Violets Grill

I always knew about this place (from driving pass and when visiting the other merchants at the Dillingham Plaza) but my first visit was on this New Years' day when restaurants that were opened were sparse. My friend and I were actually on the hunt for ice cream and had decided on Zippy's Dillingham since the Nimitz location were closed. But, lo and behold, the Dillingham location were also closed; but, as were heading towards Dillingham, we were actually discussing if we only wanted ice cream or if we were ready for "real food."

After deciding on "real food" and discovering Zippy's were closed, we decided to try Violet's Grill since we were already in the area and I mentioned that I've always wanted to try this place based on what I've heard and read from other Yelp'ers.

Thankfully, they were not busy on this New Years' night (but, the crowd did start to come in after we were seated and started eating) and, after perusing the menu, I decided on their miso pig's feet soup w/ saimin (instead of rice) - which was a complete meal served with house salad or miso soup, tsukemono, soft drink (sodas, fruit punch/Green River or iced tea) and ice cream.

The soup was perfectly seasoned, not too salty and not too watery with just the right amount of miso - and most important, the pig's feet was just so tender and fell right off the bone so I need not fight with the pig - not to mention that the soup was not oily.

In conclusion, although this was my first visit, this will definitely not be my last visit.

When you hear a certain song - it sometimes can bring you back to a particular time in your life...like high school days. Or when you encounter a distinct fragrance - it may remind you of an event or person... For example: the scent of pine trees might bring to mind "visions of sugarplums" or Christmas...

For myself, when I dine at this place, "Violet's Grill", I think of my dad because he would often bring our family to this Hole in The Wall restaurant for dinner. The wait staff recognized us after a while! Although dad had diabetes, he still would order the lemon-lime Green River beverage. He liked Green River so much that we served it at his Memorial Service!

Our family enjoyed the Complete Meals which include Miso soup or green salad with House dressing; white or brown rice; tsukemono (Japanese pickled vegetables); a beverage; and dessert with your entrée. Note worthy specials are items such as Ahi Belly, Okinawan Pigs' Feet, and Korean Fried Chicken. They also serve "normal" dishes like Teriyaki Chicken, Pork Chops, and Shrimp Tempura.

Recently, I've been here a couple of times with Yelp friends - some were First Timers and some have been here before. We checked out the Ox Tail Soup which is an "Okinawan Specialty". The meat was quite good - almost falling off the bone, and tasty! The soup was full of chopped cilantro (Chinese parsley), diced mustard cabbage, sliced mushrooms, peanuts, and slivers of konnyaku (a flavorless, clear, rubbery gel). It's served with a side of grated ginger which you may add to the broth for extra kick! An empty bowl is provided for discarded bones - a very thoughtful gesture! When I had the Ox Tail Saimin, the noodles were firm, delicious, and plentiful!

Notes:
There's a free parking lot which is shared with other restaurants such as Zippy's, Wingstop, and Ahi & Vegetable.
Violet's Grill has been renovated with a new floor and updated seating! (You may want to face the TV screen and enjoy your favorite sport.)
It seems like the air conditioner has been "fixed" and is in good operating condition!
There's a bar area towards the right where karaoke may be happening!
Look for a Groupon - get $20 worth for $10 purchase!
Check for specials like Steamed Opakapaka and Grilled Flounder!
Enjoy!

- Ginger, fresh juicy & grated
- Shoyu taste (no need add!)
- Cilantro
- Gai Choy
- Thick Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms
- Konnyaku
- Peanuts
- Almost Fall off the bone Oxtails
- Choice of Brown or White rice
- Flavorful, full-bodied broth from simmered bones

Served nice and hot in a Japanese bowl :D

Didja guess what kind of dish this is!?

If you love oxtail soup, you know what the aforementioned list means: YUMMM!!!

Which is then followed by thoughts of:

"MY, OH MY, SHALL I GO THERE RIGHT NOW FOR LUNCH TODAY OR FOR DINNER TONIGHT?!!!"

And if you have a spouse, bf, significant other who you know loves oxtail soup:

"HONEY, bf, friend; cousin, mom, dad, brother, sister, etc.; co-worker, boss: DO YOU WANNA GO THERE WITH MEEEEEE for some oxtail soup!?! :D

Hehe

Ever since Kam Bowl closed down with the bowling alley of the same name is when many oxtail loving Oahu residents have been searching high and low for that same delicious, rich, oxtail soup.

There's even excited discussion amongst the oxtail soup lovers here on Oahu about which restaurant now has the best oxtail soup! Oahu travelers even look forward to the downtown California Hotel restaurant for their late night oxtail soup special!

My love of oxtail soup began at home. My mom who during my lifetime and even decades before served as president, treasurer, historian, secretary of her University of Hawaii-sponsored homemakers extension council (U.E.), learned to be a really good baker and cook and this is one of her dishes that I absolutely loved. I miss all the tons of peanuts she used to put in for me. When she discovered just how much I loved peanuts in the soup and her soup ran out from me eating them up, she'd head to Chinatown just to get a whole new bag to add into the soup. Spoiled yeah?! Teehee! :D Thank you, mom!!! :D

Oxtail soup generally is made from simmered beef tail bones developed into a fairly rich thick broth with peanuts added. When served, it's topped with spicy greens like Chinese parsley aka cilantro.

