Okata Bento

Grumpy lady owner without a line but says will take 25 minutes after yelling at me because I didn’t understand her long winded menu. 1 star for being clean and having options but otherwise food wasn’t all that and definitely not the experience.

4 Stars?! What? This place is literally a crappy hole in the wall. I felt that my lunch was overpriced for just average quality food. The portions were also small and pretty disappointing. They even tried to charge me $ 1 for a cup of water. Lame.

I really enjoy coming here if I want a great but affordable fast lunch, this is was better then going to a fast food restaurant. The chicken has not fat on them what soever very thin but oh so yummy ! Just a little family owned food place. Give it a try you won’t be disappointed

Spotted several people waiting in line in front of this place last Saturday after finishing a sandwich across the street at Sprout. I asked one of the people what they were waiting for and they raved about this «hole-​in-​the-​wall» lunch counter. As intrigued as I was about this new find sadly I had just finished lunch and couldn’t rationalize eating again. So I went back today. The friendly counter woman nicely warned that burgers will take about 10 – 12 minutes. I was all set with 18 minutes in the meter so I got comfortable. Well, right on time, 12 minutes later, she handed me my order and said she hoped it would be worth the wait. It was!
If you like In & Out Burger on the west coast, as I do, you will really enjoy an Okata Bento burger. I ordered a Teri Cheese Burger and a Cheese Burger. The regular cheese burger was a handmade patty, cooked just right, on a beautifully fluffy bun with a little lettuce and the usual condiments. The only thing missing (if you are an In & Out fan) is a toasted bun and some special sauce. It was very good nonetheless. The Teri Cheese Burger was just as good but a little salty due to the teriyaki sauce. It was good but just a little over-​seasoned.
I will definitely go back for a post-​surf burger fill up or maybe to try one of their plate lunches, which were popular choices among customers waiting with me.
By the way, burgers are only a few dollars each! And the plate lunches seem like a bargain at $ 7 and $ 9 for regular or mix plate.
Bottom line: a very good burger at a great price. Just bring enough change to get your meter filled for the wait.
It is worth the wait!

What do I say about Okata Bento? Oh yeah, Crappy service but ‘ono food. Isn’t that always the case? LOL! Even though their customer service skills suck I always come back for the food. I think they’ve been in business so long they have a take it or leave it attitude. I guess I’ll take the abuse because I love the food. Hahahahaha. Char siu chicken bento is the bomb!!!

If you love little hole in the wall eateries, then this is a place for you. Don’t expect any extravagance, just good simple food. The place is run by a husband and wife team (I think) and they are friendly. The prices are okay and the portions are decent. I like their pork tonkatsu and they donburi bowls.
Because it’s a small family run place, I would highly recommend calling in your order. If not you’ll have to wait a while because it’s all freshly made. The good thing is they have a bunch of little cartoon clippings on their windows you can read to bide your time. Give them a shot and try their food.

Worst service ever… and by the owner! I used to visit here when I worked in Kaimuki, like over 20 years ago and remember this place. I really liked it. Since moving back in this area, I’ve been dying to pickup a plate lunch here. But parking is bad — rare street parking or pay in the lot on the opposite side of the highway. Well, I lucked out one day and got street parking, asked for a hamburger steak plate, and the lady taking the order turns to someone out of view, who mumbles something back, and she says «It’ll be 15 or 20 minutes. We’re making rice.» I asked could I get it without rice. I’ll pay the same price. She asks the person out of view. He grumbles something. She tells me, sorry, but he said no. He’s the owner. Sorry.
What’s up with that? Really? The experience was just so weird — to be treated so rudely by the owner for no apparent reason. This place is now on my «S» list.

Old style charm with a delicious pay-​off.
One of the best hole-​in-​the-​wall take out lunch establishments located in Kaimuki town. They have been there for decades and serve some of the best ono grinds in the state.
Plate lunches, donburi, sandwiches, they offer a variety of stuff but a favorite for me has to be their bentos– and in particular the awesome chicken katsu bento. It also comes with a piece of mahi mahi, tamago, fish cake, takuan, and luncheon meat over a bed of rice with ume. Pretty simple and basic but oh, so ono! The bentos come in a regular and mini size.
If your timing is right, these make perfect flight meals to take with you– a much better alternative the usual coach seating offerings (yeeech!) that the airlines offer.
Their offerings are not as extensive as many drive-​ins
but what they do serve is cooked to perfection and they are very consistent with their delicious kau kau.
Always a «go to» place when mainland relatives come to Hawaii for a visit, it’s the perfect comfort food for transplanted Kamaaina or newly arrived visitors to our fair shores.
Make it a new year’s resolution to visit Okata Bento in 2015. You won’t regret it :)
Last review for 2014– Happy New Year Unilocaldom :)

