On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Loading...
Karen's leaving for Martha's Vineyard so we all got together for dinner. I was told by the hostess to come back at 5:15 p.m. to put my name on the list since they do not take reservations, nor would I have to put in a special order for the Funamori Boat. This boat consists of lobster tails, deep fried shrimp, vegetable and shrimp tempura, teriyaki ribeye steak, chicken katsu, assorted sushi, and top grade ahi sashimi.
I had seen the Funamori Boat in passing before but never this close up. My favorites were the salmon nigiri and the lobster tail.
I was eyeing Lax and Marnie's side order of uni sashimi and sushi. I'll have to get that the next time I'm there. I was too full to order any side dishes or dessert.
We all decided that it was our Last Supper, with the 17 day HI DOE teacher furlough that starts next month. Not Mary Magdalene but Linda Lingle instead.
My friends and I really enjoyed the food here. They put alot of their entres in bento boxes, which i thought was pretty cute.
Their is a sushi bar you can sit at, but we chose a booth. We ordered the spicy tuna roll and california rolls for appetizers. I thought it was okay, but the others really enjoyed it. At least their food is fresh and doesn't go around in circles on a conveyer belt all day.
The one you thing you need to try is their ever so popular MISO BUTTERFISH. Im salivating just thinking about how good it was. It melts in your mouth just like buttahhh! I also ordered the combo meal which i chose Shrimp Tempura and Vegetable Tempura. Oh my word... that was super good. It was crunchy and flaky and so tasty. And when you dip it in the tempura sauce you can't help but to cry. It was darn good. But then again, maybe it's just me... i loooveeeTempura.
The miso soup was like any other miso soup i've tried and the sides were okay. Nothing too memorable.
The only bad thing about this place was the service we had. One of the staff became impatient with us because our friend was 10 minutes late. And since then, she wouldn't really cater to us. She actually pulled the chopsticks out of my friend's hands thinking she was done. My friend was taken aback by that, she didn't have a chance to say much.
But besides the bad service, (im just going to assume the waitress was either new or having a bad day) i still give this place 4 stars for the food alone.
People thought this was:
I hate to burst everyone's bubble. But, I will be very truthful in what I say. First of all, I really wanted to like this place, because it is the closest Japanese Restaurant to me. I have went here 3 times, both times spending more than $60.
There were so much things that happened to so I will just number the cons and pros.
Pros:
-Shrimp tempura tasted good, crunchy with broth
-The teishoku, the appetizers tasted good.
-Sometimes the waiters are nice.
Cons:
-No free refills, what the hell? You are a restaurant you could at least provide your patrons with free refills with your expensive food.
-My misoyaki butterfish is ALWAYS BURNT! It shouldn't be this way
My butterfish at Restaurant Saito is always cooked to perfection. There was an actual time were the butterfish only tasted like fish there was no miso taste, like they were just rushing the food.
-The lobster in the lobster ribeye, was over cooked to the point it was rubbery.
-They never offer us tea, which is weird because I hear the waitresses asking everyone else.
-It is quite pricey, a plate is around $15-$30.
So I will tell you my experience, well the waitress didn't bother to tell me they don't refill fountain drinks so I was upset throughout my whole meal not having another refill. Also, when one of the waitresses served someone else's food to us and was corrected she said, "Shit" quite loud. This was very unprofessional. I guess the management overlooked etiquette and chose 'pretty girls'.
Because of the bad service, and the crappy food I will not be returning.
**Side note: i heard that owners of Jurisson's Inn, next door to Kunio owns Kunio as well. Maybe there is a correlation between the two.
I recommend you go to MAKINO CHAYA. They have a vast buffet there, for lunch $15, for dinner $30 and you can eat A LOT of food. They have a special wagu beef station, and unlimited crab legs and seafood. Yummy =)
People thought this was:
great experience was here about a month ago and the food and service were great just a bit of a wait to get in. wished I had known about this earlier because we decide on the place till I was pretty hungry. looking fwd to my next trip there once i figure out someone to go with
I like it. The fish is fresh. Slightly expensive, but I've yet to find a resturant aside from Zippy's that isn't.
This has got to be the best Japanese restaurant on this side of the island. I have never been disappointed with the food or the service. From the sushi to the steak and lobster, everything has been delicious and the portions are good. My mom always says that the shrimp tempura is the best here.
