Doraku Sushi

Great food. The lotus drink is amazing.
If you have kids they don’t have a changing table in the bathroom :(

short 15 min wait to get in for 2 on a Friday night at 9pm. Wonderful service, the place is a bit noisy, but the food is very good! Lots of delicious options for a fair price.
We ordered the edamame and California roll as an appetizer off the happy hour menu which is. Bargain.
The butterfish is amazing!

I love this restaurant! Awesome food, awesome service and awesome prices! I love their happy hour too!
I go too often :(but I seriously recommend this place to all my friends and family.

Went last night after a concert at the Blaisdell. It’s definitely a hipster spot (we were the oldest couple there).
Loved the décor and food. We ordered the Laughing Budda Roll, Vegetable Tempura, Ginger Chicken Kara’age and Crispy Brussel Sprouts.
We plan to go again with more people so that we can check out more dishes.
The best part was that they have a second happy hour that lasts from 9 to midnight on weekdays!

A year later, my review still remains the same. We came here on a Sunday night and was seated upstairs with a group of friends squished up in the corner on the table couch. Which by the way smelled like pee and to make things worst the AC wasn’t working that night and with everyone’s body heat it made eating up there a nightmare. The AC was working fine downstairs but it was just not happening upstairs. I swear the chairs reeked so bad that it really made it unpleasant to sit there.
I came a little later because it took me over 30 mintues finding parking because I couldn’t park in the garage after going there twice because it was full after 9pm probably due to a graduation that was happening at blaisdell that I’m sure Doraku was not at fault for not accommodating parking. But it was still frustrating that I had to park super far just to get to Doraku. I decided to just share a dessert with my friends. After finding out the tempura ice cream was out that night we decided to get the honey toast. It was alright, not the best but mediocre. Shokudo’s honey toast beats theirs one that’s for sure.
Service could of been better that night, we were dying of thirst because it was so hot due to the AC being out that our waters could have been filled up quicker or even left more water bottles for us so we didn’t need to wait around for a server to fill up waters. Food came out quick though. Happy hour prices had seem increase and change from the last time I was here but you’d still get more for your buck if you order from the happy hour menu. We always seem to come back but wish we always hope to have better dining experiences next time we plan to go.

I’ve been wanting to try this place out since the beginning of the year and today was the day! My husband and son went during happy hour because that’s how we roll. We got valet parking which is $ 4 + tip. The interior of the restaurant was very modern and I liked the ambiance of the place, also, the staff was very friendly. We ordered most of our dishes off the happy hour menu and ordered a couple of items from the regular menu too.
Salmon Carpaccio — Thin cuts of salmon with a dot of mayo with what looks like minced ginger marinated in ponzu sauce. It was garnished with sliced onion and tobiko. I would have liked it better if there was more ponzu sauce — maybe they should put some ponzu on the side for those who would prefer it. I also thought the dot of mayo was not necessary and took away from the flavor of the salmon.
Ahi Poke — Was more like a Ahi Poke salad which I didn’t mind. It was your standard poke with fresh greens. I thought the fresh greens made the dish lighter and brighter.
Miso Soup — My son has to have this when we go out for Japanese food and (of course) I had a taste! It was very tasty and since my son does not like the texture of the tofu I had the pleasure of eating them all up!
Himachi Sashimi (regular menu item) — I thought it was delicious but the husband was not impressed.
Steak Yakitori — It came with two skewers per order so we had two orders to make sure we all were able to have at least one skewer per person. One order was cooked well and the other was cooked medium rare. I was a bit confused about how that could hapen and hope the cooks are working to improve their consistency.
Chicken Kara’age — No complaints. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside — it was perfect!
Dynamite Spicy Ahi Roll — We both didn’t like it very much. The sauce that was drizzled on it was too strong for our liking and I tried to scrap off as much of it as I could.
Crispy Brussel Sprouts (regular menu item) — The presentation was awesome, however, both my husband and I thought it was too sweet. I felt like there was too much sweet chili sauce on it and half of the dish were walnuts! Unfortunately I do not have a picture of this one since I didn’t think about it after I had separated all the walnuts and the red pepper from the brussel sprout.

