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    Asahi Grill Ward

    3.4 (556 reviews)
    Open 7:30 am - 8:30 pm

    Asahi Grill Ward Photos

    Business Info

    ASAHI GRILL WARD ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Reviews With Photos - Asahi Grill Ward

    Small oxtail soup with two scoop rice

    I wanted to try this Honolulu institution on a recent layover and ordered the small oxtail soup with two scoop rice (21.95). The restaurant is a little on the older side which gives it a certain charm and the service was decent. The oxtail soup was richly flavored and accented with peanuts, cilantro, green onion and the fresh ginger on the side. Absolutely delicious. The rice was a bit mushy in parts and harder in other parts. Overall, I really enjoyed my meal and would return for oxtail and try some of their other dishes.

    Marissa K.

    Ordered the chicken katsu plate and it was exactly what I wanted. The katsu was perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, with a light, crunchy breading that didn't feel greasy at all. The rice was fluffy and comforting, and the mac salad was creamy, slightly sweet, and classic--the perfect balance to the crispy chicken. Add a drizzle of katsu sauce and every bite just works. Simple, satisfying, and done right. This is solid comfort food you can't go wrong with. Would definitely order again.

    Okinawan Pigs feet soup (Sunday special only)
    Jeremiah U.

    Asahi Grill formerly known as Kapiolani Coffee Shop is serving great comfort food! Well-balanced with flavor and portions, each dish is well-prepared to create the warmth of enjoying a hearty meal. Each day has a specific special and a daily special for everyone to drool over. Price is reasonable and parking is available, but limited. Be careful on parking on other company's parking lot, you may get towed. Service is great. There was only one server, but she handled all the tables with ease. The interior was clean amd well maintained. A must try restaurant!

    Perfectly cooked mahi mahi yum
    Robert S.

    Update: Had a bad experience on a return visit. Ordered the chicken katsu and mahi combo. Portions both small and mahi not fresh. Very unsatisfying meal. Plus, left a nice tip in cash on table but when paying at the register, the filipino lady saw I didn't leave a tip on the credit card slip and questioned why I wasn't leaving a tip like its mandatory or something. A lot of nerve when paying $20+ for skimpy plate of old food and cash tip on table. Not going back here ever again.

    Oxtail Soup
    Justin W.

    One of my go tos near ala moana - the oxtail soup is the excellent. 10/10 recommend - Lup cheong fried rice is good and filling - service was very fast when we went, it was only like 5 minutes till all our food arrived - pleasant staff and comfortable ambiance

    Asahi Breakfast comes with choice of Saba or Mahi-mahi or salmon, salad, rice, egg and soup but didn't receive soup.
    Ross T.

    Located on Ward Street is Asahi Grill they have parking which can hold up to 8-10 cars. We went in and waitress asked how many which I mentioned 2 and she sat us on a small table for 2 with 3/4 of the restaurant seating empty with couples seating on tables for 4 while there were only 2 tables in the whole restaurant that can sit 2 customers? Sat there for a while waiting for waitresses to take our order, when we were ready to leave the waitress came and asked if we were ready to order. I ordered the Asahi Grill breakfast which was salmon, eggs, salad, rice and miso soup, but didn't receive the miso soup which most Japanese breakfast always have. After asking the waitress she says if customers don't ask for soup they don't give? I saw 4 other customers eating the Asahi breakfast and all had miso soup? Told her why is it on the menu that say includes rice & soup? If it is optional it should not be included with meal rice & soup? She said they didn't take it off the menu? The salmon was good, green salad was fresh and rice was okay, eggs were like a flat hard pancake. My wife had the luncheon meat, scrambled egg and rice they have 2 eggs for these meals, the only way it can be this small serving is they are using 2 small eggs. Trying to eat and flies flying around and none of the workers do anything about getting rid of them? Hope they are not on the food waiting to be served! Restrooms are outside of building, they have separate men and women.

    Chicken cutlet
    Brennan H.

