2022 Izakaya Review #2 It's been years since we'd been at Imanas Tei and since I'm doing an Izakaya journey the time to revisit was now. Overall the food was solid, I'll explain the 3 star rating at the end. Food: Sat at the sushi bar and ordered a variety of food and drink. Wide range of Sake available as well as the standard Japanese beers to quench the thirst. We ordered a range of items from misoyaki butterfish, beef tongue, ika geso, and an assortment of nigiri sushi. The fish was fresh, the butterfish was prepared excellently, and all around solid food. Service: Our server was really good, checked on us frequently, all food came out very quickly. No issue with service as some earlier reviews had mentioned and we were fine. Atmosphere: Relatively large space with a sushi counter then tables in the other part of the restaurant. The sushi bar does or can get a little bit loud once it fills up but nothing unexpected or unpleasant. Value: Standard value in my opinion for Izakaya fare, we had 3 drinks plus all of our food coming out to just over $130. Not inexpensive but also not unexpected for this type of restaurant. Overall: Here is where I need to explain my 3 star rating, based on just food and in restaurant service I would have said closer to 4 but three things happened to knock it down. I normally don't nitpick but I felt I had to list these. 1. We made a reservation on Yelp for dinner, even receiving the text confirmation code. Got the restaurant and they didn't have it on their hand written note pad. We still got 2 seats at the bar so it wasn't a big deal but it was odd. 2. It was sweltering in there, I don't know if something happened to their AC but it was so hot. The day itself was hot and humid but the restaurant was uncomfortably hot. 3. Right after ordering I noticed in the crack between the counter and sushi bar a small roach poked out and started crawling around. I watched it go in and out of that crack several times and was going to just let it go..in Hawaii in older buildings you are bound to have a few stray critters. But when our ikageso hit the counter that little guy made a beeline to the plate, luckily intercepted it with a well placed napkin squish but still..when you see one you know there are more. (I didn't photograph the after effects of the squish by the way) The food was good, service decent, but because of the three things it will probably be a while before we return. read more

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Wonderful food and great service! The restaurant is a bit hidden but well worth finding.

Ordered for take out here multiple times during COVID and never disappointed me. Sushi's quality remained fresh. I love ordering the uni nigiri . Try the beef tongue. You might like it. They always got my orders ready by the time I arrive to pick it up read more

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Great happy hour menu from 5-6pm and 8pm-close!! Fast service and delicious food. Reservations are accepted. read more

Imanas Tei - Sushi Bars Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Love to food Iconic restaurant throughout the years Original owners changed but chefs remained read more

We took out 2 girls for a family dinner and this place is very small but clean and bright. Parking is a bit tough to find. Once we got there, we were seated in the tatami room. It was nice. We were greeted by Sean once we sat down and answered any questions we might have. You can tell the servers were busy. We ordered the grilled teriyaki squid, miso soup with rice for the girls, and, of course, the beef tongue. They really enjoyed everything. On top of that, they both started to munch on the ama ebi legs (fried). We ordered some sushi and rolls. The sake is delicious. This place does not disappoint, and the service is excellent. Ama ebi is so good, too. We wanted to try the king crab sushi, but they were out. Next time for sure. I'd strongly recommend making a reservation. Very limited seating. read more

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Service is very mediocre. Server forgot our drinks twice. Food was expensive for the quality of the fish and size of the nigiri. The overall culture and vibe of the staff just seems cold. I don't need a bubbly, fake server if the food is good and the service was fast and attentive. read more

My friends and I had a wonderful dinner at Imanas Tei! From the outside, the restaurant has an unassuming, dark look, and is situated by a small parking lot. But it looks really nice on the inside, and has a comfortable ambiance. Our group had 11 people, and we were seated in a beautiful Japanese-style tatami room in the back. We took our shoes off before stepping in, grabbed a seat cushion, and sat down by one of two low tables in the room, sliding our legs down into the cavity underneath. At first, we had been looking forward to their hotpot, but we had placed an 8:30pm reservation and learned once we were seated that hotpot is not available after 8pm on weekdays except Friday. So we ordered from the rest of the menu instead and ended up being very happy with the meal. The menu itself is a bit busy which makes a few pages harder to parse, but the service was very friendly and helped answer our questions. The food was of exceptional quality, and generally quite reasonably priced. Some of the sushi is more expensive, especially if ordering a là carte, but was very fresh and felt worth it. A few favorites were the Unakyu Roll (eel, cucumber, and avocado), Assorted Sushi B (under "Sushi for one" in the menu), and Ikura (salmon roe) sushi. In addition, the Udon dishes were delicious, and the noodles were not too thick. The Stewed Beef and Tofu w/ White Miso was a good and a large portion for being listed as an appetizer. To sum up, even though we didn't get to try the hotpot as initially anticipated, we were extremely satisfied with our meal and had a great experience at Imanas Tei! Would definitely recommend. read more

