Kikuya

Love the food here! My favorite is always the misoyaki butterfish, never disappointed. I always get it in the combo which comes with miso soup, sashimi, rice, shrimp & vegetable tempura. The teri beef sticks and Udon are really great here as well.
It does tend to get a little pricey here though, but on the positive side the service here has improved considerably in my opinion. Definitely will continue to come back to visit!

Probably one of the best Japanese restaurants in Hawaii, guarantee it’s the best on the windward side.
Brought my Mom here today for lunch, pretty busy. Short wait for a booth, as we came at the right time, almost everyone was leaving. This was Saturday around noon.
We both got the #2 misoyaki butterfish with tempura (2 shrimp and mix veggies). Also comes with miso soup and pickled cabbage.
Good service for having only one waitress/​bus girl/​cashier. She works hard!
Food was tasty as always!

I love the homey feeling and food at Kikuya. We’ve been eating here for many years, and the food is still oishii! They also give generous portions of local-​style Japanese foods that you often can’t find anywhere else, such as pan-​fried akule and deep-​fried oysters. Our favorites here include the beef sukiyaki, tempura, and potato salad. They also have special plate meals that are big enough to share (unless you’re super hungry!). This is a great place to come with family and friends to share a satisfying and delicious meal.

Took off one star because it was so slow, very busy and took a long time to get our food.
But, the food is so yummy. Tempura is crispy and light and tasted very fresh along with the katsu. You must try the Fried Ahi! So Ono!

Sorry, I didn’t take pictures but wow I was impressed by the food in this place. I came with the family after seeing the latest Star Wars movie. This was at the recommendation of my grandson who is a foodie who really knows his stuff.
Pouring down rain and trying to maneuver Kahuhipa Street which is not that well lit at 7:00 in the evening we made our way to this little Japanese restaurant. Our party of seven was seated, given menus and water then left to discuss our choices.
No one ordered the same thing, the menu is quite extensive. Orders placed for Saba, Katsu, Butterfish, Akule, Donburi, Teriyaki and my personal favorite, the Shrimp Tempura. Probably the best Shrimp Tempura I have ever eaten, not oily, no oily taste, just wonderful lightly battered Shrimp and Vegetables.
We swapped bites around the table, everything was great. Best Saba and Akule I’ve had ever. Traditional Katsu and Donburi. Teriyaki is never a favorite of mine but even it was very good. All the meals were served with miso soup, tsukemono, potato salad, rice and tea.
The food earned five stars, the service four stars, however the establishment could use a good scrubbing…3 stars. I will definitely go back but most likely with a container of Clorex wipes.

authentisches japanisches essen,
grosse portionen, preise tendenziell hoch wie überall.
tempura, leider zu fettig (klar sind diese immer frittiert, aber trotzdem sollte der fett geschmack nicht überwiegen)
miso suppe weltklasse ! sashimi top!

What can I say that the BEST FRIED AKULE in the state pictured doesn’t already say? Fried to perfection to where you can eat just about every part with maybe the only exception being 2 inches of the spine. Kikuya’s attention to freshness, flavor, presentation and detail is consistently on point with their local Japanese dishes. How would I know? Well, I owned the Gracie Jiu Jitsu school next door to them for 7 years and ate there at least once a week. 52×7 = always perfect goodness. (except when they didn’t have akule). The potato salad is wonderful and the green salad is old school Hawaii with only one choice in dressing – Thousand Islands! That’s right, too bad you gotta eat it like at Grandma’s house.
Thing is, it’s better than grandma house. In fact, KIKUYA IS WHERE GRANDMA COMES TO EAT WHEN SHE’S HUNGRY.
So if you haven’t eaten there yet, please do yourself a favor and GO DO IT.
Thank you again Kikuya. I can’t wait to come back home to get my Akule on… mata yoroshiku, Mark

A little hole in the wall japanese restraunt. The food was really good. I ordered their lunch special, chicken katsu and tempura combo. The tempura and katsu were crispy and perfectly battered. Their portions were generous for a lunch combo. Server was attentive and friendly. The only down side is the tiny parking lot, but there is street parking available.

This traditional Japanese teishoku restaurant is still a very good value. For about $ 14, I got a HUGE plate of fried oysters and vegetables, rice, miso soup, and salad. Tasty to boot! The only thing is if you are a little squeamish about hygiene, the age of the restaurant may bother you. Or you may think it’s charming. Either way.

SOOOOOOO GOOD! Definitely a hole-​in-​the-​wall but omg some of the best Japanese food ever. I had their tempura and sashimi teishoku and ooooohhhh gosh it’s amazing.
Huge portions too and they’re really quick!!!

