Delicious! This place has been around forever! Friends and I went to eat here and we loved it! We ordered the fried tofu with tonkatsu sauce, whale's tail (won tons with cream cheese and other goodies), Garlic Ahi with seared sashimi and the garlic crab! We also ate the fried bananas with coconut ice cream (to die for) and lychee sherbert! Everything was delicious and we walked away with big smiles on our faces! Our waitress, Nora, was absolutely wonderful. She was very bubbly and happy! I will be back for this home-cooked food! Loved it! read more

Irifune is one of those eclectic restaurants that you come to frequent often. It's a dirty mid-sized restaurant with poor parking cause you have to most likely park in the crowded neighborhood streets behind it. Well, that's until you realize that there is parking across the street in seemingly dark make shift public lot. Parking confusion aside, the food is really great. Anything with garlic in it is pretty much winnahs. The banana dessert is pretty good too. One odd thing about this restaurant is that you enter it twice. One though the door on the street into a small waiting room. Then next through a door that actually goes into the eating area. The servers are really friendly and taking someone here on their birthday will literally elicit "Ohhs and Ahhs" from the whole restaurant and staff. Some tips are thrown up into a net suspended on the ceiling. It's an experience and fun at the same time. So, obviously it's a super laid back vibe. Usually crowded, but it's big enough to cycle patrons in and out at a good clip. read more

Irifune Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Our friends are regulars here and we decided to meet them to give this place a whirl. At first, we drove right by it...could have totally missed it with all the other lights on Kapahulu. We parked by the zoo and met with our friends, walked up to the restaurant. There was only one couple in front of us on the list so the wait was not too bad. Irifune is BYOB so we had our wine in tow....Our waitress was very nice, brought us glasses for our wine straight away, explaining that the specials were on the wall (a bunch of places where there were different specials listed, so you have to make sure you look all over or you may miss it). We had the appetizers first: Ahi Tataki and spicy ahi sushi. I had a combo (special #1) that had garlic ahi, sashimi, and tempura. My husband had a different special, the seared ahi. All the food was good, fast, and flavorful. Portions were a little smaller than I thought they could have been, but the taste was spot on. The thing that WOWed us for sure was the fried banana and icecream. My husband is not a self-proclaimed sweet-tooth like me but he would have polished that dessert by himself if others weren't sharing. It was delicious. We live "far" from Irifune, so I don't know that we would make the drive just for the restaurant by ourselves, but we would not hesitate to meet up with the fantastic people we had dinner with there last night. And if we happen to be by Waikiki and have a craving for something sweet I don't think I'll have to convince my hubby to stop by for the fried banana. Review 12 of 31 Yelps Challenge. read more

Located in Kapahulu. The service is excellent. They have downsized their place to about six tables. The garlic ahi is their signature dish and it is very tasty. I also like their fried tofu. Luckily I have always been able to find street parking along Kapahulu and I have always been able to sit right away. The food comes out very fast and portions will have you leaving satisfied. Great hole in the wall. read more

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This restaurant looks really.... dumpy from the the outside, but it's actually not! It's an old restaurant, but it has all kinds of local asian decorations all over the place inside. It also looks lot smaller from the outside, but it's a decent size when you go inside. The place has a loud atmosphere with all the people chatting and having a good time. If you want to have an even better time, you can also BYOB as the restaurant does not serve alcoholic drinks. We decided to come here because my dad absolutely loves it here, and he eats here like every week. He always gets the seared ahi with the garlic caper sauce. I usually like what he likes, so I ordered the same thing. I made the right decision because it was BROKE-DA-MOUT! You just add a dash of shoyu and the flavor just absolutely explodes in your mouth! My boyfriend had the garlic crab with tempura combo plate and he said he also really liked it and would get it again. For dessert we had the fried banana with ice cream and the banana crepe with ice cream. Everything was veerrryyyy good! And according to the waitress, it's all cooked by her boss. It's kind of amazing because usually people are good at one thing or the other (cooking or making desserts) but this boss/cook guy was good at BOTH! It's a little pricy, but I'd DEFINITELY come back!!! This is one of the best restaurants I have been to so far! read more

Irifune Restaurant - Banana crepe with ice cream!! Very good! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Very quick and friendly service. Reasonably priced and the stir fry was amazing! Definitely coming back. read more