The only thing annoying is that it's not a big place so there is always a wait to get a table.
I have been here several times and am never disappointed. We stopped by here as soon as we landed in Hawaii. We had a rainbow roll and a deluxe crab salad and miso butterfish. The miso was so tasty. Wow. The rainbow roll was super fresh and the crab salad was nice. The servers were really friendly and we didn't have to wait long. All of this and a fruit punch for $42. What a great way to start a trip!
When in Hawaii, you gotta visit the relatives. Of course, they know good eating because, well...they' local. So we met up here and I ordered the AB special and I chose sashimi and the miso butterfish, around $19. http://static.px.yelp....
The food comes with miso soup, sides, salad, rice. It was really good. Nice to eat something besides the local plate food while on vacation. I know some yelpers said this place was expensive but I think it's really a good value for what you get here. Even the kids meals have good sized portions!
It's nice you can go to the Waikele outlets across the street to do shopping and walk off the food also.
People thought this was:
I have been here many times and this review is long past due.
I love this place. It is my favorite Japanese restaurant on Oahu. The food is always good (everything I have had), the service is always spot on, and prices are reasonable.
Sometimes it can get pretty busy, but I have never had to wait for a table even if there were a lot of us.
My only complaint is that they are not closer to town so I have to drive a bit to get there when on Oahu. But somehow, I always find my way there.
People thought this was:
This is, without a doubt, my favorite Japanese restaurant on Oahu (particularly since my all-time favorite, Misuzu, closed down over a year ago).
Every item I've had here was better than what you could get at any other Japanese restaurant, even down to the simple tamago nigiri. I'm told the miso butterfish and shoyu butterfish here are great. The udon and tonkatsu here are delicious as well. Hey, I even applaud their brand of rice (Tamaki Gold).
But my personal favorite, and what I go out of my way to get (at one point, I came here three times in three weeks, driving from Kaneohe), is the ahi tempura. It's light, not at all oily, and perfectly crispy. The cuts of ahi that they use are unbelievable - almost buttery in texture, moist, with a nice flavor. I'd say they use sashimi grade ahi for their tempura, but that seems a bit excessive. But it is THAT good.
The prices are a little higher than what you'd expect for a family restaurant, but they do give large portions. My guy friends always enjoy coming here because of the attractive waitresses, but really - we're all there for the food. Service is always prompt, with frequent refills on tea and water. It does get busy and reservations are not accepted. This place is consistently busy on weeknights and crazy on Friday and Saturday nights. Waiting for parking can be a headache, but once you put your name on the list, you can always browse through Party City or look at the other shops nearby.
My only quibble is that they don't have a more extensive dessert menu. It would be refreshing to see a Japanese restaurant that offers more than the requisite green tea ice cream. But for dinner alone, this place is sublime.
People thought this was:
Kunio Restaurant is fortunate to be in Waikele I guess because if it was shoulder to shoulder with some of the other restaurants in town some of it's glow would be shadowed. Luckily it stands virtually alone above the Ewa plains. A shining beacon of perfectly acceptable cuisine. There are several well done things, the Saba was good the beer was cold. The cold tofu was pretty good too, very silky.
But it I have to hit where it hurts, they seem to be famous for their tempura and I didn't get that. Many people ordered it but for me it was heavy and thick. At least it was on the fish and shrimp. For some reason the vegetables had it about right.
It's an ok place. I'd probably eat there again but there is no way I'd wait long, as I see some people doing. Not worth that.
I fly back to San Francisco tonight...
My family and I came here for a sort of goodbye dinner and I think we picked a pretty good spot. Good food. Soothing interior. Pretty waitresses. I vaguely remembered liking it the first time I was here, but now it's definitely established itself as one of my favorite restaurants in Hawaii.
Prices seem daunting at first, but their servings don't disappoint. (They have good weekday specials that end at 5 pm. Sadly, we missed that.) I ordered the Deluxe Sushi and was thoroughly satiated, which doesn't always happen when I order sushi combos. Texture was excellent and flavor was above par. My mom ordered a bento box with butterfish and salmon, and each piece was grilled to a nice flavorful char. My dad had the soba, and complained about fourteen times... which must mean it's pretty good because he normally complains fifty-seven times.
