Koko i-naba Hawaii Kai

A hidden gem in Koko Marina Shopping Center!Koko i-naba Hawaii Kai is a very small and intimate restaurant serving Japanese cuisine - specifically sushi, chirashi bowls & soba sets, and an omakase menu!I've been three times for dinner -- twice having the soba set with chirashi bowl; and once for the omakase menu. I've enjoyed each visit.The food is excellent, fish is fresh, and quality you would expect made by a Japanese chef. There is seating at the sushi bar for approximately 7-8 people as well as two small tables seating 2 people each. Best way to experience this restaurant is by sitting at the sushi bar!Prices are competitive especially given the level of quality. The restaurant is also BYOB!Definitely consider giving this restaurant a visit for lunch or dinner. They are deserving of the business and success. You won't be disappointed!

Jan 2025. Ordered the beef gyudon for lunch set with side of cold soba for $27. The gyudon taste was good. But the beef was slightly dry and portion was very small. Slightly larger than a kids portion. Overall, Not a good value. At that price point, it should be very good and larger portion. The service was adequate. No aloha vibe at all.

We went to Koko Inaba for dinner one night. My husband was away in California visiting his mom so my daughter and I had a "girls night". We always try to get into Koko Inaba but it's always full. I was lucky that night I got in. I just called when they opened 5:00pm and asked if they had any opening for that night. They said they did. I was so surprised because usually it's booked. Koko Inaba is actually pretty small. There's a sushi bar/counter that you can sit at and watch the sushi chef prepare the sushi in front of you and there are two side tables with two seats each.After my daughter's art class we headed down there. I made the reservation for 6:30pm and we were the only ones in there when we arrived. The man showed us to our table and we got one of the side tables with two seats.He brought us water and our menus. We both decided to get the combo: kani salmon ikura bowl with half sized soba. I saw lots of pictures online of this combo and it looked good. My daughter loves ikura. Seems like there's only two people running the restaurant: the waiter and the sushi chef. When the sushi chef was doing making our bowls, he had to wait until the waiter came out with the soba. Then we had both bowls at the same time. Maybe he was in the back preparing the soba. The food was really good. We took our first bites out of the sushi bowl. The crab, fish, and ikura was so fresh and I liked it over the sushi rice. But the soba was really good too. I loved the broth and the noodles. We made sure to take pictures and send it to my husband so he would be jealous that we were eating at Koko Inaba. And when he got home from his trip, we talked more about how good the food was, haha.We hope to definitely come back here again.

Didn't love the omakase, but would come back to try their soba for lunch. Plenty of parking at the marina center where it is located. This restaurant is just a counter around the chef. Tucked away inside the area on the first floor.

I'm not out in the Hawaii Kai area often so it was a treat to be out there and go and eat at Koko i-naba Hawaii Kai. While they have some similarities to the original I-naba King St location, I feel like they have some different options.I opted for the crab, salmon and ikura bowl with half soba. Everything is always fresh and delicious. The rice is seasoned just right. The soba is always on point and so fresh.The only downside about this restaurant is that there are very limited seats. There were about 8 seats at the bar plus one or two tables for two people.Soooo good! Easy parking in the shopping center as well.

food was super yummy. loved the soba and the chirashi bowl. restaurant is super small, like maybe 10 seats. also its byob.

Visited i-naba hawaii kai for lunch today, sorry no pics tho, forgot my phone :(. I ordered the chirashi soba and husband ordered tendon and soba. The tempura bowl with hot soba looked tasty..husband enjoyed both. The chirashi with cold soba was excellent. The fish was so fresh and was melt in the mouth good. A bit pricey, but will definitely go again. The soba noodles, which i loved, was another reason to return. The soba was thin and very soft, which was a change for most soba I've tried. Most soba is thick and chewy and a bit dry.....not so i-naba.....lovely soft texture and nice and thin. The service was great and the server was pleasant and welcoming. The restaurant is tiny, two sit down tables seating two each. The is also counter service that seats eight. Very cozy and intimate.

If you are in the mood for quality Japanese food as if you were in Japan, head over to Koko I-naba Hawaii Kai. I haven't been disappointed with the things that I've ordered. The attention to detail, the quality of ingredients and consistent taste, makes this place a great place to come for lunch or dinner.One of my favorite things is at the end of the meal, the server will bring out a tea pot of the soba hot water and you add it to the soba dipping sauce and drink then you drink it like tea. Great way to end a meal.Staff is great and the place in nice and cozy but in a good way.

I have been trying to find a place that has Japanese soba. Noodles on the island have been unsatisfying. My friend recommended me Inaba so I went. The restaurant is small but very cozy. I never liked being in a crowded area so this was a great place for me. Service was fast and attentive. I had the crab/ikura bowl with soba. It was delicious! The price is a bit high but the quality was great. Soba was a bit on the smaller portion for me so I think I will upgrade to a larger size next time.

A tiny hole in the wall tucked in the back of the shopping center. Finding it is quite a task but if you find the poke shop which you can see from the parking lot, it is in the corridor next to it. While the sushi chef wasn't a talker, he definitely knows his craft. I don't think I've ever seen someone prepare rice and presentation of the chirashi type bowls with the passion and excellence the way their chef does. Although their menu is not huge, what is offered is excellent and reasonably priced. The restaurant is tiny. There are only 8 seats around the chef with 3-4 tiny tables for two. The restaurant is quiet so if you're with a group that tends to get loud, in my opinion it would be pretty uncomfortable. We went with friends to celebrate their daughter's birthday so there was a total of 5 of us and conversation was a little uncomfortable as everyone around the counter heard everything. If you're going for a quiet meal, this is perfect and delicious! We would definitely return and I definitely would recommend visiting Koko I-naba restaurant.