Rinka

“I've heard great things about Rinka and finally came for lunch (much more affordable than the dinner menu). The staff were very nice, patient and helpful. The had lots of traditional side dishes that you can choose from (2 per person, if you purchase a lunch set), and the food was prepared beautifully. The crab croquette was nice and creamy, but wasnt very crabby. Definitely recommend this place for a nice lunch, but it's recommended that you make reservations in advance.”

“Me and my family went just the other night and had a wonderful time! My friends rave about this place so I was excited to finally try it! I really want to make a point of adding that the night service was awesome! Me and my mom arrived 15 minutes early for our reservation and they very kindly sat us down with water and warm tea. After my uncle arrived we were helped by 3 diffrent servers. Each server made sure that our drinks were full and that our tables were periodically checked for dirty dishes to take to the back. I appreciated the suggestions of the food... I was kinda on the fence about the pudding for a while as i'm not too keen on overly sweet things. I only got the pudding because of a friends suggestions and a kind server seemed very excited that I ordered the pudding! He even came back to ask for my opinions on it and it was delicious 😄👍! Highly recommend it... not to sweet and that slight tartness from the caramel made it perfect! I will say my only qualm is that the parking is located in Whole Foods and it was just the tiniest bit confuising... but that could just be because I have a bad sense of direction! Overall great service, premium and yummy food, and the atmosphere was stunning!”

“Delightful modern japanese restaurant in Honolulu. We should have made reservations, however stopped here on a whim to check it out. You can park in the Whole Foods parking garage. Staff was welcoming, attentive, and courteous. Ordered sushi to see how fresh and how well they prepared the food. It was refreshingly light and presented well. The salmon belly was also cooked to perfection. We tried to eat quickly because there were other reservations behind us. Portions were quite large. Recommend for a special occasion, an ordinary date night, or if you are craving quality japanese food in Honolulu.”

“Had a day trip to Oahu and wanted to try out Rinka after seeing a local foodie influencer mention that their lunch sets were pretty affordable. I don’t recall which lunch set I got (probably the nigiri one) since their online menu is from last year and may not have their updated sets. Atmosphere wise it was a bright open if not a little crowded dining room. I opted to sit at the counter since the only other option was outside but there was construction going on nearby. Went to the very end of the counter which I don’t mind since it lets me keep to myself but the view probably isn’t the best as seen in the photo. The sashimi was all pretty fresh tasting with no off putting smells. I do have to rave about the ikura one. The salmon roe was really clean, each egg popping like a ball of sea water in the best way. It didn’t taste frozen or slimy or old. The udon was nice and firm. Tempura was also delicious and added that nice crunchy texture amid all the soft nigiri and udon. Would definitely go again to try more of the lunch sets.”

“This restaurant has been hit or miss with food and service for me over the years. When we arrived, it was almost empty, few tables occupied. As the time went by more diners came. We had to wait for at least 10 min before someone came to take order. Small appetizers came first. The main Food came after 15 min. That’s long time especially when the restaurant wasn’t full. Total of 25 min before we finally got served appetizer before the main course. The quality of food was not great this time. I had sukiyaki set which I normally order whenever I am at this restaurant. It’s been good. This time, the meat was just nothing but fat. I was pretty put off by the sight and disappointed to find no meat in my pot. The sukiyaki stock was very salty. The miso soup was bland and rice was very dry like it’s been sitting in the kitchen for awhile. Side dish dashimaki egg omelette had no taste. I had others try it. No one could tell what it was if they didn’t know it was made of eggs. No flavor. We ordered a tofu salad as side dish. There is a whole leaf, which looked like it was going to be throwing away as the first layer of the lettuce. I.e. The rest of the salad leaves were chopped into a small pieces… I let the server know, she took the salad back into the kitchen, came back with apology. They offered us desserts, but after what we had so far we didn’t feel like bother to eat anything at the restaurant. I don’t know what happened to the once very popular restaurant. Sad to see them operate so poorly after many years of success. This review is my opinion as someone who grew up eating Japanese food to know what it is like. Sharing personal experience.”