678 Hawaii

Our favorite place to double date! We always get the premium combo to share and melon soju (my fav!). Grill the Korean pancakes for a minute to make it crispy.

My sister wanted to eat kbbq while in Hawaii so we Unilocaled the best places to eat on the island. I don’t remember there being that many kbbq places to choose from but this one definitely stood out in the reviews. I’ve ate at many places back home in the bay area (CA) but I haven’t ate anywhere with this type of environment where they cook it for you.
PROS:
— I didn’t have to do anything (cook my food)
— You can watch your food being cooked
— The quality/​freshness/​flavor of their meat was HELLA good
— There are many sides to choose from. I personally liked the macaroni.
— The sauce added so much flavor to the meat and I liked how they included wasabi.
— You don’t feel rushed when you are eating.
CONS:
— Sometimes it was hard to ask for service because it seemed like people were either avoiding you or too busy. (For example, when we wanted to ask for extra sides or water)
— Parking was a little difficult. They should offer more directions/​information about their new parking lot
— Some would say a little overpriced
— There is a wait, but for the 6 of us it wasn’t tooooo bad.
— Our group was split up between two tables, the other table complained the meat wasn’t evenly distributed so my table ended up getting a lot more meat.

I don’t think there are a lot of Korean bbq spots in Hawaii but this spot was really good. I’m from LA so we have tons of Korean bbq spots to choose from and this place definitely lived up to my standards.
It’s not ayce, which means small portions and more money. It also means better quality meat. We got a small combo which comes with three meats. Each plate was pretty small so if you’re starving, then get the large. We also got an order of garlic friend chicken. The meat quality is good here as well as the banchan. I liked their two salads and their macaroni salad. I wish they had rice paper, which is one of my favorite sides.
Overall, a good spot for kbbq but be willing to spend some money.

678 Hawaii is a Korean BBQ located right by the Hawaii Convention Center. Unfortunately because of this location parking is really tight. Especially right now since it looks like the parking lot that housed 678 customers is now under construction. TIP: If coming here you have to go into the lot located right before entering the Brian’s parking lot. The parking guy will give you a ticket and you just have to get it validated, and you’ll have free parking which is nice!
So a plus here is that they do take reservations, so we were seated right away. For six people we had two grills. I love the sides here, which includes kim chee, salad, shredded green onions with hot sauce, mac salad, and pickled vegetables. The corn with cheese and egg are in a trough around the grill and slowly cook while the grill is on. These are all tasty and really good! We ordered the mixed combo which includes pork belly, rib eye, and two soup orders for $ 98.99. This is estimated to serve 3 – 4 people, so one of the waiters recommended that we order another side of meat and we got teriyaki chicken. When it got down to finally cooking and eating the food was great but there was just wayyy too much of it lol! For us the mixed combo could have fed our party of six! Just a note we had four girls and two guys. By the end we were struggling to finish, and took the rest of the food for later since there was a lot left.
One interesting thing was that a lady cooked our food for the whole meal! It was really nice that she did this, but at the same time we felt really rushed to eat and be done with dinner to keep up with her pace of cooking. I’m not sure if this is a complimentary service with ordering a combo meal? I’ve never had it to where someone cooks the whole meal here, it was definitely different! Also too we were trying to have a birthday dinner here, and it was so loud inside the restaurant that it was a bit hard to converse inside. Plus adding with the lady cooking our food it was nearly impossible to talk to someone across from you. Overall great place great food but wouldn’t recommend this place if you want to have a personal conversation with people across from you!

678 is very sentimental to me. Why? This is the very place I had my first date with my boyfriend. It must be fricken amazing for me to suggest 678 as a pace to go to for dinner especially if it’s your very first date.
I’m a sucker for Korean food. I’m even more of a sucker for Korean food that involves cooking yourself, which is what we call… The wonderful «yakiniku». If I had the chance to split to world amazing into two, I would love to. When I say split the word, I want to emphasize AMAZ ing, because I am simply AMAZED.
On a good day, you’ll be seated quickly. Lately, there has been times I passed by and I see tons of people waiting. It is all up to you, wether you have the patience to wait, just know it’s worth every second you are staring at the convention center across the street, thinking to yourself «please call my name!»
The people who work here are so nice. They really know their stuff and if you ask them a question, they’ll have the answer right away. I give them a thumbs up because they are not your ordinary yakiniku restaurant. They take the time to cook the food for you, Check up on you and let you know when the food is ready to eat. They even cut it into pieces for you. How amazing is that? I know it kind of means that it’s really not a «Yakiniku» but more of a «Korean Benihana»… But it’s really nice and relaxing to have them do the work.
The meat here is amazing, I have no idea where they get their meat from but it taste so fresh. You cannot go wrong. If there is only two of you, the small combo is good enough. I personally love pork belly so I always get the combo that has pork belly in it. You know what’s the best part of coming to 678? Their corn and cheese. Yes, their corn and cheese beats all
The other side dishes. It’s not that I don’t like the salad, the Kim chee, Mac salad, eggs …
It’s just that the corn and cheese definitely surpasses it all!
So if you are hungry, want some awesome yakiniku and you’re sitting there reading this, wondering should I go? go! Oh and a friendly tip, 678 has a parking lot to themselves. You would have to pass that Japanese restaurant next to 678. Don’t park in front of the Japanese restaurant tho! It’s a little before 24 hour fitness. Just drive a little slow and you should see the 678 sign!

