Two New Honolulu Menus to Try: Katsu Zen’s Solo Japanese Breakfast (and $5 Bentos) and The Dotted Line’s Holiday Girl Dinner

Two Honolulu spots just added menus worth planning around, and they sit at opposite ends of the price scale. One is a $9.99-and-up Japanese breakfast eaten alone at a quiet counter, with a $5 bento in the afternoon. The other is a festive platter built for two to four friends, martinis included. Here’s what to know.

Katsu Zen: Japanese breakfast for one

Katsu Zen opened in July at the 808 Center on Sheridan Street. It’s known for solo dining, with 12 counter seats and a QR-code menu, and Aloha State Daily compares the concept to the solo booths of the ramen chain Ichiran.

The restaurant has now added breakfast, served from 8 to 10:30 a.m. every day except Monday, when it’s closed. There are four sets, and most come with rice, a choice of soup, pickles, a side dish and a rolled egg:

• Broiled fish set ($12.99): your pick of broiled mackerel, broiled salmon or broiled hopakapaka, with a choice of miso, chicken and vegetable egg, or pork and vegetable soup.
• Salmon dashi chazuke set ($9.99): rice topped with salted salmon and wakame with puffed rice, with a dashi-based broth poured over. The paper says it’s expected to be a customer favorite.
• Soup set ($8.99): your choice of soup with rice, pickles, a side dish and egg omelet.
• Meat and eggs set ($12.99): with Arabiki sausages.

The $5 bento deal

Katsu Zen also recently started a $5 bento, owner Jared Brown told Aloha State Daily. It’s a slightly smaller version of the restaurant’s pork loin set, sold from 2 to 4:30 p.m. or until it runs out, first come, first served. Brown called it a give-back to the community, like the $1 cheese pizza slices he used to sell at Little G Cafe, and said the restaurant doesn’t make money on it.

• Where: 808 Center, 808 Sheridan St., Honolulu
• Hours: Breakfast 8 to 10:30 a.m.; regular service 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; closed Mondays (as listed by Aloha State Daily)
• Instagram: @katsuzenhawaii

The Dotted Line: Girl Dinner 2.0 for the holidays

Downtown, The Dotted Line at the AC Hotel Honolulu first launched its Girl Dinner concept in April, riffing on the social media trend. It’s now back in a holiday version made for sharing, Aloha State Daily reported. Chef Chris Murakami described it as a reinvented take that keeps what people loved, with peppermint bark taking the marshmallow’s place at dessert.

It runs from Nov. 2 through the end of January 2027, served on a platter for two to four people. There are two versions:

• Holiday classic ($190): 2 ounces of ikura with crème fraîche, chives, cornichons and olives; Caesar salad; crispy chicken nuggets; Maui onion chips; golden hash browns; and chocolate peppermint bark and signature lips lollipops for dessert. It comes with four martinis or a bottle of Champagne.
• Holiday reserve ($290): the same spread with 2 ounces of caviar in place of the ikura.

General manager Sarah Mendoza told the paper diners can swap a martini for a glass of wine. She described the platter as the restaurant’s version of “home for the holidays,” meant for friends getting together to sip and exchange gifts.

• Where: AC Hotel Honolulu, 1111 Bishop St., Honolulu
• Online: dottedlinehawaii.com and Instagram @thedottedlinehnl

Sources

• Aloha State Daily, “This solo dining restaurant now serves Japanese breakfast” by Kelli Shiroma Braiotta (Oct. 29, 2026): https://alohastatedaily.com/2026/10/29/this-solo-dining-restaurant-now-serves-japanese-breakfast/
• Aloha State Daily, “Girl Dinner returns to Honolulu for the holidays” by Kelli Shiroma Braiotta (Nov. 2, 2026): https://alohastatedaily.com/2026/11/02/girl-dinner-returns-to-honolulu-for-the-holidays/