The Loft Hawaiian Restaurant

First time here today for Sunday brunch. Loved everything especially the teriyaki beef and chicken. Too bad they’re closing this location April 25 2013.

one of my favorite restaurants in Torrance. Their fried chicken was super awesomely juicy!
It saddens me that it has closed for business…

This is seriously one of my favorite spots. I know I usually glow about lots of places I review, but honestly some of the best ever.
I love their Korean beef, their Island Style fried chicken, their macaroni salad, their miso soup. It’s all of the best foods put together. If I could eat from one restaurant for the rest of my life, this might be it.

This place has been 1 of my secret Sunday brunch spots for years! There’s a reason why I haven’t reviewed this on Unilocal… simply because I didn’t want too many people I know to know where I eat at on Sundays (with the exception of the few that trade off secret spots amongst my inner circle of friends/​family). Sadly, The Loft closed down after this past Sunday, April 28^th, 2013. I would like to thank Stephanie, Davi and the rest of the crew working this joint for so long. They seriously had some of the greatest customer service EVER.
The food was phenomenal and was a damn good contender against the likes of L&L Hawaiian BBQ, King’s Hawaiian and Back Home At Lahaina’s. Like I said; what sets them apart from the rest was their all you can eat Sunday brunch filled with short ribs, mini loco moco, Chinese chicken salad, chicken teriyaki, spam, eggs, bacon, spam musubi, etc. I remember them having surprise/​random desserts ranging from jello cheesecake minis to homemade cookies fresh off the oven!
It was always fun to just sit, relax, eat and watch the football and/​or basketball games with the people in attendance. The atmosphere was always chill and relaxing. This place was so special to me, that I remember eating here over a decade ago, when it used to be an Asian restaurant called «Kanda». Sadly, The Loft will now turn into an expensive foreighn fast car dealership (I choose NOT to give the company a name drop), so that many of (NOT ALL) the Torrance males with the mid-​life crises and the over-​privileged trust fund teen/​tween zombie virus infectants can zoom around stupidly, not knowing the power of a Ferrari engine while looking and acting like some douchebags.
THANK YOU to the entire staff and owners of The Loft. This particular venue location will ALWAYS be remembered from the bottom of my heart. It’s truly rare to see a great restaurant in a great venue with awesome employees that welcome you back like family.

Went here with some business partners. It was my first time, and I must say it was definitely a good place with huge portions.
What I tried:
A must have in my opinion is the Island Style Fried Chicken! It’s definitely one of a kind especially with the hot sauce. It’s a different type of hot sauce, sweet and hot at the same time.
Also tried the katsu chicken. It’s definitely good as well, the katsu sauce is also different. It’s a good different, tastes like there’s a hint of A1 in it.
Lastly tried the bacon fried rice. It was not too salty or too sweet. It was actually a great tasting fried rice. Something worth coming back to? Not really. But good!
The last thing I tried was the nachos, now this one was definitely different but very good! I destroyed this thing. The chips are like a wonton version chip, with nacho cheese, meat and tomato salsa. Amazing! That’s a must try.
So after everything if and when I return, must get the nachos and island style fried chicken!

Come for really good Hawaiian comfort food.
I’ve been coming here for years and really enjoy it. I don’t live in South Bay and made a trip down because I heard they will be closing/​looking for a new location at the end of this month. On that note I ordered the biggest thing I could to try a bit of everything.
Food
— Damn good. I ordered the triple combo platter w/​bacon fried rice (an extra $ 3). For my three items I selected:
— Island fried chicken — Solid. 4 – 5 small pieces of crispy, yet juicy fried chicken.
— Korean bbq beef — not sure if it’s a thin flank steak, but it is some sort of beef/​steak cut into thin strips. Tasty. My buddy recommended it and I’m glad I ordered it.
— Kahlua pork — this is my tried and true staple. When I only order on thing there this is my go to dish. You can’t go wrong (saying you like pork).
Add’l items: 2 sides + rice
— Vegetables — standard, nothing special. Makes me feel like I’m being somewhat healthy when I order this, to help offset all the meat I’m eating.
— Ramen cabbage salad — typical for Hawaiian restaurant. Standard fare.
— Bacon fried rice — I’ve never had this before and maybe it’s the fact I was hungry, coupled with the taste, but I thought it was pretty damn good.
Again, solid Hawaiian comfort food. If I exercised everyday I’d eat here more frequently.
Service
— Friendly, attentive. Came by a few times to ask how everything was, if we needed anything. Good service.
Atmosphere
— Not a particularly cool, happening joint, but that’s not why you come here. It has attempts at Hawaiian themes. Almost reminds me a bit of Islands Burger. Low key place where you can come very casually.
Overall 4 stars. Sad to see it move unless it comes farther north, closer to Santa Monica.

