Kirin Restaurant — Restaurant in Honolulu

UPDATE REGARDING OWNER's reply: I saw people being turned away. You were short-staffed, I understand. But when we patiently waited for almost 1.5 hrs, finally got seated. Waited for another 30 minutes and not a word from anyone. People came in after us, seated after us already got their drinks and orders taken. That's not excusable. Don't tell me I picked the wrong time to criticize. I wrote an honest review. There were 3-4 waitresses, 2 people in the front and a manager (I assumed). They ran all over the place. They didn't have a section where they could focus on certain customers. Very unorganized. Don't blame the hurricane.

‼STAY AWAY‼. This place is a mess. It's in the basement of the Hyatt Hotel. We walked down and could smell a weird odor...should've left right away but due to Hurricane Lane, not a lot of places to go. There were a couple in front of us. The woman at front desk was too busy talking on the phone and doing something on the computer. Took her about 10 minutes and was able to get on the list. She didn't even said how long. Then an older guy came out. He ran around like a chicken without a head. Not getting much done. He picked and chose who to put on the list. A lot of people left.

After 30 min, we were told it would be 20 minutes. Waited over an hour. Why? I guess I was stupid. Finally after 1.5 hours, they seated us in a corner. Sat and waited for about 20 minutes, no water and no one came to take our order. People that came after us were seated and got their orders taken. So after 30 min, we left. Here's the kicker - as we were leaving, they said "thank you, come again!" I said "not even when you're the last restaurant on earth."

Wasted 2 hours at this freaking place. They're the most unorganized restaurant I've ever seen in my life. The waitresses were running all over the place. They were all yelling in Chinese across the room. Everything was overpriced. If you're looking for dim sum, go to Tim Ho Wan (super good food and reasonable prices).

Just stay away if you can. Waikiki is not short of places to eat, eat elsewhere...trust me. We come here for a few weeks a year and this is our 2nd trying with them. First time (many years ago) was also a disaster. Thought maybe the years changed...

My husband and I was just here several hours ago (8pm). The restaurant wasn’t crazy busy when we were seated. Maybe 6 or 7 tables were occupied including us. We ordered 1 beverage, 1 beer, 2 soups, pan fried noodles (seafood), and Peking duck. The plan was to order more if the portions didn’t satisfy us. The soup came out first, we asked for fried wontons which are usually served with soups but they didn’t have any. I asked for chili oil, the waiter comes back and brings in sambal chili paste/black pepper 🤦🏻‍♀️ when they brought out the pan fried noodles, I was so disappointed. Pan fried noodles is one of my favorite go-to when eating at a Chinese restaurant. Noodles are fried crispy, then lightly coated with the protein of choice in a gravy-like sauce. However this was not I ended up with. The noodles were soaked in the sauce to the point that it became soggy. Flavor wise, it was bland. I couldn’t eat the rest after two bites. When the Peking duck came out, my husband and I were tad bit confused why there were two dishes. 1)one with the baos assembled 2)the duck dish with no skin. The baos were assembled in a way that anyone can tell from first look that someone in the kitchen didn’t seem to care for presentation. I’ve never had Peking duck where someone sloppily put something together and serves it to you. Flavor wise, it’s 😒 at this point. I’ve eaten so many Chinese restaurants before and this has got to be the worse one I’ve been to. I was quite offended. You would think that this area of Waikiki is where dining has high standards, but clearly that was no where to be found. I feel bad for those who eat here. I don’t usually post reviews, but this one was quite upsetting. Im not expecting anything in return as Im not locally from here. I just hope the business does a better job on improving the quality of food delivering from...

I went in not having very high expectations because the stairway leading down to the restaurant was littered with trash and there was a strong chemical smell when I entered the dining room. However, the food and service made up for it all. If you've ever been to a nice restaurant in China, you'll notice that the cleanliness standards aren't the same as they are in the United States. What I've discovered is that just like the Health Department, they restaurant owners mostly concern themselves with the back-of-the-house. Meaning that although the floors, chairs and seafood tanks were in desperate need of maintenance and cleaning, the food is where their focus is, and boy it did not disappoint. My husband, who is retired from building maintenance told me that the Health Department isn't concerned with the cleanliness of the dining room as much as the kitchen because their main concern is food safety. The food was absolutely delicious and dare I say some of the best Chinese Food I've had in my life. The presention was average but the service was impeccable. They were very attentive, professional and welcoming. My recommendation is for a restaurant to change their Floris to vinyl or wood to help with cleanliness & saftey. The chairs could either be cleaned or have covers on the backs to keep debris from settling in between the slats. Otherwise we'll done. The restaurant has space for events and the prices were actually pretty great. For instance, my dish crispy duck was only $13.99 and and very juicy. The beef was incredibly tender & tasty. The spring rolls were crispy, light...