Yakiniku Kuhio

This place is absolutely amazing. The food is outstanding. Best Korean food I’ve ever had hands down. They even give you chocolate at the end. #sold

Excellent family run hidden gem

I decided to try this place due to all the rave reviews on Unilocal.My daughter LOVES yakiniku, so we went for her birthday. I thought it was just ok. The side dishes were nothing exciting and the meat was not very tender. We got the ribeye dinner and it was definitely big enough for 2. I also added the kim chee fried rice and was disappointed that it was sweet! My daughter only eats the meat and she thought it was fine though, so that’s why I gave it 2 stars.

Brilliant little place that we would never have experienced without Unilocal.
Walk behind Seaside grill to find the place, it’s not huge inside but each table has plenty of space and I’m sure groups of up to 8 would be OK even if they would need a reservation.
The lady there is so friendly and kind, and the food is great. Only some meals are cooked at your table but the others are very good too.
This was a favorite place for a Waikiki-​based vacation.

This place is an awesome hole in the wall you don’t want to miss if you enjoy Korean food and the service is some of the best I’ve ever encountered. I really enjoyed the meat June and the bulgogi. Will definitely return.

This place was awesome. As a resident here in Hawaii, parking was difficult but ended up parking at Waikiki Trade Center (although under renovations, public parking is still available). Food was delicious and price reasonable… better than or equal to other Korean BBQ places in Honolulu. The restaurant is a little small (8 tables) so you may need to wait if crowded. Service was very good and will definitely return.

On vacation now & wanted to find an affordable place for dinner in Waikiki where we’re staying. Of course looked on Unilocal & found this place. A short walk from our room we walked through this alley off Kuhio behind the Seaside grill. First of all we were greeted by the sweetest Korean lady. The place was busy but managed to seat us in 10 minutes. We ordered the rib eye combo & added pork belly. The banchan was so delicious & the meat was so good. & they even cook the food for you on those grill things. The place is small but clean. Me & my husband were so happy with this place, the sweet Korean lady & the great service.

Stumbed upon this restaurant after a search on Unilocal.After trying most of the usual spots in Waikiki over the past few days here, wanted to try something off the beaten path. Did not disappoint! Service was excellent, food delicious and an ambiance that reminded you that you are still in Hawaii. A place to check out if craving some delicious Korean BBQ ! A short walk from Marukame Udon, so if you’re feeling too hungry to wait there walk on over!

One of the best Korean meals I have ever had.
Jennifer, our hostess, could not be nicer.
Enjoyed the spicy pork with the added vegetables. You cannot each much more food.
It is difficult to find. Walk down a narrow alley off Kuhio, and you will find it.
F

First of all, one of the sweetest and kindest servers we have ever had. My wife is pregnant and they were so pleasant with her and asked about the baby and wished us luck with everything as we left. Beyond that, phenomenal food. We got the bulgogi and the stone bowl bibimbap and they were both great.
Also, its a block off the beaten path so it feels like a secret hideaway, far from the touristy main street. But there were also older couples in Hawaiian shirts enjoying the food as well.

Oh yeah, you can tongue me anytime. Not just the tip, the whole tongue. Now we’re talking.
It’s all about thick cut, WHOLE beef tongue. Vibrant pink with nice marbling just waiting to be grilled, seasoned, and eaten.
Note, this is KBBQ. Not AYCE but portions are very large. Sets offer the best value (ie meat lovers set includes a selection of three plates of meats, veg for grilling, banchan and rice). Intended for two very hungry eaters. Cuts are thicker than most places (Rib steak 1.5″ thick, pork belly 1″ thick, the tongue 0.5″ thick). Servers offer to cook and do follow your instructions on doneness. Limited selections, many marinated.
Two standouts meats:
Beef Tongue (whole) — Price based on size. Large is $ 50. Tip, cook different parts of the tongue at the same time and taste the difference. The tip has less fat and a softer texture and a deeper beef flavor. The back fattier and chewier with a gentler sweet beef flavor. It’s also fun to experience the difference in texture and taste with different amounts of cooking; raw vs mid rare, vs mid well. It will surprise you. Served with a soy based dipping sauce or simply finish with salt and pepper (yes, from a giant pepper mill).
Pork belly — No special sourcing. Just thick cut, cooked whole then cut up on the grill. They jack up the heat to make sure you get crispy bits of fat. Juicy and porky goodness. Salt and pepper and it’s all good.
The only weakness, the rib steak. Appears to be USDA select. Little marbling and huge chunks of fat. Tough and ordinary.
Service is extremely friendly and efficient. They are accommodating, offering half orders and making adjustments to portion sizes based on your party’s size.
Simple beer and soju list. Very low prices for Waikiki.
Parking? Yeah right.
Seek and ye shall find. Worthy.