Came here since I was craving some meat! Of course!
Not much different than an L&L, although L&L might even have more flavor and the food comes out hot!
I got the Korean BBQ Beef– (3.5) — Thin strips of tri-​tip marinated then grilled over an open flame. I got the small size. But mine came out on a plastic red plate, while the person I was with got the regular/​large and came out on glass plate. That was a little weird first off. Second off, my meat wasn’t really hot, or warm, just luke-​warm. It had good flavor & was marinated well, but that was my only concern. The fries were good, nice & crunchy but you can tell they were super fried in a bunch of oil!
Our waitress was nice, and came back to do refills, but not sure I would come back here again. Maybe.

A friend introduced me to The Loft years ago and instantly I was a fan. My faves are the hawaiian iced tea, island style fried chicken, kalua pork, and ramen salad. I don’t get to come as often as I’d like since I live out in the SGV. Wish they would open one of these up in our area (if anyone from The Loft corporation is reading this — please please please?)
Ate here recently on a Sunday. We opted to order from the menu since we wanted leftovers to take home. Was sad to hear that this place is closing. :-(The building owner has sold the building and will soon be a Ferrari/​Maserati dealership. I will miss this location. Great food! Will definitely have to come back a few more times before they close.

havent been here since high school and i dont know why ive neglected them for so long. they serve great food… kind of like a better L&L basically. I suggest going for breakfast because they have a brunch buffet that is surprisingly awesome. its filled with all the breakfast reg eggs and bacon and they include hawaiian faves spam, mac salad, etc. sidebar, one time i ordered the bacon fried rice and i ate it for 3 days.

They never disappoint us with the quality of meat here! I had kalua pork & island deep fried chicken with macaroni salad. The deep fried chicken is, as always, crispy and somewhat sweet. Kalua pork was very tender and flavorful!
My husband had short ribs and they give you so much but with it being so tender and yummy, you will have no problem finishing it!
This is definitely the best Hawaiian place in South Bay!

I like the Loft in general and I think the food is great and the price is pretty good for the huge portion.
BUT…this past weekend I went with some kids and they ordered off of the kids menu. With the kids menu comes a cup of jello. So one of the little girls at the table was like… uh…there’s mold on my jello. Literally, there was mold floating on top of the jello. How do you miss that?! It was absolutely disgusting. They apologized and asked if she wanted a new one… Uh…DUH! I was a bit shocked at the fact that there was even mold on this and the service that went a long with it.
Come on guys… honestly?! I don’t think I will be going back and if for some reason I do go or it’s catered at an event somewhere… I’m totally making sure to check the food beforehand.

