The Zetton Group has delivered many successful restaurant concepts over time, from Aloha Steak House to Zigu, a farm-to-table izakaya. But I wasn’t quite prepared for the restaurant group’s latest endeavor, Camado Ramen Tavern.

Knowing how the company — like so many others during the pandemic — struggled for two years to keep its multiple doors open, I didn’t think it would jump into expansion so quickly. Especially without its previous main market of Japanese visitors who show no sign of returning to Hawaii anytime soon due to fears of exposure to unmasked American tourists, continued surges of COVID-19 variants at home, social ostracism directed toward those who deign to travel during a pandemic and poor monetary exchange rates.

What’s most surprising about Camado is the way the company went against the tide of chasing the new and trendy in favor of stepping backward in time for a nostalgic trip back to Japan of the late Showa era of the 1970s to ’90s. Among the décor is a replica of a period food delivery bike and curtains that capture the design of baseball jackets favored by bad boys of the time.

The music playlist will also whisk diners of a certain age down memory lane with its equal mix of Western and Japanese hits of the era, featuring artists such as Wham!, A-ha, Culture Club, Prince, Yoko Oginome, Princess Princess, Speed and Spitz.

More than strictly a ramen shop, the restaurant also brings something new to Honolulu via appetizers that capture the essence of Japanese-style Chinese restaurants that started appearing around that time.

Among these dishes are a tantalizing dish of yodare-dori, or “mouthwatering chicken” ($12) in a Sichuan-lite sauce with some heat but without the searing, numbing effect of its original Chinese form that is unpleasant for some.

Also offered in this style are shrimp gyoza ($9) served over a pool of mild chile sauce reminiscent of ebi chile sauce. Ebi chile, derived from the Sichuan prawns in chile sauce, was introduced and popularized in Japan by Chinese-born Japanese chef Chen Kenmin. He is credited with introducing Sichuan cuisine to Japan in the 1960s, first through his restaurant Shisen Hanten, and later through appearances on the NHK television show “Kyo No Ryori (Today’s Cuisine).”

Another dish popularized at the time was mapo tofu, a stew of ground pork, tofu and spices. Here, it’s made with a mild Japanese aesthetic, with less heat and salt than a Chinese version. It’s $11, or for $2 more comes with a sheaf of butter lettuce for making DIY wraps.

For a taste of Japanese appetizers, okonomiyaki fries ($9) deliver all the flavor of the savory pancakes, and there is takoyaki ($12) that is the best I’ve tried locally. The exterior is crisp, and interior more light and airy than the usual heavy ball of dough, which makes it less of a treasure hunt to get to the piece of octopus at its center.

Eventually, you’ll make your way to the ramen. A creamy vegan version ($16) is in the works, but for now the lightest option is a local vegetable and pork tanmen ($16) featuring plenty of cabbage, onions, slivers of carrot and bean sprouts.

More flavorful is the shoyu chashu ramen ($17) in a Tokyo-style chicken broth with thin noodles, soft marinated egg, bamboo shoots and mizuna in addition to the tender roasted pork chashu.

But what I love is flavor to the max that comes with the creamy, sesame tantanmen ($16), and tonkotsu chashu ramen ($18.50) with its rich eight-hour pork broth. A spicy tonkotsu option is $16.50.

Because a bowl of ramen is so filling, dessert comprises light bowls of fluffy shave ice. There are four flavors, each crowned with a snow cap of condensed milk cream, and it’s difficult to pick a favorite, which will likely depend on your mood for the day.

If you’re looking for something juicy and sweet, there is the quintessential strawberry ($8) with fresh berries and housemade syrup. Also sweet and refreshing is the Tropical Aloha pineapple flavor accompanied by lilikoi popping boba and a sprinkling of li hing powder.

My favorites were the milk tea boba ($9) because of the fresh tea flavor that came through in the housemade syrup, and the kuromitsu (brown sugar) syrup that gave it such an authentic tea shop flavor, as well as the matcha and azuki ($11) with its powerful bitter matcha ice paired with a dollop of sweet azuki beans.

Although I visited the restaurant with only ramen in mind, I left with a much richer experience.

Camado Ramen Tavern

320 Lewers St., Honolulu
Food: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: ****
Value: ****
Call: 808-909-8008
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays
Prices: About $60 for two without alcohol

Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).