Izakaya Torae Torae

Our local friend brought us to this sushi restaurant, which happens to be her favorite, and it absolutely lived up to our expectations. Every dish we ordered was exceptional, from start to finish. The fish was incredibly fresh, practically melting in our mouths. The attentive service and swift delivery of our food further enhanced the experience. I highly recommend this place. I would suggest calling them for reservation as the restaurant is small and has limited seating.

First time here with my family, we decided to have izakaya dinner tonight. This place is awesome! At 10 pm you can have happy hour menu selection and price is likely 30-40% off. We order 10 dishes for 4 people and all food is great and portion is big . Stuff is very friendly and owner handsome old guy is nice too, he singing the Elvis song can’t help falling in love to the customer. I will definitely come back when next vocation in Hawaii😀

Very small Japanese Izakaya, you pretty much have to make a reservation. Went on a Sunday and if you didn’t have a reservation you couldn’t sit. Parking is very small unless you go to the bank and pay for parking. Service is pretty good but you’ll have to wait a bit when you order, or maybe because it’s just so busy. Food was good but it was a little pricey, Japanese food in Hawaii is always expensive. My brother likes this place but I didn’t really care for it.

Decent food, nothing to complain about. I got the melty salmon roll and the crunchy tuna roll. I didn't like the salmon roll as much as I liked the tuna roll. Price on the sushi was a little expensive. Our waitress was really nice. One negative is that my friend's roll that was ordered with everyone else came so late after everyone had finished eating.

I've had this spot bookmarked for years, and finally got the chance to try it as we had the means to go outside of Waikiki. Came in on a Saturday evening right at opening. There was one other group besides us waiting to come in. The store was spacious and pretty cold inside. They played music in the background. The servers are attentive, and the tables filled as we ate. Here's what we got: Hot sake - At $17, this was so expensive. We shared this between two people. They actually forgot this so we had to ask again for it; we received it after we finished two of our food items already. Takowasabi - This was also strangely expensive for what it was. At over $8, this is the most I've paid for takowasabi anywhere. It tasted fine though. Martini - What an interesting dish. It had slimy, gloopy textures with savory flavors. I think it was a bit too salty to have without anything else (maybe it'd be good if accompanied with hot rice on the side), but we ordered it for its uniqueness. Not sure if I'd get it again. Kaisen don - This assortment of sashimi on rice was nice. The fish tasted good. We shared it between two people. Tan shio - This beef tongue was tasty. It was thicker cut than what I'm used to. You could taste the char of the grill. For an izakaya place, we were disappointed that they didn't offer any skewers. Overall, this was not outstanding and honestly even disappointing.

Food’s good but maybe we came with high expectations with all the recommendations, we were not wowed. Still would recommend the yellowtail carpaccio, even the bed of onions were yummy. Also enjoyed their ochazuke, very comforting after eating out for so many days during our stay in Hawaii. One thing tho, there’s no AC inside, so it’s very hot and stuffy. Unsure whether that impacts the freshness of ingredients, I had a stomach reaction after eating there but my friend’s perfectly fine.

Great food! The place is a bit small and the waiting line is quite long despite having reservations. We ordered agedashi tofu (my favorite), fried shrimp, chicken katsu and salad.

The late night happy hour that starts here from 10pm is great! Lots of discounted yummy bites to be had. Particularly enjoyed my glass of umeshu, spicy tuna tartar, pork belly don, tako wasabi, and uni nigiri. Got some tasty changing specials too, and I would try their chirashi and regular menu sometime.

Izakaya Torae Torae is my family's favorite Izakaya place. However, ever since chef Hide left, we haven't gone back since. We decided to return when this place finally has its own IG account which made it easier to make a reservation through DM. On the day of our reservation, we noticed it was less busier than before. There were tables available and they accepted walk-ins. The place did pick up after 7:00pm. The interior was pretty much the same except there were less paintings on the walls. There was also more walking space near the back where the restrooms are located. Spicy tuna tartare: Amazing appetizer. Their spicy tuna is one of the best I've had. I really enjoyed the mix of the smashed avocado and raw quail egg. The wonton bowl and nori chips were crunchy and fresh. Hamachi carpaccio: The hamachi was very good. I like how they are thick slices and the hamachi are very fresh. The sauce and the thin sweet onion on the bottom were the perfect balance of flavor with the sashimi. White dragon roll: One of my favorite rolls. The shrimp tempura was good and it was crunchy. Not soggy like other places I've tried. The top of the roll is hamachi. The garlic aioli sauce was the star. Absolutely flavorful. Aburi hamachi: This was new to the menu. The hamachi was torched on top with California roll instead of the tempura shrimp. Still a very good roll. Definitely enjoyed it. Overall, I'm glad the Izakaya dishes and the sushi rolls still live up to the name. Everything was still consistent and delicious. Service was quick and friendly. Like any other eateries, the price did gone up quite a bit. The bill was $30 more than what we had paid before. Regardless, definitely will be returning again.

