I-NABA

Delicious soba and now, udon, made in house — many varieties. Love this place. Byob is a bonus. Reasonable prices on sushi. Set sushi meals for around $ 25, give or take. Good service and atmosphere. Now serves breakfast starting at $ 6.

Oh man! I can’t believe we only discovered this place now. My sister-​in-​law recommended I-​naba for their delicious soba. Hubby and I are always looking for a good Japanese restaurant to satisfy our Japanese food craving ever since our trip to Japan. I-​naba did not disappoint… we went twice in a week! The restaurant is pretty small so we went just after 11:30 when they open for lunch (I-​naba does not take reservations for lunch). I’m glad we went early because by 11:45 the whole restaurant was full! We got lucky and found parking in the small lot in front. I also saw open street parking on King St.
The first time we were seated at the counter. There are so many options, but I definitely wanted to try their soba. I ordered the tempura soba and hubby ordered the uni ikura set which included a small soba on the side. The tempura was so crispy and flakey! Oishii! I really enjoyed their fresh soba; it was light and delicate and the sauce was delicious. Hubby enjoyed his uni ikura set. He said it was not the best presentation but the taste was on point. Uni was fresh and similar what he enjoyed in Japan. He just wished for more!
The next time, I ordered the cold yuzu soba and hubby ordered the chirashi which came with a side cold soba. I became obsessed with anything yuzu after having it in Japan and the yuzu soba did not disappoint. Refreshing and unique! The portion is pretty large though so make sure you are a big yuzu fan. Hubby enjoyed his chirashi which on that day included ikura, ebi, hamachi, salmon, maguro, tamago, ika and some other white fish. Lunch is cheaper than dinner, but the portions look a bit smaller.
It seems like you can also order sushi by marking down what you want on the paper provided on your table. We have not ordered sushi yet. Perhaps we will the next time we go. Attentive service and delicious food. We have added I-​naba to the list of restaurants that can temporarily satisfy our Japanese food cravings.

Ohaiyogozaimasu! Hara Hetta?
THE BEST KEPT Nihon BREAKFAST SECRET!
Sugoi!!! For $ 8 you can get a real Japanese Teishoku breakfast. For $ 8 you could eat some crappy McBreakfast or a sugar laced mokachinolatte with a frozen sugar spiked pound cake. The choice is obvious!
Yaki Shake, Hamachi Nitsuke, Kakuni or Saba Miso for $ 8 or Mentai Shake or Natto for $ 6. OMG. Plus all da usual culprits. Tsukedani, Tamago, Takuwan, Miso shiru and REAL Japanese GOHAN where you can taste and feel every grain not that glutinous wet sticky ice cream scooped ball of California rice that you get at McD with your sodium hyped PSausage.
Go now! Start your day just like Miyamoto Musashi!

The best place for Soba dishes. The texture, flavor, and fair price. Perfect! We loved battera sushi!

Well, I did not know till last night .
They serve breakfast now. You have about six choices of taishoku and
six choices of donburi. Now you can spend whole day at Inaba

Food was just ok. Chiashi thin with no uni and they did not deep fry the amaebi head. Service was slow and it wasn’t busy. Some restaurants are good to try once.

Cute little restaurant. We were unfortunately sat in the extra room with not such cute décor. The extra room looked like their storage room with all of their extra chairs stacked.
The menu looked fabulous & I looked forward to their uni donburi… but they were out of uni. Thumbs down.
The service was fine, but my donburi was mediocre. My friend loved her tempura.
Pricey, but I hear they are a BYOB restaurant.

Wow! Soba taste and texture got better!
Waitress told me that they changed Soba flower. It does make a difference!

I don’t normally eat Japanese because I associate it with sushi and sashimi. That’s going to change! My friend recommended me to eat here and at first I was hesitant. She sold me when she explained to me what tempura and soba was. I quickly messaged my bb to see if he’s heard of this place and it was one of his bookmarks. We quickly made a lunch date to come here on my next day off.
We were told they get busy so come here when they open and we did. Luckily we listened because the place got busy fast! I knew I wanted to try the tempura and soba but didn’t want to order two separate meals. To my surprise, the tempura set comes with a ½ order of their homemade soba. You can chose to get hot or cold soba. I chose the hot soba with seaweed in the soup.
When the food came out, I quickly took pics then tried the tempura. It was so good! The sauce over the tempura and rice was delicious. I couldn’t stop eating it! My bb had to remind me that I still had the soba. I tried it and that was good too but I liked the tempura better so I gave him the rest of my soba. He let me try his cold soba and I liked that more so next time I’m going to order that.
The service here was really good and very quick. I didn’t expect a tiny Japanese restaurant could produce such good flavors. This is now a new go to spot for us and I’m very open to having more Japanese food in the future. I’ll leave the sushi and sashimi to my bb because there are so many other yummy dishes to eat. Thank you I-​NABA for turning me on to Japanese cuisine.

