Oh gosh...chicken over rice is so bombastic! It sounds incredibly boring but it is an amazing dish. The chicken is so tasty and when put over the turmeric rice and served with a freshly washed, cold salad, it is even more delicious! In February alone, I went 3 times and have bought 5 chicken over rice meals!! It is THAT good!! The people are super friendly and they even remembered me ("Thank you for coming back!" ).
kz ymtk
Whatever I ate was delicious.Yakisoba was so delicious that I kept coming back. The manager was very personable and we had a great time. I support you!Parking: $1/1h+fee
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Demur E.
I think they mostly do takeout, but we ate there and service was great! She was super accommodating and nice. It takes a little while to get your food and it comes in a takeout container, but it's so fresh and hot, it's worth the wait! We started with the gyoza which was juicy, crispy and hot. It came with a shoyu dipping sauce. My mom and nephew got the ginger pork and liked that there was a strong ginger taste. The pork comes in thicker slivers rather than thinly shaved. It came with a generous scoop of rice and corkscrew pasta with a tangy mayo dressing. It comes with a runny-yolk egg. Mmm. My sister got the karaage chicken, which came w/ the same sides as the ginger pork. She said the chicken was juicy and crispy. I think I'll get that next time. I got the grilled chicken over turmeric rice which had a Mediterranean (cumin) taste to it. Something that tasted like tatziki sauce drizzled over it and it came with penne pasta salad w/ the same dressing as the corkscrew pasta and a fresh garden salad. Delish! I'm so sorry I forgot to take a pic of this! Parking: Pass the restaurant on King St. and the parking entrance is right after that. There's also an entrance off Keeaumoku right before you turn right on to King St.
Sarah S.
On the hunt for a new ramen place to try I was delighted to see that I had book marked this place thanks to Irene's 5 star review. Small cozy casual Okinawan place playing Japanese tunes that serves comfort food including ramen, bentos, pupus, taco rice, and Okinawan soba. When we went all 6 of the small tables were full so we had to do take out. Didn't explore much of the menu since we both got Shoyu ramen but I liked the low key vibe and the fact that a there was a big group of native Japanese (or maybe Okinawan speakers?) having a party. TBT : the ramen was ok by the time we got home. Of course dine in is always better and food always seems to deteriorate once you walk out the door. I liked the menma (bamboo shoots), wakame, pork slice and ajitama (soft boiled ramen egg) that came with the noodles. Excited to see they are BYOB and looks like they have a good Happy Hour!
E A.
Kotetsu Chaya always provides great food with decent prices. The food portion is very big!! The employee is always nice, polite and friendly. The restaurant is small, casual and kids friendly I guess.
Noreen O.
Went for their happy hour menu and asked for some recommendations. The first thing she suggested was the ika kimchee. Then we added karaage, takoyaki, fried fish and fries and a tofu salad. The raw ika kimchee was presented first and after the first bite, had to crack open a can of beer. So much flavor! Karaage was juicy and light, takoyaki had a good chew but that sauce!!! We ended up dipping the karaage in it. So good. The fish was juicy on the inside and light and crispy on the outside. Could have used a little sauce, tho. On their regular menu was the tofu salad. I really enjoyed it with the wakame, crispy cucumbers and hijiki with goma dressing. Very refreshing. The owners are super nice and work so hard. It's a nice place for a casual and relaxing meal.
Angelina T.
Ramen is DELICIOUS. Broth is extremely flavorful while still being light. Was recommended by a friend who has become a regular since they opened. Amazing deal for the quality of food. We ordered the tonkatsu ramen, edamame, and takoyaki and it was all delicious. No corkage fee, BYOB welcome, can accommodate large parties. The owners here are so kind and warm. Would definitely recommend and will be back!
Monica Marianes
Yummy food with great price. We got the karage, it was crispy on the outside and verys juicy inside. The taco rice came in big portion. Yakisoba was slightly too salty for me but the noodle was aldente. The server was very friendly and attentive. Can’t beat the price, it’s amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
N N
Tasty food in a small shop. Prices are good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wendy N.
