Sunday May 17, 2026 we came here at 1:40pm after Planet Fitness Kahala. We found 1 last parking stall that was open. We didn't realize they close at 2:00pm. We asked, if it was okay to come in to eat or are they ready to close up already. The waitress asked, the cook in the kitchen. Then she said, to sit down. It was empty in here. That was really nice of them to let us sit down and to order lunch. We both ordered right away their famous oxtail soup that they are known for. Service is friendly and fast. Ambiance is casual and comfortable in here. It came out shortly after. It looked good, smelled good and the broth tasted really good! We both ate fast as it tasted really good! Plus, they close at 2:00pm. We paid and left at 2:05pm. We will definitely be back as we saw the Ginger Soy Opakapaka on the menu for next time. Support local businesses. This is the former location of Tokoname which we used to always come here in the past. read more

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Something is not right. Seems like Asahi Grill is slowly losing what Asahi Grill was all about, good local food & vibes, sort of like when Gary owned the place. Asahi Breakfast was my fav but just learned today they no longer serve miso soup with it. What!? Instead, the waitress brought me a bowl of oxtail soup broth without saying a word until I tasted it and asked her what this was. Not what I was expecting. They need to cross it off the menu. Presentation was also weird ... salad served on a salad plate instead of the little bowl placed on the same platter and the egg was hanging over the side ... like no one cared anymore. Also, they no longer serve hot green tea! Lately, before deciding to eat here, we'll say 'maybe they're better now', only to be wrong and disappointed once again. Something is not right. Unless new management figures it out, the Asahi Grill we all knew and loved is slip sliding away... read more

I was recommended by this place from unko chad from prince waikiki. And this place is sooo underrated!! After a long day, where can you get some ox tail soup, adobo rice, chicken wings, and crispy pork belly?! Asahi grill is where it's at.. I'm sorry liliha and zippys, asahi grill is the way to go!! I was pretty sad we couldn't make it on our last day. The sucky part about this place is the parking...parking is very limited and even if you do get parking, the spots are sooo small that you're going to be doing more than 3 point turns. read more

It's a very casual, family-style restaurant. The restaurant was empty when I went around 3:30pm. The server was very helpful with us choosing the menu. The oxtail was ON POINT. The chicken katsu curry was delicious too, and the portion was so big so I couldn't finish it. My boyfriend loved it here. Definitely will be going back! read more

Asahi Grill - Chicken Katsu Curry - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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One more oxtail soup before heading home to the Bay Area. Thanks again Anna for taking good care of us. Mahalo. read more

Asahi Grill - Our favorite server at Asahi Grill, Anna. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Food: Oxtail soup and extra broth. That's the only thing I order from here. Don't forget the ginger, cilantro, and green onion. Service: Definitely recommend phone ordering 20 min prior to pickup. Parking is pretty tight at the Waialae location. Ambience is alright, I'd rather phone order and enjoy it at home. read more

A classic spot for cozy homemade food. They are well known for their oxtail soup but for me, the chicken papaya soup is my favorite. The chicken papaya is the same broth as the oxtail soup. The chicken is super tender that it falls off the bone and the papaya is green and goes well with soy sauce. I love adding the ginger on the side as well. It also comes with rice on the side. Everyone here is so nice and the service is excellent. This place is one of my family's favorites and we always look forward to coming here! read more

Asahi Grill - Chicken Papaya Soup - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

i hope they last since in the recent decade(s?) not much has in that location. Got parking on the sides, so that helps. Service was strange. I think they are new. Very sweet girls tho. Party of 7 AD + baby. Baby sat in a big person chair but there was a high chair in case we needed. It had rags on it though, so we didn't use it. Off in a side room...very warm. Good size though and we had space for all the food. Baby and I got there little early so we ordered drinks and pupu - Corona for me wasn't very cold. - OJ for baby - in a cup with a lid and straw. Perfect for no spills! - Fries - yum - Edamame - totally overcooked. I knew it when it got dropped and had "that look." Not the bright green of cooked just right edamame. At least it was salted well. Everyone showed up and time to order - Beers - waitress came back and every order had to change b/c not in stock. So ended up with just Miller Lites and Budweisers. - Oxtail soups - brought wrong rice sizes for the different soup sizes. It's okay in the end b/c ended up with more than enough. Small and Large size bowls seem the same. One is short and wide, other is taller and narrow. Maybe what is given is diffy? Meat soft and soup taste is pretty good...friend's wife said too salty and she added her water in there. The rest of us didn't think too salty. No peanuts, but lots of chinese parsley. - Garlic Shrimp and Fried Rice - friend's daughter mopped. But half rice left over. She said everything was good. - Aunty got Mini Katsu with Gravy. They didn't have gravy so they said curry instead. Was okay but Katsu overcooked. They brought her a full size which was way too much even sharing half with everyone else. - Got the lechon with fried rice upgrade - Plate came with white rice and no tomato/onion. They fixed that all. But ordered a regular and they brought a mini. Lechon skin super crispy, but everything else very dry. Good thing they gave me the mini. Sauce was good, but not the way I like it. And could use way more tomato/onion for the amount of lechon. Fried rice was ono. Brought home a lot of it but just dried out the lechon even more. Very hit or miss on service and the quality of food. I want to like it since I like the original location but hard to. I'll give it another go but hope they fix their issues in the meantime. read more

