Rinka

Very traditional japanese and not localized!
Ordered the set fo $ 60 and $ 45
Great food
Worth trying at least once!!!

I love this place for lunch! I have been here at least 10 times+. The service is phenomenal and they are very informative and patient if you have questions about the lunch menu items. There’s always something different available on the menu each time you go.
At first I thought I won’t be full after this. But after all the little items & dishes you get to try, you are stuffed. I always get an order of uni sushi if they have it. Also another thing I love is that you get to choose another dish that they prepare fresh that day. The earlier you go the more selections you get to choose from. My favorite is the fish cake.
A must try for lunch and get there early since they don’t take reservations.

You know a Japanese restaurant is good in Hawaii when it’s filled with Japanese nationals! This restaurant was authentic and delicious in all that it offered. Everything was fresh and true to Japanese cuisine.
Rinka may be easy to miss. It’s located on the backstreet behind Kapiolani. Instead of a traditional door, it has a small sliding door that takes you into a cozy yet very clean restaurant.
My mom ordered one of the course menus. They offer two different types of course menus to choose from but she picked the smaller of the two. It still came with a lot of food including chawanmushi, sukiyaki and sashimi. I wasn’t as hungry so I just ordered the negitoro donburi. The toro was so fresh. It was chopped very smooth. No stringy pieces in here!
The service was also excellent. Our waitress was very attentive and went above and beyond to serve our table! My mom’s BF was sick and she even made him a tea with ginger! Very enjoyable and authentic dining experience.

Awesome place! I think the restaurant is across the street from Nordstroms, it feels kind of like a hidden gem since it’s easy to miss. The sushi was absolutely delicious, they had the herring roe which we had to order seconds. Curry beef tongue stew was a surprise in which it came out in a bread bowl. The ikura chowanmushi, mushroom soup were all tasty. I would definitely come bakc here again.

Very clean but service ???
No water or tea till I asked also no smile
Food is good.

I love Rinka! Great location, great parking, great staff, and most importantly great food!
You feel like you are in Japan when you are here which is a good thing! If you want to impress someone, please take them to Rinka!

Great place for meeting with clients! Great quality for teishoku type of menu and good quality sushi and service is at Japanese standard.

Dinner last night at Rinka was an overall wonderful Japanese experience! We ordered the Rin Course ($ 60) and enjoyed the anticipation of what was coming with each course. With the exception of substituting one dish, we ate everything! So delicious.
The restaurant itself is not big and when I called to make same-​day reservations, they could only accommodate us at the bar. We rather have a table, but the bar was fine too, as we could watch the talented sushi chefs hard at work.
Here’s the Rin Course Menu:
Course #1: Appetizer — 3 different kinds
Course #2: Sashimi — 3 different kinds
Course #3: Simmered — Fish liver wrapped in bean curd in a ponsu and ankake sauce
Course #4: Salad — Beef tataki carpaccio salad
Course #5: Grilled — Seasonal grilled fresh fish
Course #6: Hot Pot — Sea bream and mushroom hot pot
Course #7: Meal — Sushi 3 pieces with soup
Course #8: Dessert — Today’s dessert
Overall thoughts: Everything was tasty and the portions were perfect. I didn’t feel stuffed. It was just the right combination to taste different flavors and foods. The selections weren’t too exotic, so we didn’t feel like we were being forced to eat something we didn’t want to. The only course that sounded the most exotic was course #3, the fish liver. But to our surprise, we loved it! The sushi and sashimi were fresh and delicious. We did ask to substitute the beef tataki (we don’t eat meat) and the chef gladly gave us crab instead. Dinner did take awhile but that gave us time to converse and share in this experience. It was a lovely evening.
The service was great. There were a lot of Japanese customers and the waiter greeted us and took our drink order in Japanese. I guess he thought we were from Japan… It was cute. We laughed.
We will definitely be back to Rinka. Next time, we plan on trying the Abalone Croquette and Tofu Lollipops…

My first time here, bc my sister and BIL had been here before and wanted to bring my mom here for her birthday. The food was so fantastic we forgot to get a family picture of the occasion! I did manage to get a few pix of the many dishes ordered. Traditional Japanese food prepared perfectly, served with very interesting flavored salts, and stellar service!

