Rokkaku Hamakatsu

This review is from when I visited here during my trip to Hawaii in February 2024.

My friend who lives in Hawaii, recommended this Japanese restaurant.
Although she is an American, she was right, this restaurant was wonderful.
The inside of the restaurant looked nice and neat. It felt like I was in Japan.

They have sashimi, Tonkatsu(Pork Cutlet), bowls, noodles and Tempura.
I ordered Tonkatsu because it's not easy to find authentic Japanese Tonkatsu in California, especially in my neighborhood.
The small mortar to grind sesame reminded me of Japan.
Rice, Miso soup, and small pickles came with Tonkatsu, it was a very crispy, delicious, and authentic Japanese Tonkatsu.
Everything was delicious.

The service was great.

This restaurant is located in the Ala Moana Center. You can park a car at the shopping center parking.
During shopping, when you are hungry, that would be nice to stop by and eat authentic Japanese food.

I highly recommend this restaurant.

Food: We got the loin and chicken katsu. On its own, the loin can be very fatty. However, when mixed with the sauce, cabbage and good quality rice was amazing. Everything works so well together. The chicken is also good and very tender. I would rank this place right behind Tonkatsu Tamafuji for best katsu on the island.

Price: The food is on the pricier side, but the ingredients are high quality flown in from Japan.

Service: The waitress was very attentive and even offered to refill my miso soup.

Ambiance: The interior is decorated very nicely. It feels like you're in a fancy restaurant in Japan.

Walked in with no reservation for 2 on a Friday night and able to get a table. The restaurant was relatively packed. Staff explained no pork fillets available at this time. Husband got the Berkshire pork loin $30 & I got the chicken cutlet $25. If you aren't craving katsu they also have tempura and noodle dishes. Chicken was soft, well battered and came out fresh without being dry. Pork good as well.

Staff were very attentive during our visit. Located in Ala Moana with ample parking. Will come back again!

Rokkaku Hamakatsu is one of the better Japanese restaurants in town. I enjoy it's location in Ala Moana near the Ewa wing and right next to the parking structure so it's a convenient spot if you're not actually planning on going into the mall. The staff is friendly and attentive. The atmosphere and design of the restaurant is classy-ish and you feel like you're eating at a nice place. The restaurant isn't loud and it's a great place to meet clients or talk business.

For $42, I ordered the combination set with 100g of tonkatsu and 6 pieces of salmon sashimi. The tonkatsu was perfectly cooked and the sauce was great. The sashimi was well prepared and fresh. The miso soup, salad, and rice were as expected.

Overall, the food was great but I think the price is on the higher end for the experience and food you receive. Everything else but the price is exceptional.

Located in the Ala Moana mall next to a ramen shop, near Victoria's Secret and Longs, facing out to the parking structure. I only tried their lunch twice, and both were decent. What I love most about was the environment and decor actually - sleek and modern. It felt like I was dining at a nice hotel restaurant somehow.

But I wouldn't say service was 5 stars. It's OK. There were a few ladies taking turn to serve us and only one of them was very helpful and friendly. I think part of it was because I showed up as the 4th person for a 3 person reservation. I didn't bother to change it after knowing another person would join because I knew they're gonna give us a 4 person table anyway, and I happened to be the last person of the group who walked in. When I sat down, I could only see the surprising faces and a comment of "oh the reservation is for 3 people." Really, does it matter? There's an empty seat at the table for me. I didn't think it would matter that's why I didn't call to update the booking. After I sat down, no one bothered to give me an extra set of utensils. I was waiting and finally had to flag someone down for it.

Food was not bad but it wasn't the best. It's OK. Their tempura wasn't crispy enough and I'm just not a fan of having with the sauce on it already. The rice was OK, could use better quality rice. The ikura was delicious, but again the rice had soy sauce in it already and it didn't taste like how sushi rice should. The agedashi tofu was OK and with the egg it seemed like they tried to take it up a notch but the whole thing lacked umami flavor. My favorite was the hamachi sashimi, but besides the plating, I could get similar quality at Marukai. They're all imported from Japan anyway.

I was very impressed the first time I came here, with the food and service, but not quite this time. I still like their location, fair prices, and ambiance, so maybe I'll come back to try other dishes, or maybe not.

Rokkaku Hamakatsu was a place I came for tonkatsu. It was delicious and a convenient place at the mall with plenty of parking. Sometimes I may feel you pay a lot for tonkatsu, but I had some at other places and those thick pork loin katsu was just as much but so delicious!

It wasn't until I came here with a friend for my birthday and she ordered the Shokadou set and I ordered the katsu set. I realized her $60 Shokadou set was amazing and she even was happy with her meal at a place she hasn't been to before. She didn't realized this place existed before. Her set consist of a lot variety of items and even comes with salad, sides and dessert! I told myself, I want to try this too on my next visit!

I brought my mom and at first she looked at the price and was going to order something small but I wanted her to enjoy good food because she hardly dined out. Lots of customers were ordering Nabeyaki udon with tempura. That looked delicious too and realized they have other dishes than just tonkatsu or chicken katsu!

It was nice seeing my mom's eyes light up with a smile as the Shokadou set was set before us & even others around us inquired about what we got. It was truly a nice set with even our favorites of miso butterfish, beef tenderloin steak and tempura! I would highly recommend the shokadou set!!!

Service was excellent and we left happy with our stomachs filled!

Always good food and good service. One of my favorite restaurants in town. Hamachi Kama needs to check to see availability prior to reservation.

