Tanaka Ramen & Izakaya, which opened its first Hawaiʻi location in Kapolei Marketplace in 2020, is unveiling its seventh Hawaiʻi store tomorrow in Windward Mall. The new eatery is located near Ninja Sushi and HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union in the mall; it features seating for approximately 70 customers.
“We are excited to continue our growth in Hawaiʻi with the opening of our newest location at Windward Mall,” states Tina Wang, owner and founder of Tanaka Ramen & Izakaya. “Since launching in 2020, our expansion has been driven by the ongoing support of our local community. We are proud to bring our signature ramen and izakaya offerings to the Windward side and to bring new options to our loyal guests.”
The new Windward Mall location is the business’s only store to offer a variety of yakitori sticks. Customers can choose from chicken meatball, chicken thigh and chicken with green onion ($3.99 each).
“We always wanted to add it (the skewers) but it was hard to do,” Wang says. “Finally, we decided maybe we should try at this location.
“I’m excited for the new items we are adding to each of our locations,” she adds, noting that the business also recently opened its first Washington location.
The eatery’s signature ramen dishes include the Tanaka Classic ($17.99) — comprising pork broth, pork chashu, spicy bean sprouts, green onions, fried onions, garlic oil, kikurage and a seasoned egg with thick noodles — and the spicy creamy vegan ramen ($17.99). The latter features a vegan broth with spicy bean sprouts, spinach, atsuage tofu, garlic, chili oil, crispy onions and green onions with kale noodles.
The Tanaka garlic volcano ($22.99) is another popular choice. It features thick noodles in a pork broth with level two spiciness topped with bean sprouts, pork chashu, green onions, fresh garlic, black garlic oil and a seasoned egg.
Other customer favorites include appetizers like housemade pork gyoza ($8.49) and karaage chicken ($9.99 for five pieces, $16.99 for 10 pieces), along with bowls like Tokyo curry don ($12.49), unagi don ($23.99) and karaage don ($16.99).
To celebrate its grand opening, the eatery is offering a variety of limited-time promotions. All customers who dine in on May 13 before 5 p.m. can take advantage of a BOGO offer; when they buy a ramen or rice bowl, the second bowl will be 50% off (applies to bowls of equal or lesser value).
From May 13 to 17, customers can enjoy Tanaka’s lunch combo — which includes an izakaya dish, lunch portion of Tanaka classic, spicy or combo ramen, and any soft drink — at a special price when dining from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
From May 15 to 17, individuals can enjoy Sapporo beers for $4 each. Customers who bring a receipt back to the restaurant from opening day (May 13) within seven days will receive a complimentary izakaya dish of their choice with any rice bowl or ramen purchase.
A portion of the eatery’s grand opening proceeds will benefit local nonprofit Aloha Harvest.
All Windward Mall employees, University of Hawaiʻi system students and faculty, and military members can enjoy 10% off with proof of ID at this location.
CONTACT
Tanaka Ramen & Izakaya
Windward Mall
46-056 Kamehameha Hwy. Ste. G10, Kāneʻohe
808-367-0293
tanakaramen.com/
Instagram: @tanakaramenhawaii
Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