Anyway, I fly back to San Francisco tonight. Night flights intrigue me. The lights go out and everyone is silent... When I sleep, I am in one location. When I wake, a totally different place and time.
People thought this was:
Thanks to Jane, I checked this place out last week.
They have specials from 3pm to 5pm (or maybe till 7) better call and ask.
I had a $9 special. 1 piece of hamachi, maguro, salmon nigiri, 1 cut up california roll, miso soup and 2 pieces shrimp tempura with some veggie tempura. Great deal. The fish was somewhat fresh, better than genki but not memorable like Imanas Tei, Yanagi, Akasaka or Tokkuri Tei.
This is a decent place for sushi/Japanese food on the west side. I would definitely eat here again if I had a choice between Kunio or Genki. Kunio wins hands down.
Thanks for the recommendation Jane.
People thought this was:
Funamori party boat, Funamori party boat
Oh it's so yummy yummy yummy
Funamori party boat, Funamori party boat
Get in my tummy tummy tummy
You overflow with sushi and sashimi
Ebi, salmon, and of course there's ahi
There's also crunchy katsu, chicken and pork
And big lobsta tails you need to dig out with a fork
Teriyaki ribeye steak, vegetable and shrimp tempura...
Um sorry, I'm horrible at rhyming. I can't make up a whole jingle, like some other talented people =)
The Funamori party boat is just a *little* pricey (24.95 a person), but so much fun to share with 3 other friends (minimum 4 people per order).
I'm a simple kinda gal. Shrimp tempura is all I need. Some tonkatsu if I'm feeling porky. Portly. Fatty. Whatever. That would be combination AA, AB, or BB. One of those. Or teriyaki ribeye. Or salmon. Shrimp. I LUUUUUV shrimp. (Sorry, I try really hard to cover it up, but I have ADD moments) And these folks are FAMOUS for their shrimp tempura. Light, crispy, lacy, and not one bit greasy, dunked in their homemade not too sweet or overbearing tempura sauce. I would have taken pictures, but just waiting for this plethora of fried deliciousness is much too long for me. I'm not much of a vegetable person, but the shrimp tempura also comes with 2 carrots, 2 green beans, and 2 eggplant. I love carrots. I kinda like green beans. I despise eggplant. I ate EVERYTHING.
So the last time I went, a server walks by with a sizzling hot platter and just the most smokin onolicious steak smell ever. My sister and I flagged down our server to find out what it was. Something ribeye. Were those onions? Yeah those were onions. Stop right there, send one our way!
Our sizzling hot platter of ribeye arrives. A large ribeyes steak with beautiful grill marks, a large pat of butter, and lots of sauteed onions. We let it cool slightly because we wanted to keep the roof our mouths... well, on the roof of our mouths and not on our food. We each cut a slice and put in our mouths what we thought would be an amazing piece of steak. It could have been grass-fed lomi lomi massaged every single damn day of its life filet mignon for all we knew, but all we could taste was smoke!
Meals come with salad (iceberg lettuce mix with thousand island dressing) and tsukemono. How they do their tsukemono reminds of Korean banchan, because it's never the same each time you go.
Oh how can I forget their miso soup?! I am absolutely CRAZY about their miso soup. I get so stoked when I can snag my nephews tofu pieces. Up until I've tried theirs, I never cared for miso soup. Kunio has definitely changed my mind about that!
People thought this was:
My coworkers took me here for my birthday. It was a fantastic gift. A hidden gem in an otherwise unremarkable shopping center, once you stepped in the door you're transported to a better place.
The food was fantastic. The sushi was fresh and vibrantly colored. The tempura batter was crisp and flaky I'd swear they cooked each serving in a new batch of oil. The serving sizes were just right. I'll absolutely be back.
A side room that seats 16 or so looks promising for a group or family event.
Not cheap, but the quality justifies the price. This place was packed solid for a weekday lunch, so I can't imagine the crush of people for dinner. The biggest challenge is finding parking in one of the worst designed lots on the island.
People thought this was:
This place can be a bit pricey, but has good quality sushi. I've been here several times, maybe more and the food has been excellent all of those times. The majority of the time I've had the sushi boat, which has very fresh sashimi. It's nice place and the employees are nice. I'll be coming back here for sure.
