A really good Japanese restaurant! I was excited to come and try. The tuna was yummy and fresh. The service was good but it did take some time for our food. It was really busy when we came and the whole restaurant was filled with people, which shows it's a good spot for delicious food. read more

Haven't been here in a few years but decided to have lunch here. In short the food is still good but the wait times to get in is still long. We decided to eat lunch there on a weekday at 12 noon. They don't take reservations and it took around 35 minutes on the waiting list to get in. It's hot outside and fortunately there's a couple benches nearby to sit on. We ordered the Miso Butterfish Teishoku and the Butterfish & Soft Shell Crab Combination Meal (Combo AA). Both came with miso soup, appetizer(edamame, seaweed, kinpira gobo, salad(lettuce) and rice which all came out promptly. The miso soup and appetizers were good. The butterfish was tender and moist but needed more miso flavoring. My gf said the soft shell crab was good. Aside from the entrees, everything you get with the Teishoku is identical to the Combination Meal except that the Teishoku salad is served in its own bowl and given earlier with the appetizers. Also you get only 1 piece of miso butterfish with the combo meal verses 2 pieces with with the Teishoku. You are not allowed to order 2 of the same entrees from the combination meal selections (otherwise that would be identical to a Teishoku). The service we received was ok. Not great but not bad either. The only thing I really dislike about this place is that they don't take reservations and the wait list can be unpredictably long even on a weekday at noon. My advice is to go early before peak times and avoid this place on special occasions like Mothers Day. My advice to management is to either start taking reservations or page waiting customers by texting them or use paging buzzers. It's uncomfortable to wait outside the door in the heat from the parking lot. Although the food is ok, I hate waiting in long lines so I might not return. read more

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Food was so so so good, always ordering the combos and the otoro was amazing as a menu special. Service is always so good and sushi workers are so nice. Spacious restaurant and super cute seating. read more

Restaurant Kunio - miso butterfish & shrimp tempura - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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This place has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. We haven't been here in a while but when we went, the food was just as good as I remember. They had a party boat that was shareable between 4-5 people, 6 even depending on how much people eat. Their lobster and steak is the best and a favorite: it has not change over the 10 maybe years this restaurant has been opened. So good! The service is very friendly as they are always checking up on you! read more

The service is great. When I'm craving for Shrimp Tempura I always come here, and it always hits the spot and it's always consistent. I think it's their batter and how they cook them to the perfect crunch. I like to pair it with their sizzling rib eye steak with butter read more

I'm not sure why this restaurant isn't as highly rated? I really enjoyed the environment & the food was good in my opinion. I really enjoyed the miso soup, it's probably the best I've ever had. As for soba, that's the first time I've had that so I really enjoyed that! The sushi roll was good but the soy sauce at the table was super salty for my taste. However I would definitely go again for the food! read more

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Got lucky that the wait was only 10 min for lunch on a Saturday since we always see a line outside. I love a good Japanese combo lunch and so I decided to get the sashimi and mixed tempura BB combo. The sashimi was pretty good and I liked that they gave thick cuts of fish. The tempura was huge, I was not expecting to get ahi tempura as well as a fish tempura. Loved it so much and love that it comes with rice, salad, and miso soup. My boyfriend got the unagi and tonkatsu combo which was huge as well. He loved the unagi. The soba was also pretty good and the tempura was nice well. I can see why this place always has a wait, the food is so good and great service too read more

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Definitely hands down, one of my favorite spots to get some fresh sushi. The service is great and they always manage to squeeze in our 4 people family in last minute. read more

The food Was so good! They are known for the butterfish and tempura. I also ordered the Chirashi A. Which is also so ono! The fish is so fresh! If you are ever in Waikele you have to give this place a try. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Butterfish and shrimp tempura! - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Had to come here cuz my friends all say how good the fish is and their dishes are very photo worthy. We had an absolute great experience at the restaurant with a few minor hick ups such as having to take off our shoes because they put us in a certain section that required it and then had to split up the group because they couldn't fit us all on one table. The sushi itself was very good and the boat option costs about $160 and that was very good. All in all I would recommend just ask for the section that u can keep ur shoes on. Also be prepared to wait if u come during peak dinner time read more

Restaurant Kunio - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Haven't been here recently. Was planning to try Teishoku for take out "bentos" for family gathering. No one answered their phone & their online order is set up only for delivery. Had to scramble & find another Japanese restaurant with a similar menu. Luckily I remembered Restaurant Kunio in the Waikele Premium Outlets. Would dine here often when they first opened years ago. Although they doubled their size, it is always busy and they do NOT take reservations so I stopped coming here. Be prepared for a long wait if you dine in. The booths are set up to seat a party of four. Lol I once was chatting with someone when I dined here with a large group (pre Covid). Little did I know, we were not in the same group because the tables were very close to each other. We both discovered this when we each inquired how do we know honored guest in our respective parties. Running a bit late because of not being able to Teishoku snafu and although we were told 30-40" for our take out order when we ordered while driving ther, it ended up being 50". read more

