Irifune Restaurant

Irifune

563 Kapahulu Ave

Honolulu, HI 96815

It was our first night in town and we were excited to try some delicious local food! This restaurant came highly recommended to me by a friend who recently moved to Hawaii. Little did he know that I was going there to eat with a large group! The small size of the restaurant made it a little difficult to accomodate everyone in one table, so we had to settle for 3 tables.

For the most part, restaurants outside of Waikiki close really early! The kitchens close around 9pm. Irifune closed at 9:30pm but since we were seated at about 9:15pm, they still served us delicious food. Online reviews rave the garlic ahi and crab. So that's what we had to go eat! The snow crabs were abundant and delicious for the price. And the seared ahi was fantastic! Pictures below. There was also a tofu appetizer (you can see a small piece of it on the snowcrab picture) that was also to-die-for.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was very cozy and home town feeling. The waitresses know the regulars and the food is served quick and delicious. Since we were one of the last customers in the restaurant that evening, we were able to witness one of the restaurant's nightly rituals. They turn off all the lights in the restaurant, and ask us to stare at the ceiling which was twinkling with glow in the dark stars. We were asked to say thanks to the nature around us and the bountiful food that it provides. And of course we were all told to OOOOH and AHHHH at the beautiful tapestries around the restaurant's walls. Definitely a restaurant that I will eat at again.