Everything was wonderful! Our waitress was so nice and friendly and when we had a hard time deciding which drink to order she gave great suggestions which turned out so well! As a starter we got the tomatoes which seemed questionable but ended up being so good. It came with a whipped tofu which I would've never guessed was tofu it was so creamy and more like a ricotta - delicious. To follow we got the seared ahi and chicken jook. The seared ahi was very good, nothing special, but good as far as seared ahi goes. The jook was phenomenal! While most jook I find to be lacking in flavor, this one came packing the flavor. The only drawback I could find to this dish was the chicken. The chicken was delicious, as a person who doesn't love chicken this one won me over. However, the bone was still in the chicken which made it hard to eat as well as a bit of a displeasing surprise. To finish we got the pudding and it was so lovely. It was like a haupia creamsicle, but better. Will go back! read more

See all

A few parent friends and I went out to little plum for a little dinner gathering. I got the reservations on rest 2 weeks prior. We had a party of 6 for reservations at 530. I wanted to try a lot of their dishes so we ordered a few shareable items: daikon and pohole (or fiddle fern as I know it), cucumbers, ume tomato, garlic scallion rice, and the miso eggplant (Teishoku set). All the items came on different style plates. My favorite choice #1 was the miso eggplant because it was soft, flavorful, with a spicy bit. #2 was the ume tomato for the whipped tofu bottom. I was hoping for a tart bite from ume but didn't get it. The garlic scallion rice was good but I think paired well with the eggplant flavor which elevated it even more. I opted for the dry min as my meal. Even though it was dry, the soft egg really made it rich and velvety I didn't even need a broth. I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't into soft yolky eggs because that really made it. The drinks were fun. I got their take on an old fashioned but then wanted it with bourbon which took away from their whiskey so I ended up with an old fashioned and a sweet rice cracker on top. It was good. My second drink was the rock salt rum which I thought was good except the orgeat threw it off. It overwhelmed an already very delicate drink which named rock salt rum, tasted nothing of the sort. I may have to try it without that topping. For dessert we got both the mochi churro and the Lilikoi orange pudding. The pudding was very thick and flavorful, which paired better with the mochi churro than the sauce that came with the churro. The churro was a nice chewy oil fried sweet to end the meal. We had an amazing time! We were there from 530 till 930 when they started closing up. We had the best conversations and stories, and didn't feel like we had to rush through our meal to seat another table. Now I know this place is a bit expensive (we spent $400+ before the tip on 6 of us), but there are 3 really great things going for them. #1 location: it's in Manoa marketplace where the parking is plentiful. You can walk 30 ft to your car, the stalls are decent sized, and it feels safe. When we got out at 930 we ended up talking outside till 1030 with peace and quiet, a cool breeze and a few laundry mat customers. #2 the food is fresh, light, and flavorful. It makes you feel like you are at a friends home, enjoying their favorite dishes with their cute eclectic set of plates. It's an elevated version of dishes I grew up with, comfort food. #3 The people. From the service to the other guests. We never went without anything. Servers were constantly coming by picking up, setting down, taking requests. We also knew other guests there which really made it feel comforting, seeing people you haven't seen in a while. I truly enjoyed everything about Little Plum. I hope they change their menu seasonally so I can continue to try more of their dishes with friends and family. read more

See all

Came here for a date night and didn't love it. Only the appetizer and dessert were decent. We tried the fried adobo chicken teishoku set and it tastes like mochiko chicken. The mushroom jook didn't taste like any mushroom. Overpriced for small portions. Would not go back. read more

This is a cute Japanese fusion restaurant at Mānoa market. I had Mixed tempura teishoku for lunch. The volume of tempura was satisfactory however miso soup and Namul need to be improved. Miso soup needs to have more dashi (broth) and namul is too dry. My friend had seasonal fish: it was good. We had mochi churros as dessert: it was very tasty.... Gochiso sama deshita. read more

