The Grand Carving Station

I would loved to have tried this place out. However the food handler had spat either on the floor or into the garbage can right before I was about to get to the counter. He is surrounded by food and it’s not like he bent over close to the trash, he just spat. He was also on his phone for most of the time (with who knows what kind of germs on it) and I did not see him do any hand washing at any time.
If they allow this type of behavior with one worker, who knows what else goes with other workers or what goes on behind the scenes. What a shame…

The turkey is amazing. Honestly I’m a snob but if someone served this at thanksgiving I wouldn’t even be mad. My wife is too and she agrees

Melt in your mouth prime rib! And add the grape salad as a cool refreshing treat! Well worth it even though it’s in the food court. Reasonable prices and quality of meats top notch. Why spend $ on burgers when you can get Angus beef for the same price?

I guess it maybe my fault because I didn’t pay attention at the time but I asked for WELL DONE and the guy acknowledged my request. When I sat down to eat my steak was med rare. Very disappointed

Got the 12 oz prime rib plate for $ 14.95. Prime rib was cold and it only came with one scoop of rice. Tossed salad was ranch dressing with some standard lettuce greens.
I got the prime rib because the other options were not appealing. There was only one fatty piece of roast pork and a small 6 oz piece of corned beef brisket that looked like it had been sitting there for awhile. I went during lunch time on a Friday.
Not a good value.

Not bad prime, but some parts was really dry. Wish they gave larger sides; the mash was like a kiddie scoop and they were out of potato salad.

I went there the day before the grand opening of the ewa wing. It was my first time trying it. I like that you can order two different meats for an additional cost. It’s a nice change for a food court to offer these items because I love lamb. While I enjoyed the food, some issues I had were with their credit card system. The poor guy in front of me was waiting a long time because their credit card’s wireless system was out of range so it wasn’t going through. He was asked if he had another credit card, which he didn’t. Since he’s waiting, I’m also waiting. It finally went through.
Now another thing is, I saw a person asking for the mint jelly for their lamb. But if I never saw that person asking for it, I would have never known it was offered. After I paid, I asked for the mint jelly since they didn’t offer it.
I actually went back the very next day. Same people working. I got two orders of the exact same thing, except one of my plates was missing an lamb and the other one had more. This time the credit card system was fine, but I forgot to ask for the mint jelly before I left. If she would have offered it to me, then I would have gotten to eat it with that.
Another thing is, do they not serve drinks? I saw one guy on my first day that got a bottle of water, but I didn’t see any drinks presented nor a menu that showed a list of the drink prices and what drinks were offered. They could really make more money if they had a menu out of drinks or if they offered you a drink when paying. Drinks can be a great profit for them.

I had the lamb and roast beef and wasn’t disappointed. Both were tender and pink, just the way I like it. It would have felt balanced with more starch and salad, but I was satisfied when I finished the plate.
The attitude was so much better than the last time I came here. Time and practice does help to smooth things over in the operation of the kiosk. It didn’t feel as rushed as the last time.

Best prime ribs for the price a bargain! Amazingly tender and delicious, and the garlic mashed potatoes… nom nom. Real food!
They were closed last Friday and I hope they reopen.
My favorite stop at Ala Moana.

12 pieces rack of lamb with 2 toss salad greens, mashed garlic potatoes, sweet potatoes and 2 small piece watermelons, including tax for $ 31.31.awesome! Take out too… I’ll be back… I didn’t see corn on the cob, would have taken that too.

There I was. Hungry from a long day, I saw this kiosk right when I walked in the Ala Moana Food court. I couldn’t help but be drawn to the roasted meats displayed at the carving station. The price was affordable, the workers seemed friendly and we’ll there was meat!
When we got there, one of the workers was busy having a conversation with a person. It took 5 minutes before the conversation was over and he finally helped us with ordering.
All the roasted meats looked juicy and roasted well. The cuts also looked big. I was disappointed to finally eat my order, and it was not warm anymore. The lamb was very gamey. It did not have that sweet, better than steak taste that I was used to. The turkey and sirloin tasted good, but again was not warm. The rice was dry.
The presentation was definitely nice. And the menu was pretty good. Some improvements need to be made in how they are handling food. There must be a better way to keep the meet hot than lamps. Maybe the lamps need to be checked? Also, workers need to be educated on proper attire (I don’t want to see your black bra under your tight white shirt and mini skirt).
Overall it’s a good price, but the food was just too cold. I will come back in a few months hoping they get better. It is a new kiosk, so I hope for the best and hope they can learn and get better.

