Red House in Honolulu

Decided to drop by after not visiting for a couple months. It was still early so the owner was still getting situated but still gave us the good service we always get at red house.
He let us try his new appetizer, fried rice cakes, pretty good! Has a mochi like texture with a spicy red sauce all over. Had the usual chefs special chicken, cheese bob, kalbi, and popcorn shrimp. Everything was up to par as always.
Also, the owner told us he dropped the prices a bit too!

Kpop all day err dayyy. The only reason we wanted to go here is cause we like the korean musics. But I swear we aren’t that crazy about it… even though we knew like all the songs they played… it’s just fun to talk about a common interest while eating.
Anyways, first thing I notice when I walk in is they have magazines on one wall. and everything is all red and white. It’s very trendy and new. It was also kinda empty, but I think that’s cause we went on a weekday night and it was getting late.
Servers here look like they could be in a kpop mv. But they were really attentive and didn’t rush us at all while we were deciding what to get. Our food came out in a reasonable amount of time too. So our meal came with a free dish of kim-​chee and soup. I liked the soup, but I didn’t touch the kim-​chee that much… cause I have that at home LOL and didn’t feel like eating spicy food that night.
I got the pizza tonkatsu and good thing I got the half size cause I don’t think I would have finished the regular sized one. It came with rice and salad and I was happy with my order, considering this was my first time here. Def. trying something new when I’m back. We ordered soju drinks AND shared sushi so I had to make room to finish everythangg. Tried my friend’s red pasta and the sauce is so amazing. Had a lot of flavor and reminded me of a certain italian restuarant’s fetttuccine alfredo sauce which I now crave! :(
For the sushi, you could pick any 3 choices for one price. I highly recommend getting the garlic bacon. THAT WAS MY PICK. My friend chose spicy tuna and bulgogi… Spicy tuna was alright but bulgogi was kinda ehhhhhh. I didn’t finish. I think I wanna try the other ones next time. Also, we were there right at 8 so if you order one cocktail soju, the second was free! Too bad they were out of yogurt cause my friend wanted to try that. so we picked plum and pomegranate. Both were alright! Kinda tasted the same to me. They also don’t give you the second soju until you finish the first bottle, so yeah. I counted and it took us 6 shots to finish one bottle. My friend was so out of it; that she put their check-​book in her bag, thinking it was her wallet…-__– I made her go get some boba tea with me at bambu and we rested. Don’t drive while you are walkin around zigzag lolol.

I had been meaning to visit this place for ages. A co-​worker with Korean ties had recommended it. A Groupon and an impromptu dinner date with a friend finally brought us here.
Don’t let the small parking lot next to Red House scare you away. More parking is available in the back. Just follow the driveway that fronts and goes around Keaaumoku Supermarket. There’s also street parking.
We hadn’t even entered Red House and we were already wowed. The large windows facing the small parking lot revealed a contemporary restaurant, furnished in red-​and-​white chairs and tables. At one end of the dining area, K-​Pop music videos were projected on a blank wall.
As we walked in, we were welcomed by two friendly servers, who turned out to be very attentive. (Note: There were only two other parties there when we dined on a Monday night.) Our primary server patiently gave us time to decide what to order. There are lots of options on their menu; our lack of knowledge of Korean food didn’t help. But what did help? A section of their menu containing popular picks, as well as our server’s recommendations.
My friend went with the bulgogi wraps ($ 9.99), while I chose the topokki special ($ 19.99). I requested a mild version — something I regretted later, since the spice would have given this filling dish an extra kick. It also didn’t occur to me that the topokki special would be so enormous! The dish could have easily fed four people. Yay for leftovers!
It was my first time eating topokki, a chewy rice pasta that reminded me of gnocchi, minus the cheese. The dish also came with six pieces of crispy mandoo and sliced Korean sausage. Though it was clearly a blood sausage, it was softer than I expected, and the rice and rice noodles it was also stuffed with gave it an almost vegetarian feel.
Both servers regularly checked in on us to make sure we had enough water. They actually replaced our cups, instead of refilling, which I found a little strange but didn’t think too much of it. After we had already received our food, our server was worried that my friend hadn’t touched her bulgogi wraps, thinking something was wrong with them. My friend was just pre-​occupied with our kimchee appetizer — she loves kimchee — but we appreciated her concern! The other appetizer was a warm broth soup that I practically inhaled. We both asked for soupy seconds.
The attentive service, good food, and modern interior design make us want to come back and bring more friends!

