U Kitchen

The environment is very good and the service is very thoughtful. I will come again. I will recommend others to patronize

I can't pinpoint exactly when this spot decided to grace Kalihi with its culinary presence, but it's been a staple in my routine for years. Every trip back home, I make it a point to swing by for their bento boxes--perfect for a beach day or as my "food insurance" for the airport wait or plane ride. Let's face it, nothing beats having a stash of delicious snacks ready while everyone else is stuck with pretzels and nuts. This place is all about takeout gems--no dine-in, just grab-and-go greatness.Their prices? An absolute steal. They even mentioned they're now distributing to local grocery stores, so clearly, I'm not the only one who's hooked.Their bentos? Think of them as a modern-day nod to the iconic Shirokiya ones from back in the day--nostalgia served fresh. And their breakfast ? Oh, they're a meal and a half. My go-to is the one with scrambled eggs, rice, Portuguese sausage, Spam (or mochiko chicken), mac salad, and a toss salad. But the nori bento is fantastic: panko-fried fish, mochiko chicken, mac salad, pickled veggies, croquette, and Japanese fish cake. The kicker? These are all just around $6. Yes, seriously.If you're craving high-quality, flavorful bentos that won't break the bank, this is the spot to hit. Just brace yourself and your patience for the construction chaos outside--it's a small price to pay for this level of deliciousness.

A little hard getting here with all of the work being done on Dillingham. Was able to find parking easily so that's a plus. Had to wait around 15 minutes for my sukiyaki bento while waiting outside the store. Bento itself was very good. Wish they had an option of paying more to get the broth as well. I was missing the sukiyaki from shirokiya village and this was enough to satisfy the craving.

There has been a buzz in the Yelp community for YEARS about U Kitchen (UK), a Japanese restaurant that serves bentos, plate lunches, sandwiches and sandwiches. UK, located in Kokea Center, with popular neighbors of Yohei Sushi and Subway, UK is known for their balanced and healthy lunch options. They opened their doors for business in Aug 2021 offering economical and balanced Japanese lunch boxes. Many Yeeps rave over their Nori Bento, which has deep fried fish filet, fried curried chikuwa, potato croquette, mochiko chicken, house green salad, macaroni salad, Japanese seaweed, Japanese pickles and rice. All of this food for &5.99. Here's the catch: this special is only offered between 8am to 11am. Lucky me for having a sister who works graveyard shifts and picked me up the Nori Bento one day and dropped it off at my office for me. I was impressed with the presentation and volume of food for that price. After taking a photo, it was time to dig in. As recommended in Jo Y.'s review, I reheated the deep fried items in the toaster oven to liven up my bento. Indeed deep fried foods taste better when eaten hot and the exterior texture crisped up. I also reheated the rice after removing the greens and macaroni salad and indeed, it was a good meal with a generous portion as I couldn't finish it in one sitting. So why only 4 stars? Most of the bento components were commercialized, premade items and deep fried. Would have been nice with components of braised, stewed, pickled and/or steamed (i.e. nikujaga, nishime, namasu). The bottom line: you cannot go wrong with the Nori Bento for $5.99. Great volume and decent food.

Been to this establishment quite a few times since I work nearby. It's just been a little annoying to get there because of the rail construction on Dillingham Blvd. I don't mind walking there since it's the best way for me to get there, but man oh man, it does get hot when you're walking around lunch time. The food in my opinion is worth it though. My top faves is their grilled salmon with a choice of white or brown rice and their mushroom chicken . I try to order brown rice whenever it's offered. The plate comes with spring salad and macaroni salad. Good size portion that you eat half of and save the rest if you can. Everything I've ordered so far has been really tasty. No dine in here. There are grab to go bentos if you're in a hurry but if you call it i your order it's just as quick. A nice variety of food to choose from and they serve breakfast too. They do catering too, so they can be busy putting orders together. The staff there is super nice and friendly. It's worth a trip there if you're in the area. Best to check their menu and food pics from Yelp and call it in.

U kitchen is in a little strip mall across LCC. They have many bentos and plate lunches for a reasonable price that's stacked high with flavor. My go tos:Grilled salmonBreakfast bento ($5 can't go wrong)Their salmon katsu, chicken katsu with curry, Menchi (beef) katsu with curry are my other favorites. My hubby and sister loves their garlic chicken.All their plate lunches comes with rice (2 scoops), Mac salad, and toss salad. Reasonable prices, great service, delicious food. Take out only.Enjoy and happy yelping!

Food was very good . If you're looking for a quick lunch and are in this area , U Kitchen is the spot to come. Service is very fast too , just too bad they don't have table to sit inside.

Was craving for something Japanese and yet not over priced. Searched Yelp and came across U-Kitchen. Read the reviews and looked at pictures. A lot of good reviews so gave it a try. It's located next to Yohei Sushi on Dillingham. Right now, because of the rail construction, it's a bit pain in the @$$ to get there but it's worth it. It's take out only. So you order and you wait outside. I saw many do phone orders. The staff are very friendly and the shop is clean.We ordered Mechi Katsu, Menchi Katsu Curry, Mushroom Chicken, and Hamburg Steak with Egg. All plates came with some mixed greens and macaroni salad. The macaroni salad was not too much mayo so it was good. The Menchi Katsu was a good size patty and very good. Although, we didn't care for the sauce on the menchi katsu. It was a bit sweet for our taste. Hopefully, next time we can omit it? and just have the regular tonkatsu sauce instead. The curry was okay, just a little on the sweet side for our liking. The hamburg steak was a good size patty with lots of demi sauce. I knew I'm not a fan of demi sauce but wanted to try it anyways. They cover the patty with lots of it. A pretty thick demi sauce. The best plate was the mushroom chicken. the chicken was tender and the gravy was good, not salty at all. I'd come back for the menchi and the mushroom chicken.

Enjoy trying out new places. Decided to grab some take out. I got the salmon katsu which comes with Mac salad and tossed greens. My coworkers got the hamburger steak and garlic chicken. The salmon katsu was crisp and delicious. It was drizzled with some sauce but I added a bit more of the katsu sauce. It hit the spot. Definitely would check this place out again. Probably would need to go a little earlier because they also sell musubis and bentos.

The food here is simply amazing. For the amount of food that they give and the price. You can't Beat it!!!!!!! Love the garlic chicken. Tasty on the outside. Juicy and moist in the inside. Husband ordered the dynamite salmon. Large piece of fish that they give. It had a crab topping with the mayo and saracha sauce. Not dry at all. The owner ( young gentlemen) very friendly and welcoming. Explained the menu. BTW they are the ones who provide to Marukai, Don quiote and times supermarket with their seafood bentos. Go to the source instead. They sell their items at a better price. Plus it's still hot!!!!!! It's located at the Kokea center near Yohei sushi. Plenty of parking.