GoKo Steak & Salad Bar

I will miss the old sizzlers, the cashier was not nice, the service got a lot slower, the food selection shrunk, the quality was not as good as before, the price increased, I prefer cattle company for the same price

To be fair to Goko I haven’t been to Sizzler’s in a few years. However, my family used to be regular customers when I was younger, and remember very well how things used to be.
This evening I wanted to see how Goko was in comparison to the old Sizzler’s so we went. The first thing we noticed was the menu boards shrank. Not in size, but in content. There were three columns listing a few main dishes each that included steak, seafood (mainly fried shrimp), and chicken. It also seemed more expensive, but whatever’s we’re here already. I ordered the Swiss Malibu melt (chicken) and my other half ordered garlic shrimp, both with the salad bar for an extra $ 7.99 each. Our bill was $ 50. The salad bar seemed the same. I noticed they didn’t have saimin :(one of my favorite salad bar dishes. They also didn’t have the brownie cake/​muffin desserts that Sizzler’s used to have. It was okay though because there was still the Mexican section. I also noticed no children’s salad bar :((it was okay though because my food was coming.
As I walked around to decide what I was going to put on my plate a woman pointed out that there was mold in the hard boiled egg. An employee removed it and replaced the eggs with a new batch. After I witnessed that I looked carefully at what I was grabbing. Salad seemed fresh and jello was a must! Our booth was the exact same seats that was probably there when I was 5 years old. A shampooing or replacement of the carpet would be the first thing I’d recommend if I was the manager. Other than that its basically the same Sizzler’s with a different name, and noticeably aged décor, less food, and more expensive.

I was kinda sketchy coming here since it changed It’s name. But the only thing that pretty much changed is the menu and the name. 9.99 6oz steak and fries good deal…

Sizzler’s has gone GoKo.
For those who were Sizzler’s fans, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the new ownership and consequential changes. (Sometimes change is good!) The salad bar has been slightly upgraded and is kept very well stocked and tidy. I noticed the staff constantly wiping down the surrounding area. (Great sign.)
Not sure why the two previous reviews are so poor… My salad bar experience was great! (And I was a pretty regular Sizzler’s patron.)
Anyway, the regular menu itself has changed in two major ways:
1.) The menu has slimmed down… in size. (Not portion sizes. The portions are still pretty generous.) I guess it’s more of a focused menu. Good way to keep the food fresh I guess. Plus, most people go for the salad bar anyway.
2.) It caters more towards the local palate with its featured figure-​forming dishes like Chicken Katsu, Garlic Chicken, Burgers, Combo Platters, and more.
Pulehu BBQ Ribs (Half $ 19.99; Full $ 25.99)
Served with your choice of starch: mash, baked, fries, rice…
The ribs were so tender, I didn’t feel the need for utensils… Or teeth. (Actually, teeth are helpful, but not completely necessary.) The meat basically slipped off the bones! And the sauce was surprisingly good.
Furikake Salmon ($ 17.29)
Served with wasabi aioli or tartar sauce and your choice of mashed potatoes, fries, or rice; and broccoli.
I loved the wasabi aioli. It was freakin’ delish. I found myself dippin’ my fries in the sauce. The salmon was flakey and perfectly cooked. Not dry or fishy like how salmon can sometimes be if not prepared properly.
Bacon Wrapped Steak ($ 20.99)
Bacon goes with everything. The steak is pretty basic, but the bacon adds a deliciously sinful and satisfying punch of flavor. Loved the saltiness of the bacon fat. :)
6 oz Tri-​Tip Steak and «Plenny» Fried Shrimp ($ 20.49)
The Tri-​Tip was a good, basic piece of meat… but the breaded and fried shrimps were pretty winner. How could anyone say «no» to bottomless FRIED shrimp? They’re like popcorn shrimp — easy to eat and tasty! The shrimps were especially tasty with the other sauces we asked for. Aside from the wasabi aioli we had with the furikake salmon, GoKo makes a tapatio aioli and a honey-​miso aioli. Both were pretty great with fries, too.
Shrimp Skewers
We ordered these as a side dish. I liked them with a squeeze of lemon… But between the two different styles of shrimp, I’d go with the fried.
14 oz. Ribeye ($ 24.99)
Probably the most tender steak I’ve ever had at a restaurant like this. This piece of meat could stand up next to an expensive steakhouse steak. No joke. This baby is the real deal. Tender, juicy, and meaty. Not sure how it’s so tender, but it’s wonderful. If you’re a meat lover, this ribeye is for you. Don’t even bother with the other stuff. And why go to an expensive steakhouse, when you could pay a fraction less for the same (if not better) quality of meat?
VERDICT
Pretty impressed with the changes. And even though I will miss Sizzler’s, I’m glad GoKo made some improvements while still preserving the Sizzler’s feel.
Like Ted Mosby (HIMYM) said, «Sometimes things have to fall apart to make way for better things.»