Irifune Restaurant - Garlic tofu stir fry - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I wouldn't call this place amazing... it's okay. I'm glad I tried it, but I doubt I'd be back. I didn't order the garlic ahi because I'm not a big fan of ahi prepared well done. I ordered the seared ahi with garlic and capers, garlic crab/ahi tataki combo, and the ahi avocado tartare. Like I said, it was okay. Nothing to write home about. The menu isn't that large so it was slim pickins. How many ways do you want to order ahi? Tataki, tartare and seared. Damn, I thought there was an ahi shortage. I guess Irifune got it all. I'm kidding - they have tempura and tofu, but both dishes are fried and I'm trying to be good so that did cut our selection in half. The waitress put in the wrong order so we had to wait twice as long for the crab dish. I didn't mind because she was honest and sincerely sorry about it. At least the restaurant is BYOB because I got to chill and sip on my beer while waiting. The restaurant was packed so it's clearly a popular restaurant, but it just didn't do it for me. ** Side Note ** When it's your birthday, they turn off the lights and have the whole restaurant sing to you. Then they make you look up at the ceiling which they have glow in the dark stars on and make you ooh and ahh over it. It was okay the first time, but it got irritating by the second and third time. Maybe if they didn't turn off the lights??? read more

Irifune Restaurant - Seared Ahi with Garlic Caper Sauce - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Came here for lunch today and waited 45 minutes after ordering for my food. The food was delicious, but Im not sure if it's because I was so hungry by the time I sat down to eat it. For a place that's only open for lunch, it's not super considerate of people's lunch break time. Really yummy though. read more

I have ridiculously high expectations for ahi. Grew up eating the load of it and even now, I eat it at every chance I get. The first time I was here, I tried the garlic ahi tempura combo. It was pretty good, but I didn't like the ahi filet because it's cooked entirely through so it did not satisfy my craving for ahi. The tempura was good; it was not as greasy as other places so it felt "lighter". The second time I was here, I had the seared ahi with garlic caper sauce. Hm.. If you're a real ahi lover, you love ahi for that "fishy" fresh taste. Although the texture was nice, I feel like the garlic really overpowered the fish itself. Honestly, it was good, just not up to par with my ahi standards. It had the texture of ahi but it didn't taste like it.. Also, if you have acid reflux (like me), this will leave you bloated all freaking night cause it's really garlic heavy. THE APPETIZERS ARE AMAZEBALLS THOUGH. I WOULD GO HERE TO EAT 10 ORDERS OF GYOZA AND BREADED TOFU. The gyoza is like..tofu, cream cheese, and edamame? I don't know who came up with that combination but it is genius. The breaded tofu was delicious too. Kind of like...healthier chicken katsu. Oh but with tofu of course. 5 stars! For dessert, I had the fried banana with icecream. This is the SHIIIIZZZ. Tempura banana with icecream drizzled with haupia sauce? SOLD. The grindzzzz. The service is also amazing. Everyone is really attentive and sweet. I really appreciate the fact that my water is constantly refilled and they always ask if we're doing okay. Service is 5 stars. Parking is pretty lameo though. Street parking or parking in that small sketchy pre-paid lot across the street. I saw a total of two tow trucks there....which is so not the business. I gave it 3 stars for the fact that it didn't live up to my ahi standards. However, the restaurant is pretty good. If you don't eat ahi very often or aren't particular about the taste, you will probably really like it. 5 stars for appetizers, service and for dessert. Parking sucks though, you have been warned. read more

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The four stars are because the seating has been cut down to about a third of the seats they had before but they put forth a good effort on the food. They only had one server working on Saturday night, not sure is that's how it is normally, but they may want to think about adding another for a few hours. The food is always fresh, we had sashimi and tempura, which were as good as it always is. read more