Service is a hit or miss depending on the time and day you come in. But I’d say I mostly come here for their happy hour prices, convenient location, and cool atmosphere. Servers don’t have much personality, they just «get the job done» — pretty dry people who don’t seem to enjoy what they do.
Chicken ka’arage is the BOMB, the chicken is so tender and the sauce is one of a kind. Veggie roll is good, but not too filling. Garlic edamame is delicious just ask for extra sauce because it can be a little dry sometimes.
The BROWNIE TEMPURA dessert is the best thing ever, such a unique dessert that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Sometimes my husband and I will get that alone, to go, because we like it that much.
Service: ⁶⁄₁₀
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀
Atmosphere: ⁹⁄₁₀

Food is hella good here but the prices are up there too! Go happy hour, it makes a difference!!! I went with my family, a group of 8 and was seated upstairs in a more private area. It was really dark up there tho and the lighting did not help with reading the menu. We didn’t reserve but once most of the group was there we were seated immediately :) we went on a Friday too so it was surprising!
Our server was… Glenn? He was really friendly, attentive, and funny! ^-^ We got so much food and we couldn’t stop eating! Haha we got wafu steak? $ 17? basically a plate but very delicious! Emperor roll and double happiness rolls are 2 of my favorites!!! Hella recommended! :) they serve draft beer in cute mason jars btw! Dessert, try tempura brownie! Basically fried brownies with icecream (either vanilla or green tea).
The entire restaurant is decorated wondefully.
The bathroom is shared with a cute shop next door but very clean!
Parking is limited. The parking garage next to Doraku was full but We were lucky to find street parking near by and it was free. There’s also another private lot to the left of doraku along keeaumoku, on the corner near the street intersection.

Japanese fusion food is my absolute favorite kind of food. Unfortunately for me, good Japanese fusion restaurants are very difficult to come by. Fortunately for me, Doraku Sushi hits the mark (and unfortunately for me, it’s located over 4500 miles from where I live).
The food at Doraku was perfect from start to finish. When my friend and I arrived at 5:45, the waitress graciously let us know that there was about 15 minutes left in happy hour if we wanted to take advantage of any HH food or drinks deals (is this even a question?) We were able to get our drinks, as well as, agedashi tofu and garlic terriyaki edamame at basically half price. We opted for the lychee martini and a hibiscus cocktail. Both drinks were outstanding and strong. We would have happily paid full price for these. The tofu and the edamame were delicious as well. The sauce on the edamame was addicting with large pieces of garlic throughout.
Next we opted for the Doraku Roll (lobster, crab, and cream cheese deep fried) and the Volcano roll (california roll topped with baked scallops). Both rolls were excellent. The Doraku Roll was bursting with amazing flavor and lobster, while the Volcano roll had copious amounts of delicious, tiny bay scallops on top. We also ordered the more traditional tamago nigiri, which was also great! The sushi rice here is made exactly the way it should be (I’m really picky about my sushi rice thanks to my grandparents who lived in Japan). A lot of times Japanese fusion places are so focused on sauces and being creative that they end up totally dropping the ball on traditional Japanese sushi-​making technique. Not the case at Doraku. We also tried the miso terriyaki mahi mahi. Also amazing. Fresh and well-​cooked with great flavor.
For dessert, we had the tempura brownie. You don’t even have to hear from me that this was spectacular. It’s all in the name. Deep-​fried dessert? I’ll take six please!
Service was great and nice atmosphere as well. We sat on the balcony and could hear the live music playing in the little park below. I would consider moving to Hawaii just to eat here.

Good food and good service. Only downside is it’s a bit a splurge for the average college student but definitely worth it for celebrations!
Our server was Jonathan and he did a good job. I appreciated the fact that he told us there were two kitchens (hot/​cold) and that may be the reason why our food won’t come out all at the same time.
The food was good! The rolls were the best — we had the East meets West as well as the White Dragon. We also ordered the whole grilled calamari and a number of happy hour items: tuna tataki, ahi poke, yakisoba, dynamite donburi and karaage chicken. For dessert, we had the brownie tempura with green tea ice cream: I recommend this! It’ll disappear within a minute if you’re sharing with a group. ;)
Would come back again — but for happy hour. Would also consider requesting for a table with Jonathan!

