Neco Grill & Bar Hawaii

Came here on date night with the wife and it sure did not disappoint. If you’re looking someplace to bring a date and on a budget then this is the place to come. The food is reasonably PRICED (without happy hour), the food is excellent and the service is good.
As for the FOOD, we ordered the Soy Beans, Daikon Tofu Salad, Mentaiko Cheese Yaki, Sauteed Eggplant and the Osaka Seafood Okonomiyaki. All dishes were good but the ones that really stood out to me personally was the Cheese Yaki and the Okonomiyaki. The Cheese is fried but not overly greasy and the cheese has a very strong flavor. Something any cheese lover will appreciate. The Okonomiyaki came out at the perfect temperature and it was prepared with the right amount of ingredients. Every bite was delicious. Their alcohol is also fairly cheep at 3 dollar draft beers and 5 dollar house wines.
The HAPPY HOUR here is definitely above average. Not many places offer happy hour as late as 9:00PM. Even without the happy hour, the PRICE is definitely worth the quality.
The ENVIRONMENT here is very intimate and as I mentioned earlier, a great place for a date. The size isn’t that big. They have tables along the wall and a bar; that’s pretty much it. The lighting is low for that intimate setting.
There were no problems with the SERVICE. They were friendly and everything went relatively smooth.
Overall, great place and would return considering I can find parking in McCully shopping center.

For those who never been to Neco, they are located in McCully Shopping Center. It’s a bit hidden because its by the elevators, so its easy to miss it. There is plenty of parking at the shopping center. If you cant find any parking in front, they also have downstairs parking.
I was confused when they changed the name here. They called it Neco and had an image of a cat. But cat in Japanese is neko, not neco. I thought someone just didn’t know their Japanese very well (Haha FAIL).
I just had to ask a worker why they used a «c» instead of a «k». The worker I asked actually had an answer to my silly question! He explained that the new owners name starts with a «c» so that’s why they wanted to spell it the way they did. Ahhhhh~! I see, I see~!
I really like the food here. They have a nice variety of items on the menu. A few of my favorites is:
— Uni Pasta
— Hamachi Kama
— Fried Octopus
— Agedashi Tofu
— Okonomiyaki

Neco means cat in the Japanese language. I had a couple of beers here and purred like a cat, knowing that I would be running my 75^th lifetime marathon @ Honolulu marathon 2014.
I chose this place as a dinner meeting for a few of my friends, a couple of them were running their 50^th state marathon here in Honolulu. Just like me in Wichita Kansas in October, it was their final race to complete it all in Hawaii. Neco Bar and Grill was walking distance from the Honolulu Marathon expo and a stones throw from all points in Waikiki. We were here about 7pm on Friday, 12/​12/​2014. I was here about 6:30pm with a friend and the restaurant was quite empty, so we just chilled at the bar, having $ 3 Sapporo’s and just talking about life and running. It was a nice way to kick off the weekend for sure. With that in mind, Neco Bar and Grill is a quaint Japanese restaurant and bar. The restaurant is quite small, with a few tables and a reserved space in the back of the restaurant. The restaurant is clean and maintained by a bar maid, whom was very professional and personable while we were there. The service was nice and typical. The experience here with friends was very good, even though my friends had very limited experience with chopsticks. It was a fun time for all.
The Neco Bar and Grill is located at the McCully Shopping Center @ 1960 Kapiolani Blvd, 1^st floor. Nearby is Waikiki, the Hawaii Convention Center, and of course, Ala Moana Shopping Center. Parking here can be a source of frustration. Very limited parking stalls on the street level, but there is an underground parking garage as well. Best bet would be to come here early. If you are like me, public transit routes #3 and #9 stroll through here on Kapiolani Blvd for your liquor and drink needs. Neco Bar and Grill accepts major credit cards, which is always great. There was plenty of mood lighting here at Neco, so the ambiance was very conductive to a great evening out with friends. There were 5 of us that night and it was kind of amazing. It was fun to hear them asking questions about Japanese culture, as they are from Iowa and not much familiar with what we have here in Hawaii. The prices here were reasonable, yet pricey at the same time. Japanese cuisine is generally pricey anyway, but others don’t think that’s the case. In any event, it was a time to enjoy.
I was about to run my 75^th marathon and that milestone was sure to be an amazing accomplishment for sure. It was definitely time to party. For myself, I looked at the specials that they had available that evening, and went with the steak. The steak itself was quite tender and quite delicious. It was served with mashed potatoes and string beans. For what it was worth, it was a nice meal. The menu resembled a pupu bar, but they also have some decent entrees for dinner. Not so surprising though, was their appetizer choices, which was kind of extensive. The servers asked us whether or not we wanted some dessert, but we all declined. With already 2 beers in my system and dinner, it was probably enough as it was. Ironically, plenty of patrons flooded this strip of paradise after 7:30pm, presumably for happy hours and their options of liquid refreshments. Neco bar and grill is one I would recommend for a night out on the town with friends, without spending too much for a good time.
Support local!
B

