Takoyaki Samurai

EDIT: Moved to a small food stall on Royal Hawaiian Ave behind the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.
CLOSED!!!
I guess I was the first to review this place and now will be the last. Takoyaki Samurai is now CLOSED! Another one bits the dust.

My first time eating takoyaki. Who would have thought that someone would get little octopi and surround it with dough? If I were a venture capitalist, I would shut the door in that silly entrepreneur’s face.
It was a little pricey, and it took awhile to get our takoyaki, negiyaki, and sobadog. The sobadog, according to James F., tasted like other sobadogs. I didn’t really like it but everyone has their preferences. The negiyaki was pretty good, the takoyaki was a little mushy inside. I expected the takoyaki to be a little crispier based on the look of the outside. It was still pretty darn good. Just don’t do what I did: pop the entire thing in your mouth five minutes after you get it. I lost my sense of taste after tthat for the rest of the evening. Good thing I ate the sobadog and the negiyaki before I ate that crazy-​hot takoyaki…
I would come back again if someone wanted to eat takoyki. I’m also curious about their Japanese iced coffee drink. That would have helped to extinguish the fire in my mouth from the takoyaki.

Yet another gem I would not have stumbled upon had it not been for the citizens of Unilocal!
I stayed in Waikiki for a week and trolled every nook and cranny imaginable but I would never have noticed this without my Unilocal app:
The signage of this place is garbage, they have Tokoyaki written 3 times in Japanese, but none in English. Most of the pictures posted are of Udon or Acai bowls and smoothies, so it spans quite the spectrum of food and beverage genres.
I get past my dumbfoundedness (word?) and order the regular Takoyaki (10 Piece) and an udon bowl with shake-​mayo omusubi for the GF.
Takoyaki is Osaka-​style (soft shell and gooey inside) vice Tokyo-​style (crispy, fried-​like shell). Although I prefer the Tokyo style, the freshly made takoyaki was awesome! The tako was juicy and tasty and the batter had an awesome consistency. It wasn’t drowned in the sauce and mayo and they had the perfect amount of red ginger and ao nori for my taste.
Udon had a great broth with pretty good noodles. Omusubi was generous with the salmon-​mayo and the total was $ 15 for 2 in Waikiki!
If you’ve never had takoyaki, this style is probably too gooey for most people. You can ask for them to be well done which will crisp them up a bit.
If you like the Osakan style, you’ll love the takoyaki.
P.S.
Wish they had shaved katsuo and karashi-​mayo… (if the owner is listening :)

Their takoyaki wasn’t the best, but I’m digging their acai bowls! It’s huge and much cheaper than if you were to go into a mall.
JONASAPPROVED!

My boyfriend and I came here not knowing what to expect. We ordered the house specialty, the takoyaki – flour batter-​coated octopus, red ginger, and seasonings, which are deep-​fried; at this establishment they are served with a drizzle of special sauce. As I wasn’t sure I would like the special sauce, I also ordered 6 of the takoyaki to be dipped in ponzu sauce (one of my favorites – a vinegar-​soy sauce delicately flavored with essence of yuzu, a citrus fruit), served with green onions.
As we were starving, we also bought 4 musubi, which are small portions of rice and filling (either plum paste, tuna, seaweed, or fried chicken) wrapped with a small sheet of seaweed.
Bottom line: It was disgusting. The takoyaki were undercooked, so that when we bit into them the outside was cooked, the inside was raw, with the uncooked batter coating a small chunk of octopus, which ironically was overcooked and tough to eat. We spent a few seconds spitting out the uncooked batter. Ugh. The weird part is, when we picked up the takoyaki with our chopsticks, they sagged badly – a clear sign they were undercooked. How did the cooks not notice this?
Since we were hungry, we decided to give the musubi a try, even though they were hastily put together – musubi should form a tight plump triangle of rice; instead these were falling apart before we even touched them. They were terrible as well – the rice was unseasoned, the soggy limp flaked tuna tasted like it came from a can, the list goes on but I’ll spare you the details and just say that it would be a waste of your time to eat here.
Eat instead at Hana no Sato (on 2410 Koa Ave) for excellent chirashi sushi and a delicious well-​portioned traditional Japanese breakfast of miso soup, grilled fish, pickles, rice, and seaweed. For excellent musubi, go to the place next to Hana no Sato, (also 2410 Koa Avenue, called Iyasume Musubi). These little hole-​in-​the-​wall gems are not to be missed.
I wish Takoyaki Samurai delivered on what could have been a great meal. I hope that our terrible experience with their food this evening is not the norm. We guessed that it may be due to the fact that they appeared to be in a hurry to shut down the place even though it was an hour until closing time – the two younger cashiers were dressed to go clubbing, as tonight is a saturday night.
I seek out mom ‘n pop places to support, but this restaurant needs to step up its game if it is to survive in Waikiki. If their chef tasted the meal we ate tonight, I bet he would commit seppuku.
Noun, seppuku – ritual suicide by self-​disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society