This was a place I always looked forward to as a kid and not much has changed 25 years later. The menu, food and prices have hardly changed over the years. I hardly get to go nowadays, so I don’t stray from my staple order of a double-​teri deluxe burger.
Best — by far — teri burger I’ve had anywhere. It’s Japanese style, so please don’t compare to W&M, which (to me) is like a glorified May’s burger. The Okata teri burger has home-​made patties that almost crumble when you bite into the burger. The teri sauce is on point, not too sweet and just gooey enough (think Yoshida). The shredded lettuce makes it easy to bite (hate it when you end up pulling out a whole piece) and the bun is chewy soft.
I’ve also tried their bentos which are good, great if you consider the reasonable prices. The katsu don is exactly what you expect a donburi to be.
The area looks run down and it is a hole in the wall like everyone else says, but the food is nothing but high quality, simple, nostalgic and inexpensive. Be prepared to phone order or walk around Kaimuki for a bit as this is NOT fast food. However, it is well worth the wait!

Okata Bento is one of those Hawai’i businesses we’ll miss very much when they’re no longer there. It’s a little piece of neighborhood nostalgia that reminds you of when you were a hungry kid who had only a few dollars in your pocket.
EATS: Get the teri beef sandwich, not the teri burger, which I found to be rather mushy. Two totally different experiences and in my humble opinion the teri beef is waaaaay better. It made me wish I had magic fairy hands and could change things into a teri beef sandwich.
Stop sign (BLING), now a teri beef sandwich!
Small dog (BLING), now a teri beef sandwich!
Husband (BLING), now a teri beef sandwich!
I could do this all day long and life would be delicious…
I also ordered the hamburger steak plate for $ 6.50 which came with two scoops rice covered in gravy and mac salad. A deal at $ 6.50 but I was pretty disappointed, so much so I only ate a few bites and threw the rest away. Darn, I sure wish my magic fairy hands were working so I could turn that plate lunch into a teri beef sandwich!
LOCATION: Across the street from Coffee Talk, sandwiched in between the Hawaii Symphony and Asuka Nabe. It’s basically a hallway with a little window. Everything is made-​to-​order so if you’re in a rush call ahead. It took about ten minutes for them to pack up my lunch.

(Not so) hidden gem in Kaimuki! I went to this place for the first time after seeing the great reviews. I live in Kahala so Kaimuki is my go-​to place for quick bites. I got the Gyuudon Donburi — freshly made beef, mushrooms, onions, bamboo shoots, egg and rice. Simple but delicious and only $ 6.75. I also love the signs saying food is prepared to order so «be patient.»
I’ll definitely be back to try some other items!

This place has been here for a loooong time! Kinda nice, esp. when you realize how much Kaimuki has changed over the years. The only other place I can think of that’s still in its original spot is the crack seed store.
I like the teri burgers. They use relish mixed in with the mayo… I think that’s the old school way. Love the fact that food is cooked to order. You can phone in for faster service.
Oh & no fries here… gotta get those elsewhere.

Love this place… one of the best hole in the wall joints out here its kaimukis treasure a gem on the island…
Great place great service ono grinds

5 stars all the way!
Nice people, great service, and delicious food!
In my opinion they have the BEST Teri hamburgers & super ONO tonkatsu!
Nuff said– you just gotta try it and give it your own opinion! ^_^

I’ve passed by Okata Bento so many times in my life. I always overlooked it on my way to Kwong On (in the past) and Aloha Crepes (more recently). But I was looking for some good, home-​cooked tasting food and found Okata on Unilocal.I called in my order, because there is limited metered street parking. I ended up parking in the private lot behind big city diner and ran over to Okata to be within the grace period.
The girl working the cash register was funny and nice, but it seemed like she was new. She was having trouble ringing up my order, but I had fun reading the articles taped on the side of the window while I waited.
I ordered the char siu chicken and teri hamburger steak, with gravy everywhere (they’ll ask). It was so delicious. When you think of local homemade food, this i it. There was great, full flavor. I think some people might think it tastes too concentrated and over done, but I needed it and thought it tasted good.
They have very specific hours and I had to be sure to come for lunch because they are not open late. Okata seems to be a keystone establishment in Kaimuki. I’m always very impressed with the variety in Kaimuki and I’m glad Okata is there to represent good, consistent local Japanese plate lunch and bento. I’m excited to come back to try some of the other offerings and bentos.