I've had this spot bookmarked for years, and finally got the chance to try it as we had the means to go outside of Waikiki. Came in on a Saturday evening right at opening. There was one other group besides us waiting to come in. The store was spacious and pretty cold inside. They played music in the background. The servers are attentive, and the tables filled as we ate. Here's what we got: Hot sake - At $17, this was so expensive. We shared this between two people. They actually forgot this so we had to ask again for it; we received it after we finished two of our food items already. Takowasabi - This was also strangely expensive for what it was. At over $8, this is the most I've paid for takowasabi anywhere. It tasted fine though. Martini - What an interesting dish. It had slimy, gloopy textures with savory flavors. I think it was a bit too salty to have without anything else (maybe it'd be good if accompanied with hot rice on the side), but we ordered it for its uniqueness. Not sure if I'd get it again. Kaisen don - This assortment of sashimi on rice was nice. The fish tasted good. We shared it between two people. Tan shio - This beef tongue was tasty. It was thicker cut than what I'm used to. You could taste the char of the grill. For an izakaya place, we were disappointed that they didn't offer any skewers. Overall, this was not outstanding and honestly even disappointing.

I think the food here is pretty good. Personally nothing was mind-blowing or stood out. Overall flavorful and solid location for fresh sushi and Japanese dishes. Hamachi carpaccio - my favorite, flavorful Tan shio - decent Ahi Tataki - personally wasn't a fan Service is great. Quaint restaurant so I would recommend making reservations, especially for busier days like the weekend.

It's been over five years since I've been here, and I'm happy to say that although the staff has changed, the food hasn't, and is still great. We were going to try to get into another sushi place that just opened, but they were too full, so I chose Torae Torae. We picked the perfect time because we were seated right away at the counter. By the time we were done, people were waiting in line outside. We were sad that they were sold out of the seafood shooters, so we ordered the Onsen tamago martinis to start. They were just as good as I remembered. I'm not a big sushi roll eater, so I ordered the sashimi combo A. The pieces were huge and so fresh and enough to share as a starter. We also ordered the pork belly Kakuni, and it was also as good as before; so good that we ordered another one. The Hamachi kama was really moist with crispy skin and was one of the biggest pieces that I ever was served. The other items we ordered were a few new dishes (Tan Shio and Hanpen cheese and a white dragon roll) and a couple of old favorites (chawan mushi and a salmon roll). By that time, we were so full that there wasn't any room for dessert! It was my son in law's first time here and he really loves the food, so I know that we'll be back again soon. Maybe for their happy hour (after 10pm) and hopefully, they'll have the seafood shooter available.

I've been to a few izakaya places in the past couple of years including some in Japan and this spot is definitely one of the top ones. We had reservations so was seated immediately but if you arrive during peak hours without reservations, there's probably going to be a wait. They have a small lot outside for a few cars but otherwise, street parking is the way to go. Inside, it's decorated like a traditional Japanese izakaya place with an open kitchen and bar seating. It's not a big place though. Since we arrived at about 7 pm but didn't order until 15 minutes later, they did sell out some stuff. For 3 people, we ordered the hamachi carpaccio, grilled beef tongue, chawanmushi, agedashi tofu, white dragon roll, aburi hamachi roll, and the kanpachi Kama. I would say that filled us up to about 70% full. Every dish was delicious but the standout ones were the grilled beef tongue (tender and juicy), the white dragon roll (flavors were blended well) and the hamachi carpaccio (fresh and the sauces highlighted the hamachi well). Portion size was decent given the price. Service was attentive, the staff filled our glasses when water is empty and checked in on us to make sure our food was ok. Order to food arrival time was short and they removed the empty plates as soon as we were done. I will save this spot on my list of restaurants to return to when in Oahu.

We were looking for a spot for dinner and drinks when we came across this izakaya. Luckily we came earlier in the evening since we didn't have a reservation and took the last remaining seats. We started off with some sake recommended by the waitress and for food we ordered: Chicken Kaarage: 4/5 juicy and flavorful chicken Salmon Ochazuke: 4/5 this was such a comforting dish Hamachi Carpaccio: 4.5/5 the hamachi was flavorful and fresh. The sauce that came with it was so good even on just the onions alone Tuna Tartar: 4/5 Solid tuna tartar, no complaints but not anything mind blowing Nigiri: 3.5/5 we had the eel, chutoro, amaebi, scallop and a few others. They were all just average. I would stick to the dishes here instea Overall, we had a tasty and nice meal here. There dishes are all done well and service was nice. It wasn't anything extremely unique to where I would be dying to return to next trip but if I lived here I could see this being a go to spot for dinner.

