Imanas Tei Restaurant — Restaurant in Honolulu

Pretty good Japanese restaurant. Location is kind hard to get to , you have to drive through a small alley to get to the middle of the property of where it is located.

I went here kind of late at night around 8 pm. We forgot to do a reservation, but they accommodated us at the bar.

Until we decided to order the chankonabe, also known as the soup sumo wrestlers regularly eat. They found a table that had a space available.

I then saw someone ordered the salmon firecracker nigri sushi ($11 for 2 pieces) and immediately wanted that. Withstanding the spectacle of having the salmon and tobiko blowtorched in front of you; it was damn good. The flesh was meaty with a good amount of fat and the fish eggs had a nice smoky flavour.

Intrigued by the sushi, we decided to order a sashimi for 2-3 persons ($40). It was very good, especially the yellowtai and tunal. They were kind of skimpy on the salmon though.

Now for the chankonabe ($31 per person). I had high hopes as this was for sumo wrestlers and I expected sumo sized portions. What we got was a single bowl for the both of us that was too small to fit the contents inside. On top of that we had to cook on a butane stove. We waited about ten minutes to heat the food while at the same time manipulating the food inside to get properly cooked. It was good, but a lot of work and definitely not worth the money. I think the waitress sense our disappointment by offering a extra plate of udon.

Is it good? Yes. However I went here for the chankonabe and was truly disappointed. Despite being tasty, I will never order that item again. Other than that...

I forgot when and how I found this restaurant. It was long ago when I was much younger and eager to try new food, and then I kept returning to it whenever I was in Honolulu. The restaurant combines izakaya, Nihon whashoku, and sushi bar, and I was always satisfied with its sake selection. You can order a hot pot (shabu shabu) to cook your own slices of beef or have a bowl of soup noodles to finish your night of drinking. It is a perfect place for gathering with your old friends and new ones. The place is reasonably priced and has satisfactory service; its atmosphere is izakaya style, cheerful, and upbeat. Some might find the interior needing more attention, but the food and drinks always distract me from it. I have been to the restaurant so many times, and I can not remember which dishes were subpar. It felt like home cooking, but I am not Japanese. Overall, it is one of my favorite places in Honolulu, and I will keep returning.

Take an Uber to go there to save your hassle of parking and the return driving...

My friends & I went here for dinner, it was actually my FIRST time ( I live on the Big Island now). We had reservations & was seated quickly 💜 Our FIRST waitress was VERY attentive & patient with us as we asked questions 🤔 I ordered a Souchu with Sakura (for the first time) & it was REALLY smooth & goooood! My meal consisted of Salmon Nigiri, Tobiko Nigiri & a pair of Ikura & Uni that was each on Monk Fish Liver & O-M-G...it was THE MOST delicious thing that I have ever tried 😋 if ANY of you like liver, in general... you'll DEFINITELY enjoy it 😋 As we were done with our meals and wanted our checks...we couldn't find our waitress, tried to flag down another girl, with success BUT...it took a while before she took our cards to process. I understand that the place was a little busy but, when you're working in a Customer Service field, you need to learn to MULTITASK 🤙🏽 All in all, I would STILL come back to experience the...