My retired friends and I were regular patrons of the Sizzler Aiea Restaurant because the quality of the salad bar was bar-​none, the best in Aiea town. Regretfully, we have noticed that the quality of food have gradually deteriorated and the number of offerings on the salad bar have been reduced considerably since the restaurant made a name change from Sizzler’s to GOKO about 2 months ago. Despite its shortcomings, we have continued to patronize GOKO with an expectation that it will improve in time; unfortunately, the quality of food and selections continually deteriorate with every visit.
Our greatest disappointment was the removal of its big, crispy fried chicken wings which was Sizzler’s biggest attraction. It has been replaced with minuscule sized wings served only on weekends. Be mindful that the wings are also overdone & very dry unlike the succulent wings they served under the original Sizzler’s franchise.
Please Mr Goo and Kobayashi, bring back your old signature chicken wings which we have come to love because the grade of mini wings being used in your restaurant now just doesn’t cut it.
At lunch today, there were 2 hot entrees: one was a beef curry entrée with slivers of meat and potatoes swimming in a nasty, white sauce while the second entrée consisted of overcooked spaghetti noodles in a pale, orange marinara sauce. Both entrees were gross and unappealing in appearance and taste as well.
The quality of my favorite spinach and cranberry salad was exceptionally bad today too. The spinach greens looked stale and wilted. Noticeably absent on the salad line was our all time, island-​favorite kimchee and what happened to the saimin bar? The fresh fruits were excellent except the strawberries were musty, mushy and old.
It was heartwarming to see the restoration of (1) the soft serve machine which was out of order for a long time, and (2) the stamp card for senior citizens. My senior group have patiently waited for our suggestions to be restored by GOKO management but so far, we are running out of patience because our suggestions have been ignored.
Although GOKO’s food has gone downhill, the servers are tops. They are one of the reasons we’ve been going back but improvement on the buffet line are imperative to justify our patronage at GOKO in the future. For the same senior price, we are considering moving to the Camellia Buffet at the Stadium mall. We hate to move but we will move if our suggestions are continually ignored.

One day I saw something about how the Sizzler’s franchise was rebranding itself and was going to reopen all of their locations under the name GoKo Steak and Salad Bar. We decided to try it last night hoping that the rebranding and addition of new menu items would dramatically improve it. I was wrong…
The menu has noticeably shrunk and so have the offerings at the salad bar. It seems dirtier… which I wouldn’t expect especially since they just re-​opened. It looks like the same wait help is there… which is great that no one had to lose their jobs… however…the wait help wasn’t exactly 5 stars to begin with.
If your going there to eat some of your favorites… like malibu chicken… you are out of luck… since that was taken off the menu. I ordered one of the new few menu items that they added… Steak and Furikake Chicken. The furikake chicken was tasteless. It came with a green mayonnaise type sauce… which did not compliment the chicken AT ALL.
Oh…and it appears that the prices got slightly higher for the lack luster food… but they do have .99 soft drinks.
All in all… not worth the money… very disappointing.