Now this is what I call an acai bowl! Here you can find made-​to-​order acai bowls with freshly blended acai and fruit, honey, and granola toppings. It’s the best I’ve had on the island so far. A small sized bowl was a good portion for breakfast and filled me up.
Not into acai bowls? They also make takoyaki and okonomiyaki! It’s the perfect afternoon or late night snack. The batch of takoyaki I ate here wasn’t the best, overcooked a bit in the middle and it was missing some bonito flakes on top, but it still tasted good and I loved the big chunks of tako in the middle. Yum!
Cost: About $ 6-​$ 7 for a 6 piece takoyaki or a small acai bowl.
Coupon alert: I found a 10% off coupon in the Japanese Kau Kau discount magazine found in markets and along street corner newsstands.

Takoyaki is so hard to find in the Bay area and it’s one of my favorite things from Japan. I just knew they would have it in Hawaii!
Thank you Unilocal and Takoyaki Samurai! Not only do they have Takoyaki — they have plenty of variations of it. I’m used to the traditional with the squid inside, but they also have Negipon and Spam and Cheese. Going back to try the others before I leave Hawaii. I also tried the Okonomiyaki for the first time. Not that Takoyaki Samurai’s wasn’t good… but I just realize I prefer takoyaki over okonomiyaki.
Super reasonable, delicious, and quick!

I order takoyaki less tako (I don’t like seafood in any form). so it should be called tako-​nashi yaki (non-​octopus). The sauce was good, and the volume of takoyaki (tako-​nashi yaki) was good.
When I also ordered tako-​sen, I had too much expectation… senbei that holds (sandwiches) smashed takoyaki (tako-​nashi yaki… remember, I don’t like seafood???) were somewhat stale…
the ones I always had in Japan were always crunchy…
for the taste of sauce and the volume of meal, plus kitchen chef’s ability to make «tako-​nashi yaki», 3 stars.
I shall return for another review…

My coworker wouldn’t eat here alone, so I came back with him. It was funny, since he was staring at the pretty girl who works there; which is one reason I think she ‘didn’t’ bring his meal and had someone else bring it to him? That was definitely funny to me.
Salmon Rice Ume… something– 3 ½-​stars– I am a bad reviewer, I don’t remember the name of what I ordered, nor did I want to go back and look at the menu after we ate. Haha. Needless to say, it is like a salmon fried rice, but on top (check my pictures) it’s like a giant egg soufflé. I swear, it looked like a termite queen. And then she tells me, «You need to cut it down the middle.» I was speechless, kind of excited and kind of scared what would happen when I cut it. Would it explode and all sorts of stuff falls out? Will it be hard, solid, and just an egg? Well, I finally sliced it open and pulled it apart, and it opened like a jellyfish covering the plate. Inside, the texture was frothy, but still egg. My coworker noted it was a Japanese-​style of egg, because it was so fluffy and creamy. Well, I learned something new that day. The taste was distinctly balanced between salmon and egg. There was that ume-​type of flavor floating around as well. Overall it was very tasty, and a bit more filling than just takoyaki balls.
Bacon and Mushroom Balls– 3 ½-​stars– I warned him, the balls are lava hot. And they were. These both had the same texture – soft, chewy outside and custard-​like inside. The very middle was indeed bacon wrapped around a mushroom. The flavor was good, but I do prefer the tako (octopus). On the side of the dish were ketchup and mustard. This was definitely an Americanized-​version of takoyaki. Tasty, hot, chewy and delicious.
Everything else was about the same as last time. I was surprised, it was a Saturday, and no one was around or eating the entire time we were there.

