39 Yoshoku

First timer tonight! Met the manager/​owner? Mike @ D&B one night & he was so nice, we had to check it out. I honestly feel like this is a mini-​Shokudo, minus the honey toast & with a cheaper price tag. I love the location… it’s super close to home for me & I love that it’s not in town so you avoid the super huge, crazy weekend party rush. The parking lot is pretty dinky & I was sad to find out halfway into it that it’s a one way. What? Big Tacoma in front me trying to reverse into me & me trying to reverse out of the way with a Jeep GC onto busy Waialae Ave? No bueno. Good news though: if their lot is full, they let their customers park (for free) across the street in the Goodyear parking lot.
Food review now! We only ordered & split a couple pupus tonight but it all tasted SO good & then had the dessert special; Christmas brownie with ice cream & glass of champagne. Our pupus included: karaage chicken, wasabi poke & edamame. I ended up eating the wasabi with both the poke & the chicken (not your normal wasabi. I think they make it with minced garlic or something. Fricken YUM!). & the edamame… ooooh buttery, slightly salty goodness.
Live entertainment, super laid back crowd & surprisingly not very busy for a Saturday night. I also like that this place is pretty small so it gives a more intimate feeling than my prior favorite & main competitor, Shokudo. Now as I mentioned this place is very laid back. Our server was very friendly but did not badger or linger. Great for myself & my friends… maybe not great for you if you’re the type that expects to be waited on hand & foot.
My ONLY complaint? The ladies bathroom. WOW. Not sure what happened tonight or if it’s like that all the time but it will be too soon if I never have to step in that bathroom again. It looks nice & was pretty clean but just smelt absolutely horrendous. Please get that in order Yoshoku & I will be your biggest fan!

Great comfortable neighborhood bar. Excellent and friendly service whether you sit at a table or at the bar. Mike the manager goes out of his way to make you feel welcomed. The bartender Ikaika is a walking Wikipedia of wine knowledge. Gotta love a bartneder who’s so passionate about wine. Menu is a fusion of Japanese, Local and Italian inluenced comfort foods. My favorite is the roasted Pumpkin Salad with BACON and served with a garlic evoo dressing. Also really like the Spicy Sausage on the pupus list. They’re a nice complement to my wine habit. The live music definitely adds to the atmosphere. There’s additional parking next door. Look for signs for assigned stalls for the restaurant.

I’m still underwhelmed by this place but I’ve figured out it’s more of a beer pub than a restaurant. The food is still uneven — the categories don’t seem to harmonize and there are only a few selections in each. And no ramen. Oh well, not sure I’ll be back anytime soon.

We live just an inchworm away from 39 Yoshoku, and the hubster passes it to and from the gym, so a spontaneous date night was under way.
Previous reviews remark on a few setbacks: tricky parking, empty dining area, and just so-​so food. Unfortunately, we had a similar experience so I won’t harp on those points. What IS nice about 39 Yoshoku is their Happy Hour. They offer GIANT 32 oz. Bud Lights for $ 6.50, and whattayaknow… hub likes BL! As for me, I was curious to try the HH menu which runs from 4:30 — 6:30pm and starts from a paltry $ 3.99 and up.
We were chub-​a-​dub-​dubbin it with a wide assortment of items: Yoshoku Poke, Garlic Ahi Steak, Margherita Pizza, Ginger Pork, and the Yuzu Chicken. No dish was terrible. In fact, some dishes like the Yoshoku Poke and the Ginger Pork just needed an extra «oomph» of passion to make it sing. The effort was there, but it didn’t ring any bells for me personally. Ikaika O. hoovered the margherita pizza and left with no complaints so it’s personal preference. Service was great; the waitress was friendly and attentive, with an ongoing enthusiasm throughout the evening.
One big flub in my book was the menu item «Yoshoku Sundae» described as «Local Made Fruit Ice Cream Sundae With Fruit Sauce». I envisioned ice cream with local fruits and drizzle because it has ice cream in the description.
Nada.
There is NO ice cream in the Yoshoku Sundae. Just three scoops of assorted sorbet/​sherbet with a sad array of Asian-​esque fruit cocktail. Nothing screamed fresh fruit at all and the dessert queen left with her head low.
FYI: the owners of 39 Yoshoku are the same owners as Genius Lounge, a well known bar hidden on the sidestreets of Waikiki. The logo of a spotted dog is a common thread among both businesses.

