Gyotaku Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Oʻahu

We haven't gone to Gyotaku in over 2 years but made reservations today for lunch since they are open for dining in now. There was a large party of 30 people when we arrived but we were still seated within a few minutes.

We were given a few minutes to peruse the menu while our water came. The water tastes like filtered water and was very refreshing. A lot of restaurants use tap water and the chlorine is very prominent if you are used to drinking filtered water like we are.

Our waiter, Trim arrived shortly to see if we had decided on what we wanted. We both wanted miso butterfish and the tempura combo except I wanted brown rice and my husband prefers white rice.

Our soup, salad, and dipping sauce arrived shortly thereafter and the main entree' came before I had finished my miso soup so there was no waiting. The butterfish serving was generous. I suspect they weigh the pieces to be consistent. (You can opt for a half serving instead which Trim said was a certain weight. The exact weight escapes me.) The fish was very tender, juicy, moist, and well seasoned with the flavors balancing out nicely. The tempura was light and crispy. The dipping sauce was just right. Not too salty or bland. All would have been perfect if the brown rice had not been so dry. I'm not sure if the person cooking the rice doesn't know how to cook it properly or if they were having a bad day. Brown rice and white rice cannot be cooked the same way. Brown rice needs way more water and a longer cooking time, plus a steam cycle to turn out moist., tender, and not mushy or dry. I am hoping that between now and the next time we choose to dine in that the chef who cooks the rice finds a way to make it turn out perfect every time.

The Key Lime Pie was delicious as always, however I seem to recall it being a bit more tart/limey in the past. It could be regular limes were used because they didn't have Key Limes available. Key limes have a much more robust flavor than regular limes and the difference is very noticeable.

Our waiter, Trim was very polite, courteous, and professional. I like that he was attentive but not overly so. He didn't stop every 5 minutes to ask if we needed anything beyond checking if our food was okay once we received it and had a chance to taste it. (Overly attentive waiters are annoying after a while.) He also asked if we wanted to order anything more at the time. We didn't so he left us to enjoy our food. Once we finished eating he was right there asking us if we wanted dessert or anything else. I ordered my Key Lime Pie to go. He brought it quickly and nicely packaged so it wouldn't get damaged in transit. He also brought our bill and left us to decide our method of payment. I like that there are 3 levels of suggested tips printed on the bill ranging from 10-20%. We gave him 22% because we like his service and our experience was pretty positive for the most part.

We recommend Gyotaku if you like well prepared Japanese food, a quiet and friendly atmosphere with ample seating and great service. Do order white rice rather than brown rice if you are like a lot of us locals who love our...

The picture is the main course. It's $28 for what is pictured plus a salad and miso soup. The katsu was about the length of my hand while the two teriyaki meats were smaller than my palm. By volume I think I got more cabbage than everything on the plate. IMO the portions were small, but it is a Japanese restaurant so I'll give it an average rating.

The katsu was tender but looked a little bit burnt. So overall the katsu was fine. They gave me some hot mustard with the katsu sauce which I thought was interesting and it did give the sauce a nice kick. I'll probably do that on my own if I have the chance.

The teriyaki was nothing amazing. Avg.

The corn and Lima beans were probably frozen from a bag (stung a little bit considering it was $28)

Staff was good. He overheard me talking about the crab in the salad (I'm allergic). Offered to get me one without imitation crab.

My grandma got a dish that was served in a long plate/container thing, it was a long series of compartments; it was cracked along several places. To the point I noticed as he was taking the dish away it visually sagged. They could take a bit more pride in their dishes. Like if it looks like it's gonna snap in half while being carried, why serve on it?

Overall I give it a generous avg score because the staff did everything right. Just the food and plates were not there. Like minus the salad and miso soup how is what I got different from zippy's? IMO zippy's is cheaper for similar quality food and less cabbage (which to me is a filler or keeps the hot food from melting through the styrofoam plates) but I swear I got half a head of cabbage on my plate.

I feel like the quality has gone down over the years. The menu has been reduced to a single laminated legal size paper, back and front. Cracked dishes. Why am I reduced to comparing what I got to zippy's. Something needs to set it apart to justify the $28 and I...

In past years, we have been on the fence about this location . Previous bad service and inconsistent food had made this a place to avoid for us. However, in recent years, it's really gotten a lot better. Now... This place is consistent, and very family-friendly. From your older oba-chan to your little kiddo, this place is welcoming. You know what you're getting . Very good portion sizing for seniors. Free parking, both at street level and in their underground parking.

Accepts credit cards. No tap to pay option at this time.

Bathrooms available on site, including a family restroom for diaper changing.

Two and a half stars for decent, value-driven home cooking. One and a half stars for the awesome customer service by the lovely Kalei! My kiddo had the kid's meal on a Tuesday afternoon after a school performance, and was so excited by the Shave Ice that comes for dessert with it that it ended up on the floor by the second or third spoon. Disaster! Tears! General small kid panic!

While I thought, okay, that's it , gravity won this one, Kalei brought another one, free of charge, and with a smile. She even reminded us to pick a toy from the kid's bin on the way out. How awesome is that? Rockstar service! Thank you so much for making my...