Kikuya was closed so we came here for our Japanese food fix instead of driving back to town. Overall 3.5 stars. We tried the beef sukiyaki, shrimp and vegetable tempura, and misoyaki butterfish. The sukiyaki was tasty without being overly salty, but could have used a few more vegetables and an egg. It’s not the same without getting to fight over the egg! The tempura was hot and crispy and the butterfish was flaky and moist. The servers were nice. The only minor points were that one dish came out over 10 minutes after the rest, so we had to wait a while so everyone could start eating at the same time. There was only 1 table there before us, and the server tried to give us their food, so we weren’t sure if there was a mixup in the kitchen. When we arrived the table was also very sticky, which was gross. Other than that we’d probably eat here again.
Tyler M.
Tu valoración: 4 Kaneohe, HI
I’m sad to say I just started coming here about a month ago. I wish I started coming sooner. I was expecting a typical fast food sushi type of restaurant, but Kenko-Ya offers so much more. They have a very diverse menu of different styles of Japanese food, including tempura, sashimi, maki sushi, donburi, butterfish ect. When I come here, I always try to order something different. Their specialty is a bento box(two or three choice). The two choice is about $ 15 and the three choice is about $ 20(not the cheapest place), but it is good quality and large quantity. There are also many different choices that you can have with your bento box, including miso butter fish, sashimi, tempura, steak, chicken katsu, mochiko chicken ect. The bento box also comes with a salad, rice, miso soup, soy beans, and bean sprouts. If I am not in the mood for the bentoI usually order their spicy ahi tempura roll. They have the best tempura that I have had on the island and the spicy ahi has a nice kick to it. Overall, this is a great place for Kaneohe to have, and I would encourage you to at least take a look at the menu. PROS: diverse menu big quantities many sides that come with an order free tea(genmaicha) good service CONS: limited seating pricy
Lisa K.
Tu valoración: 3 Wiesbaden, Germany
This place was crowed at 5:30 for a Wednesday! I was alittle surprised, but that’s always a good sign when the seats are filled. It’s like an American version of a Japanese fast food place except the interior is pleasant. You place your order and pay at the counter, but sit down and get served. This is a bit odd to me if you plan on tipping on your credit card. It forces the customer to tip before given the service. I guess bring some cash for tip to avoid this problem. I ordered the ebiten udon and tempura spicy ahi roll. It’s not exactly cheap and didn’t think the tempura was good. The tempura was not a tempura batter– they used Panko which is bland and a different texture. This made the tempura taste stale. The spicy ahi roll was spicy, but there was way too much rice and not enough fish. The only thing I liked was the udon noodles! Cooked well, but I could buy that at any Asian market. The ladies who work behind the counter were all friendly and you can tell they work hard because they looked so tired. Kinda wish I tipped them more. It’s rare to see that kind of work ethic and customer service nowadays. They looked exhausted, but they managed to check in several times with their customers. I will probably come back if I ever get another Japanese craving, but only if I wanted noodles. .
Bryan W.
Tu valoración: 4 Kaneohe, HI
Had the teriyaki beef and ahi tempura combo. Teriyaki beef very good, ahi tempura okay. I also ate my wife’s salmon which was excellent. A little slow to refill water and tea.
K K.
Tu valoración: 3 Kapolei, HI
If you’re looking for a Japanese restaurant on the windward side I’d say give Genkoya a try… It’s a small restaurant with limited seating so you have to go earlier or you’ll be waiting for a table. They seem to do a lot of take out too. The prices are reasonable and the portions and taste is good. They offer the usual Japanese selections and sushi. The chicken katsu curry is my personal favorite. Homemade Japanese curry on a heaping serving of rice and juicy chicken katsu. So, if you’re in Kaneohe and in the mood for Japanese food I’d recommend you stop by and give Genkoya a try…