I had the hot Kake soba with Mentaiko on the side. Yup, trying to make my own Mentaiko soba. The soba and broth was really good. Now I’m not a soba connoisseur, so I can’t tell you if this is better than other soba restaurants. BUT, it was really good! The Mentaiko added a lot to this dish. I wasn’t sure if I should put the Mentaiko in my soba or just eat it as small bites. I put about half in my bowl and ate the other half as small bites. I would recommend eating the Mentaiko as small bites because you’ll be able to appreciate the flavor and texture much more.
The 4 star rating is because we were seated in the back room and the servers infrequently came by to check on us and I would have enjoyed my meal more with having my small glass of water filled a little more.

Where were you all my life I-​NABA? I cannot believe that I only came here for the first time recently. It’s been a bookmark for awhile but I haven’t made time to come and check it out. Mink heard about it from her friend and she said so many good things about the food that Mink made sure we came here on her next day off. We’re both very happy that we came.
The restaurant is a nice hole in the wall type restaurant with about 6 or so tables and bar seating that can fit about 10 people. They have a small lot that you can park in but it gets pretty full because they share it with other businesses in the complex. There isn’t anything fancy about the décor but it doesn’t matter because their food is the star of the show.
We came during lunch and were the first people to get seated. Shortly after, the whole restaurant was almost full. Several tables ordered before us because we had a hard time deciding on what to try. They have a lunch menu but we found out that you can also order from the dinner menu during lunch. Mink ordered from the lunch menu and I ordered from the dinner menu.
I ordered the Chirashi with Cold Soba. It was AMAZING! They make their own soba here and it’s one of the best that I’ve had. The sashimi over the rice was very fresh and premium quality cuts of fish. Keep in mind that I’m allergic to uni but it was so good that I ate it anyways! Don’t worry, I rushed home to get Benadryl. I can see why so many people, especially Japanese people, come to dine here.
Service here was very good and focused on the customers. All the servers helped each table and each other out. That’s great teamwork! Not many places are like that anymore. They brought over more tea without asking, checked on how our meal was and they were very patient with us in our order. Our server even allowed Mink to change her cold soba to hot soba after we ordered.
This place is legit and very authentic in flavors from Japan. They pride themselves in customer service like Japan along with quality of food. It’s a must go to spot if you like soba or Japanese cuisine. We will definitely be coming back.

I saw an Instagram post from I-​Naba and I thought to myself. why have I never tried this place out? Tucked away in a small strip mall on South King Street right across from Washington Intermediate, I must have driven past this place many times. It’s hard to see from the street if you’re zipping by as it is set back a little bit. We made reservations for 7 pm on a Saturday evening and eagerly headed over. The parking lot is small as they share it with several other businesses, we were fortunate that a street parking was open right in front of the restaurant! Looking at all of the Unilocal pictures didn’t help us decide. everything looked so good!
Food: I ordered the Chirashi Gozen, wife ordered the nigiri sushi set, and daughter went with the tempura soba. The Chirsashi was excellent, the ingredients were super fresh and I asked them to fry up the amaebi head which was done to a a crispy, crunchy perfection. The nigiri set was a little deceptive, my wife was served 5 pieces of nigiri, fish portions were very fresh and very thick. We were a little confused as it was served first before any other part of her set. Later on in our meal, part 2 of the sushi arrived with more nigiri and some maguro tekamaki. The tempura was wonderful, not huge pieces but done very well. The batter was light, airy, not oily at all. My daughter’s soba dish was very good. and at the end they bring you a bit of hot water to mix in with the soba sauce as it’s supposed to be very healthy. It’s BYOB with no corkage, we brought along a nice bottle of chilled sake to enjoy with our meal, it also helps keep the bill down!
Service: The wait between our order and the food arriving was a little long but a large party had just placed their order before us. All of the servers were polite, friendly, and quickly answered all of our questions.
Atmosphere: It’s actually larger than it looks from the outside. The restaurant is setup in two rooms with both rooms having tables and a sushi bar. I’d love to go back the next time and sit at the bar.
Value: On the higher side but the quality is there to justify the prices. The portions are pretty generous, the presentation is spot on. Since it’s BYOB, that saves me a bunch of $$ as I can bring in my own beer/​sake to enjoy without adding to the tab.
Overall: Looks like reservations are almost a must for dinner on the weekends if you want to eat before 8 pm. I’ll definitely be back in the future to try more of their menu.

