Wasabi Bistro

They never acknowledged our presence. We were ignored for 5 minutes so we left. What’s up with that? No one liked in our direction or said hi, nodded or anything:(
We left and went down the street.

The food is ok, but it is over priced. The setup of the place is like typical $ or $$ place, but the price is like $$$ or higher. What surprised me is that they added 17% tip to our bill even though we only have 3 people including a 10 year old. First time I had this in my life and one of few that we didn’t put 20%+ tip for our dinner.

Like someone else on here said – i’m reluctant to review this place because I want it to stay one of those hidden gem types of places. I’ve spent a week here this trip and come to Waikiki a couple times per year and this may be the best place I’ve come to. Food is very high in quality and our service was terrific. The soft shell crab and the grilled ‘Saba’ (Mackerel) are fantastic. The Kaaui shrimp was sensational too. Best poke I’ve ever had – the poke right across the street at Shingen was good but this poke was far superior and a much larger portion for the same price. The coffee jello and ice cream dessert was also very cool and different.
If you are like me you HATE touristy spots where people go for the same old same old. I’m shocked seeing people travel thousands of miles to an island and then head in droves to Cheesecake Factory and PF Changs – What the F_​_​K is wrong with people? If you are here looking to experience culture and something different from the regular corporate packaged crap then check this place out and for another option check out Yakiniku Kuhio which is just about a ¼ mile walk from Wasabi Bistro. These are two of the best ‘hole in the wall’ but awesome spots I’ve encountered in Waikiki. You’re welcome. The open air setting is very quaint; you almost feel like you step back in time 50 – 60 years when you walk through the pool area of the Breakers Hotel.
PS: I saw lot’s of people drinking wine here but their wine prices are WAY TOO HIGH! $ 18 for a single serving ‘split’ of Mumm’s sparkling wine is completely ridiculous. It should be $ 10. Other than this outrageous wine pricing you can’t go wrong.

This was our first dinner at Wasabi Bistro while visiting Waikiki. A friend who had lived in Tokyo for 10 years and who now resides in Waikiki brought us there. The restaurant is tucked away inside The Breaker Hotel which resembles an old Palm Springs Hotel with a courtyard in the middle. The restaurant was far from fancy — the chairs were plastic lawn chairs but the place was clean. We ordered gomae (spinach with sesame seeds), gyoza (potstickers), tatsuta, agedashi tofu, potato croquet, vegetable tempura, butterfish misoyaki, dynamite roll and the #1 Special (crabmeat and avocado wrapped in white fish with special sauce). Everything was good but I will defintely come back for the butterfish (black cod) and the #1 special. The waitress was friendly and attentive. This place is a hidden gem and I highly recommend it!

Very nice space and attentive service. Ahi poke was stand out. Rainbow roll and papaya seafood was okay and size small for the cost.

The food was terrible and overpriced, beautiful space and service. We really wanted to like it.

One of my clear favourites in Honolulu. I have been 4 times and everything I have ordered so far have been totally satisfying. Every time I brought friends and family they have loved the food too so I never hesitate to bring anybody.
In my usual way I order the same meal repeatedly and enjoy it every time (routine is good discipline right ;). Some of the meals I have only had in Japan before and was pretty happy to discover I could have it over here too. Vegetarian sushi was yummy, noodles and curry too. Didn’t enjoy the tempura too much as I found it a little too oily with too much batter. But really enjoyed the additional side dishes like sesame spinach, miso eggplant and potato croquettes (coroque).
Maybe I have to admit that my favourite of all is the desert; Coffee Jello! Ha, there I admit it!
The fact that Wasabi is tucked away just adds to the atmosphere of this place. I feel that I am in Japan but in a more relaxed setting. A comfortable balance of attentive service and friendliness. Always feel at home when I can speak Japanese too. I will go back again…

The food here was very good. I started with a miso soup and then had the the wasabi sampler, which came with half-​rolls of rainbow roll, dragon roll, and shrimp tempura roll. Everything was fresh and well made, so no complaints about the food. I’d eat here again.
However, the atmosphere was a little funky. It was past the courtyard and pool of the Breakers Hotel, so a little hard to find. There were only a few people eating there and I was concerned about having the waitstaff hover over me (as other reviewers had noted), but I chanced it since there was no wait. I found the service to be good, my waitress was attentive without being obtrusive or hovering. The décor is pretty dated but isn’t majorly tacky. During my entire time eating, I was the only Westerner dining there, so that must say something about the authencity of the menu and quality of the food.
Prices are pretty typical for Waikiki for dinner. Spent around $ 45 for my beer, meal, and tip.

A hidden oasis… Sorta…
A bit intimidating to go to this restaurant because it’s inside of a hotel. The food is average but the service is great! Be nice to the waitress’s with small talk, and we received free dessert. The sashimi is ok, the scallop dynamite was tasty. A bit pricey but it’s Waikiki. You can spend $ 50 for two and not be full, sadly.