I love this place even though I've only been here once. I got to try a lot of different dishes and they all tasted so good. They probably aren't amazing value for the price but I think they were worth it for the flavor alone. The service was really quick and food came out pretty quickly too. I want to keep coming back here to try even more dishes. There's so many unique dishes on the menu that I haven't tried before and nothing I've tried so far was disappointing. I tried monkfish liver here for the first time and it tasted amazing! I'd love to order that again. If you want to experience legit izakaya food then this place is worth checking out.

We had to try them again during our second trip to Waikiki as we enjoyed the first dining experience tremendously last year. Made a reservation two weeks in advance as our travel was during the Xmas holiday and wanted to make sure we didn't miss the opportunity! On the day of the reservation, we got a call from the restaurant advising us that they are short staffed and it would be helpful to pre-order some items to get us going and not have a long wait during our visit. We opted for Ahi poke, Lollipop roll, Seafood avocado salad, Jidori chicken Karaage, Agenasu and Pork belly Kakuni. They mentioned that they are out of Lollipop roll and we replaced that with potato/crab croquettes and shrimp Based on the service and the wait time we experienced, you wouldn't have guessed they were short staffed as the food was served in a timely manner. Kudos to the team for making the calls and taking pre-orders! The food was amazing as it was last time, loved the croquettes and glad we added that order on top of the original list. The pork belly was super soft and melted in your mouth!! Seafood salad was amazing and the perfect combination of ingredients and the dressing flavor. We definitely will be back during our next visit to the island.

Service was quick and attentive. The ambiance also fit the theme. Parking is right in front of the restaurant. Food wise: Tan Shio: 6/10. I thought was dry and too chewy. Hamachi Carpaccio: 10/10. 100% recommend this. Taste so good Red Dragon Roll: 7/10. You can probably get this roll honestly anywhere Crispy Jidori Chicken: 7/10. just chicken but for people who don't like the whole thing fried. Salmon Ikura Don: 10/10. Every bite is so delicious. Must get. Stamina Don: 10/10. So good and it's a mix of different fish.

Went for late night HH with friends and boy was it delish! Unfortunately we got there so late some of the plates we wanted were sold out, but np, the waitress suggested others we would love (so many great options you can always find something). Also got speciality rolls and food came out quickly! Parking at the front but on a busy night might be a tough location but totally worth it. The restaurant itself was clean and a decent size that had at least 5 small tables and the bar to sit at. Will be back again

PARKING is limited! Over flow paid lot across at CPB. Haven't been here since Hide adventured on his. Staff is always wonderful. Lots of changes though. I was surprised to see it wasn't very busy on a Friday evening. We ordered a few things to share. My Cousin who was visiting was happy with everything. The Okra was my favorite this time. We also ordered Steamed Clams, Cold Tofu, Chawanmushi, and Fresh Ahi Poke. Everything was delicious.

I'm a sucker for their late night happy. After drinks, after a concert I somehow find myself always here. The last time I went was after a concert at the shell, and there was so much sold out (tataki, tartare, donburi, etc) don't know if it was just a busy week, but this was on a Friday night. The sushi chef was so entertaining! He made an announcement about one of the workers last day and definitely was a character with his sparkly shirt and shorts. The beef tongue is good, just the thicker cut pieces, I got a spicy ahi temaki, white dragon roll, the tongue and hamachi carpaccio. I really enjoyed the white dragon with it's truffle yuzi flavor, definitely did not need soy sauce. It was the first time I tried something new and it did not disappoint. I'll be back after another late night adventure :)

So glad we tried here before leaving Hawaii. I've been looking forward to come here since their donburi looked insanely good. We had a late dinner reservation on Sunday, and the place was still packed with many people. The place is not big and there were only two servers. The service is little slow but the food made up for it! Highly recommend Kaisen Don, NegiToro Don, and my favorite Uni Ikura Don. Never had a better Donburi in my life. All the food we ordered was impeccable and we all agreed it was one of the best meal we had in Oahu. The restaurant is decorated with different arts and cute asian decors. Ambiance was perfect for a Japanese restaurant. I would love to come back here when I'm in Oahu again!

Parking - small parking on the side and front of the restaurant; you can pay park across by Central Pacific Bank, we came on a Sunday night so we didn't have to pay Ambiance - local izakaya, nothing much to expect, very casual just how we like it Service - 11/10 amazing, both server and sushi chef. We sat by the sushi bar. Food - this is my second time here and it never disappoint, everything was so fresh, our dishes came out timely (unless you're impatient) Price - pretty expensive especially if you rack up your nigiri orders but I think the quality is worth it! Overall, cute spot for a casual date night! So much family and friends were dining in too. I wanna come again to try their happy hour.

