Teppanyaki Ginza Onodera

Outstanding. Easily the most authentic, teppanyaki and exquisite example of haute Japanese dining in Hawaii bar none.
No knife juggling, flaming onion volcano, shrimp tail in your shirt pocket, or suggestive fried rice sculptures. Instead a personal chef cooking your meal, on a grill, to order.
Ingredients are fresh with most produce and seafood sourced locally. High end seafood and beef are sourced from Japan and only the best seasonal and highest quality items. That said, the menus isl always changing.
Three prefix menus, $ 200, $ 225, $ 250 inclusive of service. The main proteins is difference. DO NOT IMMEDIATELY ORDER A5 BMS 10 KOBE BRAND. Like American beef, the different Japanese brands (where the beef is reared ie Kobe, Omu, Miyazaki, Kagoshima), and cuts have different flavors (think, a USDA prime short rib taste very different from a USDA prime NY strip). Ask to see the different cuts. Also listen to what your fellow diner’s are ordering. More people ordering the same cut, the thicker the piece when it hits the grill. Thicker is better. Also if you want your beef well done, you’re wasting the A5 cut.
Starters are well made, subtle in flavor, and just delicious. Perhaps an excellent teppan grilled foie with cherries and truffles, tender abalone with a star anise, konbu infused browned butter, and pillowy shirako (fish sperm) with a caper browned butter sauce.
To the beef, the A5 Omi, and A5 Kobe. Beautiful sear. Crisp and golden on the outside. Cooked like foie, with fat melting out of the interior directly on the grill. Cooked to temp, rare, sliced and served immediately (due to the fat content, Japanese beef is not rested). NO sauce, fried elephant garlic chips, and mixed teppan grilled veg. A piece of garlic whose gentle sulfurous taste enhances the sweetness of the beef, heaven
Service is excellent.
The wine /​sake list is very well chosen with many high end, and very high priced gems. Dare I say, anything but simple, inexpensive sake mars the subtle flavors of each dish.
Expectations in check, despite the five star rating, this echoes but does not equal the cooking, taste, or refinement of the best of Japan. Ishigaki Yoshida, Tokyo’s Michelin one teppanyaki restaurant, this is not. That said, it delivers a great dining experience and is definitely worthy.
A splurge for sure. Excellent.

I think this place replaced the old Mekong 3 restaurant location on King. It was a wonderful experience. The service was solicitous and very friendly. Not at all overly formal or snooty. The multi course meal was very well paced and included nice surprises and intermezzos. Each dish was very elegant in presentation and refined in flavor. We were a party of 4 and ended up getting the whole little front room to ourselves. One dish had a sauce so good (our foie gras with four berry glaze) that I secretly picked up my plate and licked it ;)
It’s expensive, but like the sister sushi restaurant, worth it for the quality and experience.

This place took over as my favorite place to eat in Hawaii! Teppanyaki Ginza Onodera is located on King St. Across of the the Washington Zippys. You would never think it was a fancy restaurant by looking at it from the outside. You can park on the street and its in an area where the street parking isn’t too bad.
I ate here when they were still called Teppanyaki Sumikawa but they have since changed their name to Teppanyaki Ginza Onodera (Yes they are related to Sushi Ginza Onodera). The food here is just straight up excellent. They take the time, effort, and money to source ingredients that you probably won’t get anywhere else in Hawaii.
Food:
I’ve eaten high end Teppanyaki in Japan and I have to say I enjoyed this one a bit more. They built the menu to cater to the Hawaii tastes so the flavors weren’t as subtle as the stuff I had in Japan.
Tip — Just get the $ 250 set. The top grade Kobe is the real deal A5 BMS ¹¹⁄₁₂. That kind of meat is hard to get even in Japan. I can’t imagine anyone ordering the Otoro over the Steak, I haven’t tried it and probably never will because the Steak was THAT good.
To put the A5 Kobe in perspective — Tt doesn’t just beat the A ⁴⁄₅ wagyu that you get at Yakiniku Yoshi or Yakiniku Hiroshi. It straight up demolishes it. It’s significantly better.
Not that you care about the rest of the meal at this point but the entire set that I had was awesome. The other dish that really stood out and wowed me was the Bluefin Ahi Sashimi. They said they also served cuts from the same fish at Sushi Onodera (still haven’t tried). I’m not a big fish eater but this was also by far the best piece of fish I ever ate in my life.
It’s $ 250 a person for the high end set but they don’t take tips and they also let you take home the rest of the Himalayan Salt Wheel that you use to salt your meat. Considering what you get out of it I think it’s well worth the price … I just wish I was rich enough to eat it on a regular basis.

