Japengo Restaurant

Japengo *used to be* fantastic, up until a year ago. The sushi was always fresh and creative, and the service quite decent. Sadly, both food and service seem to have suffered. Food is way overpriced, even when taking into consideration Hawaiian prices. Simply put, you pay too much for mediocre creations that look great, but taste less so. As far as service is concerned, it was too fast-​food-​like in terms of speed and attention to the customer experience. These negatives aside, there was a bright spot in the folks who manage the hostess’ desk. Very polite and courteous.

Awww I wish I could give this place the 5 stars that I was looking to give. I’m disappointed.
The 2 reasons why I specifically chose to have my husbands birthday here — didn’t happen :(
1. The beautiful outdoor seating: they said it was too windy and it was going to rain so they closed it. But it wasn’t too windy and it didn’t rain, it was a beautiful evening out. Disappointed.
2. The coconut brûlée: they ran out! :(and they didn’t offer to notify us, and we ordered multiple orders for the experience :/​the waiter said I’d have to call ahead to ensure that they have the dessert.
Haha I’m not usually this difficult but I don’t as really looking forward to the experience to Japengos.
3 stars: because the food was good.

The food was exceed my expectations!
Staying at the Hyatt and decided to check it out this restaurant.
Ordered the steak and burger on kids menu, love it!
We ordered the course dinner set $ 70 and $ 95 each.
Highly recommended!!!

The most amazing seafood I’ve ever eaten. The ambiance is perfect and the service is top
notch.

First off, that coconut crème brulee. Now that that’s outta the way, from the moment you step in, the atmosphere, the view’s to the hula dancer’s right outside the restaurant, is excellent. The staff was more than friendly and really made you feel welcomed not only to the restaurant but to the island. And the food quality was second to one. My fiancé and I had the «taste of Japengo» plates which is a multi course meal that gives you a well rounded taste of all there specialties there. Simply exquisite!

The service at this restaurant was wonderful. From the host, the person seating us, and to the waiter, they were all friendly and courteous to us. With an 18 month old child, we are always concerned that he might be a little bit too rambunctious. But the staff treated us very well and seated us at a nice table. Out waiter Arnold went of his way to take care of all of our needs. He went through the menu and described everything to us. He then came by regularly to check up on us. He was one of the best waiters we have ever met. Two big thumbs up for Arnold!!! I am giving this restaurant five stars first and foremost because of the service and in particular Arnold our waiter.
The food at this restaurant is also solid. Our order came out very fast. We ordered all appetizers for dinner and was very full by the end. The scallops truffleyaki and crispy Japengo chicken were delicious. The tiramisu for dessert was good as well.

Delicious food and friendly service! Great place to celebrate a special occasion.
Must haves:
Scallops truffleyaki
Hawaii Ranchers Filet Mignon
Coconut Brûlée

So happy I convinced the boo to come here for dinner :) This place was in our hotel so it was a plus plus because Hyatt hotel guests get 15% off checks.
We ordered:
x Scallops Truffleyaki — sooo good and buttery. This came with some type of purée and it was the perfect compliment to the scallops. Everything was bursting with flavor! I just wish they gave more than 2 per order.
x Hawaiian Fresh Catch (w/​mahi mahi) — This dish was SOO filling because it came with rice on the side. The fish itself was cooked fine, but the flavors were a little bland… not bad though.
x Chilled Seafood Tower (shrimp | abalone | king crab | ahi sashimi | lobster tail | classic mustard sauce | wasabi vodka cocktail sauce | soy wasabi) — I’m always a little hesitant with seafood towers because it always disappoints me, but the one here was soo good! Everything tasted really fresh and they give really generous amount of everything. The abalone was surprisingly really good too. Perfect starter! Ask for butter on the side :)
x Signature Coconut Crème Brûlée (fresh coconut, toffee crumble) — OH EM GEE. The sole reason I came to Hawaii! Just kidding. But seriously, this exceeded my exceptions… it was sooooooo good and creamy and coconut-​y without being too overpowering. The boo and I agreed we’ll only have one bite each, but no. we scraped the coconut squeaky clean!
I highly recommend this place. Better than expected. Best feeling ever!!!