Poor attempt at a copycat of Lahaina Chicken Company.
Luckily for them, Lahaina Chicken Company is still closed currently because of the fire that happened in the food court whenever ago, they have business from those who want to get their prime rib (or chicken, brisket, lamb, ham, etc.) fixing.
My boyfriend and I decided to check out The Grand Carving Station for dinner since we couldn’t get our usual prime rib and roast chicken combo from Lahaina Chicken Company. I decided to order the 6 ounce rack of lamb and my boyfriend ordered the 12 ounce prime rib. I chose the fresh garlic mash and tossed salad as my sides.
First of all, this place definitely gives a lot less than their competition… for a bigger price. I’m Chinese, so I’m definitely all about the bang for my buck. Next, my lamb was soooo red. So was my boyfriend’s prime rib. I prefer my meat medium, but I know the usual perfect cook is one step below, at medium rare. My boyfriend prefers his meat medium rare. But let’s be real. Their meat wasn’t even rare. It was practically raw. It was like the only reason the outside was brown was because they left the meat under that light all day. I mean, the meat was cold when we ate it. We ate it practically right after we purchased it. I felt like I needed lion teeth to be able to chew the cold, raw meat.
They’re a bit skimpy on the sides, but I must say their saving grace was the garlic mash. The potatoes weren’t creamy mashed, but more some super mashed with some pieces of unmashed potatoes for texture. The tossed salad… well…is just tossed salad with ranch dressing. I really can’t say much about that.
Basically The Grand Carving Station tries to sell poorly cooked meat for quite a price. Hurry up and fix the damages from the fire, Ala Moana! I’m waiting (sort of) patiently for Lahaina Chicken Company to return!

One of the new kids on the block for the Ala Moana food court, they offer a variety of carved meats including turkey, prime rib, ham, sausage and other animal protein products. The sight of a roast waiting to be carved does look appealing and when you are in that carnivorous mood this food court offering has to be considered.
Me and da boss decided to give them a try and this is what we found:
I ordered a ham plate with garlic mash and a toss salad. The ham was moist and tasty, not salty. Now ham is one of those offerings that are hard to screw up. Probably the major problem would be if it was overcooked and dried out. Not the case here, the ham met expectations. The toss salad was a given, nothing special and the «sweet fruit compote» was just a smidgen.
Where the plate really fell down was the garlic mash– a watery tasteless glob that had very little semblance to what one expects when ordering garlic mash. The plate did have a small watermelon slice that was refreshing.
Da boss ordered the turkey, garlic mash and toss salad. Same comments regarding the sides, let’s focus on the turkey. We thought they would be carving into a freshly roasted turkey, you know, like what you used to be able to get at Woolworths back in da day. Instead they went to a half submerged turkey loaf that was a disappointment to da boss. Dry and salty were the comments, the gravy, watery and tasteless. It’s pretty sad when you say the highlight of the turkey plate was the watermelon slice.
The crew that served us did a nice job, were friendly, courteous and moved the short line along. They really weren’t busy and they handled the customers without any complaints.
Recommendations– other Unilocalers have had better luck with some of the other offerings, I’d stay away from the turkey and garlic mash. The toss is an ok side, if we try again we would go for something else.
Right now a middle of the road 3 for «hit or miss» offerings and pretty good service.

The food is presented nicely, but don’t be deceived, the food is dry and mediocre. My friend and I bought the two choices that came with a starch and salad for $ 14 bucks each. My friend bought the angus sirloin and I got the turkey. My friend didn’t even get a sauce on top of his cut of sirloin which is standard for those type of cuts. My turkey was dry but the gravy saved it from becoming inedible.
I only wish I could have given this place 0 stars because the workers are not friendly at all. Not professional as the sirloin carver was on his phone the entire time. Definitely do not recommend, and really over priced. Will not be coming back.

If you’re inside Ala Moana Makai Market or food court and you’re craving for a prime rib, you can fulfill your tummy. It’s located closer to jamba juice. It’s a kiosk right in the center.
For $ 16, we got a piece of prime rib, ham, grape salad, garlic mash & roasted sweet potato. Yes, roasted. They were all pretty good considering food court setting.
The only down side is the slow service. It could be because they’re still new kid on the block. Someone said they just opened on June 1^st. They better catch up fast if they want to survive in Ala Moana food court especially people were lining up to buy their food.

I’ve eaten here three times now so I know what it’s like to eat here. The menu here looks amazing but unfortunately the food is not. The cuts of meat here are just terrible.
The prime rib looks great because it’s medium rare, however the cuts themselves are mostly unedible. The prime rib is very dry and has tons of fat and cartilage in it. In fact, it was so difficult for the carver to cut through that he had to try 3 different knives before he was able to slice through. The prime rib plate also sucks because they don’t give you any au juis or gravy to go along together with it.
The rack of lamb here is just OK. It is dry and overcooked. They advertise that it comes with mint jelly, however sadly it does not. So be sure to purchase a bottle water to help flush it down.
The pork here is also very dry and tough. And it also has a lot of fat so it doesn’t really even out. It’s so dry and tough that it’s easy to choke on. They advertise that it come with some kind of sauce, I think raspberry lilikoi? I was really excited to try it however sadly this also does not come with any sauce or glaze.
I also tried the top sirloin here and obviously this was a disappointment too. It was also dry and tough and it doesn’t come with any sauce either.
That being said however, all of the sides that we tried here were very good. Except for the garlic mashed potatoes, those were very watery. But don’t get your hopes up for the meat because it’s false advertising. They should actually incorporate those delicious sounding sauces into the actual meals rather than getting customers hopes up and letting them down.

