Review: Tokkuri-tei

Tokkuri Tei
Kapahulu Avenue

Tokkuri Tei was one of Honolulu's first izakaya-style restaurants (which, which according to the NY Times is taking over sushi restaurants). I'd never eaten izakaya-style before...it's sort of like Japanese tapas...you order lots of little dishes to share. NY Times calls it 'pub-style' eating.

Chef Hideyaki "Santa" Miyoshi's poke has won multiple Sam Choy's poke contest awards. We tried one, it came wrapped like sushi, with salmon, ahi, and fish eggs. I missed the sesame oil flavor of traditional poke, but it was very tasty all the same.

We also had the ahi burger (seared ahi covered with cheddar cheese, no bun, served with a rich butter miso sauce), roasted eggplant, sauteed gobo, unagi/avocado sushi roll, and creamy teriyaki tofu (fried tofu squares served with a teriyaki-heavy cream sauce...very creative).

The restaurant has a sense of humor and the menu is very witty. A few items weren't fully described on the menu, so we had absolutely no idea what they were. However the waitresses were very helpful about suggesting dishes.

Tokkuri-tei is in a tiny mall on Kapahulu Avenue. It's super casual, no need to get dressed up. Call for reservations though...it's crowded!