Tatsuo’s

I drove up to this place and wasn’t sure what to expect. It was off the beaten path and the parking lot in front had like 4 spots to park.
They have specials of the day out in front to get and also food they are able to make in the back. They have an area to eat inside where you can also watch a movie. Luckily, I got to watch I, Robot.
The regular special of the day comes with 2 sides and double main course portion. I ordered the grilled pork chops and got 2 large ones with 2 sides and a salad that came with it also. The 2 scoops of rice with the macaroni salad was really filling. As in I couldn’t finish it.
Everyone inside was saying hello to my wife and I and were just really welcoming. It seemed like a family owned and family run establishment that wanted to please people. Their food is served in to go boxes and they have sauces to go as well.
Their menu isn’t big, but the portion size for $ 11.99 homemade Hawaiian food was superb.

Good service. Workers are fast and friendly. The food is ono. Good local food. The beef stew is good because the beef is softer than most restaurants.

Called in a phone order at 9:36 according to my phone and was advised it will be 15 minutes so I arrived 20min later. Counter person said just waiting on the fish bcuz it’s fried and it takes a while (Really? Deep Fried fish).
So after 36 minutes passed from my initial call I asked the counter person how’s my plate coming — all the while I was waiting patiently bcuz it was fairly busy. Buggah never even ask the cook how long on the fish just told me we got a lot of orders that came in. I said I called in my order and he said smugly that I ordered after 10 so I replied not according to my phone it’s been 36 minutes… exactly, zero response, not even one apology. Food was tasty, Teri beef good, fish was soft but I’m pretty sure it was supposed to come with tarter sauce or mayo.
SUMMARY: Bad service, no follow up for someone who phone ordered and then waited patiently. I inquired and was basically advised that I’m being impatient when it took 36min for one Redondo hot dog, Teri beef and a Panko battered deep fried filleted fish.
BTW: I love places like this, I’m hoping when I return things change so I can write a positive review. Alohas

Great local food and atmosphere, not many places sell smoke meat and I really appreciate variety, like laulau kalua pig, steak, garlic chicken, gandule rice, etc. Love the ac, service is great, the only down fall is they’re only open for brunch.

Thank you to tatsuo’s for making it a great experience for me and my family today… me and my father in-​law had the rosemary baked chicken with potato’s, it was hands down ono!!! My wife had the chop steak and that was also awesome, the meat was tender and delicious. My daughter had baked spaghetti and took some chicken long rice home for dinner. We also had desert, tatsuo’s chocolate chip and almond cookies that just melt in your mouth. That is a must try when you go their! it was so go that we are going back tomorrow for the pastele stew and furikake chicken and to buy more cookies for our friends and family… we also found out they do catering so we will go back to them for our catering needs and they also have a different menu everyday so it doesn’t get boring… mahalo’s to tatsuo’s, you guys are the best!!! CNJVAPE

Omg, the food is over rated and over priced. The owner is rude and makes it seem like they were doing me a favor. Guess what, this one star is a bit too high for my experience there. Good luck.

Horrible place of business. The place stinks like mold. Cockroaches crawling on the counters. I went in there hoping to get something last minute. The owner was super rude to me cause she was about to close. She even asked me if I was local and she seemed even more annoyed with me after I told I wasnt. Why would she ask me that anyways? Save your money and go somewhere else. This place is not worth it.

Way over priced! Not worth the money. There are so many good places to eat around the area don’t waste your time or money. Not to mention their not friendly at all unless you work in the area and go there every day.

If you’re looking for delicious, fairly priced, local food in a friendly atmosphere then look no further. My wife and I found this place on Unilocal while we were waiting for a flight at the Honolulu Airport. We definitely recommend the short trip to this hole-​in-​the-​wall breakfast shop. My wife got the lunch meat omelette and a mochi, and I got the loco moco with homemade hamburger patties. For a great price, we each got a full plate of delicious food. The restauranteurs were very friendly and had great advice about local transit and site seeing.

I work close by and Tatsuo’s is such a treat for lunch.
I’ve only found out about this place recently, however I have to say that I am in love with their food. They take a lot of pride in their food and it really shows. They just celebrated their 8 year anniversary.
The beef stew reminds me of the best beef stew at my grandma’s house as a kid. And their chocolate chip cookies are so flaky and light. The hamburger steak is amazing too.
Go here and eat everything, but be sure to bring cash because they have a $ 10 minimum for cards.