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Came to this restaurant for the first time, and made reservations. Sushi and sashimi very fresh, scallops, hamachi, amaebi and unagi are amazing and the highlight of today is fried burdock and seafood, surprisingly delicious. The dynamite was a bit too rich for me. Overall very happy to try this place. read more

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Revisited this establishment and still very impressed with its many offerings. Surprisingly, I was expected to pay more for the dishes, but that was not the case. Overall, I liked all the dishes ordered, except the fried squid. It was fried too long and very hard to chew, nothing like my past experience. My highest compliment to our server. She was terrific in handling our orders, explaining different dishes and refilling our hot tea umpteen times. Many thanks to her for making our weekend outing highly enjoyable. No doubt, she was one of their professional staff that contributed directly to the success of this superb restaurant. read more

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Staff very professional and friendly. The food is so oishii... love the ambiance of the restaurant.

I absolutely loved this place. Food and the ambiance were really good. Charlie was our server and his service was excellent. Prices are so reasonable. Food and drinks arrived pretty fast. I think this place should make their website look better to showcase what they actually are. I had a reservation at 8.30pm and was hoping to sit at the low Japanese style table and the usherer said it cleaned and closed and I can't sit there. She let me sit there since it was my birthday. So, check ahead before you go there if that seating area is open or not. That seating area makes this place very authentic. I'll definitely stop by when I come to Waikiki again. read more

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Another much needed double date night with our really close friends. My husband was craving for sushi so this came recommended by a friend. And you can't go wrong with a restaurant that takes reservations in advance. AMBIANCE This hidden gem is located in the Kaimuki area! Limited parking however, we were able to find parking around the corner within walking distance. This is a very lively place and felt really good coming in. Great for families as well as a night out with friends! SERVICE They were pretty busy so wait time was expected. Our waitress apologized several times for the wait. However, with good company we weren't in a hurry. FOOD The menu had everything from appetizers, salad, hot dishes, noodles and a wide variety of sushi. I was very pleased with the food! One of my favorite was the Harumi Salad. Overall, loved everything about this cozy little place. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures. Goes to show how much of a great time we were having. read more

Imanasu Tei is one of the best Japanese restaurant in Hawaii. Food was so amazing my friend from GA were so happy to eat fresh good quality seafood. oysters,sushi,sashimi platter,tempura,dynamite and many more We were so excited and forgot to take beautiful food pictures. Server was super nine and friendly. Tatami zashiki style room was so nice and relaxed. We will definitely going back again. Thank you imanasu tei read more

Cute spot but easy to miss since it's tucked between two buildings. It's adjacent to the 7 eleven with a small parking lot out front. Sushi 4/5 - everything was good except for their uni from Mexico. It was smelly and uni is usually my favorite. The sweet shrimp, hamachi, salmon, seared salmon, flounder, sardine, and mackerel were fresh and tasty. No frills here on the prep - not the greatest knife work but that didn't matter. :) We also ordered the wagyu nigiri but that was over cooked and a bit chewy. Fried sweet shrimp heads were perfect with our draft beers! Oysters with ponzu 5/5 fresh sweet little guys with a bit of salt and tang. Katsu sticks 3/5 miso sauce was sweet and delish, batter was crunchy but the pork was dry/over cooked. Fried baby shrimp 5/5 great beer food, little shrimp fried with the shell and tail without batter. These were super fun to eat. Sautéed on choy 4/5 ooo a Chinese veggie! The broth this came in was super umami. A bit on the salty side for me but I needed the fiber haha Sake, beer, service, ambiance were all good. $200 for two with drinks food tax and tip. read more

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Reading some reviews that they've gone down hill, I decided to chime in. Imanas was always popular and their quality of food and service was great, therefore tricky to get reservations at times. Pretty obvious the owner changed since I agree with the others. I was surprised to get a reservation right away and headed over and that should've been a sign. It's been a while since I moved off the islands couple years ago but I still do visit annually. Nothing was satisfying this time. The worst was the chanko. It was all frozen. It was on the table top burner but it didn't turn on high, the gas was running out but the waitress refused to change it hence it took forever. Eventually it did run out then had to wait to get waitress' attention to get exchanged. You would think if it's frozen, at least heat it up in the kitchen before bringing it out. Seriously, we finished everything else we ordered and never got to start the nabe until the end. And it tasted awful. Yep, never going back.... read more

Came to Imanas Tei for a family dinner in Hawaii. We were recommended by a local and I think this place definitely lived up to the hype. It felt very authentic. We made a reservation ahead of time for a large party and were seated promptly when we arrived. Seating was a little tight for our party and I wish they gave us a roomier spot. Parking is also rather limited as well. Everything that we ordered was good! There wasn't really anything that we didn't like. Service was quick and friendly. The biggest standout dish for me was the beef tongue - so delicate and delicious! read more

