Nico’s Pier 38

Allegra the bartender!!! Bomb dot com. Thanks Allegra. Nice chatting and she was solo during the rush.

This is actually fine dining in a casual setting the food is unbelievable the timing of the food it’s quick it’s delicious and the well drinks are cold my wife had the Bluemoon and I enjoyed the Stella Artois, we had breakfast here before and it also was fabulous I guess the highlight of our dinner or should I say our Pupu dinner before the concert was our server Stacy, she was very attentive but never intrusive it made our pre-​concert dinner A pleasant experience I would recommend this play five stars just because of the atmosphere and the food and the service it’s a must do before any concert this could become a tradition but then again there’s always Signature Steakhouse

Fantastic spot for lunch!
Salad of the day featured Ono fish and was super fresh.
Check their website for daily offerings.
Order at the counter, get a buzzer that’ll go off when food is ready.
Sat near bar, enjoyed the fresh air, shade and a local beer with delicious food.
Ample parking.
Will be back!

This is one of my favorite restaurants. I don’t remember having a bad experience here. (Well except for the time I came just for the special entrée and by the time I got there they ran out, but cannot help.) And we always bring our friends visiting to this restaurant.
I have been coming to this restaurant ever since they were at their first location. I remember one day looking for it and thought they disappeared and low and behold they had a bigger location across the street! So happy for them. Since the beginning I’ve enjoyed ordering the Furikake Ahi with Nalo greens and brown rice. I used to order it med rare but sometimes the chef would over cook it so I just order it rare now. My husband likes the fried ahi belly. This one is delicious as well with a little spicy tomato salsa on top.
At lunch time you just order with the cashier and they give you a buzzer and find a seat and they’ll buzz you when your order is ready. But at dinner, the place turns into a sit down restaurant. They won’t seat you until you have most of your party there and they don’t take reservations. If you don’t mind sitting at the bar or those taller tables, you don’t need to check in at the front desk and you can order everything on the menu. So if it’s just the two of us we always head to the bar or those tall tables instead of waiting for the other tables.
We always check their specials on their website or Facebook because I keep dreaming about this Ama Ebi fettuccine pasta with lobster cream sauce. It was so delicious! They’ve had a close one which I uplaoded the picture, a Kauai shrimp with slipper lobster pasta. So good! One other dish that they do well is their cheeseburger. Nico’s does their burger well. It’s nice and soft and juicy. Sometimes a little messy, but it’s so yummy. But actually most of their dishes are great. Oh and for dessert we get the Caramel Vanilla Crunch Cake. Or that Lilikoi Mango Cheesecake is delicious as well.
So I love this place and I hope you will love it too.

I had NO idea this place existed.
That is until Diane had mentioned she and her coworkers went there for lunch the previous week. (they sat outside and it was a bit breezy). So since were were in the area we stopped in and had lunch.
* Fish and chips — what I had — was ok’ish. The Guinness made it better ;)
* Chicken Katsu was better, sauce is spicy and a bit runny — again — the Guinness made it better.
* The food was delivered in to-​go containers
* They had live music playing, and 2 TV’s w. football on.
Plenty of parking as well. We just sat at the bar and ordered everything.

Finally I can say that I have eaten at the this restaurant. The first time I came here, the dinner time did not start yet so the party I was with dine at Uncle’s instead for dinner. I was disappointed that night to not have been able to eat here but it was ok.
Yesterday was the very first time to eat here. They were crazy busy last night around 5:30pm all the way until we left around 6:15pm. Yes my bf and I are fast eaters. We talk here and there but when we received our entrees, we hardly talk much, just EAT in peace. Within 20 to 25 mins, we were both done and full.
The poke sampler comes with three types of poke with two pieces of clams. The poke was fresh alright, did not taste like last night’s poke.
The evening special catch of the day was opah with lettuce garnishes, carrots, and green beans. This warm blooded fish felt warm in my mouth when my bf gave me some of his fish. Interesting texture.
The furikake pan seared ahi served with their ginger garlic cilantro dip and carrots and green beans and white rice was delicious in my mouth. By the time, I finished my meal, I was so full from the fish. What a great size of ahi for $ 17. Love how the fish is cooked with furikake and nori.
The presentation of the food isn’t great. They just quickly put the food on the plate and serve it.
Parking: There are plenty of spots in the lot behind Nico’s and there are spaces on the side of the restaurant but you need to come early for those.
*Remember to come early if you want to be seated right away and not have to wait too long. That was the case for those parties of more than four people waiting at the front entrance.

