After a late night at work last month, the hunt was on for a place to get dinner after 10 p.m. I wanted to try something new, and up popped Doraku in Kakaako, near the office and open late. It’s a good choice: comfortable, tasty and inexpensive during happy hour.

The experience

Izakaya dishes at Doraku don’t compare to some of the more exacting restaurants in Honolulu, but the restaurant trades value and quantity for precision, without abandoning a sense of proportion in taste or appearance. In other words, the plates here are good-sized and pretty, promising to leave you satisfied without feeling like you’ve cheaped out.

It helps that the restaurant is stylish, a magnet for youthful diners with plenty of energy. It’s part of a set of restaurants run by Kevin Aoki, son of Benihana entrepreneur Rocky Aoki and brother of celebrity DJ Steve Aoki, and the second Doraku in Honolulu, with the first restaurant at the Waikiki’s Royal Hawaiian Center.

The design is well thought-out; the bar beckons, lit nicely, with rows of sake barrels forming a backdrop. The furnishings are rustic, reflecting Japanese style, and wood-framed seating areas create a good sense of flow.

Happy hour is popular at Doraku, both early and late, while a happy feature of pau hana is that seating is available throughout the restaurant and on the lanai. On quiet evenings it is quite pleasant to sit outside, but on a busy night the Kapiolani Boulevard traffic can be a distraction.

The food

I was happily surprised by the size of Doraku’s pau hana portions, with a spicy tuna roll at just $6 and a generous serving of salmon carpaccio at $7. These plates are definitely big enough to share between two, and most plates are discounted by about $3 from the regular menu price.

Steak yakitori, skewered with pepper and tomato, offered big chunks of savory steak, at $6. I also ordered crisp, panko-coated chicken livers with watercress, $4, and grilled oyster (Hamakua) mushrooms, $5, and ended up needing to take some of the cooked food home. You can easily get a meal for two here for less than $40.

The drink

I can’t vouch for Doraku’s cocktails, but there is a fully stocked bar with an extensive menu of liquor, beer and sake. I went for the large serving of creamy and slightly sweet Nigori sake offered as the pau hana special, enough for two to share at $10.

The verdict

Doraku is a good place for a casual date or to meet up with friends, with an attractive setting and affordable happy-hour items. At this happy-hour price-point and with its hip feel, it’s a cut above many other options. I could visit again and again.