Restaurant Kunio - There's always a line - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Need better rice. Rice with Teishoku was a little dry and textured. Spend a little more Japan rice. Service was excellent. Food was excellent. Sushi was exciting. read more

My favorite restaurant ever!! We love coming here! We sat at the sushi bar last night, amazing service from both him and our servers. (If your sitting there, don't forget to tip them too. ) Food on the other hand, mouthwatering! I forgot to take a picture my udon that I had ordered. it really was such a good spread. This place seriously never disappoints. The restaurant is also nice and clean. Thank you guys for being such a positive team & keeping the food consistent! I would eat here everyday if I could. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Chutoro Sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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If you're not hitting up Kunio's in Waikele, are you even living? This place is always packed like a sushi roll, and for good reason. It's that "worth the wait" kinda vibe where every dish that comes out makes you go, "OMG, I need to try that!" And trust me, I drool at the sight of all the seafood dishes, even though I'm not a big seafood person (don't judge me). Personally, I stick to my faves: the chicken katsu and shrimp tempura combo with a tiger roll or the teri chicken and shrimp tempura combo with a rainbow roll. It's perfection on a plate! The place may be small, but the hustle is real... like, seriously, these workers are running around like ninjas, making magic happen. Just remember to pack your patience because tables only open when they're ready and uh, bringing your kids out late and getting hangry? Yeah, don't blame the staff. They're always super sweet and trying their best, so be kind! read more

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I was on a day trip with my aunty and her friend and ended up stopping at this restaurant at the Waikele Shopping Center and decided to have our lunch here. My aunty ordered the butterfish misoyaki Teis and her friend ordered Unagidon and I had ordered Pork Katsudon. The place was packed, really busy, with many local return customers so it gave a good impression. Once the food arrived and having tried I had to decide that this place deserved a 5 star. This place was clean and the service was great and the food was perfect. I will return when I am around this area again. read more

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Food was mediocre. Waitress was nice but the Japanese lady at the hostess stand seating people was so rude! Never going back! Someone needs to train her in customer service. read more

We always wanted to try out some of the restaurants in Waikele Shopping center. Kunios is located behind Chili's I think right next to Subways.. The insides of Kunios is your typical Japanese themed style restaurant but we only did takeout so this review is limited to just takeout. They are definetely not cheap but not too expensive either. The portion size was good and the quality was very good. The food was definetely made with pride not just to fill an order. We had an order for 8 and we called it in for pick up. The order was ready (give or take a few minutes) on time and it was packed with care. The staff seemed very professional and pleasant and they really appreciate their customers. A great place for Japanese take out with fair prices and high quality food read more

Great venue which typically has a wait. Today was our lucky day as we arrived at 10:15am (they open at 10:30am) with three families in front of us. ATMOSPHERE Situated in Waikele Shopping Center. This venue is to be know to have a wait. SERVICE As soon as we sat down we were greeted by our hosts! Very friendly and fast service. FOOD My go to is always the combo - salmon and shrimp tempura. The portions are great and filling. Overall, very pleased with the service and food. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Combo Salmon and Shrimp Tempura - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Small and quaint. I've been coming here for years and always enjoy myself. The food is consistent and reliable. Delicious sushi, miso butterfish and chicken Katsu. We sometimes get the boat, which is a huge sampling, it is impressive to look at and fun to order! Not my favorite though as their sushi is really where it's at! The best part is, the service. They are always attentive and fairly quick to take care of you once you sit down. Generally there is a wait for a table so that's the only drawback. A hidden gem that's popular, so maybe not so hidden? read more

Food here is always amazing. Depending on the time of the evening you go you may need to wait a few minutes. Early 4pm meal and or 8pm meal may be your best bet for quick seating. If your with a party of 4 or more -Get the boat. So filling so yummy and everything you would want to eat there. If not a few of our favorites Butterfish /Shrimp tempura combo Unagi and avocado roll Rainbow roll Steak and lobster. read more

Service was really good. But food was ok. Had the mix sashimi, It was not fresh at all. The rolls had too much rice. The steak was just ok. Ambiance was clean. Hopefully i make it back. Quality of food will change. read more

