Dinner at Thirty Eight

Spicy Ahi Poke Cracker

Located at Pier 38, restaurant Thirty Eight features the freshest seafood and locally sources their ingredients. In the former Nami Kaze space, the family-owned restaurant offers lunch, happy hour, dinner and a full bar. 

Our group stopped by for an early dinner and had a great time and received fantastic service. Our group's favorite was the Spicy Ahi Cracker appetizer and I really loved my Ahi Steak entree. The local bigeye ahi is topped with a delicious kanzuri shoyu buttah and served on top of a watercress salad with a generous serving of confit potato. Yum!

We had a great experience and I would definitely return. I liked the food, service, and ambience. They really did a great job servicing our large group. They are open daily from 11am to 9pm.

Oysters

Cauliflower

Hamachi Crudo

Furikake King Salmon

Ahi Steak

Fried Whole Moi

Thirty Eight
1135 N Nimitz Hwy E
Honolulu, HI 96817

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Thirty-Eight Restaurant

Kalihi has a new seafood spot worth checking out: Thirty‑Eight, which recently opened in the former home of Nami Kaze. If you’ve been to the space before, the interior will feel familiar. The layout is largely unchanged, with a clean, modern dining room and an open kitchen that lets you watch the action.

Even though the restaurant had only been open for about two weeks when we visited, the place was full on a Friday night — always a promising sign for a brand-new spot.

We started with two cold appetizers: the spicy ahi cracker and the cabbage Caesar. Both were well executed, but the spicy ahi cracker stood out for me. Fresh ahi, avocado and tare is served over crisp rice crackers — the combination works really well. 

The cabbage Caesar was another winner. Instead of the usual anchovy garnish, this version featured fried anchovies, which added a salty crunch that made the dish very satisfying!

From the hot starters menu, we tried the shrimp toast. It came with a chili sauce on the side, but I actually preferred the toast on its own.

Another hot starter — the calamari katsu — was one of the highlights of the night. Served takoyaki-style, it arrived topped with a generous amount of savory goodness that made every bite flavorful.

To close out the meal, we ordered the fried whole moi, a dish we had noticed on many tables throughout the restaurant. After trying it ourselves, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. The fish was rich and moist, and best of all, skillfully deboned, making it easy to enjoy without having to remove the bones.

We were too full to try dessert, but they’re sourced from Please Come Again, a local purveyor in Kailua, known for unique flavors and locally sourced ingredients.

The owner stopped by to chat with us, and that's how we learned that the same team is behind several other local favorites: Paradise Poke, Nori Bar, and Chao. 

There’s more to look forward to, too. The team just launched lunch service, and they’re also planning to introduce omakase at the counter down the road.

Book your reservation on Open Table.

THIRTY-EIGHT

1135 N. NIMITZ HIGHWAY

808-468-8562

 

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Brunch at Nami Kaze

Nami Kaze, which opened earlier this year offering okazuya items and poke bowls as take-out only, is now open for dine-in brunch service, offering a larger and more diverse menu, and a modern online-ordering system that allows you to order as you go.

As soon as we sit down, we were given glasses of water, and our server explained to us how to order. Simply scan the QR-code and make your selections. You dan order everything at once, or order as you go. Once you're done, you can close your tab online, make your payment with a credit card, and you're done!

Here's what we tried:

Iced Tea

People's Choice: Ginger Fried Chicken and Fresh Ahi Poke (choice of poke sauce)

Custard French Toast: Mango Lime Coulis, Coconut Tapioca, Candied Nuts, Roasted coconut)

The highlight of the meal for me was the ginger fried chicken - I could have just eaten a plate of chicken and walk away happy.  Unfortunately they do not offer the ginger fried chicken as an entree on its own.  The custard french toast was sweet and there a lot of different tastes and textures going on in this dish. It is definitely unique. 

There are so many enticing dishes on the menu to try - I highly suggest coming here with a group of friends or family so you can order a lot of dishes to share family-style.

Currently open Wednesdays - Sundays.

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NAMI KAZE
1135 N. NIMITZ HIGHWAY (PIER 38)
808-888-6264

 

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Uncle's Fish Market

The first time I went to Uncle's Fish Market, I had an okay experience.  The menu item I wanted to order was no longer available (mahi tacos), and the fish I ordered (monchong) for the tacos was just way too smelly.

But I recently visited Uncle's Fish Market and had a much, much better dining experience.

Uncle's Original Poke Tower

Fresh Fish & Chips

Uncle's Seafood Pasta

Although once again I saw mahi tacos on the menu, I decided to order the Fresh Fish & Chips.  I love a good basket of fish & chips! Panko-battered onaga was deep-fried and served with French Fries and Cole Slaw. The 4 pieces of fish looked small, but they were thick pieces, and I could only finish two of them (along with lots of fries).

Someone in our party also ordered the Fish & Chips (it's her fave), and another person ordered the seafood pasta, which was full of fish, shrimp, scallops, and calamari.  You can opt for marinara, Alfredo, or a combination of the two sauce!

We all shared the poke tower, which was consisted of layers of sushi rice, ahi poke, and ahi tartare, topped with masago and sliced nori.

Our trio had a bit of a wait for a table, as was expected since we arrived in the middle of the day, but the service was wonderful.  

Uncle's Fish Market & Grill

1135 N Nimitz Hwy

Honolulu, HI 96817

(808) 275-0063

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