A semi hole in the wall type place but definitely delicious food! It was difficult to find because it was located inside the Heald’s College Building. You can park in front of the building and get it validated by the restaurant.(we parked a block away, of course not knowing this info until the server informed us)
Best dishes in my opinion:
1) Dragon roll! Real crab meat and cucumber inside, thin layer of rice outside, topped with eel and avocado. Mouthwatering!
2)grilled waygu beef with mushrooms (a small portion but was so orgasmic (fresh, tender, and juicy!)! We also grilled it on our own)
3) salmon skin salad/​very refreshing with a vinegarette dressing.
4) fried tofu with broth– love the broth, it was the perfect mixture of sweet and salty with a tiny kick of vinegar.
Definitely must try this place! And the staff were all so courteous and kind!

Restaurant Rinka is an authentic Japanese food restaurant located close to Walgreens on Makaloa Street. I was there for their grand reopening announced by an all Japanese flyer. So of course they were talking targeting Japanese speaking people not English speaking people.
The food quality was very high but so are their prices. The sushi platter was a $ 30 which is a little pricey for lunch for me. I went with a few friends on a last minute notice. We were seated promptly and service was fast and friendly considering they were very busy. It was so good we tried to return at night but I think the staff was overwhelmed and turning away people.
They were close to my home so I popped in to take a look. There were many open tables. About one third of the restaurant was empty but they were turning people away without reservation. Definitely recommended but don’t be surprised when you see a very high check for lunch or dinner.

Great food!
I am glad now they are open 7 days.
Very reasonable price for Lunch.

Very nice atmosphere. Servers are polite and attentive and knowledgable about the menu. Food was fresh and the flavors were nicely balanced. Prices are a bit high but the experience and quality are worth the occasional visit.

Difficult to find this place. Google map could’t bring you to their front door. You have to search around this area and luckily enough you could discover this fantastic spot.
I had the chirashi lunch combo here. The seafood was fresh and of high quality. The chawanmushi and udon are also flavorful. I don’t agree with some reviews saying that it is overpriced. On the contrary, it is relatively a budget place for decent Japanese food in Honolulu. I also went to some $$$$ places but finally they didn’t quite stand out beyond Rinka.
Ok, If you are planning a visit there, pay attention to the closing time. I entered the restaurant 10 minutes before the closing (fortunately not late). The Japanese server still showed welcome to me and was very attentive. I like them.
Will come back the next time traveling in Hawaii.

I’ve heard many great reviews about Rinka, but never had a chance to try it. After a couple years, I finally got to try their lunch and just as the reviews say, it was delicious! The price may be slightly higher than other Japanese restaurants, but for the amount and quality of food, it is worth every penny.
Just look at how many small dishes come with the meal; this is traditional Japanese food. What I really enjoyed was the green tea salt that came with my tempura! I like when I have the option to dip in the tempura sauce or the salt — sometimes I go crazy and dip both at the same time for one bite of awesomeness! Everything was delicious, even the chawan mushi, which I normally dislike because it’s too eggy. Their flavor though was perfect!
Rinka is a great restaurant for a party of two and they can even accommodate small groups in a semi private area! The atmosphere is very clean and while the design is minimal, I felt a feeling of Zen and calmness. The staff is friendly and attentive. I even saw the staff fixing the customers shoes that were outside the private area, where you must remove your shoes first before entering. They faced the shoes outward so that when the customer is ready to leave, they don’t have to fumble with it; instead they can just walk forward, slip on their shoes and leave, hassle free!
I thought that was above and beyond on their part. I also was surprised by how busy lunch was on a weekday. Due to their popularity, I highly recommend making reservations ahead of time. They have validated parking or there is some street parking.
Lunch was so good that I now must try their dinner! You should try it too; I’m confident you won’t be disappointed!

Everything we had was very tasty. Perfectly seasoned, not over seasoned. We ordered a bunch of things and finished with the hot pot. Some of the best broth I’ve ever had. Slightly sticky from the collagen and very flavorful. The noodles they brought at the end of our hot pot we’re slightly chewy, Japanese style.
Some might say Rinka is pricey but I think they’re reasonable compared to the good quality of their food.

