Sekiya's Restaurant & Delicatessen — Restaurant in Honolulu

Terrible counter Service yesterday; 2/24/2023. I rarely leave any bad reviews for Restaurants that I have been to here in Hawai'i, & I've been to this Restaurants numerous of times in the Past with my Mom & my Nephews & also my Husband. I totally get it & understand that times are harder now for Businesses, etc, but yesterday Service here was Terrible!! We stopped on by here to grab a bite to eat & was planning on eating some Okazuya, we waited for our turn to order, while other Customers were coming into this Restaurant to also sit down & dine-in inside!! While we waited on the Okazuya side, which we were waiting & waiting as the only one Server lady seated another Couple to there Seat, took their Order, etc, & we were still Waitng & Waiting, it must have been at least 20 minutes by now, So Crazy I say!! Then we see that same lady that was working at the Counter, tells this other very "Shy Worker Guy" to take our Order, while this other Guy that was waiting after us, (He claimed that he used to work there), he was also having an attitude towards me, which I should've totally ignored him, he had the Audacity to tell me to go elsewhere to eat, etc, such an irritating overall experience there!! That shy Guy, eventually helped my Husband & I finally takes our order, by then 1/2 hr passes by, Thank you to that "Shy Kane" to take our order, he was So nervous in taking our Order, but we "thank you" very much, my Husband & I were by far Starving by then!! In the meantime that "Lady at her Counter" doesn't even Apologize to us, take our order & was just standing there, I mean C'mon you knew that we were waiting to patiently to order some Food for our late Lunch yesterday!!

I can't see us returning to this Restaurant again in the Future, unless they have more ppl Assisting the Okazuya side, etc!!! Shame on this Restaurant "Sekiya", we've been supporting & coming here to this Restaurant for well over 10 yrs+ & your Customer Service truly is just awful!!!

I hope your management sees my response here, regarding our encounter here yesterday, Terrible, terrible!!!

To that lady that works at the Okazuya Counter, you should have better training on how to at least multi task with your Customers, seems like you either don't like your job & or you just don't care about "Customer Care Service!!" at all! You just lost us as a Loyal Customer there!!

To the awful rude guy there also, bragging about your life & arguing with me, I should have never exchanged words with you, your really ignorant & have no Class at all, grow up "So called father of 10" Ugh, such a very Crazy experience there yesterday @Sekiya;...

I used to go to Sekiya as a student and regular traveler from another island. Their shrimp tempura was large and the crispy saimin that came with it was tasty (yeah not healthy, but I don’t eat it everyday). Their nitsuke butterfish was awesome.

Unfortunately after their DOH situation, the taste of the food changed (more sterile?). I did visit Sekiya on trips but not as regularly.

My brother and his wife who lives in Honolulu said they don’t go there anymore for various reasons including the food quality. They first introduced me to Sekiya’s decades ago.

On my latest trip, my wife and I decided to go there for lunch to have the nitsuke butterfish and tempura. I was really disappointed because they obviously changed their priorities. After waiting 10 minutes in line, we were pointed to a table (about a third of the tables were empty), I got to observe a lot of things. It was obvious that the take out okazuya was most important because they had 3 workers in that area. For the dining area, they had only one (SPED?). He was a picture of slow motion, capable of one task at a time, and unable to process priorities and efficiency.

After waiting another 5 minutes at the table with no water served, I noticed an okazuya worker escort two couples to a table, serve them water, and gave them the menu (they came in much later then we did - I guess they have favorites). The waiter took the order from two ladies next to us that must have been waiting at least 15 minutes. He then turned and gave us a menu which I said wasn’t necessary because we had looked online and was ready to order. He gave us a stop sign and went about doing other things. After at least 10 more minutes of watching him do the slo-mo and no where close to placing our order, it was time to leave because even if he finally took our order, it would probably be served cold at his pace.

Sekiya had the efficient workers at the okazuya section during lunch because they can make more money during that time. Treating dine in customers with a slow waiter and turning them off is not great for business for later afternoon and dinner when the okazuya is not open. I am joining my brother on not frequenting Sekiya anymore. If they don’t care about their dine in customers - makes you wonder if they care about their...

My gang and I were actually planning on having breakfast at nearby Sweet E's Café, but their ridiculous valet-only parking turned us off. As we made a u-turn in the Kaimuki High School parking lot, we noticed Sekiya's. I hadn't been there but two of them had, years ago. I said I didn't really care where we ate as both of them would've been new to me, so in we went.

ATMOSPHERE: Simple ambiance sans for a little Japanese garden at the rear which is visible from some tables. Cleanliness was top notch.

MENU: Okazuya line, noodles, donburi, poulty, pork, beef, fish, soups, sushi, ochazuke, sandwiches, burgers, salads, desserts, breakfast.

FOOD: Nabeyaki Udon I'm always on the hunt for a bowl that's equal to or above my favorite version at Ichiban Kahului but still haven't found it yet. Sekiya's broth came out searing hot, but I didn't care for its flavor. There was no depth, sweetness or character to it, and tasted similar to a consommé; savory yet flat. On the upside, the toppings of soft-boiled egg, watercress, won bok, fishcake, tender pork slices and shrimp tempura were fresh and hearty.

SERVICE: We were greeted immediately as we entered and had our pick of seats as the place was dead. Waiter service was good. Food delivery took about 15 minutes.

OVERALL: Another lesson was learned after this meal: Don't go looking for something better than what you already...