I have an uncle who goes here EVERY Friday and sits at the sushi bar. The waitresses and waiters all know him and bring us his favorite wine and the two chefs always know the order of dishes he orders. They are friendly to everyone, whether you're a regular or new. I definitely recommend sitting at the sushi bar if you're there for the sushi alone and not any box meals. The chefs are willing to tell you what's in season, what the specials are, what they recommend and it's always fun to watch them prepare the dishes.
Plus, if you request like my uncle does, they'll decrease on the rice (for those of you who are watching your weight or starch intake) but never skimp on the slices of fresh fish :)
kinda pricey...had the chirashi...eh.
service was great...the bento boxes are descent...just pricey...not worth it...rather drive into town and eat at Imanas for my Japanese fix!
People thought this was:
Eh, it's alright. I tried their California rolls and unagi rolls and I've had better. Not bad though. However, it seems a bit pricey even for just your standard roll.
People thought this was:
Came here on time because I was craving for some shrimp tempura.. I actually like the place, but hubby didn't. I must agree with him that it is a little pricey. So, I kind of regret that we never returned before we left Hawaii.
People thought this was:
We came here solely on reveiews from Yelpers and I was thoroughly glad that we did. There were a few minor bumps, but for the most part, it was good! We waited for about 15 mins to get a table, no biggie. When we were called, we were seated by the hot hostess who happened to also help out with table service as well.
I got a bento with the tonkatsu and tempura. Both excellent! The batter is very light and has just the right crunch and flavor. I also got a sushi roll with unagi and avacado. I forgot the name of it. But here is the minor bump in the road.....and maybe it was an off night....but the roll was practically coming apart and when I picked it up with my chopstix, it did come apart! So, that was my only issue.....
The service is attentive....like Da Kitchen, this is another place with hot wait staff. The food is good. It was relatively close to our hotel and convenient with great food. What's not to like......
People thought this was:
Close to home and never disappoints! Can't say enough about this place. The service is very consistent and the food is always good. I usually get the cold soba and misoyaki butter fish, mmmm... and the sushi bar is fresh with a great variety of classic sushi favorites, Dynamite roll, rainbow roll and spider roll is the usual order when I go! Everyone can share that! Prices are a little high but I feel they are reasonable for the great food, service and Japanese atmosphere! Reminds me, I need to go soon!
People thought this was:
Their butterfish is very flavorful! I have been here many times and always leave fulfilled. Their tempura is made just right and their portions are perfect.
The many times that I have gone here, I didn't have a problem waiting for a seat, but this is a place that does seems to have a smooth flow of people going in and out, so I could see it getting busy most of the time. The parking is hectic and I have had to wait patiently for parking to open up since there are tons of other stores and restaurants in the area and only so much parking. But once I found parking, eating at Kunio is worth it! I don't anything bad to say about the food and service!
People thought this was:
The sushi here is fantastic! Hubby and I shared the rainbow roll and the tempura roll, and both surely did not disappoint. The fish was fresh, the avocado was smooth and creamy. Tempura shrimp was light years better than most places I've because you can actually taste the shrimp. I'm not a fan of tempura'd batter so if you like tempura like we do then this is the place to give it a try.
Friendly staff, clean, prompt service. Kid-friendly. They had a good size menu with bento boxes and entrees that looked really enticing. For a family restaurant, the entree prices were a little on the high side, but the rolls were on par with any other sushi bar. Our only regret is that we couldn't indulge in more!
People thought this was:
FYI: Go early. Parking is scarce. No reservations. Line build up quickly.
Now for the review: The best place to eat Japanese food on this side of the island! :) Get any combo meal you can't go wrong. The miso butterfish melts in your mouth. The shrimp tempura is fried perfectly. The sashimi is most fresh.Try a salmon skin salad for you health nuts. Not on the menu but soo guud. Can't go wrong with the spider roll too! Sooo guud! I always try to eat here at least once a month for that Japanese food craving. And BTW you always leave full! :) Enjoy!
People thought this was:
Excellent Japanese food. A little pricey, but it's expected for high quality Japanese food! I got the shrimp tempura udon which was really good. My friend got the misoyaki butter fish which he said was the best he ever had! Service staff was also very friendly! Highly recommended.
