O'ahu Grill

This place was so very good, it's just bonkers! I had the pork belly and smoked meat combo. And the haupia dessert that comes with it is light and a perfect finish to the meal! Was there for a change in shift and both servers were pleasant and kind. Going back here in the future for sure!

O'ahu Grill is located within a parking lot alongside other restaurants. They don't validate parking but the parking rate is reasonably priced. The restaurant is isn't immediately visible from the main street, but on the side facing the parking lot. It shares a restroom with the other businesses which requires a passcode for the single-stall gendered restroom. I went with a group of four total people and were ordered two 3-entree combination plates so we could try more items. It wasn't too busy on a Tuesday afternoon, but service was attentive with constant refills of water.. Haupia: delicious, sweet, and perfectly creamy.. Unfortunately they were out of the lomi salmon, so they substituted it with crab salad, which was okay.. Laulau: The pork was tender and tears easily from your fork, and I personally love the herbal quality from the taro leaves.. Chicken Long Rice: My first time trying chicken long rice, it's more of a chicken noodle dish but decent.. Tripe Stew: Not the biggest fan of tripe but my partner is, and he seemed to enjoy this dish.. Crispy Pork Belly: If you've ever had cantonese crispy pork belly, it's very similar to it. I do think the fat could've been more crisp but I may be biased from my experience with the cantonese dish. The house special sauce it comes with is very strong and tangy, to help cut from the fattiness.. Smoked Meat: more of a lean meat but the flavor isn't too strong, I liked dipping it in their chili pepper water for an extra kick.. Pipikaula: The most expensive meat entree on the menu, not a lot of meat and mainly bone. More on the burnt side, would skip out on ordering this next time.

Oahu GrillDon't let the outside fool you, it is authentic! We were greeted by a very nice young lady from the Hanauma bay area. She quickly learned we were not locals and brought us several items of the Hawaiian variety to try. She explained each food item (Poi, Lomi Salmon, Squid Luau, Chicken Long Rice, and Kalua pig), provided the history and how it is typically eaten in Hawaii. They were all delicious. The Poi is more bland, but is a good balance with the Kalua Pig. Chicken Long a rice is the comparable to Chicken Noodle Soup, but with clear noodles and a little less salt. Squid Luau is very similar to Laing from the Philippines, made with coconut milk, Taro Leaves, and Octopus. Lomi Salmon is like having a fresh salsa with Salmon. For the main dishes we had pork belly and rice. The pork belly had more fat than what we usually eat at restaurants and was salty. The rice, well that's difficult to mess up. Most of the dishes had more salt than we would normally eat, but I think the food was authentic to Hawaii. The dessert was coconut flavored and delicious. The restaurant itself was pretty standard with regular tables and four chairs. It is located on the bottom floor with some window seats that looked out to the street. The building is an older building, but don't let that scare you if you're looking for good service. The best part of this experience was the server, she made us feel welcomed. To sum it up, I have mixed feelings only because of the salt level. If you are not watching your salt or like salty food, this place will be perfect. Gave four stars due to the service!

Pretty good Hawaiian Food. Our experience was based on ordering online, paying online and take out. I ordered a Combination plate with Laulau and Kalua PIg with Poi, Lomi Salmon and small piece of Haupia. The food itself was pretty good. The prices have gone up quite a bit in the last couple years. We live out this side, so it's hard to find good hawaiian food without out going to Waimanalo or into Town - Youngs Fishmarket. The location is a bit hard to find using google maps. Its in the building half way down 11th avenue, but the parking entrance is on Harding Ave or 12th Ave. You have to take a ticket when entering the parking, be quick, pick your food on the ground floor and zoom out. You could also park on 11th avenue street outside and walk in. Overall a good option for Hawaiian Food in the Kaimuki area.