We love dining here! I grew up eating chicken cutlet with brown gravy, so this meal is so nostalgic for me. The breading is still a little crispy, the pieces are cut at a decent size, and the brown gravy isn't heavy or liquidy. This is my go-to order. We tried the beef stew tonight and it did not disappoint. It wasn't oily and the flavor was so good. The meat were cut into chunks, which my husband loves. I do think it needs a little more carrots, but I'm just being a critic. I love veggies, so the more the merrier for me. We also tried the mahi tonight. It was surprisingly tasty. The fish wasn't dry and it wasn't over seasoned. It can get busy at peak hours, but the service is always very attentive. They do their best to ensure you're taken of. read more

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My parents were in town and they love oxtail soup so we decided to try Asahi Grill as they known for their oxtail soup. It did not disappoint as it was great! Their parking lot was full but they have additional parking in the lot further up/east. The soup had a lot of flavor. Although there was a decent amount of meat, I wish there was more. Oxtail soup in general at most places is pricey so be prepared to spend over $20 for a bowl but it is worth it. Will be coming back again! read more

Asahi Grill - Oxtail Soup - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Local comfort food at its finest. This is a must visit every time we are in town. Can't believe I hadn't reviewed till now. Love the oxtail soup. The servings of oxtail were especially generous today. Also very good are the loco moco and fried rice. Parking can be tough at busier hours. read more

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Service was great, they were genuine team and make sure that you get your food with the rest of the party. Food was good nothing too spectacular in my opinion (I didn't try out of the ordinary items though). I will definitely be coming back to try other things on their specialty menu. My highlight was the coconut pudding. For those who prefer not too sweet dessert, this is perfect for you. Our server described it perfectly: " perfect dessert, not too sweet that will make a kid throw an tantrum for the next 7hours ". read more

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What the heck -- 5 stars! I've been to the Kakaʻako location of Asahi Grill more times than I can count. It's one of those "default" meals when you don't want to think, because you know exactly what you're going to get: oxtail soup and adobo fried rice, no notes. But somehow, after all those visits, I never made the trip to the original in Kaimukī until now The vibe is instantly different. The space doesn't feel like a stripped-down lunch counter; it actually feels lived-in, warm, like you're over at someone's auntie's house who just happens to make killer soup. The service was low-key and friendly, exactly what you want when you're already slightly dazed from the smell of broth The oxtail soup here is better. There, I said it. The broth has more depth--less fatty, more concentrated beef flavor, and a cleaner finish. The meat itself was slightly firmer than the fall-apart chunks I'm used to in Kakaʻako, but still super flavorful and packed with that bone-marrow richness. The adobo fried rice? Somehow even better. More crisped bits, better seasoning, maybe cooked in a slightly hotter wok Portions are massive, prices are still in the realm of sanity, and honestly, I'm mad I waited this long to try the original read more

Asahi Grill - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Friends and family keep reminding me that I am now live on "the paradise", but I keep telling them that this island is gonna shorten my lifespan by its foods. Ever since coworker took me to this place for lunch, I got hooked so badly, I have to use up all my willpower NOT to go there. Its lechon kawali and oxtail soup are like drugs to addict. What kind of evil chef invents and cooked pork belly to mochi soft then deep fried it to crisp?! I can feel every arteries in my body moan for clogging up but also scream in ecstasy with my eyes rolling back. read more