I read some of the bad reviews and I seriously don’t understand, they’re dumb. Don’t complain about how long it takes for your food it literally takes like 10 – 15 mins and that just means it’s fresh and not already ready to order! Duh! You rather have it sitting there under a warmer? I don’t think so!
First of all don’t judge a book by it’s cover! You’ll see this place just because of the little sign they have outside and the sign is a but work down & missing an A. It’s literally a whole in the wall, there’s only a order window with no inside or seats. So you just order your food, wait around, and leave.
I got an oyako donburi and my boyfriend got a plate with teriyaki chicken and tonkatsu. The oyako don was good and not dry. I probably liked it even more because I love bamboo shoots, onions, and mushrooms. The teriyaki chicken is really good! Just enough sauce and you can definitely tell they marinated the chicken as well. The tonkatsu was good and thin, had no fat whatsoever, and came with legit katsu sauce. I also like the fact that they had green river which was pretty good.
And may I add the lady there who I’m guessing is the owner is SO nice, she really is. It was a perfect meal and I would definitely go there again!

I was waxing nostalgic and caloric — as in, to heck with the diet one time — so decided to check out Okata Bento in Kaimuki. I’d never tried it before but I’d noticed its sign with the missing «N» several times before while on my way to Jewel or Juice or Hale Vietnam.
Ordered a mixed plate of hamburger steak and teriyaki chicken. Wait was only 7 or 8 minutes as I was the first one there when it opened. A generous portion of simple, tasty food like I remember from days gone by. Decades actually as Okata Bento was established in 1981. For $ 8.25 tax included. And no extra charge for gravy all over like that other old-​time and much more well-​known plate lunch place down the road a ways in Kapahulu. A large lemon-​lime drink aka «Green River» for $ 1.45.
A good combo. For other less obvious reasons too. The 2 scoops of rice were made much more interesting soaked through with savory brown gravy on the top and sweet teriyaki sauce on the bottom. Each bite of food made much more interesting with finely shredded cabbage. Old time food. Old time taste. Old time good. The mac salad, thoughtfully served in a separate plastic cup ‘cuz it couldn’t fit on the loaded down plate, might be better than Brand R’s.
Okata Bento is like the girl next door you take for granted as nothing more than a friend. Or the role player on the team. Not flashy. Barely noticeable. But fundamentally sound, consistent, and reliable. I used to go to Kwong On next door for manapua and chow fun all the time in my younger days. Not once did I pay any mind to Okata Bento. I was even a regular at the other place for my hamburger steak plate for $ 1.80 (remember those days?).
Okata Bento has got my attention now. It’s earned a spot on my roster of «keeper’s».

You hipsters want a hole in the wall, this is it. No tables, no chairs, no parking lot, just a window where you get your food and a line of people waiting to get it. Everything here is soooooo good. My family and I have buying food from them on an almost weekly basis since we were kids.
My favorite is the Chicken Katsu. All the fat is trimmed off and you get just the meat, unlike other places where you get pieces of fat/​skin katsu. This type of care goes into everything, teri chicken, teri beef, etc. All the Teri items are awesome. Best mac salad on the island. Even the luncheon meat is good, how the hell you make luncheon meat good?
I’m just wondering how people can say how great this place is and not give 5 stars. I would give 10 if I could.

CASH ONLY. AWESOME PLATE LUNCHES AND BENTOS.
This place has been around for EV-​ER, but just in case you’ve never been… go check it out next time you’re in Kaimuki at lunchtime! These plate lunches are really good unless you’re on a diet, in which case you shouldn’t be looking at these pictures:
Limited hours M-​F 11 – 4, Sat 11 – 3. (and they will be CLOSED 4÷15−4÷28÷13). Call your order before you get there because this place is literally a hole in the wall. (No place to sit, no place to stand)
My favorite is the teri hamburger and char siu chicken. Hamburger steak w/​brown gravy is good too. But this is what I REALLY love… they cut all the fat, skin, and gristle off their chicken, and give you perfectly cut bite-​sized pieces of chicken. If you have kids you know what a pain in the ass it is to always de-​bone, de-​skin, de-​toughen chicken for the kids. This is like a dream come true for me, except I don’t even give my kids this because I eat it all before getting home. The only thing I don’t like is the luncheon meat they use in the bento. it’s not spam. But back to the little bite sized pieces of chicken. This is the char siu chicken plate, look at the cute little pieces!
I love little mom/​pop hole in the wall places like this! Or as Kyle says, it’s a «Hole in the Hall».

I love Okata Bento!
How do you know when a person takes pride in there food. .
All the fat from meat and chicken is trimmed caringly.
Nothing is rushed to make sure your bento is perfect.
You can tell the Love and Pride in every bite!
My «Fave» is the Tonkatsu and fish, but there different things on the menu you can combine or try.
You might want to call ahead and order your food, otherwise there is a wait.
Good things come to those who are patient!
Hours:Mon-Fri 11 am — 4 pm. Sat 11 am — 3 pm
Ph#.737−6063