Natsunoya Tea House

In the past I have only been to Natsunoya for parties, today was one of them with about 100 attendees held in the large room with the stage. The food was served family style, where everyone on the table dished out portions onto their plates from a larger platter. They also provided takeout boxes at the end for those interested in leftovers. Food and service are great, the venue is well maintained, perhaps in part due to being required to take off your shoes before entering the rooms. I enjoy walking around barefoot, a feeling of comfort, however I noticed some ladies using indoor slippers perhaps provided by the staff if desired.
Location is beautiful, surrounded not by other businesses but in a residential area. So, though the parking lot (valet) can sometimes be packed during peak hours like Sunday lunch, if you are able and willing to walk a little, try driving around to find street parking. You’ll be glad you did after a large party like today’s, as the line for valet pickup was incredibly long!

I vaguely remember the last time I was here… and my memories tells me it was an old building with very dark and narrow walkways. Well… I guess they did some major renovations since it doesn’t look anything like how I remembered it to be!
A few friends and I went on a Friday night. They were able to score a private room, which was great since there were about 8 of us there. It’s BYOB so we were able to enjoy some quality sake with our sushi. Since we ordered 6 omakase (leave it to the chef menu), it took some time, but we were happy campers since we had the private room with the nice night light view.
I got maguro, salmon, hotate, toro-​taku, and natto. I enjoyed all of it. They were out of miso soup by the time we went so I guess I gotta go back again soon!

If you have a big party and spend money to order food then yes the food will be good and services will be great

I was impressed to find that this place serves more authentic Japanese cuisine, as opposed to the local fusion kine. I was at a party here recently and tried the citrus chicken salad, teri-​style chicken, steamed white fish, fried tofu, and tempura. Everything was delicious; the sauces and seasonings were exactly to my liking – full of delicate, yummy umami flavors. They also served a delicious oolong tea. Our room had a pretty nice view of Honolulu (somewhat obstructed by lots of power lines). The only downsides to this place is having to pay for valet parking, they had the ACs on full blast so I was freezing, and the rooms are a bit more on the shabby side of shabby chic.

This has been the location of our college gang’s annual Christmas Party /​Reunion for the past 20 years. It has been a tradition for us. We always reserve one of the cottages in the back.
This place has a charm and may well be one of our last tea houses in Hawai’i. There is a large lot for valet parking. There are private rooms and a small sushi bar. The service has always been good. BYOB.
My fave dishes are the tempura, tonkatsu, and misoyaki butterfish. Food is good here. Most importantly, it has been our chosen venue to sustain lifelong friendships…

I thought the world was spinning as my coworkers had me seated on the back during our fun car ride to Natsunoya. «Where could this place be? At someone’s house?», as I immediately assumed after driving through endless residential homes. This lovely tea house is hidden on the hills of Alewa Heights. I’ve read previously before coming here that parking could be an issue. Thank goodness for the option of carpooling and coming here as one of their first reservations during lunch time. Their private lot was near empty and we came here during a weekday. I can only imagine how crowded this place gets during night time and on weekends.
My work committee meeting held their end of the year luncheon at Natsunoya (meaning Summer House), describing this place as one of the last remaining full-​time tea house in the islands. I can honestly say, it was a lovely experience. We were greeted by our host on the first arrival at the tea house. She led us through a room filled with lit indoor trees and a huge wall size Kimono placed behind a glass shelf and other historical writings. There are ample of spaces and shoe racks to place our shoes before entering the dining rooms. About 20 people were in our party, taking the Nigo room on high tables. Our private room is located on the second floor, overlooking the southern shore and a panoramic picturesque of Diamond Head. This room is fully lit with natural light coming from the full size window. I appreciated the view and watching the sail boats at a far distance during my time here. We were served the mixed green salad first, miso soup and my most favorite cold somen and comes pretty much standard for all bentos ordered. We had a nice time playing our activities as we waited for our bentos to arrive. I had the Shokado D Bento.
Includes (for $ 25):
Sushi (Reverse California/​Kappa) & Rice
Sashimi — Tataki style w/​garlic ginger ponzu
Mixed Green Salad
Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura
Agedashi Tofu w/​Shiitake
Kobu Maki
Spicy Nasubi
Cold Somen
Teri Steak
Miso Soup
I very much enjoyed the sashimi. The ahi is fresh and the texture was just excellent in quality. The Teri Steak was was kept nice and warm upon it’s arrival. What I’m impressed about mostly is the consistency. The meat is warm while others are perfectly served cold as they’re suppose to. The Teri Steak is well seasoned, juicy and are not hard to chew and are not overwhelming in serving. The shrimp tempura is crispy, tasty and perfect to my liking along with the vegetables. Thank goodness the tempura was not salty! The sushi is simple and are not served with too much rice. Each part of the bento complimented each other wonderfully. Let me add that our server was comparable to a ninja! She filled our tea cups and water and served us without being too noticeable! Okay, perhaps I was too occupied and was talking too much. Excellent service all around!
My experience here was overall excellent. I am looking forward to making another reservation with my special dining companion, future parties, family events, and friends gatherings. Aside from the bentos, this lovely tea house offer ample of options for large parties. Sushi bar is one of the options. Check their website for more information on making reservations and the best options for rooms and menus for your party and know some history about this lovely tea house.