See all

As a new addition to a neighborhood shopping center that has seen its fair share of restaurant closures, Little Plum is a much-needed establishment in the Mānoa Valley, especially for those looking for a pre-show dining option before heading to the Mānoa Valley Theatre. Experience: We dined here for dinner service for two. Upon arrival, we were immediately recognized by name for our reservation without having to say anything. The interior tries to blend the modern renovation of Mānoa Marketplace's faux wood paneling into a chic, open restaurant. There's a modern bar featuring many libations not listed on the menu, and an open kitchen that adds to the aesthetics. Menu: The menu is dominated by drinks, with 75% dedicated to beverages and 25% to food. The food offerings include four appetizers, three bowls, six teishoku options, a children's menu, and two dessert items. Drinks: With an extensive drink menu, we started with cocktails. The cocktails are categorized into "ours," "not ours," and "spirit(ed) away" (a homage to the movie with character names). We decided to try one of Little Plum's own creations, "Breakfast of Champions," which includes Knob Creek rye, pops cereal, senbei, and demerara sugar. The presentation featured the senbei as a lid over the glass. Unfortunately, the drink's aroma required a double take, and the taste confirmed our suspicions that it was not good. It reminded us of a drink called the Ala Wai, a concoction made from the liquid found in the bar mat at the end of the night. Food: The kitchen timing was acceptable, and the restaurant was busy. Our first dish, chicken karaage bao, arrived served with Japanese curry, fukujinzuke, and scallion. The bao was light and watery, lacking sweetness or flavor. The chicken, though cooked perfectly, was also bland. The curry did not compensate for the lack of flavor. Adding salt to the chicken might have helped. We decided against the teishoku options and chose the dry min and menchi katsu. The menchi katsu, served with an onsen egg and mushroom gravy, was disappointing. The gravy ruined the crispiness of the katsu. If they insist on gravy, it would be better served underneath the patty to preserve its texture. The dry min also lacked flavor and was topped with an onsen egg, teri beef stick, and bok choy. At least the teri beef stick had flavor. Dessert: For dessert, there were two offerings. liliko'i orange pudding and mochi churro. We tried the mochi churro. The churros were served hot and fresh with anglaise. The churros, coated with kinako, sugar, and cinnamon, were the highlight of the meal, but the flavor combination with the anglaise didn't quite work. Service: The service was decent, though perhaps a little below expectations. A manager did come by to thank us for dining with them, which was a nice touch. Given that it's a new restaurant, it would be beneficial for the server or manager to engage more with customers about how they found out about the place and gather feedback. Conclusion: Little Plum has potential with its modern setting and extensive drink menu, but the food needs significant improvements in flavor and presentation. With some adjustments and a bit more proactive service, it could become a staple in Mānoa Valley. For now, however, it falls short. read more

See all

The food was fine, service was slow when we were there. It felt like the kitchen was a bit overwhelmed by the number of customers

This place was amazing! I could see why you need reservations for this place. It's located on the ground floor of the Mānoa shopping center closer to the post office side with all the restaurants and farmer market area. Everything we ordered was really good and I would order it again. I honestly would come back for lunch again or dinner just to try their other dishes. Definitely make a reservation if you want table seating but they offer counter and bar seating as well. The counter seating may be a little warm just because it's close to the kitchen grills. We got there right after opening and the tables were booked for at least another hour fifteen minute wait. But luckily all the counter and bar seats were open. The staff were friendly and attentive and the decor looked clean. They have a wide variety of different cocktails and some non alcoholic ones. I loved the play on words for the Spirited Away (non-alcoholic) drinks because I'm such a Ghibli fan! We ordered the mushroom jook, menchi katsu, and beef cheek stew. Everything tasted great as they all had different textures and ingredients that meshed well together. The beef cheek stew had tender fall apart beef chunks in it. The carrots and pumpkin were cooked well. I will say though the sauce didn't really remind of a stew because it had more oil in it but over rice it was amazing. I did wish it had more of a tomato base. The mushroom jook had nice crunchy bites from the chicken confit. The flavor was rich and comforting at the same time. The Menchi katsu had a perfectly poached egg on top. The katsu was nice and crispy and went well with the mushroom gravy rice. I will say the katsu itself was a little salty but with the rice it was fine. Overall, it was a great experience and the food just felt comforting. It reminded me of dishes from home but with a little modern twist. read more

Little Plum - Menu - Asian Fusion Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Best dinner my husband and I have had in a long time. Food and presentation was thoughtfully prepared, every dish we ordered tasted delicious and was super creative! Love that they support a lot of local farmers and small businesses. Appreciated the tiny but intentional details - bag for my purse so it wouldn't touch the floor, nostalgic candies with the check, bagging our food to include the sauce in a separate container. Service was immaculate. Will be coming back for sure and recommend to all 10/10! read more