    Came here to try the breakfast. It was super crowded at 10am on a Sunday. All of the tables were taken and luckily we got the last table as we walked in. I got the "big breakfast" since I thought it was the best deal, but was disappointed when the server said it only comes with portuguese sausage or bacon, not both. I thought it came with both based on how the menu was written (maybe they can add the word "or" to the menu". It was a good sized breakfast since it had pancakes and was filling. However I was a disappointed further because the pancake on the top was big, but the one under was considerably smaller. In addition, the egg was quite oily. The service was a bit slow, but at least water was refilled fairly often. Overall, I will probably go elsewhere in the future as I don't think it's worth the price sadly. Parking: Several stalls in the parking lot in front of the restaurant

    Clubhouse sandwich
    Suzie A.

    This is not a "five-star restaurant" - but it's five stars old-school because free parking in front, all comfort food especially oxtail soup, fast service and decent prices for today. Oh and no loud music so can have a conversation. Located on Ward Avenue, on Diamond Head side, makai of Kapiolani Blvd. Look for their green roof. Parking lot has 10-12 stalls. Inside there's a pick-up window and about 12 tables. Three in the middle can accommodate larger parties. No booths. Servers are nice, quick, efficient, reminds me of Kings Bakery, Tiki Tops, Smittys, Like Like Drive In. Hubby and I went on a Sunday at 11:00 am after the Book Fair in Kakaako. Both ordered club sandwich with fries and a fruit punch. Fries were excellent, sandwich perfectly constructed with right amount of everything on a lightly toasted Japanese-kine bread. Fruit punch was how I always remembered it as a kid. One thing missing was a dill pickle but that's okay, we still enjoyed. Price was fair and comparable to other similar places. Be careful exiting lot as cars come pulling in fast from side street.

    Menu
    CJ K.

    Best oxtail soup I've ever had for a decent price too!! As a kid growing up, I'd always get their fried rice with over easy eggs. To this day it's still one of the top 5 fried rices I've ever had. Staff was always friendly, helpful, and respectful. And after your meal you can treat yourself to a complementary peppermint candy as well The only issue here is the limited parking spots. But other than that, great service and amazing tasting food for affordable prices! 5 stars

    Ann N.

    It's been a year and still a good, basic, way better than Zippys homestyle kinda place. I had the spicy ahi don and wish it was a bigger bowl. A side of mac salad hit the spot. We came around 1:30pm and it was pretty empty. Service was good and parking was available given it was past the rush time.

    Oxtail Ramen.  Wow...that looked so good to enjoy there.
    Matt O.

    Well...where do I start? I surely didn't anticipate coming to Asahi Grill on a Wednesday, and didn't know if it was gonna rain that day. The place screams old-school with the way the decor looked. It felt like I was actually in a local sit-down restaurant. I ended up eating their Oxtail Ramen, which...was not that bad at all. The depth of flavor in the broth really held up well to the ramen noodles. Super rich and flavorful, especially when I had a bite of the Oxtail with some of the noodles and the herbs. It was a great bite. I think I added a little too much ginger in the broth, which might have changed this review a little bit differently. Overall though, the ramen was very hearty and delicious to enjoy. I highly would recommend this place for sure. Maybe next time I'll try something else if given the opportunity. For me, Asahi gets a 9.5 out of 10. It was a good experience for what it's worth.

    Clubhouse sandwich
    LAUREEN C.

    Had a nice lunch at Asahi Grill today . Wasn't planning to come here but after attending the Young at Heart event at the Blaisdell ... my friend was hungry for anything that was close by . This is a good go-to restaurant whenever in the area . It wasn't crowded since was after 100pm so we found parking easy. The server was very friendly and polite and ready to take our order . Ordered a clubhouse sandwich and a small oxtail soup . My friend totally enjoyed her sandwich and claims one of the best she has eaten and she loves her clubhouse sandwiches . My oxtail soup came with two big scoops of rice and maybe 4 or 5 big pieces of oxtail which was delicious and very tasty. And I ate all of it and drank the very last drop of the soup! The small portion was perfect size since I didn't want to eat a huge meal that late . The inside of the restaurant was very clean and felt very comfortable eating there. Can't find too many of these old type neighborhood restaurants anymore . We always come back here for comfort food!

