Gokoku

Hubby was craving sushi for date night, and since our favorite sushi place (Sushi Murayama) only had a reservation at 9:30 pm at the earliest and our babysitters had already arrived, we decided to give Gokoku a try because 1) Unilocal had recently had an event there and the picture my friends were posting looked enticing, 2) I was just one reservation away from earning an Open Table dining check and 3) a reservation was available within the next 30 min.
Despite the low ratings that this restaurant has, we had a really great experience here. First of all, the ambiance was shockingly nice. Very Modern and clean. I felt like I was in New York. We were seated in semi circle booth, the kind that allows you to sit right next to each other and hold hands and be romantical (if that’s your thing). The price of the food ranged from really affordable to more pricey items. I’m not sure, but they may have lowered their prices from 2015 because when I looked at pictures of menus posted last year, the menu that we were actually presented with were much lower for some items.
We ordered a bunch of hot appetizers that were not only delicious, but a really good price. Agadashi tofu was only $ 6.50 and t was delivered to our table in a covered stone pot, and once our server lifted the lid, it revealed not only the tofu, but mushrooms, watercress and lots of daikon. He mixed it all together in the soupy broth and served it to us in individual bowls. Nice touch. It was delicious. Assorted tempura was only $ 10.50 for two pieces of shrimp, white fish, chicken, portabello mushroom, kabocha, zucchini and eggplant. It was nice and light and we sch got our own bowl of dipping sauce with course daikon which was very tasty. We also ordered tuna tataki, and mushroom medley which were also delicious. We shared a nigiri set in which they allowed us to customize and lastly had the zenzai for dessert. We were both very full after this meal.
The service was excellent and we had no problems whatsoever. The only reason this place gets 4 stars instead of 5 is because the style of food here though delicious, can’t beat my favorite Izakayas on the island or my beloved Sushi Murayama. But the ambiance and dining experience is definitely worth the price if you are out in Hawaii Kai.

It was a random decision to try out Gokoku at Koko Marina. Very nice décor and ambience. Loved the lighting. Food turns out to be quite impressive. Seafood is fresh, vegetables are perfect, service was good (waiter might want to give their guests some space during dinner), wait time was short. I’ll be back. :-)

good service and luxury surrounding. I ordered 2 lunch sets, which comes with soup, rice and green salad, total only about $ 40. what’s more, they serves the small desserts for free after that. that’s so yummy and surprise. Will come again

Finally, a very cool, contemporary yet traditional Japanese restaurant comes to Hawaii Kai. I sampled the kaiseki course and enjoyed the variety of dishes served. The nigiri sushi was very fresh and of good quality. Prepared with just the right amount of wasabi and rice.
If you sit at the sushi bar, you can enjoy the view of the marina.

I got to dine here for a Unilocal Elite event. During my dining experience here, the restaurant did a teaser with our party by parading around their fresh catches of their massive cut of Local Big Eye Ahi and their Tai Snapper caught from the waters off Japan just 24 hours ago. The cut of ahi was so massive, I didn’t even see the Tai Snapper behind it.
Later, the three sake samplers were placed at our seats in flavors coffee, lychee, and peach mango sake. I liked the peach mango sake the best because it didn’t taste strongly of alcohol which is perfect for a lightweight drinker like me.
The Kaiseki dinner platter came out and it looked very appetizing. One of the marketing agents for the restaurant came around to explain what each mini-​dish was. She mentioned that traditional Kaiseki dishes would be brought one-​by-​one as courses, but their version is a modern of way of serving it. Also, she mentioned how past Unilocal reviews complained about the price for their food was too expensive so they have lowered the price to about $ 29 for this dinner. My favorite dishes were the pumpkin and eggplant tempura and the seafood stew. During dinner, we got a small plate of sushi topped with slices of the Local Big Eye Ahi and the Tai Snapper. I am not a fan of wasabi so I stayed away from the glob that was on my plate, but what a surprise when stuffed the ahi sushi in my mouth and tasted wasabi. Even though I was inadvertently tricked into eating wasabi, it still tasted great.
The meal ended with dessert which I wasn’t informed what it was but from what I could see and taste it was mochi ball with azuki paste. We were also served a hot cup of green tea. The staff at the restaurant were very courteous and took the time to answer our questions or provided added information about their food. I think that past reviewers should maybe give Gokoku another chance because they really want our business and have made changes in response to the reviews previously posted. I have never dined here before so for people who have and had a less than satisfactory dining experience here should come back and see if your reviews have improved this restaurant for the better.