This is for the sushi bar downstairs. We went there on the recommendation of this foodie I know. He did most of the ordering, actually his Japanese speaking wife did. We just went right down the sushi menu from the top to the bottom. They make it easy to do so because the portions are for one each of each item. I took Unilocal pictures that I hope I can access after I finish the review. The ambience is very definitely like a real Japanese sushi bar… very small, just a counter that seats about 12 and two or three 2-​seat tables. There was a waitress who took our orders for kitchen items and took away our used plates. The items were all good. But I have to admit that I’m not a full-​out sushi snob, so I’m not the best to ask about how high quality the sushi was, ie. temperature of rice, food freshness, etc. I basically don’t like «fishy» tasting fish, if that makes any sense to anybody. But the raw fish there on the many items I ate were not fishy tasting. That’s why the four stars. Why not five? I guess I don’t really like it when it’s obviously converted from something else. In this case, they renovated a furo, a japanese bathing tub! I’ve been there many times before and never knew they had a furo! But no, you couldn’t tell where the furo was but it just didn’t do anything for me. Although this place seemed to have a dedicated following of regulars. I can see how if you just want to eat good sushi comfortably in a hideaway type of place, this is where you’d want to go.
The parking was crowded but we did the $ 3 valet service and that went really well.
I think I’d like to go back.
Oh, and it’s BYOB, which I like.

This review is for the sushi bar at Natsunoya.
I love going to Natsunoya Tea house for the surrounding view and quaint atmosphere. I’ve been here over the years for parties, every kind you can think of. But who would have known that tucked away on the bottom floor of the tea house is a little hold in the wall sushi bar that serves some of the best sushi on the island with great value.
The pieces are a bit smaller than what you would expect from any other local Japanese sushi bar but that’s because there’s less emphasis on the rice and more on the featured product like the fish or the shrimp. You’ll know what i mean by the photos. You see more goodie than rice.
The prices are very reasonable too. The omakase was $ 36 and you get about 12 pieces of sushi depending on what’s available including the deep fried ama ebi head. Then after that you can go about and add more things on to your plate if you wish. The couple times I went I’ve spent about $ 60 and $ 70 per person including tip but I ate my fill. I could probably be comfortable at about $ 50 with drinks… which is BYOB.
Parking is a hit or miss. It’s either way too crowded b/​c of multiple parties going on in the tea house and you have to park down the street somewhere. Or it’s empty with lots of parking. I’ve been to the bar on a weekend and it was crazy but i’ve also been there on a weekday and there was ample parking.
Suggest you call ahead for reservations as well as dress comfortably b/​c if the bar gets crowded it can get a little stuffy. Not to the point where your sweating bullets but enough to make you think I should have worn shorts… especially if you are drinking alcohol…

First time I EVER put in a reservation for this place. BUT THAT’S NOT WHY I’M WRITING A REVIEW.
Don’t get me wrong but I gave this place 2 starts because most of the food here is good and style of cooking is very Japanese, which I love. The waiters dress in kimono’s when serving their food such as the shrimp tempura, much like a formal Japanese dinner.
I reserved a room for a bridal party I was hosting for my friend who is getting married in less than a month from now and I called to see if I could cancel because my friend’s fiancé’s family had lost someone special and the funeral was scheduled on the same day of the bridal shower. I asked if I would be able to get my deposit back but the person (a lady, I forget her name but I’m pretty sure it was Kehau) said that I couldn’t get it back FOR ANY REASON. (Yes, it did state on their website deposit’s are non-​refundable for any reason)
I thought it was NAIVE just because I was cancelling because of a death in the family and they were being unreasonable. I SAY THAT EVERY RESTAURANT should be ENTITLED to give a customer a FULL REFUND no matter what the situation.
PERIOD!

This review is strictly for the sushi bar at Natsunoya’s. A few colleagues and I enjoyed a great night here! Good sushi, reasonable prices, and it’s byob! Need I say more? The quality of the fish served here is reasonably good… not fancy like Sushi Sasabune, Onodera, or Sushi ii… but it’s definitely good and fresh. Their omakase sushi only costs $ 36. I ordered their chirashi and it was excellent – good amount of fish and a decent variety. I would definitely come back again.