Super hyped then slightly disappointed, upon review it was just ok. Overall, I don't think I would go out of my way to dine here. There were a few bright spots but other than that nothing that would motivate me to go back. Highlights: The service is friendly and efficient, the ambiance is very rustic meets trendy yet casual. Loved the Spicy Miso Eggplant, which had no spice whatsoever so if you are scared of spice it is perfectly fine. Extra loved the miso soup. Cons: The prices are rather high for the portion size and overall quality of the meal. The top part of the menu is teishoku and includes bland bean sprouts, miso soup, rice and namasu. Something about the namasu just didn't meet the mark. The soup was excellent though. The Beef Stew was surprisingly small in size, so much so we gawked at the bowl that was less than half full and tilted our heads to the side in confusion. The stew also had a very strong ginger flavor yet was overly salty. Other items like the cucumbers, tomatoes, ahi and noodles were just alright. Nothing special. If you are seeking Japanese, Chinese or Ramen you may want to explore other spots. read more

This restaurant is so good. The food is fresh and beautifully prepared. We chose this place because they had a lot of vegan items since we had some vegan eaters and their selection was expansive. Cocktails were great and they have a good selection of sake. read more

Beautiful remodeling. Rey attentive staff. I had the pork belly which seems small portion wise but was filling. The pork belly was excellent and would recommend although the raw watercress side I didn't really like read more

The kinda food you crave immediately after eating. I'm still stuffed from lunch but wanting to eat there again. My mom and I had: Ume tomato- refreshing and a great way to start Ahi tataki - cooked perfectly and so ono Miso eggplant Jook Menchi katsu - so meaty and very filling! Churros Pudding - loved the coconut, lilikoi orange combo the texture is so velvety smooth and rich! Pineapple ice tea - tastes like real pineapple not junk syrup kine and not too sweet! Lilikoi mojito - freakin bomb tons of lilikoi seeds which I love! Citrusy, fizzy and perfect for a hot day! Every drink+dish is amazing and filled with so much umami you will not be disappointed! My favorites dishes were the miso eggplant, jook and churros. I don't even like jook normally lol.. But this was so creamy and thick like a risotto. The miso eggplant is buttery, perfectly salted and just a hint of spice. Its so addicting I could easily have that and some rice as a complete meal. The churros are not too sweet, super crispy on the outside and have a gooey soft inside. Again every single dish was well balanced, delicious and unique. You may think you've "tried something like that before" but you haven't tried it the Little Plum way! Tons of parking and super nice ambiance, extremely attentive/kind staff! After your meal don't forget to checkout their store where they sell all sorts of unique seasonings and cute locally crafter goods. read more

See all

The highlight of my meal was the Rock Salt Plum cocktail. For my food, I ordered the curry min. It was missing something and seemed more on the bland side, which was disappointing. Someone else got the fried chicken adobo, which didn't have that signature adobo flavor. It was chicken karaage, which is much more bland. read more

Food was excellent but what makes them so enjoyable is their service. They are friendly, knowledgeable and extremely attentive. Creative custom drinks and bar tenders are great. Highly recommend. read more

Easy parking is already a big plus for this resturant tucked in the back of the Manoa Marketplace. It's convivial, the staff was very friendly. Went there on a date, we We started at the bar then sat at a booth and had the simple and fresh Ume tomatoes with an excellent Opa fish and other shared ingredients including miso soup. Definitely recommended. read more

This a nice cozy little restaurant. The people are very friendly and nice. They have an interesting fusion menu. The food was a little inconsistent. The fish with ginger scallion was amazing. The adobo fried chicken was also good. The curry min, however, was extremely bland. There was pretty much no curry flavor. So bland we couldn't take more than a few bites. Overall, it was a pleasant experience and if the can fix the consistency of their dishes, this place would be a great place to grab a meal. read more

