Hinone Mizunone

I first came here with Darcie and her family. I think it was a birthday or something. The food is pretty decent. The
Teishoku meals are large and reasonable. Sometimes parking is a pain. You can park at Walmart and walk over. I got the parking lot mixed up with Izakaya Gaku.

Having been a regular here since I found out about it last year, I decided I should finally write a review about it. If you’re looking for delicious, traditional Japanese food that is for the most part consistent, Hinone Mizunone is the place you want to be.
This little hole in the wall restaurant is located on South King street, near the Keeaumoku McDonalds and across the street from Lobster King. Parking is available in the restaurant’s private lot.
The inside of the store is pleasant. The casual interior is furnished with patio-​like tables and red and white checkered tablecloths for the large-​party tables. The servers never fail to greet every customer who walks in the door, making everyone feel welcomed. Occasionally, they will hold the door open for you on your way in and out. The servers here are well trained, polite, and respectful. Hinone sports a casual, family-​style atmosphere that you’ll want to bring your parents, kids, and grandparents to for lunch and dinner.
Following the family-​style ambience, the food is an appropriate matchup. The recipes for every dish tastes homemade. Each teishoku (the food set) comes with one main dish for lunch ($ 10-​$ 14) and two main dishes of your choice during dinner ($ 18-​$ 22), plus sides such as seaweed, miso soup, pickled radish, and unlimited rice. There is a variety of meat and seafood main dishes to choose from; my personal favorite is the pork ginger. Traditional and homestyle, Hinone’s delicious comfort food will make you feel like you’re coming back home.
This place does get busy during lunch from around 12pm-​2pm and variable during dinner. They are the busiest during weekends and slowest on Mondays. If you want the best shot to get a quick seat at dinner time, I’d suggest going as early as possible (or make a reservation). I’ve heard stories of people who had to be sent away due to the waitlist being too long.
Side note (that I just learned today!): every New Year, it is a Japanese tradition to eat Ozoni soup which is a shoyu-​dashi based broth with shiitake mushrooms, mochi, radishes, kamaboko, and chicken. During the first couple of days of the new year, Hinone sells it as an upgrade in place of the teishoku’s miso soup (around $ 6). When the next year rolls around, I highly recommend trying it out. It’s delicious!

Excellent lunch. The katsu chicken and pork are a favorite with the home made sauce. Super fast service and food comes out hot. Has become one of our favorites on King St.

Came here for dinner one night with the fam. I can’t believe I haven’t been here before! We all got the 2 choice teishoku meal where you choose 2 main dishes and they give you rice, miso soup and a variety of tsukemono dishes. I couldn’t decide what to get, there were so many options to choose from! My Dad suggested I try the saba nitsuke (since I’ve never had it before) and then I choose the karaage chicken because who doesn’t love fried chicken ;-)! When all of our meals arrived at the table, it was A LOT of food! My eyes literally popped out of my head haha. My saba was cooked perfectly but I did think the sauce was a bit overwhelming for me. The karaage chicken was not bad but it didn’t have much flavor to it, so I added some worcestershire sauce on the side to dip into. I loved the big daikon slices in the miso soup and the rice was on point, not too soft with a little bit of a bite to it. My sister in law was chowing down on her hamburger steak covered in gravy and topped with a sexy soft egg. I tried my brother’s tonkatsu which was pretty damn tasty as well. This place is a super great deal and I can see why so many families come here for dinner.

Do they change their chef?
We used to love their food, but last time we went there was no so good.
Especially Karaage was strange taste. The other food was OK but not great that used be.
The server was not friendly at all, he does not say anything when bring food and taking out. No smiling. The other server are nice.
We do not go so often, we do not know we go again or not.