First time here for honeymoon. All the food from chefs choice was good !! All the worker was really friendly! They always check on you to see what you needs… I would definitely go back to at this place again…

Super classy place in an awesome looking hotel!
Just walking through Japengo, you know you are in a fancy place from the multiple private rooms, low ambient lighting, and plush cushioned seats. We were seated on the terrace that overlooked Waikiki which was a really nice view. The terrace itself was beautifully decorated with bright lights and comfy wicker tables.
Wanting to have a quick snack and some drinks, my family just chose a couple of things to have. I got the Lava Flow which was an alcoholic drink with coconut cream, a light rum, and strawberry. So good! I could have had at least 10 of those!
For food, my sister, brother-​in-​law, and I shared a plate of crispy chicken, scallops, and Hamachi. Portion wise, the dishes are good for a few bites, not necessarily to be full.
The crispy chicken was drenched in this sweet sauce that surprisingly didn’t make the chicken soggy. Each piece was large and the chicken itself was very tender. The scallops came in twos, so we had to order two servings of those. The scallops were much larger than scallops I have seen before and they were presented on a cloud of mash potatoes with truffle oil. Potatoes were smooth and creamy, and scallops were caramelized perfectly. Finally, the Hamachi plate was the most refreshing item with its crisp cucumbers and basil, as well as the super fresh fish. However, it was a bit difficult to pick up since the slices of Hamachi were so thin.
While Japengo serves bomb-​tasting food, the prices could burn a hole in your pocket. For a quick snack, it was a bit expensive, but at least the flavors were spot on. Money well spent!

To be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect from a restaurant in a hotel but Japengo has shown me otherwise. Our first time here was wonderful!
My boyfriend and I were running late for our 6:30 reservations due to traffic but Japengo did not hesitate to push it back to 7:15 just to make sure we didn’t have to rush. While arriving there, I’ve heard about free valet parking as long as we get our tickets validated, so of course we chose valet parking. Also, if you’ve been to Hyatt, you should know how poorly structured the parking garage is. Prior to being seated, we had to wait about 5 minutes just for them to prepare our tables. The ambiance of the restaurant was beautiful with dim lights, very spacious, modern, and it also has outdoor seating with a slight view of the strip. It was just getting busy when we arrived there but luckily we had reservations. Our server was such a big help as she knew it was our first time dining there and she explained the menu to us thoroughly and even suggested what dishes were most popular. My boyfriend went for the Taste of Japengo meal ($ 70) for one person and I just added on to it because we basically shared everything.
For appetizers, we had the Japengo Crispy chicken, scallops truffleyaki, and the north shore garlic shrimp. 1) Japengo Crispy Chicken: lives up to its name «crispy» but I personally think it tastes like any other garlic chicken that you can get from Mitsuken, Sugois, or Triple RT. Nothing wrong with that because it was good but nothing that I thought was spectacular or tasted new to me. 2) Scallops Truffleyaki: so delicious and mouth-​watering! I’m sad that this appetizer only came with two big chunks of scallops so me and my bf savored each bite because it was just that good. The texture of the scallops were cooked perfectly and it was covered with a creamy white sauce that we couldn’t get enough of. Too good! You can’t come to Japengo without ordering scallops truffleyaki. I promise you will not regret it. 3) North Shore Garlic Shrimp: it wasn’t the type of garlic that you would expect from the other side of the island but this appetizer was pretty tasty. My boyfriend and I enjoyed the salad that came with the shrimp because it was covered with some type of really good sauce. Lol not too sure what it’s called.
The taste of Japengo meal that my boyfriend got also came with Hawaiian Bouillabaisse. It was okay but me and my bf could not compare it to anything we tasted before because it was just basically soup with bits of shrimp and lobster inside, I believe.
For entrees, my boyfriend got the Loco Foie Gras Moco that came with the taste of Japengo meal and I got the Pulehu Ribeye Steak which was HUGE. The Loco Foie Gras Moco was delicious! People were not lying on Unilocal when they say you’ll never eat loco moco the same way after eating this. The Foie Gras made it so yummy but sadly it was pretty small so luckily my rib eye steak was big enough for us to share. It was cooked perfectly just the way I wanted it and I enjoyed the hamakua mushrooms, creamy spinach, and sauce bordelaise that came with it.
Lastly, for dessert, we had the Coconut Crème Brulée and OMG it was delicious! I was hesitant about trying it because I am not a big fan of coconut desserts. This type of Crème Brulée was unique because it was given in a real coconut shell. I just thought that was very cute and creative. It wasn’t too sweet, wasn’t too coconut-​y. I loved it. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back there sometime soon just for that dessert…
Overall, our first time at Japengo was a pleasant experience. I thought wrong about this place but I was actually very satisfied with our service and our meals. We were full and we usually don’t get full… lol. We usually leave fancy restaurants hungry but Japengo definitely filled our tummies because we both were too lazy to walk or drive home afterwards. It was a perfect way to celebrate our Valentine’s Day date. We will definitely be back!