Irifune is just ok to me. I had high hopes for this place. The restaurant was pretty funky. Brokedown hole in the wall looking, but super cool! I love the waitress! She was awesome! But the food was just ok. i mean, it wasn't awful. i guess i just expected more. Appetizers: -gyoza: this is the winner of the night! It is filled with kabocha squash & cream cheese. OMG! I could've just snacked on these the whole night. -tuna tartare: i was debating on this or the kaimuki roll. The waitress said hands down i have to get the tuna tartare. This was pretty good. Chunks of ahi mixed with spicy sauces & avovado on top of rice. Entrees: -seafood tempura: this consisted of shrimp, crab, fish, squid, & vegetable tempura. It came with rice, salad, & miso soup. Not bad. -teriyaki chicken & garlic ahi: the teriyaki chicken was great! Sweet & tender, but if their known for their garlic ahi then i have to disagree. The flavor is there, but it was way too dry. I can't stand dry fish! This too came with rice, salad, & miso soup. Dessert: -banana tempura: this was a good ending. Tempura battered banana drizzled in haupia and caramel sauce with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Heaven! Overall, great service & great prices, but just ok food. read more

Irifune Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Good, fresh good, quick service, affordable lunch. easy walk up window. One of my favorite places to grab lunch in town.

I'm a big fan of their curry tankatsu. Its just good stuff. I also recommend their garlic mushroom tofu! Its BYOB and the atmosphere is very casual. When celebrating birthdays, they turn out the lights and sing happy birthday. The glow in the dark stars on the ceiling glow while they sing. This is a must visit place for my family and I when we visit Oahu. We typically go at least 2 times for dinner during our trip. read more

Irifune Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I left with my clothes and hands covered in that garlic/butter sauce smell and my mouth was left with that "no matter how many times you brush your teeth it'll still taste like garlic" taste in my mouth, and in that instant, I knew I was in love. The bf and I came here for dinner on a Friday night at 8pm. There were 2 big parties ahead of us which made me think we would have to wait for a while, but within 2 minutes our name was called and we were seated at a table for 3 by this Japanese shrine and a small fish tank (The backdrop scenery was leaves and bamboo sticks and it had a Bhuddist statue, but it also had other Japanese trinkets adorned with money offerings everywhere). Immediately looking around I knew that if someone was used to eating at Japanese restaurants like Yanagi or Akasaki, you might find the atmosphere here and the "hole in the wall" concept a bit off setting, but, if you concentrate on the great tasting food you'll do fine. We ordered the sushi dinner set for $11.95, The garlic ahi with a caper sauce for $17 and for an appetizer the fried tofu for $4.95. Both entrees were served with miso soup (that didn't have seaweed or tofu, but bean sprouts, green onions, and small bits of that curly fried tofu, but it still had that genuine miso soup taste to the broth), a small somen salad (which I thought was a little sour tasting), and a salad (red/white cabbage mixed with carrots and romaine lettuce and topped with a cucumber and tomato which was awesome!). The breaded tofu really impressed me. I never knew you could deep fry tofu so that it has the same type of crunch as you would find on a chicken katsu plate. Word to the wise though, if you don't eat immediately, the pieces that are soaked in the sauce will leave the tofu breading mushy and not as good. On to the entrees, the sushi dinner set which had 2 spicy tuna and 2 smolked salmon nigiri sushi and 4 pc california was a bit lacking. The spicy tuna wasn't spicy and the california was a bit dense, but I thought the smolked salmon was an innovative idea. But it was the GARLIC AHI with caper sauce (located on their "specials menu") stole the show. Perfectly seared ahi topped with a garlic, butter, caper sauce and garnished with fresh spinach leaves and slices of tomato (reminiscent of an Italian dish with a Japanese twist). I kept dredging the pieces of ahi in whatever was left of the sauce (maybe that's why I reeked of garlic...). I give it 4.5 stars and I'm sure the next time I come back I'll update it with a 5 stars! read more

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I came here for lunch before work one day, just on impulse. I always passed by here and was always wondering about the garlic ahi since theres a big sign that says GARLIC AHI... When I walked in, I was like, Wheres the chairs! But I suppose it does get busy during nights, so they have a waiting area. The dining area is through a doorway on the right. I thought it was very cute how the restaurant was decorated. There was even Buddha shrines that people would give offerings to. You can guess what I ordered. The garlic ahi plate! It came with a VERY hot bowl of miso soup and also a bowl of rice. Included is green salad with their house vinaigrette, and also cold somen noodles with tomato vinaigrette. They were all fresh flavors and really delicious. The plate comes with three good sized pieces of ahi, grilled to a perfect outer crust. I was a little worried that the fish would be dry after being cooked, but it was not what I had anticipated at all. It was moist and so flavorful. The garlic flavor was definitely there, as well as a little bit of spice. I also ordered a side of their homemade gyoza. It came with a tofu, cream cheese, and edamame filling, which made me think it was a healthy vegetarian appetizer. NOPE they deep fry their gyoza, and let me tell you, I loved every bite. They came out piping hot and crispy. It truly was the best gyoza I have ever had, and being unique was a big reason why. I didnt think the use of the dipping sauce was necessary since the cream cheese was already rich. I will definitely bring my boyfriend here soon!! read more