For a small kiosk in the food court to put out things like lamb and prime rib is awesome.
Their food is very good, above the quality of several of the booths around them.
I personally had the prime rib which was great, it had a good cook and was well seasoned, they are very generous in portion sizes here and you CAN’T beat their prices for this kind of food.
Staff is very friendly and responsive, ¹⁰⁄₁₀ all the way.

What a gem!
Inside the food court at Ala Moana, I have to say it’s a great value.
The food is good with deliciously interesting variety.
This is a definite repeat, and my new first choice place in the food court.

11/​13/​2015 (3 stars) Dinner on a weeknight. The owner was presiding over a fine selection of meats with justifiable pride. They all looked incredibly delicious. It was hard to choose but I got the roasted sirloin with the grape salad and sweet potato as usual. This time, the nice orchid was missing but I didn’t care — who needs flowers in food? The sweet potato was tiny and shriveled, as if it had been dried. But the grape salad was the weirdest! It was actually just grapes sitting in what looked like a thin milk soup. I think this was supposed to be the cream cheese dressing, but something had gone horribly wrong. The meat tasted okay but was completely unseasoned. It was weird to eat a whole meal with absolutely no herbs, spices or flavoring at all. Looking at the menu again, I see there are *no* vegetables available except for tossed salad. Even just one simple vegetable choice, like green beans or broccoli, would be a vast improvement. I hope that the owner works on the variety and consistency of the side dishes, since meat alone does not make the meal.
07/​23/​2015 (4 stars) I asked my boyfriend to get my a plate to go for lunch last week. It was still early, around 11:30 a.m. Please note that the service and lack of organization has NOT improved since they first opened. I wanted to cut them some slack because they were brand-​new when I wrote my first review. They were already out of the grape salad. I got ordinary salad (romaine lettuce only), a baked sweet potato and roast turkey. The roast turkey was amazingly good — fresh, tender, delicious. The rest was good as well. So my review remains four stars — excellent food and questionable customer service.
06/​03/​2015 (4 stars) I happened upon this brand-​new restaurant at the Ala Moana food court last night — on its first day of operation. I ordered the one-​choice plate with corned beef with a baked buttered sweet potato, and grape salad. In addition, the owner gave me corn on the cob free of charge. Their system is that you choose one or several meats, starches and vegetables. The food was really good — tasted like real food, not fast food. The corned beef was lean and nicely spiced. It was slightly dry from sitting under the heat lamp (it was late by the time I ate — about 7:00 p.m.). The potato was hot and fresh. The grape salad had cream cheese and walnuts. Weird but really good. The corn was great. I also received an orchid and a couple of slices of melon for a visually-​pleasing presentation.
They already know they need to work on getting this little kiosk better organized. It’s not clear where you need to order or pay, since most of the booth has plexiglass walls. They then unneccisarily sent me over to the other side to choose my sides, since I already chose them, but then I had to come back to the first side of the booth to get my plate.
In addition, one of the employees dropped some forks on the floor while reloading the bin. He placed the now-​dropped forks on the countertop where a customer could easily grab them. When I pointed out that they should be thrown away, he retorted that they were «not going to use those.» I asked him why he placed them on the counter in easy reach of customers, but he didn’t respond. The cashier, who looked horrified, grabbed them and threw them away.
The owner already has another restaurant in the food court and was present, so I would think they would have better systems in place. However, I am confident they will figure it out. I thought an earlier «two star» review was unfairly harsh, based on the fact that it was their first day.
Overall, the food was fantastic for the price. My plate was around $ 9.50, while some other places in the food court charge $ 14 or more for the same concept. I hope to revise my four-​star review to five stars on a visit in the near future when they figure out their systems.

New kiosk that opened up in the Ala Moana food court. It’s located near the panini kiosk and ⁶⁄₁ was the first day of business.
A few issues here. read on
I really don’t like the fact that I have to place my order through a pane of plexiglass. If I was six foot four, it wouldn’t be an issue. But ordering through glass, and then handing my money to the cashier over the glass… and receiving my change the same way is annoying.
I was also sold an entrée that they didn’t have, and the mash potatoes that I got was cold.
I had to repeat my order about six times because they couldn’t or didn’t write anything down.
Sure, I know it was the first day of business, but being told that, «It’s our first day, we can’t have a system» doesn’t really fly. There are lots of new establishments that have a system.
With that being said, the prime rib that I got instead of the steak was good. Some co workers have been raving about the lamb chops as well.
I’ll try again in a few weeks to see if the kinks have been ironed out. If so, I’ll adjust my review.