East Side Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Hawaii

Ate lunch there after getting battery changed at O'Reilly next door. Have seen the place for a couple of years now and it was our first time there. First impression was it was a bit loud with the pop rock sound track, but the music was neither offensive in content or volume. NBA finals were warming up on the big screens but sound was off. The furniture was eclectic mix of black tables and chairs, white tables and chairs, and zinc covered tables with black booth seats. The three of us agreed the zinc tables were short and would be more comfortable if they were 3 inches taller.

We arrived just after opening and were the 3rd table to be seated. Service was fine, no issues, but it appeared our server was the only one serving. We ordered an East Side Burger, Kalua Pork Sandwich, and the Paniola Burger.

First, the fries were fantastic. They stayed crispy throughout the entire meal, so kudos for that. Both burgers were also fantastic. There was bonified char on the bottoms that gave the occasional crunch, very similar to backyard charcoal grilled burgers. Burgers were also significantly thickernthan your average burger and had the appearance of hand shaped. Being thick burgers and char on the outside, we were impressed that the burgers were not dry in the least and had great flavor. Had great beef flavor, not meatloaf or frozen patty.

Some minor quibbles. Not a single pickle to be found. Also, the Paniola order came onion free for some reason and would have certainly been appreciated. Lastly, if you give us knives, give us some forks to go with them. When we asked for a fork, we got a plastic disposable one. Knives were legit knives, why not a legit fork? A few attention to minor details and this would have been perfect. Having said that, we certainly appreciated the food flavors and will return the next time we have a serious burger fix that needs to...

I went in for lunch, and I could tell that they were understaffed when I walked in the door. One person in front maybe two in back. Not surprising seeing as it’s a new business and virtually everywhere is understaffed nowadays. But they managed to seat me. The server seemed a bit discombobulated, because things were not where they were supposed to be she said. Things calmed down in approximately five minutes. I sat at the bar and left the front of the house to the other guests. Maybe about six total while I was there. The server, Savannah was able to regroup and took my order. I ordered the paniolo burger. I was surprisingly satisfied by the topping’s quality and quantity. And it came out quick. HOWEVER, the bun was too weak to support that size of burger. It fell apart as I ate it. The fries were crisp and big and hot. The potato crab salad needed salt quite frankly, but totally edible. All in all I was satisfied with the whole experience. I was stuffed full. New places always have some ironing to do to get going. But East side bar and grill is off to a good start. Also, live music on select...

There are no positives about a dining experience at this place. I had relaxed expectations for speed of service, but this just took it to another level. There were a max of 4 tables occupied when we ordered, and 40 minutes later, after one table had already walked out due to slow service, one of the three items we ordered arrived (and I’m pretty sure it was meant for the table that walked out). This cheeseburger was half cold and came in a sesame bun that was somehow ice cold on the outside and soggy and greasy on the inside. The other two items were nowhere to be seen for ten minutes, at which point we inquired and were told it was busy and the “chef” was backed up. By way of apology for the delay, they offered us another burger (who knows who this belonged to), but we politely declined and paid for the one item that had that showed up...