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It's been awhile since we've been to Imanas Tei. Well, things have changed. While waiting in the car before they opened, saw an employee park their car in the parking lot and walk into the restaurant. I don't think they did that before. Additionally, there was no one waiting to go in. Maybe COVID has something to do with that. First sign. When we entered there was no, "Irashaimase" to welcome us. Second sign. None of the waitstaff were familiar to us; all new faces. We asked for hot tea after placing our order but it never came. We weren't drinking so I'm not sure why they didn't bring the tea out. Only at the end of the meal, then, we were asked if we wanted hot tea. Perhaps (new owner/management) has a different philosophy on how and/or when tea is served. No one else had hot tea, either. After the check was dropped, a bit of time passed before someone came to pick-up our payment. Mind you, it wasn't busy. Heard two employees talking behind me. Third sign. According to my wife, the quality of the food was not the same. The deluxe futomaki was a bit of a disappointment. We both agreed Nijiya Market's one tastes better for about a third of the price. Fourth sign. The combination of these four signs sadly dropped our rating of what we enjoyed about Imanas Tei in the past. On the bright side, though, I did enjoy my chicken shioyaki with the side of potato salad. Although not as juicy as before, I liked that the skin was crispy. Hope they turn things around to the good old days... read more

Tried it again. Service was so much better. The staff was sooooo nice and helpful. And the food absolutely delicious. I don't know what happened since 2011, but they've really got a first class place here. So, after 12 years, my one Star review has become 5 STARS. Highly recommend! read more

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Great happy hour! Food was great . We enjoyed the chirashi bowl and cold udon and soba

The interior was larger than Naru and can accommodate larger party's easily. The food was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the Gobo Appetizer with deep fried seafood in it. They only have ice cream for dessert but, that doesn't matter since we ate so much we didn't need dessert! It did make me feel like I was in Tokyo. Although I have eaten at some seedy izakayas in Japan. read more

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Was originally trying to go to the yakitori place next door but found out they were closed on Wednesdays, so we decided to check Imanas Tei out. We were lucky they were able to squeeze us in as they were full with reservations. White Wine (4/5): $5 for a glass?! Such a good deal. Green Salad (4/5): nice and refreshing with the shiso leaves. Spicy Tuna Roll (5/5): simple but delicious. Beef Tongue (4/5): can't go wrong with this. Soft Shell Crab (5/5): fried to perfection, a must order! Overall I had a great dinner here and would come back! Service was good as well. read more

Like the energy and feels like a Japanese izakaya . It was very busy and parking is limited.

Nice spot with great food, service, and ambiance! Perfect for date night and family gatherings. We have been a few times and always enjoyed it. Food: generally high quality dishes, including... -Beef tongue - thinly slices of tasty meat and lemon -Sushi set B - uni, ikura, Chu-toro - all pretty tasty! -Soba - freshly made and only 5 servings a day - well priced at $12.50! -Daikon salad - refreshing and big salad with light dressing Service: attentive and high quality. Ambiance: classy and cozy spot. Especially enjoy the seats in the back in the elevated area with floor level tables (and spots to keep your feet). Bonus: the restaurant is celebrating its 25th anniversary till end-Apr and offering 20% off the bill from Mon-Thu! Worth a visit before it ends! read more

Great food and great service Party of 6 started with Potato Salad, Simple Green Salad, Sashimi, Fried Tofu w/ Tempura Sauce, Fried Squid Legs and oyster. Complete the meal with Chanko Nabe read more

Imanas Tei - Great Food - Sushi Bars Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Yo. The food here is fkn great! Love the sizzling garlic steak and the tempura and sushi. Thank you so much.

We wandered in here looking for sushi open pat 10. What we found was a gem. The ambiance takes you away. You would never guess from the outside how excellent the food and ambiance are. We got the salmon firecracker roll which was torched beautifully and tasted great. The evil tempura roll was also very good. The Japanese omelet was yummy as well as the Toro. The only downside was that they seemed short staffed on the serving end. read more

Imanas Tei - Sushi Bars Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I don't even know how to start, we order the nabe for two, after let it cooked for 10 minutes and we started to "enjoy" our food, several minutes into it, my wife dig out this huge piece of paper / cloth like towel inside our food (see photos). I immediately told our waiter, he just said, I will let the cook know, and then proceed to remove the towel from our food and left the nabe on the table. That's it? Are you expecting us to continue to finish it? I found the manager and told him about it, he did say sorry. Then the cook come out to look, he said "This must be from the vegetable", at that time, we felt so disgusted and don't know what did we eat, no idea what they used the towel for before get into our nabe. I asked for my bill and just want to pay for what I ate besides this and call it a day. They don't even offer a discount as a symbol of saying sorry (I don't care if they often any discount, my point is - do something to show you are really really sorry). All the customers sat next to us felt really bad for us too, I can see they are also not happy about what they saw and thinking what about their food. I understand sometimes the kitchen screw up unintentionally, but they don't really feel sorry or try to make things right, especially the waiter, no emotion on his face, just like business as usual. read more