Irifune Restaurant - garlic ahi with somen salad and tomato vinagrette, and green salad. comes with rice n miso soup. ~$14 - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I love this place! I will surely be hittin' up this place when I come to Oahu again. If you love garlic and you love Ahi, come eat here. It's scrump-diddly-umptious and their prices aren't bad. Spicy Tuna sushi - Fresh, spicy, and delicious...just melted in my mouth! Garlic Ahi Tuna with Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura - just the right amount of food to stuff myself into submission! Only $12! It comes with miso soup, salad, a tiny bowl of noodles with pineapple, and of course tempura and ahi. Service is excellent! Our server brought us green tea to help digest our food. Don't expect too much on the outside and inside in regards to ambiance. It's a quaint, homey place and it's BYOB. I didn't realize that until we were leaving the restaurant and everyone in the waiting area had a 6-pack or bottle of wine. You can find parking right across the street but come early as parking can get filled up. read more

Ordered food for the office gang. So delicious. Probably one of the better places to eat in downtown and super reasonable. Would totally recommend and plan on going back soon read more

I love me some home cookin', even when I'm not at home. Thankfully Irifune reminds me of a favorite Japanese soul food restaurant back home when my wannabe Japanese self can dig in and enjoy some down home good food. They have different bento style combinations that you can pick. Lots of fresh fish specials and they all revolve around garlic. Luckily I love garlic (even if my stomach does not) so I rejoice ! I recently had the crab leg special which arrived with rice, salad, tempura and soup. The crab legs were fantastically messy and I didn't give a hoot! I think there was crab everywhere and garlic sauce in my hair. So good! We also had an appetizer of a mushroom dish which was delicious as well. They have a killer ahi tuna plate that you must try. Prices are all usually under $20 and you will be stuffed ! read more

Irifune Restaurant - Garlic crab combo. Yes !!! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Feels like eating at someone's home. Unique decor, a little run down but it matches the laid back local style mom & pop vibe. One aunty taking orders and serving everyone..attentive and friendly. Authentic Japanese food, simple and ono! Garlic ahi, oyaku donburi, and shrimp tempura was pleasingly good. We go here to get a quiet and satisfied dinner experience read more

OK, Finally went back and got the good stuff! Seared Garlic Ahi and capers. Took some out of town guests here. Breaded Tofu! winner. Great dinner and cool place to hang. There were some empty seat tonight and we got in without any wait. Like I always say, try what they are known for. You'll see why! G read more

Irifune Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Irifune's Garlic Crab "Dinner" (comes with miso soup, rice and salad) is one of my FAVORITE meals on Oahu. No seriously. Especially if you like crab and garlic- this dish is ridiculous. It's more than a little messy to eat, but I think it's better that way because it's more interactive, haha! The seared garlic ahi with garlic sauce and capers is my husband's favorite order. I'm sure there's other yummy stuff on the menu but we love those two so much that we haven't really tried anything else. BYOB so it's great for groups, there's a parking lot across the street and if you're lucky you can catch one of the meters out front or street parking along one of the side streets. read more

Irifune Restaurant - Garlic Crab Dinner - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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One star for this place. Very disappointed with our selection called the Bento lunch special.. Beware, the fish is super SALTY! I couldn't even eat the fish. The really nice waiter told me that people have written comments on yelp about their experience with the salty fish.. When I go to pay for my meal I ask the waiter, is this the way you do your customers in Hawaii? Serve me a salty dish and don't replace it with something I can eat.. She said this never happened to me the 8 years I've been here.. The story didn't add up.. I travel around the world, and I love to experience new highly recommend places to eat. I am not impressed with this place at all. Eat at your own risk. read more

