Aloha BBQ

I’ve only had chicken katsu and it’s delicious!
I agree with other reviewers tho the guy at the counter does have an attitude.

This is not like any other Hawaiian BBQ I’ve ever been to. And not in a good way. The macaroni salad is not like any other I’ve tried. I can’t really explain it but it’s nothing like what you’d usually get. The white rice was undercooked. We got 4 meals (2 chicken katsu, 1 bbq chicken, and 1 bbq combo with beef and chicken) and asked for extra sauce and the guy gave a hard time about it finally giving just 4 tiny containers of katsu sauce and no teriyaki sauce for the bbq. 1 sauce came with each meal but it’s just not enough. They also only gave us 2 soy sauces for 4 meals. I bought a groupon for this place and was super excited to get Hawaiian BBQ because I’ve been craving it. This did not satisfy the craving at all. If anything, the craving is now worse. I will definitely not be returning.

Three visits here so far. The most recent was the best. Had a grilled pork squash based noodle and vegetable bowl. Noodles and pork were good veggies were scant (as at so many places these days) the sauce was good but a little heavier then I prefer– will ask for it on the side next time.
This time an older gentleman rang up the order. He was polite and smiling and quick. In the past, when other folks have worked the front and the kitchen the vibe was you can wait til we wanna help and they were in no hurry. Hopefully the smile and faster service at the front is here to stay.

This place has changed owners one or twice since I was there last but the food and menu are pretty much the same. Very good! I like the atmosphere even though real Hawaiians might think it is cheesy.
I had the Aloha bowl with Pork which has rice, glass noodles, broccoli, and bean sprouts. It was delicious and came out very hot. I added some chili paste for spice and it made it absolutely delicious! Everything was fresh and yummy. The pork was a little more fatty than I remember, but hey I’m fattier now too.
I give it 4 stars because of the price and parking. Yes, you get what you pay for. I understand that. However, $ 12 for a bowl and a drink is a lot. Also, the parking lot is crazy. Small and narrow. Not really the restaurant’s fault. Just something I think people should know. Other than that, this place is great. I’ll go back soon.

Very tasty local food. Love this place and stop there every time I am in Mission Viejo. It can be hard to find, just look for Wells Fargo ATM on Alicia and jeronimo.

We absolutely love this place as their food is wonderful! They have the best macaroni salad that I’ve ever had! We also get the chicken and beef meals that are awesome! As a super picky eater, I really value this place as they are economical and have very tasty meals that keep you coming back for more! We would absolutely recommend them!

We visited Aloha Bbq tonight and we were so happy to be there during business hours!
Both my husband and I were pleased to find a clean, well decorated restaurant, with the owner behind the counter!
We enjoyed chicken Katsu, bbq pork, and bbq beef. The Katsu was delicious… my favorite! My husband really loved the mac salad, and the coleslaw is so very yummy! We will be back again because we enjoyed the food, and my husband really wants to try the short ribs that they were out of this time.
Thanks for a great dinner tonight!

today we went to this place for the first time, and I really enjoyed everything we ordered.
BBQ beef
BBQ pork
BBQ ribs
BBQ chicken
white rice
macaroni salad
veggy salad
every single thing was very tasty, I’m glad I found this great Hawaiian restaurant
staff were very helpful.
overall great food and good experience here

Great Hawaiian food!
I used to come here all the time after art class and have chicken with rice then shave ice for dessert! AMAZING!

Although this place was right down the street from where we live, I never went in. Then one day they were reviewed in OC Weekly and I broke down and gave it a try. Per the review I gave the short rib dish a try and I’ve been a fan ever since. The food is absolutely delicious, the staff is really nice, the beef, chicken, pork and short ribs all kill it. Not to mention the secret hot sauce. I have no idea exactly what’s in it, but I would put it on everything if they bottled it.
Now if they get a food truck, I’m in serious trouble.

Great family restaurant, and great food. Potstickers and chicken curry are my favorite. Definitely recommend.