Kotetsu Chaya is a cute restaurant with friendly staff and an assortment of dishes to order. The taste of the shoyu ramen was okay. The gyoza was juicy and tasty. The hayashi rice was different. The sauce was watery. I prefer the sauce to be thicker. The taste was okay, but I would definitely not order it again.
The staff are super friendly. Felt like I was an old friend though it was our first time there. The food is perfect.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caesar Taco Salad, Miso Ramen
Yunsie Chung
Food is very great and the server was really friendly. The food is really good and also cheap. The portion of my ramen was pretty large. I will come again! There is street parking in front of the shop.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Val S.
I enjoy homemade Hayashi rice. The Hayashi rice from Kotestu Chaya is delicious. I had it for take out and it was nicely packed in two containers. One container had the rice, salad and an appetizer like noodle. In a separate bowl, the main part, Hayashi rice aka hashed beef. It's beef, onions, and button mushrooms, in a thick demi-glace sauce. When you eat this with rice, it's so good. Can't wait to try something else.
Jason D.
Authentic! Food is cooked to perfection. Got the gyoza, jigoku ramen, and hayashi beef rice. Everything was delicious. They were supposed to be closed but served us anyway. Fantastic service!
Mili-Lani D.
On my search for Japanese food, a good one, I came across this little restaurant. I believe it's a small business owner and the shop is Okinawan Ken. So it's a little bit different from standard Japanese cuisine in my opinion. But I enjoyed it. I got three different bentos to stock up on. These were all the bentos so they all came with delicious tasting rice which I love, two came with green salad with some kind of shoyu dressing and cherry tomatoes cut up nicely. I ordered the soboro which is not something you see often here. My mom would make an excellent one since I was a kid and I don't think anyone can compare to mom's cooking. Soboro is diced chicken and a sweet egg. Whereas my mom used the very fine mince like pork hash their chicken was a lot bigger chunks. Same with the eggs. And they place a fried egg on top of it. Even though it looks very different from my mom's the taste was there. Wish I could eat my mom's soboro one more time. Next up was the chicken cutlet. It's pankoed and to be honest, it was a little dark when I like the panko to be more of a golden brown. It had a dressing on the side a mayonnaise thing and of course tonkatsu sauce. Lastly I got the ginger pork and though I'm used to really thin small slices of pork this had bigger slices. But the taste was good. The main thing is that all of the servings were quite generous, uncommon in Japanese food where the portions are more for the Japanese appetite which is much smaller than ours. Each plate was very hefty in weight and the portions were more than generous, so I think it'll satisfy most big. eaters. I like the pasta salad it was in a sweet mayonnaise kind of sauce but it was a beautiful balance It wasn't spaghetti noodles it was the penne pasta which I normally don't like but it turned out good for this. The owner was incredibly nice and sincere and so was his other staff. I love little places like this where the owner is also the cook and so there is much more of a personal stake in it for them. Rather than deal with a major chain. There is ownership, pride and craftsmanship. I like it that they did use sugar but in the correct amounts so I was not eating a mouth full of sugar syrup. It was different from the Japanese food that I am used to but different is okay. Please patronize this place, they have a beautiful selection of Bento switches with the hot rice and ramen. I hope they last for a very long time. On a special note because this is Christmas 2023 approaching there are offering some generous Christmas catering options. If you buy three pans which are normally $40 each they take $20 off or a total of $100. Each pan serves 8 to 10 people. I did not see any ofnthis on Yelp so it's too bad that he's not blasted on social media because that is really a good deal. I am considering just ordering a pan for myself because it would be like two plate lunches. And I think a lot of chefs wouldn't want to cook for New Year's anyway and it is relatively cheap. Cheaper than Chinese food and definitely with American which runs near $200 for a complete Christmas feast. So for 40 bucks you get a whole Japanese dish and I think it's worth it. Good for bringing it to the family potluck, especially the fried chicken saves you all that sweat and oil that goes flying everywhere. This special was a pickup on Christmas Day the 25th of December. Call for menu. So hele on down, you won't be disappointed
Oh gosh...chicken over rice is so bombastic! It sounds incredibly boring but it is an amazing dish. The chicken is so tasty and when put over the turmeric rice and served with a freshly washed, cold salad, it is even more delicious! In February alone, I went 3 times and have bought 5 chicken over rice meals!! It is THAT good!! The people are super friendly and they even remembered me ("Thank you for coming back!" ).