Years ago, when this first opened (late 80’s?)…it was nicely decorated & painted with an Hawaiian theme, and offering Hawaiian cuisine which was a great new addition to Torrance. Since that time, many other restaurants have popped up (ie. Island’s) and have outdone (and out-​maintained) the themed-​décor that The Loft offers, and with lots of other fast-​foodie Hawaiian restaurants around town (ie. L&L) — I can’t say the food is any better in comparison, and it’s not as unique of an offering as when it first opened.
So, I have a mixed review here. The taste/​quality of the food (4.0), the service is nice but minimal (2.5), the quantity (4.0), the décor (3.0), and the prices (4.0) range from $ 6.45 to $ 13.95. Overall, I like but not love.
Since it’s been awhile since I’ve had Hawaiian food, I’ve decided to order 2 entrée items: Kalua Pork, and a full-​order of Bacon fried rice. No worries — I happily planned to take home (or risk not fitting in the door).
1. The soup was a flavorless broth, with thin noodles and green onion. [
2. The full order portion of Kalua Pork ($ 9.95). The Kalua Pork was tender, flavorful, and delicious. The portion was smaller than I expected (even though it was the large order, not the half). All the sides, the steamed/​sticky rice, macaroni salad, and cabbage salad were great… and I could eat the trio all day, every day. [
. (note: didn’t you think Kalua Pork was actually cooked in Kahlua? Well, it’s not. So feel free have a shooter!)
3. The Bacon Fried Rice was a very large portion (full order $ 7.45). While it was good, the bacon was overcooked and too crispy which made the overall texture not right, and the flavor of the bacon was nearly a burnt one. I should’ve sent it back. [
The Sunday buffet may be worth trying with all kinds of specialties for $ 11.95 (10a-​2p), seniors $ 9.95, kids $ 5.95.
With one sweet hostess (and another who hardly smiled), and a very nice but hardly attentive service staff, it’s just good but not great. I’d go back… but it certainly won’t make my regular rotation.

Maybe I just came on an off day but the food was unfortunately pretty bad. I had the lunch buffet and it included stuff like:
white rice
fried rice
macaroni salad
red saimin type dish
ramen salad
bbq beef
bbq chicken
island fried chicken
The fried rice was dry. The red saimin type dish was pretty bad. The ramen salad was ok but not much ramen to be found. The bbq beef and bbq chicken were about the only thing I could eat. The island fried chicken was bland, dry, hard, and inedible.
It would have been nice if they had short ribs, spam musubi, chicken katsu, eggs, etc. but no, not to be found.

The Loft in Torrance is a great family-​friendly restaurant. I enjoy eating here because they have friendly and attentive staff members and their food is ono. What I do like to order is their island style fried chicken, ramen noodles, and their ahi poke. We also attended their Sunday brunch buffet. They have many items to choose from like bacon fried rice, eggs, fried chicken, teri beef, mac salad, spam, and they also have an omelet station. As a local from the islands, I was looking for the Portuguese sausage. They didn’t have any during their buffet brunch. C’mon guys! What’s a Hawaiian breakfast without Portuguese sausage? That would’ve been awesome. It was a huge disappointment for me and maybe for others as well.
I’ve had food catered by them once and it was reasonably priced, it was ready when I picked it up, they gave a lot of food, and people at the party seemed to enjoy the food as well.
Come hungry and leave satisfied.

Back when I was in high school, The Loft in Artesia was what I considered to be the ultimate Hawaiian dining experience. They had amazing food that was typical of Hawaiian cuisine, but also different from the standard affair of barbecued chicken and spam musubi. The thing that always stood out, and kept me coming back was always their Island Style Fried Chicken and their macaroni salad. Now, after visiting three different branches, here I am writing about the one in Torrance.
DECO: 4 stars
The deco at the Torrance location is more extravagant than the Artesia and Cypress locations. It could because of how much bigger it is, but it probably has to do with a larger crowd that usually occupies this dining spot. The theme of Hawaii is in every corner, reflected in both the bamboo accents of their pillars to the blue Hawaiian shirts they wear. The atmosphere definitely feels like there’s some island time mixed into it.
SERVICE: 3 stars
The service is standard, taken with a greeting and a smile. Everyone is chilled and laid back, and there seems to be no real rush in their movements, which perfectly reflects «island time». Most of the female servers are attractive/​cute as well.
FOOD: 4 stars
This is what always brings me back. Their Island Style Fried Chicken is something you can’t find in any Hawaiian restaurant. It is a special recipe that is infused in both crunchy textures, moist meat, and sweet/​savory flavors. The first time I had it, I remember falling in love. Now every time I come, I feel like I’m back with a crush.
Their macaroni salad is one of the best I’ve ever had as well. It isn’t tainted heavily with mayonnaise like most I’ve seen. The Hawaiian style where it is creamy, yet not overpowering is great, and the mellow flavors mixed with some Sriacha does wonders.
They have a lunch menu option as well that usually knocks a few bucks off the regular item price, but the portions are definitely smaller. Served on their regular large size plates, the visual effect makes you feel like you’re getting cheated out in quantity, even if it is a fair amount.
Most of their other food is quite good as well. The Island Style Nachos and their Won Ton Min are great indulgences on any occasion (except for dieters).
PRICE: 3 stars
The pricing is fair. Sitting down and eating obviously requires some time and tip, so if you’re more into getting up and go, it’s better to get it to go and save yourself the wait time and tippage at the end.
CONCLUSION
The place is great. It’s large, themed well, and chill. The food is filling, delicious, and rememberable. The Loft has always been a staple of value for Hawaiian cuisine in Southern California. This is a good place to get above average food, and still stay under $ 15. If you do go here though, I highly recommend their Island Style Fried Chicken. Perhaps you’ll fall in love too.

