Sekiya’s Restaurant & Delicatessen

1. SK&D is old school local kine Japanese food. I couldn’t find gyoza on the menu; the waitress said there’s wun tun at the deli/​okazu counter which is room temperature, take out food. must be that gyoza is present-​day Japanese stuff, but it surely is a super Japanese dish — even Guy Fieri loves it. Some/​many dishes taste junk at room temperature.
2. shrimp tempura was unusual — they use rice krispies instead of panko! not good, in fact, b-​a-​d ! you can see into the kitchen — no old japanese grannies; cooks are of assorted ethnicities & perhaps short tenure there, but i don’t know. their pork tofu/​watercress dishes are sweet, just like my late mom’s — just sprinkle sugar. my waitress brought my soda overflowing with ice! common sense isn’t common. she must have put over 80% ice in the cup. irritating.
3. it’s cold inside. lots of easy parking. monday is 10% senior discount day & it doesn’t apply to some items.
4. before their renovation about 10 years ago, their front door was totally awful — dirty wood, old, old-​fashioned. «ya have 1 chance to make a 1^st impression.» the koi in the small pond on the way to the john are nice, big! the walkway bordering the pond is totally awful — deep, deep down grime. sure looks like shabbiness is not even noticed, or «what?! boddah you? don’t let it!»
5. but, it’s nostalgic, & not a cookie-​cutter, mainland chain operation.

We’ve been coming to Sekiyas for years, before the infamous E. coli breakout that shut them down for a few weeks.
Why do we keep coming back here? Because it’s Terry H. old stomping grounds, and brings back fond memories of dinner with pop pop.
Food is consistently meh, the Hawaiian beef stew was sent back because it came out like soup. When I asked if there was a way to make it thicker, I was told it’s supposed to be watery. The tempura is mostly batter.
Service is pretty good though. Water is refilled quickly, and they check up on you just enough. The vibe of this place is that the restaurant seems to be filled with old time regulars.
I prefer to come here for picnic or beach food early in the morning before we head out. The hash balls are yummy, although they’ve shrunk in size.

I don’t understand how this business has been around for 80 years. The food tasted old and like it was reheated. I ordered the beef teriyaki and is was like teriyaki beef jerky with a hint of fish. The katsudon was dry and flavorless. The food was a huge disappointment. The servers were all really nice and refilled our water though!

I bought okazuya consistently almost every other weekend for ten years when my dad was alive and the food was always excellent. Since my dad passed away five years ago I’ve only eaten here 3 – 4 times a year. After not eating here for about six months today I purchased hash balls that were totally not the same and borderline inedible. The outer crust was tough & chewy. My piece of maki sushi looked like an amateur rolled it. The filling was all to one side and not in the middle and the sushi was soggy. I was so disappointed i called the restaurant to ask if there were new owners or a new cook. I told the cashier that answered that my hash was inedible and maki sushi soggy. I seriously suggested that he taste the food, specifically the hash today before selling it to the public. He apologized and said they still have the same owners but have cooks in training. I’m not sure I wanna give this place another chance.

I love food but I can be very picky when it comes to okazu.
Parking is a breeze either in their private lot or Market City next door. A–
I used to frequent Sekiya for Okazu, but upon a recent visit, I noticed they had «renovated» the okazu counter and wait station. Larger variety of food items and easy to see. B+
The prices seem to be the same, but the quality of the food, in MY opinion only, has gone way down.
The fried chicken is not consistent. One piece was cooked fine, but the other was like chicken jerky and tasteless. D–
The shrimp tempura is still ok. B+
The andagi is oily and very crumbly. D
The wonton triangles have very little meat which is hard and dry and the whole thing tasted like the oil should have been changed a week ago. D–
I also ordered an orange freeze, which, was still good. Can’t find many places that still make this. A
So $ 16 later, I’m not pleased.

I’ve been coming here since I was young. Came back even when the had a food borne tragedy. I always enjoy the sukiyaki, side sashimi and hash balls. I also like the combos specifically the tonkatsu and yakitori chicken.
This is also a great place for Japanese Okazuya. Perfect if you want to grab some stuff for a lunch somewhere outdoors.