Quiet little spot, tucked away from the busy streets of Waikiki. I ordered the Chicken Terriyaki and it came with Green Salad, Kobachi (Small Appetizer Dish), Tsukemono (Japanese Pickles), Rice, and Miso Soup. Pretty tasty and very filling, I couldn’t finish it and that’s unusual! I’d like to go again and try some of their sushi and fish dishes. Service was good and relatively timely.

Food was so so. Having them stare at us and keep bugging us while we are trying to look over the menu was annoying.
Service wasn’t that great had to ask to get my water refilled.
Some foods were good while others were bland and tasteless.
Don’t know if I would come back here again.

What I REALLY love about this place is that I can get freshly made bento! Working in Waikiki the options for affordable, quick AND delicious lunches are slim. Wasabi Bistro is located in the Breaker’s Hotel – a retro 70’s looking hotel that has all of it’s own quirkiness to it. The restaurant is, more or less, open air and a nice place for a quick lunch.
But, what really makes me a fan of this place is that I can call in and order a bento for $ 7 – 8 and just come pick it up. If you call in, just make sure your give them a half an hour.

I love this place! I always get their lunch special bento where you can choose from different meats and pick how many choices you want.
The quality of the food is really good and the price is really reasonable, especially for waikiki. I always come here for lunch and will continue doing so ^_​^ love it

Holy moly! I feel out of place here! Everyone is Japanese. like the touristy kind that lurks around Waikiki with their shopping bags and their fanny packs! Oh wait, I’m Japanese too. It’s quite loud here with all the drunk Japanese people. This restaurant is kind of hidden within the Breakers Hotel (an old retirement looking motel on Beachwalk). I only found this restaurant because it’s on the way to work and one of my friends work here. The food is expensive and the restroom is far away. When you drink a lot, it’s important to have a restroom nearby. –_​_​_​-​. Anyways, the food was good, as all Japanese food usually is: P Nothing really stood out to me here, oh except for the bill at the end!

The poolside clubhouse feel of this Japanese restaurant is due to it actually being a clubhouse next to a pool (at the Breakers Hotel) which only adds to its «hidden gem» feel. Simply decorated with attentive service in Japanese and English, it caters to the sushi and sashimi crowd, although the menu is extensive and varied. The quality is a step above the usual area offerings and lunch, though a bit $$, was a good take on the standard Japanese fish, soup, rice, and pickles set.

I discovered this place when I walked down the wrong street going somewhere else. It is located in a small hotel hidden by a large hotel right next to it. You can almost walk by it thinking it is something other than a small two story hotel. I saw the sign out front and decided to give it try realizing it was going to be a hit or a complete miss. It was a major hit. The place is small located in the back end of the hotel. When I walked up a lot of the tables were reserved but since I was dining alone, I sat the small bar. It was pretty empty when I arrived. I had the whole bar area to my self during my entire dinner. I ordered the sashimi and sushi sampler and they were excellent. The sushi sampler was a sample of rainbow row, shrimp tempura, and dynamite roll. They also have a selection of sake and some lesser know Japanese wine spirits. I really liked this place. It is a little pricey but service was very good. It is a little out of the way but very easy to get to. It is small and quaint and not pretensions.

Beautiful, quaint little place. Great service, fast and professional. And the food??? Absolutely superb! My coworkers got the lunch special which was udon, and me and one other person got the «Wasabi #1 Special» which was a delicious concoction of creamy mayonnaise-​y crab, fish, nori, and avocado, with rice, soup, and veggies as a set, with a salad to start off. We also had some delicious fresh poke. It was all superb. A little pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for.

Semi-​formal (not super nice, but nice) tiny, little open-​air place. Appreciated the hot towel for hands before the meal. Servers were attentive and knew the menu. Tried one of the chefs special sushi plates and everything was amazingly fresh. Chicken Katsu was a disappointment – too dry. Unique sushi menu – not what you see at every sushi place. The fresh fish was the focus of the sushi and not covered up by too many flowery ingredients. We ate everything! Made our first night in Honolulu memorable.

Ate at this funky little place last week. What a gem! Being in a city of thousands (if not more lol) of Japanese Restaurateurs how does one choose. Well the fact that its tucked away in the Breakers Hotel very well hidden from the main road and it was packed with Asian diners made up our minds for us.
What a treat. Food was very good and of excellent quality. We tried there signature dish «Kumi’s #1, the grilled mackerel (yummy!!!) and the soft shell crab roll. Everything was wonderful and the service very good. Also, they have a huge sake menu.

Wonderful little place with great service staff and a real love for the food they make. They claim to be the originators of the rainbow roll as well. Took a little while to get our food in between appetizers but overall had a nice experience here.