Makittii Japanese Seafood Buffet is located on the mauka side of Kuhio, opposite Ka`iulani Avenue, on the site of the former Perry's Restaurant.
When Perry's closed somewhat suddenly last summer (2010), we witnessed one of the fastest construction jobs we've ever seen in Waikiki. Makittii rose from the ashes of Perry's in just a few short weeks and opened in record time.
We visited just after opening, and there were some startup problems to be worked out, so we returned again quite recently. Makittii, after a number of months of operation, is still tuning its business model.
Whereas previously there was a fixed dinner price of $32.95, there are now two options. If you want lobster and prime rib along with the buffet, the price remains $32.95 and a 20% kama`aina discount is available. If you're willing to skip the lobster and prime rib, the price drops to $18.95, although no
discounts or coupon deals apply to the lower price. Drinks are extra at $2.95 for cold drinks and $2.00 for hot beverages.
The buffet selections are quite extensive and varied. There are the Japanese items that you would expect, such as sushsi and tempura; there are also a surprising number of Chinese items like pot stickers, choi sum and others.
The big attraction, of course, is king crab--- piles and piles of it.
Then there's garlic ahi, teriyaki chicken, roast beef, roast pork, all manner of shrimp ... it goes on and on; there's a grill-to-order station featuring beef and pork, and an extensive dessert bar. We doubt that we covered even a fourth of the items ourselves.
How's the quality? We found the sushi didn't taste fresh and the poke was overly salty. The roast beef was "well done" if not beyond that, and was somewhat fatty. The grilled-to-order beef was very good, as were the pot stickers. The crab was outstanding.
The rest of the dishes that we tried were pretty average, certainly not bad if not quite exceptional, either. The desserts lacked appeal to a Western palate; it was again a situation of not so bad but nothing special.
Overall, we thought there was a lot of value in the $18.95 menu as long as you're not looking for top quality or utter freshness of ingredients.
We did have some issues with the service. We arrived just after dinner opened, and even though most of the tables inside were empty, we and everyone else had to give our names and wait 15 minutes or so to be seated. This was probably because the restaurant is seriously understaffed. After we were seated, it was another little while before our drink orders were taken. The staff were nice enough and tried hard to be helpful, but there just weren't enough of them to go around.
Makittii has a tie-in with the Sanrio "Hello Kitty" franchise, and you see Hello Kitty items around the restaurant. "Hello Kitty" arrived in person during the evening, to the great delight of kids, whose parents paid extra for a photo of their child with this popular character.
Do we recommend Makittii? It's truly an odd place. For a while, they seemed to try hard to attract Japanese clientele--- but at the time, they offered a 20% discount to residents of North America. If you were Japanese, sorry, you paid full price. That struck us as a really backwards marketing strategy. Today, with their reduced-price menu offering, they seem to want to attract anyone who is willing to come.
But, yes, we do recommend Makittii for a satisfying meal that, by Waikiki standards, is moderately priced. It's definitely not upscale dining, but it doesn't pretend to be. The restaurant still has some things to work out; maybe they will, maybe they won't--- progress has been slow--- but that shouldn't stop you from giving it a try, especially if you happen to be really hungry.
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