Onolicious Hawaii — Restaurant in Cincinnati

If you’re in the mood for Hawaiian cuisine, Onolicious Hawaii might catch your eye with its cute and inviting ambiance. However, my recent visit left me with mixed feelings.

Ambiance and Decor: The restaurant boasts a charming and cute decor that instantly transports you to a Hawaiian paradise. It’s a delightful setting that promises a pleasant dining experience.

Service: Unfortunately, the service was a significant letdown. We had to use an app to place our orders, which repeatedly malfunctioned, causing a lot of frustration. The app also forced a 15% tip, which is not ideal for those of us who prefer tipping in cash, especially since we usually tip around 20%.

The service issues didn’t stop there. Our appetizers were initially brought to the wrong table. When the drinks followed suit, the server realized the mistake only after the other table pointed it out. In a rather shocking move, the server retrieved our apps from the other table (where they had been sitting) and served them to us, claiming they hadn't been touched. To our disbelief, he offered to replace only one item while taking a mere 20 seconds to return with a supposed “new” one.

Both our table and the other table were stunned by this unprofessional behavior.

Food and Drinks: Despite the service mishaps, the food at Onolicious Hawaii was quite good. We enjoyed the Spam musubi, spring rolls, shrimp, and burger. The cocktails were a standout.

Overall Experience: While the food and ambiance have potential, the frustrating app and poor service overshadowed our dining experience. The combination of these issues makes it hard for us to consider a return visit.

Recommendation: Given the service problems and the forced tipping issue, I cannot recommend Onolicious Hawaii at this time. There are many other places where both the service and the food can be enjoyed without the added...

Really interesting place! The menu is conceptually great, and I enjoy the ambiance of the place. The food was for the most part good to great, but I have a few constructive comments that I hope will help propel this restaurant to the forefront of the Cincinnati food scene.

First of, I love that there are so many thoughtful vegan options. Our favorite dish was the vegan pork hash. Really unique, super savory, texturally fantastic. Paired well with the guava sauce (iirc). Would absolutely order again.

The next dish we had was the jackfruit pulled pork sando. Great concept. The chips were amazing - between a french fry and regular chips. Reminded me of a childhood dish I had growing up, so maybe I'm biased. The jackfruit however was quite tough and needed more marinade/sauce. The taste was one dimensional, just sweet. I would want a more balanced flavor profile. I'm not sure why the jackfruit was so tough. I use canned green jackfruit in my cooking and it's always tender. Make sure to sear it too for some caramelization!

The spicy jackfruit garlic plate was also a great idea, but again the jackfruit was rather odd. It seemed like ripe jackfruit, which should never be used as a meat replacement. Again, if seared regular canned green jackfruit was used, it would have been great. But it was basically fruit in a sauce meant for meat, so it did not work.

I do however look forward to trying the rest of the...

Very friendly and clean. Tried the spam musubi, chicken platter, beef platter, pork platter, and lumpia. Make sure you order enough musubi if you want to try it or your kids will eat it all. It was that good. The chicken was tender and full of flavor. Beef and pork were tasty as well. I can’t say much for the lumpia since my daughter gobbled them up. She said they were delicious. Son liked his beef and husband said the pork was his favorite. My Hawaiian husband approves of this place and we look forward to our next visit.

Update Returned with my Hawaiian In-laws and they were happy with their lunch. Great service and delicious food. Will return in the future. Son said the potato chips were excellent and the potato salad was yummy. We gobbled up all the beef, chicken, pork, and musubi. The pineapple iced tea hit the spot. Thank you!!!!

2nd Update Oh my. Shoyu chicken was so delicious as well as the pork. Daughter said she wasn’t hungry but after she tasted my food, she ate more than half. 😂 Son devoured his beef sticks and sang a melody while dipping his favorite chips in the homemade ketchup. You must try the pork hash and SHRIMP!!!! I ordered the pork hash for myself and I was able to get 2 bites. The Shrimp is really good and the rice had just the perfect amount of seasoning from the shrimp. Everyone was happy!! The staff is wonderful and very friendly. We will...