This restaurant makes it Japanese style with the mushrooms and konnyaku. The cin choy is a Chinese crunchy chewy mildly vinegary cabbage that adds a nice flavor and matches the cilantro. Never tried it with Gai Choy before but I really liked the taste it added to the soup overall.

Difference between my mom's and this one is this version comes with Japanese ingredients, mushrooms and konnyaku. My mom's had tons of peanuts so perhaps the thing that could be improved is if they could add TONS OF MORRRRRRE PEANUTS!!! :D It's been quite awhile since those times in my mom's kitchen but taste wise is at least very similar.

I love the food served at this restaurant. Reminds me of Japanese style home cooking made in cast iron pans. I'm not Japanese but I've got an ex grandmother in law who this food reminds me of taste wise in a good home cooking way. They've got many different dishes from shoyu pork to french fries (I ask for 'em extra crispy) to crispy pork chops but I never tried the oxtail soup until last night.

All my tastebuds were focused concentrated on extracting every single drop of flavorful goodness. I half laughed to myself about my oxtail soup table mates, good friend Nadine C. and bf Fran C., for being so concentratingly quiet while they fished through their soups and ate in heart warming peace. Well, at least that's what I thought they were doing. With the three of us sitting and eating together there is almost never any silence. But for this?! Maybe that's the mark of good tasty oxtail soup :D

So try it if you might. Get a groupon ($20 for $10 for two ppl; $40 for $20 for four ppl) and don't forget to use it. Present the groupon on your phone to your server sometime before/after you place your order so they can add the deal subtraction to your bill.

After ordering, it does take awhile to come (maybe I was just half starved lol) so be sure to go with ppl you can pass some time with while you wait in anticipation. We ordered the soup as a complete meal which came with salad, (vinegary-sweet won bok) tsukemono, white or brown rice, small dish of grated ginger, and a beverage (soda, green tea, iced tea).

What a great complete meal deal and what an amazing taste flash back to my little girl days sitting my mom's kitchen with the entire pot of oxtail soup full of peanuts at my disposal sitting quietly and enticingly on the kitchen stove :) Mmm..! :D

Thank you for the delicious memories, mom and dad, and for also sharing this delightful taste experience with me, Nadine C. and Fran C.! ((Hugs))! :D

Hey, what's up with the low ratings of this place???

I went to New Violet's Grill the other day, and I thought this old school restaurant was pretty cool, as I had a deeeeeeeeeeelicious bowl of Oxtail Soup with my gf - Jules Y., & da Famous Auntie - Nadine C.!

I've often wondered....... who is the genius who invented the Oxtail soup?
I mean really......you are eating a tail of an ox, and the tail is not too far from the exit chute where the ox does number #2, yet us locals dig that Oxtail Soup!!!! Lol!

New Violet's Grill is located at the Kapalama Shopping Center, and this small strip mall was recently renovated, therefore all shops in this complex looks brand spanking new!

Upon walking into New Violet's Grill, we were greeted right away, and the waitress told us we could sit at any open table or booth.

As we got seated, water & menus were dropped off right away.........and lucky for me, since I was the rookie of the group, (as both Jules Y. & Nadine C. have already been to Violet's in the past), I was lucky that they were gracious enough to show me the ropes over here..........

Basically we were here for one thing..........the OXTAIL SOUP! There was no need to look at anything else on the menu.

We all ordered up 3 bowls of this delicious Oxtail Soup.............and with our Oxtail Soup meal you get the following items -

1. Cabbage Salad
2. Rice (Brown or White)
3. Tsukemono (Japanese pickled vegetables)
4. Grated ginger for seasoning of the soup.
5. A Drink (I got an ice tea)
6. And a dessert (I got the Green Tea Ice Cream).

The meat of the oxtail was soft, as the meat came off the bone real easy!

The oxtail soup had the following ingredients loaded inside the Oxtail soup -

1.Cilantro
2. Gai Choy (Mustard Cabbage)
3. Shitake Mushroom
4. Peanuts
5. Konnyaku

All these ingredients in the soup made it for a really delicious Oxtail soup!

It's been a bit chili the past few days........and guess what? I'm thinking I might need another bowl of that Oxtail Soup!!!!!

Jonesing for Oxtail Soup? May I suggest you check out New Violet's Grill! Ono da Oxtail Soup!!!!

I hate to give any business a one or two star rating but I have to give my honest opinion. I'm giving this place two stars and I feel even that's being generous. I had a Groupon for this place. I will not be getting any more Groupons to come here. Everything was terrible from the service to the food.

They had two females working there, an older woman and a young girl. My husband and I walk in and the girl behind the counter just stands there. She did not greet us nor did she smile. She just stood there looking at us. My husband had to ask her if we can just sit anywhere and she replied "Yes," so we just sat ourselves. The restaurant was dead. There were two other tables besides ours. The two females did not look happy to be there. They did not smile the whole time we were there.

