Happy hour or lunch specials are really the best way to go at this location. I find service to often be a miss because it usually doesn't take a couple 2 hours to eat a meal. And it wasn't because we were busy, it just felt like we were forgotten since we were outside. Generally speaking, if I was in a rush I would be more upset, but the ambience was nice, the food was great, and I could appreciate the price. The ahi tataki is always my favorite, as is the miso eggplant, but carpaccio and other sushi rolls were also on point tonight.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Aj Krumley
the hamachi carpaccio is the best bite of food I have had in a minute - everything we ate was divine.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nicole J.
Overall Doraku has certainly lost any luster it used to have. Upon entering , the place feels old and damp. The wooden tables are sticky and swollen from humidity and having been repeatedly wiped down with old rags. Our arms/hands actually stuck to the tables (and it wasn’t humid outside.) The flooring, seating, and walls have retained a strong mildew smell that isn’t what you want to smell at a seafood restaurant. It was overwhelming and never went away- it was so strong that I could smell mildew for the remainder of the day, and the smell made our food taste like mildew too. Getting past that, the food was mediocre- not anything worth eating again. We went during happy hour. The drinks were okay- (not bad, but not good.) A few staff were drinking ice water, and two of them repeatedly dipped the water container they’d been drinking from into the vat of ice. We witnessed them doing this several times, each time contaminating the ice with the germs from their mouths. They then used this ice in guests’ drinks. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back for us, so we paid and left. Would not go back unless there’s a major overhaul (decor, food, etc).
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Ian
I just want to say, I've been a loyal customer of Doraku for years, even the location in Miami, prior to closing. I have probably spent thousands, if not tens of thousands coming here, there, and the one in Waikiki over the years. I've become very disappointed with both locations, and I won't be returning. I've been dining here since 2013. The last two times I visited, there was nowhere to park for lunch. I called to see if there was someone who could assist with parking, and I was hung up on (twice). The other time, I was told to find parking down the street, (where?). I'm done. I'm ready to go back to Mom and Pop businesses. Let me explain. Doraku used to be one of my favorite sushi places. Great sushi, service, and menu. The last time I got to eat here was over a year ago. I have tried to come back after, but there is never any parking and nobody wants to assist, even when you call, (hung up on, not once, but twice). The sushi and other menu items have become poor quality and really disappointedly stale for what you pay. I can't believe the quality has gone down so much over the last few years. For what I pay here and have paid over the years, I will no longer be coming back. I have always tipped the staff well and always paid the valet at least ten bucks just for parking my car. I have always been a loyal customer. This used to be my favorite place, and my favorite location. I shrugged it off when I got hung up on and went to the Waikiki location. That ended up being poor too. I left a review for them as well. I've always been loyal to you guys. You guys gotta fix it or something. I don't want to come back until it's fixed. You guys are basically an overpriced Genki Sushi.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Ka'ohinani Kamalu
I'm glad to see that this place is still going strong. Japanese food is truly my comfort food and Doraku is the real deal. Be sure to get a few rounds of their oyster and uni shots. I also want to give a shout out to our server Kim. Her hospitality was above and beyond.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Curammeng
A must try!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lorenzo Sanchez
The sushi was delicious along with the goose. Wife enjoys the miso soup, highly recommend going. Parking is free also in the garage.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sheri Yuen
Emily has amazing customer service—so nice and super helpful with recommendations. She definitely deserves the recognition! Micah was really kind and jumped in to help us when we needed it, always checking in and making sure we had water and anything else we needed. Loved them! From moms 11 yr old daughter Ryze.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brandon
Love the motorcycle motif.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
H. M
Food wasn't good, what you see on Google map photos are not what you will receive!
Low quality fish on nigiris, fried rice with Wagyu (4-5 pinky size meat cut like tiny ball) had no flavor. Guyazo and Miso were only delicious food during our visit.
Appreciate the manager trying to make it right, but that doesn't wipe a horrible food experience!
The server was a bit too quick, sweet and courteous but jumping around too rapidly!
Sweetest server and delicious food! Marina was truly a sweetheart and the atmosphere is gorgeous! Would love to go back with my family :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
KT
I ordered 3 sushi rolls and one of the take out boxes with the Double Happiness Roll had a crawling baby roach which I eventually smashed in the photo. I think it was the manager?, wanted to fix the issue by remaking it but no thanks. I asked for a refund for the box instead that had the roach. I should’ve asked for the whole order because yikes! Anyways, I will not be eating here anymore.
Food: 1
Eugenia Wang
The food was great. However, the service was sloooowwww. We were sat at the BlueTree section and maybe that was why the server didn't check on us very often? It took 15 mins for our server to greet us and bring us water. I guess there was a backup in the kitchen because all the tables around us were visibility impatient. I also saw 2 couples that just walked out because no one greeted them or took their orders. There was a show at Blaisdell and people would want to dine there before the show. It seemed like it was severely understaffed and not ready to handle the crowd that day.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Rudy Bosma
Fabuloso!! We loved our first experience at Doraku. Tables are a bit too close for comfort. Service was a bit slow and in-attentive. But not unfriendly or bad. We hoped for a bit more actual attention with ordering. But the food! Yummy!! Every bite was delicious! Well done Doraku.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Gerald Iwaishi
We have been wanting to try this restaurant for years, but never had the opportunity. This past weekend, I made a reservation for a party of 12 to gather... from start to finish, our experience was great. Service was great with friendly and attentive servers. We ordered so much food and were not disappointed. Delicious!!! Comfortable atmosphere... restaurant/bar type, but nothing on their overview that communicated otherwise. Our entire group had a very very memorable experience. FYI, try the lamb, garlic rib eye, and honey toast! Winnaz! Thank you Doraku for an awesome time!