Asahi Grill - lechon kawali - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I wanted a bowl of oxtail soup and was debating between Asahi Grill and Tanaka Saimin bc Tuesday they have Oxtail Stew which is really good. Haven't been here for a bit so decided to come and we found a parking spot at 9 am. The waitress was rude and pretty mean but the servers here have never been too warm in the many years that I have been coming. The hubby had breakfast, all standard, hard to mess up and I had the regular size oxtail soup with 2 scoops rice. The rice was awful, one scoop was clearly from yesterday as it was one hard, compacted ball, the other one was okay and edible. The oxtail soup was as good as ever and I would give the soup 5 stars if I could give the server 0 stars. We still tipped 20% for her to drop the soup at the table. Probably will do take out from now on. She didn't deserver 5%. read more

Meeting a group of friends, we were scheduled to have dinner at a sushi place on Kapiolani. However, when we had an additional guest join, they were unable to accommodate our party size so we pivoted in coming here for a Monday dinner. Coming a little before 6 pm, we were seated at a large table on the right side as you enter. We were given menus and a mini stand bearing the specials (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=384&select=Q-2RfKq-qlq0oDIR9D5_Pw). With so many options from various cuisines, I debated between two specials before copying a fellow diner's order. I started with a Plantation iced tea (camera fell asleep) which exceeded my expectations both in taste and recipe as there were chunks of pineapple in this. Will definitely get this again. For my meal, I ordered the grilled steak w/ mushrooms and onions, medium rare (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=48&select=RuU1tSZFOp4JYKqA5eqhHQ), which was cooked perfectly (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=48&select=PyXAny5Mv4-r4SxPNlYyNw). Not wanting to detract from the meat flavor, I passed on adding any steak sauce to this. The grilled onions and mushrooms paired well with the steak and rice. It came with a side salad with oriental dressing (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=24&select=hJY6RgJ9Z7QNTIRbJmUrCw), made with tomato and cucumber slices which reduced my guilt from eating red meat again on my trip. One friend shared a bite of her opakapaka with me and it was delicious too. I might have that next time. The star of this meal was an off-menu dessert which I will name Danny's malasadas (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=384&select=nfS8hpyo9FqzugwwVs2m0Q). If he is there and on shift, GET THIS! He even shared his recipe for malasadas ala Danny (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=48&select=l7z8r8-g5z97TEliu9xbag), perhaps a menu item name in the future?. Our party of five were nodding our heads side to side from the deliciousness of these. I really enjoy dining at local places, you know, the non-touristy spots that you'll see neighbors from the area walking in for a meal. Big thanks to Danny for his sense of humor and recommendations besides being our party photographer for this reunion meal. The dining was only half full when we arrived and stayed about the same when we left. Looking forward to coming back here and you know what we'll have for dessert. read more

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Went to the Ward location earlier in the week and it wasn't as great as I remember. Then I found out the original owners sold the Ward location and opened up this one. The standard is their fried rice so I only ordered that to make sure it was as I remembered. It was!! Everything is fine in the universe once again. Will be coming to this one now on future trips to Oahu. Ambiance is nice and neighborly. read more

First things first, parking. There are three separate parking lots on the block and they each have some designated spots reserved for the restaurant, so be sure to park in one of these spots if you dine here. This looks like a hole in the wall place from the outside, but don't be deceived, the inside of this place serves up some of the best food! They're famous for their oxtail soup, so of course I had to try it! I ordered "Our Famous Oxtail Soup" mini which was far from mini. It included a decent sided bowl of soup with brimming full of oxtail meat, parsley and greens, as well as white rice and extra ginger. It was phenomenal! It reminded me of vietnamese cuisine, a cross between canh thuon and pho duoi bo. The broth was light yet flavorful and the meat was perfectly tender. The service was swift and so accommodating. I came during a busy time (lunch) but they were able to seat me immediately. I ordered a plantation ice tea and it was delivered in a huge goblet. So refreshing! I also had the kona coffee italian gelato pie which was delicious! I definitely want to come back to try some of their other dishes. read more

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Went for dinner and was a bit disappointed, we ordered the fried rice and the eggs with corned beef hash and toast. While the food came out rather quickly especially the fried rice, it was so plain, almost like eating just seasoned rice. The breakfast dish was also a bit disappointing as it was canned corned beef and they forgot to bring the bread until I had reminded them and by then was about 1/2 way done. The waitress was very pleasant but there were about 6 other tables including ours and she was the only one working., and helping package the take out orders, as well as being the cashier. read more