I stumbled upon Takoyaki Samurai while walking down Kuhio one night. My habit of window shopping for food got me into trouble once again as I felt a sudden urge to get some takoyaki despite already being really full from dinner and dessert.
They sell all things takoyaki here (regular covered in okonomiyaki sauce and mayo, in dashi soup, with bacon & mushroom, with spam & cheese, and even in a hot dog!) Feeling a little (but not *too*) adventurous, I wanted to try the negipon, which is topped with green onion & ponzu (
). The smallest size on the menu is 6 pieces for $ 6. Since I could only make so much room in my already overstuffed stomach, I asked if it was possible to get a half order. They actually said yes! So I got 3 pieces for $ 3.
The takoyaki that I get at street fairs and night markets back home are usually nothing more than dough balls with a piece of octopus so small it’s pretty much non-​existent. Not here though! The octopus pieces were big and tender (
). There was a bit of a wait since the takoyaki are made-​to-​order but it was so worth it — freshness definitely counts when it comes to food! They came out piping hot with a big heap of green onions. I’ve never had takoyaki with ponzu before and I really liked it! It provided a good acidity but was a lot lighter than the okonomiyaki sauce and mayo I usually get it with.
Looking back I’m kinda wishing I had it with spam though. Mmm… spam…

Is it a Takoyaki Shop? Is it a Acai Bowl Shop? While searching for the true identity of this small restaurant in Waikiki on Kuhio Avenue, they seem to be doing okay.
I always knew this as a place to get Takoyaki, and they have a variety of ways they prepare it, so if you are looking for a different way to enjoy this popular Japanese snack, you might like this place. They also serve Udon and Japanese style musubi’s here too.
For you munchie cravers, they are open to 11:00pm on Friday and Saturday night.

the takoyaki and udon was (Set A i think) was pretty bomb. the udon was pretty good but i really thought the Takoyaki hit the spot tho. the staff here are pretty young, but they’re really cool and friendly.
the Acai bowl here was wayyyyyyy better than i was expecting. i went to diamond head health cove bar and Lanikai Juice company for Acai Bowls… so my expectations were pretty high, but this place did not disappoint with the Acai Bowl! I think the Acai bowl here is wayyyy better than the watery mess i got at Diamond Head cove bar and a very close second to Lanikai Juice company. the plus is that they didn’t charge extra for honey like Lanikai Juice co. did.

Loved my first taste of Takoyaki! What a yummy treat. The bbq sauce and Japanese mayo over the takoyaki (octopus in fried dough balls) was perfect. My dad had the udon, which he enjoyed. My husband had the spam and eggs yaki, which he liked. The masubi was very good as well. There are small tables set up in the very small restaurant so you can enjoy your takoyaki. This place is definitely set up for the Japanese tourists. I was glad that the guy who worked in the kitchen (there is a screen and he talks to you through it) spoke English. He explained what a few things were.
The food comes out quick. It’s cheap! 6 takoyaki for $ 5. Everyone was very friendly and I would definitely go back. It’s a little hard to find (we wandered the streets with our iphones trying to find it) but it was worth the hunt.

I’ve had Japanese plenty, but I’ve never had Takoyaki (octopus inside sticky glutinous rice dough) and fried udon with octopus. Very flavorful, the sweet, thick teriyaki sauce is tasty too. They go really well together. Definitely worth it. A good change from the usual sushi and ramen.

I first came upon this place about 3 years ago while wandering around Waikiki. Back then, they didn’t have the Acai bowl but only served takoyaki, udonyaki, and negiyaki, etc. The place is run by Japanese folks who speak minimal English. I love the atmosphere of the place because it’s unique and cute. Since then, the hubbs and I have been hooked on their takoyaki and we’ve tried pretty much the rest of the menu.
Their takoyaki is very flavorful, has a firm outer crispiness that keeps the ingredients from falling apart when you bite it – and they don’t skimp on their ingredients. The challenges we’ve encountered (and why they don’t get 5 stars) is that a few times we’ve shown up later in the evening, they’ve run out of batter/​ingredients and had to close shop. The other is that they’re located in Waikiki and parking is a bitch. Thirdly, they’ve been concentrating a lot more of their business on the Acai bowl which we haven’t tried yet but the few times that we’ve gone, service was very slow due and they seemed unprepared to cook the takoyaki but people ordering the Acai bowl were served right away.