Irifune Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This was our first real gem of a local restaurant we found during our stint in Honolulu. This place definitely has character and it's own kind of charm. This is a hole where you want to hangout all day. There are scary cool Japanese masks all over the place and there are florescent sticker stars all over the ceiling that glow in the dark when they turn off all the lights to sing Happy Birthday to all their birthday customers. The tables and chairs are haphazardly strewn all over the place, giving you a feeling that everyone is suppose to mingle and merge around this small establishment. You'll see tables of old friends and new friends eating the restaurant eats and drinking their own beers that you are allowed to bring on your own. There's a convenience store close by that sells beers and coolers should you drink like a fish and run out of your own supplies. Being pregnant, I couldn't drink, but I sure could stare longingly at everyone guzzling theirs. My baby-daddy and I had the Crab Dinner and Ahi Tuna Dinner - it came with the main eats, rice, miso soup and salad. Rumor is that not only are no substitutions allowed, but the Chef pretty much makes you eat whatever he goshdarn produces out of his kitchen - if you don't like it, shove it. It's pretty funny - and lucky for him, his food is good! The crab was super fresh and the simple garlic sauce that it was cooked in was pure heaven, especially with a perfectly made bowl of rice. Oh, you'll also want to check out their bathroom as well. The walls are plastered with magazine pictures of badass, tattooed Japanese folk, which was oddly mesmerizing to stare at for long periods of time - I'll give you 50 points if you can find the awesome picture of the tattooed lady with stars covering her nipples, that one made me giggle my way out the door. read more

Irifune Restaurant - Yes. You have found the right place! - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

7/27/21 I give up on this place again - ordered chicken karaage...ate some & then took a bite of this one & it's not even cooked smh ‍ my husband said to dump it ... what a waste! read more

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Tell you what I loved most about this place...and I'm sure some people may or may not agree but I totally dug the service. VERY personable. Good peoples. Outside of that. Okay so I been living Kapahulu, Kaimuki for a while now and have never tried this place and since I recently moved like literally a few blocks from this place I still hadn't tried it but had a of good thumbs up from my friends. Everybody said try the garlic ahi. Funny, when I went 2 nights ago...it wasn't the Ahi I tried but the Misoyaki fish...I thought the ambiance was one of an era-gone-by fishing village eatery. I thought it was a pretty decent casual place. And...some place you can bring the keikis to. I usually don't like bringing the small one to a place I haven't tried before for fear of what the experience would be like but she was good and the waitress there was very thoughtful (without me asking) brought over a coloring book and some crayons. The small one is two and she dug it. The food was great, tasty. I haven't had sashimi in a while and the cut and freshness was good. The patrons were a good mix of locals and mainlanders which was cool. I thought it was funny and good news that this small group of mainlanders next to us was there for the third time in a row. In any event, a great place to dine. We'll be back for sure. And when we do, I'll bring the older girl and I will definitely have that Garlic Ahi! They also have a "loyalty" VIP card that you can get stamped each time you go and eat which will get you a free meal when the card is filled. read more

Cyndy's BOTTOM LINE: Order any ahi dish! They are all divine made with the freshest, high grade ahi. 1. Seared Ahi with garlic caper sauce and spinach is my favorite. 2. Spicy ahi sushi is the best on island. The spicy ahi is made with little or no mayo which is a plus! You taste the true flavor of the fresh ahi. 3. Summer roll made with ahi, avocado, crab and brown rice wrapped in rice paper with sweet sour sauce. 4. Tonkatsu is delicately fried to a crisp perfection with a flavorful tonkatsu sauce. 5. #1 combination: garlic ahi, ahi sashimi, shrimp tempura. It also comes with miso soup, salad greens and a surprise amuse-bouche.. 6. Ice cream crepe 7. Ahi sashimi dinner comes with miso soup, salad and rice Friendly staff, fun ambiance and great food. No reservations, BYOB Parking across the street read more

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My girlfriend and I had dinner here after our snorkel tour at the sandbar. We ordered the gyoza, garlic mushrooms & tofu, garlic ahi filet, and the #1 special shrimp, sashimi, and spicy garlic ahi. Service was great and everything we ordered was delicious. Gyoza - $4.50 Garlic Mushrooms & tofu - $6.50 Garlic Ahi Filet - $12.95 read more