Aloha Kakahiaka!, Hau'oli. ʻAukake = Aug. In Hawaiian \000/.... Finally, I'm writing a review for my our Favorite ~Asahi Grill ~Waialae~ here on Oahu!!! Chee Huuu. Lol. Yessss, As far as I know, local peeps come here to eat , Da Oxtail Soup, well I don't??, I mean, don't get me wrong, I've tried the "Oxtail Soup" from here, as my Husband David will always share his Food, if I'm curious to try what he's Eating & so I did try the Oxtail Soup, Soup & I do Admit that it's very tasty!! I've also seen many times, *Japanese Tourists* dine in here, to eat the *Oxtail Soup* & you can tell by the look on their Faces, that they do really enjoy the, *Oxtail Soup* served here @Asahi Grill Waialae. But, I'd rather order my favorite all time "Adobo Fried Rice", why YASSSSS!! Lol. Honestly, I don't care to have all those Eggs w/my Favorite Adobo Fried Rice, I like to enjoy my "Adobo Fried Rice" basically with my meal of choice for that evening we are enjoying our Dinner there, majority of the time!! Friendly reminder, they do charge a lil more extra, if u Decide to Switch your Rice w/your Order/Meal, like I do at times! You'll have to add on more $, like $3.00-$4.00 more, depending on which Fried Rice you prefer to order with your Entrée. I'm pretty sure we're Regulars here, especially when u know all the "Waiters & Waitresses" names here!! Haha. Super Duper great Service here, all of the times we've dined in here!! Mahalo Nui Loa to you, Chris, Mitch, Will, Sadie, & our Waiter last night (Darryl) & another young Wahine there, Sorry, don't remember your name?? I'll get your name the next time we eat there again! The Workers here, will always refill your Water always, they are on it here! I'll always ask for more Napkins, No problem, they got you. I'm Happy that they don't give u one piece of Napkin, like some Certain Restaurants do, Urgh! Lol. Did u even know this *Asahi Grill Waialae* Owner is from Japan??, yup he is!! Much Mahalo to a very Hardworking Cook, Waiter all around guy here named *Chris*, this guy is So Super nice & very informative about this Restaurant & he will recommend any Dish here for you to try at this Restaurant!! Chris is very personalble to his Customers, & this Guy know his job very well & he's a Hardworking person!!! Thnx Chris for always being a great key person to this location here @Asahi Grill Waialae, we always Appreciate you!!! We Appreciate Mitch too, keep up the great work there, Mitch!!! Getting back to the Food here, everything here is Delicious, Imho! Hubby David enjoys their *Tripe Stew*, Chicken Papaya Soup (less Chicken 4 him), Lol. My Husband also enjoys the fish (Grilled Mahimahi) from here as well & the Loco Moco. And, many, many other Ono dishes here!! Both of us enjoy the, Hamburger Steak here too, they make theirs "Homemade Hamburger Steak", you Surely can taste it, YASSSS!! Heehee... As for me, I also Enjoy the, Chicken Papaya Soup (The Soup is really good!!), especially during our Hi cooler months here in Hawai'i, during Nov. & December! Brrrr! Lol. Hawai'i ppl get cold here in da, Med 70's ish. Haha. But, you can still wear Shorts during those Months :) in Hawai'i Nei, we do, David & I.... Cheers!! I of Course enjoy their, Adobo Fried Rice (So yummy & tasty!!), their Lap Cheong Fried Rice is good, Da Hamburger Steak, etc. So many local Delicious dishes to try here & I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy them as much as we do. Btw, the prices here are reasonable, especially for the Amout of great food you'll get served here!! Lastly, I can see all of my pictures here below as I'm finally writing a Review, after dining here at least 20+ times here. Hoping my Foodie pictures will all load once I'm done finishing up with my Long Review here for, "Asahi Grill Waialae". Prkg here is Super easy peasy, since we .mainly come here to eat here in the Evenings, we prkg my Ka'a to the right side of this Restaurant, in the same area as that, Saltz Keys Business, which btw, that Business is closed all the time we prkg in this prkg lot, yayyy for us!! Their is more prkg to the left of this Restaurant, we've tried to park here before, it's a lil more tighter the prkg Stalls, just saying. Lastly, lastly..... We've yet to try their Ono Desserts here, we always see ppl & Ohana all order their Yummy looking Desserts here, but we are always Stuffed Full, after our Meals, Auwe!!, we need to try Da Desserts, they all look very Onolicious!!! I'm sure one day in the Future, we going try 'em. P.S. - Clean Restaurant. && yes they do have Bathrooms to. The Women's Bathroom is Huge! Lol. read more

