Nami Kaze Hawaii — Restaurant in Honolulu

The world food tour duo stopped in at Nami Kaze at Pier 38 on a windy evening. The restaurant was already packed at 5:15pm and we were seated at a table for two in a room off to the left side of the restaurant.

The menus are pretty simple, one for tasting, a regular one and one for drinks. I ordered a 2019 Brendel Cooper’s Reed Cabernet Sauvignon ($84). Unfortunately, the first bottle proved unsatisfactory as the end of the cork had disintegrated and my first taste left me with many bits of cork in my mouth and glass. A second bottle proved problematic with similar issues, but I asked the server to decant it as it tasted fine. This is a relatively inexpensive wine ($30/online) from Napa, 100% organic Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. A bad batch of corks or inappropriate storage might have been the cause.

We chose the Hamachi Crudo ($22), Ahiki Acres Eggplant ($12), Mountain View Farms Beets ($15), French Fries ($6) and the Alaskan Black Cod ($36). I asked Kainoa (our server) to space out the dishes because our table was small, but we ended up with all of the dishes on our table at one point in time. To make room, our server held the wine decanter off on the side.

The Hamachi was decorated with pieces of grapefruit and sea asparagus and dressed with a citrus Thai chili oil. The dressing didn’t overpower the fish; a problem we find at many restaurants. The roasted eggplant was supposed to be hot, but it was lukewarm at best. There were four pieces with dollops of yuzu kosho aioli, a slash of tomato miso and tablespoons of puffed rice on one side. We love eggplant but it would have been better at a warmer temperature. The puffed rice threw me; I thought I was looking at fried larvae. LOL!

Why French Fries? We considered ordering sushi or a side of sushi rice but I cannot bypass fries, especially when they’re extra crispy as I asked for.

The large pieces or bright red and orange pickled beets, tomatoes, cara cara oranges were placed upon a goat cheese spread and dressed with a yuzu mustard vinaigrette decorated with sliced radish and cilantro. This dish was the star of the evening for me. It was a perfect blend of taste and texture.

The black cod was served in a red wine nitsuke, topped with kizami wasabi and rounds of pickled onion. It was very moist and a refreshing change from misoyaki style butterfish, ubiquitous in Japanese restaurants.

We shared a Thai Chili Chocolate Decadence ($12). It’s not what I imagined; it was more like a brownie with a quenelle of ice cream, chocolate chips and a chili drizzle. I ended my meal with a cup of coffee ($3.95).

What did we think? We enjoyed our food at Nami Kaze. The prices are reasonable, and the only disappointments were the timing of dishes and the eggplant. The diners around us were enjoying their meals. Good food, lots of parking and easy to get to …...

Great restaurant that is where the Uncle's was. Parking can be a challenge for this area, but it can not be helped. I'd like to write a lukewarm review to keep others from coming here so I can always get a table, but that is not right. I really enjoyed my meals here. I split 3 meals, and it was great. Food temperature, eye appeal, smell, and taste were all excellent. The kitchen was much larger than I expected, but I could see why as they produced some really tasty dishes. "Da Cat!" sushi roll was a tempura shrimp roll topped with lump crab meat. It was good but not great, and I think my taste buds are used to salter and greasier sushi on Hawaii. I enjoyed actually tasting the lump crab and tempura, but I think an accompanying sauce like tempura sauce would have been great. "Beer battered auction fish." Drum roll, please, . . . it was Ahi today. it was crisp and light on the ouside exile being moist and flavorful on the inside. In general, I would say it is sacrilegious to fry Ahi, but this was darn good. The kicker was the fries that were lightly coated with something that kept it crisp and flavorful. Their fries reminded me of the burger king new recipe fries but much better. "People's choice" was my favorite. The ginger fried chicken pieces were moist on the inside and well seasoned with a crisp exterior. You can also taste the slight ginger flavor so it wasn't overpowering. There were 4 or 5 poke options, and the miso garlic is npwnmy favorite poke on the island. Flavorful with a slight creaminess from the avocado but no mayo. Miso gave it an umami punch. It was also not sinuous like other places. The pickled veggies were okay, and the mac salad was good. It also came with a good portion of rice. This is a two dollar sign place, so I can't make it a weekly habit although I want to. Richie, our server, knew his menu, and his recommendations were spot on. Next time is the walnut shrimp toast and another kind of poke. For now, this is a must try spot. Make a reservation! You can also order via your phone by scanning their QR code. People's Choice plate with miso garlic poke is first, and a close second is the beer battered auction fish. We...

With all the hype around this place I think I was expecting more, unfortunately. Don't get me wrong, the restaurant is beautiful and clean. The servers were in no way rude or unsatisfactory.

I've been twice, once for brunch and once for dinner. Both times were... fine. The service is designed to be contact less, but for me, I'm not eating at a restaurant to not talk to people. Your qr code gets plopped in front of you and everyone is supposed to order from their phones. All the ingredients and allergens are clearly listed next to each item... it's very sterile.

A joy of dining for me is the interaction between the server and the diner. I like to have that conversation. I like hearing about the specials and what a crowd favorite is. I like asking about how sweet or how bitter a house special cocktail is. I'm personally a bitter drink fan. I usually really enjoy an aperol spritz. It would have been really nice to know that the one they make is very sweet. It gave me a stomach ache before my food arrived.

Anyway, the food is nice, but it feels kinda like the creative process has fallen off the rails and the flavor has suffered because of it.

I LOVE Japanese food. I like burgers and whatnot, too. I dont know if my burger needs to be made out of japanese pork sausage and slathered with sweet sauce and topped with arare. "Sushi rolls" are as fusion as I need my food to be; because sushi rice + any meat or veggie is delicious.

Maybe it's just not for me, or maybe I've ordered the wrong items. Maybe if I could talk to one of the 39 staff walking around and ask them what they like it would be better. I don't know.

If you don't want to deal with a friendly server, this place is for you.

I am aware that the server is willing to take orders, but that's not what the restaurant is designed for, right? Maybe I just don't get it.

4 stars for cleanliness and quality of ingredients. -1 for confusing concept and over-thinking...