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Amazing, authentic Japanese food. Great local restaurant and FRESH to-die-for food! Good selection and pricing; I'd eat here every day if I could! read more

True local, hole in the wall place. It's a bit old and needs an update but that does not affect the food at all. All the customers were local and knew each other and the waitstaff. I was the only tourist in the place. I'm so glad the owner of the bubble tea place several doors down recommended it. I ordered the sashimi lunch, but the waitress suggested that I not on this particular visit. I really appreciate when the waitstaff is honest about the quality of their fish. She suggested the ahi tuna belly. Wow, it was so delicious and fresh. I think I got the ginger sause which was also excellent. The prices are very reasonable for the area. read more

Irifune Restaurant - Ahi belly - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Great local hole in the wall! Old location was in kapahulu, The katsu curry i always get was awesome just like how i used to get it!

So glad we found Irifune! We were sad to find out the original Kapahulu location was closed but looking online, discovered they had relocated downtown. The food is still ono and very reasonable. read more

Small cozy japanese resturant we went as soon as they opened its a byob so the bill was really reasonable Ordered basa with lemon caper sauce it was so ono (delicious) large serving too The ahi belly has good Will go there again. They also open for lunch. Free parking on street after 6 pm or metered also large parking across street read more

Irifune Restaurant - Ahi belly - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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$10 Bento, Chef should charge more, haven't eaten this place from Kapahulu days over 25 years ago, very hearty happy food, I am satiated, read more

Irifune Restaurant - Meanest bestest sweetest apple pie - Japanese Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I had the special combo which included Shrimp Tempura, Ahi Sashimi, & Grilled Garlic Ahi. The meal included miso soup, small iceburg salad & rice. $15 Everything was decent but didn't blow my mind. BYOB read more

Man I can't believe it took me this long to ever come to this place!! I LOVE it!! I went twice in a week and a half!!! I'm addicted now!! Who'd a thunk that this little treasure would be in a crazy decorated hole in the wall restaurant! Yes, this place is definitely eclectic and the bathroom.....don't even get me started!! The food is SO good!! The first time, we ordered the Breaded Tofu, Homemade gyoza, New Wave Poke, Seared ahi with Capers, Shrimp and vegetable tempura, and the ever so famous Garlic Ahi and Garlic Crab, then finished off the night with the fried banana & ice cream. The Breaded Tofu was SO good!! The outer crust was very flaky and crunchy, not soggy at all, and the fresh tofu inside was pure heaven. I loved the sesame teriyaki glaze as well!! It really made the dish! The Gyoza was just ok for me. It had cheese in it and to me, that just didn't taste that good. Would pass on this. The New Wave Poke was very flavorful, but definitely not the freshest fish. It was spicy and had all those good local flavors, but you just can't beat places like Ono Seafood and Alicia's Market!! Seared Ahi with Capers was really tasty!! I've had seared ahi at some other places and this one is definitely my favorite!! Good flavor, presentation, and quality! Shrimp and Vegetable tempura were nothing special either. They had a good batter and were fried nicely, but to me, nothing memorable. Now on to "THE BIG GUNS." What EVERYONE comes here for!! The Garlic Ahi!!! Yes, now this was definitely an amazing dish!! It's drenched in garlic and cooked in butter, oil, and all the things that aren't good for you, but when you put the first bite in your mouth, you seriously forget about all that!! It's such a moist cut of fish and the flavor is soaked through the whole fish!! It tastes like it was marinated for a couple of days in that magical garlic sauce! THUMBS UP!! Then, as if things couldn't get any better, I tried the crab......now I know they have a big sign in their window that says "Garlic Ahi" and that's what mostly everyone comes there for. While it is amazing, their Crab that they have is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! It's soaked in that same garlic sauce as the crab and they give you a good amount!!! They have the garlic pieces and the butter sauce all over the pieces of crab. The crab is in the shell still, but they pre-crack the shells to make it easier to eat. You still have to work at it some, but if you're smart, you'll go to Williams Sonoma, and get a crab picker ($3), and go to town with this thing!! The method to the madness that I found was to crack open everything and use that amazing tool to get all the crab meat, and put it all on top of your rice. Then when you're done taking all the crab meat out, pour the garlic sauce over the crab meat and rice, and let it soak for a moment, then eat. MAGNIFICO!!! You will DIE!!! Then we had the Fried Banana with Ice Cream. That was SO good!! I would definitely come back for that as well!! SO.....my second time at this HAWAI'I GEM, I didn't mess around at all. We ordered the Breaded tofu, and this time I just got the Crab Dinner, which was a HUGE order of just crab and I was in heaven!! Parking is on the street, they take credit cards, go early because it gets super packed, and if you're smart, you'll just get the Breaded Tofu, Garlic Ahi and Crab, and the Fried Banana Ice Cream and all your dreams will come true!!!!!!! read more

