Okonomiyaki Chibo Restaurant

Had never had these dishes before, but very delicious. The wait staff was very helpful in explaining the dishes as well.

Great service and food! We got here during the happy hour which is from 3−6pm daily. We had the ribeye, garlic shrimp and white onion & chiso wrapped pork from the happy hour menu. All three were excellent! We ordered the okonomiyaki with the works and it was terrific!
Ask to be sat in front of the grill as all our food was fresh and tasty. The chef was great too! Definitely worth it if you are in Waikiki!

If I’m in the area, this is my go to place!
Went into to town to have late lunch/​early dinner with a good friend this weekend. Originally planned to go to a different location because it was within walking distance to her house. Unfortunately for that place, she got off of work later than expected. Instead, we found ourselves driving into Waikiki. She asked if there was any place in particular that I wanted to go and my first thought was Chibo!
When I used to work in Waikiki, this was my favorite place to have lunch and to celebrate my birthday. Sadly, I no longer work in Waikiki and hardly find myself driving into town. So when the opportunity arose, I quickly jumped at.
It was very different to go on the off time. It was extremely nice and relaxing. Because we went in between the rush hours of lunch and dinner, there was no wait time for a table and it was quiet where we could talk and catch up. To my surprise and delight, they do offer a happy hour menu that starts at 4:00pm until 6:00pm. If I were in the neighborhood more often, I would have ordered off the menu but I stuck to my favorite dish… OKONOMIYAKI! I always get the okonomiyaki with mochi & cheese and avocado with an additional half portion of yakisoba noodles in side. If you haven’t ordered their okonomiyaki or yakisoba, there are many ingredients that you can select from (ie. Pork, chicken, kim chee, vegetables, mocha & cheese, avocado, scallops, beef, corn, squid, shrimp, cream cheese) to be cooked in either dish. They offer 2 ingredients complimentary and any additional ingredients will be an additional charge. You can also add in a half portion of noodles to your okonomiyaki order for an additional charge.
They also have dessert options of ice cream and sobert. We were too full to even attempt to order any desserts but they did look yummy when we saw the table near us order it.
It was a great lunch with good food and great company!

Something I had never had before, so this was exciting. Had no idea about the whole food options walking in — and very pleasantly surprised. Good atmosphere, only had to wait a few minutes with no reservations (but your in a mall — go look around!)

I am only an expert on okinomiyaki insofar as I know that A) I love the stuff, and B) I eat it every chance I get. So that really doesn’t make me any sort of authority at all. That said, I can say without a doubt that Okinomiyaki Chibo makes some of the best Okinomiyaki I’ve ever had. And their yakisoba is pretty delicious too.
This teppan-​style restaurant is in the Royal Hawaiian mall. Normally the mall is the last place I’d eat food, but this is Waikiki and that’s what applies here. Real estate is limited, and US outposts of Japanese chains end up in malls. It’s that simple. Anyway, despite the fact that I have to endure the mall to find this joint, it’s worth a visit. The wait was not oppressive on a Saturday night — just 30 minutes quoted, and 15 minutes waited. The seats run along long bars with multiple teppan stations. They have a bunch of different set options, as well as ala carte. We opted for the BYO okinomiyaki and yakisoba. For the okinomiyaki it was scallop and kimchi, which turned out to be a damn fine choice. For yakisoba, we went with mushroom and vegetable. Another win.
The okinomiyaki here is nice and thick, about 3.4 of an inch thick, with a nice coat of yaki sauce and mayo on top, and a generous pile of bonito. The yakisoba is well seasoned with furikaki, yaki sauce and bonito as well. The noodles weren’t the best yakisoba noodles I’ve had, that was the only disappointing part. But the flavor was there 100%.
Service was friendly. I got the nagging feeling the whole time that gaijin don’t eat at this place often… based on the stares and chuckles of the other patrons. We made friends with two Japanese ladies sitting next to us and shared our bottle of sake. The service was attentive and welcoming despite the cultural divide. And overall, I’d say that this easily makes the list for a revisit on return trips.
If you love okinomiyaki, this is the place to go get some.

My friend and I split the okonomiyaki and yakisoba. I’ve always felt that yakisoba, even when done well, is kind of a boring dish and after this meal I still feel that way. Just go with the okonomiyaki, it’s pretty good here.