We’ve been going here for a bit now and I finally am writing my Review… Haha
Happy hour is from 5−9pm which has a good selection of items like fried Chicken, Crinkle Fries, Tako Wasabi, Shionomi Jellyfish, Edamame, Fried Cheese, Pork Lumpia,& Meatballs etc. all for $ 5 during Happy Hour! Draft Sapporo is $ 3 and Wine $ 5
They also have changing Specials during the week which one of my favorites is the Lamb oh so good!
We also tried the Sautéed Pork with Kim Chee wow very tasty!
From the standard menu I really like the Yuzu Chicken as it is very tasty with the Yuzu, when drinking the Kurobuta Sausages are a good compliment,
As far as drinks go I usually drink the Draft Sapporo but on occasion I’ll get a bottle of Benitome Shochu which tastes great the only spirit distilled from Goma (Sesame)
and leave it there.
The atmosphere is casual and of course pretty girls working there, the Owner Jackie is very pretty too.
Service is good and food comes pretty quick.
The only downside is not the bar itself but the Shopping Center it’s in McCully Shopping Center, the parking is rather bad, and since I ride bike down to there I’ve had my lights stolen off my Bike and a Friends rear tire and Handlebars ripped off, here’s a tip, try NOT to park Downstairs there seems to be a higher ripoff rate down there.
Come say Hi if you see me there Lol!

Cute little bar. Service is great ! We were waiting for our reservations at another restaurant, And needed appetizers and drinks quick ! LOL The food came out and everything was good !
A few days later we came back again to the same scenario. LOL Tried different appetizers and they were good to ! Yes we would come back here.

came to this place for the first time yesterday, LOVED It!!!
was eating with my friends and then somebody busted out with a Bön Jovi medley on karaōke! that was so cool,
never been to a place you can eat dinner and sing at the same time
I had the tonpei yaki, awesome, looked like the sauce on top would really over power the dish, but to my surprise it was light and delightful. would order again.
also the two girls working wee pretty hot too, wearing their hottie aprons, most definitely returning for some more of that action!

Great place to drink!
It’s great to drink and enjoy karaōke!
Also, nice bartender here!
You can order here some original cocktails!

I came here for the first time last week and again last night. Good decore, and good Japanese bar food. I had the Osaka style seafood okonomiyaki (very good), crab meat fried rice, yuzu chicken (great with beer), chicken Nanban (very heavy but good). They have Sapporo on tap for $ 3 and wines for $ 5. Definitely gonna come back!
Only bad thing limited seating/​parking and it gets busy fast.

I stopped in here with a friend for a dinner date. It was casual with an upscale feel in atmosphere. A few people were singing karaōke despite it being early in the night.
We had umi jellyfish which was interesting in flavor. Despite being a small portion, the strong flavor made up for the small quantity making it an appropriate size. We really enjoyed the garlic chicken that comes out sizzling to the table.
Happy hour is pretty much all night because there are wine and drink specials consistently available. I had the house wine, calamaris, and a few other happy hour treats.
This is a great first date spot in my opinion.

So I tried Neco Grill and Bar a few weeks ago with a friend of mine. I did not go to this bar before it became Neco so I cannot really compare it.
The bar itself is not very large but I really liked the décor and atmosphere. I personally enjoy smaller bars and this one is great. We went relatively early so it was not very crowded which was good in my opinion. It did start to get busier as we left around 9PM.
The two bartenders, both female, were very cool and fun to talk to. They are kind of inexperienced and they admit it but still did a pretty good job making the drinks. There names were Talia and AI. I am sure they will only get better with time. We did not try any food this time around as we had just had dinner but we did try a couple of the drinks.
We tried the Neco Acai which I thought was pretty tasty. Fruity type of drink not overpowering. My friend got the Skinny girl Mojito and that was okay. I was not overly fond of it. They also carry Saporro on draft which is pretty awesome. They have a fairly large food and drink menu so next time I go I will definitely give some other things a try.
On a side note they have those cool Japanese toilets that shoot water and have heated seats. Haha. Anyway, I definitely reccomend checking this place out. Seems like a good date night place or small get together location. Will post additional review when I eat some of their food.

