Rokkaku’s interior is visual Zen, its layout as sleek and sophisticated as the flavors of its cuisine. A favorite of the Prada and Armani crowd, the upscale space in Ala Moana Center won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects when it opened. A small dining area at the front gives way to a long, narrow layout with sushi bar, banquette seating and a private room at the back. Rokkaku’s specialty is Kyoto-style cuisine, the same style featured at its Michelin three-starred sister restaurant, Yukimura in Tokyo’s posh Azabu district. The lunch menu has daily specials and teishoku set meals combining traditional tastes with contemporary touches. At night you’ll find foie gras sushi and uni soba pasta alongside hotpots with duck, oxtail or pork belly in soothing white miso. The chef makes a tangy spare rib in guava sauce, while the grilled miso butterfish is a perennial crowd-pleaser. All of it comes with service that’s as attentive as it is unobtrusive.
Honolulu Advertiser: “A good barometer of a kitchen's skill is often the simplest dish. Unassuming agedashi tofu and onsen tamago was the best version I've ever tasted of this Japanese staple — a lowly poached egg perched over two large squares of lightly battered, deep-fried tofu in a delicate soup. Once punctured, the yolk oozed into the silken tofu for a luxurious custard effect.”
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