This is the 3^rd time here all 3 times for special occasions today was a «bridal shower»…its always nice to see friends and the games were awesome couple of them I’ve never played (& I’ve been to many BS)…so, the food was good (even though I took mine home 2 eat) the service was good but the last star that I didn’t give them was because of the AC it wasn’t cooling the whole room U had to be right in front of it … U should crank up the AC for their rooms (I think we were the last room in the back — it’s also nice that it has it’s own restroom)…Would go back & would recommend it!

what: traditional-​style japanese teahouse!
something good: i haven’t been here in ages! but everything i remember about the tea house is still the same :) firstly, everyone takes off their shoes to dine here! i was here for a birthday party this time around! i never really thought about it, but this is a perfect location for a ban birthday party! nice view and large enough area to socialize and host games! i enjoyed the service, atmosphere and the shrimp tempura is still heavenly (i think i could eat that whole thing by myself :) !!
something not so good:
something to try: shrimp tempura !!!

Had my sons 1^st birthday here and service is amazing! The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We needed power strips, more tables, and rearrange tables and without question… boom, done! The food has gotten a lot better and everyone loved it. The best part, they set up the tables and clean up! After a party, the last thing on your mind is cleaning up but they did!!! Sai and Maureen are so friendly and helpful! There were times when I had questions and they answered very promptly. I believe Natsunoya is the oldest tea house on Oahu and they still uphold the shoes policy, which I respect. 200 people and they were all happy!

Several of us parents decided to go to the Natsunoya Sushi Bar while our girls were going to be at a birthday party in the nearby Alewa Heights neighborhood … our little group of 5 quickly outgrew the size of the sushi bar so Maureen was kind enough to accommodate the 25 of us in a separate room and still allow us to order off the sushi menu (Mahalo Nui Loa Maureen) :):):) … everyone had a great time !
The food was excellent, room excellent, & service beyond excellent (thank you Zevan & Sally) … they were also so kind in allowing us to do seperate checks, being in our own drinks, our own desserts, and provided us with the supplies we needed along with a big self serving jug of iced water.
The parents are still raving about the Tea House and how impressed they were with the food :)
Majority of our party ordered the Omakase for $ 36 … but we also got to sample some of the other items on the ala carte menu like the NY steak with ponzu sauce, shrimp tempurs, soft shell crab, lamb chops, etc.
I’m already planning another visit to sit in the sushi bar so we can enjoy the magic of Sho San in front of us :)
Very grateful for the hospitality here and the charm of the authentic tea house :)

I came here for my co-​workers birthday party on Sunday. This place is not easy to find and it’s virtually a restaurant in a house. They offer valet parking or you can just look for street parking on one of the side streets.
As you walk in, there’s this old Japanese lady in a kimono. She is the hostess and pointed me in the direction of the party. It’s my first time here. I’m looking down the hall and all I see are slippers and shoes on a rack. I asked her if I needed to take my shoes off and she nodded yes. The banquet room is a nice size and seats around 100 – 150 people. My friend invited so many people that they just kept on adding tables.
It was a buffet dinner. However, there was a sign that asked people to limit themselves to one piece of vegetable tempura and one piece of shrimp tempura. Some people must be illiterate, as I saw some folks loading their plates with the shrimp tempura.
The shrimp tempura was ok. It had a heavy coating of batter with a small shrimp in the middle. I loved the eggplant tempura though.
Some of the items on the buffet line were: green salad, potato salad, sushi, fried noodles, teri beef, chicken katsu and some kind of fish. I took a huge plate with a little of everything. The best items on the line had to be the fish and the teri beef. The fish was smooth and not overly cooked. They had it in this white cream sauce with some crunchy stuff sprinkled on the top. The teri beef was tender and the sauce was perfect. At the end of the meal, they offered tea, which was nice to wash down all the oily foods.

Came here for the first time for a work luncheon… If you’re driving up those winding hills of Kalihi, fear not! Your GPS is not lying to you. Snuggled in residential Kalihi, Natsunoya Tea House looks like an old school Japanese House with a big lot on the side for parking. Walking in, each banquet room is labeled on a board indicating which party is in what room. The décor is very Japanese, with beautiful gardens and traditional banquet rooms. The atmosphere was welcoming and the rooms were nicely separated (perfect for private parties). We had ten people in our party, and our small room had its own restroom! There are different sets for lunch that you could choose from. I chose the Shokudo B set which included salad, miso soup, somen salad, beef skewer, eggplant, agedashi tofu w/​mushrooms, salmon trio, and shrimp & sweet potato tempura. We also had a designated server who kept our waters and hot tea filled. Very attentive throughout the three hours that we were there. Overall, a great place for private parties. Will definitely remember Natsunoya Tea House whenever I’m planning a get together.
Highlights:
— Delicious miso soup (doesn’t taste like the packets)
— Salmon trio included slices that were lightly seasoned and one slice with teriyaki sauce.
— Tempura was very fresh and flakey… Loved the shrimp tempura!!!
Pro Tip:
— Rooms require guests to leave their shoes at the door… So wear some fancy SOCKS! (great conversation starter)