This is one of the best BBQ place I have tried. We got there right before they open at 4:30. The crowd started to appear around 5:30pm. Beef tongue is a must try. Plenty of food. They refilled the side dishes for us. The owner cooked the beef tongue on our table for us, and she was so friendly. Best service ever. 5 of us enjoyed our dinner very much. Thank you so much.

Discovered this little gem walking around downtown one night. My wife was on the edge of starvation (at least that’s what it felt like) and we decided to look down this alley way.
We came up on this small Korean restaurant and decided to eat there. The lady gave us a menu and we sat down.
We took a quick glance at the menu but decided to go with the ribeye steak platter for 2. It was a perfect portion and cooked perfectly.
The lady cooked it on this grill in front of us. There were mushrooms, potatoes and squash on the grill also. And an onion.
The four dishes in the beginning were great additions to the meal. Spicy Kim chee is always great.
At the end of our meal we got two macadamia nut chocolates. Solid spot, very friendly atmosphere.

One of my best decisions to dine out during my trip to Waikiki, at this amazing Korean-​styled BBQ. The rib eye combo was cooked to perfection by the owner, right at our table. The portion was great, just enough for 6 if you order two combos. The décor and the ambiance was more than welcoming and homely. When you are at Waikiki, the last thing you want to worry about is waiting in long lines with a crazy crowd.
The owners (husband and wife) were so accommodating and kind. They even helped us situated the parking issues as this restaurant is in the busy area at night.
I was there for 4 days and ended up having 2 nights of dinner at this place. The night before we left Waikiki, the boss lady even offered us a bag full of drinks, how sweet is that?
I will definitely come back again if I ever visit Waikiki again. Thank you for the hospitality and great food!

Yummy fusion BBQ spot in Hawaii. Got a mix of Korean style and Japanese style BBQ. The spot is super hidden and it’s a small spot so call and make a reservation to secure your spot. The food is absolutely amazingballs. I got the ribeye meal and also a side of full beef tongue. They help you cook the ribeye to medium rare, so juicy and perfect. And the beef tongue is so pretty and delicious. If you’re a beef tongue lover, you will absolutely love the beef tongue here. The other dishes are yummy too. I also got the kimchi bulgogi fried rice, not too spicy and perfectly made with 2 over easy eggs on too! The cold noodles will help in your mouth, so refreshing especially on a hot day!

This place is a hidden gem off the strip… The food is phenomenal and service is A1! Our waitress Jennifer was very attentitive and you can really tell she enjoys her job… Now for the food we ordered the meat lovers combo and an order beef tongue… The meat lovers was enough for 5 people by itself but I eat enough for 2 people so it was perfect for me… If you are in Wakikki make sure you come to this place!!!

This place was interesting. It was close to my hotel so I walked over to try it. The people were very nice and polite. The food came out pretty fast, I was expecting more of a wait. We ordered the Korean BBQ with 3 meats to be cooked in the kitchen. We tried spicy pork, chicken, and bulgogi. My favorite was the spicy pork. It was good. Everything else was pretty average. The side dishes were pretty bad. The four dishes that we got tonight were macaroni salad, bean sprouts, Kimchee, and a pickled seaweed. The seaweed just wasn’t my thing (I do like seaweed normally), the way it was pickled. The bean sprouts didn’t seem fresh. And the macaroni salad was room-​temperature, which being mayonnaise based was pretty gross. The Kimchee was okay.
The only redeeming factor was the spicy pork dish. The bulgogi was alright. The chicken was average teriyaki chicken. I didn’t think this place was too bad especially for the price, but it just wasn’t anything to write home about.

