The chicken katsu is huge that it should've been the only fried addition we got but of course we got so much more. And the tempura sauce comes warm. Absolutely will come again

Fresh Hamachi with some really good Sapporo. Great prices for Happy hour. Happy hour indeed!read more

Food was decent - Yakitori was good, karaage lacked soy flavor, edamame was okay (it's tough to…read morescrew this up). So 3 stars seem adequate. Service, however, gets zero stars- none of the servers bothered to ask if we wanted a second glass of beer (they actually came around multiple times to our table, but they were so busy collecting empty plates that they never bothered to stop and ask if we needed anything else). The young-ish Asian server seemed very irritated that we asked for more food, while she seemed very happy to serve a big group of college boys at the next table. If you are a young guy, maybe it's a good place to go. If not, go elsewhere; there are other Japanese izakayas in town with better food and service.

Our favorite izakaya on Oahu! We first came to Aburiya Ibushi a few years ago and we always come…read morehere to eat on each trip. For me, the must haves are their potato salad that comes with this curry seasoning (although go easy on how much seasoning you get with each bite as it's salty) and the oxtail ramen. The oxtail ramen is honestly one of the best ramens I've had - so flavorful yet not heavy at all. This time, we didn't get any of the chargrilled dishes but in the past we have and they've all been fantastic. The shima hokke kamameshi was really good and filling - we had enough to take with us for leftovers. It's a smaller restaurant so highly recommend making a reservation. There's been time where there's been open tables but they have a sign saying they cannot take guests without reservations. Parking is street parking and depending on what time your dinner is, it can be hard to find parking. We often end up taking an uber to avoid the hassle.

This place is definitely a little hole in the wall! I honestly didn't even know it existed until my…read morefriend mentioned it. Overall, the food was good! I wouldn't say it's necessarily a place I'll keep coming back to regularly, but I did enjoy trying it. Here's what we ordered: 1. White Peach Chu-Hi: This was really good and refreshing! I enjoyed it and would definitely order it again. 2. House Potato Salad: Honestly, this one was a little strange to me. It tasted almost like potato salad mixed with taco seasoning. Not quite what I was expecting, and I don't think I'd order it again. 3. Grilled Mochi: This was good, but nothing particularly special or memorable to me. 4. Grilled Roast Beef Kamameshi: Definitely my favorite dish of the night! The meat was so tender, and I always love that slightly burnt, crispy rice at the bottom. We decided to add the egg, and I'm so glad we did! It went really well with the meat and rice. Such a satisfying dish! 5. Grilled Shio Sanma: This was good too! I'm not sure I know enough about Japanese cuisine to fully appreciate or critique this dish, but I enjoyed the texture. It had a nice combination of slightly crispy and soft textures. Overall, I'm glad my friend introduced me to this little spot! While I'm not sure it'll become part of my regular restaurant rotation, I enjoyed the experience and thought the food was good.

AMAZING!!! This is our ohana's favorite Izakaya, EVER, in Honolulu especially... The service is…read moreexceptional especially with Masu who made my birthday and our second son's birthday an incredible experience twice!!! They are lovely and spirited and you can tell they love what they do which even makes it so much fun and enjoyable. The food is incredibly fresh and delicious and my entire family could not stop ordering which expanded my bill but what the heck- price point is great. They have excellent tempura, sushi not found elsewhere, saba which was so yummy and even my favorite kitsuni and sukiyaki udon. The flavors of the chopped cabbage salad was delicious making you crave more along with their cold udon which we couldn't get enough! I don't know who many dishes we ordered but ALL were amazing! I love the family atmosphere for both young and seasoned, large or intimate- all my favorite . It's so lively and yet I feel like we were back in Japan filling our bellies with incredible Japanese cuisine. Domo Arigatouuntil next time- Bon Appetite

We came at 5:45pm and beat the dinner rush. Yukiko was so sweet and high energy. Ray was extra…read moreattentive and we never had to flag anyone down for anything. The food came out FAST and almost all at once. If you are a slow eater, I suggest ordering a few dishes at a time. Hokkaido scallop sashimi- fresh, delicious. Roast beef tempura- I would probably pass on this next time. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't stand out either. Spam roll- pass on this next time. Salmon ikura bowl- good, but too much rice. Also the rice was broken and dry. Seared white tuna - all the dressing was good and balanced. Brie tempura- must get! So unique and well made. $100 for dinner for 2 with a beer and a glass of sake. Worth it!

Came here for lunch right after they opened. It was super packed, but luckily was able to get a…read moreseat. The service was amazing. Servers were constantly checking up on us and making sure we were okay. I got the zaru soba with tempura. The soba was delicious and the tempura was crispy and light. I also enjoyed the edamame rice that came with the meal. I saw they had fried mochi with zenzai. It was so yummy and a perfect way to end the meal. The mochi was crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. The zenzai was not too sweet and paired perfectly with the fried mochi. Will be back next time the soba craving hits!

This was our 3rd time having lunch here and probably last. There are better places to spend our…read moredining out dollars for Japanese food. The standard soba size is on the smaller side and the tsuru dipping sauce doesn't taste as good as the competition. I think Kikuya has a better soba and dipping sauce and their shrimp tempura at Kikuya is twice the size and has a better flavor. Also there is a 3.5% add on for using a credit card and the prices on the receipt do not reflect the menu prices and after calling them to ask why they basically couldn't explain it. Very strange practice. The menu said that the upcharge to go from a standard to large soba size is $3.75 and the receipt said $7.50. That is quite a difference. The servers are a mixed bag. The younger ones seem more service oriented, or less burned out. I know there are lots of loyal customers, but we haven't found the food taste, quantity and price to be worth it for us. A soba lunch for 2 runs around $75 with tip, credit surcharge and tax. Kind of high for not a spectacular meal.

The food was very flavorful and enjoyed every bite. Our drink selections were amazing also. To top…read moreit off Riley our server who was very personable, knew the menu and answered all our questions with ease was a plus. She mentioned it was her first server job but she took care of us like she's been doing it for years. great service with amazing food and drinks made me and my families experien unforgettable and will be returning!

I actually really liked Lady Elaine and wanted to give this place a shot after the waitress who…read morehelped me there was raving about it. And honestly, I can see why! The food here is actually really good, dude. it's an Asian fusion kind of joint, and everyone was so welcoming. My favorite dish of the night was definitely the Menchi Katsu. The onsen egg on top of the katsu was chef's kiss! I feel like it was kind of a remake of loco moco but better meat. I loved the flavor, and the portion size for the entree was perfect. Also, shoutout to the waitress who helped us! She was super sweet, welcoming, and very informative about the menu, which I really appreciated. I'd definitely come back again to try some of the other menu items!