People thought this was:
Me and da Mrs love this place; it's our fav Japanese restaurant. Almost always a line at the door. Shrimp tempura and chicken katsu are yummy as is everything. Wash it all down with a cold Kiren and I am a happy camper! Compai!
I believe, the only non-chain food provider in the Waikele Shopping Center, but probably the most expensive of the lineup too (which was a comment I heard time and again from passersby as me and the folks waited for a table at dinner time).
The biggest surprise to me was their lack of appetizers!!! - WTF??? We'd waited a good 30 minutes on this particular night and were feeling munchie. To start, we settled on an order of sashimi, which seemed more like an entree because the pieces were so THICK; good deal though, yeah?
The dinner menu is a smattering of sushi rolls, bentos, combo bentos and combo combo bentos - it's really a bit overwhelming and schizophrenic. Between my parents and me, I had a pretty good sampling of the Kunio food experience. I was impressed with their tempura skills cause it was like the shrimp had been cooked in air - no trace of oil whatsoever, but certainly crunchy and light.
The quality at Kunio certainly justifies the higher price - if you want a more affordable meal o' sushi, head a few doors down to McGenki (or as my boyfriend likes to call it Skanky Sushi - if you couldn't tell, we're BIG fans...serious).
People thought this was:
Food is good. Try the nabeyaki udon, it's fabulous! They have a combination menu that you can choose two items off of to make a plate, so the selections and combinations can take a bit of time to get down. The sushi bar is ok, but overall, the food is good. Service is pretty good, and although the prices can run a little high, depending on what you get, it's worth it. It's casual dining.
I've been lucky enough where I've never had to wait in line to eat at Kunio. Miso butterfish is so crazy delicious! Perfectly seasoned and totally melts in your mouth! And the sashimi is so great! Fresh, thick slices of almost buttery fish... MMMMMMMM! So good!
People thought this was:
Great Japanese food here! Their shrimp tempura is great along with the rest of their menu. I always order their combo plate where you can choose two main items along with rice, salad, and miso soup. I've always loved this place and the restaurant is nice and cozy. Great place to try if your in Waikele!
Tried this place on a whim and based on other yelp reviews. We are somewhat stranded in Hawaii waiting for motor repairs on our boat. In any case, I was hungry for sushi and this place did not disappoint! The first thing that struck me was the long, complicated, japanese-english menu. I go to lots of sushi places in San Francisco but there were things on this menu I'd never heard of. Which was definitely cool.
We both got chiriashi bowls (basically a bunch of raw fish and things on a bowl of rice.) The fish was unbelievable. Very fresh. Lots of variety in such a tiny bowl! It also comes with a yummy plate of tiny appetizers and very good miso soup. After all this I still had room for Azuki bean ice cream, which was also excellent. Highly recommend!
For someone not from this part of the Island it is harder to make a decision on where to eat; when you don't frequent an area you don't have the experience of eating at many of the local restaurants to have a good understanding of what is conveniently available and worth your hard earned money.
Until about a year ago, whenever I would make the trip out to Waikele for some discount shopping, I would find myself eating at places I knew (i.e. Chili's, Genki Sushi, Little Caesar's). My taste buds weren't doing back-flips but at least my hunger was gone.
Now, after several meals at Kunio, things are different and I'm happy to report I have a regular spot to eat after a long day of shopping at Waikele.
There are many reasons as to why I gave this place five stars, here are just a few:
Price does not always equal value - At first glance the prices seem a little high, by like 20%, but then the food arrives and you're like "wow! all that for only $15" then you taste it and you're like "wow! I didn't know $15 could taste so good!"
Convenience - as stated above, finding a good place to eat when you're far from home is key, especially after a full day of shopping.
Service - super friendly wait-staff, cute local girls, always accommodating.
Freshness and Flavor - The tempura is light and not greasy (and so good!). The sushi and sashimi is always fresh (no chlorine taste like some places). Butterfish is onolicious (miso or shoyu).
So, if you're in Waikele and reading this on you iPhone because you're hungry and don't know where to eat... hopefully this will help.
The food here is very tasty and its my parents second favorite Japanese restaurant on the Leeward side though I will admit its a distant second to Futaba.
