Grub Shack

WHY ARE YOU CLOSED!!!
Your daddy chicken was the bee’s knees.
I’ll miss you. Please come back some day. And bring your house sauce with you.

I had the kahlua pork sliders, kahlua pork fries and a surf and turf. The fries were soft and not crispy. There is a lot of cheese on both the fries and slider dishes. The sliders consisted of pork sandwiched between a sweet/​hawaiian roll. The surf and turf consisted of steamed rice, a fried egg, kahlua pork, fried shrimp, and a small salad. You get the option of brown rice or white rice. The dishes i ate were pretty tasty but nothing memorable.
I wanted to try dungeness crab fries but they offer it anymore. Also wanted to try the ahi poke salad but they were out of tuna.
Customer service is excellent and you get a discount if you have a student id.

I was very hungry and very excited to try this Hawaiian fusion place that I had never heard of. Went with my daughter to check it out.
We had:
Grub Shack Special — The Grub Shack Special was kalua pork and garlic shrimp topped with a fried egg. My daughter was somewhat satisfied with her dish. I tasted it and I liked the kalua pork and the rest was OK.
Loco Moco — My order. It had all the right suspects. but the meat was overdone and overworked. Not that enjoyable for that reason. Maybe a pre-​frozen hamburger patty?
Bang Bang Shrimp — Looked good, but the quality of shrimp was lacking and the sauce was overly sweet and lacked depth of flavor.
On the up side, the dude at the counter was very helpful and made sure we had all our accompanying hot sauces etc.
This place has potential. Chef needs to eliminate some shortcuts in the kitchen that are keeping the food from jumping off the plate.
We ate up, appreciated the concept of Hawaiian fusion, but left a bit underwhelmed.
Go and see what you think.

I walked by this place while going to the beer brewery next door. i saw on Unilocal that it had 4 stars so i bookmarked it to try. Little did i know, i was going to eat there the same night.
We had a birthday party of 15 people, and i was calling all over downtown sj to see if anyone could accommodate such a big party on such short notice. there was a sharks game going on and almost every place told me no. finally, i called grub shack and the person on the phone told me the restaurant could only seat about 8 people. wtf.
well we decided to walk to grub shack anyway and check it out. upon walking in, our party did take up the entire space. but the food smelled so good, so we decided to set up camp there and order some grub. note: it’s pretty divey inside.
i really wanted to order their shrimp cake sliders, but eff, they were out! so i ended up ordering the garlic shrimp with fries.
the food came out really fast and my food looked amazing. BUT i didnt think my garlic shrimp was all that spectacular. it was a little too meh, but the fries were good. i got a chance to try my friend’s pulled pork and to my surprise, that was pretty good! i usually don’t like pulled pork, but it tasted pretty tender to me.
i want to come back to try their shrimp sliders, but for now, i only have the taste of their so-​so garlic shrimp in my mind.

If you plan to eat in, plan accordingly, as there are only roughly 12 seats here. It’s also really really small. Also, if you are a student, they give you a 10% discount if you show them your school ID.
I came here before going to Downtown San Jose’s Christmas in the park because of a friend’s recommendation. I ordered the Bang Bang shrimp to share with a friend. $ 14 for that much (or little?) food?!? I don’t really think it’s worth it. All orders are presented in a to-​go box, probably because of the lack of seating.
The staff was super super friendly. They ran out of white rice, so they replaced it with Kalua fries.
Kalua Fries– Shredded pork, fries, cheese, and jalapenos. I didn’t really enjoy it much, as the shredded pork was a bit dry. Also, the presentation did not look very appetizing.
Bang Bang Shrimp– The shrimp was really salty, and I think the sweet chili sauce used can be bought in an asian supermarket. The portion was also kind of small for $ 14.
Macaroni Salad– Definitely better than Ohana’s and L&L, but it was just okay.

The Grub Shack is like dating someone who’s a 10 with the personality of a 4.
Don’t get me wrong, the food passes the eye test but the taste isn’t quite on par with the appearance.
Ordered the Kalua Pork plate w/​Rice & Shrimp.
Kalua: wasn’t overcooked but lacked the seasoning to make it pop. There was some sauce drizzled over it but there was no distinct flavor to it.
Rice & Egg: no issues here.
Shrimp: Tasted hints of nothing but just plain shrimp. It was big pieces of shrimp but no seasoning or marinade. Bummer
I tried my friend’s shrimp slider and found those to taste pretty good. Flavor and texture was spot on.
The fact my friend’s food tasted good means I won’t write this place off altogether.
Next time I’ll try something different.

