Low rating was not for the quality of the food. We had several odd experiences here. The first being that they told us they could seat us, but we would have to leave in an hour. The other is that they automatically add an 18% gratuity to parties of six or more. I absolutely hate it when people feel entitled to a gratuity In this case, and every case where a restaurant does this, that’s what the servers get. What they don’t know is that we are good tippers. We tip a minimum of 20%, usually more like 25% if we get good service. The other thing, and the reason I took a picture of the bathroom, is the restroom in this restaurant was absolutely disgusting. The men’s room reeked of urine, the floor was sticky, the walls were filthy, and even the sinks were old and worn. That’s really inexcusable. I suppose if you are a party of less than six and you don’t need to use the mansion, there’s a decent place to eat. We may give it one more try next time we are in town.

If I could eat here everyday, I would. Good vibes, good food. The service is hit or miss. My favorite time was when the bartender noticed I drank my lychee martini too fast so the next round he made it a little more potent. Definitely not complaining. My least favorite time was when I slipped on a wet spot and fell...and this was before any happy hour drinks. Still not complaining cause the food was good and then my lychee martini made me forget I had a bruised...umm..ego. Minus a star because I feel like the tables could be cleaned better and not so sticky.

**HAPPY HOUR REVIEW ONLY** I had originally had this place bookmarked because of their late night HH specials. But we happened to be in the area and I saw they have regular HH hours, so we decided to stop by. Happy Hour is Monday through Friday from 4 to 6. I'm not sure if it's at the bar only but we arrived just before 4 and saw that the bar was empty. I didn't think we'd have trouble just sitting by the bar at that time but the hostess took our names down and said it would be a 5 minute wait. No problem. 15 minutes go by and we're still not seated so we check in with her again and she said that our seats have been ready. Kind of annoying but whatever, we're just happy to be seated so we can relax and start ordering some drinks and apps. Unfortunately, we probably had one of the worst seats in the house because the two bar seats that sat us in was right next to the bathroom. So we were getting wafts of bathroom mixed with a hint of wet bar rags. Not exactly appetizing but we figure okay - we're here for a quick bite and then we will go to our actual dinner res afterwards. For food, we went with the Ahi tataki, fried soft shell crab, and garlic chili wings and to be honest, we enjoyed everything. The ahi had these fried shallots (?), which was a nice contrasting texture. Soft shell crab was a good size and actually had meat in it. And garlic chili wings - can't go wrong with some wings. There were a few other items we wanted to try but 1. We wanted to save room for dinner (elsewhere) 2. We were waiting for our waitress to come around so we can order one more plate, but she never came around and by the time she did, we had to leave to make it in time for our resso. Judging from some of these other reviews, it seems they need to get the service situation together. We came right before happy hour started. I can only imagine the mess if we were to come say, half an hour before it ended. Not sure I'd be back but if you're in the area and you have time, I still think it's worth checking out. Just make sure to request a seat away from the bathroom.

We loved this location. It wasn’t touristy & everyone was really nice. The chefs & bartenders are literally artists. Beautiful presentation on every dish. Our favorites were the double happiness & lobster & steak maki rolls. We also enjoyed the garlic roll & sweet & spicy edamame. The Halloween special drink menu is awesome & the restaurant is decorated so nicely for Halloween. I had the Ursula’s revenge which they actually light on fire 🔥. So cool. Also very strong & delicious. The hot sake was very smooth. Our server, Erika, went above & beyond & was just a cool person. I would definitely recommend this spot. Some of the best sushi we’ve ever had.

First time here and we loved everything about it. The restaurant is beautiful. The hosts were super friendly and courteous. The wait staff was attentive and very detail oriented. The chefs are amazing. The food was delicious. We had a really great time. I highly recommend this place for a date night or if you're looking for a good sushi place in general. For those of you wondering, Happy Hour is 4-6 and it's worth coming at that time.

Not a bad place for lunch. Only if you choose a veranda. Inside the restaurant, there was a whirling smell of owl sauce. Unaccustomed to the smell of a cat tray. PS: two stars for the freshness of the fish. But I probably won't come back here anymore... I won't recommend it to anyone either, so as not to spoil karma.

Very welcoming staff when first walking in, the server and service were great, the food was honestly the best I’ve had on island, everything tasted really good and presentation was really good too. First time eating there but definitely won’t be the last!

Love this find! Great friendly staff. Excellent menu and food choices. Will return again and again when seeing a show at the concert hall. In love with the Whole Squid dish!!!!

Delicious Asian food, fresh fish and very taste! Wonderful place to celebrate, a little price the portion is not so big, but is worth for the price.

I read the reviews and was afraid of bad service. But everything went great! The service was excellent, the waitress was very friendly, smiling, always came to us, brought orders quickly. Everything is great! The food is delicious!

