Izakaya Nonbei

I check in 40 mins early but advise them I can return if they cannot accommodate me early. Nonbei is nearly empty. Girls checks me in and gives my party the very worst table in the house 2 ft from the entry door. We see several other tables away from the door plus we see there’s an upstairs as well. Girl checks upstairs and returns telling me I can’t have a table up there because they are for reservations only! What a slap in the face since we tell them we have a reservation! She takes us upstairs and it’s nearly empty! They give us menus and within 90 seconds, the same woman comes back and asks if we’re ready to order, rushing us to do that! We flustered through their several page menu and order including our drinks! This kind of disrespectful treatment goes on and on! Not only don’t we get the food we ordered first, dishes slowly come one at a time! We remind them of the appetizer we ordered and they tell us it’s on the way. This went on two more times over the hour! We ordered two of another appetizer, they come back 10 mins later with just one! Tells us this is just the first one! The second never ever comes! Another entree of tempura never comes after 90 mins! We cancel the food that never comes, ask for the bill, and they have double charged on another item we got but didn’t order two! We had to have them adjust the bill twice! The food we actually got was good but the service was so wonky disappointing, it made the dining experience just horrible. Sadly this was a strong recommendation from a general manager of another large successful restaurant in the heart of Waikiki. We told them about the bad experience and they were embarrassed for giving us the strong recommendation. We don’t recommend this place to anyone!

I booked this for a birthday lunch for my husband hosted by my mother. Pluses: 1-love the dedicated parking lot; 2-we were lucky to be one of 2 parties dining because usually you order only from the lunch menu but we could sample 2 things from the nighttime menu board (kisu kara and tsukune); 3-service was so attentive (refilling our tea and letting us know that dishes were on their way); 4-they gave us a small matcha warabi mochi with a candle for my husband. Improvement possibility is the liberal use of salt. I guess it might be that since this is an izakaya and since they have a nice list of sake options, the salted dishes are the best pairing. For those watching hypertension, it might be a little too salty.

If an old school Japanese experience is what you're looking for then this is the right place to dine. The menu features a big selection from fresh Sashimi, steamed/simmered Fish, broiled grilled meat, to perfectly fried items, and many other home-style dishes. Our party ordered Agedashi Tofu, Tori Kara, Hamachi Kama, Naso Kinoko, Yakitori, Sashimi platter, Green salad, Karei Karaage, and a few other items. This is my favorite way to eat, sharing small dishes with some nice Sake. The Karei Karaage (crispy fried flounder) was my favorite dish, but the Hamachi Kama, and Naso Kinoko were also delicious. The service was fast and friendly. My friend told me that the restaurant itself had been renovated, but it used to have a traditional Japanese feel. Overall a really nice experience and a very good neighborhood restaurant.