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Best fish. I love the fish here--always good. They are famous for their garlic Ahi. My favorites are the ahi belly served on a sizzling platter and topped off with a green daikon oroshi (grated turnip), rice, green salad and miso soup. I also love their green caper and lemon butter Basa fish. Sashimi too of course. The garlic ahi fried rice and stir fry tofu are also more faves! Toshi has operated this place for a very long time and hails from Ibaraki Ken-country and on the Japan seaside. The restaurant recently downsized to its present five table size, a result of rising lease rent. Just a little bit cozier but still as good as ever. Authentic, delicious and consistent. The lunch prices are really good too with almost everything under $10. That's about the most I want to spend on lunch anyway. Parking in the lot across the street in a paid lot. Not the prettiest restuarant, kind of a dive. But always a feast. read more

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First I want to say that I love this place. I have been eating here freqently for the 12 years I've lived in Honolulu and am never disappointed. I pretty much always get Special #1, Sashimi, garlic ahi, shrimp tempura, no decisions required. And while the food has not changed, the main reason I am *finally* writing a review is for this IMPORTANT UPDATE: Irifune is shrinking! As of this week what used to be the entry/waiting room is entire seating area. With some creative re-arranging the maximum seating capacity is now 21, and you thought the old place was small. According to our (long time) server, the building's new owners tripled the rent & the staff are trying to make it work in a much smaller footprint. She also said there are plans to renovate the entire building; they are not sure how long the current arrangement will last. If you haven't been back in a while go now, so they stay open. And if any Yelpers have leads on a space they could move to, that might help. I will be very sad if this place closes. read more

I LOVE THE FOOD!!! Look, I used to live right around the corner from this place but never stepped foot just because.. it looked so incredibly.. shabby. Don't let the exterior/interior or the pastic plates blind you though.. The food is excellente! Order the Garlic Crab and Garlic Ahi set ($12 I think). It's soooo Ono.. Ono Ono Onooooooo!!! oh, and I forgot what time they do it.. but sometime during dinner, they suddenly turn all the lights off and ask you to gaze at the "stars" up on the ceiling :) this place is BYOB btw read more

I've been searching for an "old school" Japanese restaurant that was more about the food and enjoying the company you're with, Irifune made me feel like I walked into a friend's house for dinner. Comfortable seats, great service and a wonderfully filling meal that was delicious. I ordered the Garlic Seared Ahi with Capers which seems to be a fan favorite. This dish comes with a side of miso soup, salad and a little dish of tofu. Great flavors, fantastic cuts of ahi and the perfect amount of food. I also ordered the breaded tofu appetizer ($4.95) and it was delicious, I'm a huge fan of tofu and this was a great dish to start the evening. I wish I had read more about this place being BYOB but I'll remember next time we go. This place definitely beats Sunrise Restaurant for me when it comes to solid Japanese comfort food. It's my new place to go especially when I am having my garlic craving. read more

Irifune is one of those rare gems that you have to be "told about" rather than stumbling on yourself. I drove past it for a year before someone I worked with told me I had to try it. I have been eating there regularly ever since (18 years!!). Irifune is another one of those places I was relucatant to review for fear more people might find out about it and make the wait a bit longer. If you are concerned about the wait, though, it is usually not too bad. Go early (around 6PM) or go during the week. The staff is friendly and helpful and the service is always great. The alone decor is worth the visit. The "hole in the wall" type place's atmosphere may mask your expectations for the food, though. But, you should expect excellent food! The tables are usually full with a combination of locals, surfers, a few tourists, and even the occasional celebrity. The Garlic Ahi stir fry is my absolute favorite. I usually don't even eat seafood, but I live the Garlic Ahi stir fry. The the breaded tofu as an appetizer. read more