A simple Japanese hole in a wall that serves dishes just like how grandma makes it. Been here a couple times and this place doesn’t disappoint. Though it may not be a fancy restaurant it sure does have a tasty selection of food.
We always order the fried akule and the fried saba sets. Perfectly fried and never soaking in oil. Portions are also big! Each set comes with tsukemono, miso soup, entrée, side salad (with a Japanese ketchup mayo salad dressing), and a small pot of rice to share. Also a hot pot of green tea to enjoy. Rice and tea are refillable too don’t be afraid to indulge.
The only problem is the parking situation because there’s limited stalls. Just come early or pray that you’ll be lucky enough to get parking.

Food is ok at best. Only Japanese restaurant in Kaneohe so I guess it will do since there is no other choice. Service is not good. Came on a Sunday evening for an early dinner had to wait for over an hour just to be seated. Only one person servicing the floor with about 10 people waiting outside. Took forever to even get water to us at the table. Was shocked to find a cockroach egg drop into my food that finally came from the kitchen. Server only gave a casual «sorry about that», took the food away and never offered to replace the dish. Don’t think I will be coming back anytime soon. Recommend make the trip to Kailua for much better food and service.

Pretty good here. They answer the phones promptly, take efficient phone orders (I carried-​out lunch here for a week straight), treat customers nicely.
Pricing: A little on the higher side, but not bad. The food here is really tasteful, especially the meals that come with miso soup, rice, etc. However, they do serve other things like Donburi, Ramen, even something as small as a spam musubi!
Parking: Not really that good. There aren’t a lot of stalls and because there are auto shops, etc. in the same complex, it is often very crowded. Often you will find yourself having to find street parking. This rating would have been a five-​star rating if it weren’t for the parking situation.
Restaurant: Nice, and pretty spacious. Good sized, comfortable booths. Menus up on the wall could be organized a little better (hand-​written, etc). Never actually «ate-​in», but probably will provided I could find parking.

The value here is awesome!
My friend and I shared the butterfish and sashimi combo. The only complaint I had was that the butterfish was pretty flavorless, small and bony. So if you’re really wanting a nice, succulent, thick and flaky butterfish head somewhere else. Other than that, the tempura, miso soup, sashimi and even potato salad and cabbage and dressing were ono.
The tofu was loaded with veggies and meat and had the perfect balance of salty and savory with a hint of sweet. Yum! The broth is so good just to eat with rice.

Found this place by accident on the lush Windward side of Oahu. The first thing I see on their door is a sticker saying «People Love Us On Unilocal.» Well, couldn’t pass that up! And so glad I didn’t. There was a line out the door but they seat you pretty quickly. The servers were so busy and always on the go, yet very attentive to water refills and anything else that was needed… not to mention, very friendly and cheerful even though they were swamped.
I had the Sashimi/​Tempura/​Misoyaki Butterfish combo special… OMG! The tempura was crispy and fresh tasting, butterfish was delish, the potato salad was Ono and the sashimi was «broke da mouth» yummy! A lady sitting at the next table ordered the Fried Akule special which she kindly let me snap a picture of… lol. I heard every bite she took because it was so crispy… just the way I like it. I’ll have to try that next! All in all, a great meal for this always hungry foodie. :)

I love, love, love this place! If you go there expecting a fine dining, hoity toity kind of experience then don’t bother. But if you want honest to goodness Japanese comfort food, then Kikuya (in Kaneohe, not Kalihi!) is the place to be. You sign in by writing your name on a good ‘ol notebook that’s on the counter, then hang out in or outside the restaurant and hope that the others in there eat fast and dig out. It’s a small place, so it’s not unusual to have to wait for a table.
My favorites: yosenabe. Clean, flavorful broth chock full of tofu, won bok, chicken, shrimp (ok, two skimpy shrimp), scallops, mussels, carrots, long rice and a hard boiled egg. I’m sure there’s a few more things in there that I’m missing. On a cold night, the yosenabe hits the spot.
Tonkatsu: others have posted pictures here and one thing I must say is that they are consistent. Good sized pieces of pork that’s tender and flavorful. The panko coating is light and crispy. Don’t even need the tonkatsu sauce, but I dip a little because it makes it that much better!
Salmon shioyaki: you get two nice sized pieces of salmon. Lightly salted, moist, and the salmon skin is nice and crisp. I love this dish because it’s so simple in it’s seasoning.
My husband’s favorite is the fried flounder. It’s a whole flounder that has been deep fried until crisp. Can’t crunch on the bones, but the fins (yes, I know that sounds gross) are so crisp it’s like eating potato chips. It’s fried goodness!
Potato salad and cabbage salad: love them both and I do eat it all. The cabbage salad comes with their standard dressing which is something like thousand island, You don’t have a choice of dressing but I really don’t care because I love the one they serve.
My only complaint is that the hot tea is not always so hot. But if you ask them, they will go ahead and turn up the fire and heat the tea and bring you a fresh hot pot.
There’s usually just two women working the dining room. They do everything except cook the food. They are constantly moving, taking orders, bringing out the food, replenishing the water, clearing the tables, working the register, etc. No frills, but they work HARD and I have much respect for them. We go back again and again because it’s good food at decent prices. Nothing fancy, which is just how we like it.
Oh! Almost forgot to mention: byob!