Small location with just a few seats available, so be prepared to either sit on a counter stool or take your food to-​go. The food, however, is worth a trip. I had the GS Special which came with 2 scoops of rice, mac salad, kalua pork, and garlic shrimp. And, that’s not it. it also comes with a fried egg. Yup! Total fattie package but you get the best of everything.
I was just bummed that they didn’t have ahi poke that day. So, if you come just for that you may be disappointed.

I just adore this place! I told my dad about it and he’s excited to come! He loves Kahlua pork!
This is the place my boyfriend took me for one of our first dates. I loved it so much that I wanted to come back and I had the same thing. Just as good as last time!

3.5 would be my exact rating. I’ve been wanting to try Grub Shack for the longest time and finally got around to it. The location is extremely small, we went for an early dinner therefore was able to grab a table, but it’s really more of a Take-​Out establishment. The workers were helpful. I got the 12 piece garlic shrimp dinner with brown rice and mac salad. They have great mac salad! Loved it. Overall, it was a good meal. A bit pricey considering there’s not much seating etc… however it was sure tasty. I would have enjoyed the shrimp a bit more crispy.
Also, although we came for an early dinner they were out of spam musubi for the night and didn’t offer poke that day. It’d be great to have a consistent menu everyday. But I enjoyed it, won’t make a trip out just for Grub Shack, but definitely worth a stop by next time I’m in the downtown area.

Finally got a chance to check this place out. I had the Surf and Turf and my kids had the Kalua Dog. I cleaned off my plate, but I wasn’t blown away. My expectations for garlic shrimp were pretty high. High as in Giovanni’s on the North Shore high. The shrimp was no where near that level; not in size, count, or flavor. It was good, but a little below my expectations. The kalua pork was pretty flavorful, but again I wasn’t blown away. I would rate it better than L&L in flavor and texture. Surprisingly, I really liked the macaroni salad.
My kids both had the kalua dogs. They liked it, but thought the addition of the kalua pork on top made it really feel heavy. My younger daughter scraped most of the kalua pork off. Not sure if they had an option without the pork, but that would be nice if they did. I tried a few bites and thought it was tasty. I, however, would have also opted out of the kalua pork on top.
The place is really small, so expect to take your order to go. There are a total of 14 seats including 4 small 2-​person tables, with the rest being counter style seating.
Pricing, I thought was on the high side. $ 10 for the Kalua Dogs and $ 14 for the Surf and Turf. Not too pricey, but this ain’t McD’s.
It’s a little out of the way for us, so I doubt we’d come back. I wouldn’t mind trying a few other menu items though.

Time: 12:02pm/59°F showers to sunny
Purpose: In downtown area with coworker wanted to see what I can get for lunch. Pull up scan saw this place and guess what? Cherylynn N left her footprints here before. Read what she has to say and bam, it hits me. Get the Basil wings is a must. So wing it is!
Ambiance: Seven person seater backless stool counter, four tables with two person seater. Sharp 55′ in flat screen TV, soda fountain, Coke fridge, wooden counter, coca cola recycling bin, high table with utensils, flip door trash can. Sign on counter telling customers to pick up their orders immediately and leave counter free on items during lunch hour rush. Can be a bit uncomfortable as its stuffy inside no ventilation other than the grilling area.
Staff: A guy about early 30’s and a girl late 20’s. The guy does the cashier and order packing, girl does cooking. I just don’t get why the guy kept laughing when customers ask him a question. Hehe haha yea, then repeated again. The girl was normal quiet and answering only if question is directed to her only. One plus point for the guy is that he’ll go to any length to please a customer. Didn’t get treated bad or good just business as usual.
Cleanliness: Grade B-​, some hidden concerns but rather not say as it may spoil you appetite. You’ll need to experience it yourself. Now it may have affects on you or may not depending on how you view it.
Eats/​Drinks: Thai basil wings 6pcs $ 7 and fountain drink $ 2. We share the wings 3pcs each and the soda as both of us weren’t that hungry yet. I ask to come and check it out base on Cherylynn N cravings for wings. Comes with 2 dipping sauce sriracha and garlic aioli. These wings are really good as it have a crunchy batter even though it’s cover with a light medium sauce. I assume sauce was mixed in right when wings were pull from the fryer. It’s so good I was burping the whole day spewing out the aroma flavor, gross. Some pieces were undercooked seeing reddish blood near the deepest part of the center were the meat and bone meets. The sauce were regular store bought bulk quantity pump dispenser fill in small Solo condiment containers. Better off not using the condiment sauce just eat as is flavor was there so why mess it up?
Products/​Services: Sides-​rice, Mac salad, fried egg, fries, salad, extra proteins, kalua fries. Ahi tuna (poke), rice plates, burgers/​dogs, apps, cold beverages. Find them on Instagram, Unilocal,FB, Twitter. #HashTagYourEats
Punch Lines: Fast/​efficient, fresh made to order, sits about a dozen, self serve soda fountain, not suited for families, no kids options, under 600 calorie meals, street parking, VTA accessible, Downtown SJ, SJSU, Chevron, Syarbux, city hall, library, The Improv, UPS store, Trinity Cathedral, Flames, Safeway, MOMA, St. James park, Le Petit theatre, Lee’s Sandwiches, Gordon Biersch, elementary school.
Tradeoffs: Names of items sounding like pacific baja/​island exotic names to lure you in. Other than that it’s very basic diner, most items prepared or store bought ready to go package just made differently.
Final Thoughts: Base on Cherylynn N visit the wings were 6pcs for $ 6 now it’s $ 7. I guess food cost is going up but that didn’t deter me from trying. This place has very limited options and choices most seems to be the commercial grade nothing gourmet, just toss in cooker and pull out. Nevertheless in the end I can safely say Cherylynn made the right call again, Thai basil wings is a must. Two thumbs up for her on this choice. Better not say no more price could be bump another $ 1 the more we mention it.