(disclaimer: My boyfriend and I booked our hotel stay through Costco Travel which included a pre-​set pre-​paid dinner.)
I wish I could give Japengo more than a one, but honestly that’s all they deserve. The service, food, ambience was no better than a PF Changs. I made reservations online and let them know ahead of time it was my birthday and that we had the Costco coupon. When we arrived at the restaurant, the hostess didn’t even look up but asked for my name, sighed heavily and then asked rudely for the coupons. (It wasn’t busy whatsoever so you can’t blame her rudeness for stress). We were seated in the bar while they set up the table. Another hostess (the only reason this place gets a star) came and walked us to our table with a smile and thanked me to celebrating my birthday with them.
Our waiter came about a min later, saw we had the Costco menu, didn’t introduce himself, didn’t bring water, didn’t ask if we had questions but simply said «fine, you ready yet?» We ordered our food, an additional appetizer that we were repeatedly told we would have to pay for. Still no water. Our first course came, and we still had to flag the waiter down to ask if we could get some water. He acted like I’d just slapped him in the face. Service wise, I give this place a zero.
The food, a straight one. The Japengo chicken and salad were delicious but main entrees, my fish and my BF’s steak tasted like it came straight out of the freezer section. His steak had no flavor, and literally looked like a piece of crap on the place. My fish was cooked nicely but as Gordon Ramsey would say «WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!»
It was very obvious this place caters to those that are «paying» even though our vacation included this dinner in the price. We even let them know we wanted to order additional items off the main menu, but still were treated like we didn’t matter. The Hyatt is a wonderful resort, but this top restaurant Japengo, definitely needs to be fixed.

Real cool outdoor seating. The view of the buildings and cool lighting give this place an upscale feel at night. Staff was very friendly and attentive. I must saw everything we tried here was amazing! Left 1 star for the restaurants like Le mar.
Seafood tower– fresh with great variety $ 65
Oyster shooters– on the larger size $ 12 each
Macadamia nut shrimp– large & yummy
Surf & turf– steak & mushrooms were amazing
Bouillabaisse– broth very good, lots of seafood
Crème brûlée– very good

I really liked this place for a nice fancy (albeit expensive) dinner. They had great service and great food, interesting menu items, and it was very elaborate.
The only con was the price, and the super touristy atmosphere as it is in the Hyatt Regency. Put this place somewhere off the strip and I think it becomes 5-​stars.
We had everything here, but the scallops, oh my god, just get the appetizer scallops, they were amazing! I really wanted to do the tasting menus as they look really good, but we went a la carte and tried a little bit of everything. The two fishes they had were both amazing, the special was Mong Chong, and it was cooked perfectly with a great quinoa compliment, I would definitely recommend that.
The sake wasn’t great that we had (the most expensive junmai), but everything else was super tasty.
Our waiter was great, nice local guy with a good personality, very attentive, and good suggestions and jokes.

Wasn’t too sure on what to expect from a hotel restaurant but was surprisingly pleased with our meal and friendly service.
We chose the Japengo tasting menu, which comprises of four courses. I could have eaten just the garlic shrimp appetizer and left so satisfied. The bouillabaisse soup was just okay. Broth was fine but wasn’t what I expected to see.
Their version of loco moco was divine, being filet mignon and foie gras with quail egg as a topper. Yum!
Pineapple Crème brûlée was a great way to end the night.
Friendly waiter who congratulated us on our honeymoon too. When we checked in the hotel, they gave us free bottle of champagne coupon :)
If you are a Hyatt Gold Passport member, you also get 15% off from your bill. Bonus!