Loft, oh Loft. I always crave the loft too. They have the BEST MAC SALAD! Not even Hawaii can do it like the Loft. It’s not too mayo-​y but still has a lot of flavor. It just makes me happy.
Must haves: Island Style Fried Chicken, Healthy Teriyaki Chicken Plate, Jello Cheesecake
They serve their plates w a side of ramen cabbage salad, which is really tasty, and mac salad, which obvi I love. Get the right stuff when you are here and you’ll leave a happy camper. Add a Passion Orange Hawaiian Sun drink to your order and thank me later.
Yummilicious Factor = A

As embarrassing as it sounds, I’ve never been to the Loft until last week! And yess, I’ve been in the South Bay for like… forever!
I did, however, hear a lot about their fried rice & surely, it was YUMMY! But what surprised me the most is the HUGE, I mean GINORMOUS portion! Even with the help of my bf, we could not even make a dent on that crazy amount of rice. So we had to to-​go it… only to realize that 1 container is NOT enough! So we filled up 2 containers which covered 2 extra meals! Woohoo! All for $ 8!!! How amazing is that???
I did not enjoy their Kahlua pork dish, but their spam musubi was also really good! Definitely planning on visiting this place… especially when money is low! ;)

This night. the service was awesome. I forgot his name, but he was cool and took care of us. Never a doubt in his customer service here.
Food was good and plentiful. Yummy and filling. Too bad I couldn’t finish my meal for dinner and took it home for another nice togo lunch @ work.
Plenty of parking in the back, plenty of seating inside. Lots to order on the menu. Food came out pretty quick. Completely satisfied for dinner! Thanks Loft.

Huge portions! I ordered the spam masubi & loco moco and both were really good. I wish they had a location in the bay area!
The décor is old and kind of cheesy but who cares as long as the food is good.

I only wish I had read the reviews and gotten some «Island Style Fried Chicken» before being kidnapped and taken to this Hawaiian restaurant. The smell of chicken katsu in the air did make me drool, and I was ready to chow down on some delicious food. Maybe I would have had a better experience if my friends didn’t forget to pick me up when they headed over to the restaurant *shakes fist*
In any case, this place isn’t bad, but I didn’t really have anything that I would have gotten otherwise at a L&L or Onos… though it may be because I haven’t been able to really try out the other kinds of food they have here. Inside is very spacious, with lots of interesting décor that will keep your eyes satisfied.
We ordered plates of mixed appetizers, which included fried chicken, spam musubi, and other fried goodies. The fried chicken was decent though lacked a bit of flavor, and the spam musubis were a-​ok. I proceeded to order the mahi mahi, and with their combos, you have a choice of two options: cole slaw, cabbage, french fries, macaroni salad.
Unfortunately the servers seemed to have forgotten to ask us which sides we all wanted, so many people ended up getting the cabbage and mac salad (although I guess it was partially our fault for not reading the menu better… but I figured they would have asked us regardless). The food was good and tasty. I think if I had tried other options like the shredded pork or Korean short ribs it may have been better. Like I said, anything you could get at any other Hawaiian BBQ joint, the ones here don’t hold much of a difference.