If you know me, you know that I LOVE Japanese food (which is interesting considering that I don’t like seafood). Of course, when I drive down King Street, I always see this restaurant on the right side of the road right before I turn right to go to Ala Moana. You can see into the restaurant while you drive down the road and something about the ambiance that they created in this restaurant drew me in (plus, I really wanted teishoku for dinner).
First of all, this location is like a Cinderella story. Back when I was a little girl… like more than 10 years ago… it was a Taco Bell and it was looking a bit run-​down. Then, one day, Taco Bell closed and I think it was closed for quite a long time. As with many things in life, time goes by and soon enough this location was no longer home to tacos, but home to a new Japanese restaurant with owners that really cleaned up the place.
I have eaten in the restaurant before, but that was many months ago. This review is going to focus solely on the food (which is really what it is all about). I ordered the two choice teishoku for take out. The teishoku comes with 4 side dishes, miso soup, rice, and your entrée selections. The side dishes could be bean sprouts, seaweed, an orange slice, takuan, and there is another side dish that is very tasty, but I don’t even know what it is! Anyway… trust me, they are all good appetizers, getting you ready for the main entrees.
I tried the chicken katsu, hamburger steak, and vegetable tempura. The chicken katsu was cooked well (not oily), crisp outside with tender meat inside, and they used good pieces of meat (there were no chunks of fat or cartilage). The hamburger steak had a nice char to it, yet not overcooked. The sauce used on the hamburger steak was not the typical brown gravy as it had a sweeter taste and a lighter, thinner consistency. The vegetable tempura was cooked to my liking — the tempura batter was light and crispy and the vegetables were not super oily.
It is a little pricey as the two choice teishoku costs about $ 19. A small price to pay to satisfy my craving.

Anybody that knows me knows a few things: I’m always up for some good Japanese food, love tonkatsu and enjoy having a nice meal with my family… Well, I have to say that Hinone Mizunone got 2 out of 3 things right which isn’t too bad!
For those of you that don’t know, Hinone Mizunone has been around for quite a while. They’re conveniently located in town, less than a block away from Keeaumoku Street & nearby to the Cosmo-​Yajima service station on King Street. They have a nice little parking lot on the side of the building with a few more stalls in the back which are fairly easy to get in and out of which is a plus for a restaurant located in the heart of the city!
Upon going inside, you’ll notice that it’s a very quaint little Japanese restaurant that has this really «homey» feel too it. There’s a bunch of tables that can easily seat a party of four or even more if the tables are combined. It’s got a nice & friendly atmosphere too, the kind that you’d feel good about taking your grandmother or elderly aunt to eat.
As for the menu, it’s got your typical Japanese dishes which consist of seafood such as fresh fish and shrimp to Japanese style hamburger steak and my favorite– tonkatsu! They’ve also got complete set meals known as teishoku which Coke with the main dish of your choice, some pickled vegetables or salad, miso soup & a bowl of rice. Additionally, you can choose a combo set and choose 2 items and get all of the things I mentioned that come with a teishoku, talk about a lot of food! There’s also a decent selection of drinks to choose from that range from soft drinks to tea to beer and sake too.
Personally, I ordered the pork loin katsu teishoku set because as I mentioned earlier, I’m a sucker to tonkatsu! Also, I figured this would be a good item to order that would allow me to compare them against a dish I’d order at other similar Japanese restaurants. So what’s the verdict? Overall the meal was decent with quite a bit of food for the price. I didn’t really care for the tonkatsu dish itself. I disliked the fact that the tonkatsu was already marinating on the katsu itself upon arrival, this made it a little soggy and also made it a little overpowering. I’d prefer if they had put the sauce in a side dish that I can dip the pieces into so that they stay crispy and fresh. Additionally, the cuts of pork loin didn’t seem as tender as it looked, which I expected considering the price paid and presentation. Everything else about my meal was fine other than that.
So would I come back again? Sure, why not. As I mentioned earlier, you get quite a decent amount of food for the money and the quality is overall good too. I know my mom, uncle and aunty enjoyed their meal here and you have to admit it’s overall pleasant dining here. Next time I have family visiting from out of town, I’ll definitely bring them here for a pleasant & affordable dining experience that everyone will enjoy!

I am a big fan of Japanese culture AND food, and this is one of my favorites for authentic Japanese restaurants.
Hinone is located on S. King St, sort of a block away from Keeaumoku. Small restaurant so parking is not so great if it’s crowded. But it’s okay because the food makes up for it!
There’s the 2 choice teishoku and 1 choice teishoku. Items can be different between the two but they come at a very good price! The teishoku comes with side of rice, miso soup, a slice of orange, and three side vegetables. Of course you may add more to your meal with ala carte items or deserts :)
The service is what you expect from a Japanese restaurant, very respectful and helpful.
Like I said before, one of my favorite Japanese restaurants. Probably in the high top 5 for me :)

I love a good lunch special and Hinone Mizunone has great value lunch specials! The portions are huge and the food is high quality and delicious. I’ve been here a few times now and have tried the hamburger steak, miso butterfish, curry, and udon. All are excellent! Hinone Mizunone is known for making their rice the traditional way – without a rice cooker and it is better! It’s the way you want rice to taste: sweet, fluffy, and totally satisfying. All of the menu items I mentioned are excellent, with my favorite being the butterfish, but the curry was also delicious and an enormous portion for when you’re feeling really hungry!
Service is always very friendly here and it gets pretty crowded at lunchtime, but I’ve never had to wait for a table. They also have bentos by the door ($ 7) if you need to grab and go.

