Michinoku Restaurant

I’ve only been here once and I definitely will be going back! In addition to the appetizers and sushi, the menu consists of mostly donburi and udon. I ordered the combo and what they gave me was the best of both worlds. The donburi I ordered came with salmon sashimi and ikura over a bed of rice. I believe the english translation of the dish is mother (salmon) and child (ikura). For me, the hot udon complements the donburi very nicely. Everything was fresh (except for the udon which was frozen, but still very good) and it came with a few side dishes.
This restaurant is small, but that’s what makes it more personable and intimate, and the service was great. It’s also BYOB, so bring your favorite bottle of sake or shochu!

NEW ADDRESS: 835 Keeaumoku St.
I’ve eaten here 4x since they reopened in April, and I’m still getting asked even by people who live/​work nearby where exactly it is. So ***** is for the fresh fish and traditional dishes, but the purpose of this review is to help you home in on exactly where Michinoku is.
It’s hidden. Driving by on Keeaumoku, you can’t see it; even walking past, you won’t be able to see it. You’ll need to park and walk a few steps. A yummy scavenger hunt.
Find street parking on the Diamond Head side of Kmoku between Liona and Rycroft or in the free parking lot right after you turn right onto Liona. Once you’re on foot on Kmoku, the restaurant will be between Go Shi Go and Daechun.
On the mauka side of Daechun you’ll see a tiny parking lot. You’ll still think you’re in the wrong place, but walk into that lot. Michinoku is toward the back. (You can actually park in this lot, but it only has 8 – 10 spaces and is hard to get out of, so I never chance it.)
Anyway, at this point you’ll be standing in front of Michinoku’s familiar black/​white/​purple sign. Happy eating!

This place has disappeared. It’s not atthe address in the listing. It’s not at the address in one of the reviews. And there’s no signage at either place directing to the new venue. I hope that this review saves others the pain in the ass of walking around Honolulu trying to find a magical non existant restaurant.

Michinoku has re-​opened and has some pretty powerful Sushi along with other Traditional Types of Japanese cuisine.
We tried it tonight and were pleasantly surprised.
The Sushi Bar is our favorite spot so we sat down and ordered Omakase mostly Traditional Style items were served.
$ 100– for two.
Wow, everything was very fresh and well conceived. Even thought Japanese is the language of choice we were able to communicate most of the time.
For now it’s BYOB till they get their license.
Make note of the NEW Location which is on 835 KEEAUMOKU ST.
Awesome Service!

I have heard that they are reopening on Keeaumoku St. Don’t know when or where…

Not a bad place, not a great place. I’d go here when in town, but won’t take my parents who would not be as thrilled with this place. It is competent. If you’re not a nihon-​jin picky person, this might be a worthwhile place to go.
Limited parking in the back. Don’t park in the spots marked for the realtor at any time.

OUTSTANDING.
I started the day off with fresh fruit and a nice run through the streets of Waikiki and I wanted to keep the day healthy after the previous day of gluttony.
This little matchbox of a restaurant really had me feeling like I was eating somewhere in Japan. Husband and wife owner, heavy Japanese accent, traditional music playing in the background, and a simple menu to boot.
The woman serving us was an absolute sweetheart. I did my best to research Unilocal for a restaurant that I would enjoy and still accommodate my partner’s food taste. He’s a chicken and rice guy, so I figured he would like Oyako –don. Our server must have seen simplicity written all over his face, so she recommended the plain chicken teriyaki with rice. Score.
I, on the other hand, wanted something a little more traditional. I was craving sushi, but instead ordered the lunch special including a small bowl of yamakake and maguro over rice, along with a small bowl of udon. She asked me twice if I was sure I wanted the yamakake, and I assured her, that yes, I did and I loved the stuff. For those who don’t know what it is, it’s similar to a potato in color and texture. It’s grated, and the consistency and texture then becomes similar to… hmm…snot. Okay, okay, not the best description, but the texture becomes sticky and slimy like once it’s been grated. There really is no taste to it, but I love it with tuna.
The quality of the tuna was wonderful – so buttery, no chewiness to it. My «platter» consisted of several small bowls of goodies: a little pickled cabbage here, a small salad there, some steamed greens with fish flakes, and standard wasabi and ginger.
This is a great, great hole in the wall and the price point is excellent for what you get. My lunch was about 15.95. I consider that to be a great deal when I consider the sweet woman and her eagerness to ensure our happiness, the quality and quantity of the food, and the intimacy of the joint. I will most certainly return next week, if the other bookmarked restaurants don’t take me over first.
It was about a 15 – 20 minute walk from the HHV, if that helps and you don’t have a car. There’s something for most, if not all tastes, here.

We happened to find this restaurant and loved it. We had different kinds of Japanese dishes and everything was delicious. We would like to go back the next time we go to Hawaii.

I love sushi! I don’t get to eat it often since a sliver of uni can cost the same as a plate lunch, or a couple slices of ohtoro sashimi could fill some gas in my tank… I can’t help but quiet my cravings by stopping by this little hole in the wall every now and again.
Always call in for reservations as its tiny and the sushi counter only seats 6 or 7 people. The netta, fresh catches, are always so FRESH! I love his negitoro rolls, its always the fattiest tuna that melts on my palate with the right amount of scallions. its really a peace of heaven!

Another little known hole-​in-​the-​wall Japanese diner located on Kalakaua that’s flies under the radar.
This place is awesome. The owner/​sushi chef serves only fresh sashimi and sushi. He will not hesitate to refuse serving items that he deems not as fresh as can be.

This is another restaurant my mother recommended that reminds me of Japan home cooking. It is hidden away from the hustle and bustle of life. It is a bit on the pricer side, but it is well worth it. The sashimi is delicious and the donburi’s are great. My mom likes their udon. Great place for a quiet dinner with loved ones.

I started going to Michinoku before they had their liquor license. I thought it was pretty good. They had very good sushi and their udon was good but I thought that the menu was pretty limited.
Then one day I was there and saw that the table next to us had a lot of great looking food that I didn’t see on the menu. I asked and the proprietress turned the menu over and pointed to the side that was in Japanese. I had just assumed that what was in English was a duplicate of what was in Japanese but I was wrong.
So then I began to ask about the various dishes but it seemed that there was a bit of a language barrier. Everything was «mmmm. hard to explain. Mushroom Pot, Mountain Vega table» So I did what I guess what every self respecting Unilocalster would do– I ordered a few Japanese dishes that I know and like and if they had them then that was great. After that I just ordered by price.
«I’ll have the 8.95 thing, the 10.95 thing, and the 4.95 thing» I figured that would be a good mix. And it was.
The proprietress was so kind that on a later visit she brought out a piece of paper where she had taken the time to sort of translate the menu, at least she romanized the words so that I could read them. I still had to find someone to translate them into something I could understand but you know it’s just easier to order the damn thing and then you’ll know what it is. But I appreciated the extra effort so much, clearly that took some time and it was well above and beyond what I’d expect any restaurant to do for their customer.

I came to this small Japanese restaurant with my parents. Apparently known for their donburi, they had an interesting selection. My father and I both had the toro-​don (chopped raw fatty tuna). The donburi itself was big with a great serving of toro on top of the rice. Additionally, there were the traditional Japanese side dishes — miso soup, chawan-​mushi, tsukemono, etc. My mother had the maguro-​natto don which she really enjoyed as well.
Looking forward to my next trip to Honolulu so I can sample another donburi…