2^nd time, lucky for me the menu changed. just as good but better. I took Chef Yamane’s recommendation to prepare kobe wagyu medium well. Yes apprehension, but when I bit into and tasted, omfg, just as tender, slight crisp, and the flavor is more so intense! Definite change for me in preparation of A5 wagyu steak! We also had a beef consomm’e that was soooo good, intenses flavor, sparkiling clean broth, and absolutely no oil floating … best I have ever tasted! Wow! Froi gras was sooo good but better this time, crispy outer crust, but so pefectly done with an intense 4 berry sauce (delicious)…lets not forget the to die for garlic fried rice — YUMMO many more items that I could write forever about! This place is somewhere to save up for and go! Thank you Onodera!

Truly amazing experience from being greeted by name at the door to the personal attention the staff pays to you during your incredible meal to a group goodbye outside as you depart on your vehicle. I felt as though I was dining with friends, though I was alone, in my home with an incredible chef creating mouthwatering dishes from the freshest Japanese and Hawaiian products. Their wine list is stellar and only getting better due to Bong’s attention. Go ahead and splurge for the $ 250 prix fixe as its well worth it. I’ll be back for sure and his time I won’t be alone!

The service and food was fantastic like Onodera. They have a pretty impressive wine selection for a small restaurant. Ordered set 1 and 2. It was more than enough food for the two of us. Never had Omni beef, but it was very soft and juicy. I actually liked it better than the Kobe beef.
Definitely would recommend this new restaurant if you’re a foodie, but it does get quite expensive. Subtracting a star because it was pricy (costed $ 1k for two plus a bottle of wine).

Three choices on the menu, $ 200, $ 225, and $ 250. The difference is the type of beef that is featured. You can choose between Omi, Miyazaki & Omi, or A5 Tajima Kobe beef. The meal was more Japanese-​French in my opinion. There was a great variety of courses; sashimi, cooked fish, duck, foie gras, lobster, vegetables, and very course was delicious.
One very cool course was a hon maguro sashimi course. The fish the sashimi came from was on the news in Japan a week ago as the larges hon maguro ever caught. That was pretty cool!
Just like Japan, tip in inclusive of the meal’s price. With that being taken into consideration, the $ 250 course is really more like $ 200, which is a pretty good deal for the amount of food and quality of food you get to enjoy.
Corkage is $ 25 per bottle. They do have a very impressive, but small wine list, but prices are pretty high so I recommend bringing your own bottle. Just make sure to bring something nice enough to match the quality of food you will be eating.
Service was very nice.
They also have a private room that can accommodate 4 – 7 people so a party of three couples would really have a great time in that room.
This place is not for everyone, but if you appreciate can appreciate high end Japanese dining and don’t mind paying about $ 300/​person, Sumikawa is a very good option. I will definitely be back.

MIND BLOWN. As Always ;)
I was a HUGE fan when Sushi Ginza Onodera opened up. Image my suprise when I found out they would be opening a sister restaurant called Teppanyaki Ginza Sumikawa.
Of course I had to be one of the first few people to check it out, and it was AMAZING. However, just like Onodera it cost about $ 250 a person.
The Grub.
[[ GRAND COURSE MENU $ 250 ]]
— Amuse
— Carrot Mousse with caviar
— Wagyu carpaccio
— Foie Gras
— Chilled corn potage
— Stick Salad
— Itoyori
— Abalone
— Lobster
— Palate Cleanser
— Assorted vegetables
— Grade A5 Kobe sirloin
— Garlic rice & miso soup
— Garlic chips
— Dessert
I have never tried Grade A5 Kobe before. It was so good, words cant even describe it. Just as Mike O said, there is no comparison to this top of the line A5 Kobe beef!
Another thing I thought was super cool, was the salt bowl! You use it when eating the meat. The best part is, at the end of your meal they wash it and give it to you to take home! WOW~!
(thing on the right in the picture)
I understand that this restaurant is pricey, but in my opinion it is worth every penny.