In town, 7 pm, craving Japanese food, so we stopped at Hinone Mizunone. Normally the parking at this restaurant can be a challenge during peak hours, but seeing how it was nearing 7 pm there was ample parking in their small lot. Seated right away, ordered a draft Sapporo to help with the heat (I think their AC was out since they left the doors open), we ordered 3 different combination teishoku meals.
Food: My daughter orders the tonkatsu and karaage combo, my wife goes with the tonkatsu and butter fish combo. I was going to get the tonkatsu but seeing how I will be able to mooch off their plates I went with the Tempura and Salmon Sashimi Combo. Each combo meal contains a lot of food including Miso Soup, Wakame Namasu, Hijiki with noodles, Takuan, a slice of orange, and a nice big portion of their wonderful fluffy rice. Their fried foods do not taste oily, the tonkatsu was crispy and not dripping with oil. The tempura was not overly battered like some other places and also not oily. Salmon Sashimi were nice cuts, substantial and good cuts of fish. The food has been consistently well prepared and of good quality whenever I’ve visited. I can also recommend their miso butterfish, maguro sashimi, and some of their side dishes. They also have noodle dishes but we’ve never made it to that part of the menu since we always go with one of the teishoku meals.
Service: Excellent customer service, they will continuously check up on you, refill your water, and making sure that your dining experience is going well. My wife accidentally dropped the top of the rice container on the floor, as she was reaching down for it one of the servers came bolting around the counter saying «Don’t worry. I got it!»
Atmosphere: Small restaurant, clean, airy with a side room to accommodate the dining rush. As I mentioned above, the parking lot is relatively small so it tends to fill up and there isn’t usually much street parking available in the immediate vicinity.
Value: Average cost for a sit down Japanese food meal. Not overly expensive and in line with the service and food.
Overall a comfortable restaurant with great service, good food, and great rice!

Came back to Hinone early friday evening looking for a good japanese meal to relive my recent japan trip. There were no other patrons in the place so my order was taken right away and food came out within 10 minutes. I ordered my usual chicken katsu and chicken karaage teishoku. My first observations was that the portions were lot smaller this time. The katsu was barely one full chicken thigh. The miso soup was also luke warm. The larger portions was one of the better things about Hinone. Hopefully this is not the norm.

I tried this place once many years ago. Because it didn’t wow me I never went back. Fast forward years later and my coworkers started getting their to-​go bento’s (like many of their sit down dishes, but a little smaller and cheaper). It tasted pretty decent and the price was on point, so when my coworker suggested we eat in instead of buy a bento to go I was all for it. And now… I’m hooked!
They have a lot of different types of lunch items. Bento’s such as aji fry, tonkatsu, chicken katsu, grilled salmon, etc. All come with miso soup, daikon, 2 different types of veggies (alternated each day so you never know what you’ll get), and their special Japanese rice. They have other things too such as udon, curry, etc. They are very quick and the taste is great! Their bento’s range from $ 9.50 — $ 15.00 and their noodles and curry are even cheaper starting at $ 7.00! I don’t know what I was thinking the first time I at here; I must have been way too critical, but I’m glad I gave this place another chance because this is now my go-​to lunch spot!

Went for dinner. Review still stands. Great service, good food and it’s possible they give even more! Price went up a little again, but still completely worth it!
FOOD IS GOOD!

