Aomatsu in Hilo

I remember one day(back in 2016when I was attending college(HCCacross the street I walked over for some lunch but the owner greeted me at the door saying g "Hey! Come in! Ill give you a free bento!" I told him "Wow for real?!"I went inside and he gave me the most stunning bento Ive ever seen in my life and I had to ask "Is this this for real? Whats wrong with it? Is it old? Not made right?"😂 he said "No, no its perfectly fine" I thanked him and offered like $10 tip but he pussed my hand away and told me no need. Honestly this was the happiest I ever was coming out of any restaurant😂 times were tough back then lol.Ive returned back to Aomatsu and they changed their menu couple years ago but omg their menu may be small but my god its amazing! Just go you wont regret it.. everything is near Perfection.

Ramen special with Chicken Katsu was perfect to make a dreary day better!

Bentos available for lunch take-away. Open for lunch and dinner. BYOB. Best tonkatsu in town.Ramen is 13.50, most dinner entrees come with cabbage and potato salad. Ono 🤙

Generous, delicious lunch special. The hostess was gracious and attentive, noticed that my wife had splashed ramen on her clothes and brought us paper towels. We mainly choose to come here because its right next door to Hilo Brewing, but this was a great lunch and worth visiting. Obviously popular with locals too.

Very authentic Japanese. Great service too

The katsu is great! And the Ramen is awesome.

The best authentic katsu on the island! Just like Japan.. Big servings and the real deal. Like the cabbage salad and friendly service.

Food was good, but twice the price it should have been. $21 for a small chicken breast, egg, and cabbage. I left hungry.

This chef is an artisan. What an amazing restaurant find for the folks in Hilo. Chef handmakes his own Panko bread crumbs for his katsu. He also makes his own sauces and salad dressings. His technique is light - not oily at all. His Bento (take outLunches are reasonably priced and delicious. In addition to the chiken, pork loin, and pork roast katsu, he has a selection of special seafood katsu. Ask about the fish of the day. Appreciate his japanese style potato salad... call ahead for that, as he does not make that daily. If you eat in, I believe you can BYOB give them a call for that one.Located across the street from the local community college in a warehouse/industrial part of town close to the airport. So worth it to stop there for a meal or Bento to go and appreciate the skill and craftsmanship of this chef, it will make you smile.

Great service, awesome food

Best katsu I have had outside of Japan! Delicious and authentic. The staff is so incredibly friendly too. And the restaurant is BYOB so we went next door to the brewery to grab a 6 pack of beer for our meal.You must try this place if you love katsu and bento boxes!

aomatsu welcomed us warmly and their food was delicious! amazing tonkatsu with sauce options and a delicious dressing for the cabbage salad. if I was a local Id go here often!

Excellent food and friendly service

Unbelievably good katsu. The prices are a bit high, but man it was so worth it. Most meals come with a cabbage and sweet potato salad as well as a sweet potato krokke. It was so much good food we were practically rolling out of the place.

Had a teriffic katsu lunch today. Staff very friendly.

Best Katsu Ive ever had and best on the island.

High quality katsu

Amazing quality food, the katsu here is obviously made with love and care. The staff are so nice and helpful. This is the best katsu Ive had on the island.

Great flavors but not filling enough.

Loved it

Delicious authentic Tonkatsu, a little pricey but the portions were good and the pork loin katsu was delicious.

일본인 부부 두 분이서 운영하는 식당. 점심 저녁 둘 다 가능한데 중간에 쉬는시간이 있어요! 벤또도 파는데 테이크아웃만 가능하다고 합니다. 보리차같은 티와 치킨카츠 시켰는데 아주 양도 많고 맛있었어요! 양배추도 푸짐하게 주고 중간중간 더 필요한지 물어보십니다. 소스도 두가지로 흔한 돈까스 소스와 홈메이드 소스가 있는데 땅콩버터 맛이 은은하면서 정말 맛이 좋았어요. 사이드로 나오는 고로케도 좋았고 짠 음식에 질려하던 참에 익숙한 맛으로 기분이 좋았습니다. 남은 음식 포장할때 소스도 따로 포장해주십니다. 저녁에는 커리가 안된다고 해요~ 정말 슈퍼친절하고 좋았어요~

Great service, friendly atmosphere, Great food!

Top notch katsu, hearty curry, fast service will be back guarantee 🐽 The salad dressing and the fine cabbage is on point too👌🏼

Good service and very good food, different forms of katsu and homemade sauces and dressings. A very nice atmosphere with Japanese music playing in the background

I love coming here. The food is always great and the service is excellent for the most part. Sometimes I would like them to come check up on us more often but its not a mark against them.

Excellent food at reasonable prices.

30 years of skilled Japanese cooking comes out in the flavors of the somewhat limited selection of lunch or dinner entrees..2nds of shredded cabbage salad? Cheeky service..limited parking a notch above in quality and price.. You get what you pay for .

Simple and amazing!

Tasty

Someone wrote a review stating this was the best tonkatsu in Hawaii. This is the best Ive had anywhere period. My husband and I got the fillet, the squid and the salmon katsu plates. Sooo incredibly delicious, we would definitely go back or recommend to anyone who wants an amazing meal.

This place is fantastic, I loved everything I tried. (Alot of fried food so not for a diet), but staff is great, home made sauces for food and bring your own beer!!

The staff is friendly. The food during lunch time is reasonable and filling. Outstanding

Had the Curry Katsu. Best curry with tonkatsu ever. No hyperbole at all. Its amazing. Fast service, fantastic food. Limited menu, but you come here if you want tonkatsu pork cutlets.

Great food EVERY time I go.

Not bad bentos. Staff very accommodating even with bentos we ate at their place. Offered courtesy water and sauce for our food.

Amazing food! Delicious katsu menu.

Food was amazing. So good. Love the place.

Tender katsu with delicious sauces to try. Definitely try for their specials since they run out fast. Hard to choosr a favorite when everything is good.

Love there food exelent service

Their food is really delicious, but you have to be ready to pay at least $20 if you want to eat one of their meals (bentos are like half the price, but take out only). Not exactly ideal for a college student.

Best katsu away from Japan!

Good food - call ahead or get there early for the lunch time Bentos as they sell out a little after 12 - couldnt tell I wasnt in Japan ;).

As others have posted, the best katsu I have eaten. It is amazing how tender the Chicken Katsu was; velvety soft. For chicken breast meat, it was anazing!!! Truly surprised!

Top notch!

Its a little bit pricy but its so worth it. For lunch you can get bento to go or eat in. They serve katsu as their main dish (chicken, pork, or fish of day). If they have the gyoza available then you should definitely get it. Best gyoza I have ever had and its homemade there at the store.

Probably most expensive Katsu in town, but by far the best and well worth it. Owned and ran by a 1st generation Japanese family, you know what your getting is authentic.

Simply put...the best katsu in town

Hands down the Japanese food in town

I was so incredibly surprised that there was something this amazing in Hilo. This is a level of expertise that is rarely seen. Everything is amazing and delicious and I highly recommend this place to everyone. There is a small menu because they focus on Katsu and make it better than youve ever had before!