One of my favorite places for saimin. I either get plain saimin or tempura udon (huge tempura!). If it’s totally not saimin weather, I’ll get the sashimi dinner set (~$ 17?) They give a lot of sashimi and it includes the tsukemono and miso, so it’s an alright deal. The shrimp tempura from the okazuya side is probably my favorite thing from this place, though. It isn’t flakey like panko tempura; rather, it’s really bready and has an almost sweet flavor to it. Even when the restaurant is packed, I’ve always had good and quick service. It can get really packed around lunch time on the weekends… get there early to get some of the okazuya tempura!

Perhaps a sign of the times, okazuya are becoming a dying breed. Often nestled away from the bustle of main city streets, these deli style restaurants where you pick and choose what you want are a unique aspect of Hawaii’s local food culture. Sekiya’s has been around waaaay longer than I’ve even been alive, and I can remember coming here as a kid a lot. It does seem that the portion sizes of foods have shrunken and prices have gone up which definitely effects how often I frequent the place. The food is just like I remember it though – old school nostalgia with that pop of MSG that you feel hours after eating. For some reason, I really like their shoyu hot dogs. I don’t know what they do to them, but even the texture is altered somehow to make the normally ghetto food significantly more palatable. If you ever dine in, check out the eggplant tempura.

The food here tastes as if grandma was in the kitchen yelling dinner or lunch was ready. Home cooked feeling that is dwindling in this multi billion dollar industry called food. I remember coming here so many occasions as a kid. Sekiya’s isn’t a staple on the Kaimuki Honolulu area for bento style eating or old school dining.
The food is unbelievable and the staff is just as great. The ambiance is perfect for their food and the choices of food is 4 pages long. How do you have so many choices?
Parking is great and the location as well. Don’t forget dessert!

Great place to go for lunch! Right across the street from my old high school, so it’s super convenient. And there’s always plenty of parking. Prices are pretty decent. I haven’t been to eat dine-​in service for a long time, but the counter service is okay. Musubis, tempura, and hash balls are a must have!

The oxtail soup was delicious. Not sure where else you can order wun tan min and hamburger combination around here. definitely worth visiting. Enjoy!

Small hole in the wall place across Kaimuki middle school. I love places like this because it reminds me of food my grandma cooks for me. I had the udon and loved the home cooked taste. My boyfriend had the fish and his food was tasty as well!

I grew up eating at the Family owned resteraunt and I’ve always ordered the Pork Teriyaki, Butterfish, Miso Soup, with Potato Salad.
They also have the Crushed Ice for your drinks.

Yes, it’s beat down. The service is slow. The sink of ice is questionable. But the food is good! I enjoyed my sukiyaki far more than the udon I had earlier at a highly rated place. My father in law came here when he was a sub teacher across the street, it’s been around a loooong time. We had sushi from the deli, a tofu vegetable dish as well, all good. If you can overlook the environment and lackluster service, you will like the food.

Back home for a weekend getaway, so I decided to have lunch at my favorite childhood restaurant. Sekiyas is one of my favorite saimin halls and okazuya spots. It’s been open since 1935 and they serve green river, super old school!
I will always come back here, I love it.
I thought the saimin soup was a little salty today, I love the chewy noodles tho. The bbq sticks were a little tough, but their teriyaki sauce was spot on!
It was my first time trying their konbumaki, it was ok. A little too much konbu and very small piece of meat.
Their Maki sushi and cone sushi was just ok not my favorite place for sushi.
The hash balls are so small now! I love sekiyas hash balls but they are a lot smaller than I remember. Still so ono tho!
My other favorite here is the teri beef sandwich with fries, I will get that next time I’m on Oahu.

A departure from our typical restaurants in Honolulu led us to Sekiya, which happened to be a great choice. I like the very laid-​back and casual attitude of this place. You can tell a lot of locals eat here, so you know the food must be good.
I had the wonton saimin. It was very flavorful, and the wontons were generous. My family had more traditional Japanese dishes — beef sukiyaki, tempura (which is like 99% batter), udon. Everyone enjoyed their dishes.
We were seated at a communal table, but there are individual tables and booths. The windows were open, which let in a nice breeze while we were eating.
The interior is a bit run down (which I don’t mind), and you shouldn’t expect fine dining. But if you’re not fussy and enjoy good Japanese, I’d recommend stopping by.