BOMB​.COM
We were craving hawaiian food one day and decided to Unilocal around for something legit. Why not, let’s make a trek down to downtown san jose to see why Grub Shack is so highly rated! I am glad Unilocal was right on the money! We found street parking right next to the venue. Ordered take out since it was such a hot day and Grub Shack did not have AC on from what it felt like. The staff were friendly, quick, and very considerate! They had a few tables for patrons to eat in.
Ordered:
1. Pork sliders with kahlua fries– This came with 3 sliders. the pork was so tender. Everything about these sliders screamed out delicious to us. We opted to upgrade our fries, which was definitely not a regret with their bomb sauce!!!
2. Side order of mac salad– I am always on a quest to find delicious mac salad and boy, it was good here!!! Move on over hawaiian drive-​inn, Kathy has found her new fav spot!
I wish this place was closer to Sunnyvale, so I can be more of a regular instead of those chain restaurants like L&L! I can’t wait to go to Hawaii now in November!!!

Haven’t had much Hawaiian fusion before but the food here is DELICIOUS! Both the Kahlua Pork and the Garlic Shrimp were extremely well seasoned and packed with flavors. If it’s your first time, make sure to try both protein by getting their combo. Most of the attention usually goes to the pork but the shrimps are top notch as well!
This is not a grab-​n-​go place so be prepared to wait at least about 10 – 15 min for your order. The food is definitely pricey ($ 16 for the combo) but considering the amount and the flavors, they’re quite worth it. Oh, and be ready to consume LOTS of fat. There’s no way around it. This is not a place I would come everyday but when I’m in the mood for some meaty filling food, it would be at the top of my list! Knocked off 1 star due to the price.

This is hands down the best Hawaiian fusion place I’ve ever been to!
Even though I take a lot of my friends here and even family, I am amazed every single time. The food is so flavorful, creative, and original that it keeps me coming back for more every time.
It’s a small place in downtown San Jose that packs a huge punch! I’ve never really had to wait long (thank god) but I’m surprised this place doesn’t get massive crowds because all of the food here is to die for. The one thing that I always order is the Kalua Pork Fries ($ 7 – 8?)! These are a MUST BUY! For anyone that thinks nacho fries, or carne asada fries are good, Kalua Fries will blow your mind away! The fries are thin and crispy just the way I like them. They put on a good serving of juicy tender kahlua pork which instantly reminds me of authentic Hawaiian food. They drizzle a bunch of sauces that combine perfectly on your taste buds to bring out the flavor. And last but not least is they top it off with lots of sliced jalapenos. This just makes everything perfect! I love jalapenos and the only way to describe one bite of this amazing dish is DYNOOOMIIIITE!
I’ve also tried their Loco Moco and their Bang Bang Shrimp dish and both were delicious! The seasoning was just right and everything was tender. The Loco Moco they make is very traditional which is a plus. The Bang Bang Shrimp was sweet and tangy with a tiny kick to it which was delightful.
The service here is fast and prices are good. I wish this place was closer to my work because I would make weekly trips here! I love this place and I highly recommend this to anyone that wants amazing Hawaiian food!
Tip: Sriracha on top of the Kalua Fries is out of this world! Perfection!
If you want some outstanding Hawaiian food with a modern twist, I highly recommend going here since there is nothing else that comes close to this. Even if you do not live around here, I would say it is worth the trip because it is just too good to miss. I’m definitely coming back for more and will try the rest of their menu.