Okonomiyaki is now a fave Japanese dish of mines! I order the Okonomiyaki Chibo which is filled with shrimp, scallops, meat and so much more! You can also create your own Okonomiyaki and choose from a variety of toppings.
Their garlic chicken plate with ponzu sauce is also a must! It comes with thin garlic cloves which tops it off!
Lunch/​daily specials are very reasonably priced and include a salad and miso soup.

Whoa, hold it right there. You’re not going to miss out on the happy hour at Chibo, are you?
Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Not sure what to get? That’s alright– take a seat at the teppanyaki table, and trust me, it will be hard to order off the happy hour menu. After I saw the Teriyaki chicken, I couldn’t resist but ordering it. The chicken was tender and perfectly seasoned with home-​made teriyaki sauce.
Also, I tried for the first time the Chu-​Hj lychee– interesting, I must say.
Short facts about Chibo:
— Specialized in Japanese Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba, and Teppanyaki cuisine.
— Happy Hour 3pm– 6pm– daily.
— Located at the Royal Hawaiian Center, 3^rd floor.
Three and Half Unilocal

Located in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, it’s pretty hard to miss if you’re coming right out of the parking lot. It’s located on the third floor, and once you make your corner from the elevator it’s right in front of you.
I’ve been here about 3 or 4 times and every time that I’ve been here has never been a disappointment. I usually either make my own okonomiyaki or my own yakisoba every time I go. You can either be seated in a booth of your own, or in front of the teppan grill with others.
We ordered the Tataki and Korean salad for our appetizers. The Tataki was very yummy and flavorful! But if you’re one that can’t stand eating red meat then I wouldn’t recommend it. The Korean salad was decently spicy, nothing extreme at all and had a bunch of flavored to it. Pretty big in portion for both appetizers but enough to share between 2 – 3 people. A previous time that I’ve been here it was happy hour so a few select items were a part of that. I’m not too sure what are the hours for happy hours but I believe it ends at 6. We got the pork and kimchee which was very tasty, and satisfied my Korean taste buds. But the tofu and spinach sautéed in spicy sauce was not too my liking. I felt the spicy sauce overpowered the whole flavor of the dish and it was a little too much.
As goes for the okonomiyaki or yakisoba, if you’re not too hungry then one entrée is enough to share between two people. I ordered the yakisoba with kimchee, bacon and sausage and it was delicious (probably because I love bacon, sausage and kimchi) so if you’re like me then I highly recommend.
It is a bit pricey, but if you’re craving/​never tried okonomiyaki then this is the place I’d go too.

This restaurant was my first time experiencing okonomiyaki. I have to say — I was not impressed.
First things first — they do validate parking for the Royal Hawaiian Center, however, only the 1^st hour is free, it’s $ 2.00 for the 2^nd and 3^rd hour.
For a party of 5 on a Monday night — the wait time was 30 – 40 minutes. It was weird because when we walked in, most of the tables were empty. We definitely didn’t see half a restaurant worth of patrons leave during our long wait.
When we were seated — it took 10 minutes for our waitress to come and acknowledge us (mind you — it was not a busy restaurant or night). Then it took another 10 minutes to get us water. When we asked what she would recommend since none of us had been to an okonomiya joint before — she seemed annoyed, and didn’t really answer our questions. Really — service was NOT on par the entiiiiire night.
We opened the menu and oh lawd — it was pricey! $ 19 for the cheapest okonomiya with no additional toppings yet. That’s double the price anywhere else! Even the side dishes and drinks were pricey! $ 4 for a soda?! I had to remind myself that we were in Waikīkī.
I ordered the Okonomiya «Chibo» with beef and mochi&cheese, no bento flakes (allergies) because another Unilocaler said it was «the star» in her review. Perhaps because there was nothing to compare it to, but I didn’t care for the taste. It was meh, and I only ate it ’cause I was hungry.
I would’ve given this place 1-​stars, but because I maybe ordered the wrong dish, I figured I’d give it a 2. Maybe in the future — I’d give this place another chance… although, I probably won’t be back here.