Great service, great food and clean restaurant! We went to Restaurant Kunio yesterday. They had just started their 100% capacity. It finally felt normally. We arrived at 6:30 and there was no wait time. Our party had 2 adults and 2 children. We were fully vaccinated and the hostess verified our cards. We were sat and asked for drinks and an appetizer right away. We were not ready to order just yet but I appreciated the waitress for asking us several times. Once we were ready. We ordered our main course and appetizer. My favorite has alway been the Sunset roll. I like it because there is no rice in it. I ordered the sirloin steak, rare. I was delicious. Soaked in garlic butter. Yum yum. My husband and orders the same with lobster. Our waitress continuously came to our table to fill our drinks. We appreciated the hospitality. Thank you again. We will be visiting gsoon. read more

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I went in February 2024 for the first time for my grandma's 80th birthday and we all really enjoyed it. The food (teishoku or ala carte) was really solid Japanese food, all well executed. Casual vibe and service was quick, efficient and friendly. I can see why it is very busy and popular on that side of the island. I highly recommend the miso butterfish and fried oysters. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Miso butterfish and fried oysters teishoku - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

We used to get the large boat because it had everything in it but recently when we went, we each just got what we really wanted and our check came out cheaper than if we were to order the boat. When we came recently, 3 of us ordered the sizzling ribeye steak, and we also added lobster to our meal my other son got the butterfish teishoku with shrimp tempura and we also got a couple sushi rolls and more shrimp tempura. And my man drinks several drinks and all that came out cheaper than the boat! Turns out we should have just shared 2 sizzling ribeye steaks because we brought home a lot of food still! read more

Restaurant Kunio - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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Great food service atmosphere. We took our friends for their first time eating here and they were impressed. Great customer service and we got in quickly to have our ono party boat. We love this place and what a treat to come here with great friends and Ohana. read more

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Food is good but the wait is ridiculous. Had a party of 5 and 5 parties of two and three went before us. Had we know the wait was so long they could have split us up! Hostess was terrible! read more

Haven't been here in a long time & decided to stop in with my daughter for lunch. The food here is not bad. I ordered the shrimp tempura teshoku. However when I compare it to other Japanese cuisine restaurants here on Oahu, I thought the portion was a bit smaller for the price & the tempura was a on the oily side. It was good overall inclusive of the service and the ambiance and its a great lunch spot but I may not return as often. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

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Date Night before the weekend ends. Waikele at Kunio's, we were just here a few weeks ago with Cuzzin Mich & her Mr. too. Always so busy but we don't mind, we enjoy it and the service is always excellent. We had their special sushi rolls and always on point but I did have their Uni for starters! Rainbow Roll Caterpillar Roll Tiger Roll Some hot tea to finish Mahalo - Domo arigato gozaimasu!!! We had so much fun with each other, we lost time and forgot to go grocery shopping afterwards LOL!! read more

Restaurant Kunio - Uni yum! - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

Service needs to improve considerably. Waitress was very rude!. I'm never coming back here!

This place is extremely crowded since there aren't a large amount of tables. We had a big party of 6 and had to wait 30min on a weeknight for dinner. However, it was well worth the wait! We ordered the big dinner boat and there was so much food that it fed all 6 of us! And it was cheaper than everyone buying their own teishoku. The sushi and sashimi was fresh. All the fried items were hot, crispy, and not oily. The shrimp tempura was my favorite as the shrimp were huge and succulent. This place definitely has a high food quality which they always meet. The staff there are extremely polite and have great attention to things like giving extra napkins and refilling water. I highly recommend! Make sure you put your name down as soon as you get there and that everyone in your party is present to be seated when they have the table ready. The parking in front can get crowded, but if you don't mind the walk, park across on the lower part of the parking lot by Lowe's. read more

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Came here last night craving sushi and it got the job done in satisfying my craving. The service was quick! read more

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The party boat and some sash rolls. Our server Edison was great. Accommodated on how I wanted my ahi rolls made. Perfect place and time with the family for some beers and dinner read more

I am so glad that Kunio opened from being renovated. They were closed for about a month. Kunio is definitely a staple for Japanese cuisine in Waipahu. The interior is older but definitely carries an asian influence throughout. There is a sushi bar that is a good size and the sashimi is fresh! My go-to is the miso butterfish. It's so good. The portion has gotten smaller but the flavor is still there. I usually order the miso butter fish and shrimp tempura combo. You get 2 shrimp tempura as well as a variety of egg plant, green beans, and carrots. The rice this time around was soooo good. It's a short grain white rice with a sprinkle of ume flavor. Emerson, is always on the top of his serving game. He's very personable and friendly. Very attentive and quick! It's always good to see him. There is a small selection of Japanese beers and wines. We normally get Sapporo or ume wine. read more

Restaurant Kunio - Miso butterfish, shrimp tempura combo, and sashimi teishoku - Japanese Near Me - Waipahu, Hawaii

First I will say the sashimi was great. I ordered rib eye, lobster and sashimi. I ordered my steak medium. When we got it it was over cooked and rubbery. I took one bite and then 2, trying to not be that "person" our servers were kind and sweet. but I couldn't eat it, I asked if they could re cook the steak and got a BS reply that it's served on a hot plate so we should have ordered it rare read more

Great service, great food, the environment was nice. I had the steak and lobster and it was really great.