You have stepped into the K-​Pop zone. Be forewarned homies that hottie that your drooling over on that big huge screen with the trendy style, long eye lashes, made up face might be a dude. Your going to be mesmerized by the catchy tune, dramatic story line that seems to be going no where, hips moving here to there to that hypnotic tune and be at the edge of your seat if you got the hots for the a he or she.
K-​Pop lovers this is the place to be if you love K-​pop
Tons of Korean magazines align the wall as you step into the restaurant. Everything about this place just oozes it. Even the utensils will leave you perplexed and awing at the same time.
Food
It’s delivered in a form of art. So pretty that you feel bad eating it. Once you conger up the will to devour it your taste buds and tummy will thank you. They serve Korean fusion food.
Every dish comes with soup and kimchee.
Service
Are the servers K-​pop transplants? What’s up with the flawless skin, flat iron hair, and skinny figures? The servers here have always been attentive when I came in to dine in.
Overall
Good Food, Great Atmosphere, and Good Service.

Hip, trendy, Korean/​local-​style fusion restaurant. Bumpin’ KPOP music (videos) play on a big screen while you eat!
I came here three times, all with Groupons. The first time I didn’t care for it, but the second two were great experiences! I think it really depends on which dishes you order…
Their menu is HUGE! I want to order everything! It’s nice that they have pictures for a lot of their items; I love when restaurants do that!
I’ve tried:
Toppoki special
I realized I don’t like toppoki, period. It’s too starchy for me and I think the sauce is weird. But if you do like toppoki, I think Red House is known for their toppoki dishes.
Korean-​style boneless chicken wings
Didn’t care for it much; Too saucy.
Korean-​style chicken wings (WITH bone)
Still on the saucy side but MUCH tastier than the boneless version.
Chive pancake
Yum! Crispy on the outside, doughy on the inside, with lots of yummy chive flavor!
Cheese bob
This was my FAVORITE dish. Cheese on rice might sound weird, but its surprisingly very very delicious. The perfect amount of texture, richness (though might be too rich if you eat the whole dish yourself; there’s tons of cheese), and flavor!
Pizza katsu: I forget the name and I don’t have a picture :((
This was also surprisingly really good. It’s like pizza toppings (cheese, mushrooms?, bell peppers, etc.) on a slab of tonkotsu! Love the crispiness of the katsu with the richness of the cheese!
Complimentary kimchee and soup: The broth is soooo good; very clean tasting
CONS:
— A little on the expensive side, but the portions are pretty big for most dishes. I’ve heard lunch is pretty reasonable here.
— The K-​pop videos playing constantly can be distracting. There were a lot of times when conversation completely died down because we were all watching the screen.
All in all, cute trendy place to have dinner (they also serve Korean beers and soju). If you’re really into K-​pop you’ll love it! Food is great, service is great, atmosphere is great. Wouldn’t mind coming back, especially if there’s another Groupon deal!

Tips: Come before 6:30pm
Two chili peppers next to your menu item means SPICY AS A MOFO
Parking: is somewhat limited. It’s best to come before 6:30pm because it started to get really crowded around that time.
Facilities: The restaurant is clean as could be. They have nice settings for you to put your plates on while you eat so food spillage is not hard to clean up. I love the décor since it’s really something fresh and modern. The only issue I had was with the chairs, but I got over it pretty quickly. They also have a projector for korean music vids. I could only recognize Big Bang and SNSD (go figure), but it’s a good way to stay entertained and it’s also a topic of discussion while eating.
Menu: They have a wide variety of popular korean dishes as well as some fusion foods. I just came here for the dukbokki so I really didn’t care much for the other things on the menu. One thing I found strange was that the menu’s romanization of the korean words were off from the standard. You could see things like «TopBokki» and «Galbi» but then I realized, «oh… they’re trying to help people pronounce the words properly.» Makes sense! Btw, their pizza crust is not made of bread, it’s rice. If there are two chili peppers next to your menu item, you better be indian, korean, or just plain crazy cuz it is SPICY.
Service: The employees are really nice. It’s no sweet home café, but they seem pretty chill. Water refills don’t come as you would expect them to though. They do notice when your cup is getting empty and ask if you would like a refill, but they don’t refill as you eat. You can decide whether that’s a good or bad thing. I didn’t even finish my glass so I don’t really mind as much.
Food: I don’t think any of my friends really complained about their food. Though the dukbokki was definitely more spicy than I imagined. Ironic that I ordered it because I hate spicy food. Those korean shows, I tell you. They can persuade you to eat ANYTHING. I loved the texture though. It was interesting since I felt like I was just eating bits of mochi dipped in spicy sauce. Needless to say the food wasn’t bad, just not my style. I’ll probably try some of their meats next time because everyone seemed to have enjoyed those plates much more.
Price: It’s kind of expensive. It came out to about $ 17+TIP for my dukbokki and mandoo. The other plates are probably around the same price. Especially the meats… THOSE… looked REALLY good.

