Choi’s Garden Restaurant

Choi’s Garden is NOT CLOSED permanently. They are under renovation and will re-​open later this month. Can’t wait as this is my go to Korean restaurant.

They’re closed for now. It’s a total renovation since the inside is gone along with the restaurant façade. Called their number, and they said they won’t open until November.

Enjoyed something new — hot stone bowl healthy rice — and it was yummy. Combo’d with choice of kal bi or grilled fish and choice of soft tofu or miso soup, it was a feast! Banchan of bean sprout namul, cucumber kim chee, and other goodies rounded out the meal rather nicely. Great service (prob helped to have my Korean-​speaking friend there). Kal bi was super tasty, and not just because I had just come from a five-​mile walk. Tofu soup was seasoned perfectly, looked spicier than it actually was.

Best spicy tofu soup! Love the flavor and spice. Hits the spot! Plus it’s close to work. Love it!

The meal I should have had! It was a different experience then the last time I went. When we walked through the door we were greeted by 3 staff members standing by the door smiling. (One of them being part of the rude staff the last time, but never the less she was there smiling too). Anyhow, my husband, my baby in the stroller and I were seated in the corner. They accommodated us with a corner table for the stroller. We sat down and ordered the all day special #4 with their special rice in stone pot, Stew (choice of kimchee, korean miso and soft tofu soup) and kalbi.
The banchan came out and were very good (not too salty and fresh! And their beautifully sour kimchee), our stews followed soon after. I had the kimchee chigae and my husband the soondoo boo (soft tofu soup). The kimchee stew was very delicious! Nice sour kimchee that balances out the rich broth and loaded with tofu! The tofu soup was a hit with my husband too… and he LOVES tofu soup. The kalbi came out with the soup and it was fabulous! Back to their former glory! Bone in kalbi!!! Very tender and juicy, a bit saucy but very tasty!
Then the special rice in hot stone pots came out and they were perfect! Of course I let the rice cook to the stone a little more to eat the delicious burnt rice porridge afterwards. When I did take the majority of the rice to my bowl it was cooked so well. Not mushy or dry… just nice chewy kernels of rice with assorted beans and a slice of kombocha. Yum!!! Ugh the burnt rice porridge soup afterwards was Devine!!! So good with slices of their perfectly sour kimchee banchan!
They have redeemed themselves and fixed problems they had before! Service today was excellent! Justin the manager was very attentive, not only to us but the whole place. He was all over the place filling waters, just keeping busy. Plus he was super friendly too.

All in all an awesome experience that I would recommend again and visit again soon.

As a first time customer, I was very glad to dine at a wonderful Korean restaurant and the waitress was very good because she was giving us heads up on how long our food was going to take as well as our waitress explained about the buzzer and if we needed something, just hit the button and they will come to you. I was very happy to see our waitress asking what’s the matter and checking our food and it came in a timely manner. Also as a first timer, the side dishes were very interesting as well as the apptizers too. I am going to say that it is a good place and I recently purchased a Groupon voucher for this restaurant and was able to make sure that I enjoyed the dining experience that I don’t get to do often. I am very pleased with the welcoming staff to make sure that I was able use the Groupon voucher before tomorrow so I can get to use it and enjoy the food. Thanks for a fabulousness time and be back real soon

Food is great
Service was great
Wasn’t too busy tonight, so parking was good especially since they have a parking attendant.
Definitely going back.

Best korean food !!
Best services !!
Best korean restaurant !!
They have good tasty sizzling stone pot bi bim bap
I can choose my own topping very awesome !!
They also have friendly workers !!
They greet you with big smile and they explain the menus very friendly !!
I really like this korean restaurant !!

I love this place. our family normally go this restaurant for any family events. Their service is very good. since im korean and love korean foods I think they are the most best korean restaurant in Hawaii. I normally eat «Healthy stone pot rice» when I go on lunch time lol. Pretty much go there for dinner.(yakiniku~~~~) I strongly recommend this place!!! Try it!

We went for lunch because of the reviews we had read about and it was a great choice. The food was really good. I got a combo plate with meat jun and grilled chicken and I am glad I did. I had never had meat jun and would have been sad if I miss out on the grilled chicken. Great lunch with really good side dishes and seaweed soup!