It was my first time here and it was super crowded, especially for a weekday and showing up at 1100. There was a lot of families here for special celebrations like graduation. Ambiance was casual and not too loud considering the place being packed. We waited over 30 min to get seated and probably 20 min for our food. Despite this, I enjoyed my Udon Wakame. They put a lot of seaweed which I thoroughly enjoyed. The broth was flavorful. Hot tea was complimentary. The servers were friendly. read more

I decided to give this restaurant a second chance after so many years since my first review. Rachie P. and I have been eyeing the famous "Funamori Party Boat" on the menu here. The mission was to see if this looked like the Yelp pictures or if it was a catfish :o LOL. We had to check it out for "research purposes". This item is DINE IN ONLY, as stated on the menu. It serves 4 people and comes with 4 sets of appetizer (small tray of soybeans/ edamame, seaweed, and beansprouts), salad, miso soup and rice. The restaurant opens at 1030am and we got here around 1215pm on a Saturday. We didn't have to wait long for a party of 5. Sat down by 1226pm. I've heard of the lines getting long to dine here. I've read in a review from another Yelper that when they came, the sushi chef didn't come into work that day, so they couldn't order the boat. I asked the hostess if we would be able to order the boat and she told me yes. YAY! We excitedly ordered the boat right after sitting down. LOL. The Funamori Party Boat comes with Lobster Tails (2, one of these was super salty to the point of being bitter for some reason - it came with butter on the side), Shrimp Tempura (very crispy but mostly batter, actual shrimp piece is pretty thin - it came with tempura sauce in a dish the server brought later), Vegetable Tempura (carrot, green beans, eggplant), Beef Teriyaki (tastes more like yummy seared steak which was delish - it came with a kinda teriyaki sauce on the side), Chicken Katsu, Tonkatsu (really good, I didn't try the sauce but it looked reddish similar to ketchup on the side), Sushi (has a bit of wasabi between the fish and rice) and Sashimi. We also had fried shrimp (2 whole including the head). The total for the boat pre-taxes is about $149.99 as of 12/2022. We definitely did some damage LOL! So split between 5 people (3 kids and 2 adults), about $30 per person. It was lots of food. Pretty filling. I also saw about 2 other tables dining the same time we were that also ordered the boat. One table had 2 adults and the other was a family. So it seems the boat is a pretty popular item here. It was a good experience overall. The server and other workers were tentative in refilling our waters and made sure that we were okay. The restaurant as a whole does tend to fill up and got pretty busy towards the end. I'd say try it out just for this boat experience. It's great for special occasions, celebrations or just because ;D Everyday can be a "Party Boat" kinda day, why not? read more

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Best chicken katsu sauce on the island. Before I thought was shokudos but they when close down so I been on the hunt for a new spot. And this place is it! read more

We had a family dinner there it was the 1st time for my wife and I. Everything was good for everyone except me. I ordered the ribeye and lobster, in 45 minutes, I had an upset stomach which is usually caused with something with MSG. Wouldn't know why anyone would use .SG for a steak or lobster but other than that would recommend this place. Maybe next time I'll just order sushi. read more

Nice Japanese restaurant in Waikele. Good food and good service. It opens at 10:30 and we got there 10:40. We were hungry so we decided to eat first and go to the store later and that was a good decision. This place was almost full little after 11am on a weekday! My husband and I like combination meal. ($19.75～$23.75) There are list of choices A and B and you can choose 2 items. It comes with rice, miso soup, salad, and appetizer. It's very filling so sometimes I take home my leftovers. We ordered AA combination. I had squid tempura and miso butterfish. My husband ordered shrimp tempura and chicken teriyaki. Tempura had 2 squids (2shrimps on my husband's) and few vegetable tempura. We love it. My favorite was miso butterfish! Other Combination meal choices: Choice A has yakitori, beef teriyaki, chicken katsu, soft shell crab, vegetable tempura, saba and few more choices. Choice B has fried scallops, fried oysters, sushi, sashimi, and few other choices. Other menu items are donbiri, suhi, nabe, noodles, and teishoku. What we want to try is Lobster combination! read more

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