Ringer Hut

We tried to go last night and it was closed. The Waikiki Trade Center is being renovated. The parking elevators do not work. After walking down 3 flights of stairs we found out it was closed. To add insult to injury we had to pay $ 10 for parking after walking up back to the car. It looks to be a temporary closure with all the construction going on but there didn’t appear to be any signs posted. Best to stay away until the renovations are complete.

Great food, great service, great place. I definitely recommend. Cute little dishes too oh and free wi-​fi is always a plus in my book

Was turned down service because I’m wearing a crop top??? This is Hawaii & it’s summer. And this is right by the beach. Provide customers jackets to wear if this is an issue.

I’m leaving this as a four star because I only did a take out order of this place in Waikiki.
One thing that caught me was it was near my hotel for an overnight stay and they had champon.
Ordering the kim chee champon was the best idea, especially being quite humid, it was brilliant with the mixture of spiciness and savory flavors. Would love to go back to do a full tour within the restaurant one day

This is one of our favorites! It’s like a Japanese Denny’s with Jazz music. Sounds funny but it’s so comfortable and yummy! They have great, fast, friendly service. You must try it

I paid 7.50 for a lunch combination that comes with tasty crispy dumpling. The broth was good, plenty veggies, and good noodle. I went there for lunch the restaurant was quiet and clean. Service was up to par. I highly recommend my friends to come here for lunch.

This place is pretty good. It’s not the greatest but not bad at all. Service is very attentive. It was a bit busy doing lunch time. I had the lunch special Chicken and it was good. The vinegar sauce they used on the chicken was delicious. Miso soup was alright. Rice seemed a bit dry (not old) but could have used more water during cooking.
The waitress asked my that the lunch special comes with a soft drink for free. I think I ordered a coke or pepsi but it never came. I can’t really complain if something was free and it didn’t come. I was satisfied with the glass of water, miso soup, and tea that was served at the end.
Price is good for the lunch special. You can’t complain because you won’t find anything cheaper in Waikiki. $ 20.00 should be enough for 2 people. (just have in mind, Zippy’s cost more. A mcdonalds combo meal cost more. Headphones at ROSS cost more than the lunch special so you can’t complain.
Tables and chairs are a bit too close. Its the type of atmosphere where you are telling a story to a friend, and the people sitting at the table next to you side stepping to hear what’s going on. Tell some insane bogus story and you will sure get attention. It would suck if you had to sit next some high corporate douche bag talking on his blue tooth.

I’ve passed this location numerous times while staying in Waikiki, but this past visit, I finally went here for the first time and decided to give them a try, as there is also a location in San Jose, California. Went during the 4 PM hour on a Sunday afternoon when the crowds weren’t here during the peak dinner periods. Smaller place that looks kind of state-​of-​the-​art and has that Japanese décor. It’s located on the ground level of the Waikiki Trade Center. If you’re coming in by car from outside Waikiki, there is free validated parking after 5 PM.
Their lunch and dinner prices vary and the menu selection is smaller than the San Jose restaurant, but was still able to order something that I found appealing, which happened to be the Chicken Cutlet Set. These items also come with cabbage, pickles, rice, sesame seeds, and miso soup. Food was pretty good and at a reasonable price. In the menu and on the website, it says «free seconds», which I chose not to do. As it is, I’d say their portions are pretty decent. I’ll certainly be back next time I’m in the area.