I miss going to the restaurants in Korea and this definitely has the same type of feel/​environment. However, the prices are way more expensive! I definitely like that it has the same touch though.
Parking:
There is a small parking lot where you can park yourself, but it was full when I went around 6pm on a Saturday night. There is also a valet parking behind the restaurant. I ended up parking in the parking garage, but had to pay $ 10. Guess I should have tried valet instead.
Seating:
They are a little crammed but they have seating for big parties. The seating can take a while, up to 30−45mins or 1 hour depending on how packed they are. Usually it’s best to go early if you don’t want to wait as long.
Food:
The food is pretty good. Kind of expensive, so best to go with a party and split the bill. We ordered a large and we had 6 people. It just about filled us up. It was plenty of food for 6 people. Thank goodness. We though they were going to bring more food and we were past the point of stuffed!
The meat orders come with soups in which they had brisket, seafood, and kimchi soup. The order also comes with a bowl of rice. I believe they charge extra for another bowl of rice.
I love all the banchan (korean side dishes) and the fact that they give you so many different choices. I even asked for the lettuce wraps and they gave us those too! They usually don’t have those unless it’s more of an authentic Korean place. They have Korean barley tea (bori cha) at the table. They even use the same water glasses/​pitchers that they use in Korea! I love it!
Drinks:
They have many of the Kettle Soju flavors. Reminds me of Korea.
You can choose from:
— Lemon
— Pomegranate Vinegar
— Yogurt
— Melona
— Strawberry
I liked the Strawberry, Melona, and Lemon. I wasn’t a fan of the pomegranate vinegar. The yogurt is kind of bland in my opinion.
Service:
The service was good, but since they have so many different tables to attend to, and are cooking the meat, they are constantly moving non-​stop. Therefore, it can take them a while to tend to the food on the grill. I just don’t like that sometimes they aren’t back in time to turn the food so I tend to do what my mom does and grill the food myself. I think it’s easier for me to cook it myself then to wait for the waiter/​waitress to come check the table again.
I like this place, but it can be overly crowded since it’s so popular and it is owned by a Korean Comedian. Many Koreans like to come here because of that reason. Plus a lot of tourists. Overall, this is a great place in my opinion!

Great KBBQ spot. Nice and attentive staff too. The combis are the best deal at dinner time. The marinated short rib is the best!

Coming from California with amazing AYCE kbbq I was kind of hesitant to try this place. But after everyone telling me to try it we caved and made reservations. Which was a good thing because it was PACKED when we got there! We were seating 10 minutes before our reservation which was nice.
Okay, so it’s not an AYCE but the quality of the meat is AMAZING! Their pork belly isn’t thinly sliced and is super yummy! And the miso soup!!! My goodness. I’ve never had soup that yummy! Didn’t have a single thing that wasn’t delicious. Would definitely go back again!

Get there early! Luckily we went right after work so had no problem getting a table around 5:15PM. However, the line was almost down the block outside by the time we were leaving. We, a group of 3, split two orders of meat and the soondubu jiggae that came with it, and we were stuffed. (2 women and 1 man, all with healthy appetites). I loved the green onion salad with the sweet gochujang.
My friends who are locals brought me here because it’s their favorite Korean place in town. While I’m used to seeing more quantity for the price, I thought quality was great.

We originally went to Soul Garden for Yakiniku. But they turned us down because their kitchen closed in an hour. We were pretty upset.
Luckily our service at 678 was amazing, the food was tasty and the quantities were more than generous. My boyfriend and I had never had Yakiniku before, so it was a really great experience.
The meat combos came with tons of sides also. We left late at night and very full.

