4 Best Korean BBQ Restaurants in Honolulu
Honolulu is full of culture and offers some of the best multi-ethnic restaurant scenes in the USA. So, you won’t be disappointed if you’re looking for a great place to get some Korean BBQ during your stay in Honolulu.
The best Korean BBQ restaurants in Honolulu are Ginza Won, Sura Hawaii, Topped, and Gen Korean BBQ House. Ginza Won is a family-owned restaurant, while Sura Hawaii offers the best all-you-can-eat BBQ. Topped is the perfect place for a quick bite, and Gen offers an elevated atmosphere.
Honolulu has a Korean BBQ spot for you regardless of your mood, taste, budget, or itinerary. These restaurants have the highest reviews in Honolulu, so you can skip the search and sit down for some fantastic food.
1. Ginza Won Restaurant
| Hours of Operation | Tuesday – Sunday, 4:30 PM to 11 PMMonday, 4:30 PM to 10 PM |
| Price Rating | 3/5 |
| Reservation | Recommended, but only allowed before 7 PM |
| Address | 2155 Lauula St Ste A Honolulu, HI 96815 |
| Phone Number | (808) 922-3387 |
| Menu | Ginza Won’s menu on GrubHub |
| Social | Hawaii Ginzawon Restaurant on Facebook |
On the Map: Ginza Won Restaurant
Ginza Won is a small, casual, family-operated Korean BBQ restaurant in Waikiki, tucked away behind Waikiki’s high fashion shopping area. It’s just a short walk from the beach and most major Waikiki hotels, making it a very convenient spot to grab some food when you don’t want to drive.
Since this restaurant isn’t on the main road, few tourists know to come here, so most of the customers are locals, and the wait times are pretty short. In some cases, waits may be as long as 30 minutes, but you’ll generally have no issues getting a table.
Inside, you’ll find a narrow dining area with a casual, comfortable atmosphere, several tables with burners in the center, and a family of friendly staff. Ginza Won’s excellent customer service stands out, and they are incredibly friendly, attentive, and fun to interact with.
Although they do not have an all-you-can-eat deal here, the food at Ginza Won has an authenticity that can be challenging to find in modern Korean BBQ restaurants.
The meats, such as wagyu steak, kalbi, and beef tongue, take the spotlight on the menu and in reviews, but their kimchi is to die for. It’s all made in-house using traditional Korean recipes and long-fermentation methods, and you’ll never taste better kimchi in your life.
Ginza Won has a fantastic drink menu with specials constantly running on draft beer and wine.
Although this restaurant has a very local, small-business feel, it takes the cake in terms of taste, price, and service, which makes it my and many locals’ favorite place to get Korean BBQ in Honolulu.
2. Sura Hawaii Korean Restaurant
| Hours of Operation | 7 days a week, 11 AM to 3 PM and 5 PM to 2 AM |
| Price Rating | 3/5 |
| Reservation | Not required |
| Address | 1726 Kapiolani Blvd Honolulu, HI 96814 |
| Phone Number | (808) 941-6678 |
| Menu | https://www.surahawaii.com/menu |
| Website | https://www.surahawaii.com/ |
| Social | Sura Hawaii on Facebook Sura Hawaii on Instagram |
On the Map: Sura Hawaii
Sura Hawaii, only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Waikiki Beach and 1 mile (1.6 km) from Fort DeRussy Beach, is Honolulu’s best-rated Korean BBQ restaurant. Sura offers excellent service and an extensive menu with all-you-can-eat BBQ and takeout options.
The restaurant It’s a relaxed and fun place to unwind and get your fill of some fantastic BBQ. It has a very casual, modern, college-bar-like vibe with intentionally placed graffiti on the walls and long bar-like tables with burners in the center. The waitstaff encourages their customers to leave a note on the walls or tables in the restaurant, so come with a sharpie!
Their all-you-can-eat menu is slightly limited, although the food is fantastic. With your AYCE (all-you-can-eat) meal, you get Sura’s famous macaroni and cheese, kimchi, rice, and cheese corn, which pair incredibly well with their delicious — and highly recommended— Bulgogi and Kalbi. You can also choose from various soups, bibimbap, other meats, sauces, and veggies for a meal fit for a king.
They also offer an impressively wide variety of soju flavors and several beer options.