Pros: Decent food. The quality was good. They did a good job on both sushi and hot foods. Their ramen was surprisingly tasty. Cons: REALLY slow service. We waited nearly half an hour for one dish. They served the food so slow that I was so hungry in the beginning and already full in the halfway by waiting. Overpriced. The portions are very small. We ordered an assorted sashimi for $58 and expected a medium to big portion of fish but it turned out to be ~10 slices of fish.(super disappointed) Their appetizers are easily over $20 with a portion of 4-5 bites Conclusion: Don't be fooled by their good ratings. It's not worth the time and money. There are so many better places out there.

I stopped by Izakaya Torae Torae with a reservation on a Veterans Day Friday evening. The restaurant was empty for the first 30 minutes of our visit but an hour in, every single table and seat in the house was filled. I found it difficult to have a good time because both the service and food coming out of the kitchen was so slow. We ordered an assortment of food but pacing was quite bad: we received two dishes back to back within five minutes and then had to wait another 45 minutes for the next dish. As another example, we ordered a half bottle of sake at the beginning of our meal and it didn't come out until the very end of our meal, when there were no more food items left to bring out. Further adding on to my mediocre experience, we had issues with being charged for items we ordered but did not receive. The food was overall decent, but not something I would rave about, especially for the price. I wouldn't go out of my way to make a stop here if you're a visitor on vacation and have other exciting meals planned out.

Omg amazing tataki as always. The fresh sashimi yummmm ahhhhh leeee. I'll always love this place

Good late night spot! We came around 10pm, and there were only two servers working that night-- the dons took about an hour to come out, but we were warned before ordering there was a delay so it's understandable. Overall, the dons were okay-- definitely filling with good quality fish but given the price point, and how long it took to come out, I probably wouldn't get it again. The rolls and sashimi however, were very delicious and came out much faster-- would get again. Ambiance is casual and nice, a little dusty (especially near the paintings) but it's as expected of an izakaya!

A small place that's always busyyyy. They're busy for a reason everything was delicious! Izakaya with a lot of fresh fish options. Really like their shooters as well but it wasn't avail.

They don't open until later around 6pm. It's important to make reservations or you might not be able to get a spot. This is one of my friends hang out place. They made really fresh food. Sadly there were many items not available that day when I visited. We got different varieties of food and they all overall very good! Those food are definitely perfect for the heat in Hawaii. I got Niku udon and it's actually bad idea! It got me really heat up after with the Hawaii weather. Overall everything is amazing

Yummy food, but staffing issue of the night prevented us from having any fried items off the menu. HH from 10pm until close Made reservation to try this place weeks before traveling to Waikiki, was very disappointed to be informed that due to the absence of kitchen staff all fried items were off for the night, so we ended up trying various other items, but an izakaya experience without anything fried did not feel complete or satisfying. Restaurant is small, standard izakaya vibe, service staff was nice and attentive. Menu items tried were all decent, but nothing blown my socks off. Would like to come back sometime for HH when full menu items are available

This used to be one of my favorite late night places and since we have not gone to this place in a few years we decided on this for date night dinner. I am not sure if this wAs an off night, but something was definitely off. Service was super slow and we sat at the bar area. Food was mediocre and surprisingly not up to par. I ordered one of the nightly specials which was a mochiko tako and it was tidbits. I was astonished. They knew it was not right and as it was served they said they would discount it. We ended up not getting charged for it. Sadly, the taste was there just not the pieces. I misunderstood the spicy ahi roll as large cut rolls and was sad to see small cut ones. Clams were good but a tad spicy for the mr. We like spicy but it felt like it was accidentally made too spicy. The restaurant was busy and considering I heard several tables complain, I'm going to assume it was an off night-maybe short staffed and unsure how things are usually made? I'd come again, but maybe not for a while.

Called at 6:15pm for 6:30pm reservations for two on a Friday night and was able to get in. This is the third time coming here. The first two times the chef was on vacation and they couldn't do their entire menu. This time I was delighted that the chef was present and we got to eat what we desired. Service was terrific and our server was super attentive and nice. We enjoyed our food. We got various nigiri, Agedashi tofu, fried oysters, Yamaimo onsen egg salad, and seafood shooter. The sushi was fresh. Seafood shooter is a must.