From the owner of Onodera, comes Sumikawa. For those of you that have been to Onodera, you will find comfort in a familiar face of Shin the manager. He even remembered us from Onodera. He is such a great host, talking story and explaining all the dishes throughout this journey of culinary excellence.
There are three price tiers of $ 200, $ 225 and $ 250, with the only difference being the quality of the meat (Trust me pay the extra $ 50 for the Kobe).
Our menu included:
Amuse of prosciutto wrapped cheese
Goose liver pâté crostini
Carrot mousse topped with caviar
Salmon/​Uni spread
Wagyu tataki salad
Foie Gras with daikon
Sweet Corn Cold soup
Fresh Vegetable cup with blue cheese dressing
Fried fish atop saffron risotto
Kona abalone or Lobster
Hawaiian Lemon ice palate cleanser
Grilled veggies that include sweet potato, pink radish, garlic chips, okra and bok choy
A5 Kobe steak
Fried Rice and Tsukemono
Cherries Jubilee
Thank You Teppanyaki Ginza Sumikawa for bringing the best A5 Kobe beef to Hawaii. Yes other new yakiniku places are serving A4 or A5 wagyu, but there is no comparison to this top of the line A5 Kobe beef. With the Kobe beef, they give you 3 dipping sauces. A 3 – 5 year old aged soy sauce and fresh graded wasabi, a onion dip and a himalayan salt dish (an actual block of salt that they let you take home). I thought the salt was a gimmick until i tried it. I loved it as you pass your meat over the salt block a couple times and eat it. Shin told me to bring it to other yakiniku restaurants and after using it, I definitely will. The salt was the only thing i used on the beef as I did not want to cover it with other flavors and only wanted to taste the rich flavor of the beef.
Every dish did not disappoint. I was extremely full at the end of this meal. This meal was definitely worth the $ 250. I have easily paid over $ 150-​$ 200 in vegas for the same amount of Kobe beef served tonight. Shin stated they have Chefs that specialize in Japanese, Italian and French cooking, so on future visits he stated we may be able to customize our meals or make special orders of japanese dishes or pasta etc. With the fresh seafood from Onodera at their disposal, they can come up with some great custom dishes. I honestly believe this is one of the top restaurants in Hawaii after dining here tonight.

Sister restaurant of Ginza Onodera Sushi on kapahulu. Went here last nite with friends as we like it at Onodera and heard this place was due to open soon. Place is in the old Mekong 2 location across from zippys.
First, like Onodera this place is expensive. 250, 225, and 200 prixe fix prices with the difference being the quality of the steak. It’s Japanese style, so you don’t give tip when the bill comes. The place is somewhat small, with a main area seating 12 – 15 and a smaller private area seating 7. We had the private area as there were 6 of us, which means we had our own chef making the food in front of us. Although this is teppanyaki don’t expect a show like Benihana or tanakas; you are paying for quality of food, not entertainment.
Second, the quality of food is very good. It’s kinda French/​Japanese, which means it’s big on presentation and flavor but not so much quantity. There were a lot of small dishes which filled us up, most memorable were the foie gras, steak, and lobster dishes. The 250 menu steak was Kobe beef which they said they were the only ones on the island to carry it. It was very good: lots of marbling and flavor. It was paired with your choice of vegetables, an aged soy sauce, and an onion sauce. As part of the steak dish you are also given a carved block of Himalayan rock salt which you can use to scrub the meat against to give it more salt. They wash it out after and you can take it home as a souvenir. It’s kinda neat
They mostly cater to a Japanese-​national clientele, as we were the only locals there. If you can go with a Japanese speaking person all the better, if not the two hosts are very helpful answering questions and translating what the chefs say. The chefs do not speak much English which is too bad because it was really interesting to hear about where the food comes from and what makes the place special (example: they said the grill they cook on is 2 inch steel compressed down to 1 inch. It would take 4 guys to lift something the size of a small tabletop).
I gave it 4 stars because although we enjoyed ourselves it was just too pricey for anything other than very special occasions.