Tiny, Quaint, Clean and YUMMY! I’ve tried the regular takoyaki, negipon and dashi pon, all are very very oishii! The takoyaki itself is really light, airy, creamy and the chunks of tako are big. My personal fave would probably be a tie between the regular and negipon, both special in its own way.
And then there’s the Acai Bowl! I’m not a acai bowl connoisseur but I know when I come across something fabulous! I know some people define a «awesome acai bowl» by the amount of fruit, the acai mix itself, the granola, the goji berry, the honey pollen and so on. I on the other hand just want everything well balanced. The acai mix itself was flavorful and SUPER COLD! The fruits (strawberry, banana, blueberry) were fresh, and there was a layer between my acai of bananas! (what a sweet surprise!) Then what got me really excited was the layer or crunchy crunchy granola bowl layered at the bottom of the bowl. I try to save some granola and fruits for my last few bites but its never enough!. Thank you Takoyaki samurai. i love you.

Acai Bowl at a Takoyaki Place???
Yes, leave it to my friend to get an Acai bowl at a takoyaki place.
We got:
–Combo D; Negiyaki & Undoyaki. Mmm delicious
–Combo A; Takoyaki & Negiyaki.
–10 Pc Takoyaki; it was good, (personally I am a not a fan of tako balls; except in Japan *drool*) They are lacking in the dancing bonito flakes that usually mountain over tako balls. Or is that me?
–Acai Bowl; hella good!
Mmmm I can’t say I have eaten Acai anywhere else because I fear I will get it and not like it. So by trying out my friend’s bowl, I made the decision to get it again (here or maybe at another location) to compare. IDK but I REALLY like their Acai Bowls!
Speaking of comparing, I know Shirokiya has their own Takoyaki stand. Haven’t tried theirs yet… so maybe.
Parking is hard because you gotta find street parking. The portions are small for the price you pay, but I can’t complain too much, it’s not like it won’t fill me up.

The food is weirdly delicious. It was my first time having this food.
Try not to go here if you’re very hungry as it will take them atleast 10 minutes to prepare your order.
Nevertheless, it is very well worth trying the takyoaki.

This is probably the only place where you can get authentic Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki! Yum, yum! When this place first opened, I remember waiting so long for your food, but not anymore! I went recently and I didn’t have to wait no more than 5 minutes.
I agree with others that it’s not enough for a full meal, but Takoyaki is a snack so, Japanese don’t usually eat it as a full meal anyway.
Anyway, when you’re ever in Waikiki you should try it!

My buddy took me here on our weekly food outing. I’d never had takoyaki before, and was apprehensive, since 1) I don’t especially care for octopus and 2) I’m not fond of okonomiyaki, which I expected takoyaki to taste like.
My first impression was favorable. Takoyaki Samurai is a cute, casual, sidewalk café with only a few tables and a counter to order from. You can watch the two guys making the takoyaki right there behind the window.
My friend and I both ordered 2-​choice set menus, which only came out to about $ 8 each. I had fried udon with little bits of tako in it and negipon, which is an order of takoyaki minus the thick sauce and mayo, topped with a whole lot of sliced green onions and a light ponzu. He got the combo with regular takoyaki and hmmm, I must not have been paying attention because I ended up actually liking my meal! We also shared an order of cheesy takoyaki. That one actually looked much better in the photo. In reality, it was just takoyaki topped with a slice of American cheese. Yippee.
Although initially apprehensive, I was glad I tried takoyaki and, surprisingly, I have actually had a craving for it this past week. I must’ve liked it more than I realized! It does taste a bit like okonomiyaki because of the thick, sweet sauce, mayo, and nori and bonito toppings, but the texture is completely different. I find the okonomiyaki batter too dense and chewy; takoyaki is refreshingly light and soft in comparison. Each takoyaki ball is the perfect bite: light and crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, with a tender little piece of fresh tako in the middle surrounded by the batter and the entire ball topped with just the right amount of sauces. It really does make for a great snack, but I found the set meal to be surprisingly filling, even though it doesn’t look like much.