Nestled in HI's busy Ala Moana Shopping Center, which is the largest open-air shopping center in the world, is a small authentic, upscale, Kyoto-style Japanese restaurant called Rokkaku Hamakatsu where you can get away from the hustle & bustle & have a quiet, relaxing meal w/ conversations w/ your dining counterparts.

Opened in Oct. 2014 & managed by its parent company, Ringer Hut of Japan, that operates 900+ restaurants in Japan & southeast Asia. Of these 900 restaurants, Ringer Hut oversees 100+ restaurants that specialize in tonkatsu. (Ringer Hut began as a Nagasaki tonkatsu shop in 1962 & has expanded to include noodles & izakaya dishes. The restaurant name, Rokkaku Hamakatsu, reflects the desire of using seasonal ingredients from Japan to create unique dishes that display the quality of authentic Japanese cuisine in HI ("Rokkaku") & noting its house specialty of pork katsu ("Hamakatsu"), which is a trademark of Ringer Hut).

In addition to its specialty of tonkatsu, Rokkaku Hamakatsu also offers sashimi; appetizers (tofu, eggplant, boiled spinach, sushi); salads; donburi; noodles; yakimono (grilled foods); tempura; combo sets; and desserts. It also offers the Shokudou Set, which includes 6 of their popular items.

I had the Shokudou Set, that included the following:
* Tossed salad. This spring salad (green/red leaves, romaine, butter lettuce, argula) had a delicious sesame dressing topped w/ crispy rice flakes. Loved this salad, as the dressing complemented the salad well, together with the crispy rice flakes that added some crunchiness to the soft greens.
* White rice. Authentic Japanese rice that is sweet, fluffy, & whole kernels of rice that are always a special treat, knowing that this is high quality rice. You can also choose multi-grain rice.
* Tsukemono. Perfectly pickled carrots & daikon that complemented the fluffy rice.
* Miso soup. Served piping hot, it came w/ tofu, wakame, & green onions that made it very soothing as it went down my throat.
* Miso butterfish. Loved the slightly charred butterfish that was perfectly grilled that just melts in your mouth & is one of the best miso butterfish that I've had. It came w/ delicious thin slices of white, mildly picked ginger.
* Tempura. Non-oily w/ light crispy batter prepared excellently, it came with 2 pieces of delicious shrimp, pumpkin, carrot, & zucchini.
* Sashimi. Freshly cut maguro, Hamachi, and salmon just melts in your mouth. It was accompanied by a shiso leaf & wasabi.
* Boiled spinach. Marinated in a sesame sauce & topped w/ sesame seeds, this was very flavorful & complemented the white rice well.
* Beef tenderloin steak topped w/ crispy garlic pieces & accompanied w/ fresh wasabi. The restaurant touts itself for using special binchotan charcoal from Japan for grilling meats & fish, as it is pure carbon charcoal made from oak & is odorless, smoke free, has constant heat, & does not leave an oily residue. Was a little disappointed with the beef, as it was well done & was not asked beforehand my preference for doneness, which I would have chosen medium rare. Despite being well done, it was tender.
* Cold marinated hamachi. This was topped w/ pickled carrots & daikon & was tasty.
* Honey yogurt ice cream & green tea gelato. Sourced from La Gelateria, they were very flavorful & creamy! The Shokudou Set included the yogurt/gelato, but the same is offered as a free dessert for your birthday. I was too full to have another dessert.

This Shokudou Set was a perfect choice, as it had a little of everything; however, it lacked the restaurant's specialty of tonkatsu, which I would suggest to be included. Loved how everything was plated, as all were presented well, considering the number of pretty dishes used. It was a good choice for a birthday lunch w/ a friend, as well as the restaurant choice.

Staff was very friendly, welcoming & attentive. Diners were coming & going, & staff did not push us to leave once we were done.

The restaurant interior is clean, stylish, & contemporary w/ Japanese décor & a high ceiling. There is a tatami room at the back of the restaurant for small private parties; take off your footwear as you'll sit on floor cushions w/ your legs dangling loosely in a hole on the floor under the table.

Rokkaku Hamakatsu is located on the mall level, ewa wing, mauka side, between Sephora & Victoria's Secret. There is a small restaurant sign on the outside of the building, but look closely for its noren curtain entrance, as it's right next door to Tanaka Ramen & Izakaya, which also has a small outdoor sign that you can easily walk into this restaurant.

Open daily from 11a to 8p. Lots of parking available at this popular shopping center, but you may have to circle around to look for available spaces during busy times of the day.

Prices are high, but well worth the ambience & food quality! Looking forward to return to try the tonkatsu. A perfect choice to celebrate a birthday or special occasion!

This is nice little Japanese restaurant. Great ambiance, service and food is great! We've been going back over and over and the place is clean!

Located on second floor of Ala Moana Shopping Center next to Victoria Secret, Rokkaku Hamakatsu might be my new favorite ton katsu restaurant. Tried to Berkshire Pork Loin Set (set is $3 additional) and it did not disappoint. I wasn't sure what to expect from the place but the ton katsu was juicy and outer layer panko was crispy. The portion size was a good amount and the katsu sauce was perfect a bit on the sweet side which I like. I do wish they had a creamy sesame style of dressing for the cabbage but it was still good with than tangier sauce. What I also liked was we didn't have to wait to get seated and we were able to get seats without reservation on a weekday evening. I will definitely be coming back here again.