After hearing so many great things, I finally got to come here for a friend’s birthday! Didn’t blow me away as I hope it would but it was still delicious and the service was great! I never expected Doraku to be super «hip». When I walked in, modern music was blasting in the restaurant and my friends and I were just jamming to them throughout our whole dinner (good entertainment haha) We specifically came here for happy hour (9 PM) and ordered to our hearts’ content.
The «definitely would order again w/​o a doubt» would be the ahi poke and the ahi tataki. The fish was definitely fresh here! Smooth and buttery, and just perfect pieces of ahi! The ahi tataki almost reminded me of the garlic ahi at Sushi Bay and everybody knows how delicious Sushi Bay is.
The «would consider again» would be the yakisoba and the East meets West roll. The yakisoba is a different take on the regular yakisoba you normally see at Japanese restaurants. The noodles were thinner and the sauce was somewhat indescribable but we loved it! It didn’t look like much but it was delicious. My favorite part of the East meets West roll was the ribeye on top. Cooked perfectly and lots of flavor.
Everything else was still good but didn’t leave a strong impression on me and for people who wonder what’s in the Dynamite Donburi, it’s basically dried pieces of fish w/​mayo, yakisoba sauce, fish eggs, and green onions. For $ 6 a bowl, I think it’s pretty worth. I wouldn’t mind coming back here again but strictly for HH (unless I feel like splurging)

We came here with our young daughter and were told that they were understaffed and to come back in thirty minutes. Half hour later and we were seated. However, they put us in a booth up against a window. This window was open and it started raining halfway through dinner. The setup was dark and damp as well as cold! We got there in time for happy hour and had some karaage and agadashi tofu. Both were good and flavorful. We ordered drinks that were ok but mine was a bit watered down. We also ordered a sashimi platter which my husband felt was just ok freshness and the misoyaki butterfish which had bones in it. Overall it was a nice meal but not spectacular. Service was just ok but we know they were understaffed.

This is my favorite pau hana destination! The Kakaako location never gets too busy and the valet parking makes it easy to get in and out (though I think the parking fee is like $ 3 without tip– still worth it IMHO). The fish is always fresh, the uni nigiri is AMAZING and the happy hour menu is great for food and low prices. The house sake for $ 5 is tasty as well! I usually sit at the bar, but there are some really cool tables /​booths that are ideal for romantic dates.

This restaurant is just close enough for me to walk to on most nights. It gets crowded for dinner and especially after 9pm when they have their late happy hour, which is very reasonably priced. Their regular prices are also well priced as most items are usually shared with your table.
I’ve been here many many times and they satisfy that craving I have for crafty sushi. Though I could probably just enjoy some miso soup and any type of carpaccio. They are so scrumptious but my favorites are the salmon and hamachi. The combinations are palate pleasing and that is what keeps me coming back. I am not a fan of mayonnaise or ‘aioli’ on my fish and they keep it to a minimum. A lot of their drinks sound refreshing but they end up being very sweet. So try the hot sake instead!
Prepare to wait on any occasion as the Kapiolani location is popular, and I am sure it will stay that way. Or swing by for lunch, and sit outside :)

Been here a few times with a group of friends. I really like their happy hour menu, but their regular menu is very good too. They have a modern Japanese style environment throughout the restaurant and the staff is usually very friendly and prompt. I like how they supply your tables with a big glass of water so you can fill up your own water when you get low (I dislike it when they give small glasses of water and makes the servers either come back all the time to refill water or they hardly come at all). But the servers always keep an eye out on the big glass as well.
Food is always delicious here and with good presentations. Our server the last time I went suggested good sakes to try so it is nice to know that the staff knows their menu and can suggest things to accommodate to the customers. Parking is kind of hard to notice if you have never been here, but it’s a little drive way after the restaurant if you’re driving on Kapiolani driving towards ala Moana. If not you can usually park on the street. Overall, one of my favorite sushi places to come to while in the ward area

I love coming here. I’ve been here quite a few times this year with my friends and we’re always seated timely. The food is always delicious and the atmosphere is always relaxing. I would definitely recommend ordering the Red Dragon Roll, it has to be one of my favorite rolls over there.
When I came here this past time, my friends and I were seated outside and it was very nice. There’s not much more I can say about this great place1