Went to dinner last Friday with the boyfriend and got the fishermans stew in a bread bowl, Caesar salad, plantation ice tea, and calamari.
The breadbowl was pretty good but didn’t really taste like a real sourdough bread bread bowl. It was still good though and I was happy to get a bread bowl since it’s hard to find on the island. The fishermans stew was a white chowder with huge chunks of fish inside (not sure what type). I got a little tired with the chunks of fish and wished there was more soupy «chowder» that was creamy. Or better yet… If they had clam chowder lol
The calamari was so good :) my bf and I could not stop eating it and the cocktail sauce was a perfect match for it and wasn’t too spicy
The Caesar salad, although common, was delicious as well :)
The only down side to that night was the plantation tea and the waitress. The tea tasted weird and I could not finish it, and the waitress made it obvious that she did not want to be there.
Overall though, we will be back just for the food

Nicos is an awesome spot for lunch or dinner. At lunch they have no table service so you seat yourself and order from the counter. Honestly the one drawback to this is that they serve in all styrofoam… Super bad for the environment.
But, if I get off my green soapbox, I will tell you about the amazingly fresh fish they have. Their preparations are delicious– my favorite bring the furikake ahi! Justin loves the Ahi belly, which I have tasted and can also tell you is amazing!
They have brown or white rice and Nalo greens that you can substitute. A healthy choice for plate lunch or a casual dinner!
Meals run about $ 10 to $ 20 and the bar is open in the center of the restaurant.
Have a drink and some fresh fish on the dock!

Nico’s has changed a whole lot since it was a walk up plate lunch place next to POP Fishing Supply. Now it’s a full fledged restaurant with full bar service and an adjacent seafood market. Sometimes the specials can be a little too ambitious — sounding really good but ending up underwhelming within a styrofoam container. I find I’m always happiest sticking to favorites.
I think the fish and chips are the best in town. It’s a little pricey but the cut is always thick and cooked nicely in a crispy beer batter. This is not your greasy pull apart with your hands style of battered fish. The fish hold up well to being drowned in Heinz malt vinegar, or dressed with lemon and their garlicky aioli. The chips are decently moist with nice small crispy bits, perfect with Kilauea Fire Hot Sauce. This is my go-​to order.
Avoid the hassle of standing in line with the tourists to order, then searching or waiting for a table. Go directly to the bar. You’ve got a high seat with a harbor view, television, and line of sight to any entertainment. Order your food from the bar and see how much faster you get fed. You’ll have to tip for the service and seat but it is well worthwhile. Settle down to an alcoholic or non-​alcoholic beverage and enjoy yourself.

Live music, great food and good service.
Parking — is all over the pier pretty much, but still sometimes hard to come by. They do have a security guard walking around as well.
Ambience — very cool. From my seat at the bar or when I’ve sat in the patio you get to see the sunset colors but not necessarily the sunset horizon viewpoint. After the sun goes down its a dark pier with street lamps and lights from the boats which I think is very cool. They had live music the last time I went, jazz type, very cool.
Food: Even though the menu isn’t overwhelmingly large, I still had a very hard time deciding! Fish and chips, salmon, red wine braised short ribs, or a salad. I asked the bartender which she preferred, which was the ribs and my sister got the fish and chips and we shared. I have to say those its less a rib and more a roast type of meat with a delectable sauce and creamy mashed potatoes. The Fish was two large 3″ squares, perfectly battered and crispy, but could use a little more seasoning, the fries were crispy as well which my sis and I both love!
Service: Although my bartender was friendly and nice to us, towards the end of our meal we put our cards in the cup with the bill and it took the other bartender to take it and give it to her to actually process it because she was talking to some may-​or-​may not be regulars for a solid time.
I dock one star because it was good but not great but better than okay.