Great place for local Japanese food. Good prices and nice portions. The atmosphere here is warm and family oriented. It’s not fine dining, but it’s got a lot of character and local hospitality.
If you’re looking for a great place to have some Japanese food and not hurt your pocket… This is the place to go!
I have never left this place unsatisfied or upset. Overall, this restaurant is a great place.

The food here is delicious, there’s no doubt about that. Favorites of mine are the ahi katsu (I usually get all potato salad… the potato salad is yummmmmmy!), the salmon and the Yosenabe.
It’s a bit hole-​in-​the wall-​ish, it’s quite Japanese rustic. When we first started eating here, it was a bit of a turn-​off to me, but the food made up for it. This is also NOT a fast-​food place. You do have to wait a bit for your food, but I don’t mind. That means they’re serving you quality!
The service is okay. I think they need to hire more servers per shift… sometimes, especially during a busy dinner rush, there’ll be only one or 2 servers to tend to a full restaurant of hungry customers. However, the servers are very friendly and do their best to make sure you’re tended to.
Overall, if you’re in Kaneohe (and if you can find this place, as it IS a bit out-​of-​the-​way) and you’re hankering for some Japanese food, this is the place to go!

This is my family’s favorite Japanese restaurant. It’s a small little hole in the wall in Kaneohe. Parking is rather limited, but there’s a lot of street parking available.
They only take reservations for parties of four or more. Reservations is always a good idea since it’s quite busy with locals.
Prices have increased quite a bit since we first started going but still a pretty good value for the quality & quantity of the meal.
I always order the Teri chicken trish ok or chicken katsu teishoku. It comes with rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, nice portion of fresh air sashimi, green salad, Japanese potato salad, Teri chicken and tempura. All that for $ 19.95. Imagine just a few years back this entire meal was $ 12.95!
Service is good and food comes out quick. Definitely can’t beat the taste. This is a great meal for a great price. Highly recommend if you’re ever on the windward side!

I’ve been going to Kikuya for years. It’s been my family’s first choice for dinner outings for any occasion. We find ourselves here at least once a month x 20 or so years, that’s a lot of teishokus!
They have a pretty extensive menu, all of the traditional local Japanese food you’d expect. The best can be found in their combo meals — a main protein (salmon, butterfish, teri chicken, katsu, etc) served with shrimp and vegetable tempura, green salad, potato mac salad, miso soup, tsukemono, sashimi, and of course — unlimited rice. All of that for between $ 20 – 22. Wow, I remember when this was about $ 12?! … still a deal though in my book.
They can get pretty busy during dinner hours but they do take reservations and usually the wait isn’t too long. We have had parties of up to 25 without a problem. They are used to large-​ish parties.
Kikuya is definitely a hole-​in-​the-​wall place, older and kind of beat-​up looking (my gramps calls this place the «dirty spoon» lol) but the food is great and will always be five stars for me, purely for nostalgia’s sake :)

Yay! I finally got to try Kikuya! After we tried going on a monday for lunch (they’re closed on mondays), I was finally able to try this place! Woo! They have pretty great lunch specials that will leave you very full. I ordered the miso butterfish with tempura special. I love miso butterfish, and I honestly haven’t ever had any miso butterfish that I didn’t enjoy. It is therefore kind of hard for me to judge this place based on the miso butterfish. It was served with a slice of lemon, which I thought was kind of weird.
The tempura was alright, I’m not the greatest fan of shrimp tempura, I’d much rather have vegetable tempura if I have tempura at all. The plate also came with rice, potato salad and cabbage salad, miso soup and cabbage tsukemono. For the amount and quality of food, I thought it was decent.
It wasn’t very crowded during lunch, so there was only one server. She was nice and attentive – no complaints there! The patrons were all locals, kind of an older crowd.
I would be back for the homey-​feeling and decent food. Parking would have been an issue if I didn’t get the last stall in the lot. Maybe the parking situation gets better after work when the car maintenance shops that share the lot close.