4 New Korean Restaurants Opened in Honolulu in 12 Days

If you think that pretty much every other new restaurant you’ve been hearing about is Korean, you may be right. We stumbled on this four-Korean-restaurants-in-12-days phenomenon while researching for the next roundup of New & Coming Restaurants (coming soon, promise), a newsworthy enough nugget to merit its own coverage.

We’re using the term Korean restaurants inclusively, wrapping in a Tokyo-based chain specializing in the Japanese take on Korean barbecue, a la Han no Daidokoro—which, by the way, also opened its second eatery in Honolulu, albeit way back in December of last year.

SEE ALSO: We’ve Got Seoul: The Korean Wave in Hawai‘i

Lani Sot

Hawai‘i’s first sotbap restaurant is still in soft-opening mode on the second floor of Kaka‘ako’s Salt complex, in the corner space that housed Butcher & Bird. The specialty is rice bowls, Korean style—crispy-edged and topped with spicy pork, garlic shrimp, mushroom, eggplant or other choices; plus dishes including spicy baby back pork ribs. Six sets on the soft-opening menu are $25 and include banchan sides and the soup of the day. A total redesign gives Lani Sot a cool gray-and-white color palette anchored by dark woods, and limited indoor and outdoor seating.

Open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., 324 Coral St. #207, Kaka‘ako, (808) 260-4949, @lanisot_at_kakaako

MooBongRi Soup & Yakiniku

Beef tongue for grilling at MooBongRi. Photo: Andrea Lee

This Korean-American chain with franchises from California to Georgia took the place of the former McCully Buffet in late March. Its specialties: Korean barbecue (yes, there are new grills on the tables) and soondae or blood sausage, offered in various soondae plates, a soondae intestine pot stew and spicy soondae soup. Other dishes include Mugifuji pork, noodles, bibimbap, sizzling and stir-fried dishes, beef offal to grill and other Korean favorites. Lunch specials pair kalbi with naengmyeon cold noodles or seafood tofu stew for $25.

Open daily for lunch 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., dinner 3 to 10 p.m., 930 McCully St., (808) 200-5687, @moobongri_hi

Yakiniku Like

The city’s newest Japanese-style Korean barbecue opened April 1 on Ke‘eaumoku Street, promising DIY grilled meal sets you can eat in 30 minutes or less. An opening special featured short rib, skirt steak, rice, salad, miso soup and kim chee for $9.95; lines snaked out the door. That ended yesterday, but a new special features a different meal seat for the same price. Order on your phone and don’t bring cash—it’s phone or card payments only. Yakiniku Like is owned by Tokyo-based Dining Innovation Group, whose 18 restaurant chains include TsuruTonTan, the popular udon shop in Waikīkī.

Open daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., 1108 Ke‘eaumoku St., (808) 597-9004, @yakinikulike_hawaii

Hangang Hawai‘i Kai

Photo: Mari Taketa

East siders have been buzzing about the neighborhood’s first full-service Korean restaurant. The first expansion of Kaka‘ako’s Hangang Korean Grill House soft-opened March 20 with the same premium beef on display and the same menu, including the $28 lunch special of stone pot rice, an entrée and a chige stew of choice, and numerous banchan. Combos of naengmyeon cold noodles and kalbi, spicy pork or barbecued beef or chicken at lunchtime are a dollar or two more. Though the name and Instagram handle say Hawai‘i Kai, you’ll find the new Hangang in Niu Valley.

Open daily 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m., 5730 Kalaniana‘ole Hwy, (808) 784-0001, @hangang_hawaiikai

Mari Taketa is editor of Frolic Hawaii and dining editor of HONOLULU Magazine.