Sushi Izakaya Gaku — Restaurant in Honolulu

My SIL and nephew took me to one of their favorite restaurants, Sushi Izakaya Gaku on King Street. There are about eight parking stalls in the back, accessed by a narrow driveway through the building. We got there before 5pm (opening time) so we were able to pick our parking space.

I left the ordering to my hosts but started with an Ohoro gin and soda. This gin comes from Hokkaido with sweet gale and mint as botanicals. It’s strong for a gin at 47% alcohol but has a nice clean taste with a light aroma of citrus. My nephew went with Asahi Dry.

The first dish was Omatsuri Natto … with natto as the base, pieces of salmon, ahi, squid, ikura, uni, yamaimo, chopped green onion and okra topped with a quail egg. It’s mixed together and eaten on nori. I found it refreshing with the natto being very mild.

Next was Uni and Oyster shooters, Seared Otoro with garlic sauce, Tako Basil, Gyutan (grilled beef tongue) Salad, and assorted nigiri. The uni and oyster shooters were excellent, as was the seared otoro. I thought that was the best dish of the evening. The beef tongue was tender and the salad dressing was great. I enjoyed the tako basil as well.

I found the dishes to be very good … My SIL thought some of the ingredients were of lesser quality than during her previous visits. She noted a change in staff though one of the “old timers” came by later in the evening to say hello.

All in all, I enjoyed my dining experience. The place was filled with diners, so service was slow and inattentive at times. The kitchen put out dishes quickly despite the crowd. 4...

I tried Gaku in 2021 and was not impressed. I returned due to the overall high ratings and my return back to Hawaii.

There is a small parking lot in the back but it is on King street so you have to go up one more street to access.

We ordered: Tofu jelly (one with ikura and another with uni) - 5 stars recommend. They also got rid of the Wasabi with ikura which I enjoyed. King crab cake - served warm, and full of crab chunks! Pork dumplings (shumai) - wow one of the best - they use high quality meat for the filling and STEAMED PERFECTLY carpaccio of the day- this was just ok- I didn't like the oil vinegarette dressing crab cream corn croquettes - came hot with a nice crust and creamy filling tamago - can't go wrong unagi - was good but not the best homemade custard with fruits - this was just average to me green tea ice-cream- basic sushi omakase - my friend got all his pieces at once (they do that here) and he said it was pretty mid. "Not bad but not the best" - definitely not worth the price.

I feel this place is a star due to their izakaya menu items ! They have a large selection and I would return for this items but not a place I would recommend for omakase.

For all the food plus a bottle of sake, bill was...

An excellent place to get some high quality sushi. The fish was of top quality and came through in the form of texture and flavor.

We were lucky enough to get there right as they opened so we were able to be seated without a reservation. That being said I would definitely recommend making a reservation a few days in advance. In terms of parking we heard that parking was limited so we took an Uber from our hotel, I would recommend the same so that you have a more enjoyable time.

As I said the food was amazing, we opted for the chefs choice omakasi nigiri, the one where they keep bringing out the nigiri till you say stop. We spent about $265 for two people which included 12 pieces of sashimi per person, two tamago, one roll and one custard. All of the food was amazing and it was quite the experience tasing a few fish that neither myself or wife had ever tried before. It is a pricey experience but if you are sharing a special event (for myself it was the last night of my honeymoon) then go for it! We personally did...