I found this place while searching for good restaurants in Oahu. This place popped up, and I made a reservation for 2 about a week in advance. EXPERIENCE We walked in, and she sat us on the edge of the bar. The waitress was very kind and patient. She informed us that many items on the menu were unavailable. She seemed very apologetic about it. We placed our order, one of the things we wanted they said was still be cut up and prepared. We wait a bit, but not too long, and the appetizer we order really helped out. FOOD (5/5) Agedashi Tofu [Not Pictured] - amazing ever so slightly sweet and fishy flavor. The tofu was crisp with a soft inside. I've had this dish a few times, this one stands out in my mind. (5/5) Kaisen Don (Tuna, Botan-ebi, Scallop, Ikura, Ika, Ankimo, Negi O-toro) - I loved the variety, and the portions were very generous! My favorite was the ebi (shrimp)! My least favorite was the ankimo (monkfish liver), I'm sure some people love this, but not for me. The first couple bites were not too bad, but there was just a lot of it. (5/5) Negi O-Toro Don (scraped otoro topped with ikura, green onion, and quail egg) - simple but delicious. The tuna was very fatty and flavorful. The ikura added a nice salty flavor. Amazing! OVERALL The quality and quantity of the food is really great! It seems they have some logistical sourcing or staffing issues that prevent them from operating at their full potential. Our menu was limited, but everything served to us was fantastic. I would suggest coming here regardless of the issues. I would recommend to other visiting as well!

This is a MUST visit for me when I am in Oahu. Their night time happy hour is incredible and they have fantastic service! Amazing food, tasty drinks, and easygoing atmosphere, what more could you want? Starting with drinks, we got a few Sapporo bottles (their Asahi on draft was broken) and tried their different Chu-Hi drinks and the Oolong-Hi. I wouldn't say I am a lightweight, but those drinks guarantee you a good time!! Now to the food, I cannot tell you how many orders of their Ahi Tataki and Hamachi Carpaccio we ordered, but we have no regrets. You really can't beat that garlic sauce and ponzu mix. UNREAL. We also ordered their agedashi tofu, california roll, spicy tuna roll, and numerous orders of their chicken karaage. Everything was fantastic, 10/10! The vibe is very casual, come here to have a GREAT time. You will NOT regret it! Total: $138.10 with tip Tip: Come right at 10pm if you want to enjoy happy hour, when we came they ended it a bit earlier.

First time here! Decided to come try this place after work and this place DID NOT disappoint! Parking is limited but we were very lucky we snagged a spot. Our waiter was attentive, food was good, sushi was on point, and left a happy customer with a full belly!

The only complaint I have about this place was how challenging it was to make a reservation, but the effort was worth it! Izakaya Torae Torae was the best meal we had during our trip to Oahu this time around! To start, I recommend making a reservation as they only allow walk ins after certain hours (9 pm if I'm not mistaken). I had tried calling about 4-5 times starting (and as early as three weeks before our trip). The challenge is that they generally don't pick up the phone after 6pm (which is when they open) because they're busy serving customers. The food here absolutely knocked it out if the park! We enjoyed every dish we ordered and had to try not to overeat. Staff was nice as well!

Food was really good! Loved their hamachi carpaccio and melting salmon roll! The fish was so Fresh and we enjoyed all the dishes we ordered.

The girlfriend and I dined here Thursday evening for a casual "anniversary " dinner. It was our first time here and reservations only could be made by phone, which was okay since they DID call back (they were closed Tuesday when I called, and they called back Wednesday when they opened.) We arrived at our reserved time and were seated. It's a nice little place with artwork displayed. Also an open kitchen layout as you can watch the staff preparing food. We placed our order for some some appetizers, rolls, etc.... While we waited for our food to be made, we noticed that some of the parties before us didn't have any food on their table. From the time we placed our order, one of the dishes came out about 20 minutes later. Now, we thought this took awhile but, we were talking so it didn't seem too much of an issue. Our next dish shows up 10 minutes later, the. The next, 10 minutes, an so on.... The kitchen looked fully staffed so it did seem odd that our food would not come out at a better pace, or all at once. Even some of the other tables waited for food to reach their table. We ordered 5 items which in all, took an hour to get to our table. Eating one dish and waiting for the next, and waiting for the next.... All the food that we did have was pretty good with different dishes not found at other Izakaya. They were able to accommodate my girlfriend on the chawanmushi "which she looks forward to at restaurants that offer this" with substituting one of the ingredients for another. Overall, the food was not bad, service was okay, and the kitchen was slow.... I always try to give eateries the best reviews I can because, like I state in most of my reviews, I know these establishments deal with staff as well as supply issues on a daily basis. SO, that being said, with a "full" staffed kitchen, I would have to say maybe they were having a bad day.... We would like to give this place a try again, because they did have some interesting menu options that we would like to try... but we will see.

Stopped in at 9p and asked if they were still seating for 2. Waiter told my husband yes, that bar seating was available, to let them catch up, wait outside and he'd seat us. Even took down my husbands name. 35 minutes later and 4 parties that left the restaurant later, we still remained outside patiently waiting to be called. Tables were cleaned off, bar was empty while we watched a single man walk up and get seated immediately at the bar. At this point, even if we were seated - the meal wouldn't be enjoyable knowing we were forgotten outside. If no seating was available or if there was a decent wait time, communicate that to the customer. Do better.