Services is Amazing!
The server come and explain the menu with a big smiley face
Parking, They have valet even though the place is crowded it’s ok just park in front
Food is staple korean.
Overall experiences eating here is good. Happy with their services. Check up on us many times and always so polite And happy.
Thank you for ur amazing service.
The end of our services we got delicious desserts.

I went to this place last Thursday night with two buds. There was a parking attendant helped us, so we had no problem with parking. As we entered the restaurant, one of the servers politely led us to a table. Interior wise, it was really neat and clean. I usually don’t expect BBQ restaurants to be clean but this place is not the case.
That night we decided to have single dishes instead of bbq. The dishes were very delicious, were very close to authentic Korean food but definitely not too extreme for those who are not used to «Korean spicy». Anyway, we shared a seafood pancake and we loved it. You kno, not many Korean restaurants serve good seafood pancakes. I had Dolsot Nakji Bibimbab, a bowl of Bibimbab topped with octopus. Octopus was well cooked. It is really hard to chew and eat when octopus is undercooked or overcooked. My buds, one of them is Canadian, had Bulgogi and spicy beef soup and they really liked it a lot for real. Especially, bulgogi had rich flavor and was so much of meat, almost good for two people I think.
About the service, I strongly felt that the servers were very well trained since they were helpful and attentive. They were polite throughout the time we spent there. Our servers always came back to check on us. Water cups were refilled as soon as they run low, no asking needed.
Overall, I have been to a lot of Korean places all my life, more than you can imagine, and I can confidently say that I’d rank this place top 5 in my list. If you are looking for a decent Korean place in Hawaii, Choi’s garden is the place for you.

Let me just say that I am a BIG foodie wherever I travel. Having lived in New York and Seoul, I wasn’t that excited when my non-​Korean friends wanted to try Korean food in Hawaii. Come on, Hawaii? Of all places, we decide to get Korean food? They found this since it was close to where we were.
Having said that, we sat down, and the waiter greeted us with a nice welcome. His English was spot on, which made my friends comfortable.
I wanted to introduce my friends to a diverse mix of food — Korean Pancakes, Short Rib Beef Soup, Char-​Broiled Fish, Of course ample servings of the Seasoned Tenderloin and Pork Belly, and topped it off with some beers.
The food came out in a timely fashion and man, oh man, we all dug in. First, the soup had the nice spiciness mixed with some of the natural beef fat to give it a powerful flavor punch. You take a huge bite out out of the short rib and the juices just gush out. The fish had the crispy skin that gives it a nice big crunch when you bite down into the soft, flaky fish meat. At this point, none of us were making conversation and just eating. Then… the real bad boys were the meat, sizzling on the grill. You can tell this restaurant put in thought and just didn’t order cheap meat by the bulk and sell it off at a huge mark-​up. It REALLY tasted good for a reasonable price.
I was back in a really hard-​hitting, late night Korean BBQ joint in the downtown, narrow streets of Seoul. We hit jackpot.
At this point, we were stuffed to our heart’s content, but ordered some cold noodles anyways ($ 6). We crushed them noodles with the leftover meat. It was a great experience.
I’m very happy I found this place in Hawaii! Definitely go for it!

I went to Choi’s Garden for the first time last night. What a nice surprise! The outside doesn’t look like much. Honestly, it looked like a fast food Chinese takeout type place. Upon entering, I was pleasantly surprised by the nice décor. They have some booths for cooking at the table and other «regular» tables as well. There was a separate room for private parties toward the back.
We were seated right away and given nice, substantial menus. The service was attentive and courteous.
I ordered soon toobu chigae, a Korean spicy soup with vegetables and soft tofu. You can order it with pork, seafood or vegetables. It arrived, boiling, in a stone bowl which kept it very hot throughout my meal. It was delicious. My mother ordered bibimbap and my father ordered mul mandoo guk. Both were very good. They had brought us the usual Korean side dishes to nosh on before our dinners arrived. They even brought whatever extras we wanted.
Service was terrific and the food was really good.