Red House is clean, the food is okay, but the service was not so great. Put it this way-​without a Living Social/​Hot Deals Hawaii voucher, this place would be receiving a two-​star rating.
It’s a cute little place, really fobby, and there’s a lot of sometimes-​annoying k-​pop playing in the background. I like the concept, but I have to admit I may be too old to appreciate it and I’m definitely not hip enough for this scene. The food makes me think of a Korean version of Anytime Café. Red House seems to say, «Let’s put cheese and yellow powder on everything and call it ‘New Generation’ Korean food.»
Tonkatsu Pizza — Okay, good, but nothing special. The pork was dipped/​marinated it what seems like turmeric powder, fried, then covered with tomato paste and a ton of cheese, so much that I couldn’t really taste anything else.
Chef’s Special Boneless Moa — Like the tonkatsu, the chicken was coated with turmeric powder, and it was actually pretty good with the green onions. I suggest eating this one quickly because it gets mushy and unappealing after it cools down.
We ordered the small portions for both and it was a decent amount of food, but I definitely do not think it was worth the price (about $ 11 for the tonkatsu and $ 15 for the chicken). It was worth a try, but at those prices, nothing was blow-​my-​mind amazing that I would want to return to Red House.
Service was… sigh. I’ve had better service at Yogurstory, and that says a lot. I generally don’t like to bitch about service at restaurants because I’ve waited on my fair share of tables as a server in college, but the two servers at Red House were slow and committing all kinds of deplorable server no-​nos. I don’t even want to think about it because it’s starting to irritate me. At least towards the end of our meal, a third server started his shift and he was good, way better than the first two combined, and then some.
Overall, Red House was okay. It wouldn’t be my first pick for a restaurant, and I would go back if a friend wants to go, as long as my friend has a Living Social/​Hot Deals voucher for Red House because friends don’t let friends waste money on overpriced food.

Like other Unilocalers have mentioned, this place is definitely not a cheap eat. The only reason I really went was because I had a groupon to spend $ 20.
The bulgogi rice pizza ($ 14.99) seemed like a popular choice and a good appetizer so we ordered one and I got the bulgogi bibimbap ($ 16) as my entrée. My friend got the seafood soondubu which I think was around $ 12.
I liked the bulgogi rice pizza. Instead of your usual pizza crust, its a rice crust. The rice is cooked till it’s crispy (similar to the bottom of a stone pot bibimbap) and then lathered with tomato sauce and topped with cheese, peppers, and bulgogi. It surprisingly tasted pretty good.
I thought $ 16 for the bibimbap was a little steep. There was nothing special to it. (It wasn’t even in a stone pot or anything) Had the usual veggies, plus some lettuce and a cooked thin egg omelet. I couldn’t eat it all and ended up bringing it home because I was eating all the pizza slices.
The service was average, nothing outstanding… The weirdest thing I thought was that instead of filling my huge water glass he replaced it with a new huge water glass… Did this happen to anyone else?
I think I’d come back and take out pizza once in a while but besides that I’ll probably stick to other Korean restaurants for lunch.
Unilocal 365: ¹⁷⁰⁄₃₆₅