Ringer Hut is like the Denny’s of Japan. I would say it’s almost like the Zippy’s but I think that Zippy’s is better than that. Case in point, when I ate here it was almost all Japanese families with small children. They stick to what they know.
Anyways, we went here because my dad has nostalgic memories of this place at the other U.S. location in NorCal. The specialty here is Nagasaki champon, which is a udon-​ramen noodle hybrid with a heavier seafood broth. You have to like seafood– no ifs, ands or buts about it. I actually got the Saraudon which is thin crispy noodles covered in a thicker gravy like sauce and mixed vegetables/​fishcake, also a Nagasaki-​specialty. You can get combos with gyoza for a bit more $$. Other than those two items though, the menu is pretty limited. My mom got the chicken katsu combo which comes with pickles and rice. Everything was just OK. The katsu was actually a little worse than OK, but I could’ve told my mom that since this place basically only makes 2 things decently– champon and saraudon. Also Kirin draft is $ 5.50 for a pint but during happy hour (after 830pm) it goes down to $ 2.75 or something like that?
I think I’m biased because I ate champon in Nagasaki, and I’m pretty sure the Ringer Huts in Japan are better even if they are like the Denny’s of Japan. I feel like there aren’t that many places in Hawaii that offer champon, so ideally, they should market that… but it’s just not very good. Pretty disappointing. I guess you also have to like champon to order it in the first place. I personally like ramen better so maybe that explains my feelings about it.
The plus side of this place is that you probably won’t have to wait for a table, however, if you have the time, I’d skip this place and go to Marukame for udon since it’s so close.

This place is rude!!! Bad customer service!
The waitress rudely rolls her eyes at us when we said we need more time to review the menu. What kind of crap is that? With this kind of service, they deserve to go out of business! Don’t ever come here. I wish they have a button for NO star.

First off I’ve been here numerous times. I love the food.
Tonight we went there and it coincides with the rest of these reviews. There were lots of tables empty and then the ones that weren’t occupied we’re not being bussed. There were at least 5 2 seater tables that people were not being seated at because no one was cleaning them.
The worst of it all was that me and my friend were the only 2 white people in this place. We wrote our name down on paper and got skipped 3 times. Even the ladies in front of us looked at us with sympathy as they got seated before us.
This was inexcusable, then as we walked out because we were clearly being discriminated against, she yelled something out in her language that everyone stared at us. I tried to call to complain to the management but no answer and I’m sure they wouldn’t care anyway.

I’ve passed by Ringer Hut frequently without knowing it was the Ringer Hut. It is located in the Waikiki Trade Center (where zanzibar used to be), on the ground floor, behind starbucks if you are on Kuhio. It is a pretty small restaurant and easy to miss. But the Japanese décor kind of gives it away I guess.
I tried the Champon and Saraudon. I personally preferred the Saraudon. The crispy noodles with yummy sauce kind of reminded me of the chinese version, but different and better. The food is surprisingly reasonably priced and they have a pretty large selection.
The friendly, older, japanese waitresses were nice and attentive even though I was there with my friend very late (I think they’re open till 11 or 12!!).

I see this place all the time so we decided to try it out for lunch. Servers cannot speak and understand English well so it’s hard to communicate. I ordered my dishes by pointing at the dishes on the menu. I got a saba, pork loin curry and saraudon.
The saba came out first, followed by the curry. I have no idea what the server was saying about the curry but he was apologizing for something. We are almost finish eating and our saraudon hasn’t came out yet. There were only a few of us customers there so I don’t know why it’s taking for them a really long time to cook it.
The saraudon was good, crispy and has a lot of tasty sauce. While eating our last dish, they offered us a cup of tea each.
The food we ordered taste ordinary, nothing special.
Even with the bad service, we left a few bucks for tip and the server asked us «No need change?» when we were starting to leave. I’m beginning to wonder if they do get tipped because the server sure looked surprised about it.