Hinone Mizunone, Hinone Mizunone, Hinone Mizunone. I just love saying… Hinone Mizunone. Try and say it ten times really fast… hee, hee, hee its really fun.
Anyway, Hinone Mizunone is located on South King Street in the old Taco Bell right across Lobster King
This Japanese restaurant has very limited parking… so go early to park in the lot. If you are not lucky enough to park in the lot, street parking is available.
It’s best to make reservations ahead of time especially if you are in a large group. The restaurant gets pretty busy.
The price, the portions, the food, the employees are worth 5 stars! I was IMPRESSED with the quality of everything. Here’s the down low on my experience at Hinone:
The service– 5 stars: from the moment we walked in to the moment we left, we were treated like «Superstars!» Throughout the entire service, we were constantly checked on, our water glasses were refilled and they were kind enough to honor our request for separate checks.
The food– 5 stars: my husband and I ordered spicy tuna roll and Sapporo draft beer as our starters. The beer was smooth and refreshing… the sushi was delicious.
For dinner, I ordered the two choice teishoku dinner for $ 18.75.
I chose the hamburger steak with a boiled egg and the pork ginger. These entrees came with miso soup, three types of pickled veggies, an orange slice and a cute little rice container with their famous special rice. The hamburger steak was tender, juicy and drenched in a sweet thick sauce that resembled tonkatsu sauce. It was sooo good. The pork ginger was marinated in a delicate sweet ginger sauce. Just the right amount of flavor. Not overpowering. The rice was «heavenly.» It was soft, fluffy and tasty. The pickled veggies were a nice compliment to the dishes.
I was happy with my choices. The portions were rather LARGE! I couldn’t believe the amount of food in front of me. I just ate half of my meal, and took the rest home. I finished it for breakfast the next morning. My stomach was happy to eat that food again.
If you want good Japanese comfort food with large portions for a reasonable price, go to Hinone Mizunone. You will walk away happy and full

They are located on South King street and have their own parking lot. When we got there there was no parking available but that should tell you how good this place is if all the stalls were taking.
Now let’s talk about the food! I ordered the chicken katsu ad the assorted tempura. My husband ordered the shrimp tempura and the chicken katsu. To say the least, we both loved it. The rice was also really good and both meals came with many sides (soup, orange, etc).
The service was probably one of the best things about this restaurant. Our waiter was very consistent and checked up on us many times to make sure we were okay.

I come here for the Rice… It makes the meal even more Yummy!
Sake Service is really short! I’m a little disappointed…

Parking: private lot
The cost: $ 20/​person
The food: one choice teishoku with butterfish
Something about this place feels very homey and traditional. Came during lunch and didn’t have any issues being seated. The servers are attentive and the service is quick. Had the one choice teishoku with butterfish which included rice, miso soup, pickles, and the butterfish. The butterfish is well made and moist. The other dishes are standard. All in all this is a very homey, comfortable, and classic place to have lunch or dinner. Bring the whole family, you won’t be disappointed.
Overall, a nice homey place to have a meal.

I am such a huge fan of Hinone Mizunone despite the fact that my family constantly botches up saying the restaurant name correctly. This restaurant is ALWAYS busy, especially for weekend dinners. There are fewer and fewer Japanese teishoku restaurants around so this place attracts a lot of families.
Hinone Mizunone serves a great variety of dishes including maguro and salmon sashimi, tonkatsu, chicken katsu, misoyaki butterfish, and assorted tempura. The 2-​choice teishoku meals are the best deals for dinner and is served with rice, miso soup, and two side dishes.
Speaking of rice, Hinone Mizunone is known for its rice. The rice comes in its own separate rice container with paddle. The rice is piping hot and fluffy and has the best taste. It’s so addicting!
This place is also kid friendly. My little nephew gets his own Kero Keroppi plate and rice bowl. All he needs is rice and a side order of Chicken Karaage and he is one happy little boy.
The service here is always friendly and courteous. The food is always tasty and consistent. Hinone Mizunone is so worth coming back to dine here again and again.

Came here for lunch with a bunch of my co-​workers. The service was very attentive and the food came out relatively quick.
I had the hamburger steak, which I enjoyed (careful, that platter is quite hot when the bring it out). I wonder if they let you customize how the egg is cooked (it had not occurred to me to ask while ordering). My order came with rice, some daikon, pickles, tofu, and miso soup. I wasn’t a fan of the miso soup because there were sliced onions in it, but the taste was okay. Not a bad lunch for about $ 11. Definitely a good bang for your buck.
Parking could possibly be an issue, but it wasn’t for us since we came early. They have some lunch bentos ready if you’re in a super rush.

It’s all about the rice,
gohan, tamadaki
It’s all about the rice,
gohan, tamadaki
It’s all about the rice,
gohan, tamadaki
It’s all about the rice,
gohan, tamadaki
Yeah, it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size Small
But I can eat it, eat it
Like I’m supposed to do
Cause I got the Sizzlin’ Hamburger that all the diners chase
All the demi-​glaze in all the right places
I see other restaurants workin’ that teishoku
We know that food ain’t real
C’mon now, make it stop
If you got katsu, katsu, just eat ‘em up
’Cause every bite you take is perfect
From the palate to your tum
Yeah, my Unilocalers they told me don’t worry about the price
They said, «Diners like a little more food to eat at night.»
You know I won’t be no salad eating dieting starvin’ dude
So if that’s what you’re into then don’t eat at Hinone Mizunone!