Kim Chee Restaurant

Located in Kailua shopping center with Safeway and Round table pizza and many other business.They have a buffet salad bar with every meal ordered.The staff is very friendly and nice and the food is always terrific.A family run business and the husband was the chief on the electric company show, making a lot of his favor dishes.My wife had the meat Jun which she likes very much the way it is prepared and the sauce is delicious. Because.I had the Tonkatsu which was also very good and the seaweed soup was also very tasty how.Our son had the BBQ mix plate with Kabli, BBQ meats and chicken which he also enjoyed very much.The restrooms are clean and also the restaurant. I would appreciate.Lots of shared parking

Solid Korean food for windward side. They have a cold/hot food bar to get your banchan, steamed rice, and soup. I've had the meat jun and kalbi plate and both were pretty good! They do have different takeout and dining menus. Just double check the receipt to see if you are charged correctly!

This is a small restruant. I love that the vegetables are buffet style and comes with the meals. The food was delicious both the meal and the veggies. The price though was ridiculous, $30 for a plate is a little insane. Especially for the amount of food the meal came with. Service was straight forward, the women who had been working there for years is very friendly and welcoming. I wish it wasn't so expensive, I'd want to come here more often.

My kids asked me to rate Kim Chee Restaurant in Kailua a 5 and I am willing to do so because the folks there are so friendly, the banchan bar is amazing, the place is super clean, and they have a wide array of meats to choose from on their mixed plates. For four of us, we ordered three mixed plates and I ordered the vegetable (banchan) bar and figured I'd pick pieces of meat from the other three orders which I did. We all ate to our fill and more. Banchan bar: 5/5 I've never seen such an extensive banchan bar - all you can eat! seaweed soup, white rice, macaroni salad, bean sprouts, potatoes, green vegetable with sesame, kim chi, spicy cucumber salad, green salad, jello, very high-quality fresh pineapple slices. We each got what we liked and didn't waste anything. Mixed plates:Meat jun: 5/5Short rib: 5/5BBQ beef: 5/5BBQ chicken: 5/5Chicken katsu: 4/5 (I make my own so I'm pretty particular)Shrimp tempura: 4/5 (not a panko flake topping, more doughy)My husband and son came here six years ago and couldn't then recall where or what it was called and I'm so glad we found Kim Chee Restaurant in Kailua again! It's the only one of the various Kim Chee X restaurants that has the banchan bar and it's worth the trip to Kailua for it!

Long overdue review. But wow, this place is great!AYCE banchan station is an automatic 5 stars. I'd give more stars if I could because the food is just as good and the portions are enough to take some home.I shared the "Two People Special" with my boyfriend because we couldn't decide what we wanted, plus it was our first time so we wanted to taste which dish they make better lol. I also got a side of Mahi Mahi Jun. The pieces of each protein was nice and thick - crispy and juicy. The presentation of the dishes were so fancy.. even had drizzle designs. Everything was fresh off the stove or fryer so we def started eating straight off the plate. The special we got is definitely enough for two people and mixed with the banchan, we still had leftovers for lunch the next day.People were funneling in and out and the owner seemed to be know almost everyone that walked in - or was so friendly that you would think she did lol. She was super nice with me and my boyfriend, even cracked a couple jokes.The place is also BYOB which is convient because it's next to a safeway lol. I want to take my family here. Definitely worth the drive to Kailua for.

It's always a struggle to find new restaurants to eat out, especially when you're not familiar with the area. We noticed that they have a vegetable bar and that's what pretty much sold us. Not sure if other Korean restaurants offer that so we wanted to try. Once we walked in there were a few families eating. We were still able to get a table without waiting which is nice. We decided to order their Two People Special plate ($62.90). The combo comes with Kai bi, bbq chicken, meat jun, chicken katsu, shrimp tempura and white rice w/ access to the vegetable bar. Yes, that's a lot of food to take in but we were ready for it! While we waited for the combo plate, we went to the vegetable bar and helped ourselves to some kimchee, bean sprouts, corn, toss greens and white rice! They also have miso or seaweed soup that's available. You can also help yourself to sauces for the meat jun, katsu, and salads to name a few. Once the two people special plate arrived, we were in awe. So much food on one plate but it all looked so good. We first tried the chicken katsu. Crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. It was also a plus with their katsu sauce. The bbq chicken was also very tasty. Our favorite was probably their shrimp tempura. It was delicious but also made differently. While eating we noticed a tv show of the restaurant and one of the foods that was made was the shrimp tempura which clicked on how it was made. Meat jun was good and surprisingly the egg was yellower than other Korean restaurants. The Kai bi was flavorful and juicy. The best part was probably the meat on the bone.Such a great experience eating here. The staff/owners are very friendly and you get a sense of pride eating at their restaurant. The chef has multiple awards shown around the restaurant and even had their own TV show 31 years ago! Defiently worth giving this place a try when you're in the area.

Very friendly and outgoing staff the food is American Korean but delicious and fresh. Reasonable prices and attentive service. The whole restaurant participated in singing happy birthday to a patron while I dined this is a place that loves its customers.

I have been coming to E.L. Kim Chee since they first opened and the quality of their food has NEVER gone down. The service the owners and their whanau provides is phenomenal! They remember the names of all their regular customers as well as our favorite food items to order. They even remember the small details such as whether we prefer extra sauce or something on the side. What I really love and appreciate about Sara and her husband, is how they never let their restaurant become dilapidated. For as long as they have been in business, their restaurant is always clean, well maintained, and welcoming. It is mine and my family's favorite Korean restaurant to patronize. Their kalbi, meat jun, shrimp tempura, fried mandoo, and cold tofu salad is to die for! Their side dishes are equally fantastic! I highly recommend E.L. Kim Chee for authentic Korean food.

Very sad to put this up but I called in a take out order last night at 7:50pm the guy took my order told me it would be ready to 15-20min got there after 15min the open sign wasn't on and the door was locked lights were on but no one was out front that could see me to let me in. I was very upset about this and also on google it says they close at 8:30pm and on their door it says 9pm. I did noticed that it wasn't the usual lady that answers when this guy answered I thought I was calling the wrong spot. They should change their hours if they are closing earlier than what says on their door and google.

We had the lunch special $21.99.The servings are extremely small. We ordered the squid tempura and spicy pork.The pork was a thin slice about 4" in length. It was cut into 2 pieces.The BBQ beef really salty, also no flavor.Its a lunch buffet so you have to get your own utensils, side dishesand water.For the price we would not return again. The portions are too stingy and the side dishes ( bachans) blah.Save your money and eat at Kimchee 1 in Kaneohe.