Izakaya Genbe

Izakaya Genbe is an excellent Japanese restaurant in Kihei. The service is excellent and the food exceptional. The restaurant is located in the Azeka shopping center in Kihei and open for lunch and dinner. This great spot is one of our go to places for a night out. The ramen is excellent and we are big fans of spice so we always add a side of the spicy red bomb. If you are a local make this a spot on your night out rotation and if you are a tourist make this a must stop on your trip to Maui.

This was easily one of the best places to eat during our trip. We went back THREE times last week. Everything on the menu was a hit: gyu don, raw octopus, chicken katsu curry, bao buns, karaage, poke, cold tofu, everything!

We enjoyed each meal there. The owner and staff were super friendly and warm. The vibe of the place is great. We loved the vintage posters, music, and the animal videos playing on the screen. Overall a cozy vibe and each dish felt like a warm hug.

Thanks for a great experience, it made our trip to Maui memorable!

Pleasantly and surprisingly the best place I've eaten on this business trip. Quaint, cozy, authentic, diverse Izakaya in the middle of a tourist country. Small space but very good quality menu for reasonable prices. Diverse liquor menu as well. Service staff of three is friendly, quick, and courteous. The chef is very much on point as the quality of food that comes out is quick and tasty. I give them credit for outputting as much as they do for a small operation. It works and is evident by how many local Japanese dine here. Will be back for the shortribs' next visit. Very nice! 🙂🤙✌

5/2022
It's still a great place in the area to get some, and probably the only Izakaya. Try the flights of sake. Good deal! Toki Hi- Ball - oishi!!😉🤙✌

4/2023
The place still rocks. Had the simple curry rice with beef, my flights of sake, and a new "Kyoto" beer. Emi and Yumi rock the place along with the cook in the back. Small but blow out food, quick service, and nice e selection. Inobtrusive place that is a hidden gem. 🙂🤙✌

5/2023
Again, I made it back to get my curry fix this time. Staff is always so friendly, quick, and courteous. Nice cozy place to get your Izakaya on! Keep on rockin'!! 😉🤙✌

10/2023
Haven't been in a while, but I managed to get my fix in on this trip. Got my Oyaku Donburi, Pork Belly Bun, and Vegetable Tempura. Oh, so ono! 😉🤙✌

11/2023
Guess where I went on my last work trip to Maui.......😉✌

(Steve’s wife) We just ate a delicious dinner here. We stopped to look at the menu and were ready to order to go. Edward, staff member, came out and invited us in. Olivia then took our order. Service from them both was top notch. Our food was delicious. I had Tuna Poke and Steve had beef Bao Buns. He found them so tasty he ordered 2 more pork and loved them. Asked if we wanted dessert - YES, Crème Brûlée. Once again, delicious! I forgot to take a picture of that as we were too excited to eat it. As we were leaving, there was another couple looking over the menu outside. We offered our rave review and when Edward came out to invite them in, they happily joined him. 👍🏻👍🏻 🏅

Excellent, authentic menu with a lot of variety. Portions are generous and prices reasonable. The food came out fast. The staff is friendly too

Food is very authentic. We eat all the food that we ordered. Highly recommended here.

I don't know why this place would have any fewer stars than 5 STARS. Not only was the food authentic Japanese... the service from our guy Edward was stellar. First class all the way. Tried a new beer on his recommendation, and it did not disappoint. We love Maui and this special find was a bonus on our trip. If you are reading reviews and trying to decide where to go...STOP! This is the place! MAHALO.

Authentic Japanese Izakaya! It’s Japanese tapas. We especially enjoyed garlic fries and fried chicken. Okonomiyaki was also great and shrimp tempura was delicious! The Japanese music was so much fun. The bottle of sake was a little bit pricey, but overall, the food was reasonably priced and the ambiance was great! Highly recommend this place!

We went on a Friday night and waited about 25 minutes for a table for our party of 6. Service was fantastic, food was delicious. Everyone enjoyed what they ordered! Pictured are takoyaki (one of 8 served) katsu don (pork).

Small shop with excellent service. We came in with reservations for a group of 9. Seated early and orders went in. I had the Tonkatsu curry. Curry was tasty with a slight bite of heat. The Tonkatsu was perfectly cooked with a nice crunch. Stop by for some great Japanese food.