I’ve always loved coming to Doraku for their happy hour, their food never disappoints. This time we came during prime dinner time and it was just as delicious as I remember! Some of the things I’d recommend ordering are the Jidori Chicken Ginger Karaage (we ordered it 2x), Wagyu Beef Fried Rice, and Ahi Tataki. Their sushi rolls were yummy too, but the hot dishes really made it for me.

Trendy vibrant vibe, fresh and creative sushi rolls. The tableside cooking of the wagyu fried rice was a nice touch and would recommend it.

I just had the best tempura fried brownies. When I was eating it I was already missing it, and knew that I would be thinking about the dish for days. Almost a week later I still think about it. The ambience of the place is really nice but it gets busy and crowded so reservations are highly encouraged. The parking is also limited, I recommend that you park on the street parking, if you use their valet it will be $7. They have a lot of interesting menu options that you might not get in normal sushi restaurants. The restaurant is busy so expect a slower service but I hope it is worth the wait because that brownie is just... Magical.

Amazing place! Easier to get into the sushi bar if a busy night. Parking is unexpectedly easy in this busy city center. Great selection and sushi is definitely an art form!!

Been going here since before the CoVid shutdown and the service is top notch but the servings have shrunk and prices have increased. Quality food does come with a price and a smile!

Cool restaurant with great ambiance! Extra points for the cozy booths! Both the food and service were great! Def recommend this place if you’re looking for a good sushi spot!

Very nice izakaya, atmosphere makes you feel like you’re in Japan. Quality of food was mostly good. Best dish imo was the hamachi carpaccio. Very thin sliced and melt in your mouth hamachi - Umai! The Doraku salmon and crispy eel roll was great. The wagyu beef fried rice which is cooked at your table was good (a little bland, could use just a little more seasoning to kick it up a notch). Inaka yakisoba was good. Ordered It with Jidori chicken. This is the first time I’ve tried Jidori chicken which (from what I’ve read on the internet) is fresh free range chicken brought in from California. I would have liked a little more seasoning on the chicken, but may be that’s a no no for Jidori chicken (like pouring A-1 on my ribeye🤔). Although the Jidori chicken ginger karaage was well seasoned, crispy, and had lots of flavor.. The garlic teriyaki Edamame was very ono! Was so good we ordered a second round. Negitoro don could have used ahi that was more fresh. It was great that it was served with sushi rice, though. Yuzu lemonade was pretty good - a little more yuzu would have made it perfect. Spicy tuna crispy rice - not recommended - rice was too crispy (some of the rice was too hard.). The king oyster mushroom was was tasty and tender. Overall, Doraku at Kakaako was great - nice atmosphere and good food. A good place to hang out and celebrate an occasion or relax after work.

Absolutely one of my favorite places in town. Delicious anytime of day, but their happy hour is awesome (4-6pm weekdays). Perfect place to eat, drink and be merry. Steak & Lobster sushi roll and a lychee martini are def worth trying!

I had the best experience here in Friday 5/20/22. Had a reservation to meet my old coworkers. I walked in with my service dog and was greeted by an amazing mgr. named Mina. She said she had an area reserved for me & walked me to the most perfect area of the restaurant inside private area in the front. She made me feel like she cared about comfort and a big enough area for my party. We also had the most amazing, wonderful, patient, attentative server Kim, who absolutely blew our minds how quick and accurate she was! One of the best servers we've come across, 5 stars. She went above and beyond. It made the night special for all of us. Perfect food, perfect drinks, happy hr was fantastic to catch & the ambiance was awesome. We couldn't ask for anything better. Our favorite restaurant now, and we've been to many. I can't wait to come back. Thank you Mina and Kim 🙏🍻🙌🍣🦪

Unfortunately I used fb story msgs during our meal (which is video) so I only have 1 photo from our lunch date. We enjoyed the chicken kar'age & tiger shrimp tempura (huge!) We also ordered the sashimi + sushi deluxe which was great as well, their slices were thick and better than most. We also had the steak and lobster rolls which was great and juicy and plump. Umami fries were moist and delicious addition as well. And lastly while sippin my Old fashion, I love the way they make theirs, we ordered the lamp chops with mashed taters. 💯🤙

Great rolls, good sake, and killer servers. The whole restaurant has an amazing asthetic.

We had a wonderful dining experience! Live music helped set the mood. Staff was super friendly. The Lychee Martini was SO good. My husband got the Waygu and it was amazing! I highly recommend this place!

Super nice staff and a handful of vegan options, including a vegan roll.

Perfect for happy hour! Such good apps and sushi! Definitely try the calamari, eggplants, tofu and wings.

Brought some friends here for their first night on Oahu. The food was okay. Drink selection was great. I personally had the rack of lamb. Normally when I order lamb, it falls of the bone and is like butter. This time, the lamb was a little tough and I had to cut it off the bone. The Wasabi mashed potatoes (I might have missed the Wasabi because I didn't taste it.) Oysters on the half-shelf and rock shrimp. Both were okay...brought out children with us...the music was a flashback to the 2000's...