Lucky Belly

Food got better again! It's made with love again.

They changed a couple of items on their menu. I think prior to March, I hadn't been for a few years. That's because their go-to pork belly bao ... to put plainly, sucked. That was pre-Covid time. I think I went back several times after that poorly made bao and it was fine but I have avoided it since that one poor experience (if it's your most popular, it's got to be your North Star, you know?). I did not try it this most recent visit even though it was on our sampler dish. The other apps were good though!

As always, enjoy the ambiance and vibe.

Service was awesome (bartender) - we always sit at the bar though ‍except for maybe one time.

Good, chill spot to walk into on a random weeknight. Hopefully people liven up Chinatown back to how it was before Covid, cuz that area can get seedy and dank. But based on this latest visit, I'd definitely go back.

Went to Lucky Belly on a Saturday night. Made a reservation, but could've chanced it with walking in as it wasn't completely full yet when we went. Had the duck tacos and dim sum trio sampler to start. Duck tacos were amazing. The dim sum trio was good since it included three of their appetizers in one plate, allowing you to try more of the menu. It included the belly bao, lobster shu mai, and oxtail dumplings. For the entrées we had the belly bowl and Lobster moco. The belly bowl came with 4 pieces of pork belly, which is a pretty generous portion. The lobster moco tasted like it was a lot more expensive than it's price. They definitely didn't skimp on the lobster. It was incorporated into the fried rice and generous portion in the lobster cake(patty).

Service was good and attentive. The only drawback is the parking, but nothing the restaurant can do about that. There's street parking and some parking garages that are close by. Would suggest the street parking if you're able to find it since it's free at night. If not, the parking garage is $1 every half hour, but you'll only have to pay $3 maximum if staying past 1.5 hours.

CODY hasn't been here in 7 years
CODY came in for dinner
CODY sat at the bar
CODY ordered the Lucky Bowl
CODY food was tasty, the broth has a pleasant spicy tinge
CODY liked that they give you alot of food
CODY bartender was friendly and helpful
CODY dining area was clean
CODY will return to order more food

I'd say 3.5 but I'll around it up to 4. Love the ambiance. Great hang out spot! The menu is quite interesting and as a group of 5 we got to sample a lot of different items. Their crispy duck tacos were good. Spring rolls were tasty too. We had the jook (asian congee) and it was very subpar, not worth the money either. My mom makes it better. The other dishes were on the salty side, a bit too much flavor. The dumplings were not good at all. They fell apart easily and the filling inside was meh. So I'd say the dishes were hit or miss. However their menu changes from time to time so it's worth to check back and try again!

This has been on my list to try based on the high reviews but it was not what I expected. The appetizer we ordered was a little bit disappointing.
My bf ordered the ramen and I got the miso braised pork shank porridge. Ramen was not amazing, nothing to rave about. The porridge had some good flavor and the pork was surprisingly really soft. Overall the experience was just ok. With so many other restaurants in Hawaii, we felt like we could've spent our money elsewhere and had a way better meal.

We made reservations and surprised it was empty when we arrived good timing. Quiet cute restaurant. Great customer service and food was ono. Love supporting small business. We ordered appetizers and two main dishes and a cobra Kai cocktail perfect not sweet. Parking was easy to find and prices are reasonable. Good location and all near other restaurants easy to find. Thanks for feeding us for lunch!!!

I've had lucky belly on my list for a while but I was waiting for the right occasion to make a visit. We had made dinner reservations at 7 on a Saturday. While it didn't take us long to get seated, service was a little slow since it was a Saturday night.

The restaurant has a dim lighting almost intimate vibe. There are high chairs as well as long tables to accommodate larger groups. They have a fun and interesting drink menu.

My party started off by ordering drinks and appetizers. I ordered the Alice in Borderland, I'm a mezcal fan and very much enjoyed this drink (I ordered 2). My friends ordered the sake and kirin special, and the restaurant's version a whiskey sour. We all enjoyed our drinks

Appetizers: crispy duck tacos. These tacos were delicious and a favorite of the table

Smoked octopus. Octopus when cooked correctly is very tasty. This was my favorite appetizer. The octopus was cooked perfectly and had a nice spicy kick. I would definitely order this again.

I had the shrimp kimchee ramen. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my shrimp were crispy. The crunch was a nice textural difference to the soft noodles and seaweed. I do think that maybe there was too much seaweed. I was sad to only find 3 shrimp in my large bowl of ramen. The broth itself had a lovely spicy flavor.

All of the men in my party ordered the beast bowl. They seemed to enjoy it and finished it before I got the opportunity to snag a taste.

I would come back to try more drinks and appetizers

Although, not a lot of variety, the food choices seemed to have been especially picked to make a good clean, delicious menu. We had the kimchee bowl, belly bowl, bulgogi tacos, and pork buns. My favorite was the pork belly bowl was my, my moms was the kimchee bowl. She said the soup was absolutely flavorful. I don't know why Google maps says that this place is closed during lunch, but they aren't, we are here at 1pm chowing. Service is pleasant, food didn't take very long. Ambiance is contemporary, and clean. I would recommend this place.

9 years later, and I'm at it again!
Lucky Belly is ALWAYS AMAZING; Service and Food quality

Found this place through Yelp, and decided to give it a try given its high rating. The restaurant is really small with limited seating, so our party of four had to wait around 20 minutes to be seated at the bar. their main menu item is their Ramen, but they have quite a selection of appetizers as well. We tried their shrimp and kimchi Ramen, the brisket Ramen, and miso braised lamb shank with mushroom porridge. The lamb shank was by far my favorite dish - I've never had anything like it, and everything was super flavorful and perfectly seasoned. I wasn't a huge fan of either of the ramen dishes. I feel like they were lacking in the variety of ingredients used in each one. I would give this restaurant a higher rating if they had better Ramen options.