Like most Korean BBQ spots, you must eat everything you order here when you get the AYCE deal. If you don’t finish your food in the 90 minutes you have at your table, you will be charged $10 per person.
Sura also offers fantastic to-go two-person and four-person meal packs if you want to stay in for the night but still get a top-tier meal to share.
Another benefit of this restaurant is that they are open until 2 AM every day of the week. So, whether you’ve stayed out all evening or have jetlag, Sura has some outstanding food waiting for you.
Although Sura is the best choice for AYCE Korean BBQ in Honolulu, if you want to learn more about some of the best all-you-can-eat restaurants in town, you may want to check out my other article on the best buffet restaurants in Honolulu. [XX Best Buffet Restaurants in Honolulu]
3. Topped
| Hours of Operation | Sunday – Thursday, 10:30 AM to 10 PMFriday – Saturday, 10:30 AM to 11 PM |
| Price Rating | 3/5 |
| Reservation | Walk-in Only |
| Address | 333 Royal Hawaiian Ave. Honolulu, HI 96815 |
| Phone Number | (808) 600-9911 |
| Menu | https://www.toppedwaikiki.com/#cvUaxA |
| Website | https://www.toppedwaikiki.com/ |
| Social | Topped Waikiki on Instagram |
On the Map: Topped Waikiki
Topped is a small Korean restaurant only 0.4 miles (0.6 km) from Waikiki Beach, so it’s the perfect place to grab something to eat while wandering around Waikiki or before heading to the beach for the day.
Topped exclusively offers outdoor dining under their shady canopies and patios. It’s got a food-truck-like atmosphere, from its tiny bungalow of a kitchen to its mismatched stools, tables, and benches. Since it isn’t a full-service restaurant, it’s a very convenient and quick option.
Although Topped doesn’t look like a fine dining establishment from the outside, don’t let appearances fool you. This hidden gem has some of the best Korean food on Oahu, and locals and tourists sing its praises.
The most popular dish here is the Kalbi Steak and Egg, but I recommend trying their Pork bibimbap, which is spicy, sweet, and delectable. If it’s warm outside, top off your order with one of Topped’s gourmet shaved ices. The chef curates their shaved ice recipes depending on the season since he uses only the freshest fruits, which range from strawberry to melon to pineapple.
4. Gen Korean BBQ House
| Hours of Operation | 7 days a week, 10 Am to 10 PM |
| Price Rating | 3/5 |
| Reservation | Walk-in Only |
| Address | 1450 Ala Moana Blvd #4250, Honolulu, HI 96814 |
| Phone Number | (808) 944-5227 |
| Menu | https://zmenu.com/gen-korean-bbq-house-honolulu-4-online-menu/ |
| Website | https://www.genkoreanbbq.com/honolulu |
| Social | Gen Korean BBQ House on Facebook |
On the Map: Gen Korean BBQ House
Gen Korean BBQ, located in the Ala Moana Shopping Center, is just one mile (1.6 km) away from Ala Moana Beach and Regional Park, so it’s the ideal place to go after a long day on the sand.
Gen is a casual, dimly-lit restaurant with stunning colorful lights and black accents for a classy nightclub-like dining experience. It’s received excellent reviews from magazines and critics since it opened and won Hawaii Magazine’s Hale’ Aina Gold Award in 2020.
True to traditional Korean BBQs, you can expect a grill right in the middle of your table where you cook all your dishes yourself.
This Korean BBQ restaurant offers a vast a la carte menu with a wide variety of appetizers, meats, veggies, and soups. However, almost everyone who eats here gets the all-you-can-eat deal, allowing you to try different meats, veggies, sauces, and soups from a menu of 35 dishes. Gen also offers a la carte and bottomless drink options, including many cocktails, soju, beers, and wine.
When you get the all-you-can-eat deal here, it’s critical to note that you must eat everything and cannot take anything home with you, and you have a 2-hour table limit. You’ll also have to pay a la carte prices for anything you don’t finish, so be sure to come hungry and don’t let your eyes get ahead of your stomach.
Although this restaurant doesn’t take reservations, it’s always busy, so you should expect a wait if you come during normal dinner time or on the weekend.
If you choose to eat here, order their Nook Gan Sol (marinated short rib) or Samgyubsal (pork belly). These are their most popular menu items, and they are delicious!