One of my favorite dinner or late night spots! Izakaya Torae Torae is a fairly small restaurant and you can't see in from outside, but if the hours say it's open then just try the door! Pictured are some of my favs but you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. I would definitely recommend the Ahi Tataki and carpaccio though! There is also a late night happy hour with great deals! Really friendly and attentive staff as well and cool artwork around the restaurant.

Izakaya Torae Torae is definitely one of the top Izakaya restaurants in Hawaii. The food and experience has always been good even after years apart from dining there. Located along McCully St between Beretania and Young St. It's right next to Territorial Savings Bank and Sushi Company. There's a very small parking lot beside it and a few stalls in front. However, they're for bank parking...till 6pm. Luckily, that's when Izakaya Torae Torae opens! Yes, I got hit with a whiff of cleaning solutions and chemicals similar to the smell of a just cleaned restroom. The table we sat on wasn't even dry yet. It was uncomfortable at first, but the smell eventually went away. The inside definitely feels like an izakaya with the wood tables and eclectic artwork (that's for sale!) along the walls. What's great about Torae Torae is the menu with a large variety from Donburis, hand roll sushi, sashimi, fried and grilled items, and etc. We started with the Tan Shio (Grilled Beef Tongue), and this was a great start! Nice grill marks on the thick cut tongue that was seasoned nicely. The thinly sliced onions underneath gave it such a nice sweetness and kick. The accompanying sauce was delicious as well. Nice, bright soy sauce. The Spicy Tuna Tartare is a must get! Everything about it was absolutely delicious. The tuna was fresh and prepared very well. Diced to a nice consistency and seasoned well where you can still taste the fish. The sauce was creamy and had a nice kick. The avocado underneath was amazing. Fresh, creamy, and nicely seasoned. The raw quail egg gave it even more creaminess. The Kabayaki sauce is just good on everything. It all went so well with the perfectly fried wonton bowl and nori chips (this was so good!). Next was the Crispy Jidori Chicken with Yukari (Shiso rice) seasoning on the side. Wow, Jidori is always the way to go for chicken. The meat was so tender and the skin was crispy. Seasoned perfectly allowing the chicken to shine. The Yukari seasoning went really well--giving the chicken a nice tang and umami taste. The hand rolls were HUGE! Definitely not your 7-11 hand rolls (though, the nori is better). The Salmon and Tuna were really fresh with thick pieces. You get a good amount. The unagikyu was good. Tasty chopped up unagi with cucumber. The rice was seasoned well and nicely cooked. The nori did get soft, which might've been our fault as we didn't eat it immediately. But still very good. The King Salmon Nigiri was excellent. Fresh, creamy, melt in your mouth King salmon on top of well prepared rice. The Botan Ebi with Uni and Ikura Nigiri was amazing. The shrimp was plump and sweet. Adding the unctuous, rich, and sweet uni and ikura made it an amazing bite. You can really taste the freshness. The Shrimp head was included too. Fried and seasoned very well. Lastly, the Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen looks simple, but it was very good. Excellent rich tonkotsu that wasn't overpowering. The chashu pork was tasty and tender. Noodles were nice and firm. Also came with corn and bamboo shoots, and a well prepared soft boiled egg with a bright orange yolk. Overall, what an excellent meal. Everything was very well prepared and delicious. I definitely need to come here much more often. There's so much more to try! The service was good. Attentive and friendly. Awesome place! How do you pronounce Torae Torae? I'm more inclined to say it with Japanese tones, TO-RA-E. Though, I hear To-RAY all the time. Is this like saying Karate as Kuh-Rah-Tee?

One out family members told us to try this place out. From the outside it looks closed with no lights outside up front and parking could be a challenge with just a few stalls up front. Walked inside, we are greeted o. Japanese "iirashaimase" and asked if we had any reservations we replied no, and sat us at a table. The menu didn't look like much, but food selections was nice, and different kinds of food offerings. Of course we had to have sake, do the server made his recommendations and it's was a great start As our food we ordered arrive, it all went down the hatch fast and very tasty. We will definitely be back for more ,

The food at Izakaya is so fresh & absolutely delicious! This is my go to spot on island ! 10/10 recommend !

Tip: Make reservations in advance. We didn't make one, but we did walk in when it opened and was lucky enough to get a table for 4 people. Service was friendly and the pace was decent with different dishes coming out. Fish was very fresh and tasty. We liked most of the items that came out. Drinks available for purchase too. Gluttony bowl was delicious! Some parking spots in the lot in front. Would come back again!

