Ono Seafood

Hidden Entrance!

Menu

         Ono Seafood is a hole in the wall restaurant with a great reputation for having the best Poke on Oahu. Poke is raw fish, often ahi (tuna) mixed with a variety of ingredients such as shoyu (soy sauce) and seaweed. I love raw fish, along with the rest of the family so we hopped over here after Diamond Head. This place is really easy to miss, and is really just a hole in the wall with a few tables. The truth is that we ran in a few circles before finding this place, which is hidden behind a few umbrellas. You order at the counter and take it outside or wherever to eat. Inside there is a big freezer filled with other foods, but we cane here for the fresh poke. We got 2 Super Combo Bowls for $10 each although the normal size comes with 1/3 pound of poke rather than the 1/2 pound out of the Super size. If you get any size poke bowl, you get a free soft drink or fruit juice. Pretty good deal to me, especially when you see that quality and quantity you get for your $10. The service was quick and were very helpful when we were asking about what was good. The only thing they need are a more exposed storefront.

     

Shoyu Ahi and Shoyu Tako Poke Bowl $10

Spicy Ahi and Wasabi Ahi Poke Bowl $10

    As stated before, a super combo poke bowl is $10, and comes with rice and 1/2  pound of poke. Pretty good bang for your buck there. Because we could pick 2 different kinds on each one, we choose the Shoyu Ahi (tuna) and Shoyu Tako (octopus). As a person who quite dislikes tako, I was a bit relectant to try it, and I was glad it was done. The Tako was very fresh, not frozen and at room temperature, but the main draw was that it was so freaking tender. You just needed to chew a little bit, and it would be gone, with the lightly flavoured shoyu sauce. The Shoyu Ahi was even better, or at least better than the run of the mill stuff back in Vancouver. Not saying the tuna isn't good back home, but it just isn't as good. This one had the same dressing as the tako, which made it nice and light and allowed the fish to shine. And boy, did it shine. One bite and you were in ahi heaven, with the fresh ahi melting in your mouth, maybe pressing your teeth together every once in a while. This went great with rice, as the rice had the same flavouring, although it was nothing special, it did it's job as filler. This poke bowl was easily a 4.5/5, and was a 5/5 on what I tried. For poke bowl number two, we got the other popular item, which was the spicy ahi and we decided to get the wasabi ahi for our other choice. Starting with the spicy ahi, it was lathered with mayo, but was still nice and fresh at the same time, complimenting the fish and not overpowering it. Some masago was rolled onto the outside, giving the fish a crunchy feel. For me, the ahi wasn't too spicy, and I can't tolerate that much heat, so most people can eat it. The other poke we got was the wasabi poke because that was the feel at the time. When they said wasabi, they weren't kidding. It gives you the "too much coke burp" feeling, and lots of it. However, once you get past that you get the same fresh fish, with not too much flavour. Not sure if I could recommend this item, for it didn't have too much taste, which wasn't too bad, but wasn't good either. I would give the spicy ahi a 5/5 and the wasabi ahi a 3/5.

Bottom Line: Fantastic Poke and Poke Bowls

Tip: Combo for MORE selection

Overall: 4.5/5