What a gem. This authentic Japanese restaurant serves small plates with a great selection of drinks. It opens until 11pm on most days and can cater the late owls hanging out in the Kihei area. Check out the photos for a fraction of the delicious food they serve. The chef and owner is very friendly and the service is top-notch.

Menu is not too large with focus on some great items. We really enjoyed the corn in the ramen. The takoyaki was fresh and warm (not too hot) and the sukiyaki was well flavored with well balanced amount of tofu, noodles, and beef.

A definite must try if you are in the area. Service was very quick and super feiendly!! We tried the Bao, Karaage, Takowasabi, Ramen, Softshell Crab, Pork Katsu Don and Katsu Curry Rice and ALL of it was super delicious!! Enjoy

I came here with my girlfriend while we were here on vacation. I loved the food, but the opinion that really matters is that of my girlfriend. She grew up in Japan, and so always critiques the Japanese food we eat here in the states. She had nothing but great things to say about this place and the food. The feel of the restaurant is very intimate, having a family feel to it. The chef/cook brought out the food for us and was extremely friendly. We came here twice, and the staff immediately recognized us the second time we went there. The food itself was delicious. My girlfriend described it as having a true, authentic Japanese taste and feel to it. We even ran into the chef at a coffee store and she approached us and say hi! Will definitely be coming back here on our next visit. Loved it!

Really delicious, though a bit pricey. Went off peak hours (12:30pm), but if you plan on coming for dinner, must reserve ahead (by phone or through their site). Karaage is the best I've had anywhere. The chef likes using a lot of ginger, though: I recommend asking for less. Ramen is okay. Modanyaki is super good. Matcha cheesecake is delicious, but the portion is small for the price point. I recommend the mochi for dessert (the sesame and azuki flavors are wonderful).

My first time taking an order from here and I must say I really love the takoyaki. It is tasty and makes you want to order for more because for me 8 pieces is not enough. The karage was a bit dry on the inside but my brother said it's still good.

The okonomiyaki is a very heavy food and I got a bit greedy I thought I'm going to finish it on my own but not at all because there's a lot of filling inside 😅 but it's is good tho. I ordered the sauce and bonito separately but I think it's still better to be already included in itself.

Then, there comes the side dessert warabimochi and I fell in love with it. It is soft, the chewiness and sweetness of it is just right. I just wish there's also extra syrup for it.

Overall, I'll definitely order again but instead of a pick-up, I'll just eat inside of the Izakaya for a much better experience.

Best Japanese food I’ve ever had! Such a cute little restaurant perfect for couples. Our waiter was the bomb!!

Got their katsu curry, and their katsu was very crispy and thick. Their bao buns were also very delicious!

Servers were very friendly and welcoming, would truly recommend here for good Japanese food!

I've been wanting to try this little hole in the wall Japanese restaurant for years, but they are right next to Nutcharee and Thai always won out for me, but Nutcharee was closed on Tuesday so we opted for this place. Well, let's just say I've been missing out on some excellent yumminess for those years!

I would recommend reservations. We got in because we arrived at 5:15 and promised to vacate the table by 6:15 for a party that was coming. The space was already packed because they had a party of 10 and only had two other tables. One was occupied and the other we got, with conditions.

Located in Azeka Makai near Nalu's and Ace, tucked back in the corner next to Bank of Hawai'i this little gem has lots of parking for Kihei. Get there early during 3 pm to 5 pm and you can have discounted Happy Hour items. For us, we ordered off the dinner menu which had some specials.

Everything was amazing - Oyster Fries, Genbe Fries, Agedashi Tofu, Chicken Katsu Don, Chicken Karaage, Tonkatsu Ramen, Potato Salad Gyoza, and Veggie Tempura. Of it all I would probably miss the tempura and Gyoza. Not that they weren't tasty, but we had a lot of food!

Good, fast, friendly staff. We'll definitely return!

Izakaya Genbe is definitely worth a stop in for Dinner or lunch! This authentic Japanese bar offers many delicious dishes, from tokoyaki to the Ramen everything we ordered was perfect.