We were looking for a place to eat after watching a performance at Kaimuki High School auditorium. We figured Market city shopping center which is right across the street. I noticed Sekiya’s and thought to myself that I hadnt been there for over 20 years now. For those of you that remember, they were shut down a few years ago by department of health after diners got sick from E coli. YIKES! I figured that they might have improved so we walked in the door. My first reaction was that smell and that wave of cold air. Yep, like another Unilocaler noted, this place is frigid! Then it was that smell in the place. I just couldnt get myself to stay any longer so made a beeline for the door. There appeared to be a lot of old timer folks there and perhaps they like it but the smell picked me up and threw me out the door.
Sorry fellow Unilocalers, dont slam me for this one but just not for me.

First thing – always bring a jacket if you’re planning on dining in – it’s frigid temperatures in there all the time. On that note, ordering a complete meal affords you the opportunity to drink hot green tea, have a white miso soup, and tsukemono.
I selected the marinated fried chicken with a side of potato salad. The salad was Ono with that sweet, savory Japanese-​style touch. I loved the chicken for its crispy outside and the tender strips of chicken. I also scored with a 10% discount coupon, too!

Butterfish, I asked where can i go for some butterfish around here? A local tells me he goes to Sekiya’s.
I don’t mind that Sekiya’s is part deli, and part sit down.
I don’t mind that Sekiya’s doesn’t completely debone the fish used to make butterfish.
I don’t mind that Sekiya’s is a bit lackluster.
What I have a problem with is… the mediocre food for the price.
I ordered a nori roll and they just pulled it off the top of the counter and gave it to me. I would have been ok with that too had the dang roll been TASTY. It wasn’t. So I’m left there with a whole roll left (which looks like someone took a cleaver to cut up the pieces as they are all crazy sized pieces.) UGH I hate when I feel like I’ve wasted money on food, esp when the food isn’t good.
So … as I write this two days later,… the roll is still in my hotel refrigerator today and I’ll probably toss it out.
It appears that their food and their service is both subpar. The rice that my husband and I got looked not so fresh. (Very evident it was close to be rice for fried rice or as rice congee). Meanwhile a few tables over the rice that came out was visibly piping hot and had smoke rising from it. My husband ordered chicken katsu and said it was ok. The butterfish was ok but wasn’t anything to get overly excited about.
Would I go out of my way to eat here again? I don’t think so. So I don’t think I’ll get the chance to find out if there is anything better on their menu. But OH well~

Guilty pleasures-​Japanese favorites with a dash of «local kine style»
In Hawaii, like the Chinese restaurants of yesteryear, there once was a proliferation of Japanese restaurants in many of the neighborhoods. Like McDonalds and Burger King, if you found a chopsuey house you usually found a local Okazuya/​saimin stand nearby. Sekiyas is the staid Japanese answer to the Chinese offerings in Kapahulu. Many a chopsuey house has come and gone but Sekiyas has been the constant in this neighborhood.
Definitely noted for «local style» Japanese offerings, they also have more conventional stuff like burgers and other sandwiches including what I consider to be one of the best potato/​mac salads in Honolulu– and that’s no small feat.
Our favorites include chicken tofu, ox tail soup, Yosenabe, Nabeyaki Udon, or a simple saimin/​hamburger sandwich combo with the classic «green river» beverage to compliment the saltiness of the saimin. Add the potato/​mac salad on the side and you have the perfect marriage of the classic local style side order and the delicious local style Japanese «entrée» or snack.
We like the shrimp tempura but it can be hit or miss in terms of the size of the shrimp. We’ve had good luck but have seen others get some shrimpy (no pun intended) pieces.
Sekiya’s also has Japanese delicatessen offerings including bento options for take-​out. They have a potato hash tempura specialty that is pretty good and can be ordered as a take out or as a side order for your sit down meal.
They remodeled the interior extensively a few months ago and with a great AC system, Sekiyas has become a great place to cool off a bit during those hot «summer» nights.
Sekiya’s has always been a local favorite for many decades and will continue to be so for many decades to come.