YES! I was finally able to get my Japanese-​food fix, and I don’t mean local-Japanese…I mean JAPANESE-​Japanese.
Tucked away by Loving Hut on S. King Street is I-​Naba, my new go-​to shop for fresh soba. I have been to this restaurant twice and it definitely satisfies that little itch I get every once in a while for authentic Japanese food. For years and years I have passed by this little restaurant on my way to Baskin Robbins, but I would have never guessed how much charm is in this tiny little restaurant.
Once you slide open the front door, you are instantly transported to Japan. 75% of the diners are Japanese, which means that most of the staff speak Japanese as well. This means I am just sitting there disoriented, like, am I in Hawaii… or Japan? The first time I came here I ordered the zaru soba and the second time I ordered the ume-​oroshi soba (which comes in hot or cold). Both of these dishes came with the option of white rice or edamame rice. I would HIGHLY recommend getting the edamame rice. It’s more than just having a few soy beans plopped into white rice, it’s something magical. Both the zaru soba and the ume-​oroshi soba were delicious! I should mention that their noodles are made in-​house and the buckwheat to make the noodles come straight from Japan; that should give you an idea of the quality that this place boasts.
Something special that this restaurant does to give it that extra authentic soba-​ya touch is that after you finish your zaru soba, they give you soba-​yu, which is the water that was used to cook the noodles. This is known to be extremely nutrient rich. You pour the soba-​yu into your leftover dipping sauce and drink it like a nice little soup! Apparently this is a Tokyo practice because people from other regions of Japan don’t necessarily even know that post soba-​eating soba-​yu drinking is a thing.
Anyway, enough of my raving, you need to try this place too… especially if you are a soba fan. Just don’t go that often because I want there to be room for me the next time I go!

I’m a noodle type of gal. I love ramen, pasta, chow fun, phở… pretty much any type of noodle dish! But recently I’ve really been into eating cold soba. I decided to check out I-​Naba as I have passed by it many times but never have tried it. I found parking right away which is always a plus. When arriving I didn’t realize how popular this place was! It was full but we didn’t have to wait too long for my friend and I got a table. The place is small. It kind of reminded me of Japan!
Everything looked so good on the menu. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to order! I liked the combo sets that they have. After much contemplation I decided to order the tendon & cold soba noodles with side order of natto (love natto!).
Not sure why but our food took longer than expected. The table next to us also seemed to be impatiently waiting for their food. We also overheard them getting their order wrong. When our food finally arrived, I was surprised at how small it was haha. My order came with a half order of cold soba which actually was perfect for me! You do have the option to get a full order for extra charge. The shrimp tempura was also noticeably small but taste was pretty good. The soba noodles were light and refreshing. Although I enjoyed it, I’ve had soba noodles elsewhere that were better.
The prices for some of the dishes can range from $ 15 to about $ 20. We kind of realized this place isn’t exactly cheap. Overall I did enjoy the food but I wouldn’t say it was outstanding. What’s great though is the variety of different soba dishes they have!

My Version of Sugar from Maroon 5 called Soba
I’m hungry baby, I’m starving now
I need your soba, soba
I need it now
When i’m without you
I’m such a geek
You got me craving, craving
I’m on my knees
I don’t wanna be needing your grub
I just wanna be deep in your stuff
And it’s killing me when your closed today, oh baby
Cause i don’t really care where i park
I just wanna be there where you are
And i gotta get one little taste
SOBA
Yes please
Won’t you come and slurp it down on me
I’m right here, cause i need
Little soba and little hot green tea
Yeah, you show me good slurping
Make it alright
Need a little soba in my life
SOBA
Yes please
Won’t you come and slurp it down on me
My broken chopsticks
You pick them up
Don’t leave me hanging, hanging
Come give me some
When i’m without you
I’m so insecure
You are the one thing, one thing
I’m craving for
SOBA
Yes please
Won’t you come and slurp it down on me
I’m right here
Cause i need
Little soba and little hot green tea
Yeah you show me good slurping
Make it alright
Need a little soba in my life
SOBA (SOBA)
Yes Please (Yes, Please)
Won’t you come and slurp it down on me
I want that inaba bento
I want that tempura crisp
Don’t let nobody touch it
Unless that somebody’s me
I gotta be a man
There ain’t no other way
Cause Inaba, your better than other soba restaurants in Hawaii Nei
I don’t wanna play no games
I don’t gotta be afraid
Don’t give me all that slimy sh*t
No seasoning on
That’s my
SOBA
I-​Naba Restaurant which has the best soba in all of Hawaii is my go to place for real authentic Japanese and the Soba here Hot or Cold is the reason for coming here. This place is somewhat of a hole in the wall but they have expanded their dining space so there is more seating available which is a good thing.
I-​Naba is someplace not to eat at if you are expecting to get your food in a timely manner or are in a rush to go to another venue. That’s the reason why i love this place because they make everything from scratch and to me, that’s the way it should be if you are looking for quality food and at I-​Naba, everything here is very well presented and almost too pretty to eat.
Now the price point here isn’t cheap nor is it crazy expensive, but you do get what you pay for here if you ask me. The Chirashi Set, which is just under forty dollars is what i love to order here because i love über fresh sashimi and at I-​Naba, they do a beautiful presentation on the Chirashi. There are several types of fish with uni and ama ebi on a bed of perfectly seasoned rice and with a nice bowl of hot or cold soba, it just makes this meal a masterpiece in itself.
Another reason why to come here to I-​Naba??? BYOB my fellow Yeeps. So go to your nearest liquor store and pick up some beer or sake or soju or a bottle of wine and what i like about this place is that they supply you with the proper glassware for whatever you are bringing. Good Deal.
And another thing is that they have quite an extensive ala carte menu so if you want to eat Izakaya style here at I-​Naba it’s a possibility but it’s not extensive like Imana’s Tei or Gaku.
If there was one thing i didn’t like about this place before was their bathroom location. You had to walk through the kitchen to get there and let me tell you, it wasn’t a pretty sight and let’s just say you wouldn’t expect food of this caliber to come out of a kitchen that looked that way and i really hope they did something to improve the conditions there.
Other than that, i love everything about I-​Naba, and there is not one other place i can think of that has Soba of this caliber. But i have to say that Matsugen in Waikiki came pretty close but now it’s owned by another restaurant so i have to give the nod to I-​Naba for Soba that won’;t disappoint.