It’s too easy to call this place a «hidden gem», a much used cliché that you see everywhere on local social media and blogs. I’d rather call it «unique» because there’s nothing else like it in Hawaii.
It’s Yakiniku with a personal twist. Although you can say that for places like 678 where servers personally help cook your meat, Yakiniku Kuhio does this but you’ll feel like you’re at a Korean auntie’s house you never knew you had. The service is impeccable and that’s mostly because the restaurant is small. Two people can run this restaurant with ease.
The ordering process was a bit different from what other Yakiniku places are like but they were nice enough to work with you on some items for what we were interested in. For example, if you wanted the tongue and the two person pork belly set, they could get you an half order of tongue instead of a full order. It was nice of them to do it for us because you could easily over order here.
Oh, about that tongue. If you love beef tongue there isn’t a better spot on the island for it. If you could, get a full tongue. That way you can experience the different flavor and texture of each part of the tongue. Every slice of it tastes and feels different. The tongue tastes so good that you’re going to forget about the rest of the food, and heck, they were great also.
Parking? Yeah it sucks because they don’t have their own but if you happen to find parking, it’s a place I would definitely go.

Comimos el bistec, salmón, y mahi mahi. La cantidad de comida fue suficiente, pero nada tenía ningún sabor. Las papas eran lo más delicioso, y no valíà la pena. No regresaré.

What a disappointment. It is one of those places where the reviews don’t really come close to presenting the experience. When I arrived at 5:45 on a monday, I was the only customer. I was greeted promptly and sat. Perhaps since there were no other customers, the inadequacy of the décor really hits you like a brick. The dining literally looks out on the trash bin and the front door faces the air conditioning unit of the neighboring building. Soon I realised that the interior decoration had not been updated since the 1980’s with the ceramic tile and «dime-​store tiki» motif.
Also the building seems like it is falling down, there were two buckets on the floor to catch rainwater and a third puddle. There were six tables and two of them were pushed up against the wall with chairs stacked on one. The yakiniku burners were missing so lifting the lid reveals the floor. and Tables were held together with unpainted flat corner braces and some of the chairs were taped together. Nothing was really done to hide the fact that the place was unmaintained
I explained to the server that it was my first time eating there and asked her for a recommendation. She was taken aback by the question and said «we have meat and vegetables, it is whatever you like and began reading the list of entrees from the menu.
I decided on the short ribs and she brought a glass of water in a metal cup. One odd quirk of this restaurant is that all of the service items were metal, except for the water pitcher which was plastic – perhaps, thirty years ago a forward thinking owner was like I’ll decorate and buy service items only once. No other drink was offered or given.
Since I was the only customer the service was quick and the food arrived hot. it was kind of greasy but I guess grease is what makes short ribs tender. After dinner I was offered a piece of chocolate, but since it was the size and color of something I used to have to clean up when I had a cat. I politely declined. The owner was friendly, we talked about the silver fox tail bag charm that I have.

Exceptional food and exceptional service.
This place is located off the beaten path and is quite the hole-​in-​the-​wall. If it wasn’t for Unilocal,we wouldn’t have known this place existed!
We came here as a party of 4 after a fireworks cruise and were pretty hungry. We ended up ordering the 4 meat combo (double kalbi, spicy pork and bulgogi), an order of pork belly, mandoo, spicy tofu soup and makkulli. The 4 meats came out already pre-​cooked but were given a table top gas grill to cook the pork belly at our table. Everything less the bulgogi (which was under seasoned/​marinated) was exceptional. We ended up throwing all of the pre-​cooked meats onto the grill which made things taste even better.
The order came with your standard Korean side dishes (spinach, macaroni salad, kimchi and taro pancake) and rice. The makkulli came out in a silver pot with the old school tin cups which was really fun to drink out of.
The server was super friendly, really attentive and provided awesome service during our entire dining experience.
We left the place bursting at the seam and super content.
We’d go back in a heartbeat!

Einfach lecker, mehr kann man dazu nicht sagen.
Liegt ein wenig von der Straße weg, lasst euch davon nicht abschrecken, es lohnt sich.