Whatever I ate was delicious.Yakisoba was so delicious that I kept coming back. The manager was very personable and we had a great time. I support you!Parking: $1/1h+fee
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I think they mostly do takeout, but we ate there and service was great! She was super accommodating and nice. It takes a little while to get your food and it comes in a takeout container, but it's so fresh and hot, it's worth the wait! We started with the gyoza which was juicy, crispy and hot. It came with a shoyu dipping sauce. My mom and nephew got the ginger pork and liked that there was a strong ginger taste. The pork comes in thicker slivers rather than thinly shaved. It came with a generous scoop of rice and corkscrew pasta with a tangy mayo dressing. It comes with a runny-yolk egg. Mmm. My sister got the karaage chicken, which came w/ the same sides as the ginger pork. She said the chicken was juicy and crispy. I think I'll get that next time. I got the grilled chicken over turmeric rice which had a Mediterranean (cumin) taste to it. Something that tasted like tatziki sauce drizzled over it and it came with penne pasta salad w/ the same dressing as the corkscrew pasta and a fresh garden salad. Delish! I'm so sorry I forgot to take a pic of this! Parking: Pass the restaurant on King St. and the parking entrance is right after that. There's also an entrance off Keeaumoku right before you turn right on to King St.
On the hunt for a new ramen place to try I was delighted to see that I had book marked this place thanks to Irene's 5 star review. Small cozy casual Okinawan place playing Japanese tunes that serves comfort food including ramen, bentos, pupus, taco rice, and Okinawan soba. When we went all 6 of the small tables were full so we had to do take out. Didn't explore much of the menu since we both got Shoyu ramen but I liked the low key vibe and the fact that a there was a big group of native Japanese (or maybe Okinawan speakers?) having a party. TBT : the ramen was ok by the time we got home. Of course dine in is always better and food always seems to deteriorate once you walk out the door. I liked the menma (bamboo shoots), wakame, pork slice and ajitama (soft boiled ramen egg) that came with the noodles. Excited to see they are BYOB and looks like they have a good Happy Hour!
Kotetsu Chaya always provides great food with decent prices. The food portion is very big!! The employee is always nice, polite and friendly. The restaurant is small, casual and kids friendly I guess.
Went for their happy hour menu and asked for some recommendations. The first thing she suggested was the ika kimchee. Then we added karaage, takoyaki, fried fish and fries and a tofu salad. The raw ika kimchee was presented first and after the first bite, had to crack open a can of beer. So much flavor! Karaage was juicy and light, takoyaki had a good chew but that sauce!!! We ended up dipping the karaage in it. So good. The fish was juicy on the inside and light and crispy on the outside. Could have used a little sauce, tho. On their regular menu was the tofu salad. I really enjoyed it with the wakame, crispy cucumbers and hijiki with goma dressing. Very refreshing. The owners are super nice and work so hard. It's a nice place for a casual and relaxing meal.
Ramen is DELICIOUS. Broth is extremely flavorful while still being light. Was recommended by a friend who has become a regular since they opened. Amazing deal for the quality of food. We ordered the tonkatsu ramen, edamame, and takoyaki and it was all delicious. No corkage fee, BYOB welcome, can accommodate large parties. The owners here are so kind and warm. Would definitely recommend and will be back!