Happy hour or lunch specials are really the best way to go at this location. I find service to often be a miss because it usually doesn't take a couple 2 hours to eat a meal. And it wasn't because we were busy, it just felt like we were forgotten since we were outside. Generally speaking, if I was in a rush I would be more upset, but the ambience was nice, the food was great, and I could appreciate the price. The ahi tataki is always my favorite, as is the miso eggplant, but carpaccio and other sushi rolls were also on point tonight.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
the hamachi carpaccio is the best bite of food I have had in a minute - everything we ate was divine.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Overall Doraku has certainly lost any luster it used to have. Upon entering , the place feels old and damp. The wooden tables are sticky and swollen from humidity and having been repeatedly wiped down with old rags. Our arms/hands actually stuck to the tables (and it wasn’t humid outside.) The flooring, seating, and walls have retained a strong mildew smell that isn’t what you want to smell at a seafood restaurant. It was overwhelming and never went away- it was so strong that I could smell mildew for the remainder of the day, and the smell made our food taste like mildew too. Getting past that, the food was mediocre- not anything worth eating again. We went during happy hour. The drinks were okay- (not bad, but not good.) A few staff were drinking ice water, and two of them repeatedly dipped the water container they’d been drinking from into the vat of ice. We witnessed them doing this several times, each time contaminating the ice with the germs from their mouths. They then used this ice in guests’ drinks. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back for us, so we paid and left. Would not go back unless there’s a major overhaul (decor, food, etc).
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
I just want to say, I've been a loyal customer of Doraku for years, even the location in Miami, prior to closing. I have probably spent thousands, if not tens of thousands coming here, there, and the one in Waikiki over the years. I've become very disappointed with both locations, and I won't be returning. I've been dining here since 2013. The last two times I visited, there was nowhere to park for lunch. I called to see if there was someone who could assist with parking, and I was hung up on (twice). The other time, I was told to find parking down the street, (where?). I'm done. I'm ready to go back to Mom and Pop businesses. Let me explain. Doraku used to be one of my favorite sushi places. Great sushi, service, and menu. The last time I got to eat here was over a year ago. I have tried to come back after, but there is never any parking and nobody wants to assist, even when you call, (hung up on, not once, but twice). The sushi and other menu items have become poor quality and really disappointedly stale for what you pay. I can't believe the quality has gone down so much over the last few years. For what I pay here and have paid over the years, I will no longer be coming back. I have always tipped the staff well and always paid the valet at least ten bucks just for parking my car. I have always been a loyal customer. This used to be my favorite place, and my favorite location. I shrugged it off when I got hung up on and went to the Waikiki location. That ended up being poor too. I left a review for them as well. I've always been loyal to you guys. You guys gotta fix it or something. I don't want to come back until it's fixed. You guys are basically an overpriced Genki Sushi.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
I'm glad to see that this place is still going strong. Japanese food is truly my comfort food and Doraku is the real deal. Be sure to get a few rounds of their oyster and uni shots. I also want to give a shout out to our server Kim. Her hospitality was above and beyond.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A must try!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The sushi was delicious along with the goose. Wife enjoys the miso soup, highly recommend going. Parking is free also in the garage.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Emily has amazing customer service—so nice and super helpful with recommendations. She definitely deserves the recognition! Micah was really kind and jumped in to help us when we needed it, always checking in and making sure we had water and anything else we needed. Loved them! From moms 11 yr old daughter Ryze.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Love the motorcycle motif.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food wasn't good, what you see on Google map photos are not what you will receive!
Low quality fish on nigiris, fried rice with Wagyu (4-5 pinky size meat cut like tiny ball) had no flavor.
Guyazo and Miso were only delicious food during our visit.
Appreciate the manager trying to make it right, but that doesn't wipe a horrible food experience!
The server was a bit too quick, sweet and courteous but jumping around too rapidly!
Absolutely not coming back, added to my shitlist.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Sweetest server and delicious food! Marina was truly a sweetheart and the atmosphere is gorgeous! Would love to go back with my family :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I ordered 3 sushi rolls and one of the take out boxes with the Double Happiness Roll had a crawling baby roach which I eventually smashed in the photo. I think it was the manager?, wanted to fix the issue by remaking it but no thanks. I asked for a refund for the box instead that had the roach. I should’ve asked for the whole order because yikes! Anyways, I will not be eating here anymore.
Food: 1
The food was great. However, the service was sloooowwww. We were sat at the BlueTree section and maybe that was why the server didn't check on us very often? It took 15 mins for our server to greet us and bring us water. I guess there was a backup in the kitchen because all the tables around us were visibility impatient. I also saw 2 couples that just walked out because no one greeted them or took their orders. There was a show at Blaisdell and people would want to dine there before the show. It seemed like it was severely understaffed and not ready to handle the crowd that day.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Fabuloso!!
We loved our first experience at Doraku.
Tables are a bit too close for comfort.
Service was a bit slow and in-attentive. But not unfriendly or bad. We hoped for a bit more actual attention with ordering.
But the food!
Yummy!!
Every bite was delicious!
Well done Doraku.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
We have been wanting to try this restaurant for years, but never had the opportunity. This past weekend, I made a reservation for a party of 12 to gather... from start to finish, our experience was great. Service was great with friendly and attentive servers. We ordered so much food and were not disappointed. Delicious!!! Comfortable atmosphere... restaurant/bar type, but nothing on their overview that communicated otherwise. Our entire group had a very very memorable experience.
FYI, try the lamb, garlic rib eye, and honey toast! Winnaz! Thank you Doraku for an awesome time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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