The restaurant reviewed is:
Miyo’s Restaurant
400 Hualani Street
Hilo, HI 96720-4344, United States
(808) 935-2273
Kwai’s Dish
Combination special (Tempura, Sesame Chicken, Katsu Don, Tuna Sashimi), Miso Soup, Green Tea
Yiki’s Dish
Vegetable and Tofu Udon noodle bowl. Miso Soup, Green Tea
Exterior
Located at the back of some high rise housing estates. It was quite hard to find! There is some easy parking outside the restaurant which is not very obvious from outside. It’s located on the first floor (2nd if you’re American).
Interior
Noisy atmosphere with live music playing from a one man with guitar gig. Old style wood throughout. not the cleanest of places but there were mosquito nets at the windows.
Service
Service was not the typical efficient and friendly from a Japanese establishment that I would expect. A non japanese lady took my order and couldn’t pronounce the items properly which was disappointing. She did not seem very clued up with the menu either.
Toilets
Toilets were located outside. A key was required which came on a long and bulky key fob which was disgustingly dirty and unhygenic. The toilets were horrendously filthy.
Review
Miyo’s Japanese Restaurant was a very mixed experience. I was excited because Japanese food back in London is typically very expensive whereas the menu at Miyo’s in Hawaii was relatively very cheap. The place was hard to find in the dark and they were already taking last orders at 8pm which is early by what I am used to in late night London. When we finally did find it, service was very rushed in an effort to get us back out of the door as quickly as possible so that they could have an early finish for the evening. The live music was a nice addition which reminded us that we were in Hawaii and not in a dirty little Japanese restaurant. Unfortunately we were in a dirty little Japanese restaurant! Luckily we were also in Hawaii which meant that the sashimi ordered was fresh. The tempura was pretty good as was the Kara Age copy which they called Sesame Chicken on their menu. The wife was a lot less impressed with her dose of soupy noodles. She liked it to start off with but quickly got bored of the flavour combinations. The toilets matched the lack of service, they were covered in faeces and urine which prompted me to get back in my rented Jeep as soon as I possibly could so that I could wash my hands in alcohol gel! so to summarise, the seafood was good, the non seafood was average, the price was low and everything else was pretty shoddy. I would eat at this place again but I would take away the food and find my own restroom!
Score
7/20
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