Tanioka’s Seafoods & Catering

Tanioka’s is the best. Hands down. Many different styles of poke, and it’s all good. Their catering is just as good as their walk in menu. No can beat these guys.

Wasn’t a huge fan of poke until my girl brought me to this place! It’s soooo fresh & worth it! The spicy ahi tempura bowl is the one! So much flavor and freshness! Everyone seems chill and efficient. I guess every time I come to this place I’m lucky because there’s never a crazy line out the door. My niece said the masubis are good and it’s convenient they offer other snacks and drinks. They also have a 7 – 11 next door if that’s not enough snacks to choose from. However, I did hear from my sister and cousin that the fried chicken or whatever they got fried sucked and was hella dry. BUT they didn’t eat the poke so I don’t pay attention to that lol.

Love Tanioka’s, can’t wait for soccer season to start so we can stop by and pig out on the weekends. Ahi rolls are my favorite!

I went around 10:20AM.
There was a line. About 7 people in front of me but it went FAST! I ordered Regular Order Fried Noodles, Deluxe Bento, Musubi. I was there for less than 10 minutes. Literally in and out! I recommend getting the actual printed menu as it describes what’s I’m each Bento and a better price label per item if your not used to eating there and knowing what you want. Very nice workers as well! I was juggling my squirming toddler and my bag with one hand and had to sign my receipt and the guy held the receipt down for me and gave me the pen so I didn’t have to work as hard to sign it. Not a lot of places do that they just throw you the pen and paper regardless of what you’re doing. That little thing right there made me happy. 5 stars and will definitely be coming back!!! Especially since we don’t have to worry about parking being an issue or dealing with the rail project like in waipahu.

There are three words I will use to describe this place: awesome, awesome, awesome. Anybody who is anybody knows this is the place to go for poke.
The first thing you will notice when you walk in, besides the angels singing, is the long line of people waiting for their chance to order a plate of awesomeness. Everything from the poke to their plate lunches are just the best. The staff gets an A plus in the food would be graded higher if it were possible.
Are usually walk in thinking I’m going to buy one item but, after passing their display, I end up buying more than I could ever eat. Fish, yes please. Fried chicken, yes please. Hawaiian plate, yes please. Deep fried spam musubi… hell yeah.
This place doesn’t deserve 5-​stars. It deserves five stars, two planets, comment, and an asteroid like the one from Armageddon with Bruce Willis on it. I could eat at this place 23 times a week and not get tired of it. It is the Michael Jordan, the Elvis Presley, NAH… Turbo from Breaking 2 Electric Boogaloo of poke places. BOOYAA!

There are few things in life that are guaranteed. Life, death, and Tanioka’s being awesome. What is there to say about this place that isn’t covered… I’ve been coming here since way back when, and it’s nothing short of amazing.
The only negative I guess I can say about this place is the lack of parking when business does pick up, and when it does pick up, it really pours here. But not to worry, they have enough workers and food to keep everyone satisfied and leaving feeling like nothing else in the world will ever matter, until they realize that the fish/​food/​goodies they just bought is going to run out eventually and going to have to wait until their next visit to get that feeling back into their lives.
Menu highlights are their fried chicken, hot alae poke, and any of their plate lunches. You want a good time, come here, you’ll enjoy anything you get, and if you don’t know what to get, just ask the workers, even if its just for a sample.

First time having authentic poke– delicious! The ahi platter was awesome, as was the limu ahi. Fish patties were good. I’d go back! Super friendly staff!

Right in the heart of Waipahu, next to the rail work. lol
Located right next to 7 – 11.
Fish patties and mochiko chicken musubi is why I keep coming back. The fish patty is so juicy and not overwhelming just the right amount of seasoning and cooked to perfection! The mochiko chicken is sweet and that sauce that goes on that musubi is just mind blowing.
They have a wide variety of poke as well as alot of plate lunch options, snacks, gift baskets, desserts etc.
Once I had to wait in line that started outside just a fyi of how busy it can get.
Happy Eating!!!

Whoa. I’m so glad a local recommended this place to us. The poke there was amazing! We actually drove from Waikiki two separate days all the way out to Tanioka’s just to eat there. Went weekdays around 1pm and there were only a few customers ahead of us in line. Very fast. And there was parking. Stinks that there’s no seating and since we weren’t locals, didn’t know where to eat our food. So we just ate it in the car with the A/​C running. Totally worth it.
Favorite by far was the garlic poke. So much flavor. Also had the best kalua pork from Tanioka’s as well. Got musubis for the flight home — they held up wonderfully hours later. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the fish cakes nor cone sushi.