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Awesome good I went there on a whim and was not disappointed. I decided to try a small kid dish and was not disappointed. Definitely something you've gotta retry again. If you haven't tried açai Grill lately and want something different besides the oxtail soup the staff on the Ward Avenue restaurant is definitely the most friendliest. read more

Had lunch today at Asahi Grill Kaimuki. This location use to be Mandalay Chinese restaurant which I miss . Parking is a challenge just like there Ward locations very limited about 4 stalls . Although you can park next building over . I ordered their Kim Chee Saimin it was ok they thinly cut the Kim Chee also 3 pieces of Char Siu . My wife had shrimp fried rice with a easy over egg on top . Their fried rice was very plain had no taste . Service was the highlight of the day got seated right away even though they were very busy . Support local read more

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I went to the original location 4 years ago and the memory of the hamburg steak and pork adobo fried rice has seared itself into my brain. I was most excited for this meal and I was delighted that there was a closer option to Waikiki. This location is much more spacious and offers private rooms. It was very easy to make a reservation through Google (same day) and we were even able to be seated when we arrived 30 minutes early. Despite hyping it up for myself, the food absolutely did not disappoint. I got the hamburg steak with a "side" of pork adobo fried rice (no mac or salad, just extra rice) and my friends got the steak, lechon, and various fried rice. We shared an oxtail soup. I also got a plantation iced tea (pineapple and iced tea) and it was absolutely delicious. The portions were humongous and everything was just mind blowingly delicious comfort food, better than anything I could make. We all left completely stuffed and I packed away our leftovers in a container. I wish we had also tried the kalbi fried rice but I'll have to get it next time. Can't wait to come back! read more

EXCELLENT HAMBURGER STEAK WITH ONIONS AND GRAVY !!! This hamburger steak with the gravy and onions takes me back to small-kid-time when my mom would take me to Kaimuki Inn in the 1960s. I almost always ordered the hamburger steak and I think I ordered something else only onetime. The gravy paired perfectly with the hamburger and with the onions. I also ordered the beef stew. It's "old school" style tomato based. This stew has either stew meat or chuck but I'm more of a fan of short rib or oxtail but the flavor was very good. Rice was well cooked and the mac salad was excellent. read more

We came here for their Ox Tail soup and were not disappointed, it was delicious! The broth was clear and had a good flavor, the ox tail meat was tasty, not chewy but so tender and lightly salty and delicious. I was tempted to get the Ox Tail ramen because I like ramen more than rice, but the ramen dish only has a few oxtail pieces in it (~3) whereas the special Oxtail Soup has a lot more (~6-7 pcs). I'm so glad I got the special as the oxtail meat is the highlight of this soup. This meat really tastes good. I also put in their optional ginger condiment and it really woke up another flavor side of the soup, tasted wonderful. Overall I was not expecting anything more than some good cloudy soup but was surprised by this clean, fresh, tasty delicious soup that was beyond what I thought it would be. I don't want to overhype it, as taste is personal, but we really enjoyed our soup here and will definitely come again as it was special. NOTE: tiny lot adjacent to restaurant usually full so use the 2 lots next door that have Asahi Grill signs on certain spots, only those spots! read more

Disappointing! Waited for 25-30 min without any service. We had to leave. We went there for their oxtail soup. We ordered before we even sat down and unfortunately the server told us someone will come to take our order. There were 2 servers with only 5 tables occupied. Unacceptable Asahi Grill! Do better! read more

CODY stopped by the Waialae Ave location for dinner CODY ordered the mini oxtail soup CODY food was tasty CODY servers were friendly and speedy CODY dining area was clean and spacious CODY will return read more

Asahi Grill - Mini Ox Tail Soup - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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As a family, this is one of our favorites for delicious comfort food, generous servings, and ample parking. My husband and I have enjoyed their food since they were located near Keeaumoku St., and we're thrilled when they moved right down the hill from our house. We've taken the kids here from small bebe time and throughout the years have always received over the top wonderful service. It seems like they've been busier lately, but we've never had to wait very long for a table. Tip: you can park in both lots, just make sure you're not in a reserved stall for the apartments or other businesses. read more