I also noticed that they raised the prices on all the entrees. The entrees also came with a drink, soup or salad, and dessert. The hubby ordered the Korean Fried Chicken listed for $15.50. It was printed on the menu that it came with four pieces of thighs. However, when it came, it was only two pieces cut in half which made it four pieces. He said that it was alright. I ordered the kalbi and it was tough. It took me forever to chew it. $16.50 for three pieces. The miso soup was salty. The best part of the meal was the vanilla ice cream, which I'm positive that it wasn't made in house.

The only time the girl smiled was when she saw the tip that I left her. She smiled and thanked me. On the way out, my husband commented that we should have just gone to Ahi & Vegetable, which was a few doors down. He didn't have to tell me twice.

My parents have been wanting to try the new violets grill for some time because they frequently have groupons and other coupon deals. We therefore went for dinner one night with an entertainment book coupon in hand.

Upon entering, we were not greeted or seated, and after a few minutes of waiting for someone to notice us, we were asked to seat ourselves. The right side of the restaurant apparently serves as a karaoke bar, so we were made to listen to some pretty terrible singing even though we sat in the far left.

The menu book was old and sad, it made me think that the owners/ workers don't tKe pride in working here. The service was also not really what I was expecting. The waitresses gossiped and talked about their personal lives within earshot of the customers, and while they were pleasant enough when waiting on us, it just felt awkward.

If you order a combo meal ($19), you get a choice of two entrees along with miso soup or salad, sashimi, pickled cabbage, a dessert and a drink. They don't have regular soft drinks, so you get your choice of fruit punch, green river or lilkoi drink. :/ I want impressed. The food on the other hand was good. I liked the very sweet shoyu pork and legit Katsu sauce. I liked the miso soup and sashimi. I even liked my green tea ice cream, even though I had to stare at the short black hair on the plate it was on....not to mention, it was a pretty inexpensive dinner with the coupon.

I don't know if I'll be back without a coupon. I would like to try their is tail soup next time though.

Important FYI: Violets will be closed on 3/29 for one week, for renovating of the floors.

Been here many times since my last review.
We are usually here on Fridays.
This is by far my fav. place to go.
Me & hubby & sometimes son, when we crave comfort food.

I know Violet's lastest Yelp reviews was not so great, but
We always get great service & the food is always ono!!

These past visits, we didn't get the oxtail soup but always get the oriental breakfast & large saimin add veggies split for 2. This goes so well together.
Oriental breakfast for 8.00, consist of: rice, egg, miso soup, tsukemono, tofu, & choice of saba, salmon, or ahi.
My son, if he goes will get his grilled ham & cheese sandwich with fries.
This def. hit the spot!!

The last visit, we got a slice of lime pie. This was so refreshing!! Violets features different dessert every month. This was last months.

Leyah is usually our waitress when we are there. She is very friendly!!
I can't complain since we always get great service!! :0)

FYI : please read the Groupon rules before you redeem your Groupon,
I saw a notice in the front page of menu book.

Remember they close on 3/29 for one week. - I better go get my comfort food fix by 29th!!

In the heart of kalihi, New Violet's Grill is located along Dilingham Blvd. The shopping center has been redone a few years ago and so was Violet's Grill. The inside is rather plain but that's how I remember the old time restaurants of the past.
The food is tasty and nothing spectacular. Rice, corn, and the main dish. That's it. You do have a salad. The dressing is an old school French which is very good. The full meal comes with choice of drink and dessert which covers a full meal.
If you want a drink before or during dinner, they have a bar. Prices are reasonable and won't cost you an arm and leg.
Locals have a distinct taste for local foods and Violet's Grill is definitely local.
3.5***.*

Please save yourself the trouble and do NOT eat here. The food is terrible. My order (shrimp tempura) was literally inedible and came out 15 minutes AFTER the rest of my party's food. The batter was thick and heavy, not at all like authentic shrimp tempura.

My 2 children went to the restroom and when they came back, they both reported that it was really dirty and gross. My son said there was hardly any soap in the dispenser. Eeew.

The real kicker was the sign that was posted above the kitchen which reads: If you came here to complain you have already used up 98% of your time. I would like to suggest that you use your remaining 2% to find the door. How rude!!!

Yelp 365 Challenge # 01/365

Started out today looking for a place to eat in the Kalihi vicinity. Tried several places which were full or closed (today being Monday, I guess some eateries are closed).

this will be my first review of the Yelp 365 Challenge

I've been to Violets many times, even the "New Violet's Grill" and will say that it is a little hole in the wall but the food is steady, good. Today, we tried their specials: fried Aku filet and korean fried chicken. We had the complete meal which comes with a salad, soft drink and desert.. Oh, and we had their sashimi appetizer; 12 pieces of sashimi...

Oh, they have a special if you're traveling to / fr Las Vegas. Show them your boarding pass and you get a discount on your meal

If you're out and about in the Kalihi area and no place in mind to eat, give New Violet's a try