Afterthoughts – Lobster and Filet Mignon at Suntory Teppanyaki, Oahu / Hawaii

Aloha!  After saying goodbye to the beautiful island of Maui, we packed up and embarked on the rest of our Hawaiian adventure to Oahu.

I was a bit shocked upon arrival in Oahu, because it’s more like a big city than an island paradise.  Our hotel on Waikiki Beach, the historical Royal Hawaiian, was smack in the middle of all the action on the ever-blazing shopping strip packed full with restaurants, but was still secluded enough to offer tranquil refuge (plus, it opened right up to the beach!).

Noticing the strong Japanese influence in Oahu, we decided to make our first dinner in Oahu all about teppanyaki, and our concierge highly recommended Suntory.  

Out of all the teppanyaki options in Oahu, Suntory is renowned for its quality ingredients, and, conveniently for us, it is located in the Royal Hawaiian Centre which was literally behind our hotel.  

The restaurant is sectioned off into several large dining areas, each with a handful of teppanyaki grill arenas lined with seating.  We both chose the steak and lobster course, and upgraded our steaks to filet mignon.  I was really looking forward to being “entertained” with a show (many North American teppanyaki restaurants do dining shows – juggling eggs, tossing rice bowls in the air, building a mini volcano out of a tower of onions etc), but sadly, Suntory doesn’t do any dining shows and prefers to concentrate chiefly on the ingredients.  

Well, as long as the food is good, I can’t really complain!  We started our meal with some locally harvested greens, followed by thin wafers of kampachi sashimi.  The white fish was firm and sweet, and the yuzu dressing added zing.  

A bowl of deep flavourful miso to start the meal.

Next up, grilled vegetables and succulent tiger prawns.  The prawns were butterflied and layered with a creamy cheese, which grilled up to a golden buttery yellow.

Lobster tails!  Big juicy chunks of bouncy meat.

I’m a sucker for garlic fried rice.

Grilling up some tender filet mignon.

Mm………succulent morsels of beefy goodness.  

Verdict:  Yum-licious!  Just looking at the pictures again made me drool.  Choice ingredients and very central location.  This would be a great group dining option, as everyone can gather around the grill, chat, and watch the action.  There are 3 course options, plus additional add-ons.  Our steak and lobster course came to $80 per person, not including drinks or taxes / tips, so it wasn’t a cheap meal.  I’m a little disappointed that there wasn’t any cooking show attached to the dining experience, but I guess shows can come across as gimmicky and classier teppanyaki restaurants can probably do without.  All in all, I would definitely recommend this restaurant for teppanyaki, although there are so many other superb restaurants on Waikiki that I wouldn’t be revisiting this anytime soon.  

Suntory

Building B, 3/Floor, B307

Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, 2233 Kalakaua Ave

Honolulu, Hawaii

Tel:  808 922 5511