Little Plum has incredible service with a nice selection of Japanese and local inspired dishes. We ordered the ume tomato plate and it was so delicious. Tomatoes dressed with an ume vinaigrette sitting on a bed of whipped tofu with shiso and bubu arare on top. It was perfectly balanced with the acid from the vinaigrette and tomatoes with the creaminess of the whipped tofu. The soft texture of the tomatoes and tofu with the crunch from the bubu arare. For our main dishes we got the spicy miso eggplant teishoku and the menchi katsu bowl. Compared to the ume tomato plate, our entrees was disappointing. It lacked in flavor. The teishoku comes with miso soup, tsukemono, namul, and rice. The soup, tsukemono, and namul all missed the mark. They were lacking in any strong flavors, the tsukemono felt like it was barely dressed in any vinegar or salt, the namul had a hint of sesame oil but tasted watered down, and the miso soup was nothing special. The eggplant was delicious with the charred leeks on the bottom, the togarashi is a must though! It was not spicy at all. The menchi katsu was subpar. The mushroom gravy was bland and tasted like mushrooms, a hint of cream, and not much else. The katsu was borderline overcooked with the hamburger incredibly dry. It seemed like it was not seasoned at all. We finished the meal with the mochi churros. The anglaise was sweet but the combination of the anglaise and churros felt very nostalgic. I would not personally come back for the main dishes, but rather the appetizers and desserts. The stark difference in flavor from the appetizers to the mains was confusing. However, the incredible service made the pricey meal worth it. The wait for food was never long. Our water was constantly topped off, empty dishes cleared promptly, and staff was so knowledgable about the food and was more than happy to offer recommendations. read more

Little Plum - Ume tomato plate - the best part of our meal! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I was pleasantly surprised to obtain lunch reservations a couple hours prior for this somewhat new and already very popular Manoa eatery. Granted it was a random weekday and a bit later than the busiest part of lunch time. Despite being a larger space than expected, Little Plum had a comfortable and quaint vibe. All the dishes we tried were unique and flavorful without being overdone either by seasoning, sauces or decorative ingredients. Despite being busy at the time, the service was very good and helpful with descriptions and help in deciding between dishes and amount of food. We stuck with the smaller dishes and shared to enjoy more variety. The Ume tomatoes were tangy and refreshing while the short rib bao was delicious without being smothered in sauce or too heavy. We went off menu for our cocktails and the bartender obliged and made excellent drinks. We will definitely return and will likely bring our kiddo too. read more

Little Plum - Yummy so far - Asian Fusion Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Absolutely the worst service and experience I've had in Hawaii. Do not come here the manager ruined the ambiance for the whole restaurant and it actually ruined my vacation. The manager was acting very inappropriate in front of my children and actually made my 3 year old cry. Did not even apologize. Trash. Food was also of poor quality. Save yourself from this place and stay away no matter what. read more

Food was really underwhelming - was expecting more based off the reviews but the cucumber starter was incredibly salty. Then all main dishes were all kind of bland (tired the tempura, miso eggplant, and the beef skewers) and the meat on the skewers was kind of tough. The people were nice and service was good but food was definitely underwhelming/overpriced read more

The service is amazing from the moment you walk in! Your water will never go dry and everyone is so attentive! Food was amazing as well!! Our server was so nice (I can't remember her name but a mid aged white woman) she was very attentive and recommended the mochi churros which were delicious! read more

Excellent! Love everything about this restaurant EXCEPT the noise level, which is unfortunate because if not for the noise I would dine here regularly as would many others I know. read more

Didn't love the place, they have these set combo meals but I felt like they were pretty weak in terms of number of dishes and the quality and the value for the price. read more

After viewing Melissa Chang's video of her visit to Little Plum, we took the opportunity before leaving back home to Kauai, to eat lunch there. Reagan was so kind from our initial call to make reservations. They don't take reservations for lunch, but, Reagan was reassuring that our party of three could be accommodated. We arrived upon opening at 11:00 am. Reagan greeted us warmly & the staff was all very welcoming & helpful. It's very comfortable & pretty space. We were offered a basket to hold my bag & a shawl in case we were cold. We ordered the spicy miso eggplant ala carte, Mixed Tempura & Ahi Tataki. For dessert the Lilikoi Pudding & the Mochi Churros. Beautiful presentation & all were delicious. The waitstaff was very attentive & helpful. Looking forward to telling our friends on Kauai about Little Plum & to our next visit there. read more

