L&L Hawaiian Barbecue — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

I’ve been going to L&L for years and today was the first time that things were just…off. I do want to be clear first and foremost and say I’m not looking for compensation or anything like that because I’m sure I’ll return again in the near future, I’m just bringing this up so hopefully it won’t happen again.

Here’s the short version of my review/complaint:

“Calamari fries” = shrimp tempura? Tartar sauce = ranch? Bbq sauce = katsu sauce?

First, I ordered online with my usual of a mix plate and spam and egg musubi. But I added mini fried shrimp.

As I went to pickup I saw a sign of one of their new dishes “calamari fries” they advertised and decided to order that with cocktail and tartar sauce in addition to my original online order.

While waiting I opened my bag and noticed there were no teriyaki or bbq sauces that I ordered and paid for. Which was no problem because I could just ask when my calamari fries were ready. When they were, the guy gave me teriyaki and katsu sauce that’s in the larger containers… I kindly reminded him I asked for bbq sauce that is normally in the smaller containers just like the teriyaki sauces and that he gave me katsu instead. He said “oh, yeah… It’s our house bbq sauce. You’ll like it. It’s good.” I just kinda stood there confused for a few seconds because I’ve been there plenty of times before and no one has ever gotten confused or told me otherwise that the bbq and katsu sauce were the same thing because they’re definitely not. So I decided it wasn’t a big deal and I probably had some extra little bbq sauces I ordered in the past somewhere in my fridge (thankfully I did!!).

When I got home everything looked, smelled and tasted great as usual! However when I tasted the “calamari fries” it actually tasted like shrimp tempura… and when I looked at what I was eating, it was indeed shrimp. If I would have known it was shrimp I wouldn’t have ordered it because I ordered fried shrimp online. I recall when picking up that one lady before me mentioned she was missing her shrimp tempura from her order but was given it immediately because it was left on the back counter. And when my “calamari fries” were ready, the cashier called the name Isabelle which isn’t even close to my name at all so I was standing there for a while waiting for my name to be called until the cashier guy that gave me the sauces told me 5 minutes later that the Isabelle order was indeed mine... So I’m not sure if there was a mixup with the order or I was just not understanding that “calamari fries” is just another name for their new shrimp dish…

Next, when I went to dip it in “tartar sauce” it actually tasted and has the consistency like ranch. I kept tasting and tasting it and it was indeed ranch.

So call me crazy about complaining about sauces and possible misunderstanding or confusion about a dish, but this was just a really odd situation that I’ve never experienced in my 7 years of going to...

I've eaten here before back when I lived in Hawaii and Texas. I always loved their food. Yesterday night was the first time I've order from them while living here in Colorado. I'm usually not a complicated person when it comes to ordering but yesterday was a unique situation. I was ordering food for my children and I plus my husband and a few of his co-workers. When I got there I placed my order asking for specific plates to be put in one bag and the rest in another. This way when I got to my husbands work I can just hand him his bag and head back home so my kids and I can eat too. I was told yes ok and that I should receive a text when my order is done. I get to my car to sit and wait and as I am looking at my receipt I realise that there is a plate missing from my order. So I go back inside and add that plate to my order. Then go back outside to my car and wait. 15 minutes later I get a text and I drive up. As they are handing me my bags I see 5 plates instead of 7 to only find out that their burgers don't come with fries unless asked for. I didn't know that because every time I've order their burgers it always came with fries. Then I was told which bag had my children's food in and the other had the rest. That wasn't the case either. I get to my husband's work give him the bag and tell him about the fries and that since it didn't come with any that the 2 that order the burgers can split my food instead. I get almost home and my husband calls me saying I need to come back because my kids food were in his bag. Not what I was told by the employee when I was given the food. So I swung back around swapped bags and headed home to hand my children their food and go else where to buy me something to eat. All this took me 3 hours to get done when it should of only took me 1 and a half. I get that a food establishment can get quite busy and demanding. I've been there. But I didn't even get to enjoy my food because I felt bad that 2 of the orders wasn't explained to me while I was there. Not to mention wasted gas because I was told one thing for it not to be true and having to swing back around to get the right plates and bring them home. I like L and L food and I'll eat there again because it reminds me of...

We recently used L & L for catering. To begin, the food was phenomenal.

To get to that point was a bit difficult. On the website I clicked the link for catering, and received an email that someone from the store would contact me; this never happened. About 10 days out I called the store and spoke with someone, they said to come in the day I needed the food and order it (service for 20) and they could prepare it for me while I waited.

Four days before the event, I went into the shop to order my food because I did not think they could prepare food for 20 people "while I waited". It took them some time but they were able to locate the catering menu which clearly stated the food offered with the prices. This document also stated that food needed to be ordered one week in advance and it also stated that it needed to be ordered and paid for at least 24 hours in advance I ordered my choices, and paid in full, providing the date and time I would pick up my order.

We arrived on the date at the appointed time to pick up the food and we were told that one of items was not prepared because they no longer offered that on their menu. I never received a call about this, we only found out when we showed up to pick up the food. We were provided with the adequate number of containers so we drove home (nothing was labeled). Upon arrival at home it was discovered that one dish was not provided, and another dish that we did not order was provided. Upon calling the store to see if they could deliver the missing item to our home, they were unable to do so. In all, we made two trips to the shop (once to get the order, once to pick up the item they forgot to give to us). This entailed two 38-mile round trips. They did refund us for the item that was no longer on the catering menu, and a little bit extra because we had to make a second trip.

If this location plans to continue catering, they need to review the entire process on their end. Although the food was great, I would be hesitant to use this store again...