Came here for a dinner as the boyfriend and I were craving sushi and Japanese food in general. Got there a little after 7, and the place was packed and really busy. The tables were all full, so we wound up sitting at the sushi bar.
Got a bottle of this? Dragon’s Breath? Sake that our waiter recommended. It was 720 ml and every drop was delicious! Went great with all our food! My boyfriend also had Sapporo draft beer.
We order the hamachi carpaccio, grilled king oyster mushroom, misoyaki butterfish, spicy ahi don, golden Buddha roll, ahi sushi trio, two oysters shooters and edamame.
The hamachi carpaccio was pretty good! Reminds me of a similar version at Nobu. The spicy ahi don and oyster shooters I could have done without. The spicy ahi was okay. The oyster shooters did have a nice touch of uni and quail egg at the top, but the oyster at the bottom was tiny and had a crunch. I didn’t know that Doraku had such melt in your mouth butterfish, but now that I know, I’m ordering that next time! And those King oyster mushrooms, grilled with butter and with a side of ponzu sauce. I would order two next time! In the ahi trio, the otoro of course was the only good part, but it’s fun to try different grades of ahi so we worked our way up to it. I didn’t expect Doraku to have such delicious otoro, but I’ll be back to try their otoro sushi and sashimi! Edamame with an extra side of sea salt was yummy as always!
Thank you to our server Ant (Anthony) who made our dinner awesome! It was super busy and the guy that was originally supposed to serve us was suuuuper busy (giant sections of girls celebrating something, poor guy was getting worked), so Anthony was gracious enough to be our waiter for the night. He recommended our delicious sake (since they were out of this one with green apple notes I wanted to try. Dewasansan) and made great food selections as well.
Around 9ish the restaurant went back to crazy full, I think their happy hour had begun? Maybe we’ll check that out next time!
We’ll definitely be back!

A fan of this restaurant. Love the location…
The décor is outstanding. The reclaimed wood, the bar, the lighting, and the built-​in benches & booths are awesome. The service is friendly and attentive.
The food is fresh and contemporary. Tried the Misoyaki Butterfish, Panko Crusted Hamachi, and Brownie Tempura. All tasted good, and even the dishware looked nice. Very detailed.
Got to meet the owner when the shop first opened. Talented family. He also owns the Blue Tree Café next door, and his brother performed at the Blaisdell.

One of my fave sushi places in hawaii especially during happy hour.
Always the lomi lomi sushi cus it’s so good along with other yummy stuff on the menu.
The kapiolani location has a late night happy hour which is great since sometimes I cannot make it to the regular happy hour.
Also their lychee martinis are the bomb!!!
Great place to eat and talk.

I am so glad that I found this happy hour restaurant! This restaurant offers a happy hour from 4pm to 6pm, then hosts their late night happy hour from 9pm to closing… EVERYDAY. Yup, even on the weekends! Sweet!
From sushi to drinks, their happy hour menu is great. My favorite happy hour items are the ahi tataki, salmon carpaccio, chicken karaage and their lychee martini. During happy hour, you can also order anything off their regular menu like their awesome oyster shooters :)

Only came in for takeout this time, but while I was waiting the host brought me a drink. The food at Doraku is always great. The tuna tataki and butterfish are the business. For me at least.

First experience was not good with service.
Went back and the service was a lot better! The server was really nice and great. The food and drinks during happy hour is good.

Great delicious food as always. But the customer service just sucked. Had to be the worst service I’ve had here ever and they weren’t even busy. Good thing the food is good if not I’d stop coming here.

I haven’t received my food yet but I’m here on a Thursday night for happy hour. Let’s just say the music they play is awesome! Not exactly sure who’s in charge of it but keep playing good music! I’ll update once I receive my food.
Update: So the food was good. I ordered a shisto beef kebab thing, can’t remember the name, which was really good. I also got the chicken dish, can’t remember that either and it was pretty tasty. My only complaint though is that the chicken was served at room temperature. It was pretty busy so the waiter must’ve forgotten or something. But I’m willing to give the food here another chance, especially because I just love the ambience of this place.

This is my absolute favorite restaurant when visiting Honolulu. The sushi is incredible. The sake and specialty drinks are fabulous. And The service is impeccable and beyond reproach. Our orders come out an enjoyable pace. Highly recommend the white dragon and spicy lobster rolls. Oh and the emperor rolls too.
For dessert. Go all out for the tempura brownie and banana with all of the fixings. I can’t recall the name but my oh my — scrumptious!!!