    Specials
    Alice N.

    Decent homemade dishes, prices reasonable, adequate service. Parking can be hard but there is side street stalls if you get lucky, best time to go is 1pm to avoid the lunch rush. Inside decor could use some renovations but I'm not here to look around, I'm here to eat and chat it up with friends. I like that they don't rush people out and we stayed pretty long. 3 of us actually ordered to go plates to take home! Again...not fancy but just good home cooked dishes and relax vibe.

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    Page 6 of 14

    Asahi Grill Ward Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Asahi Grill Ward

    Do you take reservations?

    Yes, they do take reservations.

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    Chao

    Chao

    4.4
    (403 reviews)
    1.3 mi
    $$

    Went here on a Thursday night which was more like a Friday because Friday is an observed holiday…read morefor us, around 7:45pm and was expecting it to be super busy but luckily for us, it wasn't. We walked in and the hostess was super sweet. She informed us that they were wiping down a table and we got seated within 10 minutes. It was our first time here and we've both heard and saw good things but we asked for extra time to look over the menu and our server was patient and gave us more time and offered some recommendations as well. We chose a handful of small plates and the softshell crab pasta with all the extra stuff and it was the perfect amount of food for us. We were more wanting drinks and pupus so our selections fit that but I'm sure if we wanted an actual dinner, we would have also be satisfied with the offerings they have. My only complaint about our overall meal is that the cocktails didn't complement the food. The drinks on its own were good and the food on its own was good, very good but together, bleh. The bone marrow had a slight sweetness to it that I didn't care for too much but it wasn't horrible and it was cooked perfectly, not over done including the crostini's. The octopus was cooked good (I would prefer it be a little softer) but still very enjoyable and the flavors were really good. The pasta and soft shell, cooked perfectly and flavors on point. So much so that I need the recipe so I can add this dish into my dinner rotation! The decor is nice.. when we first walked in, I thought we were gonna get a table right by the door, along the window, and I didn't want that, but we ended up getting a table closer to the bathroom (I think it was the bathroom?) and I liked that area. The area by the bathroom gives off chill, classy vibes, but the other area was giving me, fast food, sit down area vibes.

    I've been dying to go here & we finally made it for date night!…read more My Ranking so far: #1 - The beef carpaccio was a highlight of my visit, this is a must! #2/3 - My bf got the Whole Moi + chicken fat rice & he was a big fan! #2/3 - I personally preferred the Chicken wings w/ caramalized fish sauce. It was good but also on the smaller side in terms of portions. #4 - The Soft Shell Crab Pasta was very buttery & garlicky, nothing super crazy. I highly recommend adding spicy sauce (on the table) in there, it was much better after! Next time I really want to try the duck breast salad!!

    Photos
    Interior dining room with bamboo-like lighting
    Interior dining room with bamboo-like lighting
    Fried Spring Rolls - Ch Gi
    Fried Spring Rolls - Ch Gi
    Ube Dream

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    Ube Dream
    Carte Blanche

    Carte Blanche

    4.5
    (80 reviews)
    3.6 mi
    $$
    Locally owned & operated
    Luxury

    Took our friend here for her birthday and what a hidden gem this place was. Tucked away in the…read moreheart of Kaimuki, Carte Blanche was definitely a delightful surprise! When our party first walked in, we were a tiny bit skeptical because of the empty room (which was beautifully decorated). However as each course came out, we were blown away and didn't know how the restaurant was not way busier for a Saturday night! Each dish/course was well thought out and prepared to perfection. We were all taken by surprise in a great way. The head chef Anthony was very passionate and excited about his work and that was very refreshing! Overall a wonderful experience and we will be back!