Japengo never disappoints.
Well. cept that they should include more than two pieces in their scallops truffleyaki. And I usually don’t like to share, so I like
to and have told past company that they need to order their own because even two pieces just isn’t enough. The sauce is superb. Cut the scallops into pieces to better your scallop to sauce ratio.
Tonight also had the bouillabaisse. Well done with assortment of seafood with crispy roasted garlic bread. Solid broth that you’ll love soaking up bread with. The clams were ok, pretty standard Manila clams. The fish of the day was mahi mahi but was able to substitute for opah. Delicious and perfectly cooked.
Save room for dessert. Their coconut crème brûlée is winners. Crunchy torched sugar topping layer with coconut crème and coconut bits served in a coconut shell. And if that wasn’t enough, they have a pile of crumbled Heath Bar that you could sprinkle to your heart’s content over the already perfected dessert concoction.

My dining experience was excellent from beginning to end. The ambiance, service, and food were all excellent. Being from San Francisco, it felt Gary Danko-​ish.
We ordered the Tasting Menu that included 4 courses and added on 2 appetizers.
Taste of Japengo
1. «north shore» garlic shrimp — this salad was light, refreshing and flavorful
2. hawaiian bouillabaisse– taste like cioppino in a cup without all the cracking of shells. the consistency of the broth and the kick of the spice was also perfect. (to me sometimes i feel like cioppino can taste too peppery). and it wasnt too fishy tasting.
3. loco «foie gras» moco– i will never eat regular loco moco ever again. this is soo good. filet mignon, foie, quail egg?! genius
4. dessert was japengo’s signature coconut crème brûlée — lets just say i was never a big fan of coconut until this
apppetizers
1. scallops truffleyaki– if you love scallops and love truffle this is a must!!! the scallops were cooked perfectly and melted in your mouth. the truffle mash potato was the perfect match for this dish. this was my favorite dish of the night
2. chilled hamachi & ikura– this is another Japengo favorite. very flavorful and fresh tasting hamachi
You get what you pay for but I would recommend this restaurant to anyone that visits. I’ll definitely be back in the near future!
Dont forget Parking is validated!

This is the best Japanese fusion restaurant in Hawaii mostly because the head chef Jon Matsubara is a superstar. We normally get the set menu and let the chef do his thing. We always come on special occasions and are always very impressed. Great service and food. Also, free valet parking is a bonus.
Check out the pictures to see what I’m talking about.

Omg this restaurant inside the Hyatt Regency was amazeballs!!! Way too underhyped in my opinion. Pretty, classy restaurant with fancy dishes. Here’s what I got to try:
Garlic chicken appetizer: tastes like high end orange chicken. Very crispy and flavorful. Yum! They can do a half portion for half price! Perfect amount between two people!
Macadamia nut shrimp appetizer: holy amazeballs!!! Shrimpies (comes with 4) were huge and succulent and sauce (mayo-​y) was so tasty!!! Reminded me of walnut shrimp.
Scallops appetizer: I die. I seriously die for this dish. Buttered juicy scallops on a bed of truffle mashed potatoes. Enough said.
Catch of the day in truffle butter: sigh disappointed in this entrée. I tasted absolutely NO truffle butter but instead it was like Hong Kong style with the steamed fish (mahi mahi was the catch). Came with diced tomatoes (soooo randumb) and some bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. Not impressed after all those delicious appetizers!
Crème brûlée in a half coconut shell with toffee bits: good way to end a good meal! Nice texture, not too sweet, perfect light coconut flavor.

Japengo’s food is awesome! The service was a bit pushed, very local, but friendly. We got there on time for our reservation but had to wait a couple minutes even though the restaurant was nearly empty. It is a very large restaurant, so I am almost sure you will get a seat even without reservations.
Seemed like the boss or manager seated us and he kept on boasting how beautiful the menus were (as in the material of the menu) which was not that unique. He somehow offended my friends by assuming their ethnicity. I know he was just trying to be friendly, so I will let that go. Our waitress was also a bit over the top as well. Despite the service being a bit forced, we got the Japengo Crispy Chicken on the house!!– and this appetizer was very tasty! Also, they gave us very nice desserts for our celebratory dinner.
Me and a friend had the filet mignon and it was suberb. The whole dish just went well together. I didn’t order wine, but I think wine would have worked perfectly with this dish. My friends had the catch of the day entrée and the pork entrée– everyone seemed satisfied with their meal.
This restaurant is definitely good for large parties due to they have the capacity for it. Also I saw large tables and side rooms as well. The restaurant is on the fancy/​fine dining side except you will actually be full with your meal– which is definitely a plus in my book.