Great food at a great price. Friends and I enjoy their food at least once a week but usually more.
The food is tasty — nicely cooked and served hot. The staff are very friendly and the place is clean, comfortable and well maintained.
Another added attraction is the beautiful Hawaiian music that they play.
I have a few favorite foods — like Saimin, Ramen and the Crystal Noodles and meat dish. The latter comes with your choice of meat. I have tried some other dishes and they were good too.
We like to start our meal with an order of potstickers — really delicious.
Keep up the good work — Aloha. We will be seeing you soon again!

I don’t know how this place got a 3.5 stars?
I’ve read the reviews n still decided to try this place out because people are saying food is good even though service is bad.
We ordered ramen because somebody said it was the best she had for a long time. The ramen is probably instant ramen or cup of soup. Actually, the cup of noodle tastes better.
We also ordered loco moco n asked for extra gravy. I didnt see any gravy at all on our patties. So i went n asked the old guy for gravy on the side n he wants to charge me for it coz he said he already put extra gravy on our loco mocos.
Hope that guy isnt the owner coz if he is, he doesnt know a thing about customer service.
The one star is for the nice young lady who took our order. Hope she gets the tip i wrote on my receipt.
Not coming back here anymore.

Well, I won’t be going here again. I’ll start with the positive stuff I guess
–The meat is good. Short ribs are tender and have lots of flavor. Loco moco burger is cooked with a little pink in the middle, which is nice. The fried egg was cooked perfectly as well. The rice is good, but you can’t really go wrong with fried rice. The spam musubi was warm and tasted great.
And then it goes downhill.
I’ll start with the manager, or owner, or whoever this guy in charge is. The young girl who took my order was super nice, but when I went to use my coupon she had to ask him a question. He began to scrutinize it and touch my phone and then acted like he was doing me a favor by accepting it. Not off to a great start here.
I ordered a soda, and when I went to fill up my cup there was no ice. I told the guy in charge and first he acted like what I was saying was impossible, then after I demonstrated that no ice was coming out, he asked a young man who was cutting chicken to get ice. The young man rinsed his hands off WITHOUT SOAP AND THEN WENT TO THE ICE MACHINE. So I went next door to Subway and got some ice there because I don’t feel like getting salmonella tonight.
The macaroni salad is gross. And it looked like it had been left out all day. Kind of disappointing because that’s the main reason we were getting Hawaiian food.
We ate our food anyway, and I’m crossing my fingers that I don’t get food poisoning, but if that happens I guess I’ll update. Regardless, I’m not visiting this place again. I like to feel welcome in the establishment that I’m eating at.

Negatives:
— Older gentleman who was taking orders was a grump: didn’t greet anybody with a smile and looked annoyed as hell.
— Wait time for the food was 30 minutes.
— At other Hawaiian places, they give you TONS of food… but not here.
— Their macaroni salad was pretty much potato salad.
Positives:
— Good quality meat (chicken was juicy and tender).
I guess that’s the trade-​off — you don’t get as much food, but you do get better quality meat. But man… their macaroni salad was really just potato salad with a little bit of macaroni in it. Maybe I’ll come back and try their other stuff, but eh.

I’ve come here often for lunch over the years. The bbq chicken, chicken katsu, pork and short ribs are all pretty tasty. I normally get the lunch combos that comes with rice and marconi salad. Being that everything is cooked to order some times the wait is a tad long. I’ve always had pretty good service here. It’s small place but nicely remodeled. As far as prices, servings are decent but not as much food compared to an L and L Hawaiian.

Best ramen that I’ve had in a long time!!! I’m happy that my husband insisted on ordering ramen, even though it was 90 degrees out! We didn’t even have to add hot sauce because the «very spicy» was really, very spicy! The chicken in the ramen was tender and flavorful.
We also ordered a two-​item plate-​BBQ beef and BBQ pork, served with rice and two sides (we chose a macaroni salad and been sprout salad). The BBQ beef and pork were also very tender and really good! The teriyaki/​sesame sauce on the beef was tasty.
The girls working behind the counter were friendly. Oh and if you have extra calories to spare, I recommend the guava juice.