Great service. Awesome food. And great quality meat. I would rather go here for a ribeye steak than those fancy steak restaurants on Waikiki beach. Went to BLT last night and ordered a bone-​in ribeye and I was greatly disappointed by the quality of meat served. It was cooked medium rare but so difficult to cut and chew.
Again, come to this restaurant if you want delicious steak!

This place is the bomb. Went here for new years eve for dinner and loved it.
You can set menu between 2 – 3 which is more than enough and also get the yogurt soju. It’s like having yakult with alcohol.
You get awesome Korean sides like their cheesy corn which is soooooo yummy. The sides are unlimited.
Their meat is really soft and delicious. You can tell the quality is good. The best part is, someone cooks the meat for you which is a bonus.
Staff’s very nice and attentive. I can say that I will definitely come back to this place.

Wow this place has the best meat for KBBQ I have ever experienced! We tried the premium combo that comes with Kobe brisket, prime ribeye, Kobe boneless short rib, and 2 choices of soup (we chose the brisket stew and soft tofu stew). The beef was very tender and flavorful, and same goes for the stews. Their sides were delicious, though not as a big of a selection. There is uncooked egg, corn with cheese, and onions/​veggies surrounding the grill that gets cooked overtime while the grill is on, which is pretty interesting.
Don’t forget to try the yogurt soju!
There are crazy lines outside the door every night so a reservation is a must, but you could take your chances to get on the wait list. Service is great amidst all the craziness, and the servers are constantly running around making sure you are taken care of. They even cut up the meat and grill them for you!
This is currently my favorite place for KBBQ in Hawaii!

Good food, good drinks, good service. What more could anyone ask for when it comes to a dining experience. I don’t even care if I have to wait to be seated for dinner. It is well worth the wait.
Pork belly, beef tongue, brisket, and kalbi were all yummy grilled goodness. Tender juicy grilled meat. OMG! And the sides were delicious. The egg that everyone talks about is absolutely awesome.
I finally got to try this place out. Happy belly. Yay!

I had dinner here with extended family & our group of 9 were split into 2 mini groups for ease of cooking since there’s one grill per table that seats 4 to 5. Our table of 5 ordered the large mixed meat combo & the remaining 4 ordered the small beef combo. You are provided with unlimited side dishes which includes: Kim chee, mac salad, seafood pancake, salad (2 types, one is chopped romaine & the other is scallions with chili sauce) and corn with cheese (I thought that combo was a little weird). Each person is provided with two dipping sauces: one bowl with soy sauce, a chili pepper slice, onions & wasabi on the edge for additional heat and a shallow dish with sesame oil, salt & pepper.
It’s nice that they cook the meat on the grill for you, and cut up the meat with scissors for serving. Our meat combo included 3 types of meat (pork belly, ribeye & marinated boneless short ribs) where my favorite was the marinated boneless short ribs as it was the most tender & flavorful.
Although they have an exhaust pipe for each grill, you end up smelling like cooked meat (like most yakiniku places).
Service is pretty quick & efficient, but not overly friendly.
They have a small lot in the front (5 spaces) and some additional stalls in the shared lot on Kapiolani where Izakaya Mai & the surf shop are located.

Unlike other Korean BBQ experiences, this place offers a service incomparable to others. Usually I’m used to making the Korean BBQ myself, but this place had waiters who did all that for us. The meats were high grade and quality didn’t fall short of anything I’ve had. The prices were a bit high, as I’m used to having same prices for unlimited meat back on mainland, but overall the experience was great.

Kang Ho Dong! Don’t know who that is? Well, you should. He owns the place! And a bunch of other food places you probably haven’t even eaten at yet. While living in a country (Korea) where everyone judges you for your appearance, Ho Dong finds it much more satisfying to enjoy his food and if you have EVER seen that guy eat, he eats with a PASSION. So welcome, to one of his Korean BBQ restaurants!
For some odd reason, I’m not sure if I read the reviews on here or I heard from other people that this place costs «almost $ 100 per person.» Perhaps they wanted to keep people away from this place so they could HOG IT ALL TO THEMSELVES. Although I probably paid that amount for a meal before, I wasn’t sure if Korean BBQ would be worth it. Turns out, it’s actually way cheaper than you would think.
We got the 678 combo set which included «prime rib eye» which is ironic because over the past week I have been grilling $ 225 worth of USDA prime rib eye at home. Kobe Brisket was also included with your choice of kalbi, which we settled for marinated boneless. To add onto that, we got the Prime Pork Belly, which you must get if you are a KBBQ extraordinaire.
I should probably tell you at this point that I ate at Quarters in K-​town, LA this summer (same owner, but much better). The rib eye here was «par» it was good, but not great. Kobe brisket was pretty good and the kalbi was packed full of marinated flavor, but I was shocked to see that the meat barely charred and anyone who knows me will understand that I like my meats to have a little crisp.
The service was pretty good too, especially considering other Korean BBQ places in Hawaii don’t really tend to their tables like these people do (cutting the meats, cooking, etc).
Overall, I wanted to give this place 3 stars out of 5 compared to their big brother restaurant, Quarters. However, since this is Unilocal Hawaii, I bumped it up a star because compared to your normal Korean BBQ places in Hawaii, 678 is actually one of the best places you can go to have a good time with your friends and family with good eats at a good price. After tip, I shelled out only $ 150 for 5 people which is actually not bad considering I thought it’d be much more. And we finished all of the food despite the menu saying a «large» combo was meant to feed 4 – 5 people.
My tip is always… eat the good stuff. Stop filling your stomachs with rice! If you’re going to pay for good food, you should finish it ALL! GEONBAE!