Live music and drinks are my pull here. Bartenders make excellent mixed drinks and have an unusually wide variety of bottled beers for a neighborhood restaurant/​bar. Standard huge mugged beeron tap available, of course. There are drink specials and a wide variety of liquors to choose from.
The live MUSIC is awesome, NO COVER. Thursday, Friday & Saturdays they have a variety of music, players and genre’s. Ranges from a single guitar singer to a full on 15 piece band. Never know what you’ll get but a good variety of entertainment. Rock music plays on speakers when bands take a break.
Parking is on the left and right of the restaurant building. Better to park in the larger lot to the right of it. Watch out for reserved 24 hour parking signs, but otherwise, evening times the lot is totally open for the restaurant.

The bartender is so nice and their pupu platter is on point!
Tuesday night have 3.99 appetizers after 9:30

Nanban Chicken and Bacon Pumpkin salad. Get it! Both were really good. I went there with a bunch of friends for Salsa tuesdays. There was a decent crowd and good music. I’ll definately be back. Good place to go if you want to chill, dance, or listen to music, and have some good pupus while youre at it.

When my friend, Robbie invited me to his last performance at 39 Yoshoku, it was a last minute decision to go. So I call up my friends, Les and Alyssa to join me for a late night happy hour (9:30 — close?).
My first time, and I didn’t know what to expect especially because I haven’t been to the restaurant before they took over that spot. As I walked in, it has a Japanese theme décor. Dark mood lighting. Most of the tables were filled. The crowd looked young; like in their 20’s.
I sat at the sticky wood bar (because of the wood finish) so I could have a view of the live music. The bartender, «Dave» was friendly, and very informative. He handed me a «Thirsty Thursday» menu with selections of $ 2 — $ 5 categories of spirits. There were no special cocktail menu (i.e. «Marilyn Monroe»). There were only 3 selection of draft beers on tap; Asahi, PBR, and something else. I didn’t bother to remember the beer selection because I’m a beer snob — don’t judge me. Their list of bottled craft beers weren’t bad. So I asked Dave what he would recommend as a cocktail. He gave a sample of his lemon garlic sochu. I didn’t know how to accept that flavor. I couldn’t even think of something to mix it with to make it taste better. You got to love raw garlic flavor to love this drink. So he made me what I think he called a Marilyn Monroe $ 5; strawberry vodka, splash of Rumchata, and soda water. It was really good! My friend had the Old Rasputin $ 5.50.
We ordered off the HH food menu, and everything on the list is $ 3.99. Being that price, keep in mind that the portions is also that price. Each item we ordered came on a plate about 5“x5″. Everything we ordered was very good!
FOOD:
+Wasabi Poke, served with a side of wasabi garnish
+Yuzu Chicken; light floured deep fried with a yuzu (citrus) sauce on a bed of greens
+Spicy Sausage; about 5 Japanese sausage with a Sriracha mayo
+Short Ribs; 1 short ribs marinated and grilled sliced up into 3 cuts
+Ginger Pork; thinly sliced pork marinated with ginger Japanese style on a bed of greens
LOCATION: Near the funky intersection of Waialae, Kapiolani, and Kapahulu. But it’s off of Waialae across from Good Year.
PARKING: if you’re a good driver, please use the parking lot to the right of the building. The left is for skilled drivers. It’s tight, angled and requires delicate precision. There’s limited stalls. When I got there, both lots were full, so I called and «Mike» suggested to park across the street at Good Year. A bit sketchy. my car was the only one there.
Upon coming here, I looked up the Unilocal reviews and it made me nervous to see such a variety of good to bad reviews. I really was trying to find out parking information. But I’m glad I got to try this place out for myself. Service was fast and friendly. Food was good. Drinks were good. Prices are good. Live music. Decent location. This place is a spin off of Genius Lounge in Waikiki (I’ve never been). Do a Unilocal check-​in and get a HH pupu for free. I would recommend everyone try this place for themselves.

The live music was actually pretty good. The food — meh. The service — horrible. We were the only paying customers in there with 5 employees. They would be talking to their friends the entire time then as they walked to the kitchen or bathroom they would ask if we needed anything. We sat there for long periods of time without being checked on with empty drinks, SEVERAL times. I would go back (buzzed) for the music.
**Michael E — we were served by several (more than 2) people throughout the night. We couldn’t tell who was working and who wasn’t. Doesn’t matter we will be like the rest of the population and not patronize your establishment. Your response shows your maturity and lack of experience in a customer service industry. It also explains the poor overall star rating and empty tables I witnessed first hand as well as see in numerous posts below. I wish you and your entire empty restaurant nothing but the best!

