ogo Ono-loa Hawaii
+ AKASAKA-MITSUKE, TOKYO

After walking from one end of Akasaka-Mitsuke to it’s tail end, and after seeing all of the other wonderful lunch options, I couldn’t imagine finding something that would actually merit the long walk or beat the other tempting options. With a name like “ogo,” it was worth a try*. The building entrance was nothing special, we took the elevator to the 5th floor and were greeted by a giant board of customer photos and the ogo logo sign above the door. The interior actually looked like all of the generic local restaurants I saw back when visiting Waikiki. The tables were topped with jars of colored salts and hot tabasco(of the awesome chipotle variety). The lunch menu highlighted several local Hawaiian specialties including kahlua pig and loco-moco, a fried egg layered on top of a hamburger covered in brown sauce and served with rice. At the bottom were options for combinations of any two or any three menu items. Without hesitation, as if by instinct, we all ordered the two item combination and chose the loco moco and the kahlua pig(1,100 yen). The best choice I made all day since the chocolate muffin I managed into breakfast the same morning.

Moments later, our lunch was served, as if bathed in a divine light, glistening with steamy, juicy goodness. There it was, what would be the tastiest Hawaiian pork lunch in Tokyo ever. The portions were certainly big enough for us, but we wondered if it was really alright for Konishiki**, who also frequents this place(as mentioned on a Japanese review site). We also wondered how Konishiki fits through the tiny entrance, but I guess we’ll have to come back for dinner to find out, if we’re lucky enough to catch him. Not wasting a moment, we started in on our lunch. The loco-moco was fantastic, the egg cooked just enough to not be runny(sorry, I am not a fan of raw eggs or runny eggs), and the gravy over the hamburger was American-style, as one of my friends cheerfully noted. Our lunch proceeded in silent, pure joy as we ravaged our plates. We quickly discovered the evil pleasures of the chipotle hot sauce over the stewed pork and drained half their bottle.

Empty plates before us, we had a look around and wondered if it ever got busy, as most of the other tables were empty(mind you, were we lunching at around 12:30 in the afternoon…). Ryoji, the owner, walked over and told us that it gets packed around dinner time, and we had to make reservations if we wanted a seat. He took a minute to tell us about his restaurant and extensive dinner menu, which will certainly draw me back for round two. Being a native of Hawaii himself, all of his menu items are authentic local cuisine, and all sounded amazing(not to mention relatively reasonable, most around 1,200~ yen). He also introduced his new karaoke sound system filled only with Hawaiian tunes. I can only imagine what the dinner crowd is like, especially when Konishiki shows up to belt out a song or two!

*Credit goes to Yusuke Takahashi for this amazing find(no blog or website to link to yet…).

**Konishiki is a famous sumo wrestler of Hawaiian origin.

ogo Ono-loa Hawaii
Hawaiian Restaurant & Bar

Isomura Building, 5F
5-1-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan 107-0052
Tel: 03-3585-5337
Nearest Station: Akasaka-Mitsuke - Ginza Line/Marunouchi Line

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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