I love Neco! Very similar food and atmosphere as the previous Bistro A*un. The only thing I don’t like is McCully Shopping Center’s parking lot.
Some dishes I’ve tried are…
— Escargot — — I first Escargot here! Sooo yummy! It’s served with lots of cheese!
— Ume or Chiso Jellyfish — — I love their Jellyfish! It has such a crunchy and interesting texture.
— Wasabi Tako — — It was yummy too.
— Mentaiko (Tarako) Pasta — — This was actually the first time I tried Tarako Pasta! It was really different and had a unique taste but yummy.
— Kimchi Pork — — It was served on a hot plate and was a little spicy but hit the spot.
— Seafood Dynamite — This was pretty good and creamy. It was served with pieces of bread and reminded me of Shokudo’s Lobster Dynamite.
— Takoyaki — — Their takoyaki was good. It taste like Shirokiyas one.
— Potato Salad — — I felt like I could make better Potato Salad though.
— Coffee Jelly — — Their Coffee Jelly was good too!
Their happy hour is good too. I usually just go to drink beer and relax with some friends because it has a dark and chill atmosphere with open karaōke system. It’s kind of entertaining seeing drunk folks sing in front of us, I guess haha.

Ume jellyfish, wasabi tako, fried baby tako, chicken karaage, & sangria? AMAZING! Can’t wait to come back to try happy hour!

I love this new bar. I’ve already been a few times since my friends like the Iichiko special they have on Mon/​Tue. My friends and I like this place so much that we were there for the early happy hour special… and stayed until the late night happy hour special. LoL. Ha… pretty crazy right? The food is good, the service is good, and yup… great drinks! Oh… but the veggie curry has meat it in. Ugh. I don’t like it when they label something veggie, and put MEAT in it.

We were great fans of Bistro A-​Un and I was disappointed when they closed and was replaced by Neco Grill & Bar. But after reading the reviews and learning that much of the staff were retained, I decided we should try it.
The curtains were replaced, and the paint is lighter. The bench has been reupholstered as have the chairs. The floor replaced with wooden floors but light wood for high traffic is a mistake. It is already scuffed and looks worn, or perhaps they got their flooring from ReUse Hawaii (that would be nice!).
The HH selections and specials were written on a white board and were much more plentiful that A-​Un. We ordered the following selections:
Ume Kurage — my mother said it was absolutely delicious. The flavor of the ume with the generous use of shiso was extremely tasty. The kurage was also nicely cooked.
Daikon Salad — this was good and light. Nothing to complain about.
Potato Salad — I asked if this was Japanese potato salad and was told yes, but the vinegar is lacking. I also am not sure they used Kewpie mayonnaise because it was not as smooth. I would have liked the traditional Japanese potato salad.
Chicken Karaage — my mother said it was good but after eating 2 pieces, she was full so that was for a to go box.
Curry Udon (from Special Menu) — very salty but I love curry udon so I was not complaining.
The HH dishes are smaller in portions but just right for us. The curry udon was also on the smaller side so it was excellent portion wise.
We each had wine ($ 5 HH) and Sapporo Draft ($ 3 HH).
I would give it more stars except the service was pretty bad. I had to flag down the girl (who was not a waitress but there for standard entertainment for the male species) twice to order and for her to turn around tell the waiter. I even had to flag her down for drinks. The waiter NEVER came by to ask if we wanted to order anything else or ask how we were doing. Never came to bring the dishes or take away the dishes. Izakaya? Give me a clean plate please! It was annoying.
Three guys came in and they seemed like regulars. They had great attentive service and they even bought the girl a beer while she entertained them. But, ummm, what about the others who may frequent the place for God’s sake. Very disappointing and irritating to no end. I have said this many times before, you could have mediocre food and have the best service and your food tastes better. Give me great food with bad service and the food no longer tastes good.
Focusing all the attention on regulars only is bad for business, and annoying to those of us who live close by and have been regulars at A-​Un for years, and forces us to make other choices.
Step up the service, Neco Grill, and focus on ALL customers. This way, you will get repeat customers guaranteed!

Neco Grill and Bar is tucked away behind the elevator in mccully shopping center. Now I HATE the parking situation at McCully, but I consider it every now and then, especially to try new places. Neco didn’t disappoint. I like the whole neco/​cat theme. The space looks new and classy and the bathrooms are nice. There are only a few tables though, so sometimes people will reserve tables. It is definitely not a good place for a large group unless you make a reservation.
I only got to try the yuzu chicken. It reminded me of the one at the old genius lounge. It’s basically just chicken, but they serve it with this super concentrated yuzu/​peppery/​tangy sauce that’s really good. I can’t wait to come back and try more things on the menu! whooo!
The drinks are strong and the waitress was very friendly. Yay! I’m a fan!

