Plantation Tavern

I ate here today with a friend. We both had the grilled ahi sandwich. I thought it could use some salt and ketchup; neither of which was on the table. I’m thinking maybe it’s because its more upscale than a regular plate lunch place. The fries were limp and cold. Anyway, the mediocre food (IMO) is the reason for the 4 stars.
I’m not going to dog out the food totally though. It was cooked properly and the presentation was VERY nice. I think I just didn’t care for the seasoning or something so don’t let this part of the review keep you away.
What really shined through was the friendly and helpful staff. There was a woman named Frankie and a guy with black hair and glasses. Forgot to get his name. They were ALL about the customer service and I really appreciated the warm and friendly atmosphere and attentive service.
When I ate here before several years ago, it was an upscale sushi restaurant. I thought they had just opened because I’d never seen or even heard of Plantation Tavern until yesterday.
I will eat here again soon but will try something different next time. I’m a really picky eater so there’s a good chance they might not even deserve 4 rather than 5 stars.

Absolutely love this place! Love the staff! Been here many times and each time I feel it gets better. I have never had a bad experience and everyone that I introduce to this restaurant enjoys themselves too! Mahalo!!!

My wife and I tried this place for lunch on Father’s Day after reading mostly positive reviews on Unilocal.When we walked in, it was immediately apparent to us that this place used to be Le Nonne, which I previously wrote a review about, since the décor was pretty much the same, save photos of old plantation scenes on the wall.
First impressions were not positive as there was slow service due to limited staff (only one server and no management seen during our meal) available to service about 30 – 40 diners. I think we didn’t get the food we ordered until about 25 minutes after we placed our orders. In addition to the slow service, of which we could hardly fault the lone server as she was busier than a one-​legged man in an a$$-kicking contest, we also didn’t like the limited lunch menu. We inquired if we could order from the dinner menu and was told no. I heard other diners at another table make the same inquiry… with the server responding that she requested the dinner menu be made available during lunch but was told NO by the owners. If you wanted more than a sandwich (which comes with fries or salad) then you would have to order a pupu/​appetizer with possibly a side of rice.
I ordered the garlic chicken with a side of rice and my wife ordered the ginger chicken sandwich. The garlic chicken was OK and on the ordinary side… actually preferred the chicken from En Fuego or the Alley restaurant in Aiea. My wife liked her sandwich and the seemingly fresh cut fries that accompanied it.
All in all, a disappointing experience that makes me hesitant to come back another time. There are other places with better service and equally flavorful or more superior food… restaurateurs really shouldn’t squander every opportunity to create and foster loyalty by failing to put their best foot forward by having limited staff on a seemingly busy day (Father’s Day). Maybe someone called in sick… but management should have contingencies for such things to ensure first time diners/​patrons like us wouldn’t leave with a bad taste in our mouth.

We were looking for some where to eat after the water park. We are from town so we were just driving around. We usually end up at En Fuego a few doors down but my diet is super limited at the moment so we were leaning towards phở. After parking I noticed the ORGANIC sign on the window and rushed to check the menu. It looked good!
I ended up with the ½ lb local beef burger which came with pineapple and avocado. I have to say, it was messy but also one of the best burgers Ive ever had! We also ordered the Garlic Bok Choy which was sooooo good and the baked tofu with ginger, also yummy! The hubs really enjoyed the Kalbi and dirty rice and my son was impressed with the kids plate of kalua pig!
To top it off the service is excellent. They are on top of it! Greeting us like we just walked into a family members house and so welcoming. The waitress was so nice and helpful. So although this place is super far for us we definitely want to come back and sample more of their menu!