(Tookout 08/24/24 SA @ 5:30pm): Some local grindz was grilling at this O'ahu eatery!In my quest to explore the various cuisine scenes as well as other businesses throughout O'ahu's Windward side (east shore of the island) after a recent acquisition of an investment/private-use property, I visited O'ahu Grill in search of some local island favorites. Thankfully, their menu provided those options for me. How was my first time at this neighborhood grill on O'ahu!?PURCHASEPork Lau Lau Plate w/Scoop Steamed White Rice, Side Lomi Salmon, And Side Haupia ($16.00): I loved pork lau lau and an absolute must-try whenever I saw it on the menu. The lau lau was large and packed https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=HoLXra6KewHbWStx9jpNjw with moist seasoned pork but little fat on it (I preferred some fat for extra flavor and juiciness). The leaves were flavorful and soft. The rice and lomi salmon were fresh, but I wished the portion sizes were larger. And, the haupia https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&start=24&select=MVJXAMgfBGYf1XH9-bTUxQ had a good consistency, solid, and sweet. All around, a very good meal! https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=Sll0TmR0WOq56AzlfpbH1QSquid Luau Plate w/Scoop Steamed White Rice, Side Lomi Salmon, And Side Haupia ($19.00): I've never had this dish before because frankly it never looked appealing to me. After my first spoonful of this dark green goop mixed with some rice, I was coming around, and by the time I reached the bottom of the cup, I was a fan. Since this was my first time with this dish, it seemed to be a bit salty, the consistency wasn't as thick as I expected, and I would've liked more squid. Otherwise, I'd be interested to try other squid luaus if I saw it on the menu. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&start=24&select=yBRfdgkySEszAT3mTsvgpQCredit Card Fee 3.00% ($1.10): I understood why this had to be done - c'est la vie.SERVICEI was immediately greeted by a friendly woman who handed me a menu followed by a young man who easily took my order. Minutes later, my food was all packed up, ready to go, and I was given a sample of their potato crab salad https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&start=24&select=jt_pkj3mTk8e0IL8yXL-cg which was yummy! Everything was easy and fast - mahalo!PARKING (Varied; FREE this instance)They appeared to share a medium-sized public lot with several businesses. Otherwise, there appeared to be plenty of spots along the nearby main drag on Waialae Ave. and all surrounding side streets - 'nuff said!ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCELocated inside a multi-business building, they had a fairly spacious layout along with outdoor patio seating, each with plenty of chairs/tables https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=SX_AgTaUgIqIbLPDpDu04A options. There was a small merchandise section https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&start=24&select=KJsKPNVMc0NHJrBEgcYbFg if you wanted any souvenirs. Plenty of natural lighting came in through the patio doors and windows while electric ceiling lights filled in the rest. There were a couple of TVs while I couldn't recall if there was any background music. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&start=24&select=mARK6XYMQMHdEN0-nmYqlAATTIRETotally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops.OVERALLI enjoyed the local grindz found at O'ahu Grill, and I would certainly give them another visit to further explore their menu. Everything I ate was lovely, the menu was varied enough, the prices were reasonable, and the service was friendly and straightforward. And, whenever possible I liked to support small family-owned businesses. I found very good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience was around $38.00 BEFORE any discounts and/or tip). And, they accepted my credit card of choice... AMEX! 4.0 STARS

Food was excellent... had combo with LauLau, Chicken Long Rice, Pipikaula.... all delicious!Server was awesome...so friendly and helpful! I look forward to coming back (unfortunately probably not until next year when I visit Oahu again). (Note: the ambiance wasn't great but easy to ignore.)

It is located in the back side of the building not visible from the main street. There are street parking available but when we went on a Monday around 1pm we didn't want to drive around so we just parked in the paid parking lot which is an easier access to the entrance and parking was only $1.50 for 2 hours. There is a machine in the parking lot you can pay with your credit card before exiting.Instead of ordering two main dishes, we ordered a combo plate of two entrees and glad we did because the portion was huge! The flavors were spot on and seasoned well. It hit all the crunchiness and saltiness. The crispy pork belly was more fat than meat but it think it was more of a hit or miss because one of our plate was that way while the other was fine with a good mix. But the crunch was perfect. They might be a little slow depending on the day because it is a small place with only two people working (and I think one serves and one cooks?). But definitely worth the wait!

My friends and I wanted to have Hawaiian food, but there's not many options in town open for dinner. Oahu Grill was one of the options that seemed promising. Parking in Kaimuki requires a lot of patience on a Friday evening. We circled the lot a few times before finding a stall. When we walked over to Oahu Grill, there were no open seats. There were a bunch of tables in the back of the restaurant that they weren't using and said it would be at least a half an hour wait. We ended up ordering take out instead. I got the mini kale pig plate with poi. Honestly, the food was just ok. The kalua pig was really salty and the poi was hard. Maybe it was just an off day.

The place is quite small and there's only two folks so you have to be patient, but you will be well rewarded with great Hawaiian food. We shared a full laulau plate and a mini lechon plate, and added a bowl of poke. Full plate comes with two scoops of rice or poi and we elected poi. The mini plate comes with one scoop of rice and lomi salmon. Everything was fresh and delicious. Well seasoned with the hot things hot and cold things cold. We'll definitely be back to try more of the menu, especially the Kahlúa pork and smoked meat

First time here, will definitely go back. Food and service were great! Salt meat watercress soup and the crispy roast pork was spot on and very reasonably priced