See all

Nestled in Manoa Marketplace is this gem of a restaurant. First off, it's a beautiful ambiance complete with all the local classic songs playing in the background. For drinks, I had the plantation tea and my family ordered a hot tea, a Shangri La iced tea, and a Hoku mocktail. The teas were free refills and they even gave us some to go! We dined during lunch and ordered a few dishes: Mushroom Jook with Confit Chicken (also added the teishoku set for $6 more), Spicy Miso Eggplant Teishoku, and Menchi Katsu. All dishes were delicious, however, the jook was a group favorite. It was flavorful, comforting, and topped with a soft boiled egg...perfection. For dessert, we shared one of the Lilikoi Orange Pudding and one of the Mochi Churro. Both were delicious, but the churros were so light and finished perfectly with the kinako crème anglaise. Also, 100% of the sales from the desserts go directly to the cooks as their "tip". I love a restaurant that takes care of their staff and it's apparent because what really set this restaurant apart is their customer service. They were all beyond friendly, accommodating, and attentive. Before I even got to the last sip of my plantation tea, they were already bringing me a fresh one. I'm excited to dine here again soon! read more

See all

Conveniently located in the Manoa Marketplace, I was so happy that I could dine at Little Plum. The restaurant is airy, roomy, and clean. The tables are situated so that you can have private conversations with your friends at the tables. I reviewed the menu and decided on the beef cheek stew. It also came with a bowl of miso soup, and a plate of Namul, Moyashi, tsukemono and a bowl of rice. I was really hoping for more flavor to the stew. I will probably wait a couple of years before I try it again. read more

See all

The food was delicious and great portions. The drink menu is quite limited and we weren't too blown away with the cocktails we got, but the food was absolutely amazing! read more

Our family came here to celebrate a birthday. The portions were somewhat small for the price. That being said, it was well worth it! We ordered 6 different entrees and everything tasted good! What wins it for this place is the service, second to none. Our server was outstanding from start to finish. She (asian girl, I wish that I got her name) made our dinner so much more enjoyable. She was friendly, fast, gave excellent recommendations, super helpful and accommodating. We couldn't have asked for more. Highly recommend!! We will be back... read more

I called to book and they were nice enough to handle that for me even though I could've booked online. Loved the ambiance for dinner. Lights low, some of my fave childhood hawaii music playing and everyone was so nice to me. Riley was my main server and they knocked it out the park with their service. Water being refilled and loved that they had no ice in their water. It was perfectly chilled. Food portion recommendation was accurate. I ordered a Zeniba, which I was assured is a fave, and it didn't let me down. Neither did the spicy miso eggplant teishoku nor kalbi short rib bao. I'm so glad to know the flavors of these dishes. I know I want to try other parts of the menu but knowing how good these were will make those next decisions difficult. I finished off with the mochi churro and they were also gracious enough to make me a whiskey soda when I asked. Love the churro, it reminded me of home, but I couldn't finish them all myself. They packed it for me to take home. I dined alone this time but would be great for family style sharing. I'll definitely be returning and recommending. read more

This place was delicious! We've tried to come here several times and just couldn't make it. We had the umi tomato, bao buns, and Menchi katsu as an appetizer. I loved the mushroom jook with chicken confit, the ahi tataki was pretty good but the mochi churros were the winner. Service was attentive and prompt and the restaurant is cute. read more

See all

We recently dined for lunch at Little Plum in Manoa. When we walked in, the ambience of the restaurant was calming, charming and had a casual elegance to it. It was simple, yet beautiful. The service was excellent from the start with our waitress, RYLIE, always being attentive to our requests. She made suggestions and answered all our questions in a pleasnt way. The food was so delicious and tasty. a kind of a mixture of Asian / Local favorites. The mushroom jook is excellent, with bits of crispy chicken pieces with mushrooms, in a deep roasted chicken broth. The Kalbi bao buns was so soft with tender Korean falvored beed. The pork belly was absolutely delicious with the pork fat being so crispy and easy to eat. It was combined with watercress and vegetables in a ginger soy sauce. The combined tempura was well cooked, crunchy and the shrimp was a jumbo piece. The mochi churros was light, crispy and had the right texture. It was a wonderful experience and we are looking forward to coming back to try some of the other dishes. This is one place you must ry. read more