Walked in the restaurant 1:45 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. The BIG sign on the door said «OPEN». Went inside only to be greeted by a mean lady who said «we’re closing
you know» I said your sign says open and its 1:45 p.m. She reluctantly said «well we’re cleaning the grills, so nothing fried or grilled, but still get plate lunches that are left over from the day if you like. I asked what are the choices. She went over the choices.
Since I am there and I NEEDED to get lunch, i ordered. I got charged over $ 15.00 for two mini plate lunches that were dried and sure enough leftover from the day. One of the order was beef stew plate which had only one meat cube in the whole plate that was nickel sized. While waiting for the food, another man came into the restaurant
the same lecture like talk started from the lady behind the counter. I felt sorry for the man more than i felt sorry for me going there. Tatsuo’s, I am truly sorry for bothering your business during business hours and for ordering lunch while you claim you are still OPEN! I WILL NEVER BOTHER YOU AGAIN AND NEVER WILL I EAT OR ORDER YOUR OVER PRICED DRIED OUT LEFT OVER PLATE LUNCHES!!! SO NO WORRY,
In Summary: Rude people, below average food, above average prices, dirty, dump,
They don’t appreciate your business and there are many other decent places that really appreciate your business for much better quality food. I wasn’t even thanked for my order. Extremely rude and unappreciative people.

Four stars. Good, honest plate lunch foods and other food items. Filling and satisfying to the opu. I need to try more foods to make a final determination of the goodness of Tatsuo’s. To be continued…

I burst into the place knowing full well they closed in 15 minutes. A meeting lasted longer than expected and I needed food Stat!
I didn’t know what to get so I asked the workers there what was a popular item. They mentioned the hamburger steak, mochiko chicken, and garlic chicken. I ordered the hamburger steak and mochiko. You get a choice of salad and one other side. I got macaroni/​potato salad and tofu. The tofu was mixed with a poke-​like seasoning and it tasted ono. The hamburger steak was really good too. The mochiko was alright, but I’m not a huge fan of mochiko though.
The restaurant is super local. The interior has the character of a old mom and pop restaurant. It was a comfortable feeling and a perfect lunch spot. When I walked into the restaurant I knew I was in for some good local food.
The parking looked a bit sparse. There is street parking, but it may be hard to find. I think they mainly cater to the workers nearby. I wish this place was closer to my workplace. I would love to walk on over to Tatsuo’s.

Rude inconsiderate rude the lady is rude

This place was an absolute gem and find on our trip. Hidden behind a busy industrial area and tucked in an alleyway this is where you find the heart and soul of Honolulu. It is deceivingly small and has all sorts of workers coming and going giving you a sense of authenticity as it is where the locals eat, not where the advertisements tell you to go.
I was lucky enough to try a local favorite the black mushroom and pork stew served with two heaping scoops of white rice and a side of macaroni and potato salad. The only word I can use to summarize this gastronomic adventure is WOW! The flavors where as rich and genuine as the people who helped us, and the furikaki chicken I got to accompany this masterpiece left a smile on me for the rest of the day.
This mom and pop shop didn’t disappoint at all. What made me sad while leaving is this cultural life force and icons just like it are slowly going extinct thanks to chain restaurants and fast food. I only hope they stay strong and more people find there way to Tatsuo’s so that next time we are in Hawaii they can win out hearts again.

Ryan T. got my attention w/​the mentioning of «kiawe-​smoked chicken.» That was the main reason for my wanting to make that drive out to Sand Island.
The server told me that it was their «most popular» item. In fact, almost every one of those construction workers had smoked chicken in front of them on the day I stopped in.
Sorry folks, their «smoked chicken» is only avail on Fridays.
Tatsuo seems to cater more towards the construction/​industrial workers in the area, only open Mon-​Fri for breakfast (5:30am-10:30am) and lunch (10:30am-2pm).
Closed on weekends & holidays. This place is literally a «hole-​in-​the-​wall», with only a couple of parking stalls in the back (most customers do take-​out).
Their minis are all under $ 6 (one scoop rice, choice of mac or tossed salad), while their regular-​sized plate lunches costs anywhere from $ 7-​$ 9 (2 scoops rice & a choice of mac or tossed salad, in addition to an extra side dish item).
Mixed/​combo plates are also avail:
2 choice– $ 9.29
3 choice-10.49
Their assortment of side dishes varies daily.
The day I stopped in, they were completely out of kim chee. All i was left with was sliced takuan (yellow pickled radish/​daikon) and plain cubes of tofu.
I regret getting the tofu because it didn’t come with any sauce! Blech!
I got a mixed plate of «smoked chicken» & hamburger steak (For $ 9.29, you get a whole leg & one hamburger patty).
Threw in a small soda ($ 1.39) for a total of $ 11.18.
Try to disregard the sad cubes of plain tofu. Some sauce would’ve been nice… hell, I would’ve been a happy camper if they threw the gravy onto it:
The homemade hamburger steak was tender & juicy (I tasted onion powder). I would’ve liked it with less breading though, some bites had chunks of white bread. The rich brown gravy was delicious!
Their «very popular» Smoked Chicken dish was disappointing for me. Although it was tender and cooked thoroughly, it was VERY salty & over-​smoked!
The smokiness was so overwhelming that it took away from the chicken. I didn’t really taste the chicken at all.
Next time, I’m just gonna stick with the Hamburger Steak. Just thinking about the 2 juicy charred patties swimming in delicious gravy is already making my mouth water!
Would’ve been 4 stars had it not been for the Smoked Chicken. It left an awful lingering taste in my mouth… and stomach. Talk about stinky-​disgusting burps, so not sexy…