Sorry no pictures! Food came and it made us forget about pictures!!!! Oxtail soup - very good! Kalbi - great plate lunch Hamburger steak - great Parking is limited to 4 spaces ! Friendly service and good food. read more

Great oxtail soup! Love their homemade kimchi. All was good. Little hole in the wall place that's the best

We ordered the oxtail soup, the beef stew and the hamburger steak and they were all so good! We did take out and it was ready quickly, easy pick up and the food was so delicious! I was able to get two meals out of the hamburger steak (although I almost ate the whole thing because it was so good) the gravy is amazing! We will be ordering from here again. read more

Waialae location November 2024. Limited parking. Ordered the small bowl of Oxtail Soup $27. It was super fatty and tough. I had to fight to get to the little meat there was around the hard fat. No peanuts, minimal chinese parsley, broth was tasty. Staff were friendly. read more

Asahi Grill - $27 Small Oxtail Soup - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Delicious local foods like beef stew, mahi mahi plate or burger, ox tail soups... great service! Small place. Best to make reservations for larger parties. read more

Best Kimchi I ever tasted! Cut in small pieces this kimchi packs so much flavor! Also ate the oxtail soup which was a bit salty but once you eat it with rice or noodles it's not so bad. Also ate the tonkatsu curry pork that was very tasty. Clean bathrooms and good service. Highly recommend this hole in the wall. read more

One of my favorite Ox Tail soup place to be. At Asahi Grill you don't only get great food , but the service here is awesome. Restaurant is very clean , staff here is amazingly friendly too. Come stop by , and if you are hanging from a long night out. This will take care of that too. lol read more

Asahi Grill - Ox tail soup - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Finally tried Asahi Grill at the Waialae location. This building has seen a number of restaurants come and go and Asahi Grill has lasted longer than most, probably due to its history as a well known local establishment. The parking is limited, which I think makes it a tough location. But, we found a spot easily enough. The inside of the building is nice and big. We were greeted and seated promptly. I decided on the shrimp tempura plate and my husband had the adobo fried rice omelet. The food came very quickly and was piping hot. The portions are HUGE. Unfortunately, there was a lack of flavor. I enjoyed the shrimp, but the tempura breading was a little dense and the eggplant pieces were soggy inside. The rice wasn't the best quality either and tasted a little mealy. The adobo fried rice omelet similarly lacked seasoning and there were little hard bits of rice inside. I remember this place being much better when it was at the prior location. read more

Asahi Grill - Adobo fried rice omelet and shrimp tempura plate. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Nice spot for local food, good size portions and reasonable prices. The inside is dated, which I like since it reminds me of so many local spots on the island that are slowly disappearing. Service is friendly, but on island time. It's close to me and thinking it's going to be one of my local regular comfort food spots. read more

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Bittersweet coming here for the first time today for a late breakfast. Remnants of Mandalay are still here, the furniture, tables, wall art, bar, etc. Seems like only a large screen tv is different and one of the side rooms is closed. There were two attentive employees checking in on us throughout our meal. My oxtail ramen had the best noodle texture, curly and cooked perfectly al dente. The bowl was very small like kid size with three tiniest pieces of oxtail mostly bone. I detected a faint yet pungent ingredient in the broth but couldn't figure out if it was dried orange peel or something else in the flavoring. Hubs had a mini hamburger steak as he didn't see Lechon kawali on the menu but it was listed as a special as we were exiting the restaurant. read more

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The food was very good, with choices locals will like. Service was great, with our big group, water was very attentive.

Delicious, affordable local food! I'd only been to the Asahi Grill on Ward, which is great, but I really enjoy this Kaimuki location and have been twice since December. It's really easy to miss as you're heading down Waialae to the freeway, but Asahi is located just before you turn right at the stoplight. Service is nice, but sometimes a little slow. No major issues, though. There are two side rooms with big tables for groups. The food at Asahi is excellent and very modestly priced! Family, friends, and I have tried the tripe stew, opakapaka, lechon, and katsu curry. Textures, flavors, ingredient combinations are all on point. Nothing is especially innovative, which is what makes Asahi great. They just do good local food really well, and the food tastes as it's supposed to taste. Everything is EXCELLENT and tastes like home, or at least an aunty's house that makes great food. Parking can be tough because they only have a few spots, but if you go after other businesses close, I think it's okay if you park in those stalls. read more

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