    If you're looking for Kaimuki's most romantic date night spot, look no further than Carte Blanche…read more We recently experienced their summer prix fixe menu (which changes twice a year), and it was one of those meals you remember long after the plates are cleared. The progression of dishes felt thoughtful and creative-- * Crispy Salt & Vinegar Chicken Skin (the perfect starter crunch) * Soupe de Poisson (deep, comforting flavors) * Pina Colada Granita (a refreshing palate cleanser) * Pan Seared Scallops (my personal favorite--perfectly caramelized and tender) * Double Cut Rack of Lamb (succulent and cooked to perfection) * Lemon Crème Brûlée Tart (a sweet, bright finish) Every plate was elegant, well-executed, and beautifully presented. The atmosphere strikes a balance between sophisticated and welcoming. Dim lighting, intimate tables, and quiet elegance make you feel like you've stepped into a hidden gem in the middle of Kaimuki. Honestly, I felt like a celebrity dining here. Service was polished but never pretentious--our server was attentive, knowledgeable about the courses, and kept the pacing of the meal just right. For the level of creativity and execution, Carte Blanche feels like an affordable luxury in Honolulu's dining scene. Perfect for anniversaries, date nights, or anytime you want an elevated experience without flying to the mainland. Highly recommend booking a reservation--you'll want to savor every moment here.

    Photos
    Carte Blanche
    Carte Blanche
    Carte Blanche

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    Roy's Waikiki

    Roy's Waikiki

    4.3
    (3.6k reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $$$$

    Three of us ate at Roy's on Friday night May 29, 2026. The waiter took drink orders and he seemed…read morelike a little distracted. Came by with the wrong drink. He apologized and ran off and then brought my friend's mai tai. Dinner was very good. The Cesar salad with bacon was excellent, crispy baby romaine . My husband and I shared the 4 fish tasting. Was very good. We preordered the pineapple upside down cake. The presentation was not as good as the Roy's Eating House at the International Market place. This one looked like it 'fell' . Coffee: we all ordered decaf coffee and it was Luke warm. Waiter apologized and brought 3 more cups, it still was not hot enough. We offered to have regular, thinking that maybe that would be hotter. Waiter said that there must be something wrong with the machine, because the coffee he brought was just out of the machine. Still not hot. We will probably go back because the food is good. Hope they fix the coffee machine.

    I made a reservation for 9 and asked if we could increase by 2. They had no problem. What an…read moreawesome night was spent by all. The ambiance was fantastic. The service was excellent. They kept all of the drinks refilled immediately and in some cases before they were actually empty. Alcoholic drinks were delivered in a timely manner so the bar was really busting their buns because the place was packed. Our sever was awesome and everyone else who helped service our party. The food was spectacular. The butterfish over black rice was one of the best dishes I have ever tasted. Everyone who order it said the same thing. Many had the swordfish encrusted with macadamia nut and it was also a big hit. Several appetizers were ordered and all were delicious. The standout appetizer was the ahi tuna. Great night. Great food. Great service. Perfection!!!

    Photos
    Bar area happy hour
    Bar area happy hour
    The all time classic here and still one of the best
    The all time classic here and still one of the best
    Pineapple martini

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    Pineapple martini
    Giovedi

    Giovedi

    4.3
    (194 reviews)
    1.1 mi

    I absolutely loved every dish we tried. Everything was delicious and beautifully plated…read more The restaurant itself is on the small side. Not a lot of tables inside but they do appear to have an outdoor seating area in the back. I opted to sit at the bar. My Crystal Tiger cocktail was perfect. The bartender was super knowledgeable and friendly. It was fun watching his bartender tricks while he made drinks. We had the Hokkaido Milk Bread and Onion dip for appetizers. The Grilled Kampachi was so good. Cooked to perfection with amazing seasoning and flavors. The accompanying sauce had hint of curry with lovely freh herbs. Loved it! My fave dish of all the ones we tried. We also had the Capellini Granchio. This was also delish. Pasta was perfect. A good amount of crab to flavorful noodles. I will definitely return in the future to try more things and have the Kampachi again. This would make a nice date spot. Dishes are impressive.