Rating: 4.5
Grub Shack is definitely one of my favorite places to eat in San Jose! Craving Hawaiian food? This is a place to check out. One of my favorite things to order here is the Kalua Pork Fries. It is a bit pricey for a plate of fries, but it is surely filling and amazing! Eating this on my own was a bit overwhelming, so I recommend sharing with someone if possible. Another thing I have tried are the Kalua Pork Sliders. Kinda pricey for three if you ask me, but they’re tasty! The Thai Basil Chicken Wings were decent too, but nothing too special.
I usually park along the street. It’s also free after 6pm, but Grub Shack usually closes early around 8pm. The place used to be kinda small, but they added another lounge room area where people can eat and listen to music. It occasionally gets packed and the wait isn’t too long. Overall, I love the food and I crave it almost every time I’m in the area. Kinda overpriced, but it’s worth a try!

Grub Shack looks like a pretty typical fast food joint with unmemorable décor and no A/​C, but wow, I was pretty blown away by the food. Most notably, the surf and turf (garlic shrimp + kahlua pork + mac salad + rice) — and specifically the kahlua pork– really took home the gold. The pork was surprisingly tender, contained just the right amount of fatty meat, and was so full of juicy flavor. Topped with a fried egg and some spicy mayo and next to a bed of rice, mac salad and garlicky tender shrimp– it was the best surprise I’ve had in a while.
The loco moco here– while probably not the most authentic with its white gravy sauce (vs the more traditional brown sauce) and topped with a hearty serving of cheese– was also delicious. Like in a lot of places outside of Hawaii, the beef tends to be a hamburger patty rather than a looser patty of ground meat. But it was cooked to just about the right consistency and topped with the fried egg and white gravy– it was pretty damn delicious.
Service was also quick and friendly– and they take credit cards. The only thing holding this place back from 5 stars is the eating space. There’s unfortunately no A/​C and the warm air and delicious greasy smells hug your body, making eating here uncomfortable. Thankfully, ISO Beer a couple doors down has a lovely beer garden and a well air-​conditioned interior– and they allow outside food. So get your food to go and head down for a beer and a far more comfortable place to eat your grub.

I love Grub Shack! It’s a small little restaurant, with no A/​C but it’s okay. The cashier is always very nice and welcoming when my boyfriend and I come. We usually get the Surf and Turf (kalua pork, buttered shrimp, mac salad, and rice with an egg on top). The cukui tacos are really good too! I wanted some of their poke, but unfortunately they didn’t have it available today. The food comes out generally quick and it’s so good. It could taste a little saltier than usual, but I like a little more sodium (lol).
Btw, I love that orange sauce they put on everything. Is it like spicy mayo… Whatever it is, I love it.

Lack of A/​C aside, this place was a surprise for us. Sure the ratings here were excellent, but I never bothered much with grub. My dad, however, loves it. They have a menu outside and I saw they have sausages as well. Now that’s something I like! Okay I’ll try it.
We had the kalua polish dog with island mac salad and the grub shack burger with kalua pork fries. The polish dog was de-​li-​cious! Probably one of the best sausages I’ve ever eaten. The mac salad was also quite good, and didn’t feel like it was simply from your local supermarket. The grub shack burger and kalua pork fries were huge in terms of portions! My dad’s a big eater, and he was only able to finish half of the fries, and felt really bad cause he really loved them. Needless to say satisfaction achieved.
I can somewhat understand why they don’t have A/​C here, but if they had A/​C I would’ve given this place 5 stars. Regardless I still highly recommend this place to visitors and locals alike.

OMFG… the kahlua pork fries is soo freakin delish! I’m kinda like drooling as I type this review right now! Haha
But seriously, this little eatery serves up some delicious grub hence the name the GrubShack! I happen to be going to Freddie J’s next door for a comedy show so decided to get some food over here which is next door.
Next time, I’m in the area, I would definitely hit up this place again! :D

Post run treat!
So excited because of all the pictures posted on Unilocal, I know pictures can tell a thousands words but I’ve been dying to try this place out. I never come to the south bay and finally after arriving I have to say 3.5 stars-​only because for one thing they took off the crab fries off the menu & they weren’t serving Poke on the weekend? WTH??? I was so sad, tear.
Other than that I settled for their Kalua fries and recommended by the gal at the counter– have you tried the Bang Bang Shrimp? I said no, she mentioned get it! So I did. OOOHHH the Kalua fries were really good but gluttony heavy. The Bang Bang shrimp-​PRAWNS I might say were huge! Saucy, finger licking good and a great amount, you have a choice of brown/​white rice but I chose to get all salad. My only complaints were they need to expand their seating area and extend the days of Poke!
That is all.