Tanaka Ramen & Izakaya — Restaurant in Oʻahu

I stopped in with a friend to check out some place we had never been before. We have both lived in Japan previously and enjoy a good ramen every now and then. The location in the Pearl Ridge mall seemed welcoming enough, and I actually like their signage. We were greeted right as we walked in the door but it was not with an “irasshaimase” as they say in many Japanese restaurants. No matter. They promptly brought us utensils, menus and a couple glasses of water. The menu is pretty good. They do have quite a variety, including appetizers, and other foods besides just ramen. We ordered the takoyaki for an appetizer, and I ordered the. garlic, rich Tonkotsu ramen. My friend ordered the spicy Tonkotsu. The takoyaki actually tasted really good, despite the lack of much octopus inside the ball. The ramen was prepared and delivered in a very timely manner. The noodles were a little tough to begin with, but softened up as they sat in the steaming hot broth. I slurped mine up with ease, and it was delicious. My friend seem to enjoy his as well, but he couldn’t finish all of it. The price was a little bit expensive, but seemed reasonable for the flavor. At that price I would hope for a little bit more congenial service and a bit tidier look inside. They had cardboard boxes stacked up at the far end of the restaurant and the staff had virtually no personality whatsoever. But they did get the job done. So overall, I give it four out of five stars. With a little bit cleaner location and maybe a smile every now and then from the staff and a little bit more hearty takoyaki it...

Excellent & mostly authentic Japanese ramen. At Tanaka, expectation management is important. Our ramen and gyoza had great taste and were prepared excellently. Unfortunately, portion sizes were way too small for the premium prices charged. My ramen coat $18 and is much smaller than what I could get from some nearby ramen houses like Gometei, Daiichi, or Ramen-Ya. Yes, the flavor was better at Tanaka, but more money for less food. The gyoza were incredibly small and literally bite-sized. The meat portions with the ramen were embarrassingly small; razor thin slices of meat instead of the generous portions from other locations. In all, if you’re looking for a very authentic flavor, I’d recommend Tanaka unless you are on a budget or trying to get the most out of your money. Also, the lack of on-table condiments in the Japanese style like hot oil, garlic, and ginger is a...

Well, I've ordered through uber eats before and didn't have issue, but the level of incompetence tonight was absolutely astounding.

Firstly, they gave us the wrong order, they gave me a nonvegan broth which thankfully I noticed before eating too much. (Update when I'm horribly sick later)

Then when we called they said to come back in and they would fix it. Not only did they expect us to pay again for their mistake, they asked us to return the food that had already left the restaurant. (Not sure what the covid protocols are now. But that doesn't seem very sanitary to me.

Then when they finally fixed it, they mixed up which toppings went with which broth AGAIN and tried to send us away with the wrong order again.

Absolutely astounding when there were as many people working and so...