Just had our work holiday party here and we had so much fun!
You would never think this place existed since it’s hidden in the hills at the bottom-​ish of Alewa heights. I’ve only been here for parties, and it never disappoints.
We opted for «shokado» lunch bentos for our party of 20 instead of going with a buffet style lunch ($ 20 per person). Good choice and plenty of food! We had 2 types of bentos to choose from:
Salmon Trio — Teri/​Miso/​Shio –YUM. I liked the shio the best; the other 2 were sweet but good size salmon for a trio sampler OR Chicken Yakitori plus all these other goodies:
Rice
Miso Soup — typical miso with tofu, green onion, wakame
Mixed Green Salad — mixed lettuce with a sesame dressing and mandarin oranges.
Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura — 2 pieces of shrimp cooked to perfection (not rubbery at all) with crispy outsides and very flavorful! and a slice of sweet potato.
Teriyaki Beef Stick — 3 little chubby blocks of beef on a skewer. looked chewy at first glance, but so tender and tasty!
Spicy Nasubi — if you dont know, nasubi=eggplant. not too spicy, tender, on the sweeter teri-​side.
Agedashi Tofu w /​Shiitake — mm! 6 small blocks of agedashi tofu with a sliver of nasubi on top
Cold Somen — your typical somen noodles with sauce, garnished with shiitake mushrooms and ginger
Kinpira Yasai — namasu-​pickled cucumbers and radish. YUM
For larger parties and room reservations, there is a deposit (we paid $ 50 for the larger room upstairs), but that’s refunded at the time you pay if the room is left in the same condition.
We had ONE server (Ross) for our party which was not very efficient, BUT, he was pretty awesome! Props to him for keeping a smile on his face and having a wonderful attitude the entire time we were there. Anyways — going back to the non-​efficiency of this place — it lit-​trally took 30 minutes for us to get our miso soup, salads, bentos, rice (in that order). Our requested meal time was 12pm and since we were with a bunch of polite people that wait for everyone to get served before they dug in to their food, it was cold by the time we ate it. WAH!
Thank goodness the food here is faaabulous. Presentation is awesome and maybe one of the best tempura I’ve had. Way too much food! They give you containers to take your leftovers home. yay!
We also were provided with plastic cups for self-​service water which was provided in a jug on the table. Another table was set up along the wall for our own goodies — we were able to bring our own pupus and desserts. How awesome is that?! Love that about this place.
Note that this place is not fancy schmancy so don’t expect much (the ambiance here is about a 2) and remember that all the tatami mat rooms require you to remove your footwear! So wear matchy socks without holes! Chairs are plastic and this place hasn’t gotten a renovation in years.
The only other «downside» to Natsunoya is the valet-​only parking in their private lot which is $ 3+tip. You can always drive around the neighborhood looking for parking but it’s way worth just having them park for you.
Fun times — will be back. Great place for having a private room for parties!

Hit or miss.
Go on a slow night. Elbow to elbow along the sushi bar. If theres a full house, expect to wait for your sushi. Preference shown towards Japanese speaking customers.
Fresh sushi. They run out of popular items, so go early. Kitchen closes at 8! Sushi bar closes… well, depending on how many people are there– between 9−10pm.No ikura?!
BYOB.
Must try: chicken karaage and tempura. They served lamb chops tonight (not on the menu, so ask about specials). Some local fish served, which is good to support the local food movement.
2 seats on the far right of the bar are hot b/​c the a/​c is directly overhead ;)

I would NOT recommend this place at all. They’re lucky to even get a star. Parking is horrible, service, food & atmosphere is below subpar.
Don’t even bother Unilocalers.
It is a waste of money & time.

Sushi for those with a refined palette. A great alternative to Mitch’s Sushi or Sasabune. The prices are more affordable, though not the most accessible place for people new to sushi. If you are or are dining with a sushi enthusiast, then this is one venue I would recommend. If your favorite sushi has a city or mystical creature attached to it, then you might just head to Doraku or Ninja.
Are the rumors true? Does O-​Ren Ishii have her board meetings here? I keep asking for the Charlie Brown waiter and get blank stares.