I was really looking forward to trying out this place when I heard that Red House puts its own interesting modern-​fusion twists to my favorite type of cuisine, Korean food.
STRIKE 1: My 1^st letdown took place upon entering the restaurant door. After circling the streets numerous times for parking, we were ignored & left to stand around for a while w/​o any acknowledgement from the staff. We decided to leave to spend our money elsewhere.
Fast-​forward to recently: My sister & her friend wanted to check this place out and invited me to join them. Knowing that her friend is Korean, I warned them that it wasn’t authentic or traditional dishes.
STRIKE 2: Upon checking in on Unilocal,I got the «$ 14.99 for Crispy Boneless Chicken» offer for their Redhouse moa special that usually runs for $ 24.99. Awesome, right?
But our Chinese waitress (whom we had a hard time understanding) said that the offer was invalid. The owner sitting at the back of the restaurant told her that it has expired.
Maybe Unilocal had a glitch, bc that offer popped up when I checked in. There’s no expiration date on Unilocal offers. Just the usual «use it now» or «save for later» options. I was bummed that they didn’t honor the offer and even more irked that the owner walked right past us out the door without even saying anything more of it.
STRIKE 3: After a sip of my soup, I discovered a floating piece of short hair floating in my bowl *gags*
It wasn’t any of the servers’ hair bc they all had hair longer than the short 6−7mm piece that was swimming in my soup.
I noticed a darker non-​asian cook looking out the kitchen entrance with very short buzzed hair… bingo!
Showed it to their tall manager. He looked at it and unapologetically said, «oh sorry» and took the bowl away.
Guess customer service isn’t a big deal here.
Read up on Lori I’s experience:
Aside from everything I listed above, I would’ve still given this place a 1 – 2 stars anyways based on Unilocal’s auto star-​rating system:
— 1 for «eeks, me thinks not» and
— 2 for «meh, I’ve experienced better».
Because the truth is, I probably won’t return and I’ve had better at other Korean fusion restaurants that aren’t as overpriced & overhyped as RH.
TOPOKKI SPECIAL ($ 19.99):
Rice cake in a «spicy» sweet sauce with
— omuk/​odeng (fish cake),
— soondae/​sundae (blood sausages stuffed w/​rice & noodles),
— mandoo
The mochi cakes were undercooked, some pieces were hard to chew on.
The sauce wasn’t spicy at all. I’ve used cheapo brands of gochujang in my frozen packaged ddeokbokki and mines still turns out more flavorful and spicy.
My sister’s Korean friend said that the blood sausages had a weird texture and smell to it. I have to agree, the consistency was strange… softer than what I’m used to from other restaurants and smelled very strong. I’ve had tastier soondae elsewhere.
The mandoo reminds me of the thin-​skinned store-​bought frozen ones. It was tasty though.
CHEF SPECIAL BONELESS MOA ($ 14.99 for 8pc, $ 24.99 for 12 pc):
Boneless marinated chicken thighs in mushy mochiko-​like chicken batter.
Tasted okay, but overpriced.
I was expecting to be wow’d since this was the much raved-​about dish.
GALBI Q: ($ 6.99 for 4 small meatballs):
Korean meatballs stuffed with a piece of mochi. Served with kimchi salsa.
Tasted like salty teriyaki meatballs.
For $ 1.74 per meatball, we felt jipped that most of the tiny meatball was replaced w/​hard & undercooked mochi.
BULGOGI PIZZA
Bulgogi Pizza ($ 11.99):
Chopped BBQ beef & bell peppers, w/​pesto drizzle. Served on a crispy pan-​fried rice crust.
The beef was bland & under-​seasoned.
While I’m glad that I’ve finally tried this place out, I just think it’s way overrated and overpriced. Yes, the décor is hip and fun-​looking but I’m not paying to sit and watch cute K-​Pop artists sing & dance on their walls (I have my own kpop playlist, lol!).
As a restaurant, doesn’t the food needs to shine first and foremost?
Should’ve listened to my Korean Unilocaler friend Phillip H on his thoughts about Red House’s food (when they first opened for business):
«I make better ddeokbokki and tonkatsu. I can cook you up some, don’t waste your money.»
Ouch… but so true.
We even had to go to Ireh a few doors down afterwards for a bowl of Kimchi Sujebi & Meat Jun bc we were still hungry!

I decided I needed something fulfilling and tasty after a day at the aquarium with my rambunctious 5 year old. Luckily, I found my livingsocial deal for Red House that ends quickly. Good thing I bought one, cuz I would never have discovered this place on my own. Honolulu has just way too many trendy eateries.
Parking was surprisingly available! They share a parking lot with quite a few other businesses in their plaza, including a cute Korean market. just in case I want to try and replicate what I ate at Red House.
I came in just after they’ve opened, and luckily for us, they’ve got these great lunch specials for just 12 bucks! I got seafood noodles and two choices of sushi, as well as a bowl of soup! My little guy also got a fried rice with cheese melted on top and deep fried chicken pieces. OMG… all of it was soo tasty and yummy except for the soup. THe soup contained way too much white pepper. I’ll forgive them. The fried rice with cheese is not a combo I’d imagine would be delectable, but boy it was! My favorite was the seafood noodles. The broth was perfectly flavored. not too salty.
Definitely will come again to try their other combos. I must admit their regular menu is a bit pricy, so I’d suggest coming during lunch time.
Oh and one more thing, the décor is super cute. Everything is red and white. One wall seemed to be devoted to Gangnam Style =) Very trendy and comfortable. They even gave my kid a cute bob the builder plate and bowl… as well as a sippy cup! Definitely catered to kids. As soon as he dropped something, one of the servers quickly gave us another. Service was definitely top-notch…didn’t expect it from a cute little eatery =)