Once Kathleen W. and I found that there happened to be another Ringer Hut in the U.S., we became determined to find it, as I previously thought the only one in the US was on Saratoga, close to where I live… but what a journey it was for the gf and I to find this place… the Unilocal map led us astray, and so did trying to find the Waikiki trade center on google maps. We almost gave up our quest for the Ringer Hut, until we actually typed in the address to googlemaps rather than relying on name searches.
In any case, we arrived about 45 mins before closing, only to be interested in the food selection, but a bit unimpressed by the food. We were surprised to see katsu, ahi poke, and other Hawaiian foods that they served here, that are unavailable at the Ringer Hut in CA. I requested the large champon combo (w/​3 piece gyoza). It was essentially the same as the one next to my place, except I didn’t really feel full after, and the flavor was not as good as back home. Noodles seemed a bit tasteless also, in comparison. It wasn’t until later that I realized the chili powder and oils were at the front… could’ve used some of that.
As for the gyoza, mine was too crispy on one side and falling apart loosely on the other — almost as if b/​c they might’ve known we were the last customers, they just threw some on the fryer and left it on one side for too long…
Alas, unfortunately even though I learned that there are two Ringer Huts in the U.S., the one in Saratoga aka the only one on the mainland still reigns supreme in the U.S. in terms of champon for my taste.

3−½ stars.
As scary as it was, my family and I decided to venture out into Waikiki. It was already 7:00p and we were starving. We just happened to walk by this place and our stomachs pretty much determined our dinner.
This is a chain in Japan that specializes in Nagasaki champon and sara udon. There seems to be different versions of how the champon was created, a popular one being that back in the Meiji period, a Chinese chef in Nagasaki wanted to serve the influx of Chinese students cheap and hearty meals and came up with ramen topped with pork and a variety of vegetables and seafood.
Maybe because this is located in the Trade Center (and it was Saturday night), there were only 3 tables occupied when we got there. I ordered the sara udon, my kids got the middle champon (still pretty big for kids, but there was no kids’ meal), and hubby got the pork kakuni, onigiri, and pork shabu salad. We all shared gyoza. Everything was pretty good, so I would’ve given 4 stars, but the side dishes were pricey for the amount that they give (ex. — the pork kakuni was almost $ 10 for 5 pieces!). But then again, everything is pricey in Hawaii.
What made our dinner adventurous was that at least one of the electrical wires in the building went out and started smoking, resulting in a black out while we were eating. The firetruck came and lo and behold it was on the local news. We finished our dinner by one of their portable lamps and scrambled all the cash that we had to pay for our meal (no electricity = no working register). The manager kept apologizing, but it wasn’t his fault.

I walked past this place a few times and decided to try it.
The restaurant is Japanese, but the food looks heavily Chinese inspired. One could argue a lot of Japanese things are Chinese inspired, but lets not go that far. The dishes look like cake noodles. The cake noodle dish was alright. I must say the Cham-​pon ramen dish was good. The broth is a mix of paitan and tonkotsu, but with a more subtle taste. The broth has a small peppery kick to it, but a very subtle kick. You get a lot for what you pay for if you order the small one. The gyoza is good, but a little small. Maybe the small size is the trend?
The check came and as usual I pay by credit card. I write down the tip and add up the total, but realized the tip was included already. I was eating with one other person, so I thought this practice was a bit odd. Just be aware of what is being charged to you.
A decent place that I might visit again depending if I’m willing to put up waiting in line at marukame.

Ringer Hut is a cheaper alternative to Yotteko-​ya, but for ramen buffs, I suggest the latter.
I tried the champon ramen combo, which includes ramen and 3pc gyoza for $ 6.50. The taste could be compared to fast food ramen I enjoyed during my undergrad days in Tokyo. The gyoza was small and tasted distinctly like the pre-​frozen variety sold at your local super market.
Service was friendly, but slow. Were it not for my delightful company, I would have possibly completed 10 levels on Angry Birds. I only bring this up because you pay a premium for parking in Waikiki, so the restaurant should mind its client’s time.
Ambiance is tastefully accented with cultural pieces from Nagasaki. My friend who took me reminisced her fond memories of JET in Southern Japan.
Parking cost $ 9 total ($ 3 per half hour) during the day with validation offered only at night for the Waikiki Trade Center. A pre/​post meal treasure hunt at Ross might be one way around this.