Excellent food, great service and good location. Perfect for the trip back after visiting the bay.

Stumbled upon this place while looking for Bubbies. I was not disappointed. The food was good and he location is really nice. Not sure what other folks have had that was bad, but everything was perfect when I went.

Look no further for fantastic traditional Japanese cuisine and the best service on the island! Hands down my new favorite place for Japanese sit-​down cuisine.
Upon entering the establishment everyone was welcoming and forthcoming. They were delighted to receive me and courteous of both Japanese and American customs.
I attended a Unilocal Elite party event, but the special dish you order is the same exact one they serve to customers.
Variety: It’s the spice of life. Try new things and you’ll be impressed. I wish I could describe eloquently what I had, but I’ll leave it up to Keiko, who will tell you every detail about the food and how to eat it. The array of food that comes out in the chefs special is diverse and has that taste of Japan that still remains on my tongue from last month. (I spent 4 weeks in Japan)
Food: 5 stars. The river shrimp/​prawn soup was delicious, especially the broth. The fresh snapper and tuna were flown in from Japan! They melted in your mouth. For $ 29 you get your money’s worth of fantastic food and desert.
Sake sampler: I’m a huge fan of Nigori sake (cloudy sake) and the 3 varieties I had were all amazing. I don’t drink coffee, but the coffee Nigori was amazing! The best of course was the peach. I could drink a bottle of it!
Everyone was extremely friendly, especially Kolchi. He’s an amazing guy and extremely interesting. He’s lived in Kuwait, Austria, Australia, Japan, Hawaii and I’m sure other places.
I can’t wait to take friends here!

Gokoku managed to turn it around. They have a gorgeous romantic modern interior with views of the water. Wood panels against a revolving LED backdrop? Get. Fancy glasswork strewn all over the restaurant? Get. Romantic dim lighting? Get. Cozy curved cushion seats to snuggle up against your date? Get.
What about the food? I came for lunch and for dinner. There are options for all price tags with the lunch offerings starting at $ 15 and up. The food is a slight spin on traditional Japanese food but served with elaborate presentations.
$ 20 Kubota sake flight can’t be beat, this includes a shot of Kubota Manjyu, which typically sells for $ 15 on its own.
The service is friendly and attentive. The only real con is that it’s in Hawaii Kai.

Food was fresh. The Ama Ebi was like butter-​delicious. We also like oyster miso something-​picture shown on menu. Service was superrrrrr slow. Maybe under staff but also saw food was taking way to long to be prepare. Even to get our drinks was ridiculously slow but once we asked for our check it was there before we finish our last bite!

My hunby and I celebrated our 24^th anniversary here and really enjoyed the momoji kaiseki and teishpku misoyaki. Great service too.

Excellent food, wonderful atmosphere. Great sake and Asahi on tap, and prices are extremely reasonable for a Japanese restaurant.
Highly recommended!

The first time I went to Gokoku Sushi I had one of the best dining experiences ever! The food, staff, ambiance, timing… awesome.
The second time I went to Gokoku Sushi it was as if I had gone to a different restaurant.
I ordered four pieces of sushi, the fish soup, and a salad. My date ordered the wagyu steak and some sushi. The waiter forgot to place the order for sushi so my dinner and salad came out first.
My fish soup (which I’d had before and loved) was trash… literally. There was fish scales, eye balls, fins, etc in the soup and I was really confused because the first time I’d eaten the same dish it was delicate with scallops, shrimp, and chunks of fish to eat… not a trash bucket.
Our sushi showed up and it was just alright.
My dates dinner didn’t show up for another 24 minutes. The staff apologized once but it was ridiculous… total wait time for a piece of rare steak and some sautéed veggies was about 45 minutes.
They offered us free dessert but we left without it… we didn’t come for free dessert, we came for a good meal.

Well… I will start with the fact that I live in LA. Some locals suggested this place for sushi.
Its a nice cute restaurant but I wouldnt go back.
The sushi menu was VERY limited. Like a choice of about 10 roll choices and that is it. No sashimi. No nigiri. The menu was a hodgepodge of asian-​ish foods. But then some weird chicken things and stuff that wasnt Japanese at all. Its confusing.
So I ordered 2 rolls. Bleh. Not good. Fish was no fresh, but rubbery. Didnt taste good at all. Maybe Im spoiled with the amazing sushi you can get in LA. But just no.