Yummy food with great price. We got the karage, it was crispy on the outside and verys juicy inside. The taco rice came in big portion. Yakisoba was slightly too salty for me but the noodle was aldente. The server was very friendly and attentive. Can’t beat the price, it’s amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tasty food in a small shop. Prices are good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kotetsu Chaya is a cute restaurant with friendly staff and an assortment of dishes to order. The taste of the shoyu ramen was okay. The gyoza was juicy and tasty. The hayashi rice was different. The sauce was watery. I prefer the sauce to be thicker. The taste was okay, but I would definitely not order it again.
Restaurantji Recommends
The staff are super friendly. Felt like I was an old friend though it was our first time there. The food is perfect.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caesar Taco Salad, Miso Ramen
Food is very great and the server was really friendly. The food is really good and also cheap. The portion of my ramen was pretty large. I will come again! There is street parking in front of the shop.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I enjoy homemade Hayashi rice. The Hayashi rice from Kotestu Chaya is delicious. I had it for take out and it was nicely packed in two containers. One container had the rice, salad and an appetizer like noodle. In a separate bowl, the main part, Hayashi rice aka hashed beef. It's beef, onions, and button mushrooms, in a thick demi-glace sauce. When you eat this with rice, it's so good. Can't wait to try something else.
Authentic! Food is cooked to perfection. Got the gyoza, jigoku ramen, and hayashi beef rice. Everything was delicious. They were supposed to be closed but served us anyway. Fantastic service!
On my search for Japanese food, a good one, I came across this little restaurant. I believe it's a small business owner and the shop is Okinawan Ken. So it's a little bit different from standard Japanese cuisine in my opinion. But I enjoyed it. I got three different bentos to stock up on. These were all the bentos so they all came with delicious tasting rice which I love, two came with green salad with some kind of shoyu dressing and cherry tomatoes cut up nicely. I ordered the soboro which is not something you see often here. My mom would make an excellent one since I was a kid and I don't think anyone can compare to mom's cooking. Soboro is diced chicken and a sweet egg. Whereas my mom used the very fine mince like pork hash their chicken was a lot bigger chunks. Same with the eggs. And they place a fried egg on top of it. Even though it looks very different from my mom's the taste was there. Wish I could eat my mom's soboro one more time. Next up was the chicken cutlet. It's pankoed and to be honest, it was a little dark when I like the panko to be more of a golden brown. It had a dressing on the side a mayonnaise thing and of course tonkatsu sauce. Lastly I got the ginger pork and though I'm used to really thin small slices of pork this had bigger slices. But the taste was good. The main thing is that all of the servings were quite generous, uncommon in Japanese food where the portions are more for the Japanese appetite which is much smaller than ours. Each plate was very hefty in weight and the portions were more than generous, so I think it'll satisfy most big. eaters. I like the pasta salad it was in a sweet mayonnaise kind of sauce but it was a beautiful balance It wasn't spaghetti noodles it was the penne pasta which I normally don't like but it turned out good for this. The owner was incredibly nice and sincere and so was his other staff. I love little places like this where the owner is also the cook and so there is much more of a personal stake in it for them. Rather than deal with a major chain. There is ownership, pride and craftsmanship. I like it that they did use sugar but in the correct amounts so I was not eating a mouth full of sugar syrup. It was different from the Japanese food that I am used to but different is okay. Please patronize this place, they have a beautiful selection of Bento switches with the hot rice and ramen. I hope they last for a very long time. On a special note because this is Christmas 2023 approaching there are offering some generous Christmas catering options. If you buy three pans which are normally $40 each they take $20 off or a total of $100. Each pan serves 8 to 10 people. I did not see any ofnthis on Yelp so it's too bad that he's not blasted on social media because that is really a good deal. I am considering just ordering a pan for myself because it would be like two plate lunches. And I think a lot of chefs wouldn't want to cook for New Year's anyway and it is relatively cheap. Cheaper than Chinese food and definitely with American which runs near $200 for a complete Christmas feast. So for 40 bucks you get a whole Japanese dish and I think it's worth it. Good for bringing it to the family potluck, especially the fried chicken saves you all that sweat and oil that goes flying everywhere. This special was a pickup on Christmas Day the 25th of December. Call for menu. So hele on down, you won't be disappointed