Tonkatsu Tamafuji has quietly traded its longtime second-floor hideout at Hee Hing Plaza for a bigger, street-level space on Kapahulu Avenue. The new ground-floor dining room holds about 75 seats, roughly one-and-a-half times the old capacity, with both counter and table options. For now, the Kapahulu location is sticking to walk-ins only through April while the team settles into the expanded floor.
New Street-Level Dining Room
The first-floor unit, which previously housed Growlers USA, has been reworked into a roughly 75-seat restaurant, about 1.5 times the former upstairs capacity, according to Aloha State Daily. The refreshed layout adds counter seating where diners can watch the kitchen in action, alongside more traditional tables.
A Little Background
Tonkatsu Tamafuji is the U.S. outpost of a Hokkaido-born chain known for cold aging its pork and frying cutlets in copper pots. Honolulu Magazine notes that the Kapahulu location opened in 2017 and quickly became one of Honolulu's tougher reservations. The move to a street-level footprint mirrors the brand's usual setup in Japan and is expected to open up more room for walk-ins over time.
Menu, Prices And Takeout
The menu has largely stayed put. Jyukusei (aged) pork loin and tenderloin katsu sets still run around $32.50 to $38, and combo plates like shrimp-and-pork or shrimp-and-chicken hover in the roughly $35 to $36 range, as listed on Tonkatsu Tamafuji. Diners can choose seasoned mixed rice, shiso seaweed rice, or Hokkaido Nanatsuboshi, and pick red or white miso with options like clam or tofu and seaweed. Takeout remains available.
Getting A Table
According to Aloha State Daily, Tamafuji is operating on a walk-ins-only system for April and asks guests to sign into a waitlist upon arrival. Customer parking is available at Hee Hing Plaza. The outlet reports posted hours as evenings on most weekdays, with both lunch and dinner service on Saturdays and Sundays, so it is worth checking the restaurant's social or reservation page before heading over.