I’ve always walked around McCully Shopping Center and never noticed this place which is located right in front of the elevator on the first floor until recently. Although the place is small, it is cozy with friendly servers.
They have great happy hour deals twice a day from 5 – 8 and then again from 10!!!
Two dollar drafts when you come in 5 – 8! But I like the $ 4 Guinness special they have at the moment.
For food, I really love the ume kurage which was four dollars on their four dollar pupu menu. Other food that I had was ankimo, tarako spaghetti, and sauteed mushrooms. Everything is simple, but was very good to eat while drinking.
Also, check out their cocktail menu. They have a raspberry ricky (fantabulos), as well as a few kinds of mojitos.

Atmosphere: It’s either brightly lot or darkly illuminated. The atmosphere is a hard one to tell… it seems to be trying to be both a bar and restaurant and in doing so confused me personally. It can be a nice intimate setting or conversely a loud bar. Given that space is a premium… I can see why they tried to do both… But I’d prefer it if they just concentrated on one.
Food: The food is not bad and there are a couple of dishes I’d recommend people to visit for. The problem is that they try to be both a bar and restaurant (at least in vibe) and this is reflected in the menu. You have a couple of great dishes, but the rest is standard bar fare. That being said… I’d still recommend a visit to try the Taco Wasabi for appetizers and the Fish Roe pasta (MUST). Also ordered the fried oysters (worth a sample), fried chicken (meh), and Ume Jellyfish (did not care for).
I came back a second time and we ordered the tomato and mozzarella (basically a three color salad) and the daikon salad (not bad but doesn’t stand out)
Service: smiles all around, servers are sure to point out daily specials and happy hour deals.

neco is located where bistro a*un used to be in mcully shopping center. apparently the chef is the same as before so that’s why some of the dishes are very similar!
i really enjoyed their escargot, it has cheese all over and comes with small slices of bread, SO good! :)
the pork kimchee, mentaiko spaghetti, neco cheese platter, and maguro steak are also faves!
not to mention their iichiko bottle is only $ 35! the owner also mentioned sometimes it will be available for $ 29!!! definitely must check that out someday!
atmosphere wise, i prefer the new white interior compared to before when it was a*un. feels very welcoming the comfortable :3
great spot to chill with a few friends after work! late nite happy hour beers are around $ 3 i believe?
a must try for everyone :)

Neco Grill & Bar just recently opened in the McCully Shopping Center. It’s a small place, so it’s easy to miss. (Keep your eyes peeled!) The A Un sign is still up and a bit misleading… But anyway, Neco is on the street level next to Coffee or Tea.
Ume Jellyfish ($ 5.25)
Order this is you love jellyfish or ume! Jellyfish has an interestingly weird and kinda crunchy consistency, which I love, but the ume essence gave it the right amount of extra kick and excitement! LOVE!!! I will order this every time! No joke.
Mushroom and Cheese Omelet ($ 6.95)
A somewhat mediocre dish, but I love mushroom and cheese omelets. The egg was deliciously light and fluffy!
Sauteed Bitter Melon ($ 8.50)
Great if you like bitter melon. I’m not sure how much of a bitter melon fan I normally am, but I liked this dish. It was nicely done and pretty flavorful.
Sauteed Pork and Kimchee ($ 9.50)
Came sizzling on a hot plate with a drizzle of Japanese mayo. This would have been better with a little bit of rice I think.
Neco Cheese Platter ($ 12.95)
With 4 kinds of cheeses and garlic-​stuffed olives!
Coffee Jelly ($ 4.25)
Gelatinous and very mild in flavor. I light and guiltless way to end a meal.
Out of the dishes I’ve tried, I’d say the Ume Jellyfish was the most interesting and unique. It was definitely my favorite.
Neco Grill & Bar is a bit tiny for my liking, but I would return. It’s cozy, I guess. LOL. It’s a cute place to hang out with friends and/​or a special someone. Definitely a possible date spot.
I am a fan.

I am so honored to be the first person to review Neco Grill & Bar in McCully Shopping Center on Unilocal!
I spontaneously went to Neco for the first time last night. I was really sad when Bistro A Un closed down a few months ago, but Neco has many of the same cooks and even the same servers. The only difference is the owner has changed, the menu has been upgraded, and the restaurant has been renovated.
They now have karaōke for $ 1/​song! I love to sing, but I was too shy last night. Also, Neco has THE BEST service in Honolulu. TJ and Lisa are soooo friendly and do not keep you waiting. The food comes at lightning speed, they keep your drinks full, and such stunning personalities :) Neco also has the most pretty girls in town, both customers and staff, so that’s a plus!
I can’t wait to go back! The only sad part is this place gets packed really fast, so please make reservations! I hope they expand someday. Again, so proud to be #1!!!