In any case, I will have to admit this place does get pretty busy as the prices and portions aren't bad and its located in a pretty residential area and well after work its packed. I really like the tempura and teishoku plates so definitely give this place a look if you're at Waikele outlet mall and would like slightly better food than food court quality stuff.
People thought this was:
Both times I've been here the wait was at least 15 minutes.
A cool thing about this restaurant: They have these giant boats of sushi that seem fun for parties of 3 or more.
The bad thing about this restaurant: Starting 20 minutes after we finished eating here (while sitting in my fiance's parents house, at the kitchen table...), I started having the worst gas of my entire life! I never imagined that I could be filled with so much air, but it just kept coming out! Thankfully the drive home by myself took about 40 minutes so I could let out the worst of it, but Geez! I know it's gross, but I gotta say this because it's freakishly weird - I never have gas like that. All I ate was some oshinko maki and a tanuki udon, and then this crazy phenomenon occured. WTH?! Yuck, I'm not eating at this restaurant again if I can help it. Was it MSG? I don't know, but I eat a lot of Japanese food and I don't usually get crazy gas afterwards.
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday; 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Prices: About $16 to $50 for two for lunch or dinner
People thought this was:
My dad wanted some good seafood for Father's Day dinner so we decided to do Japanese again. We got a bit lost getting there but enjoyed the neighborhood we were driving through. The amount of people waiting outside made my mom consider going to another restaurant but made my dad only want to eat there more. The wait wasnt too bad (they said 40 min but we were probably seated in 25 min) and the food was worth the wait. We dined on the following:
-miso butterfish (recommended by Yelpers): everyone must try this; the fish is so juicy and the flavoring is perfect
-hamachi kama: not fried like the one we ordered at Kuru but still good. Not as delicious as Chef Ricky's though.
-mixed sashimi: seriously can not go wrong with the fresh fish in hawaii
-unagi nigiri: have never seen the unagi bigger than what we have seen in hawaii
-sukiyaki: the flavor was a little different but we still enjoyed it
-mixed tempura: yum.
Outlet shopping can really build up an appetite.
The only problem is I didn't really want to eat at an outlet restaurant.
To my surprise, Kunio is this gem of a restaurant tucked away between a Party City and a couple other restaurants.
The thing that got me was all the locals and Japanese tourists who were eating here.
Now, I understand the tourists since it's outlet shopping but for locals to also go here should tell you this place must be good. And it is GOOD.
I thought I was the only one who thought the butterfish misoyaki here was outstanding since I have no reference, but Lisa C. has confirmed my suspicions.
In addition to the fish, I also got a nicely grilled and tender beef teriyaki.
The wife got the tonkatsu donburi which she thought was just okay. I sorta liked it since they gave you such a generous portion: which meant more food for yours truly.
I recommend you try to place if you get a chance.
And if you do try it, have the butterfish misoyaki and tell me what you think.
This is always a good place to eat. The place is always crowded since their food is consistently good. Definitely worth trying if you haven't yet.
This is my favorite sushi place in west Oahu. I have been here numerous times, and the quality of the food is first rate. I am a huge fan of the Sunset rolls. (Nori with a layer of salmon, a spicy tuna mix with tobiko, slice of cream cheese all rolled up and dipped in tempura batter served with tempura sauce). The fish is very fresh, the chefs remember you when you come in, and the speed of service at the bar is great. I have also had the teriyaki steak and it was WONDERFUL!! The shrimp tempura is also VERY good since it is not one of the places that the shrimp is all batter and a small piece of shrimp.
My favorite place to get butterfish misoyaki because they have a huge menu with tons of combinations to choose from and the prices are not bad at all. And the portions are Big. The atmosphere at Kunio is casual, but nice enough to have family gatherings, which we often do. There is a room in the back for large groups - but what's weird is that they make you take off your shoes, even though you are sitting at regular tables and chairs. This is a great place for lunch and dinner, but it is always crowded so be prepared to wait - I'm pretty sure they only take reservations for large parties.
People thought this was:
Waipahu, HI
Category: Japanese
Pearl City, HI
Category: Korean
Pearl City, HI
Category: Thai
Waipahu, HI
Category: Japanese
Waipahu, HI
Category: Filipino
Things I love from my hometown, and those that…
Here's my list of hidden eateries on the Leeward…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
The restaurants I always return to whenever I'm in…