How sad. We tried.
The wait staff was really very nice. Smiling bowing smiling bowing. Lots of bowing. Every time the come and leave the table they bow.
Pricing blah blah. Ok. We know they are pricy.
But the food:
This is the first time I have ever spit out uni. I know… sinner. But this was rotten. (They saw me do it and didn’t ask if anything was wrong but offered the bill)
The salmon was good. But small. And the special salmon belly tasted sour. Like there was citrus on it but I don’t think this was part of the order.
Clam miso soup for 7.50 was fine. Five little clams in a bowl filled up one third of the way. It tasted fine.
We asked the waiter how big the beer on draft was and he said really tall. It was a narrow standard beer glass. Not big. But tasty.
We paid and left. 75 $ Went to find food elsewhere.

Timely service, friendly and knowledgable staff. High quality food at reasonable prices. Ignore the other bad reviews because they lowered the prices. The sashimi was excellent quality, melt in your mouth! The food was beautiful presentation. The staff was very respectful, bowing every time they talked to us. The food was all delicious with no flaws I can think of!
This was some of the best Japanese food I have ever had!

Love their food. Just right size portion and taste.
People say they are very expensive, I agree but before you go there, you already know they are expensive. I do not understand Why they always complain about it.
Beautiful atmosphere and great food! Hoping more server that has experienced.

I have to say that this place caters first hand to Japanese tourist and don’t treat locals with respect. We went in for lunch one day and they were so rude to us that we just walked out. However, they totally cater to Japanese nationals. Our party of four went next door to another restaurant eat instead.
I will never recommend this place to anyone ever. What they have to learn is that you cannot exclude locals from your customer mix, or treat them bad.
Every restaurant that’s gone into this space has closed quickly within a year because of bad customer service, bad food or because it was a bad concept restaurant. This is the first one who treats locals like crap.
I had to pick a star to leave a rating for this place to post this review otherwise they’d get zero stars — period!

Not sure about all these horrible reviews people made, because I didn’t experience any of these complaints. Especially we came on a Saturday night when it was packed!
The service: EXTREMELY FAST, it was amazing how fast our drinks and food came! And they were really good about constantly filling up our water! My husband and I like that!
The food: it was pretty basic, although our server Alex (thumbs up on his service) told us it’s just their soft opening menu, and they will be expanding their menu later this week! So we will try to come and visit again!
I loved everything about this place. It’s very modern, not very traditional Japanese. Clean and fresh new restaurant is always appealing! And exactly what Hawaii Kai needs!
I guess people are constantly complaining about they do offer take out, but seriously. Why would you want good food just to be taken out? Just dine in and get the full experience! I hope this restaurant is here to stay!
P. S. They also offer valet!

This was the worst restaurant experience I’ve had. Maybe ever. I’ve never wanted to walk out of a restaurant so badly.
I was looking forward to Gokoku opening since I noticed the new sign in koko marina months ago. Koko marina is in high need for a good japanese restaurant. This isn’t it.
I called to make sure they were open and the guy I talked to was very friendly and excited about their opening. I made a reservation for 9pm because that was the earliest available time. We walked in a little before 9 to a little walkway that would make claustrophobics go nuts. It’s an awkward layout that makes you check in and wait awkwardly on the side while people squeeze by you to come in or out.
We were seated promptly and looked over the dinner menu. The waiter came by to give us waters and asked if we wanted anything else to drink. Seeing as we had no drink menu (I think they expect you to somehow already know what kind of beverages they serve), I declined. The boyfriend ordered a hot tea. If you want to order a hot tea and be told it’s «coming soon» and not actually receive it until 20 mins later, after reminding your server that it’s supposed to be coming, come dine at Gokoku. –_​_​_​_​_​_​_​–
We ordered three things, it’s not that hard. We received one, the tempura. We were then incorrectly brought three other plates of food belonging to other customers. They didn’t mess up once, they messed up 3 times!!! After coming to our table, the wait staff wandered around asking other tables if they ordered what they had offered us. It was hard to turn down since I was so hungry.
The waiter then asked us if we needed any desserts to finish our meal. Interesting, as we hadn’t received the rest of our food. In fact, we had inhaled the tempura without receiving even napkins! Almost an hour after we sat down, our sushi order finally arrived. But you have to ask for shoyu, don’t expect them to bring it to you, even if you wait an hour. Your plates also won’t be cleared while you wait an hour for the rest of your meal to come out.
The food is expensive for such terrible service, save yourself he trouble and just eat at zippys (next door). You’ll have a much more pleasant dining experience.