Little Plum was a recommendation from one of my friends and I am so glad we went! My family and I loved each dish we ordered, especially the Kalbi Shortrib Bao. The ambiance was welcoming, refreshing, and modern. The service was outstanding, too. I am definitely bringing my friends here next time we get together. read more

This ritzy, trendy restaurant would be something I'd expect to find in Kaka'ako - not in Manoa Marketplace, and we're so pleasantly surprised!! The owner explained all the teishoku veggies are locally sourced, and even the candies at the end of the night were all old school Hawaii candy we remember eating as kids. Location & Parking: In Manoa Marketplace, behind the new kids playground, where the old Bank of Hawaii used to be. Free parking right out front. Recommend: Our favorite dishes of the night were the 1) ume tomato, 2) mushroom jook, and 3) spicy miso eggplant. The ume tomato comes with whipped tofu and shiso *chefs kiss* The owner explained that the mushroom jook was his personal favorite, and I'm so glad we ended up ordering it. (For reference, we also tried the ahi tataki, fresh catch, rayu cucumber, and lilikoi pudding and mochi churro for dessert.) Ordering: The owner explained the teishoku entrees are meant to be shared in the middle, while everyone gets their own teishoku set (miso soup, rice, banchan.) You can order extra teishoku sets for $6 per person. On the flip side, you can also order the entrees a la carte, without a teishoku set. Service the whole night was amazing!! read more

See all

Awesome restaurant in Manoa featuring Asian fusion dishes! The vibes were casual and hip, and the service was also very friendly. We got a couple of dishes to share family style. I really enjoyed the tomato appetizer, which came as a highly recommended dish. The beef skewers were also tender and juicy. You can customize the teishoku to entree shareable plates, which is what we ended up doing. Huge perk that they take reservations, and parking is easy and free. Looking forward to coming back! read more

A very good friend took me for my birthday dinner. Without exception the staff were friendly, helpful and welcoming. They were wonderful about explaining the various dishes. This Japanese fusion cuisine is extremely creative. We tried several small plates and two of the teishoku sets--all absolutely divine! Special mention for the mushroom jook, whipped tofu under tomatoes with shiso, the kajiki fresh catch and the ribeye skewers. For Manhattan cocktail lovers, the Miss Understood was simply delicious. The sake flight was a perfect introduction and led to a follow-up pour of our favorite choice. For dessert, you can't go wrong with the mochi churros. Highly recommended. (The only slight negative was the acoustics of the space creating a bit of a noise level.) read more

Food is very well seasoned. Katsu is a lean hamburger breaded and deep fried. Served with a wonderful egg on top and gravy. The mushroom jook was tasty and filling. Also had the miso eggplant and the karaage chicken appetizers. Lots of parking. On ground level. Service was wonderful. One note, noise level is very loud. Difficult to hear conversation across the table. Recommend. read more

See all

This place is a work in progress. Staff is exceptional. Attentive and they hustle and seem genuinely sincere and happy to be there. Service Heart as my old boss would say. They got customer service down and don't need to change that at all. Little trendy for Manoa, but kinda nice to switch it up a little. Def not a place most can afford to go every day to just pop in for a few drinks, at least not at $16 a cocktail...and we spent about $100 per person. If me and the baby didn't share our food with the hubs, he would have had to hit up L&L after. The location is good...except that they are right under a dance studio. Sounded like constant thunder. Not knowing what was above initially startled us a little. Not sure how they can avoid that though. Maybe a warning to customers? Or market it as dinner music/entertainment? Little baskets brought on the ground for us to put purses in. Saw them all together after and it's just stacked, so the inside of the basket may be just as not clean as the floor. Onto the draaaanks: - All Hemo - pretty good...something missing though. I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe more ume? - Like Cracks - this one refreshing and easy to drink. - Rock Salt Rum - tasted it and got straight rum. Not being a rum drinker, not a fan. But I loooove lihing, and that was on the rim. More of a Rock Salt Plum flavor would be cool. - Breakfast of Champions - hubs said not enough alcohol but tasted good otherwise. Foods: - Kalbi Bao - flavors all worked. Probably my fave thing. Could use more filling, but just gave the empty bao parts to the baby. Comes with 2. - Tomato Ume Tofu thing - meh. Nothing special. Couldn't taste the ume. Baby liked the tomatoes though. Tofu was there but didn't have much taste. - Beef Cheek Stew - tasty but could use a dash of salt. Liked the kabocha and the beef. Bit into what I eventually figured out was Kalo after I thought it was a piece of candle. So undercooked. - Ribeye skewers - nice and tender. Think it could have used a dash of salt also. 3 skewers that she said came out to about 7oz, but seemed smaller than that. - Curry min - didn't taste it but seemed like they liked it. - Keiki miso eggplant - very heavy on the miso for a child, but I thought it was good. Baby didn't like it. - Teishokus came with miso soup, namasu, namul. Miso soup was almost too thick/rich and needed more seafood stock/dashi or something. Liked the shiitake though. I liked the namasu b/c flavors super light and could still taste the veggies...not typical namasu. Namul had no taste. - Mochi churro - had a little chew. I think I would have liked it more mochi-y. But nice crisp to it and not too sweet. I didn't try the kinako anglaise, but others said good but can't taste kinako. read more