It's Izakaya. That means most likely it's a place to enjoy different types of Japanese food in small bites. We all left hungry but still enjoyed the food as well as the sake here at Izakaya Torae Torae. I believe you need to make a reservation. We did and it was quite challenging to get a time that suited our itinerary. One suggestion I have is for them to have the menu in Japanese. One of our friend was from Japan and we wanted her to order for all of us but they only had the English menu.

My favorite was the Niku Udon. The broth had so much flavor. They had a happy hour that started at 10, but we arrived at 9:30 and just did the regular menu. We really enjoyed each item! There was no wait time and our food came out quickly. Our waiter was very helpful. He shared the specials and came back to check in on us to see if we wanted to order anything else. It's a very nice small place. I would love to go back and try other menu items!

Finally went back after over a year and I can say it's still one of my favorite izakaya's on the island! The last time we went, my friends raved about the lollipop roll, but they were out so I made it a point to order it this time. Turns out they were out of it again HAHA maybe it's just not meant to be :') We ordered the Maguro Shiso Teriyaki Tempura, which is a mouthful but after you order it you're gonna want a whole mouthful of it. ahahaha. i'm so funny. but no yeah it's seriously so good - small bites of perfectly fried ahi with a sweet teriyaki sauce that's cut by the brightness of the shiso. The Hamachi Carpaccio was also very light and refreshing and the hamachi tasted and felt extremely fresh. I got the Crunchy Tuna Roll which had a generous amount of spicy ahi, and it was actually spicy which I give them major props for - most spicy ahi I've tried is just a mash of mayo and the tiniest bit of sriracha for color. The Gluttony Bowl was ginormous and it was quite the struggle trying to finish it haha there's a whole bunch of fabulous seafoods in there, mixed with the slimy ,viscous mountain yam for texture. The workers were very quick and the owner was super kind and chatted with us a bit which I appreciated!

Everything here is amazing and so fresh!! We loved everything we ordered. The sushi was so buttery and delicious. The karage was fried to perfection. I've never tried anything like the buta kimchi before but it was sooo delicious. The pork was really juicy and tender. My only recommendation would be to add something to the pork to cut the greasiness. A few daikon radishes or something like that would be perfect. We also ordered chu his (lychee and oolong) which were both super good! The lychee was delicious!! Like the other reviews have mentioned, it's a pretty small shop, so call ahead to make a reservation. Service is nice and efficient, and despite being super busy, they came around to refill our waters once!

Food was good but not great. Ambiance was nice and not too loud. Our server and the team were all pretty young and seemed to overlook us on occasion, but they did ok. I would come back, the experience the was decent, but probably could have been a little better.

Great place to bring your family & friends that you haven't see for a while. The food came out in a timely manner and great service. The waiters were on top of their game always made sure we had enough food and drinks.

We ordered: 1. Uni Ikura Don - sea urchin and marinated salmon roe over sushi rice & Seared Otoro Don & Gluttony Bowl - otoro, ikura, uni, hotate topped with green onion, yamaimo, tobiko, slow cooked egg 2. Spicy Tuna Tartare - wonton bowl with avocado mix. Topped with spicy tuna, raw quail egg, green onions, kabayaki sauce, nori chips 3. Hamachi Carpaccio - yellowtail, jalapeno, sweet miso, ponzu, chili, truffle oil 4. Chawanmushi - steamed egg custard served with snow crab, shrimp, shiitake mushroom. Topped with uni and Ikura Uni and ikura bowl is a fantastic flavor bomb. Seared Otoro has that seared flavor and melts in your mouth. Gluttony bowl is a fun option to get a little bit of almost everything. Quality of rice was on point. I was happy with the portion sizes of the donburi. You can't go wrong with either the spicy tuna tartare or the hamachi Carpaccio for an appetizer. I'd lean towards the tartare, more complex flavors. Waitress was friendly and helpful. I definitely want to come back next time I'm in Honolulu.

Hidden gem with delicious sushi from the outside you would not expect that inside you will have fresh sushi and sashimi along with a cozy friendly experience that is like seeing a long lost friend for the first time. Service was wonderful and loved that they checked on us periodically to ensure we were enjoying ourselves. This place is small so large parties may have a tough time if they do not reserve ahead of time. Parking is limited.

Of all the terrific food we tried in Oahu, this stands as our favorite meal. The sushi establishment is small and quaint. The interior is basic and offers no real frills but the food freshness, quality and integrity were splendid. We ordered the following: Hamachi Carpaccio, Spicy Tuna Tartare, Melty Salmon roll, Crunch tuna, assorted tempura, Niku udon, hamachi nigiri and pork belly kakuni donburi. The raw fish had the perfect texture was fresh and succulent. The Niku udon meat and broth were rich and flavorful. The pork belly donburi was soft, buttery and oozing with flavor. Even the basic mixed tempura batter was light and not oily. All in all, we loved this meal. An absolute winner.