Really like this place. Open-​air seating, waterfront, ambiance. Best to go in the evening for table service and cool lighting.
Menu is good, with daily specials. I believe that the desserts is the best part of all. Bonus, a fish market next door. I usually order the Furikake Ahi or the Orange Chicken. Fave desserts are the Salted Caramel and the Red Velvet Cake.
Convenient location, large parking, sleek bar, and music. A great place to host out-​of-​town guests.

I think the last time I ate here was 10 years ago. I remember this place looking a lot different back then. Today, this place is modern place to grab lunch with local flavors. There’s also a separate market area where you can get local snacks and things that are made here locally. Yes, theme here is local.
We tried their clam chowder soup with chunks of ahi in them. This is probably the best chowder you’ll get in Hawaii. We also got orange chicken with real orange flavor and poke bowl with 3 choices for $ 10. I must say the price is reasonable as well. There’s also wide selection of dessert/​pies. We got ourselves an oreo pie thingy to go. That was also yummy.

I came here with some friend for dinner before watching a movie at Dole. It was a very windy and rainy Saturday night. After parking, there was a shuttle that you can take to the restaurant, which was nice to not have to walk in the rain.
When we arrived, the restaurant had a large number of people waiting outside, and the wait was 45 minutes. That was too long of a wait, so we decided to walk over to Uncle’s, but I suggested to keep the buzzer from Nico’s in case Uncle’s was busy as well (or terribly awful). Uncle’s wasn’t busy what-​so-​ever, so we told our friend to run back to Nico’s to return the buzzer. I should put this over on the Uncle’s Fish Market Unilocal page, but the hostess was awful. She walked by us several times without even sitting us. How hard is it to grab a few menus and walk us to a table? Before and after we sat down on the table, we seen no servers or any other workers besides that hostess. Is it just her? Anyway, our friend with the buzzer called, and told us the wait suddenly reduced to just five minutes. What? How does that work? Slipped in a twenty? We just stood up and, literally, ninja vanished. Good thing we didn’t order anything.
On our return, there was still a crazy amount of people waiting outside, but I seen quite a few empty tables inside. It took a little over five minutes to sit us at a table that’s been empty during our entire wait, which was the table directly facing the front door. Ok. After sitting, I felt like I was in a food court with the plastic outdoor chairs, the cheap tables, and the madness of the throngs of people.
We ordered some drinks and appetizers, and went ahead and ordered our entrees with our server at one time. Our drinks came out first, but then, our entrees started coming out… Wait, what? The server said he forgot to put it in, but the appetizers all came out at the same time in a very short period of time. I think he meant, he forgot to bring it to us first. –_​– Well, it could’ve been worse. I’ve had my dessert come out first before at another establishment.
We had the Poisson Cru, a Tahitian style raw fish dish with tomatoes and cucumbers in coconut milk and lime juice. The whole dish was really bland. There was hardly any of the rich coconut milk nor the acidity from the lime juice. The only taste was the fish, and the fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. No salt?
The Truffle Fries were awful. The fries weren’t crispy, and it had just a scant of truffle oil. Almost all the fries didn’t have any truffle flavor or even a hint of fragrance.
For my entrée, I ordered the Daily Special: Panko Crusted Fried Ahi in a lemon scallop cream sauce with Rice and Vegetables. It was okay. Not a very exciting dish I must say. The fish was cooked over than the recommended rare. It was borderline medium! The sauce was tasty and went well with the fish, but it probably stayed on top of the fish for far too long as the panko crust became soggy and not crispy what-​so-​ever. The vegetables were close to raw than cooked. I wasn’t able to cut into the carrots or the green beans, and eating them was a difficult task in and of itself.
I tried a few bites of my friends entrees (Furikake Ahi, Ahi Ribs, and Swordfish), and all of them were quite bland and had no stand out flavor.
Overall, I didn’t care about the bland and poorly prepared food, awful service, and expensive menu. Our friend was talking about how Nico’s used to be a smaller place… and better. A point he made was how Nico’s used to be more personable and intimate with its customers, and now it’s just about getting high table turnover with quick food and half ass service.
One and done.