I like places with new & different things on the menu… the uni quail egg oyster shooter with sake in it was awesome…& the garlic ribeye somen with cream sauce was definitely something different

I got a $ 50 Doraku gift card for Christmas and I was happy to try a new place on my visit to Oahu. I really liked the décor! Now let’s get to the point, everything I ate here was good.
We started off with the vegetable tempura. Very crisp but not oily. They had sweet potato, carrots, eggplant, green beans and shishito pepper which was delish!
I got the garlic steak which came with miso soup, salad and rice. The steak was perfect, medium, very soft. The steak sauce was shoyu-​vinegar I think, it was awesome.
I tried my mom’s salmon which she got well done, it was also good.
The green tea ice cream tempura was great. Again not oily.
Service is a little slow but very nice. Just get an appetizer cause they might take long to make entrée.
I liked everything! I’d go back to check out the happy hour.

I love this place this was about my 4^th time. A group of us came to celebrate. I’m all about trying new things on the menu that I haven’t yet to find my favorites. I ordered the hamachi Kama which was bigger then I’ve had at other places and highly recommended! A bunch of different rolls to try this time around and they were all fresh and packed with flavor. The only thing was that it was very noisy fighting over the music to carry on a conversation can be exhausting. But this particular night was the first time to experience this and it was around the holidays so excitement is lingering in the air!

Love the atmosphere in here! Plus the service is great! We sat at the bar and the guy making the sushi behind the bar was great, attended to whatever I asked for instead of waiting for the server… I wanted low sodium soy sauce and he assisted me with this. The food was excellent. I am very pleased with how delicious the food is here. I got the Ultimate roll, shogun roll, sweet/​spicy edamami and agedashi tofu. Loved them all!!! I also got the lychee martini. Talk about a strong drink, yes!!!
Overall, I was completely satisfied with the food and service! Would recommend to others plus there is valet parking right next door for $ 4.00. Um yes, cause parking is usually terrible downtown! Café Maru is next door. This place is great!!! :)

I love coming here for a late dinner, get a nice entrée (garlic steak $ 17), and then wait till happy hour, which starts at 9PM to close, to order beer ($ 4) and small appetizers ($ 6). The miso pork here is very tender. Great value, food, and excellent for big groups.
Came here on a Tuesday night… totally packed!

Holy moly. Everything here is so good! An excellent, excellent place for large groups — we had a reservation for around 20 people and the service was incredibly efficient, polite, and understanding.
Now onto the food. The winner of the evening was the tuna tataki. Everyone that I shared this dish with let out an audible groan of pleasure as they ate it. It’s magnificent. The miso butter fish is good, but not great. I wouldn’t order it again if I went back. The White Dragon roll is the most popular item on the menu for a good reason, it’s delicious. And I’m not a huge dessert person, especially after how filling sushi can be of all things, but the brownie tempura is a must-​order. It’s rich and decadent and wonderful.
I could not have possibly had a better experience here. Love love love!

This review is for Doraku’s happy hour, which is a great deal, by the way.
Walk in and your greeted with a friendly and accommodating staff. We were seated promptly at the sushi bar and ordered a variety of dishes to share: the edamame, ahi poke, a verbal special (miso butterfish bones… Yum!) Spicy ahi roll, lomi salmon roll, chicken karrage, steak and shiso pepper yakitori… All were tasty!
They have happy hour drinks including draft bets and cocktails. For dessert we shared the tempura fried ice cream, truly the cherry on top!
The décor was modern, clean and inviting. I loved the hip happy hour ambiance. I’ll definitely be back!

THE 5 STAR RATING IS BASED ON THIS DESSERT REVIEW (I can’t really speak to the dinner as I didn’t really have an entrée)
Gotta tell you, I’m not the type that buys much into hype – especially at larger food establishments with big kitchens where my paranoia leads me to believe that in a scenario like that, the love and attention to detail that is so important to truly good food will be overlooked. That IS NOT the case at Doraku.Sushi. We had a special dinner with our Monster and Coca Cola VIPs, and Aaron Arakawa (the manager) made sure they put an EXCLAMATION POINT on dessert.
The desserts came out in droves of which half of them weren’t even available on the menu. There was an insane level of attention to detail and passion put into each of the dishes. The pics don’t truly do them justice, but I’m fairly certain you can tell how much extra effort the kitchen put into making these spectacular.
The night was fantastic. The service on point. These folks are awesome.
Only wish it was a Monster exclusive account with some Pipeline Punch concoctions. Hoping they will go that direction in the near future.
Mahalo again Doraku! m