I should have already known not to come here for lunch. The reviews are indeed correct about this place! Save your money don’t buy the Groupon or ever waste your time coming here.
When I walked in I was not greeted. There were two gentleman having a «private» conversation by the kitchen. One guy looked possibly like an owner (not Hawaiian at all) and the other seemed like a friend or maybe the landlord. There was another person in line waiting for someone to take her order.
Their menu has an okay mix of food. Nothing special I did like their «mini» meals but after seeing the huge sign on the register that read «you must spend $ 6.00 or more to use credit» I was turned off.
Their prices are overpriced for their full plates.
Finally someone took our order. The guy behind the register was not nice at all.
Aloha Bowl– Marinated Chicken, bean sprouts, carrots and glass noodles. The fudge. Glass noodles?! Not in Hawaiian food! This bowl had such potential for being onolicious but failed. Hardly any protein and all carbs.
To sum it up my experience: the floor had food all over it, their counter was sticky and dirty along with their tables. No one cared if I was happy with my meal or not. I ate what I could and left.

Came in with a Groupon excited to use it, not realizing what a bad experience we were going to have.
The cashier had few words in him, and did not know how to redeem the Groupon. After I showed him, he was supposed to charge the overage for $ 1.50 on my card. They have a card minimum of $ 6 and was very hesistant and disappointed to run the card. Normally these minimums are $ 3 or so but we had already ordered food and drinks and had nothing else to get up to $ 6. So, I told him we did not have cash and he had to go ask the manager/​owner if it was ok. He came back and charged our card the FULL amount instead $ 1.50. He did not say anything but mumbled to himself all frustrated and went to the back. The manager came out to refund us. All of this was not even communicated to us. The manager handed us back the card and did not say anything. Very unfriendly staff.
Aside from the poor customer service, the food was very mediocre. I ordered the chicken curry bowl and my boyfriend ordered the 2 combo plate. I was very disappointed with my bowl. The curry tasted concentrated as if it was one of those instant curry packets you buy at the Asian markets. There was only 4 tiny bites of chicken and loads of white soggy rice.
My boyfriend’s plate costed $ 13 and for the price the portion was disappointing. The beef was overly sweet and the chicken tasted like it was soaking in water
Had a very plan stale texture. The sides of macaroni and coleslaw were normal though.
When I went to refill my cup, I noticed they have their raw chicken sitting by a sink area, where the chicken was on a cutting board but part of the chicken was also touching the sink and a bucket. VERY GROSS and unsanitary.
Would NOT recommend this even to my worst enemy.

I have used Unilocal all over the country for the past 6 – 7 years and have yet to write a review. I wasn’t particularly pissed or wrongly disappointed at this Hawaiian restaurant/​fast food but it revolved around many other false expectations I’ve had of this place.
So I came out during my lunch break and wanted to try something new. Having experienced very traditional and the typical L&L-type «Hawaiian» foods, I expected this joint to be of the L&L category.
I usually go to the Hawaiian BBQ joint by the District in Irvine. That places serves the typical «Hawaiian BBQ» as most socal ppl know it and in a satisfying large portions for maybe even lunch the next day. So coming in here, I expected a decent portion at the least and I ordered the double combo costing me close to 17.00 (compared to 8 dollars at other locations) and as the cashier handed me the merchant copy of the receipt, he overlooked me as I signed as if the tip felt necessary. I’ve been a waiter/​bartender for a year in my past and have never overlooked someone paying the bill regardless if they were assholes or fit into a «cheap-​like» category. Nor have I been stingy on giving tip when necessary.
Now onto the food. Okay it looked appetizing yet it also looked like an appetizer. I had received 5 pieces of the chicken katsu and 3.5 pieces (one piece was bigger than the other 2) of the beef bbq short ribs. There seemed to be nothing special with this place and I had a certain par I wanted from this lunch. It was sadly disappointing for I felt like there were twice the amount of rice in comparison to the protein. I am all about ratio, if proteins are low, you can’t ask a consumer to fill up with carbs or at least in my terms.
Macaroni, salad, and brown rice were on point. But then again how can you go wrong with those, those are the basics.
Maybe I expected a little too much but I believe I lost an opportunity to gain a more satisfying lunch with how much I spent and waited for the food.