Fresh poke in the fish market and above average plate lunch fare that you order at the counter during the day. Our daytime favorites included the loco moco, the furikake grilled ahi, and of course, the poke.
In the evenings, the restaurant is transformed into a sit-​down establishment with a full wait staff — still casual, but a bit nicer. The draw for us, in addition to the fresh fish offerings, is the live music on Wednesday and weekend (Fri/​Sat?) nights. We’ve enjoyed the clams, a grilled shrimp appetizer on their specials menu, and a couple of preparations of their marlin. The fried calamari appetizer was an excellent portion, but under-​seasoned and a little oily. The Caesar salad was fine, the fish and chips a bit below that (wouldn’t order again). The french fries are abundant and well-​fried.
Lots of parking here if you know where to look (we like to park in the back of the restaurant, which is actually on your left as you enter the Pier 38 driveway. It’s an easy walk from there to the door.
I think of this as one of our go-​to date spots if we can go on a live-​music night.

Loved the food here! Saw this on Guy Fieri on triple D and said I had to come here if I ever make it here… and IM HERE! I flew in on Wednesday and went straight to Pearl Harbor… then Nico’s. Fresh pan seared ahi tuna with furikake. It was Delish. My friend got the special of day which, of course, the pan seared ahi and whatever else he ordered.
Atmosphere was nice and welcoming. You didn’t think the warehouse looking like area would have this tasty restaurant. There’s a little market that’s attached to it also with fresh seafood and variety of poke!
Definitely a must go. Food was great.

Nico’s gets 4 stars from me simply based on history… I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere, location & food. This time, the food was a bit off… the special of the day (Seared Ahi with miso crab chili cream sauce) looked unappealing and the taste was unmemorable. Not to worry, I’ll be back and I’m sure next time it will be better!

I vaguely recall seeing this featured on triple D. I think Guy said something like «you’re gonna put the fast food industry out of business with this food.» That is definitely an accurate portrayal as this is fast casual dining where you order at the counter and the food comes out pretty fast. We got the fukirama ahi tuna with rice and salad. It was a large piece of ahi and very fresh… just wish it had come with a sauce other than tartar. The fish burger is unique while being flavorful and smoky. Definitely beat out the tuna imho. Fries were hot but not anything fancy.
There is a bar so unlike fast food places, they really kick it up a notch by offering a liquid lunch. Prices are very fair for the amount of seafood. I just wish I had followed my own tip on getting a small bowl of poke at the market attached so it could have kicked up the ahi dish a bit! Next time…

Nico’s is one of those places where every time I eat there I ask myself, «Why haven’t I written a review here?!» The service is good, atmosphere is local yet touristy, parking is easy to find, and the food, well, the food is ono kine broke-​da-​mouth grinds (local speak for yummy, delish, sooooo good). I love getting the fish dishes, most especially the popular furikake ahi w/​brown rice and nalo greens. (Somethin’ about the nalo greens that gets me skipping mac salad here, salad is fresh and the dressing they use is perfs.)
I don’t think you can wrong with any of their dishes… perhaps because they are situated right next to the harbor for the fishing boats it makes you think their fish is über fresh. Whatever it is, I love eating here whenever we can. And don’t miss their desserts, especially their cookies (says my hubby aka Cookie Monster)!! Nom nom nom!!!

You say vacation in Honolulu? I say Hawaiian food.
1^st rule of Nico’s Pier 38: You’ll expect (and get) fresh-​caught fish, from an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is worth the trip to Nico’s Pier 38 for reasonably priced luscious seafood.
2^nd Rule: You don’t talk about delectable fresh fish plates (actually, styrofoam boxes.) You just enjoy the hell out of it.
I stopped in at Nico’s Pier 38 for lunch with some awesome Unilocalers from Honolulu (thank you Daniel C. for taking me.) and it was packed with locals. I ordered Furikake Pan Seared Ahi– cooked to order– I had it medium well and was served with rice and tossed salad.
Four and half Unilocal

Loved the ahi steak. Loved the mixed drinks. Love the outdoor seating. I loved everything about this place. They are located in a very large pier area where there are tons of seafood related businesses.
Hawaii is beautiful and I can’t really say anything bad except that a bug got in my drink and that there are birds all around. Not the fault of the restaurant but a consequence of eating outdoors.

Leckerer Fisch und leckeres Seafood zu moderaten Preisen. Man kann drinnen und draußen sitzen, wobei draußen mit Blick auf den Hafen deutlich schöner ist.
Sehr zu empfehlen!