I can’t believe I lived in Hawaii for almost four years before I ever had the pleasure of tasting Poke! I’m not a huge fan of raw fish… but Poke is not just raw fish; it’s a magical explosion of flavor and mystical wonder in your mouth.
You can find Poké anywhere on the island, but one of my favorites is Tabioka’s. They are located next to a 7 – 11 in a random shopping center on Farrington Hwy in Waipahu. Parking is cramped and often hard to find. And there is usually a line going out the door. Although the line is long and intimidating, it usually goes pretty quickly. The staff at Tanioka’s is ALWAYS busy and ALWAYS have wonderful attitudes. It would be easy for them to get stressed and be rude but they always have smiles on their faces. Sometimes I can’t decide, which do I like better? The food or the service? One hot day, there was a line out the door and someone came outside and gave everyone in line very cold little bottles of water. Talk about caring about your customers!!!
As for the food… I’m not a huge raw fish person, but I LOVE their spicy ahi Poké! Omg, just thinking about it now makes my mouth water! My son and husband love raw fish and they are more adventurous and have tried several different types of Poké and loved them all.
Tanioka’s has more than just poke! Lining the wall is an array of candies, cookies and dried things. They also have prepackaged salads, desserts, sashimi, and poke in the refrigerated shelves along the wall. And then there is the Poké counter… a mouth watering array of different fish and different flavors. Next is the hot foods– yum! They have freshly packaged Musubis and Bentos that my sons LOVE. And you can also pick items ala carte… delicious things like shrimp tempura, lumpia, fried chicken, fried rice, and omg, these most delicious fried poi mochi things *droools*
There is also a menu for plate lunches. I’ve never ordered any, but I’ve seen them and they look delicious.
Whether you live here or are just visiting, you can NOT live the rest of your life without trying the best Poké ever. So, go to Tanioka’s! Go, Now!!! You won’t regret it.

Came in on a random Wednesday and there was a line, but it moves so quickly that you barely have a chance to decide on which poke you want. Tried to get a mix of kalua pork and poke, but they ran out!
Poke was decent, but they gave so little and it cost a good amount that I left with a bitter feeling in my mouth. There are so many other poke places on the island (see my review on Poke on Da Run) that offer great tasting poke, decent portions and at a great price. I probably wouldn’t come back unless I was in the area, but only because of portion and prices.

Tanioka’s offered an assortment of poke, rice balls, and deep fried goodies. I was here early morning when it opened and there was a line almost out the door but be turned off since there are plenty of workers assisting you.
Pros
Ahi Sashimi: instead of the many poke choices, I was more attracted to the slices of ahi tuna displayed in their cooler. My biggest regret was not picking up another box of their prepackaged sashimi. The ahi tuna melted in my mouth and it was a perfect snack after snorkeling at the beach.
Shrimp Tempura: The best tasting shrimp tempura I had while I was in Oahu. The coating was crunchy and thick. Shrimp wasn’t overcooked and still juicy.
Lumpia: The filling was delicious and it was a treat to myself to start an early morning.

If I could give Tanioka’s 10 stars, I would! I used Tanioka’s to cater my ‘welcome dinner’ during my wedding weekend at the Waikiki Aquarium and it was DELICIOUS! They helped us feed 150 hungry people! Justin helped me through menu planning and was extremely generous and patient with my many questions and multiple visits/​tastings. He was also so flexible and accommodated to our food requests (giving me pure mac salad since it’s my brother’s favorite).
Everyone could not get enough of how good the food was! The grilled tofu came highly recommended since we needed vegetarian options and it turned out to be the most popular dish! it was first to go — we didn’t even get a taste! :(. Other crowd favorites were the garlic fried chicken, the pork sliders and spicy ahi sushi. And most definitely the poke!
In terms of professionalism, you could not get a better team, and definitely not for that price. Casey and team were so incredibly professional and thoughtful — they even prepared plates for us since they saw us running around and they wanted to make sure we got food. The set up was beautiful and all the utensils/​plates they brought were beyond awesome and classy.
If you ever need a caterer for any event, no matter how big or small, please please please use Tanioka’s! They might have a little store front, and they go big at your event and you would not regret it! The best food and service for the best price.

Great poke and local Hawaiian food options.
This place operates more like the seafood/​deli section of a grocery store with displays lined with a plethora of poke options and pre made snack items like spam musubi, rice balls and sweet potato tempura. You can either purchase by the pound or get one of their entrée combos.
I got the crunchy garlic poke (?). It wasn’t as good as the poke I tried at Foodland, but the tuna was really fresh, had a ton of garlicky goodness and was packed with flavor. The poke was a little too salty for my liking (too much soy sauce), but it went well with some plain old sticky rice. I also got one of their spicy rice balls. It was really good… I loved the little bits of spam mixed in it.
Their poke is a little more expensive than Foodland but it’s still pretty tasty. I may or may not go back.

Hands down one of my favorite eats for my entire Hawaii trip.
My boyfriend and I were staying in Waikiki but made the 25+ min trek to Waipahu to try Tanioka’s. We got there a few minutes before 9am and there was already quite a line forming outside. You know it HAS to be good if there’s a random line forming on a weekday morning.
Spicy Ahi Tempura bowl (~$ 11) — AMAZZZING. I have no idea what was in there but it was seriously life changing crunchy tempura poke deliciousness. (Sushi rice is an extra charge) Portions were generous in which I wasn’t able to finish my bowl.
Musubi — they have a variety of musubis on display and I would say their musubi was one of my favorites. (For the record, I ate a ton of musubis during my vacation)
Glazed Poi — I wasnt a fan. Just a ball of dough that had glaze on it. Not too flavorful and almost dry and hard to swallow.
Tons of fried foods to pick from. Lots of seafood and was just overwhelmed with the selection. I really wished it was closer for us to get to because I would need at least 2 – 3 more trips to try everything I saw that i wanted to try.
This is more of a take and go spot rather than sit down which was fine by me. We took our food to the beach and enjoyed our food there. There will be a line but it moves fast. The workers are like a well oiled machine that gets the line moving fairly quickly. Another must stop for me when I come back to visit again!

