Izakaya Matsuri — Restaurant in Honolulu

We arrived on a Tuesday evening and within an hour it was pretty full. Reservations are required to ensure you have a table. The place is unassuming from the street and I would never have known about this place had my other half been recommended it by a friend. The restaurant is small and quaint. Parking is in the back. Everything we ate was exceptional. Please note that all "entrees" are that item only. I ordered the miso butterfish and for the price, I expected miso soup, rice and maybe a salad. Nope. It was only the fish. Everything is ala cart. That really was misleading for this foodie. Having known that, I will remember for next time to order the side of rice. And yes, there will be a next time. Oysters tend to be small in Hawaii and not the fattys you can expect in the NPW however, these were really fresh and flavorful. We'd order them again. The rolls were delicious as well. The fried ama ebi was also tasty however I am not a fan of eating shrimp with the shell on or the head so be mindful of that. The Mr. loved the beef tongue and miso with full shrimp inside. One of the most pleasant surprises for me is receiving our beers in super icy glasses with super cold beer. It was so good and I am not a beer drinker...

I adore matsuri! Excellent fish that is both fresh and of great quality. Dishes that are not complicated. The costs obviously go higher as you add more to your order, but I've found that almost everything I've had at this restaurant has been flavorful and well prepared. In my perspective, they don't provide nearly as many choices, so you shouldn't anticipate a lengthy menu like you would at some other restaurants. However, I believe the reason for this is because they choose to focus on a select few things in order to excel in those areas rather than attempt to master everything and just achieve mediocrity. It's ok with me. Surprisingly, despite the fact that it's not a very large room, you still have your own little nook in here, so it doesn't seem at all claustrophobic. Even more strangely, I enjoyed my time spent seated at the bar. Watching chefs slice and plate food is a really entertaining spectacle. I really wish they had a larger selection of beverages. I believe that is the most disappointing aspect for me. I really like having a variety of chuhai to select from. One of the most enjoyable aspects of eating in an Izakaya! Unfortunately, I will be coming back. This location has a history of...

Izakaya Matasuri was good and I would say they are a solid 3-4 star based on the items we ordered. I will break my review down by rating. I will say our overall experience to include service would be a solid 3 star. For our four start items which we got seconds to thirds- include: Hamachi Ponzu, Oysters, Wagyu (both appetizer and nigiri pieces), nodoguro (our favorite item!), gen saba nigiri, Shime Aji and salmon nigiri. Our three star items include: crunch roll, blue fin set, ahi, hirame, shime saba, holate, amaebi, and uniagi nigiri. As you can see they do have specialty fishes that you can not get anywhere; so I will say that was the standout for us. My only recommendation is that they pace them selves better especially when it comes to large parties like ours; we brought our appetites' and felt rushed as they were getting close to additional reservations. I would recommend this place for the specialty fishes as well as those listed under my four star section. The three start items were a little disappointing...