Just had THEE best meal with my family. We’d been looking for somewhere to eat for a few hours after a long day kicking it at the beach and at the pool of our resort, not too expensive since we are a BIG family with a BIG appetite. This got good reviews and looked/​sounded amazing. Plantation Tavern did not disappoint!
We love the family style atmosphere, and it didn’t hurt that there were several other patrons enjoying themselves when we walked in. It it pretty unassuming at first glance, but clearly clean and well-​kept. The five of us were seated quickly, and our server was extremely nice, and very knowledgable about the menu. We mulled it over, and ordered the not your aunties kal bi (!), lumpia, uncles poke nachos (!!!), and the dirty rice. So so so so so good. Our food came quickly, and we got the nachos first. We didn’t know what to expect, but the nachos completely surpassed our expectations! Sushi grade ahi on wontons, say what? The kal no was awesome, tender with the perfect amount of fat lol, tasted great with the fried egg and (?) kimchi. The lumpia and dirty rice were also memorable. Just great, we even said we will be back next week before we leave to try the dessert menu– and we keep our promises. ;)

The best thing here is the spicy ahi nachos. It’s made with won ton chips and topped with delicious spicy ahi and avocado and tomatoes drizzled with unagi and sriracha aioli sauce. This dish is a must-​try.
Also, the chicken adobo was really tasty.
If you’re into burgers, the ½lb. plantation burger is winners. Tasty, juicy, and huge.

The staff was very friendly and loved the ambiance of the restaurant. Parking is very hard to find with all the restaurants in That little plaza

I went to Plantation Tavern with my friend for the time. When friend & I walked into the restaurant, no one was there at the podium to greet us. We stood there for about 5 minutes until the hostess seated us.
We decided to order the spicy ahi poke nachos. The presentation was nice & it was delicious. After we got seated, the service got better. Our server came to us every so often to see how we we’re doing.
I want to come back to this restaurant to try their other dishes. Their menu includes a lot of local & Hawaiian food!

I thought the poke nachos were slightly overrated and would’ve much rather ordered poke over a salad or rice instead.
The dirty rice was good but slightly oily and very peppery. It did have a nice crunch to it though which I didn’t expect.
I ordered the garlic chicken. It came in a shoyu/​sesame sauce which was pretty tasty although very salty.

Been here several times and finally getting around to giving it the review it deserves. This is a fantastic little place surrounded by big numerous other larger restaurants. What makes this place stand out is it’s one sheet menu of local/​Filipino foods that are genuinely being cooked with love of the cook. Now, I am giving it four stars for two reasons
1-​The dinner menu is the only way to eat here as the lunch menu is rather simple basic stuff.
2-​The place gets so crowded at night, the service begins to slip.
I’m just keeping it real, but do really like this place. Not many places left where the owner/​chef comes out to chat with ya.

Plantation Tavern is amazing all around! I have been here a couple times for lunch and it was great every time. It is a farm-​to-​table place so all the ingredients are local and fresh. The greens come from Kahumana Organic farm here on the Westside. Even the meat is from local farms! With that said the food taste amazing. Between my friends, family & I we have tried: Poke Nachos, Bulgogi Burger, ½ lb Local Beef Burger, Poke Avocado, Spam Fries, Pineapple upside down cake with pineapple gelato, and Big island cacao brownie with vanilla gelato & chocolate sauce! (Tried some of the alcoholic beverages as well and they were all really great!) but my favorite is the Poke Nachos and the Pineapple upside down cake!
The service is also amazing. The waitresses are always pleasant and accommodating. The chef/​owner is also very nice… Nothing but good vibes and food coming from that place. I would recommend this place to anyone who loves fresh food and a pleasant atmosphere!
Here is a link to their website incase you would like to check out the menu

After watching a movie at the new Regal Theatres in Kapolei, my girl friend and I decided to eat at Plantation Taveren. I wanted to try a place only found in Kapolei and I saw pictures before and the food there looked good.
This place is located in the Kapolei shopping center where Safeway is. However we found it hard to find bc it is a small place. We even had to Unilocal the location again to make sure we were in the right place… lol! We eventually found the place as it is near by Hoho Chinese Restaurant. The place is small with a counter bar, a few tables, and a patio for outdoor dining.
We decided to get the following dishes. Because my gf is a semi vegetarian, we got their soybeans, grilled tofu, rice, fried rice, and poke nachos. I think our eyes were bigger than our appetite bc all we ordered was too much food… lol. The soybeans were very good as it was marinated in a shoyu garlic marinade. The tofu was excellent as it was served with a ginger sauce that tasted exactly like Chinese cold ginger chicken sauce! The poke nachos that our waiter recomended was very flavorful. Instead of tortilla chips it was served with crispy one ton chips. The poke we got was a shoyu type that had great ahi, onions, and avocado. Finally the fried rice was good too as it was flavored with a shrimp paste. We only decided to try and finish the nachos and the soybeans bc we ordered too much food. We ended up taking the rest home.
Even though we were full… I still wanted to desert so we decided to get the chocolate brownie with vanilla gelato. My gf only ate one bite… so I had to finish the rest… but it was worth it. The brownie was moist and soft and the gelato was yummy! This dish was the only dish we did not take home… lol
Plantation Taveren is a nice place to done at it You are in Kapolei. Great wait staff and delicious food! I will go back there when I am back in Kapolei.

This place has great promise. Giving 4.5 stars for the soggy french fries that came with my fresh Mahi Mahi Burger… the fries made the freshness of the burger disappear.
Besides the soggy fries, everything else was great, especially the waiter. Looked like he was a 1 man show the whole Sunday morning when we went. He told us to sit anywhere and he’ll be right with us. We sat next to the window where it seemed well lit. Menus were already on the table so we took a look at what we wanted. He brought us water and told us the market price for the poke nachos was $ 16 and the Mahi Mahi burger was $ 14. These I already knew from the sheet that hangs on a wall in front of you as soon as you walk in. Then he went to do his thang with the other patrons that were there and kept moving and working constantly, without looking worried or seemly overly rushed. We were hungry, and he did take his time to get back to us, but he gave us his full attention when he was there.
We ordered the poke nachos, spam fries, and the Mahi Mahi burgers. To drink we ordered the plantation iced tea with water also.
Da Nachos is MEAN. We had choice of spicy ahi or shoyu ahi or half and half. We did the shoyu only. The fish is ok, but the other stuff… the chips are like large won-​ton chips, with a nice aioli sauce, avocado, tomatoes, white onions, and ogo (not sure if the ogo was part of the shoyu ahi) and all together in my mouth, they all tasted ONO!
Next, the Spam Fries… this came together with the nachos and was interesting. Kinda like deep fried mozzarella sticks but with spam and cut like mozzarella sticks too. Came with apple-​banana ketchup that made the fries tastes better than without it. Was a little to bold with out the ketchup, and surprisingly the ketchup made the fries more savory and easier to swallow. Would rather have the Garlic Chicken, but next time we will.
Last, the Mahi Mahi Burgers… other than the cold, soggy, fried twice looking fries… the burger was nice. Came with pickled mango on top the fish on a Kaiser bun. The fish itself was cooked just right, almost over cooked, and came with some sort of dill or tarter sauce under it. The burger was nice! Will order again but with salad instead.
Overall, this place has a great line up of foods that need to eaten. They claim they are organic and fresh and use locally bought items so freshness is a winner. As for the 1 man show… I hope they don’t lose that guy, because he was doing it all except for the cooking and cleaning up the tables. He was sitting people, taking orders, bringing out orders, making ALL the drinks and bringing them out, and there are about 8 or 9 different parties besides us there and he did that all by himself. Hope he gets help soon.
So if you’re in the Kapolei area and need someplace to grind, try the Plantation Tavern. Grind On! Pau!

I’ve had this place book marked for a good bit of time. I finally go to visit a few weeks ago. My brother in law was visiting from the outer island so we decided to take him out for dinner. We ordered family style and had a chance to taste a lot of their popular items: poke nachos, soy beans, ginger chicken, garlic chicken, and bok choy… everything was tasty, service was on par and ambiance is nice. We choose to sit outdoors. Will give them another visit sometime again. They don’t take American Express just as a heads up.

Finally was able to bring my family to dine here. We really enjoyed it!
Live music was fun and filled with variety. The Poke Nachos are DA BOMB! The Kala’i was tender and very flavorful, the dirty rice was delicious!

First timers at Plantation Tavern and I have to say what a delight to dine here.
Service: Greeted at the front door. There were no tables open, but there was space at the bar. The bartender was friendly and helpful in explaining the the night special and recommendations that are popular with customers. She always checked to see how we were both doing. Even the one of the chefs asked how our food was and if we were enjoying ourselves. However, after we ordered the dessert and were waiting for the check, it took awhile for the bartender to get the credit card and bill back. It’s Saturday night and many people are relaxing and dining out, so of course it will be busy.
Food: We ordered four dishes including the special: salmon, rice, and chinese cabbage; nothing spectacular about the salmon, but the Chinese cabbage was a delicious.
–Crab cakes: blue crab cakes with Kahumana farms organic greens, calamansi aiosi and asian pesto; one of my favorite dishes, melt in your mouth and i felt like the sauce was tasty
–Uncle Norm’s poke nachos: fresh ahi poke with tomatoes and avocado over wonton chips drizzled with siracha and unagi sauce, half spicy and half regular; I enjoyed this dish a lot, most favorite. Who cannnot love poke
–Lechon Kawali: Mililani raised pork belly served with plantation lechon sauce; least favorite, but I gave it a chance. Bf wanted to order it and try. In the future, I wouldn’t want to order it.
–Big island brownie: topped with vanilla gelato and chocolate drizzles; so sweet and gooey consistency made my temper tandrums go away. People are right, chocolate is great during PMS time. You ladies know what I mean!
Alcohol: I ordered the moscato and the bf had the Ginger passion mojito
Ginger passion mojito: Old Lahaina silver rum, elixir ginger syrup, funkin passion fruit purée, housemade sweet ‘n sour, handful fresh mint, club soda. I had sips of his drink and I really liked it. That was one good tasty mojito.
Rosatello Moscato: I liked having it with my dinner and the shrimp chips. Not too strong of a drink for me since I was driving down to Kapolei.
Parking was a challenge for us. There were no nearby stalls near the restaurant, just some empty stalls further away. Some crazy lady came into the tight parking lot and nearly banged in my bf car which I was driving.
The end result: we both agreed that we would try this restaurant again in the future. It’s quite a distance for us. The money was spent on this night was worth it even though I once again broke my bf’s credit card again. Thank you for the treat :)

Plantation Tavern. (4 stars)
—Part 2 of my review—
Haha apparently I write too much so I had to break up the reviews…
Continuing on…
Ali’i and Button Mushrooms. (3.5 stars)
I wouldn’t say there was anything overwhelmingly memorable about this dish but it did have Ali’i mushrooms in it which is why I still would order it again! There is a mild garlic butter flavor infused into each mushroom morsel.
Garlic Bok Choy. (3 stars)
Bok Choy was fresh, crisp, and a good accompaniment to the rest of our meal. It was cooked with garlic and tasty but I make this at home all the time so I know it doesn’t take much to make. Nonetheless I would probably order it again just to keep my mouth from getting bored. Variety of textures is the key for me to enjoy a meal!
Fresh Ahi Sashimi. (3.5 stars)
Nothing bad to say. Ahi was fresh and the quality was good! Ahi did not smell like fish which tells me it is fresh! Texture of the Ahi was on point, melted in my mouth and was not stringy at all! Clean bites with no aftertaste! I would order this again. Just to enjoy the naked raw flavor of fresh fish!
Garlic Shrimp. (3.5 stars)
I asked to have our shrimp heads removed prior to bringing our dish out because I didn’t want shrimp guts and heads flying everywhere! When I am at home I could care less but in public I at least try to appear civilized. The garlic shrimp were good size and the portion was enough for all of us to share. It is «Market Price» but again, keep in mind the Shrimp are from Kaua’i and ARE FLOWN IN FRESH! That is why I still would order this dish. Simple yet satisfying!
The two desserts that we ordered (Pineapple cake and chocolate brownie) were OK. (3 stars)
I will say the brownie wasn’t too dense or rich which made it a good dessert to me!
Overall I would definitely come back to Plantation Tavern! For the westside, it’s A-​OK in my book!

Let’s all take a moment to appreciate these poke nachos.
HYPES:
We went on a Friday night & snagged two seats at the bar. Bartender was great! She helped us first timers with patience and still took care of her bar. The drinks were GOOD! I had the lilikoi (or was it guava?) mule. We had the poke nachos, the garlic shrimp and the kalbi with eggs. P H E N O M S! I love the idea of poke on wonton chips smothered in sauce and avocados! It was a lovely explosion of deliciousness in my mouth! I’ve tried something similar in CA, but this place took it to the next level.
The kalbi and eggs was so yummy as well! The kalbi is nice and thick and juicy! My mouth is salivating as I speak of it right now.
Also, we came on a night with live acoustic entertainment! His vocals were so smooth and I thought it was a great treat!
GRIPES:
The thing I didn’t expect to like the least was the garlic shrimp. It was just okay… nothing extra special about it and I remember it being pretty pricy! I wouldn’t order that again. Shell is still on and though I don’t mind peeling, I just have to be in the mood to do that and I wasn’t really in the mood that night.
Also, we waited QUITE a while for our bill and boxes. We were sitting at the very end of the bar, so I could see how we would be forgotten about… but it still doesn’t make it right. Service wise, on a scale of 1−10−− 10 being amazing– it started out as a 10 and by the end of the night, I’d give it a 3. That was my biggest disappointment.
Final thought, I don’t think the atmosphere of this place supports its pricing. It looks more like a modern diner but the plates are a little expensive. Get ready to drop dollars at this place! Our bill + 20% tip came out to $ 90ish between two people. 2 alcoholic drinks and 3 plates. It’s ok to splurge every now and then though!
Though I had some gripes, I really do love the poke nachos which is why I’m giving this place a well deserved 4 stars! To the servers at this place, just make sure you’re paying attention to your customers and don’t forget about the people sitting at the end of the bar! They need TLC too! :)

I’ve wanted to come here for a LONG time after seeing Unilocaler’s photos of the poke nachos. Finally, I got to try it on a Saturday night. Given how long I’ve had to wait at Sushi Bay which is in the same shopping center, I thought I’d for sure have to wait for a table here too. No wait, we were seated immediately. Service was friendly, and the food was really delicious.
— Spicy poke nachos: Definitely have a kick of spiciness, but not TOO spicy either. I love that they put little chunks of avocado mixed in to add a «cool» and creamy flavor to offset the dish. The portion was HUGE, but I was surprised that we almost finished it. I love the freshly fried wonton chips as well. Much better than regular nacho chips or tortilla chips. I’d definitely order this again.
— Lechon Kawali: Big, thick cut slices of very crispy lechon and diced tomato and onion. Super healthy way to start off the new year! This was really tasty. I still prefer the Thelma’s style lechon kawali (Thelma’s special), but this version was also good. The lechon was cooked perfectly and had a nice crunch.
— Kalbi: Other than the poke nachos, this was probably my favorite dish. Thick cut slices of short rib kalbi, perfectly cut and seasoned with an over easy egg over sriracha bean sprouts.
— Garlic chicken: Not quite Mitsuken, but still really good, and for the price you get a really good amount.
— Garlic fried rice: Kind of on the oily side, but I’d order this again over plain white rice.
— Brownie with gelato: The brownie was very dark chocolate and dense. I would have actually preferred if it came with vanilla ice cream vs. gelato, but that’s just my personal preference. Next time I’d love to try the pineapple gelato or the cream puff filled gelato.
I’d definitely be back! Keep in mind there is a different menu for lunch vs. dinner, and I looked over both menus and prefer the dinner menu.

This place is a bit hidden away in Kapolei, in a strip mall. You can’t see it from the main road, and it doesn’t look like much from the outside. I went for restaurant week — I probably wouldn’t have gone here otherwise. After going, I would recommend it.
The food — local style, but done well and beautifully presented. You don’t usually think of local food being «presented» other than in a styrofoam take out plate. This place is mindful of presentation, which I appreciated and the taste was ONO.
Must try choices include the POKE NACHOS (with won ton chips), CRAB CAKES with side garlic rice and LUMPIA. The dessert was pretty on-​point too — PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE or the BIG ISLAND CACAO BROWNIE with vanilla ice cream.
I hear there is live music on certain nights. I didn’t see that on my visit, but I would go back to enjoy music with my meal.