I've only written a handful of reviews in my life, but our experience at Little Plum tonight still has us on cloud nine and I am compelled to sing their praises publicly. My husband and I went for our anniversary dinner and everything about Little Plum was outstanding. Their food was full of flavor and perfectly cooked. Their servers were attentive, welcoming, and simply lovely. We were grateful to have Nikki, Joy, and Hannah taking care of us and they each added so much love and positivity to our dinner. Start to finish, we were happy with everything. We left feeling like we'd had not just dinner, but an experience. We can't wait to go back and try other dishes! We had the ume tomato, kalbi short rib bao, fresh catch, spicy miso eggplant, and their churros and pineapple orange pudding. We went all out! Everything we ate was extraordinary. Biggest mahalos to Little Plum and their whole crew! You are a gem tucked away in Manoa -- truly a treasure! read more

Stumbling upon this modern take on japanese fusion was a unique but slightly disappointing experience. The curry-min was topped delightfully with savory pieces of meat and flavorful bok-choy. However, the noodle and sauce was bland, lacking a distinct personality that brought out the full profile of the dish. Additionally, we indulged in the beef cheek stew; a well proportioned culinary dance of tomato and other ingredients. This dish was good however was quite small. Overall solid experience 3/5 read more

It's a good idea to make reservations. We were really fortunate to get in at the counter around 6:30 on a Tuesday without one. Hawaiian music was playing in the background, which could have easily come off of my own Spotify playlist. It just feels homey and relaxed in the dining room, which is split between counters and tables. We sat at the counter and had the benefit of watching all of the food preparation and interaction between the kitchen staff and head chef. We ordered the ume tomato, ahi tataki, and menchi katsu. The ahi tataki and ume tomato/tofu dish came recommended by the dining room staff. The menchi katsu was cripsy and arrived with plenty of mushroom gravy, which while not overpowering, added to the flavor of the friend patty. The ahi tataki included about 5 slices of fish and the quality was excellent, though the fish portion was a bit small. This isn't Ethel's though! The tomato and tofu with ume dressing was really tasty, but because of the watery nature of the dish, it was difficult to eat without something to either soak up the tofu and dressing or a spoon to eat it with. Much of the tofu was left on the plate with only chopsticks and a fork. We were a little full, but got the mochi churros after hearing several tables rave about it. It was a winner. Don't worry if you don't like kinako so much, because it isn't very noticeable, but the flavor of the mochi rice comes through and there is an added chew that give the curros a much more substantial quality. If you like churros, this one might be the best you'll ever have. The portion was enormous and these are cooked to order and come out very hot. Throughout the night the service was excellent. Our water was continuously refilled, plates were cleared swiftly, and the manager checked up on us frequently. They even gave us some gum - you might know the one - it comes with the tattoo paper (it has a ton of flavor in the beginning, but goes hard and flavorless after a while). That gave my girlfriend and I a big punch of nostalgia and when they watched us tattooing one another and laughing, they gave us a couple more pieces for the road. This place has a lot of potential, and I really hope they succeed. Between the yummy food and hospitable stff they have a lot going for them. Give them a try if you are in the area. It adds a lot to the Manoa food scene. read more