Do NOT eat here. The service was extremely rude and the food was not up to par.
I guess they close at 3PM but we were not told this when we sat down at 2 for lunch. We actually finished eating around 2:50 but we sat for a long time waiting for them to take our check and bring us a take out box. All the waiters somehow disappeared except for 3 korean ladies sitting at the front. I guess I don’t look Korean enough but they assumed I don’t speak Korean and started complaining that we were still in there.
I overheard one lady say, «just tell them to leave already» and roll her eyes at us. I could not believe it. We were trying to get their attention so we can pack up, pay, and leave. Instead of providing good service, they sat there complaining that we were still in there at 3:00! I could not believe that this lady sat there bad mouthing customers right in front of them.
Besides, the kalbi was thin and dry. I would not eat here again.

We enjoyed a nice dinner in one of their private rooms. The rooms are good for a small party w/​8 – 14 people.
Things we ordered were
1) Seafood pancake
2) Seafood stew w/​vegetables
3) Yuk Hae: Seasoned raw beef
4) Yakiniku (meat combination)
5) Stone pot rice
etc.etc…
All of them were tasty, especially, seafood pancake and stone pot rice were my favorite.
Service was business-​like but not bad.

This place used to be so busy, but went in for lunch last Sunday @1230pm & it was pretty empty. Parking wise, great, but still makes you wonder «why so empty?»
The prices are on the high side, but having said that, I still enjoyed my short rib soup. The lady who brought our food out even cut my ribs for me. Meat was pretty tender & soup was comforting without being spicy. Perfect with the side dishes of fish cake, kim chee, seaweed, radish, zucchini, bean sprouts & Korean nori.
What a bummer that the cappucino machine was out of order… being complimentary, it made for a nice dessert drink. Hopefully they fix it, as this is one of the things that makes them unique from other Korean restaurants.
As we were leaving, the restaurant started filling up a little more… still can’t compare to how busy they were before though.

I was able to go to dinner with my family to Choi’s. I had been craving Korean really bad and needed my fix.
Parking is really limited here… fortunately we were there for early dinner so there was ample parking. I am not 100% sure but I think they have a parking attendant that helps with the cars.
The service at this restaurant was ok… the waitresses were polite, but not overly friendly… pretty business like. Although our party trickled in during the two hour dinner, and they were pretty patient with that.
Since there were seven of us and we were able to try a bunch of different things…
Banchan
7 types of side dishes is a good amount. All the flavors were different and very good. I did enjoy eating these throughout my meal, and they gave us refills as well.
Kalbi
The kalbi was very good and we ended up ordering two plates of this. Thick, meaty, and flavorful… so yummy! I could eat this all day long!
Japchae
The noodles were just ok. It wasn’t that they were bad, just not as good as everything else.
Bulgogi
This was super good as well… tons of flavor and slightly sweet, I think this was the table favorite, along with the kalbi. We had two of these as well.
Pancake
The pancake was good as well… not as spectacular as the meat, but it was good.
Bi bim bap stone pot
The stone pot was a little of a disappointment. It wasn’t as tasty as I wanted it to be and for whatever reason, I couldn’t get the hard crust to form on the rice. I am not sure if the stone pot wasn’t hot enough or what… but I was bummed because that’s my favorite part.
I would go back because the food was very good. However this is a fairly pricey place. I know everything in the islands usually costs a little more, but this was a little expensive.

Food is ok.
Sides are ok.
Price can be lowered just a tad bit… Well, maybe more than just a tad.
Service can be good… If you get the nice ahjumma to serve you.
Alcohol selection… GREAT!
We were bummed at first bc they didn’t have flavored soju. But, we were very happy with their other selections. Plum wine FTW! ;)

There are many Korean restaurants in Hawaii that are usually divided into two groups, authentic vs localized. Both are good, just different.
Choi’s Garden falls into the authentic category and they are good. Not the cheapest in cost but you can taste the difference in the quality and preparation of the dishes.
A favorite is the stone pot bi bim bop which is different from the local style version. They give you a raw egg with the veggies and meat which is immediately stirred and folded into the rice with the red sauce. Our server was nice enough to mix it and told us that in Korea, it’s the moms that do the mixing and folding and boy did she do a great job– most delicious bbb I have had. Really enjoyed it! The accompanying side veggies were great, not overpowering, seasoned just right, different from the local style stuff. Excellent all around, the food, service the atmosphere was perfect.
Will be visiting soon!