RingerHut in Hawaii! Whaaaat??? YUP! And I only found this out because the line at Marukame was super long so I decided to explore.
I am so happy RingerHut is here! This cool Japanese fast food joint and Champon originates from Nagasaki, a prefecture in Kyushuu, Japan. This is significant to me because I was born in the area and my mommy was raised in the area which means I have an inborn trait to LOVE Champon!
The lunch special is BOMB and a super deal for Waikiki! It’s $ 6.50 and it comes with 3 piece gyoza and a medium sized bowl of Champon!!! The champon had the perfect broth– milky and delish just how I like it. I thought the gyoza was fresh and tasty but they are very miniature gyozas.
Besides Champon, you can eat katsu, udon, various set menus and liquor!

I’ve never been to the Ringer Hut in Japan but my friend who is from Nagoya recommended the new store in Hawaii to me, telling me it was just as good as Japan…
Since I didn’t have much to compare it to, I just compared it to my preference for noodles and soup…
I ordered the champon medium
since I wanted to get gyoza too. It turned out that the medium was enough even with the tiniest gyoza ever.
The champon noodles had a TON of veggies, some beef, kamaboko, and some shrimp which was great! I love a well balanced meal in one bowl. My only complaint was that the noodles were too soft. blehhh. If I was feeding an infant these noodles might be ideal but I like mine a little more aldente. The soup although rich wasn’t too salty.
The gyoza were a huge let down. Tiny, frozen, and a terrible value at 3 or $ 3.25. I may have high standards since I grew up on homemade gyoza but this was disappointing. They don’t have a combo for dinner either so I doubt I’ll order it again if I go for dinner.
All in all it was around $ 11.50 with tip so not a bad meal, just wish they had a kamaaina rate. (Hint Hint) Service was okay too, the place was pretty busy and they didn’t have enough waiters/​waitresses. No one ever came to check on my table. :(
Unilocal 365: ¹⁹⁷⁄₃₆₅

Despite what people may think of this place, they don’t serve «just» Ramen here. They only have one Ramen dish which they’ve perfected and that’s the Champon.
They have a variety of different dishes here including Katsu, Oden, Teishoku’s, a selection of Onigiri and Pupu’s. They also serve alcohol… even the hard stuff like Shochu, Chivas Regal, Whiskey, Plum Wine, etc.
Best time to come is at lunch for the noodle or rice sets. They’ll only set you back $ 6 – 9 bucks. They are open from 11am-​11pm. Parking is available from 5pm-​11pm in the Waikiki Trade Center.
My mom and I went to the Grand Opening tonight and ordered the Champon Ramen, Gyoza and Chicken Katsu.
The first thing to come out was the chicken katsu. We waited about 25 minutes for it to come out. I was disappointed because it didn’t have the golden crispy skin that you’d expect from good katsu. It actually look like it was pre-​fried and re-​fried for order. The batter was cracking off and the piece of chicken actually was too thick. I think they need to pound it out a little so that there’s a nice even look and you don’t get something that’s too thick so it tastes like it was «boiled» on the inside. We ordered the ponzu sauce to go with it which they forgot and had to be reminded twice about it.
The next was the Champon ramen. I think they had it sitting out for awhile because by the time it came the noodles were a bit soft and overcooked and the soup saturated so there wasn’t much left. The taste of the broth however was pretty good.
We were done with both the Katsu and the Champon ramen and the gyoza still hadn’t come out. It was 8:20ish when we came in and by the time we finished the two dishes it was 9:40 so we just cancelled the Gyoza.
When we talked to the waitress she said there was only one cook. Not to be mean or anything but if you know today is the grand opening you staff up for it. I mean the place was packed tonight. How does only one cook support a full restaurant of 20+ people in a timely manner?
This place was begging for 2 stars but I gave it 3 because as busy and crazy as the wait staff and management were going they were at least very nice and apologetic about everything. This place does have some potential, but they need to iron out the kinks. I’d give it a month or so before I’d go back and try it again. Hopefully by then their system will be running smoothly and can account for the larger crowds with quality dishes.
I should also mentioned WiFi is available here so maybe I should’ve played some Scramble with Friends to make the time go by faster.