Beer is $ 4.70
Gave $ 20.20
What’s my change
Beer is $ 4.70
Gave $ 10.20
What’s my change

I love this place. The food is good, service is quick, they have lots of drink options – but the thing I like most about it is the live music. The first time I came here there was a solo guy singing and playing a guitar. His voice was so… amazing. I would probably vote him to be the songbird of our generation. The second time we came here, he had a band and they were awesome! My friends and I talked about coming here regularly just to grab a beer or glass of wine and enjoy the music.
We ordered lots of food. My favorite thing on the menu is the salmon Carpaccio – it’s thin slices of salmon mixed with these very fresh, crisp slices of onions, tomatoes, and some capers. It’s delicious!
You also can’t go wrong with the chicken karaage – it’s doesn’t have an excess amount of batter, and is tender enough to cut (and not cut your gums) like some other places. You can actually still taste the chicken.
The ahi steak is good too. It’s 16 bucks but it only comes with ahi. It’s enough ahi for about 2 people if you order rice on the side and other pupus. I would really recommend sticking with pupus because the prices are great, especially compared to the entrée items.
We ordered nachos and cheese – this was a little sad and I’ll probably never order it again. It was just nacho chips, with cheese and salsa that tasted like the canned salsa you buy at a grocery store. It was only 4 bucks, but after they brought it to the table, we could tell why it was so cheap.
The first time we went here they had a whiskey menu. The second time we came, the whiskey menu was gone. Not sure why, but they still sell beers, wines, and shochu.

Yup, Yups. I am a total fan. $ 3.99 happy hour picks. Heck ya!
We got here around 6:15pm. We honestly didn’t know there was happy hour on a Saturday night, but as I parked and walked around to the entrance, happy hour ends 6:30pm. We rushed in and started flipping through the menu and selecting our food items. We ordered 7 dishes from the happy hour menu. We ordered the chicken, spicy pork skewers, ahi poke, bacon and cheese potato wedges, shortribs, croquette, and proscuitto garlic bread. Most of the dishes were very tasty. The only thing I have to say about the garlic bread was… crispy hard. I wish it was a little less crispy. Maybe I’m older and my jaw couldn’t handle the extra crispiness. hahaha… As for my drink, well, I had what Mr. Bartender created that night. He didn’t give it a name yet so he asked us to name it. Ginger Sunshine. I believe it was pineapple juice and vodka and something else. It was delish. If I wasn’t driving, I would’ve had another one. Thank you, Mr. Bartender.
Service was superb and friendly. They even have live entertainment. We were there early so as we left, the entertainment was setting up. Definitely a new spot worth checking out. It might be still new so it wasn’t that busy, but hey, we didn’t have to wait for a table that night so I’m happy.

We expected to dine at Sakura, but decided to try out this new place. It was really dead. Only one or two waiters which was enough. Our waitress was really cute and friendly and welcomed us with that local feel. Even though we were in the corner private table, she never forgot about us.
Food was great and drinks were cheap, but I wished I tried their dessert! We had the ribs, wasabi poke, and mentai pasta. Red wine and beer for drinks.
For live music, we had the guy with the ukulele. I liked how he had his own style and was totally a one-​man-​show with the laptop as his back-​up singer (which was actually his own voice recorded on the spot). I gave him a dollar to sing «Rude» by Magic haha
One constructive criticism would be to lower the volume. I know it’s a preference thing with live music and all, but I had to shout when I was conversing to my bf. I’m sure it’s not like that every night with all the local artists.

Went in around 8:30pm or so, and it was almost completely empty. Only 2 other tables besides us, however there was only one waiter working the bar and taking care of tables so service wasn’t that fast. The food made up for it though! They were all out of the poke and chicken (gotta go back to try it next time) so we had spinach bacon salad, a pasta, the Yuzu chicken, and scored some cheesecake for dessert! The raspberry was to die for.

