Onkee Korean Grill House

Korean food located on the 2nd floor inside the condominium building, Kōʻula, at Ward, is a upscale spot and not like the other more traditional places here, but definitely delicious!Spacious and beautiful. This is a great dining experience and a nice place for business luncheon, romantic dates, tourists and locals. Dress code is probably a little more dressy here. They have cocktails, beer and wine. Great service as well, really friendly and attentive! Parking in the building I am not sure, the entrance with rideshare would be off Auahi into Robinson and take the stairs or elevator to the 2nd floor. I parked at the movie theater next door and walked directly next door. (Opposite of Istanbul, head the other way back towads Ward.) Some park may at Whole Foods.

I came again to try their lunch menu. I made reservation at 11am. Friendly staffs.Our server brought us a bowl of cold soup with Kimchi. The cold coup has seaweed, cucumber and onion inside. It's very sour but refreshing. We liked it. I ordered their Combo 1 - Kalbi with Kimchi Stew and Grilled Fish with Kimchi Stew. Everything tastes fantastic. The Kalbi was very tender and juicy. I love the Kimchi Stew very much because they put lots of ingredients inside such as Enoki mushrooms, pork belly, tofu, etc. It's very flavorful. The Grilled fish was delicious too. I'll definitely come more often with this excellent services and good quality of food.

Onkee should be the best Korean restaurant in Honolulu because of its modern looks, attractive tableware, and top-of-the-line beef cuts, Michelin-trained chefs, and experienced restaurant group management. They are not.Dinner is the best meal to have here. Build your meal around their smokeless grills. The non-beef proteins are fine but stick with beef. Side dishes, like the corn cheese egg soufflé or beef tartare, and side banchan, like the plate of special kimchi, are nicely presented and tasty but if you base your experience on those items then you are in the wrong place. You should be here to eat beef (although none of it is Korean Hanwoo). As long as the servers are cooking your meats you will get attentive service - but it drops off once they move on to help another table and some side orders may lag.Lunch is a questionable value. The quality is high but if simple, quick, and filling is what you need for lunch then nearby competition are better alternatives. None of the sets stand out.The Happy Hour is an opportunity to see some of the non-grill appetizers and entrees at a slightly lower price. However, this is an eye-opening experience that shows why they are far short of reaching their potential as the best Korean restaurant in Honolulu. Several menus look like they were once wet - shriveled and warped. What does getting a dirty recycled paper menu say about how much they value you coming for a happy hour? The items exclusive to happy hour - a shrimp cocktail, rib eye skewer, fried chicken, fries, beef short rib rice bowl? A real lack of imagination. Truffle Potato Pancake, a criss-crossed layer of deep fried shoestring potato with aioli and nothing like a crispy on the outside and moist and savory on the inside gamja jeon - stick with the fries at half the price. Neobiani, described as Smashed Galbi Steak - awful. Instead of thin juicy strips of beef (neobiani) you are given two overcooked galbi flavored ground beef patties (teokk galbi) - awful.In inquiring about a premium soju I saw I was informed it was not in their POS yet or on the menu but was priced the same as Jinro Ilpoom soju. My menu stated Jinro Ilpoom at $30. Fine. On my bill they charged me $35 - and when I mentioned the price discrepancy I was told the menu they handed me was out of date. I call bullshit!About the use of the name Michelin in their promotional overview on the Ward Village site and their overenthusiastic review in Honolulu magazine .... To mention "Michelin-trained" as a way of implying a high level or creativity and execution without specifically naming the Michelin restaurant or presenting any corroborating chef bio is a little shady to me. I found out, after persistent inquiries, yes, the executive chef previously worked at Osaka's three-Michelin star Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama. But they appear to be reluctant to disclose that bit of information. I wonder why ....As far as their potential goes, Onkee has a high ceiling, and started with a high floor. Unfortunately, they are still barely above their high floor start, with a long way to go before they start to reach their ceiling.