I stopped for lunch around 12:30pm on a Saturday. As I entered, I noticed the restaurants interior is beautiful and clean. I spoke with the hostess and chose to eat at the bar. I was given a drink and entrée menu. I waited around 8 – 10 minutes before the bartender greeted me. I was later informed that she was also taking on the responsibility of waitressing as well. That explains the long wait time.
I ordered a spicy lobster roll which consisted of lobster, shredded crab, cream cheese, tempura fried, served with masago habanero and spicy garlic aioli. I paired it with a rising sun cocktail that was made with sake, plum wine, three fruit juices over ice in a Li hing rimmed glass.
The drink was made in a matter of seconds. It was delicious. I barley tasted any alcohol. That’s pretty dangerous lol.
There was a lot of waiting. She apologized and placed a bowl of miso soup in front of me. It was hot, broth was flavorful, tofu was soft, scallion was plenty, and it helped ease the hunger in my stomach.
Finally my spicy lobster roll was ready. It was presented nicely on top of greens and shredded carrots. I took my chopsticks dipped it in soy sauce and took a huge bite.
First of all, I love fried food. I just wish it was healthy. Lol. The tempura gave it a nice crunch factor. There was a very small piece of lobster mixed into the crab. I thought I was eating a California roll at one point. I enjoyed the cream cheese and the masago habanero on top. I do love spice.
I was pretty full, and waited for the check. I glanced around, and started people watching to pass some time. The hostess started bussing tables and running back to the phone ringing. One waitress was taking care of one side of the restaurant. The bartender was running into the kitchen and serving food. Gosh, I think things would run smoother if they had put another waitress on for the lunch shift.
I then went to her to pay my bill. Overall, I know the experience could’ve been better if they had help.
I had also revisited and ordered takeout.
An entrée of Firecracker shrimp and a California roll was given. It supposedly was a doruku recommended dish. It wasn’t that flavorful. The shrimp was pretty small and coated in tempura. The sauce was on the side in which I was greatful. It was pretty heavy on the mayo. The California roll was ok nothing special. I felt that something was off. I can’t place my finger on it.
I have heard that happy hour is pretty amazing so I will be back!

After having eaten mainland sushi, my first pit stop after landed was Doraku. I came in around 2pm, and it was relatively quiet. I couldn’t get past the nice and swanky décor of the place. They have large tables for groups, 4-​person tables, and plenty of booths, which makes Doraku good for groups. My friend and I were seated in a booth that was both tucked away and in the open. It had a nice view of Kapiolani blvd through the large open windows. I would come back just to dine just for the décor.
My friend and I ordered the Chirashi bowl and the Spicy Tuna. When we asked the waiter about his opinion on one of the sushi items, he politely warned us that most people don’t order that particular item unless if they’ve had it before. He said it took a little adjusting to, to enjoy the taste. I wish I remembered which one it was but I can’t. The point is that he was honest, and with this kind of service, your experience will ensure that everyone is satisfied with their meal. The only thing is that I wish the service was quicker.
Overall, we enjoyed the Chirashi and Spicy Tuna roll. Although it wasn’t the freshest, the price was pretty fair, and the ambiance and service were good.

The best time to go to Doraku is during their happy hour. They have 2 happy hour times, 4 – 6 pm and 9 to 12 am (closing). Although it is a give in that this time is a lot busier, it’s also a lot cheaper.
To park, you can try to find street parking. I usually have pretty good luck with that, but if I can’t I park in the lot that’s a little to the right.
If you’re planning on eating with more than 3 people, i’d call before hand to make a reservation.
The ambiance of the restaurant is really classy meets bohemian. It’s really nice inside, but not to the point where you’ll feel the need to dress up.
For happy hour, I usually start off with a $ 5 Lychee Martini. The lychee cuts out the flavor of the alcohol which I like. As a meal, you can either share a bunch of appetizers with the others in your party or you can have a meal for yourself. I will usually get the Garlic Chicken Karaage. Usually this item is $ 8 but during happy hour it drops to $ 4. The chicken with a bowl or rice or one of the happy hour sushi rolls, such as the spicy tuna, makes for a great meal.
The staff are professional and friendly. They provide great service.