There seems to be a lot of mixed reviews for Okonomiyaki Chibo, but I’m giving it FIVE STARS. Out of all the places I ate at in Hawaii, this restaurant was probably my favorite.
Location and Setting: It is located in the shopping center so it can be a little difficult to find. The restaurant itself is really nice. There are a lot of seating options, from the bar to a table/​booth. You can even enter a room and be seated on the floor which is a little more traditional but also a really great experience. My family decided to sit right in front of the chef at the teppanyaki grill making our food because we wanted to be entertained and watch everything being made. We arrived at an off time (late afternoon/​early evening) so it was really empty and we were seated right away. It was also happy hour which made it even better!
We ordered a lot of food since we were starving and since there were some happy hour specials going on.
Garlic Shrimp: Delicious and cooked very well. Not soggy or burnt; just enough crisp. The shrimp had a lot of flavor and the garlic wasn’t too overwhelming which I liked.
Garlic Fried Rice: Good. I just like fried rice. It wasn’t TOO garlic-​y which was nice and the portion was slightly larger than I expected.
Ribeye: Pretty good and tender. The sauces were also good, though I don’t know what I was dipping my meat into. While this plate was tasty, I probably wouldn’t order it again, especially after discovering some of their tastier items.
Teriyaki Chicken: This was my one of my sister’s choice, so I only had a small bite of it. I thought it was pretty flavorful and I liked that they served us really juicy pieces of chicken. The teriyaki sauce was flavorful and not too salty which I liked.
Yakisoba with octopus and scallops: YES YES YES. I would order this again. The yakisoba was really tasty and you can choose from many options what you would like in it. My family decided to try octopus and scallops which went together well. The octopus was tender and not too chewy and tough (props to the chef who cooked it perfectly) and the scallops were soft and also cooked well. The flakes on top, added a lot of flavor to the dish too. I would definitely order this dish again.
Okonomiyaki with beef, mochi, and cheese: THIS WAS THE STAR OF THE NIGHT. Of course we had to order this since it is in the restaurant’s name. It was absolutely delicious. I have never had anything like it before. It’s like a savory pancake of deliciousness. The portion is pretty large and satisfying. The dish had so much flavor and the texture of the dish was great (wasn’t falling apart or dry). I am definitely coming back here and ordering this the next time I visit.
5 stars for absolutely delicious food and pretty good service. I’ll definitely be back.

Okonamiyaki main ingredients are; shredded cabbage, flour, egg and meat of your choice, usually pork or shrimp. Ingredients are pretty simple and easy to make. It looks like one big pancake made from cabbage.
Coming to Okonamiyaki Chibo (OC), I was expecting some entertainment base on the prices OC was charging, boy was I wrong. I been to okonamiyaki restaurants in Japan where they bring all the ingredients and mix everything in front of you, it’s like a show. OC doesn’t do that, ingredients are already pre-​mix and they just cook it. There is no entertainment. I was really disappointed.
The okonamiyaki was nothing special, it was a little to thick and had way to much sauce. We also got the garlic chicken set and upgraded to fried rice. Again, it was ok, nothing special. The fried rice tasted good but rice was really mushy. Not worth the upgrade. If you ask for extra white rice, you will get charge making it one expensive meal.
Overall, the food was OK, nothing to rave about. Really disappointed there was no entertainment. OC is very expensive for what it serves and the value wasn’t really there. I really couldn’t find any reason to come back to OC.

When you’re in the mood for okonomiyaki, there really is no substitute. I mean really, if you’re craving a savory pancake with high quality filling (s), nothing is gonna satisfy you until you get your fix. Thankfully, there’s Okonomiyaki Chibo at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping! And although they they offer other things on their menu (yaki soba, sashimi, steaks, seafoods, etc.), you’d be crazy not to at least get an order of okonomiyaki with each visit.
Hands down they Chibo serves the best okonomiyaki on the island. In fact, their offerings are probably the best I’ve had outside of Japan. My personal favorite is the kimchi and cheese, because kimchi is a MUST with every meal and cheese is life, but there’s almost a limitless number of combinations you can order to make your okonomiyaki a unique and personal delicacy. You also have the option to top your okonomiyaki with katsuoboshi (dried bonito flakes), okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, and aonori.
The teppanyaki grill makes for an always entertaining show while you wait for your food. There’s nothing more interesting than watching your food being cooked right in front of you, and even more so when the chef throws in a little bit of flair into the process.