Stacy S.
Yelp
I have to preface this review by saying that the only reason I'm giving this place 3 stars is because of their nabeyaki udon. Their service is 5 stars all the way!
Continuing on my search for the best nabeyaki in Honolulu, I came across Yohei Sushi on Yelp. The photos of the nabeyaki looked fantastic. The price... not so much. The last menu I saw online showed $19. That's a bit high in my book, yet I decided to give it a go.
I called to make a reservation, as I had read that it gets crowded. I'm glad that I did! I was the first one there at 5pm and by the time I left, the place was almost full. I could tell that many of the customers were regulars, as the staff greeted them by name.
They're located in a run-down shopping center off of Dillingham Blvd., near U Kitchen. Plenty of parking is available in the shared lot. It looks sketchy on the outside, but once you walk inside it's a warm and inviting Japanese restaurant. They have a small sushi bar, as well as various sized tables.
As soon as I entered, I was greeted by the friendly Japanese staff. They quickly brought out my water, green tea and menu. I placed my order fairly quickly since I already knew what I wanted. Unfortunately to my surprise, I noticed that the nabeyaki price had been raised to $23! Wow, that's the most expensive bowl of nabeyaki I've ever had.
Unfortunately the nabeyaki did not live up to the price tag... not even close. The broth was just average and there weren't as many ingredients as other nabeyaki's I've had. There was no cabbage or shiitake mushroom or mochi. It was basically udon with an egg, fish cake, 1 shrimp tempura and very few small pieces of chicken. In my opinion, it was more like a $15 bowl as opposed to $23.
I probably wouldn't return in the future because everything seemed overly priced, not just the nabeyaki.