I recently met a friend for an early dinner at Doraku on a Friday around 5 p.m. Parking was definitely hard to find — you can’t bank on street parking until after 6 p.m., and the tiny lot across the street (allowed for Doraku parking) was completely full.
At 5 p.m., though, the eatery wasn’t too busy, which was nice. My friend and I just sat at the bar because it was just two of us meeting. I would have preferred not to sit at the very front of the restaurant, but what can you do.
This was my first time going to Doraku for Happy Hour, and some of the featured items were definitely worth trying. Our food came out really quickly and dinner didn’t take as long as I expected.
I’ve only been to this location twice, but I’ve had a good experience both times. Here’s what we got:
«Chicken Karaage»: Let’s get one thing straight — I like my karaage crunchy, and this version from Doraku definitely didn’t disappoint. I forget how many pieces of chicken were included on the plate, but it was a good amount that my friend and I could share comfortably. I liked this karaage because it wasn’t super crunchy, but it still had enough crispiness to it. The chicken meat itself was tender and flavorful; I would order this off the HH menu again anytime.
«Agedashi Tofu»: I do love tofu, but I tend to love it even more when it’s fried. This tofu dish was great because the exterior was fried just enough (not soggy), but it also wasn’t overdone. I also really liked the sauce that the tofu was in. This HH dish came with three pieces of tofu, I believe.
«Tuna Tataki»: I think this was the name of the last HH dish we ordered. The tuna tasted fresh, and I was glad for the chance to try this one. I let my friend have two of the three pieces included, though, because I wanted to eat more of the chicken.
«Doraku Roll»: Because this roll was named after the restaurant, I figured it had to be one of the more popular items. I really liked this roll because it had lobster, but my friend wasn’t as keen about it. It featured lobster, shredded crab and cream cheese, and it was tempura fried and served with red and black tobiko and spicy garlic aioli. I liked the blend of the lobster and the shredded crab; the cream cheese also gave the roll a slightly sweet taste. My friend’s main issue with this roll was that the entire thing was fried, but I didn’t mind. I rather enjoyed the contrasting textures — the softness of the crab meat and the delectable crunch of the tempura batter.
«Red Dragon Roll»: This was one of the sushi rolls that I got during my first visit to this Doraku. It features spicy tuna, shrimp tempura and avocado topped with unagi, red tobiko, unagi sauce, ao nori and spicy aioli. It’s one of the restaurant’s best sellers and definitely one of my personal favroites. I love the contrasting flavors from the spicy tuna and shrimp tempura, along with the savory, fresh unagi. My friend liked this roll more than the «Doraku Roll.»
«Spicy Tuna Don»: This rice bowl features spicy tuna served over sushi rice. I recently developed a liking for spicy tuna, so I definitely want to try this entrée from Doraku one day and see how it compares to other spicy tuna bowls that I’ve had in the past. I know Doraku is known for their sushi rolls – I normally get sushi whenever I come here – but if I’m in the mood for something different, I wouldn’t mind trying one of their donburi options.

I’ve been to both Doraku locations several times (once was my first date with my hubby!) And each time, they deliver. The flavours are so complex and unique, a blend of western and Japanese cuisine.
Tonight was made especially phenomenal by our server, Ty! He was so friendly, funny, helpful and awesome. Made a mental note to give him a shout out! If you have a question about a dish, ask him– his description of the surf and turf special sold us for sure.
Whether you come for their specialty rolls or more traditional sushi, Doraku is delicious. Tonight we had the Maguro Zuke sashimi and it melted in your mouth… so good!
If you’re wanting to order sake and find the selection intimidating, try a sake sampler! They will show you a range of sake flavors to guide you in the right direction, and the price is very reasonable. Tonight we sampled 5 high quality sakes for $ 22.
Save room for dessert! The tempura brownie is amazing. My personal fave is the green tea icecream– unassuming, yes, but packed with matcha flavor and served in anmitsu style with azuki, jelly, lychee and mikan. Divine!
it’s fun to order a bunch of things and share with friends. Though the foods look small, you will NOT leave hungry, lol.
Kapiolani location has free customer parking on the corner of Kapiolani and Kamakee!

Solid rolls! I’ve been here several times and love their happy hour.
Atmosphere: I really like the feel of Doraku in kakaako. They really made it accessible for locals to avoid the chaos in waikiki and still enjoy Doraku dining.
Service: the place is huge with plenty of seating and usually pretty busy. Good and attentive servers. Make sure you valet park inside only $ 3. Accepts all credit cards.
Food: the rolls are so tasty. Today I tried the black dragon roll, doraku roll and lobster roll. Lots of rolls. It was so good, especially the black dragon roll. I also tried the karaage chicken which was well flavored. For dessert tried the green tea ice cream and the banana bread pudding a la mode. The contrast of warm bread pudding and ice cream topped with caramel and chocolate sauce and whipped cream made it heavenly.
Intangibles: solid rolls if thats what you like for sushi. Must try the banana bread pudding with ice cream for dessert.

