maniwa izakaya

Following Yelp's guidelines: FOOD (5 STARS), SERVICE (5 STARS), AMBIANCE (3 STARS)Why 3 stars for Ambiance? Well, it's because you're sitting outside in their so called "Patio" which is right up against the sidewalk. Here is my story:My host says "let's have dinner at this SECRET restaurant in Kakaako... Here's the Utube clip...." They don't advertise, they don't have a store sign, they don't, they don't, they don't. It was only after the Utube viewing did I get the name of the SECRET restaurant. Their menu is quite simple; you can have "Nabe" or "Yakiniku". If you order Yakiniku, you will definitely sit outside in their patio. If you order Nabe, you may sit inside the Establishment. So we had Yakiniku and sat outside (NOTE: MAX number of diners=12 and there is only one seating a night) Harami, Sagari, Beef Tongue, Kalbi and their night's special of rib eye cap was our choice of proteins and a couple of us had the egg dip (sorry, I was too slow to grab pics; my dining partners are not photo people and just dived into the food... ) We also had the salmon skin and green onion omelette with side order kim chee. Not the cheapest but this goes with the old saying "you get what you pay for" and I will admit the meats were absolutely delicious, selected and cut right.Street parking available. BTW, Maniwa Izakaya is part of Up Roll Cafe.... that should give you a hint as you look for them.It's aslo BYOB with $20 per bottle corkageA definite must try. Reservations necessary and can be made though DM on IG. Worth the wait as you will wait for you reservation date. As of recent, they are pushing 4 months out.

@maniwa_izakaya by night @uprollcafe_honolulu by day. We secured a reservation (1-2 months wait) and I literally almost forgot that I had upcoming reservations cause I made it so far in advance What we ordered -Salmon skin $9Beef tartar $19Bean sprouts and Namul $8Ahi yuukhoe $16Salmon yukhoe $16Green onion omelette $14Mentaiko omelette $14Special rib cap $70Beef tongue $19Baguette $5Kalbi $25Sagari $20Harami $19Senmai yaki $13Pork toro $18Garlic $9Egg dip $2.50Cold noodle $8Clam soup $9Scallion sauce $7Tips - res is made by DM. You have to check their stories to see their availability for the following months and the entire month is filled within a day when released. ++ there is only one table per night and there is a minimum of 4 guests and a maximum of 13. Dogs are also welcomed ++ stick to the meats. We tried both of the poke and the salmon one was the better of the two. The ahi tasted like it was frozen and thawed out a few times. Out of the two omelets we ordered - the green onion one was the best and was actually recommended. BYOB with $20 corkage fee + $20 fee if you bring in your own cake (I wish I knew this one prior)Parking is street and it was pretty full around 6pm already. I had to circle the block a few times and found one near some condos 5-10 mins away.

When I say this place is a hidden gem I'm not exaggerating. They only have ONE table per night (4-10 people) so you will need to book your reservations in advance! They are located outside of Uproll Cafe in Kaka'ako (and are owned by the same owners). Reservations are made via DM on their Instagram. Everything we had was fantastic. We ordered pali pali salmon skin, ahi poke, Japanese omelette, salad, beef tongue with green onion, special cut flap meat zabuton, premium skirt meat harami, and cold black noodle. The meat was all very juicy, flavorful, and well-marinated! I loved their NEGIDakutan (beef tongue with green onions). If you order a minimum of 3 orders of tongue, you can ask them to serve it in a rose shape Definitely recommend the Pali Pali Salmon Skin. It's perfectly crispy and comes as one HUGE salmon skin chip. Their Japanese Omelette is TO DIE FOR as well. So fluffy, jiggly, and amazingly umami. I could eat an entire order by myself! It's made from OK Poultry's TKG eggs. No BYOB - they serve alcohol. This was the perfect place to go to celebrate my friend's birthday and I really appreciated that the staff was so sweet and friendly as well. The best parking is street parking in the Kaka'ako area. I would definitely come back.