My friend from California found I-​NABA restaurant using Unilocal’s search for a nearby Japanese restaurant close to Ala Moana Hotel. She likes to walk so it had to be within walking distance. I-​NABA is known to make their own soba from buckwheat imported from Japan. I had never been there before so I was very anxious to try it.
We looked at the menu it was a little pricey like mid $ 20 range for a set menu. I ordered the I-​NABA bento which seemed like their signature dish. I was pleasantly surprised by the size and diversity of the different things in the bento. Everything was extremely well prepared but it did take a long time for the food to be served. I noticed that a couple two tables over have brought their own wine so I was surprised to learn that it was a BYOB restaurant. Next time I will definitely be well prepared with a few cocktails to pass the time to pass the 30 minute wait for our entrees to arrive.
Another great thing is there edamame rice. It is served with the meal and it’s delicious!
If you are driving, parking might be a concern. There is a small parking lot, maybe only about 10 stalls so parking might be an issue. All in all, it’s a great restaurant and I’m looking forward to returning again soon!

I-​NABA has made a soba fan out of me. I met my friend/​dentist here for lunch and being that he’s a regular he talked me through what to get. We both ordered the Soba Tempura set A which was really good. The texture and flavor of the soba was great… and converted me to a soba fan. I lament all the missed years of not having soba in my life… I’ll try not to make a habit of it given my self imposed carb restrictions but dang I could definitely get addicted.
The tempura seemed light and well battered and fried and went down great with the soba broth and tempura sauce!
Service was excellent and the green tea helped me power through my shopping the rest of my day. So-​soba good!

I-​Naba is located on King Street across from Washington Middle School. They have a number of stall available in the front or on king street.
This place is a lot bigger then I thought. From the outside it seemed much smaller.
The service was really slow. I’m not sure if it was because we came here on a Saturday evening. But it took about 40 minutes for the food to come out.
One thing that was disappointing was they don’t serve alcohol. They do allow you to BYOB. I guess its good to know for next time ;]
The Grub.
[[ TEMPURA SOBA $ 18.99 ]]
the tempura included was 2 shrimps, 1 white fish, assorted veggie tempura, NOM! I have to admit I was impressed with the tempura. The veggies werent sliced super thin like other places. And zaru soba was delish.
[[ I-​NABA BENTO $ 25.99 ]]
This bento has fresh sashimi, tempura, kabocha, grilled pork and rice and half size kake soba
Overall: The food was good but a bit pricey.

This little hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant, adjacent to Mana Bu’s on South King Street, offers authentic Japanese food and the best soba on the island.
Recommendations:
Call and reserve approximately two hours in advance. Sometimes it can get pretty crowded due to the limited space, so call just in case.
Order their homemade soba! Hot or cold.
Seared ahi combo
Tempura combo
Actually…just order anything from here and I’m sure it’ll be amazing.
Service is exceptional. All of the waiters and waitresses are courteous, and the food comes out quickly. The last time I ate there, the waiter gave me a free yuzu sorbet (which was insanely delicious) and 20% off the bill because the food came out 20 minutes late.
BYOB! They even provide sake shot glasses.

This is a very good meal if you are looking for Japanese food. I liked the chirashi. It was fresh and tasty. The gf had the sashimi and it too was fresh. Our friend ordered the blackened ahi and he enjoyed it.
We also had the fried mochi which was a nice delight. Service was fine and I would go back here if I was craving Japanese food…