Izakaya Naru

I absolutely love this place and make it a point to visit every time I'm in Honolulu. It has the authentic feel of a Japanese izakaya, with cute handwritten menus and great food and drink specials. The seating is limited, and it's a popular spot, so be sure to call ahead for a reservation. The staff is incredibly friendly, fluent in both Japanese and English, and very accommodating. We ordered the famous taco rice, which was mixed right in front of us on a hot stone, and it was so fun and tasty. As a true izakaya fan, I was thrilled to see items like hotaruika and beef tongue on the menu. The cilantro salad was an unexpected but delicious surprise. They also have fun items on the menu like sukiyaki pizza, which is a must after a couple drinks!The food is consistently excellent, the drink selection is great, and the prices are very reasonable. I highly recommend this spot to anyone in the area looking for amazing food and a great time!

We loved this place and will definitely be back. There is plenty of parking and the staff was friendly and attentive. The beer was cold and the food was tasty with a bunch of unique selections. They're located on S. King St. just past Pucks Alley.Aloooooha and happy eating.

Ahh the nostalgia! The last time I dined here was about 7 years ago... it's honestly so reassuring that this place is still going and their food is just as good as I remembered it to be.My friend grabbed us a table so our wait time was virtually nonexistent. Seats can be limited so plan accordingly. I'd say there is probably less than twenty seats in the entire restaurant. Ambiance-wise, The restaurant is dimly lit and the atmosphere is really laidback and casual. Our table of three ordered a few drinks and some dishes to share. Can't go wrong with some chu-hi! My personal favorite is the umeboshi which is refreshing and tart and a little salty. If that isn't your jam, there is also beer and sake. It's definitely also worth trying the awamori here, especially you haven't had it. The sample is a really good deal and you can try a few different flavors. Be warned, it is pretty strong and boozy. On to the food! The chicken skin was so crunchy and refreshing, the perfect drinking snack. We also saw the washugyu special and it was so so good. The beef was so tender and the stew was rich and flavorful. They also were nice enough to offer us extra pieces of toast. My personal favorites here are the sukiyaki pizza, simmered pork belly, & the taco rice. They will not disappoint. All the flavors are spot on and definitely worth trying. Service here is top notch. Our server was so fast with our drink orders and always made sure we didn't have an empty glass. Food is timed perfectly so there's always a dish hitting the table. Parking can be tricky since the lot is small but there is also street parking. Overall, a pleasant dining experience. So happy to be back!

Came here late night with my brother. We came without reservations and had to wait a bit to get seated. Definitely a place that is popping and its on the smaller side. The service is fast and the food is legit and authentic. Loved their sashimi and their beef tongue.

Came here with a friend. I don't drink but they seem to have a big selection of alcoholic drinks. Food was great. I recommend the butterfish, the kakuni, and the veggie chips. Service was on point and the interior was clean and nicely decorated.

This hole-in-the-wall Okinawan Izakaya is small but mighty. And guess what?! They have a free parking lot!It can get a bit busy, especially on the weekends. Everytime I go in, they ask if I have a reservation... so reservations are recommended! For drinks, I'm a fan of the highballs. They are a bit low in alcohol % but at around $8 a drink -- you can have a few throughout the night. Japanese beer more your vibe? How about Sake? They got them all!Izakaya small plates means you can order a lot of different plates. My fav top dishes are the chicken karaage and gyoza. The chicken karaage comes with this delicious tartar sauce that compliments the perfectly crispy yet succulent chicken. The gyoza has that thin and crispy bottom, like a little dumpling skirt. The filling, the wrapper, and sauces -- absolute perfection. This might be a little embarrassing to admit -- but last time we were here we did order two orders of potato salad for the two of us -- it was that good. The gyoza pizza is something you gotta try once, but I'm a bigger fan of their regular gyoza.

The place is a small place but very good food and service! We came in and it was so cozy, we waited about 5 minutes to be seated, the experience as a whole was great.

I love this place! This is definitely one of our go to restaurant when we're craving Okinawan/Japanese food! Service can take a while, because they cooked everything from scratch, but it's definitely worth the wait! The food are more sharable, so definitely don't be scared to order a lot of food to share! My favorites include beef tongue, seared aburi mackerel and hamachi carpaccio! Definitely get these ones, because the flavors are just out of this world! The rest of the food are really good too, so honestly you can't go wrong with anything!Don't forget to order their drinks too, they're known for their awamori! We got the the awamori sampler, so we were able to try three different kinds of awamori! If you want something sweeter, they also have a ton of options, so definitely check them out too!The space is pretty small, so the wait can take a while, so get a reservation in advance!

Beef tongue, quail egg, chicken skin, taco rice, Chinese cabbage salad all very good. Not very used to the raw squid, and the miso butterfish is just ok.

We opted to eat dinner at Izakaya Naru one night during our trip to Honolulu last week. The website is not helpful and you need to call to make reservations (and yes, you need reservations). We made the reservations a few days ahead of time. I asked if they can make the meal with no MSG and the response was Japanese food has MSG (not 100% accurate as we tried another restaurant which we loved during the same week and asked for no MSG, and they mentioned they never use it!!) The restaurant is very small, dark and the chairs are stools at each table, if you need back support, you won't have any...We ordered the chicken Karaage, garlic rice with scallops, pork belly, hamachi carpaccio, butterfish kasu, beef with vegetables, and freshly made soba noodles. The Karaage was hot and crispy and was great. Loved the butterfish marinated with miso, soft and tender. Beef and vegetables was very strong and salty. The pork belly was very tender as well. Hamachi carpaccio was a nice quality fish. The soba was really udon noodles and was served more firm than o would have liked. Service was quick and the meal was good but I wouldn't rate it as a great restaurant. Will probably try other places during future visits to the island.