Yum, awesome! The restaurant was nice and generally clean. We ordered shabu shabu, and the spicy broth was really good. Lots of nice veggies and chicken on my raw plate. There is a trio of sauces on the table — chili garlic, fried garlic, and ginger and onion. These are REALLY good! The price was excellent, at only $ 12 for a lunch set. We will definitely be back again!
Jannine O.
Place rating: 4 Honolulu, HI
Tried The Soup Bowl for the first time & tried the Zasai ramen and REALLY enjoyed it. It’s a little spicy but not too spicy. It’s a homemade pork & chicken broth and they don’t use MSG. Definitely will be back to try more dishes.
Rick T.
Place rating: 2 Honolulu, HI
OK so ended up trying this new place because Ha Long was packed. It looks like their specialty is supposed to be hot pot, but at almost 20 bucks for dinner, I passed(especially since you can get FULL meals from Utage for around 15). So ended up getting the katsudon combo, which comes with a tiny salad w/thousand island dressing, miso bowl and ramen. Both sides were ok, but the ramen tasted like bland S&S saimin and was kid sized. At the end of the katsudon there was an eggshell(fail for any culinary class) and there wasn’t enough sauce. Also got the yakiudon which was way too salty(maybe msg?) and udon overcooked. Forgot to mention I ordered the spicy edamame appetizer, but they didn’t put it in and when they remembered we were done with the meal so we cancelled it. Couple side notes is that the place is nice and clean. The workers don’t seem to have much restaurant experience though. There was a nice lady and a clueless guy. They did not provide good service(example: after filling take out box, we waiting for the check that was just sitting in front of him, hint takeout box = done with meal). They seem like good people, but I hope they can break even with this place. With proven eateries like Youngs, Sugois, Utage, and Ha Long, I really doubt that the overflow from other places will provide enough business. All in all I’d recommend skipping this place unless you really like hot pot, which I did not try.(Go for lunch since its cheaper)
Angela M.
Place rating: 2 Honolulu, HI
*Katsudon mini ramen combo, lunch spicy nabe, gyoza(10% off grand opening special) = $ 25* Dear The Soup Bowl, I am sorry to say that we will not be together after all. Your intentions were good but your dishes tastes as though you’ve not actually eaten at an authentic Japanese restaurant. The food took a very long time and your waitstaff seemed a bit lost and confused. Also, we do appreciate the exotic«eat with your hands» dining experience, but would have liked utensils from the beginning as it is difficult to eat boiling broth with ones hands. Unless you are magic, which I am not. Yet. Sincerely, Angela
Jayme N.
Place rating: 1 Honolulu, HI
New restaurants are always a bit of a risk and this one was no exception. I would advise waiting until they’ve worked the kinks out. The waitress said they just opened on 4⁄18. The service was… Meh. I think the owner was training someone who had never worked as a server. The server had to ask three separate times what my coworker ordered. The food… Eh. I ordered the combination ramen and chicken katsu curry. The ramen noodles were actually pretty good but the broth needed work. the chicken katsu was overcooked and really really thin — there was more breading than chicken. The curry was served as a sauce and was kinda weird since it seemed like it was cooked separately. The curry would’ve been better if they had simmered the chicken in it. The menu… Limited. You have a choice of ramen, curry, or shabu shabu. I’m not against limited-item menus — I’ve worked in foodservice and know the benefits of having a small menu. The thing is, though, the items on the limited menu have to really shine. I don’t feel like these did. Overall… I think the place has potential if the owners are open to some hard work. There will be long, hard days ahead.