Great bottled beer selection at affordable prices. Live music! Sake also at great prices. Limited wine menu, but not bad choices. Full bar, so cocktails are a breeze to whip out. This place does crazy cheap drink specials on Thursdays so it gets incredibly packed with people looking for a deal, so I would recommend coming on another night if you want the more relaxed version of this restauraunt.
But they have live music later in the evening every night which is a plus in my book. The musicians seem to receive drinks from customers on a regular basis for appreciation for the great tunes they’re dishing out aside from their already full tip jar. Kudos to that! From what I learned the band on Friday liked to do a shot they call the «Golden Shower».
The Food is good, but they have only been open two months and are in their early stages yet. I look forward to seeing how the menu develops in the near future. It’s done Japanese Izakaya style like many nearby restaurants. But their live music and dink prices set them apart. The entrees don’t typically come with rice so request it if you’re a carb loader like myself. Food till at least 11pm. If they have people there they sometime do last call as late as 1 am. Call ahead or text in your reservation and they are happy to accommodate. Here! (808) 554‑3431. I recommend giving this place a shot!

This place took over Sakura’s location. Staff has some familiar faces and are still very helpful and friendly. The vibe is still similar to Sakura too. Live music, not a whole lot of seating but now you can even sit on the floor with low tables.
The food was just ok in my opinion. We got the Mentai pasta, both versions of the yoshoku poke, the kalbi and yuzu chicken. The best was definitely the yuzu chicken which our server MIKE recommended to us. The mentai pasta though popular on the menu was a bit too overwhelming with the cod flavor even though we added mushrooms and bacon.
The most enticing aspect of Yoshoku however are the drink prices and selection. I believe they had asahi on draft as well as numerous other beers, and an impressive collection of sake.
Our total came out to just below 100 which included 2 300ml bottles of kikusui sake.
Would love to go again due to the ambience and friendliness of staff but hope they add more to the menu which is still fairly limited

Carry over of food items from Genius Lounge in Waikiki. Bold flavors! Wasabi poke and yuzu chicken are good examples.
Staff are very good at answering questions and making menu suggestions.
Although I have seen families having dinner here, there is more of a bar atmosphere with the dark lighting and candle accents. Wish they had a bigger Sake selection.

Good pasta but limited menu compared to Sakura. The service was excellent and staff were very friendly. They answered all our questions and if they werent sure, they went to ask the kitchen. Its a new place so everything is still in the works. I wish they had more on their menu but we did come here for their pasta.
I had the white cream sauce pasta (Mentai?) with bacon. It was good but after a while the cod flavor becomes over powering. I would recommend getting a side of spicy sausage to balance out the taste. The potion for the pasta was perfect. The spicy sausage is good as well. It could only be explained as a crescendo of spice. It starts off mildly salty but by the time you are done chewing, the pepper is literally kicking your tongue. My friend also ordered the Spicy Sausage pasta which was delicious as well. Its more of tomato based sauce with ketchup. The sausage gave it a kick. Lastly, the potato salad was nothing special just a good side.
They have some events going on late at night on the weekends also. Price range for the pastas were like $ 12 – 15. I do miss Sakura and this place is by no means a replacement for it based on the type of food it serves. Great staff. Only downside is the limited menu. This place was very quiet when we dined in.

Grand opening was a little less than a week ago but this place has its @#%! together. Food was fantastic, service struck that fine line of attentive without constant pestering, and décor made the entire shindig quite pleasant.
Went on a Saturday evening the place was pretty dead. Besides our large group there was only a couple in the entire space. Seating wise there were probably 12 – 16 4 person tables, some with the classic japanese «hole in the floor» style seating (similar to ichiriki). Tons of parking, even though for some reason most stalls were occupied despite the restaurant being empty. This was perhaps the biggest plus since most places have horrendous parking.
I sampled the Yoshoku poke, wasabi poke, and japanese spaghetti. Their pasta was delicious with tons of spicy sausage and just the right amount of sweetness. Having just come back from Japan the poke was nothing special but seemed fair for the price (good quantity). Beers were your standard fare and price (~$ 4). They had a fairly large selection of wine, sake, and cocktails. All their entrees were 11 – 15 bucks which makes it a great place to try a bunch of different things!
Will definitely come back to try a few more dishes and see what else is good!

This new place took over the old Sakura restaurant. They have low lighting to make you feel relaxed.
Since its so new there are not a whole bunch of crowds.
They have such a comprehensive drink menu and a pretty good food menu.
Doing group get togethers is perfect for this place right now because of the open feel and lower visibility.