    Giovedi was pretty underwhelming and left us disappointed. The dining room was loud from the start,…read morewith a couple of guests being excessively noisy and music turned up so high it was hard to have a conversation. Is there no policy of cutting off guests? Does it have to take them to fall on the ground hitting the wall? Tables on both sides next to us all complained. Apps: The scallop crudo was excellent and the highlight of the meal. The foie gras toast was greasy, and the foie gras was served as a firm block rather than the smooth, spreadable texture I expected. Main: Our pastas arrived about 45 minutes after being seated. The spaghetti had good flavor but was inconsistently cooked, while the Capellini Granchio was buttery, smooth, and full of crab flavor. Bill: $170 with 3 cocktails minus tip. A few good dishes, but definitely doesn't qualify as a location for date night. I'll be trying the restaurant next door instead.

    Photos
    Outside
    Outside
    Capellini granchio.
    Capellini granchio.
    Dan mien vietnam amatriciana

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    Dan mien vietnam amatriciana
    Morimoto Asia Waikiki

    Morimoto Asia Waikiki

    4.1
    (1.1k reviews)
    2.5 mi
    $$$

    I WISH I COULD GIVE MORE STARS!!!! WORTH THE PRICE! FOOD AND SERVICE IS OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!…read more Okay seriously, I've been to a ton of expensive high end restaurants and none have impressed me like this Morimoto's. When I tell you everything that came out was amazing.... Holy moly it was SO TASTY. EVERYTHING! I was even impressed with the fried rice with how much they served and how much was in it. I personally loved the fish carpaccio, rib eye, hamachi kama, wok vegetables and malasadas for dessert. The orange chicken was my least favorite but it was still good. Oh and the STICKY RIBS...... you HAVE to get them. So crispy yet tender.... I loved how everything we had bursted in my mouth with flavor and was something I couldn't make to that level at home. Service was amazing like any other fine dining restaurant, but for the first time, I felt like this one was worth the money for how good the food was. I will definitely be back!

    My bad review is entirely based on how terrible the food was. For context, we ordered Tonkatsu…read moreramen and Tsukemen dipping ramen. Ramen, according to the server, was the most popular thing on the menu, so how likely could it get messed up? Tonkatsu: Rich, but lacked any salt or had very little. We requested some salt and that instantly made the ramen better. The noodles had enough salt to carry it, but the broth was not great. It tasted like the broth was watered down or reconstituted, however no seasoning was added to re-adjust the broth. Broth: Had little salt and lacked punch, umami, and was brown instead of white. Noodles: Had enough salt to taste good, but was slightly overcooked Pork: Extremely bland. Tasted like zero salt was added during cooking. Toppings: Greatly lacking in toppings Tsukemen: The Tsukemen had a lot of the same issues. Now being a dipping ramen, the broth should be even richer and more flavorful than any normal ramen. Tsukemen -- no matter where you have it in Japan, should be richer and saltier than most broths, but the broth here was severely lacking. For $26 a bowl this was worse than your DIY frozen ramen packs. Now I'm not asking for Japan-level of ramen mastery here, this is after all, just a tourist spot -- but if your Tonkatsu is the best selling item, you have to step it up. Our server did mention that some people complained about the amount of salt in ramen, so they adjusted it. But dare I say, instead of diluting the normal salt/seasoning amount for everyone, couldn't you just add a separate, flavor-light version for people inexperienced with ramen, instead of diluting the original for everyone else? If you're reading this Mr. Morimoto, I would highly encourage you to fly here and order the ramen. I think you and I would share the same opinions. P.S. I've also been to your other Morimoto spots and it was not this bad.

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Black pepper beef
    Black pepper beef
    Morimoto Asia Waikiki Ocean Front Lanai Dining

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    Morimoto Asia Waikiki Ocean Front Lanai Dining

    Asahi Grill Ward - hawaiian - Updated July 2026

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