In Mōʻiliʻili, Minatoku Kitchen Serves Koshihikari Rice Bentos by Day and Izakaya Plates by Night

There’s a small Japanese kitchen on South King Street that works two shifts. At lunch, Minatoku Kitchen in Mōʻiliʻili is a bento and plate-lunch counter. After the lunch rush, as the restaurant puts it, the lanterns come on and it becomes an izakaya with sake, shochu and a long list of small plates.

It opened on Aug. 11, 2023, according to the restaurant’s grand-opening post, signed by owner Yoshimi Koizumi. Aloha State Daily later reported that it took over the former Hide-Chan space and added dinner service. This year it showed up on Hawaii News Now’s “Cheap Eats”, where the hosts headed to Mōʻiliʻili for low prices and Japanese food.

Bento by day: the rice is the point

The restaurant’s About page says it uses 100% Niigata-grown Koshihikari rice. It ships the rice in a low-temperature container, keeps it refrigerated and polishes it before cooking. The sauces are made in-house, from the teriyaki to the demi-glace and the homemade tartar that shows up on several bentos.

What’s on the lunch board right now, per minatoku-k.com (prices plus tax and subject to change):

• Oreno Curry, $9.50: the shop’s original slow-simmered curry with Japanese rice, 14.5 ounces, marked down from $16.50 and sold at lunch and dinner. It’s the cheapest plate on the menu.
• Chicken Nanban, $16.50: fried chicken thigh in a sweet-and-sour sauce under homemade tartar. The restaurant calls it its most popular bento.
• TarTar Brother!, $18.90: three pieces of chicken nanban, two shrimp tempura and a salmon cutlet, with plenty of tartar.
• The President Curry Rice, $22: curry with three layers of tonkatsu and two pieces of karaage.
• Other plates include stewed hamburger steak, tonkatsu, karaage, miso salmon katsu, gyudon, taco rice and tofu steak.

There are also counter-only items: onigiri from $2.25 (konbu, Spam musubi, ume, salmon and more) and a tuna steak, which the restaurant says aren’t on its online menu. Order ahead online for pickup, or walk in. The restaurant says it has parking.

Izakaya by night

Dinner runs Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. The restaurant advertises “40+ izakaya plates,” and the dinner menu backs that up with appetizers, salads, fried and grilled dishes, noodles, shabu-shabu and rice bowls. Some highlights:

• Bluefin tuna sashimi, $18: the restaurant says it buys whole tuna blocks directly from Toyosu Market in Japan.
• Homemade gyoza, $8: cabbage-and-pork dumplings.
• Three Flavors Fried Chicken, $11.80, plus pork kakuni, sukiyaki spring rolls, aji-fry, Dynamite Salmon and a $5.99 “Deli Special” section of small plates.

The drink list covers Japanese sake by the glass or bottle, shochu, plum wine, Japanese whisky, chu-hai, Asahi beer, wine and cocktails.

Happy hour runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. with smaller portions at smaller prices: fries, atsuage, fried chicken, kimchi, tonkatsu, yakisoba and more. The restaurant says to ask staff for that day’s happy-hour prices.

Year-end parties and catering

This is the season for bōnenkai, and Minatoku is pitching itself for them. The restaurant’s course menu is a seven-dish course for $47 per person, for groups of 10 or more, by reservation. The restaurant says it can also set custom menus to fit a budget, and it takes private parties and full buyouts of up to 30 guests.

For offices, schools and parties, the catering guide lists individually packed bentos and party trays. It also has ready-made party sets for 20, 30 or 50 people at about $15 per person. Delivery is currently free from 30 boxes, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; the restaurant calls that a limited-time offer. Orders of 40 or more boxes need to be in by 3 p.m. two days ahead. Dinner-menu catering has a $300 minimum before tax and needs about a week’s notice.

The restaurant hasn’t posted holiday hours or a holiday ordering cutoff on its website. If you’re planning around Christmas or New Year’s, call before you go.

Know before you go

• Where: 2471 S. King St., Honolulu (Mōʻiliʻili)
• Hours (per the restaurant’s site, Nov. 13): Monday 10 a.m.–3 p.m. (lunch only); closed Tuesday; Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–midnight; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.–midnight; Sunday 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Happy hour Friday–Sunday 3–5 p.m.
• Note: Older flyers and some third-party listings show different hours; we’ve gone with the restaurant’s website.
• Phone: (808) 312-8633
• Online: minatoku-k.com, Instagram @minatokukitchen

More new and notable spots: our November openings roundup.

Sources

• Minatoku Kitchen website: home page, About, dinner menu, course menu, catering guide and grand-opening post (checked Nov. 13, 2026): https://minatoku-k.com/
• Hawaii News Now, “Cheap Eats: Minatoku Kitchen” (Aug. 2026): https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/video/2026/08/26/cheap-eats-minatoku-kitchen/
• Aloha State Daily, Kelli Shiroma Braiotta (Jan. 13, 2025): https://alohastatedaily.com/2025/01/13/this-moiliili-japanese-eatery-offers-elevated-comfort-food-during-dinner/
• Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “Hot and new” (Oct. 10, 2023): https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/10/10/food/hot-and-new-23/