Best poke on the island! Everyone has their preference, and for me this place is it, especially when it comes to Sesame Tako, and Limu Onion Ahi. There’s the perfect blend of big crunchy limu, and sesame seed oil that sets this place apart. If I had to sum it up in a word, I would say CONSISTENT. Each batch tastes exactly the same as the previous I fondly remember, and so it keeps me coming back.
I round up each visit with an assortment of other delicatessen-​style goodies: Fried Chicken (boneless!), Cone sushi, Ahi patty, asst musubi and tempura. They’re very consistent in everything they make… Never tasted an «off» batch of anything.
A few cons: PARKING can be messy, it’s free but often full, and stalls are tight. This place is popular, so that often means LONG LINES (which is also a good sign right!). But these guys really have their thing down, so they know how to keep their line moving, and hire tons of staff who keep it flowing. Individually, their prices are fair, but it can really add up… especially if you’re adding a ½lb container of poke to your lunch plate!

#100in2015 (#87)
We had catered bentos from Tanioka’s which had rice, noodles, and an inari along with beef, a fish patty and some chicken. Plenty of protein and carbs that’s for sure.
I thought that the different meats each were prepared well, and that the inari was delicious! That’s always my favorite though. The noodles were well done, without being oily or soft. I didn’t finish all the regular rice, but that seemed just fine as well. Also had a tiny sliver of yellow daikon on the rice.
My one suggestion would be to add in a little veg. I’m not sure if the Meat Lover’s bento was what was ordered, so I can’t fault them for that. Just saying that a bit of veg would complement the meat nicely.

Really enjoy Taniaoka’s freshly made party platters!
Whenever anyone on our team gets promoted or moves away, we always do it big with a going away party. We order from a few places, one being Tanioka’s. They are so good at getting your order right, everytime. The good is quality food, extremely fresh! Their poke sampler, lau lau, kalua pig and gabbage, sweet potato, chicken long rice, fried chicken, and so much more are some of the favorites. All the trays are wrapped well to ensure it stays hot and doesn’t spill.
If you are coming for a plate lunch, get there and beat the rush… the line gets really long.
Thank you Tanioka’s for quality service and food! :)

This place is the bomb! The only other place I can think of that can compete with this place in the world is Fresh Catch or this other place in Salt Lake. The parking over here can be a bit hectic but out of the hundreds of times I’ve been here I’ve always been blessed by God a parking spot. I love how this place looks and how the business is run. If there’s anything I would change, it’s have more and more variety on top of the many different foods they have to offer.
I first tried their fish patty musubi when I was in the 8^th grade when my brother and mother came home with some goodies. I instantly fell in love with this place because of my first Tanioka musubi. So when I got my license at the age of 16, this was the first place I went and the first place I’ve taken any girl. Too many memories that have branched from just going here with friends.
The service is excellent despite how hectic this place can be. The boys and sometimes girls that work here are awesome. The lines here can be long but very well worth the wait. This place has smoked poke, tako poke, mussel poke and different types of fish poke. ALL of the poke made and prepared is on point. After you’ve gotten your poke, you get to your garlic chicken, fried chicken and this thing that’s rice wrapped in deep fried fish scales and topped with I think mayo. Ono…
They even have their own products and sherbet for sale here. They are the only place I know that sells sunflower seeds covered with chocolate. Definitely better than M&M’s. So many things here like their green river or there orange bang to drink or even sashimi cut to perfection. They even have a poke lunch bag for all you construction workers and painters etc to bring to the jobsite. This place takes care.

BEST poke ever!
We came here for lunch yesterday, and I mean it when I say that you should get here before the lunch rush! This place gets heavily packed. However, the staff are very efficient at getting everyone in and out in a substantial amount of time, and are also very helpful!
I got the spicy ahi poke bowl over rice with furikake. We also got some of the «dried poke» which was also very good. The spicy ahi tasted fresh, and there was hardly any cartilage in the fish, which I liked. The «dried poke» is sort of their take on fish jerky, and is a fun thing to munch on. It’s also a great pupu to bring to a party!
The price here is the same as it is for poke anywhere, so this makes a great spot for a nice lunch (granted you get here before or after the rushes!) The market closes at 4, so no dinner is served here, unless you pack up everything to eat with your evening meal.
Also, be aware that there are no tables and chairs, either. You will either have to sit in your car and feast, or also driving to a nearby beach to enjoy your food. However, all in all, come HERE for poke! You won’t be disappointed!