One of our friends is coming to the end of her short-term job with Tsukiji in Ala Moana, and invited us to come down and see her at work and grab a bite to eat. I have been to Tsukiji’s buffet for lunch and dinner before, and both times was not overly impressed by the food for the price you paid. This time around our friend recommended we try the Robatayaki & Yakitori Bar, where you could order ala carte some of the more “prime” selections from the buffet and some other grilled items not offered on the line. This promised to be a more satisfying alternative to the buffet.
Tsukiji’s Robatayaki & Yakitori Bar
Since we opted to try the ala carte ordering up on the Robatayaki Bar tonight, we were seated right at the entrance of the restaurant. Although previous meals at Tsukiji’s lacked somewhat in taste and value, the atmosphere of the restaurant was always lively and upbeat. The interior itself is pretty well organized and furnished, and does not lack aesthetic design. At the Robatayaki Bar you are seated behind a counter where the cook (the man in the red shirt in the picture above) takes your order and cooks them on a wire mesh grill he has setup at the counter.
The first order of business was to get acquainted with the ala carte menu. The menu is divided into a few sections: Robatayaki, Yakitori, Oden, Meal Sets, and other ala carte items. The Robatayaki and Yakitori sections include the items from the charcoal grill like Kalbi and Ika Geso (squid legs). The rest of the menu was a mixture of other items from chicken karaage to an oden set where you could choose 5 pieces fro a selection of oden items. Tsukiji also provides a drink menu featuring many of their sake wines and mixed drinks. Being up for a cocktail tonight I asked the waiter to recommend a drink and he suggested a popular one called the “Okinawa G-Spot Martini.”
Okinawa G-Spot Martini
This drink was a mixture of sake and Malibu rum, indicated on the menu as a “must have” item. At first I was a bit skeptical. Right in front of us on the bar was a lineup of sake bottles that the restaurant offered, and one of them was a dark black bottle of “G” Sake. I picked up the bottle and read the short description on the back. It’s a sake made in America by a man named Lorenzo. Needless to say, as a Japanese person myself, I was a bit wary of drinking sake made in America. But our waiter had recommended it so I decided to give it a go. The drink came and turned out to be much better than I had expected. The sake is very sweet and smooth, complemented well by the taste of the rum. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a lighter alcoholic beverage with their meal.
After getting my drink order in, we ordered up some food. Here’s what we got:
Chicken Karaage
Sadly the karaage we ordered was simply a plate full of the chicken karaage offered off of the buffet line. The chicken was hot when it was brought to us, which was a bonus, but did not taste that great having come from the buffet. It was a disappointing start to the meal.
Alaskan King Crab
Similar to the karaage, the order of King crab we had placed came from the buffet line. The crab is steamed and was nicely warmed when served to us. The crab came with a small dish of melted butter sauce. The meat was soft and the crab itself was lightly seasoned with salt. Not the best crab I’ve ever had but definitely a look up on the karaage we had just been served.
Poke & Fish
The next item we were brought was a dish served to us “on the house.” It was a small bowl of ahi poke and two pieces of what appeared to be battered fish. The poke was good, well prepared with sea salt, green onions, and seaweed. Regrettably the fish was not as good as the ahi poke, but it was complimentary so I hardly have room to complain.
Grilled Ika Geso (squid legs)
Being a big fan of squid, in particular the legs, I ordered up a plate of the grilled ika geso with “special sauce.” I’m not 100% sure what the sauce was, as the dish itself was not served with any sauce visible. The squid legs were apparently marinated in some type of sauce before being grilled. The squid itself was well cooked and flavored rather nicely.
Final thoughts: As I had mentioned at the beginning of this review, I had previously sampled Tsukiji’s lunch and dinner buffet and found them to be a little lacking on value. The restaurant does a good job of creating a fun eating atmosphere and service is about as good as it gets in a buffet restaurant, but the food itself when considering the price wasn’t all that great for me on the buffet. The Robatayaki and Yakitori bar proved to be a good alternative to eating the dinner buffet (sadly the bar is not offered during lunch). You are able to order up ala carte the highlights of the buffet offerings and end up paying a fraction of the price. All told our dinner for two with one drink ran us just under $50, which is great considering that two dinner buffets would have run us closer to $80 for two.
If you are looking to sample Tsukiji’s cuisine I would strongly recommend coming for dinner and taking advantage of the Robatayaki and Yakitori bar. From the time we sat around 630PM to 8PM when we left the bar was never fully seated, so it is also a good way to work your way ahead of the many people waiting in line for seats in the buffet area.
| Service: |   |
Above Average |
| Food: |  |
Average + |
| Atmosphere: | |
Above Average |
| Overall Value: | |
Average + |
*Star ratings are based in comparison to similar establishments
Tsukiji Fish Market & Restaurant
Ala Moana Shopping Center
Ho’okipa Terrace Level 4 next to Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Phone: 808.237.5444
Tags: Hawaii Food, Hawaii Food Review, Tsukiji, Japanese Buffet, Robatayaki, Yakitori
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Oddly enough, I had no qualms about the chicken karaage, though it was a bit of a disappointment that it had come off of the buffet line. I thought perhaps they’d give it another dunk in the frying oil so they’d come out all nice and crispy, but no such luck =(
Tried this place with family when it first opened and we weren’t impressed. I’ve heard lately that they have gotten better since first opening, so maybe we’ll give them another try at the ala carte bar like recommend
thanks for the info and review, enjoyed reading your site.
The question is, which do you prefer? Squid (Ika) or Octopus (Tako)? lol
I once had this debate with Auntie Lynn over at HT over what was the proper ingredient in “Squid Luau”.
I also heard so-so reviews of Tsukiji, but this Robotayaki bar sounds like a winner.
If you ever go to Tokyo, Japan, you must visit the REAL Tsukiji market. Absolutely jaw-dropping amazing. The ultimate place to host a show like Andrew Zimmern’s Bizaare Foods.
I have heard great things about the Tsukiji in Japan. When I was in Japan we spent our time in Osaka and then at a hot spring so I didn’t get a chance to go to Tokyo.
Sadly I heard a rumor that, in preparation for the 2016 Olympics, the Japanese government might buyout the land that Tsukiji in Tokyo current sits on to construct the necessary stadium. I haven’t been able to find any confirmation of this, but my grandmother says she read it as a rumor in her Japanese newspaper.
I enjoyed reading your website!
Write on!
Auntie Pupule