Doraku Sushi Waikiki — Restaurant in Honolulu

Met with a close friend of mine who suggested we try Doraku since he had heard positive things from other mutual friends.

Upon arrival the staff was pleasant in explaining the Hawaii COVID restaurant tracking survey we had to fill out before being seated. Took maybe a minute or two to fill out the survey and show the hostess. Once competed they showed us to our table and directed us to open the menu through A QR code displayed on the tabletop.

The service was fast and attentive, and the food was tasty. We ordered the Ginger Chicken Kara-Age to start. It wasn't quite like other karaage I've had with a clean and simple fried chicken sort of experience, but rather it had a sweet chili soy sauce coating, which was noted on the menu under the dish description. Although different than what I was used to, I very much enjoyed it.

After the starter we ordered our food. I was torn between ordering the Shrimp Tempura (something simple and familiar), Misoyaki Butterfish (something enticing and mouthwatering), or Ikura & Maguro Yamakake Don (something interesting and new). I ended up ordering the Don because it's something I've never had before. I ended up not fully appreciating the flavors and textures and didn't finish it. The description says "salmon roe and tuna with grated yamaimo, served over sushi rice". Unbeknownst to me at the time of ordering, yamaimo is a Japanese mountain yam which is known for its 'slimy' properties. While I can occasionally stomach slimy dishes such as natto, this Don ended up being a bit too slimy for my tolerance and I ended up picking all the ikura and tuna out before calling it quits. Next time I'll go with the tempura or butterfish... or maybe ask the server for clarification (probably not).

I also ordered a few orders of nigiri. They were excellent. Unfortunately after my encounter with the Don I was too excited to return to a comforting familiar and ate them before capturing any pictures. The wasabi was fresh grated though, and while I normally don't like (tube) wasabi, the nigiri came with freshly grated. Fresh wasabi tastes immensely better with less emphasis on the burn and more emphasis on its taste, and I used it with every piece. Even the ginger was excellent, which I also normally avoid.

My friend ordered one of the Sushi + Sashimi plates. Overall he said it was excellent, but one piece of his fish had a tough white part which, I cannot recall what he called it, but is apparently not usually a part that gets served.

To round out our experience we ordered the Ultimate Spicy Tuna Roll to share between the two of us. This roll was described as "shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, and avocado topped with unagi, finished with kabayaki, spicy aioli, and red tobiko." We both enjoyed it but agreed that it probably would've done better in our critique if we had not also eaten nigiri. The spice flavors were sort of overpowering the natural fish flavors, but the unagi thankfully was able to cut through and deliver a creamy calm to the excitement.

While not cheap eats where I could make this a regular thing, I would say my experience was a positive one and I would definitely want to come back again to try more...

Went in after work with some coworkers. It was a party of six. We had to wait about ten minutes for a table, which wasn't bad. When we were seated, is when the experience started going south. They sat us at a table that was too small. It was about a 4'ft x 2'ft table for our group. It shouldn't have been more than four people at the table. We received half of our menus, even though they knew we were a party of six. Got our menus and met our waiter. While he was nice, he just didn't seem polished as a server. I believe the first thing he should have noticed was that our table was too small. Our drinks came out very staggered. Some of us sat with nothing, while the rest waited on us to get our drinks. Deliver all of the drinks together. Our food items came out the same way. Some of us sat there with nothing while our coworkers enjoyed their food. Even if it takes having 2-3 staff members to help deliver, bring it all together. My neighbor ordered a fried rice dish. It came out on a hot skillet, and a server prepared it at the table for him. Nice right? Not at a small table. This server was stirring the rice and eggs on the hot skillet. Then he started adding the soy sauce. As he's adding the soy, he says "low sodium", as he pours it low, then "high sodium" as he raises this cup of soy high at the table. What he's oblivious to, is that the soy sauce at that height splashes. I have small dots of soy sauce on my white shirt because of him. Just another inexperienced employee at this restaurant. It might come across as I'm nitpicking, I'm not. In my many years of dining experience, you have a level of expectations when it comes to Asian dining. Especially when they have items on the menu as high as $200+. Overall, this place needs some tuning. Staff needs to use situational awareness when it comes to customer's needs. Try using some empathy. Put yourself in others shoes. Management needs to train them up. Don't think you can just put your restaurant on autopilot. The restaurant has potential, but doesn't make my "want to come back list" until they get this turned around. Prices, aren't bad, but you have to give the service that allows people to feel comfortable paying it. Thank the customers for coming in. Don't have some of your hostess staff standing at the entrance on their...

January 5, 2025, 7 pm reservation.

We had a party of 8 including two teens and two elderly people. I was asked if we had children and I stated no we didn’t have small kids that would need kids menus, but yes I did have children in our party. We were then offered a booth when I made the reservation, in person at 5 pm.

7pm: We instead were seated at a 10 person high top table with low back stools. I asked the hostess (who made the initial reservation) if we could have the 8 person booth in the corner next to the table. She said no, that I’d have to wait an hour and that they saved those for smaller parties. I was never given an opportunity to explain about my elderly parents. Meanwhile someone in our party asked the waiter and he readily agreed to move us. I had then moved on to tell the manager, who was standing in front of me, that we weren’t sure what to do and I explained the situation but was interrupted and never able to explain about my parents. He responded defensively and repeatedly through a condescending laugh stated he wouldn’t want to squeeze 8 people into the booth. Finally, making a tight space gesture with his arms that indicated crowding in the booth. He didn’t listen to my concern at all, he didn’t care about my elderly parents, he didn’t care that his hostess had reserved us a booth but was now telling me I’d need to wait an hour even though one was readily available, he didn’t care that her answer to us was in direct conflict with what the waiter was telling us. He never bothered to ask what our concern was. He made assumptions and treated me as if I was being some sort of complainer and rushed me through the conversation. I had said twice already that we had teens that were smaller and could fit so we’d be fine in the booth but I was ignored. He approached the table and then laughed “knowingly” and said “oh you have children” as if I had lied.

The ONLY reason we stayed and the ONLY reason for a two star rather than a one star is that the waiter was friendly and helpful. It was crowded loud and rushed. Not a good dining experience at all. We have previously dined at Doraku in Kapolei and it was a lovely experience. Doraku Waikiki should be...