Onkee Korean Grill House

Clean space, nice ambience, great service and solid korean food. You could taste the freshness. Just a little pricey for the amount of food but overall still great. We had the braised kalbi short ribs which was my favorite dish. We did the Combo B and added on Ribeye cap steak. The sides we ordered were the egg souffle and jap chae which were delicous. We will be back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Assorted Banchan, Combo B

I liked the appetizers of geotjeori and cold cucumber soup, and the lunch special was delicious, especially stir-fried pork 🤙 I think I'll come again.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This was my first time here for lunch. They are located on the second floor of the building. It is a very slick and modern set up. The staff are friendly and helpful in explaining the menu effectively. Personally the food was ok but my fav item was the start pickled seaweed salad. Parking is available at the theater or whole foods.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

I've been wanting to try this new supposedly elevated Korean restaurant. I finally came here to try it out for lunch with two other people so we were able to order a few things to share or to sample from each other's plate - how I usually do it haha. Overall it's a decent spot for lunch for the quality and the amount of food served. I'm not so sure about paying a lot more for dinner though.

I liked the complimentary kimchi and the cold seaweed soup. The kimchi had a good balance of flavors, crunch and was arranged in a tidy manner. The seaweed soup was a bit salty so I wasn't sure if I should be drinking the liquid part lol.

I got to try their steak on iron skillet lunch set, some bibimbap, kimchi friend rice and cold noodles, along with a bunch of banchan. I enjoyed the steak and the kimchi friend rice most. The steak had good marbling and had a good aroma. The kimchi fried rice had a great presentation and it tasted amazing too.

Strangely the kimchi that came with the sets were different from the bowl of kimchi for the table. It's more sour, more aged and less crunchy which I didn't care for. The bibimbap wasn't served in a stone pot which was a bit disappointing and I wish they would make it clear on the menu for non Korean speakers. The most disappointing item was the cold noodle. The noodle texture was chewy but the soup was so bland that it only tasted slightly better than salty water honestly...

I love the decor and the ambiance. High ceilings and huge windows. It definitely felt like an upscale restaurant. The service was friendly and helpful too.

Overall a good experience for lunch for me.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

The texture of the meat was very soft and it was a taste that could not be felt in Hawaii.
The staff were kind and each dish was very neat and delicious. Especially, naengmyeon is a taste that makes me think of again.
I had a great time with my family in onkee!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The staff were very friendly, and the food was consistently delicious.
This place is undoubtedly the best for Korean cuisine in Hawaii ?

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We celebrated our ten year anniversary here. They were so kind about us being late to our reservation and sat us anyway (ty!!). Wow everything is amazing, quality and freshness and service was 5 star! I want to go back asap to try their stews

Parking: Park at Wholefoods

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Seasonal Vegetables, Wagyu Beef, Combo a 110, Assorted Banchan

very authentic korean flavors and high quality meats. i wish the grill were charcoal.. service is exceptional. decor is a little strange with water pipes above each table. the smoke gets sucked into vents built into the table so theres zero smoke in the air. overall, a unique fine dining korean bbq restaurant that hawaii desperately needed.

Dietary restrictions: non dairy

Wheelchair accessibility: elevator

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

New Korean fusion spot? Yes please! Located in Ward area, specifically in Kō'ula, this restaurant is up scale and chic.
Valet parking so you have one less worry and its only six dollars.
Ambiance is light, clean.
Menu is short. Straight to the point on the most famous Korean appetizers and entreés. Jap chae, bibimbap, and more. Higher pricing of course but the main focus is on the meats that you would cook. I mean! High quality meat only! Your server will cook everything to perfection and recommend sauces, salts to pair with them.
Overall it was a pleasurable dining experience!
Watching the sunset with some meats on the grill, its a new twist on a classic.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Quality and ambiance is beautiful. The service is amazing as they cook for you as well and the quality of meats (Kalbi) was worth it. Priced higher than a normal yakiniku but you pay for the ambiance

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Combo a 110

Service is nice but the food is definitely overpriced. We ordered combo A and quality of the meat is very normal.
Beef tartare is good.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Combo a 110

Great atmosphere, great service, and great food! Would definitely come again.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The world food tour stopped in at Onkee, one of the newest restaurants in Honolulu. It’s still in soft-opening mode but we wanted to try it before we’re off on other worldly adventures.

First up, a bottle of 2021 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon ($125) from several vineyards around Paso Robles. It was dark, full bodied with dark fruit and surprisingly well-controlled tannins for such a young wine.

We ordered Beef Tartare ($32), Special Kimchi ($15), Green Onion Salad ($9), Ribeye Cap ($58), Tongue ($38), Washugyu Short Rib ($68), Dry-Aged Ribeye ($52), and White Rice ($3/bowl).

Four banchan arrived: a large plate of kimchi that I mistook for the special kimchi, daikon, cucumber / mushroom with sesame seeds, and cucumber kimchi. The regular kimchi was okay, I was disappointed until the real plate of special kimchi arrived. Whoa, it was a visual treat … A long piece of won bok with shaved ice kimchi sauce and green onions. It was COLD! While I liked the slightly sour taste, the temperature was far too cold for my sensitive teeth. The green onions salad was okay … I was somewhat disappointed as it lacked something.

The beef tartare arrived … The preparation was simple, carefully cut pieces of beef mixed with sesame oil served with an egg yolk, chives and pear. It was so simple, yet it was one of the best tartare we’ve eaten, IMO.

Our server, Micah, cooked our meat for us. He did a very good job but could have spaced out the process a bit more. He started with the ribeye cap … Wow, this was so flavorful and tender! Next came the dry-aged ribeye. Micah set the grill on low so it would give us time to finish the cap meat. There were two containers of salt; we tried one of them. I didn’t think the meat needed any additional seasoning; the beef flavor shone through.

The ribeye was nutty, as dry-aged meat should be. It was somewhat chewy … we informed Micah that we like our meat done to the rare side of medium rare and he adjusted the cooking times accordingly. The Washugyu Short Rib was next … Wow, it was so tender and flavorful … No seasoning needed. Finally, the tongue was on the grill. This is one of our favorite cuts of meat and we looked forward to it. Alas, it was somewhat tough, so I cut it into bit-sized pieces. This came with a sauce and lemon … The tongue needed this sauce.

We were too full to contemplate dessert, so we settled the tab and were out of Onkee in just over an hour. This is my primary “complaint”; the restaurant is very casual, and the service is fast, maybe too fast. This diner feels that, for $500+, one should expect a more leisurely dining experience.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 5

Although it is called a yakiniku restaurant, it is not a restaurant where you eat yakiniku with sauce, but with salt, so if you want to eat pure Korean food, you should go to another restaurant.
The food is delicious, and the interior is elaborate and luxurious.
As the appetizer comes with a lot of small dishes, including raw kimchi, it is better to order another dish after the appetizer arrives.
The ``Special Kimchi'' here has a light taste but is very delicious. If you don't eat all the food, you don't have to worry because they will give you a ziplock-like container to prevent the liquid from leaking.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

I really liked the potato pancake with truffle mayo.