I went there with seven friends. Everything was delicious, so I ate some before I could take a picture. However, the kimchi stew was too strong, so I couldn't drink a lot of it. It was too salty and peppery. So I recommend the miso stew. There are two types of kimchi, and the kimchi salad, which comes in a large bowl and is shared by everyone, is refreshing and delicious. The bulgogi is marinated rib eye, so it is recommended for those who like less fat. The mul (cold Korean soup noodle) bibimbap is also delicious. The wine and champagne list here is tasteful. I will come back for happy hour and dinner. The shaved ice on the evening menu is powder snow, not too sweet, and very delicious.友人と、７名で行きました。どれも、美味しいので、写真を撮る前に、食べてしまったものがあります。しかし、キムチシチューは、味な濃過ぎて、沢山飲めないです。唐辛子と塩辛いです。だから、味噌シチューが、おすすめです。キムチは、2種類あり、大きめの器で、皆で、わけるキムチサラダは、サッパリして、美味しいです。プルコギが、マリネしたリブアイなので、脂味少なくいのが、好きな人には、おすすめです。Mul(冷たい韓国スープ麺)ビビンバも、美味しいです。ここのワイン、シャンパンリストは、センスが良いです。ハッピーアワーやディナーに帰ってきます。夜のメニューのかき氷は、パウダースノーで、甘さ控えめで、とても美味しいです。

NEW FAVE ALERT‼My bf and I got the grill lunch set which comes with hanger steak, ribeye, marinated beef short rib + you can choose 2 MEALS to go with it so we got bibim-naengmyeon (spicy cold noodle) and kimchi stew UGH everything was DELICIOUS AND the guy is like "u wanna cook ur meat or u want me to cook for u?" And I was like "omg u can cook go ahead sir" and he proceeded to cook everything to medium rare PERFECTION the meats come w/ sauce and 2 salts for dipping. & there were a ton of banchan Omg and can't forget the marinated soy shrimp !!!! The set is definitely worth the $$ !! It's $55 per person and there's so much food, we had to pack up all our leftovers cuz we were stuffed I can't waaaaait to go back !

Came for lunch. The restaurant is located 2nd level above Dean Deluca Cafe on Queen. I had Lunch Set 2 with the Chopped Steak with onions. The set includes choice of entrees, banchan, noodles, kimchi started with a cold soup. I couldn't eat half of what came in the set. The steak was incredibly delicious. Despite a reputation for expensive, I thought this was an amazing deal and could feed 2.

How did I not review this amazing restaurant?! Food was cooked by our server at the table. Great air filtering system. It was not smoky at all. The restaurant is classy.

The lunch sets here are a great value and everything was so tasty! The kimchi soup that comes with the lunch set is sooo good, probably my fav kimchi soup I've ever had tbh. They also have a unique cabbage salad appetizer that they bring out at the beginning that was so tasty and crunchy along with some sort of cold soup that was a bit too vinegary for me but still pretty good. The drinks here are terrible though, has the lychee drink, Paloma and Pineapple Express and they all tasted super watered down.

Eight visits since they opened across lunch, HH, and dinner. The menu has grown. There are now more choices other than just beef. Time for an upgrade to the full five stars.First, the forte of Onkee is refined Korean food often with subtle flavors or better still, self adjusted seasonings to your liking. This isn't the typical KBBQ spot where marinated items are in your face flavorful.Breaking it down by the service:LUNCH - An absolute bargain. Essentially a kitchen cooked protein and a hot stew for $27 or with a cold naengmyeon for $29. Many non combo meals sub $20. The LA short ribs, gently marinated in a Korean pear sweetened soy, tender, juicy and perfectly cooked. The accompanying kimchi stew, mildly spicy, gentle fermented finish, packed with tofu and pork belly. The noodle hotpot (for two or more) is excellent. Very flavorful broth that can be adjusted with the provided salt, garlic or dried chilies, lots of mushrooms and veg and very toothsome noodles. Two dipping sauces, a gentle soy and a oh so good sesame for the beef. HH - Great prices for food and drinks backed by a serious bar of solid brown libations. Do get the "fried chicken with green onion salad" Their take on KFC. Well fried, crisp, juicy morsels of boneless chicken that pairs so well with the pile of thinly sliced green onions atop. Also, do not pass on the "braised short ribs with rice). A donburi with the requisite Korean banchan, raw egg and absolutely delish, chopstick tender soy braised boneless short rib.Dinner - Time for the KBBQ. All the requisite cuts. USDA prime and above. Dry aged tenderloin or better still the dry aged ribeye a must. Again, marinated items have a subtle sweet soy flavor. Opt for a combo for the best value. All grilling is done by the staff. Rice and ssam vegetables must be ordered separately per person. The beef tartare is stunning and do not pass on the egg soufflé with corn cheese. Trust.Service is omnipresent, very friendly and efficient. Do not be afraid to ask how to properly eat something. They are happy to share knowledge.Excellent bar selections for a Korean BBQ eatery.Regardless of what meal, Onkee has come into its own, filling a niche, refined Korean BBQ, left vacant in the Hawaii food scene.

The lunch specials here are amazing. The chopped steak sounds junk but it's actually SOOO GOOD. Hard to find this place, it's up the dedicated elevator which you have to find from the ground level.