How have a I never written a review?! I’ve been here so many times I can’t count them on my fingers and toes.
Atmosphere: Make sure you get a yellow parking pass before you even sit down! Otherwise you’ll get towed. Sometimes they get really busy but make sure to ask the hostess!!! I can’t stress this enough! The restaurant itself is very clean and well put together and has a very friendly relaxed vibe.
Service: Full service, they cook your meat for you. The waiters and waitresses are on the young side but seem experienced. They are all very attentive and eager to help.
Food: Come here for lunch! Completely different menu then dinner. The galbi tang is so good here maybe the best on the island. They use bone to thicken the broth and you can tell it is hearty. The meat is so tender and falls right off the bone. The bbq for dinner is also really good. It’s a perfect place to introduce someone to Korean food in a friendly unintimidating manner.
Intangibles: Great place for the korean newbies and oh yeah don’t forget about this place for lunch!!!

The Kalbi Jimm that we have been ordering for the past 1 – 2 year has increased in price and decreased in quantity.
The small side dishes has also decreased from several to only 3.
Minnie is the best server in this restaurant. She is attentive, fast, nice and friendly.

Having a Korean partner is an ace to all the hodge podge of Korean shops that have popped out. When 678 first opened up and I told her about the place, she then told me who the owner is and his history. There was no discussion if we were going, we just were going. Having been there several times now, it still remains our best place for Korean food and has impressed everyone we’ve brought there. Many claimed this the best meal during their visit.
Parking can be challenging. They do have a lot where you can park for free. Not sure how to describe it but I tend to do valet parking when they have it.
Upon entering you would think it would just be filled with bbq smoke and you prepare yourself for the sticky, sweaty feeling. That doesn’t occur because of the powerful ventilation system they have in place. Good job on that.
Customer service has always been top notch. We are greeted as we enter and they’ll let you know how long you may have to wait. I’ve never waited the full time. Most of the time now, I try to get there before it gets busy so I can take time to eat and don’t have to rush myself for other people to sit.
There’s a red button at the table you can push on to get you waiter, or another one, in case you need to. One, I have not used this very often because they are on top of everything. Two, the few times I have was because it was very busy. Three, the wait staff you get may not be the one assigned to you but it’s how they help each other as a team. I noticed also there is like a lead that will assist the wait staff if needed to further ensure customer’s are getting the proper service. Nice plan.
After you look over the menu, you realize it is best to order the set meals for the best deal. Mog P. is a pork lover, that’s what we tend to order but sometimes I gotta put my foot down for beef. Either way you go, you will enjoy them because the meats are top quality, melt in your mouth quality. The meat is brought out in the order they believe best for you but you can let them know how you want them brought out. Don’t let them bring it all out at once because there isn’t enough room on table usually. What I may do is ask for some of it in bowl where I can marinate it with shoyu and lemon. While I’m eating everything else that’s soaking. I’ll cook that last giving it maximum soakiness for another delicious, different flavor.
But wait, that’s not all, like all other Korean BBQ restaurants, there’s all these wonderful side dishes. And, you can order more of these if you like as long as you finish them just to be respectful. They are so delicious to eat with your meats giving each one a different experience, a different taste, a different joy. I got to give recommendation to the toss salad with that special vinaigrette sauce of theirs. I eat like 6 — 7 servings of this. I tell the wait staff to keep it coming until I say stop. And, it tastes great with the meat as well.
Nobody steps out of here without feeling stuffed. It’s too much good food to resist. Even my son goes a little bonkers eating the meats and veges here. Your money is well spent here.