I love doraku but this is based upon a customer service experience that left us feeling pretty upset that evening. Although happy hour prices and menu has changed and increased overtime, we still enjoy coming here for a late night dinner. But it was like one of those unpleasant service that could make you rethink about coming here for a while after the wait and runarounds we’ve had to endure during our recent visit.
We had reservations around 9pm for 5 people and were seated promptly by 2 of our friends who were there prior to me and my other 2 friends who came shortly after. We were seated at the trunk middle table for the restaurant. This table is the worst table to be seated at! I was unfortunately stuck at the end of the trunk which gave me no leg room at all, giving me leg markings throughout the night because I was sitting so uncomfortably on my chair and the table. I wanted to sit on the other side of my friend but it was already reserve for upcoming people walking in. But that wouldn’t have made a difference either since my friend was sitting on the edge of part of the tree trunk design that gave her leg problems as well. But I let it slide and figured not to let that ruin my night.
We ordered off of the Happy Hour Menu: Tuna Tataki ($ 6), Ahi Poke ($ 6), Chicken Karaage ($ 5), and Sweet & Spicy Edamame ($ 3). That came fairly quickly so some of were able to enjoy it as it was freshly made. I should of gotten the regular edamame as the one I ordered was a little to heavy on the seasoning sauce.
My friends ordered the following:
–White dragon roll ($ 13.95): Spicy tuna, shrimp tempura and avocado topped with unagi, red tobiko, unagi sauce, ao nori and spicy aioli.
–Chirashi don ($ 18.95): Assorted Sashimi over rice.
–Spicy Tuna Don ($ 11.95): Spicy tuna served over sushi rice.
–Happy Hour Deluxe Spicy Tuna Roll ($ 6)
The white dragon roll came shortly after my happy hour items then the chirashi don came a little longer than expected but we figured since its all fresh fish it would have taken a while. As the 3 of us were enjoying dishes and we noticed that 2 of my friends dishes didn’t come out yet after 20 minutes. You would think that the Happy Hour Deluxe Spicy Tuna Roll would come out the same time as our happy hour but it didn’t. We waved down our server and asked for those two items, the spicy tuna don and spicy tuna roll that we didn’t have and 10 minutes pass and still nothing. Again, we asked and he said he’ll check in the back. Another 10 minutes pass, no dishes nor no update. Then the server passes by and says «you didn’t get it yet?!» Nope, we didn’t.
At this point, the rest of us were already done with our dishes and we were at the verge of just canceling the rest of the orders. We ordered another ahi tataki to eat in the meantime while we still waited and that came out within 5 minutes. So we’re thinking he must of forgotten those orders because he was well over 45 minutes since we were dining in there. After 3 times of inquiring about it, of course our appetites are not there anymore and we just wanted to cancel them already but it came just when we were about to ask for the bill. So of course, even when my friends were already so fed up waiting, they just ate it and didn’t enjoy it as they would have because of all that waiting. Even the water service sucked, we waited so long that we drank so much water and didn’t even get our water bottle filled up quick enough that we had to ask other servers to serve us.
So as compensation for the super long wait, the server said they would give us a complimentary dessert. He suggested the ice cream tempura and so we agreed that’s what we would get or so we thought we had placed the order. The server was distracted by someone else who had saw him and slowly walked away and didn’t even acknowledge our order. After almost 10 minutes of waiting he comes back and says «So have we decided what dessert you’ll get?» Like seriously?!! All that waiting again, we already had chosen. We were feeling it at the last string of our nerves, we were all irritated as we were rushing to catch a movie that night. The dessert finally came shortly after as I have to agree was pretty good but that irate feeling you have when you’re so pissed off that even a dessert wont be satisfying as it should be.
At first I really wanted to give 1 star but since some of the happy hour items came in a reasonable time and we got compensated with a dessert, I’ll give this place that one extra star of service. Other than that, our experience here was just unacceptable. It’ll probably be a while till I’ll be back here but I hope when I do come back, it’ll be a much better experience of service and a better choice of seating.