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Came back to Honolulu mainly just for the butterfish here. SO GOOD. All their nigiri sushi is so fresh too. Tried their shrimp tempura and was not the slighted bit disappointed. You can make rezzys too. read more

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The best traditional and authentic Japanese food on the island. Order the Shabu Shabu and the Hamachi Kama. I've been eating here for 30 years and it's always number #1. read more

The only thing I like better than talking about food is eating. This shabu shabu is heaven. I love the sweatiness in the soup, very flavorful. the meal come with vegetables, tofu, mushroom and beef. $35 each and start with 2 person's order. I thought it was a good deal for dinner. 2626 S King St, Honolulu, HI 96826 Monday to Saturday from 5-11PM Parking lot or the garage cross the street Tips: Be aware of the two hours eating window, yes, there is a time limit when dine-in. read more

Imanas Tei - shabu shabu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Such a great izakaya! My family is originally from Osaka, so we can pretty much be good judges of food. This place hit the spot. We haven't been able to get to Japan for about two years now and I can honestly say that this place is by far one of the best Japanese restaurants I've been to. We reserved on the same day, we sat in the way back, similar to tatami style but it was wooden flooring. We ate ankimo, beef tongue, ika geso, and so many other dishes (these were my favorite). If you order the lemon chu-hi, be warned that it's very tart like to the point where your mouth will pucker. I had the calipco-hi. I don't think they put very much alcohol in the chu-his. For the amount of food we ordered (probably over ten dishes, 2 chu-hi, 3 bottles of beer, and one draft beer, the total wasn't that bad. Our bill was under $250 for a party of four. read more

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Ginger was dry. Sashimi and sushi were not fresh. It was tasteless and fell apart. The uni tasted foul. But our waitress was the friendliest on the island and removed the sashimi and uni from our bill. read more

Saw multiple 1 star recent reviews that flagged change in management / ownership and how the sashimi were not fresh that caused me to worry a bit about what experience I would get at Imamas Tei. Upon reading through some of those recent negative reviews it looked like it could be from the same large party. We decided to keep our reservation. We were not disappointed! Looks like the place is still solid and was packed on a Monday night with outstanding food: fresh sashimi platter was generous portioned, fried tofu was delicious, butter fish miso yaki and hamachi karma both were standout dishes. Sake list on the carafe was extensive and reasonably priced, which we love! read more

Probably my favorites sushi place so far in Honolulu. It's outside of Waikiki so it's nice to get away from the crowds and you find more locals dining here. We started with some Soft Shell Crab which was one of the best I have had. Then we had some Nigiri and also the Maguro Shichimi. That was probably my favorite dish of the evening. If you come you have to try the Maguro Shichimi. Lightly Seared tuna in some amazing sauce. read more

Excellent sushi menu Got seated quickly Service was great Ambiance cozy and small space Location was a bit hard to find and parking was limited Otherwise highly recommended if you're in the mood for authentic sushi read more

We arrived around 8:15pm for dinner and the restaurant states they close at 10pm, so we figured we were in good shape. When we got inside there were plenty of tables available, but we were told they had to check and see if they were doing last call over an hour before closing. Negative #1 After sitting down, a waitress came over and left us two waters. My date wanted no ice and the waitress had an attitude for now reason. Negative #2 She then came back and my date had a couple questions about specific items on the menu and the same waitress has the same attitude and acted like she was doing us a favor. She was not polite and didn't seem happy to be there. Negative #3 The food arrived and it was average at best. Some of these reviews of how great the food was, is a real stretch and if you're looking for a more authentic Japanese meal, there are other places to choose. Negative #4 Save your money and save your time by finding a better option on the island. And remember: TIP = TO ENSURE PROPER SERVICE. read more

Incredible service, the freshest and most decadent fish I've ever had. I heard about this place months ago and couldn't wait until my vacation to visit and I was not disappointed. The best dining experience I've had on the island so far read more

Imanas Tei - The best tempura I've ever had - Sushi Bars Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Nice place and tasty. Good service. Good quality. My favorite, deep fried shripm. I'll go back read more

Imanas Tei - Really nice spot. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Honestly sushi wasn't as great and I thought it would be. They added way to much wasabi on the the sushi and because of that it was hard to taste the fish. The service was okay, but definitely not a place I would say to go to for sushi maybe something fried read more

Imanas Tei - Sushi Bars Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii