Saimin Says

We just recently moved to the area from the east coast. My finance is from Maui, and was so excited to come across this place! The food is GREAT, as well as GREAT service. Friendly laid back environment! Anyone looking for authentic Hawaiian food MUST check it out!!!

I come here every so often when I get the craving for Hawaiian food. I have both dined in and taken my order to-​go. This is a small family owned type of place. The décor is a bit lackluster but has a relaxing vibe and you don’t feel hurried if you do decide to dine in. As you walk in, I find no one really greets you so you’re a bit lost as to how things are handled until you do the whole monkey see monkey do sort of thing and grab a menu and go up to the counter to place your order. They can really improve with just some simple acknowledgement. I’m all for customer service. It speaks volumes.
The food is delicious. I have had varying items from their menu. Their gravy is not too salty and seems to have the right flavor. I like their macaroni salad but my friend did not care for it but he enjoys everything else from the menu. It’s Hawaiian comfort food. Also, don’t come here thinking you’ll see an extensive dessert menu. They actually don’t have any with the exception of the dessert of the day that’s showcased on the counter. I have yet to try their breakfast.
Is it worth the drive here? The food is delicious but their customer service is quite lacking, which makes it difficult for me to make a recommendation. It is worth a try at least if you’re in the area. I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to come here.

The BEST cure for Washington’s rainy winter weather. I ordered the Pocho Min today and pretty much fell in love. The noodles here are thick and chewy and absorb the salty flavors of the broth. The Pocho Min bowl has BBQ Pork strips, Fish Cake strips, and these amazing crunchy fried Portuguese Sausage strips that meld their delicious spiced grease into the broth that brings out another layer of flavor. I’d call it Heaven in a bowl. However, if you dont like Portuguese Sausage they have a large variety of Saimin Bowls from the plain and simple to the fully loaded. Not a fan of Saimin at all? No Problem! They also serve Plate Lunches, Loco Mocos, and Katsu or Mochiko Chicken. My husband and I had to order extra food to go after eating lunch because. Its too good not to! THANK YOU Saimin Says for serving up such tasty treats. We will be back soon!
P. S. Ask for the Guava Cake. You’re welcome in advance.

I’ve been here a couple of times and everything I’ve tried so far has been good. I’ve ordered the Hawaiian Saimin bowl which was pretty good. I’ve also had the musubi (because I didn’t have enough time to order and eat anything else). This place can get crowded during lunch time. Not a bad place to get your Hawaiian fix.

I work a few miles away from this restaurant and since I was raised on Hawaiian food when very young, I’ve been hoping to try this place and today was the day! The dining room is tranquil, lulled by slightly too loud music from the Islands and clean. However, no one greets you. One of the ladies saw us and called out «Register!» The younger lady who took our order was no friendlier and took our order rote: won ton min and chicken katsu. You seat yourself and bus your own table.
The order came out after several minutes where we seated ourselves but our experience wasn’t improved by the food. The noodles in my saimin were a great al dente, but nothing remarkable in flavor. I liked the pork but that was a low percentage of the ingredients and the won ton were far too salty and weirdly sweet to finish. My partner said his katsu sauce was «ok» along with the chicken. He did like the macaroni salad quite a bit but like the pork in my soup, doesn’t add up to another visit We walked out the door without comment from the staff and I return the favor here.

This is my favorite Hawaiian location in the south sound area. Their service is fast and friendly.
The food is great. I had their beef and shoyu chicken combo and a spicy spam musubi. The beef was amazing. Simply melt in your mouth and had great taste to it. The shoyu chicken fell apart easily and had no flavor to it. The spicy musubi was better than L&L.

Got the macadamia nut pancakes, they were pretty solid and I have no complaints. My friend got the simple Saimin and she said it was kind of salty but I’ve never had it so I don’t really know what to compare it to. The people who work here are really nice and courteous!

Mahalo Unilocal for making it possible to come across this place during our trip! I was craving something comforting and on a cold day like this… saimin was exactly perfect. The service is awesome, the food is ‘ono…I half-​expect to walk out the door and see Honolulu.
I had the Kaukau saimin with beef which I fully recommend. The bf had a cheeseburger (not da deluxe hamburger with cheese on da side). He was kind and instead of fries he got the mac salad for me and it was perfect. Just like home. Oh and for pupus I had myself two katsu musubis.
We have one more day in the area and it may involve coming back here so I can get more taste of home. Love it!!!

I always come here and I always enjoy it. The shoyu chicken is great and flavorful, the gravy in the loco is fantastic and the saimin is delicious as well.
I am not super big on tuna but the tuna mac salad changed my mind. All of the dishes I have tried here have me leaving satisfied. Just wish there was more rice, but that is negligible because I probably eat more rice with my meals than the average person!

Really great food but even better customer service. Sometimes it takes a little longer to get your food but it’s because they make it fresh all the time. Smaller venue so may not be the best place for really big parties if it’s during a peak hour but definitely worth going!
By the way, they have the classiest bathroom for a mom and pop restaurant that I have ever seen. It is very pleasant and tastefully done.

The Portuguese musubi is so delicious, why don’t more places have? I’d go just for those musubis, but the saimin and the kalua pig are also great.
The restaurant isn’t anything fancy, but it doesn’t try to be (nor does it need to be). It’s clean, easy to find, and has plenty parking. The menu has so many options, and I haven’t gone wrong yet.
Get the Portuguese musubi!

The only place I will never get tired of eating at!
The combo plate is delicious. The food portion is pretty big. Well, for me at least.
Their pancakes are so fluffy and yummy! It’s best with powder sugar.
Definitely should try their spam (spicy & katsu) musubi.

With every bite of food, this place makes me feel closer to the islands. I always get the lau lau plate or loco moco. My husband has ordered nearly everything on the menu. We are never let down. The only thing I wish besides being able to eat there every day is that the mac nut pancakes were larger and fluffier.
The vibe here is totally Hawaiian. Island jams are playing in the background, info about local concerts and events are posted. You will surely feel like you’re in a plate lunch restaurant in Hawaii while dining here.
Check ‘em out! Ono kine grindz fa sho!!!

Siamin says to haul your butt here as fast as you can and savor every bite of chicken cutlet, Katsu, shoyu chicken, and macaroni salad you can eat. Never have I ever believed in a five star rating all across the board 100% from start to finish, from top to bottom.
LOVE this place! Every time we come here it is a crazy enjoyable experience. The food is ridiculously amazing. The staff is so sweet and SO know what they are doing, and the whole place is just like a ray of light shining from the heavens. :) lol that sounds cheesy as heck but im serious it feels like they were sent from a higher power. !!!
I’ve had some darn good Hawaiian dishes before, but this place beats them all by miles and miles. Heavenly perfected brown gravy, drenched all over fluffy white rice and lightly fried battered juicy chicken with a little mountain of scooped creamy macaroni salad… I just can’t. No I can’t. No.
This is a quick sit down restaurant, as in no table service except they bring your food out to you. They are fast. It seems to always to be packed… but somehow they always keep tables cleaned, lines short, and smiles on everyone’s faces. Perfection in a restaurant again.
Oh and they open at 8:00am!!! I’m naughty, husband left his laptop at home the other morning… and he just happens to work right down the road from Saimin says… so when he asks me to swing by to drop it off at his office… no problem!!! I took advantage of that moment and had Hawaiian for breakfast. :) I once said tacos were the breakfast of champions. Well… I may have jumped on that too soon. Who can resist paradise on a fork?!? Aloha!!! :D

This is such a late review as I’ve been here so many times. I love this place when I’m craving Hawaiian food or simple rice dishes. Their shoyu chicken is made with thighs? But it’s meaty, juicy, and delicious. The mochiko chicken is like popcorn chicken and has a light batter, perfect crunch. Can’t go wrong with spam musubi either. I tried the egg and spam sandwich recently and you ask why anyone would get that, but it’s such a simple dish that no one ever thinks of making at home. It’s literally spam, egg, mayo, on white bread. Their Mac salad is one of my favorites too. Highly recommend macadamia pancakes, it’s so fluffy!
I think the only thing I haven’t fully loved is their saimin bowls. I’m not sure if there is much else I’ve been disappointed in.

Saimin says go eat here!!!
I had just came back from Hawaii about a week ago and I’m missing it so much I needed to hit up a Hawaiian joint.
I ordered the combo plate that came with shoyu chicken that was so tender and juicy it came right off the bone, it also came with island beef which pretty much tasted like spare ribs, not dry at all and it also came with rice and macaroni salad or you can substitute it with green salad.
I also got the Portuguese musubi. This was a must have because even in Hawaii it was hard to find. It was about 3 dollars for the musubi but it was huge! Not the average sized, it came out charcoal grilled, hot and wrapped very neatly.
The service was good the waiters were nice. However when you order at the counter and get your food at the table, there is a bus station for you to respectfully put away your dishes so keep that in mind :)

Chomp chomp chomp! Get in my mouth!
Saimin makes me sing. Sing with happiness that is. It’s hard to find a good saimin spot in Seattle. There’s only a handful of Hawaiian places here after all. But this one is a must visit!
I love the mom and pop places. You come in, you order at the counter and you wait for the food. It’s a clean, cozy spot with plenty of parking outside! No need to rush.
Food:
I’ve tried almost all of their saimin soups. Some are a little salty for me. Like papa jim min. But I love ! Simple or Hawaiian min ftw.
Fried saimin~ yummmm! Without fail each time for me!
Loco moco: you can get a mini one too. Delish!
That chicken! I love that chicken. But I love the island beef more. Chicken is a little too sweet for me. But it’s so good.
And the island breakfast! You can get half the shoyu chicken as well and it is quite a lot. All in all, it’s a simple and cozy spot with consistently good food! And try that poke if you get a chance! They are almost always out of it.

Waiting for our rental car we mentioned we were starving. Someone randomly suggested this place. If this place is a local joint… I hope the tourist invade because this place is amazing!
1. AMAZING, and I do mean amazing, customer service. Came in with a large party and they made sure the kids had hot meals quickly. Friendly people in this place and you don’t find that often these days. Eager to make their customers happy.
2. Authentic Hawaiian dishes. Perfectly made and perfectly priced. Seriously… it was delicious. I recommend the Kalua Pig & Cabbage.
3. They serve breakfasts all day!!! Need I say more? BREAKFAST ALL DAY!!!
Great local gem. We’ll be back when we come up North again.

Very smal little storefront in industrial Kent/​Renton area off Hwy 167. Ordered the Hawaiian breakfast cause nothing beats Portuguese sausage and eggs with white rice! But the Portuguese sausage didn’t taste like the one I love from Hawaii! Slightly disappointed but good simple dish. Would definitely like to try them academia but pancakes and sweet bread pancake though. The spicy spam musubi and normal spam musubi were alright. I love wish they fried the spam and it had more flavor. Not the best place I’ve had Hawaiian but is a Hawaiian fix nonetheless.

Located on a small strip mall in Kent near hotels. You order for your food @ the counter. The food came out pretty fast which is good especially if you get hangry.
I ordered the mochiko chicken and my sister ordered the kalua pig with cabbage. Both dishes comes with a side of mac salad and scoop of rice. The mochiko chicken is basically popcorn chicken but Hawaiian style. The breading on the chicken was breaded very nicely; not too heavy, not too light. The chicken was still very moist and had a nice sweet aftertaste to it. I had a bite of my sister kalua pig and I really liked it because it wasn’t too salty like how other places does it. The pork was very tender. The mac salad was creamy and the macaroni was cooked well. All in all it was a solid lunch outing.
I’d come back more often if it wasn’t so far away from where I lived.