Just when I thought that I had found all the great cheap eats in the industrial Kalihi area, I discovered Tatsuo’s during one of my lunch breaks recently. Located on a side street right off of Sand Island Access Road, Tatsuo’s is yet another good plate lunch joint and quite popular with workers in the area.
Being my first time at Tatsuo’s, I went with the hamburger steak plate and was thoroughly satisfied. Known for their hearty portions, I ordered the «mini» and was quite surprised to still find a huge mountain of food! The mini at Tatsuo’s was more like the size of a regular plate.
Besides the generous portions, what I loved most about the hamburger steak was that it was a hand made patty, which made for a very juicy piece of meat. Topped with grilled onions and a boat load of gravy, the hamburger steak at Tatsuo’s was one of the better ones that I have had in a very long time. Definitely broke da mouth good!
Healthy food this is not, but I am now a fan of Tatsuo’s and will be back to try their special Kiawe Smoked Chicken which is only offered on Fridays.

Tatsuo’s seems like a regular lunch plate establishment. They listed fried akule as one of their specials of the day. I LOVE whole fried fish. I gnaw everything down to the bone (if the bone is not edible, otherwise, the whole fish is eaten).
Came with the normal sides and lemon for the fish. It was on the higher end for a plate lunch, but satisfying.

Simply one of the best hamburger steaks around! The homemade patties is full of flavor and covered with generous amounts of grilled onions. The dark brown gravy is the icing on the cake!
You also gotta try their «Super ono» kiawe smoked chicken, da buggah so good it’s smoked to da bone!!! They only offer it as a Friday Special.
I just became a regular!

Tatsuo’s is a welcome oasis in Sand Island. When you need a break from the jobsite and the summer heat, no other place is better. Step inside this Japanese-​American establishment and you will immediately feel relaxed by the interior, which is air conditioned, clean and inviting. There’s always someone friendly behind the counter, such as owners Wayne and Laurie Morita. The owners and staff make all customers feel at home, which is probably why so many builders seek refuge there.
According to Laurie Morita, the restaurant sees practically every type of construction worker. Tatsuo’s loyal customers include drywall workers, sheet metal workers, painters, plumbers, masons and A/​C technicians.
According to Morita, construction workers come as far as Waipio. They know Tatsuo’s is a one-​stop shop for an entire day’s worth of meals and snacks. They can buy breakfast, lunch, cigarettes, drink, everything at one stop.
Morita says lunchtime is packed with workers from the Sand Island area. Around 30 percent of Tatsuo’s clientele is construction workers.
Builders beware: You eat here, it’s easy to forget to go back to work. Throw in the wide-​screen television hovering over the dining room and you’ve found the ideal place to recuperate from kanak attack.
Of course, the real draw here is the food. They have everything you might expect, including the ubiquitous hamburger steak, chicken katsu and teri beef meals. However, they prepare and serve these dishes home style, like tutu used to make. I tried the garlic chicken and hamburger steak specials, which cost $ 6.49 each. They tasted ono and looked way more tantalizing than typical lunch wagon fare. And, the portions were enormous.
If you’re in the mood for hamburgers, Tatsuo’s has you covered. The burger combos range from $ 5 to $ 5.60 and include a drink and fries. You could order a plain hamburger, but I recommend the mochiko chicken, teri chicken and mahi mahi burgers.
Tatsuo’s also offers nori saimin ($ 2.95) and udon with shrimp tempura ($ 3.25) if you’re looking for a less heavy meal.
For your first visit, I highly recommend Tatsuo’s beef tomato and lupchong with choy sum. And take a seat near the giant television so you can enjoy a nice crime drama or mystery with your meal.
Monday to Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.