Ordered 『Abalone Croquette』 lunch special. Delicious!!! Rice was tasty and Chawan-​mushi was so creamy. We also got to choose one kobachi dish and that was a nice surprise. (I picked Onsen Tamago) Will come back.

My girlfriend Sachiko & I went there last Monday for lunch. It was standing line only. It was nice beautiful inside.
Sachiko ordered for us. Because i didn’t understand the menu, Thank goodness she speaks japanese.
We both had some kind of bento — mine had a big bowl of fresh Ahi & salmon poke w rice (so yummiest & flavorful) some kind of cold sauce to pour over poke & rice — not my favorite, miso soup, salad (Loved the dressing) & oh my god yummlicious udon soup, & we got to choose a appetizer she choose a deep fried fish cake I Loved it so good! I choose a choy sum in sesame sauce omg! Bam flavor rich onolicious#
Soooooo much delicious food. Server was good & friendly. Sachiko had similar bento with unago added to poke.
We both shared a Delicious french roast & vanilla icecream. French Toast yummy mommy melted in the mouth & ice cream creamy & together broke da mouth.
To Top of such a great experience, we got to pick a egg (plastic easter egg) for a Special gift. Ours was 60% OFF for our meal that day!!! How Awesome!!! What a great way to say Thank you to us!
Visit RINKA today! Delicious affordable & your belly will Thank you. :) ps the egg gift limited time ONLY.

I had dinner here earlier tonight with my bro. I gotta say it felt like I was in Japan! As soon as you walk into the restaurant I felt as if I was back in Tokyo! The food is definitely authentic and exotic. Not your typical Japanese restaurant that’s for sure! The sushi and sashimi here is pretty good and the service here was also on point! If you come here for dinner keep in mind street parking is free after 6pm or you can park in the building and they will validate your ticket. I highly recommend the Rin course which was 8 courses including dessert!

Japanese food is definitely not a rarity in Hawaii, especially Oahu… so Rinka def has their work cut out for them — in terms of making a name for themselves — but they seem to be doing okay. (I’ve only been to Rinka once.)
I’d say that Rinka is good, but probably not my favorite Japanese restaurant. I liked the flavors and creativity of the dishes, but I think Rinka should be thought of as more of a place to go for sushi. The quality of the fish that my SS and I had shared = superb.
Don’t get me wrong though — for the most part, the other dishes we had were delicious:
SAVORY LOTUS AND MANJU IN ANKAKE SAUCE ($ 8.75)
Loved the texture of this.
JAPANESE CROQUETTE WITH ABALONE ($ 9.75)
This tasted like something I’ve had before. Can’t put my finger on it. But the inside kinda had this cream-​of-​mushroom-​esque taste. Not that that’s a bad thing or anything… It’s just an observation. (I liked this dish.)
GRILLED BEEF TONGUE WITH PONZU SAUCE
I liked the tongue better with the salt and pepper rather than the ponzu. This tongue was slightly chewy and almost tough. I’m not sure if I’d order this again, even though I love tongue. I’ve definitely had better tongue elsewhere. #punnotintended #orisit #paronomasia
— Specials —
BRASED [sic] PORK BELLY ($ 12.75)
Soft and tender pork with a medium-​soft boiled EGG!!! If this special is on the menu the next time I dine here, I’m ordering it.
GRILLED BUTTER SCALLOP ($ 9.75)
Good, but not spectacular. Not sure if I’d order it again, but it’s not because I didn’t like it; I’ve had better.
GRILLED EEL ($ 15.75)
One of my favorite dishes of the night. The eel was excellent. I really liked the slightly crisp and charred exterior of the eel. YUM. It was tasty with and without wasabi /​shoyu.
— Dessert —
Pan na [sic] Cotta ($ 4.75)
A nontraditional, deconstructed panna cotta.
Kinako Cake ($ 4.75)
My favorite dessert out of the two we tried. The kinako cake was light and delicate. The kinako flavor was mild, but still noticeable.
VERDICT
Rinka is worth a try. If you appreciate Japanese cuisine, you’ll like Rinka. And if you like sashimi /​sushi, git it.
*Good luck with the parking situ, though. Street, cab, carpool, pop in to Pandora and park in their lot? :D