9/30/22: Once I saw @hideyoshi808 post on IG that the Japan Uni Ikura Don was only $40 while supplies last (discounted from $51.85), I knew what I was having for dinner. While I savored every luxurious bite of my don, my bf enjoyed the White Dragon Roll and Crispy Jidori Chicken with Yukari. The chicken was not as crisp as we've had before, but it was still very delish. This gem is still one of our fave restaurants on the island. Note: They are understaffed so there are several menu items not available at the moment, but they still have so many amazing food options.

My bf and I did not have reservations but came right when they opened to see if we could get seated. Luckily, we just had to wait a little and was eventually seated at the bar. Food was delicious. We ordered otoro don, monkfish liver, jidori chicken, and hamachi carpaccio. Chicken was crispy and was my bfs favorite. I really enjoyed both the otoro and the hamachi. We also ordered a lychee and calpico chu-hi which is an alcoholic drink and it was really good. Everything was excellent and we would definitely come back.

We called to make sure there was seating ahead of time, which I highly recommend. We Ubered here since we saw on reviews that parking was limited, and I'm glad we did! We had a little bit of a wait since they were short staffed, but was seated quickly. My brother (a local) was the one to recommend this restaurant to us, and I'm so happy he did! We started with the Hamachi Carpaccio and oh man. If you haven't had this, you haven't lived. It was SO GOOD!! The yellowtail was so thin and the sweet miso, chili and truffle oil with the ponzu on it just sung a sweet song together with a small bite of jalapeño. I wanted to order another but decided to try other things on the menu. I also ordered the white and red dragon roll and both rolls were top of the line. So delicious and the fish was so fresh. Solid recommendation by my brother. Hope to return again on my next visit!

This is the 2nd time I've been to torae torae & I definitely was not disappointed. We started off with the hamachi carpaccio & spicy tuna tartare which were probably the 2 best items we got. Definitely will be coming back fthese. The other items were delicious as well. The service was great! Our server came back to check on us often, even though the restaurant was packed, to refill drinks & check if we received all of our items. Lastly, the ambiance was very chill Izakaya vibes. Small place, but very delicious food. Will definitely be circling back sometime in the near future!

This will be a weird review to write about and of course it's strictly based on my own experience. You can skip to the end if you wanna know why 3 stars is the max I can give. First, the food was pretty good. We tried a lot of things and ordered a bunch of alcohol (about $500 worth to show you how much we ate and drank.) The items included a bottle of shoju, some beers, sake, beef tongue, chicken karaage, takowasa, ankimo, beef Don, uni nigiri, lollipop rolls, eggplant, daikon and ikura, hamachi Kama, mixed tempura, etc. etc. The stuff the stood out most was the beef tongue, hamachi kama, daikon and ikura and lollipop rolls. The beef tongue was very tender and the seasoning was so good. The hamachi Kama was very fresh and grilled very well. The ikura was marinated well and fresh with a good pop! The lollipop rolls were something I've never tried, and it's a very good mixture of all the ingredients with a well balanced flavor. The ankimo was a disappointment. It wasn't dense enough and pretty much fell apart the moment I picked them up with my chopsticks. They didn't taste fresh and didn't have the umami flavor that's typical of fresh monkfish liver. The uni nigiri wasn't the freshest either. It started to melt a little and wasn't that sweet. The nori wasn't crispy and the rice didn't stay together. A lot of the items were sold out. But our server was nice and sweet. I'd say the food was above average. Few good dishes, some bad, many average. The worst thing about this place is the hygiene. It's the smelliest restaurant my husband and I have been to. The moment the door was opened it's a big gush of dirty rag air hit our noses. I almost wanted to throw up. I thought it's our table, so I actually went to the bathroom to get some kitchen towels and used their cleaning spray to wipe it down. But no, it still lingered when I sat down. Who knows what it was whether it's their towels or mops. The whole time I was hoping the smell of the food would mask it but no. I tried different seats, it's still there. It's the area that we were sitting in. There were few servers around but no one was cleaning. Maybe they're used to it already? I honestly have a big pet peeve for old rag smell. Their bathroom smells better than our area. The food wasn't that spectacular to begin with and with this smell, there's no way we're coming back. Just the thought of it was enough to keep us away. I was being nice to rate it 3 stars coz the chefs were not bad, the service was decent but the ambiance and cleanliness is definitely ZERO STAR. If the business manager or owner sees this, please do something about it. Good luck.

Great place for groups! Service was friendly. We ordered so many dishes but the memorable ones were: Pork with kimchi!!!! Whole grilled squid Agedashi tofu Salmon aburi roll The monkfish liver was a bit hard in texture. Not as good. We spent $50 pp for a group of 5.