Forty Niner Restaurant — Restaurant in Hawaii

I'm sad to say I won't be coming back to this place, which has been heralded as a local legend and a must-visit. I tried it once a year or so ago for breakfast and wasn't pleased with the experience, then decided to give it another go for lunch today. The staff are very friendly, always show aloha - and while I understand that Forty Niner has been around for generations, pleasing customers with the same old recipes passed down, I've settled on the conclusion that it's just not for me. On our first visit, my wife and I got an omelette and a breakfast burrito, mean. We were excited to dig in - everyone raves about Forty Niner and the food looked absolutely delicious! However, when we started eating, we discovered that the omelette was made extra greasy. The burrito was also filled with grease, contained too much rice for my liking, and the cheese they used tasted cheap and like plastic. The omelette held up well and the burrito tasted good once I got past the grease and rice, though. So we had sworn off this place for the time being and decided not to post our grievances due to the beloved nature of the restaurant. Then, we finally decided to give it another shot today since it was on the way home from our errands. Wife got the egg cheeseburger with fries and I had their signature Forty Niner Bento. The first red flag was when we opened the burger box and the fries had no salt whatsoever. Not a single grain of sodium chloride was present. Then, upon biting into the burger, we realized that there was something wrong with the burger meat. I just read in another review that other people have also noticed the mushy nature of the burger meat texture. Apparently, it is not only meat! They use flour as an additive! Newsflash! It ain't the great depression anymore! You can make a burger with 100% beef now and still turn a profit. This is also troubling to me personally as I did not realize there was flour in it and I am gluten intolerant. Additionally, the egg on the burger was rubbery, for lack of a better word. On the other hand, the bento was okay. The fish was not dry! That's good! The bulgogi was fairly decent! I've had better at many Korean restaurants on the island but it's still not bad. The spam was spam, you can't mess up spam. It is what it is. The Korean fried chicken in the bento was quite unique! It has extra crunchy bits of breading that tasted like fried chicken skin. The chicken meat was not good but not bad. It also had a strange smell, almost as if the chicken they used was found behind the restaurant. I did appreciate the seasoning on the rice. Lastly, we were curious enough to order a cup of the Green River drink, even after the cashier showed us the jug in which it is kept. This bizarre liquid is definitely green. I'm not sure how to describe the flavors, but I know they remind me of late nights in Chinatown and mystery cocktails I can't name the ingredients of. Overall, I'm not suggesting that Forty Niner needs to change their old recipes which have been passed down for generations or whatever. Clearly the locals love this food; I keep hearing about this restaurant from people. And I did finish my plate both times. Though I will say that they might want to get a different chicken supplier. To those who work at Forty Niner and read this, good luck to you, thank you for the great service. But next time I want Hawaiian food, I'll be...

Forty Niner was selected as it was conveniently open on a Sunday afternoon. I'd driven by it several times on my commute to and from work, but never had a reason to stop. The menu is filled with what you'd typically see in a local, Hawaiian influenced restaurant. Items that stuck out were Da Elvis (bacon, peanutbutter and banana covered pancakes) and bbq chicken (Korean style) plates. It was past breakfast time so I have to save Da Elvis for later.

The food took a while to come out and when it did, my meal came out well ahead of my wife's. Normally, I'd wait for her meal to come out, but due to the intense amount of flies, I couldn't wait and let my food get swarmed. The chicken tasted good; if the review were based solely off of my meal, it would get a 4 star. While the food was tasty, I would argue that it is more Hawaiian style barbeque than Korean style barbeque. This point may be up for argument, but this is my review and it was not what I'd expect from an item labeled Korean bbq. That said, I probably wouldn't have selected it if it were labeled Hawaiian bbq vice korean; I'd probably have gone with the garlic chicken or fried chicken instead (btw, both the garlic chicken and chicken & waffles looked amazing). Pros- food was good Cons- inside or outside, your going to deal with swarms of flies and humidity. Time between ordering and receiving food. Meals coming separately.

I really want to come back and try Da Elvis and them other chicken items, but I dont know if I'd enjoy it with the flies... maybe they're not as bad in...

Order at the window for take out only. Free-seating outdoor option is available but will not have any service. For those that care or have conditions they are being mindful of, sign says staff will check for vaccine cards but my husband and I (and those we witnessed ordering while waiting for food) were never checked. The seats are well distanced. TIP: Come with your own wipes to clean down the tables and bottled water. Ordered the Ube Waffles - it comes as just the waffle so I had to add on a side of 2 eggs and bacon. The waffle has a slight chocolate-y taste with chunks of sweet potato inside and a slice on the outside. A very light drizzle of Ube syrup and powdered sugar left me wanting more syrup to combat the denseness of the waffle, though I still was very sugared out. My significant other ordered the "mean burrito" with the crispy grilled cheese crust (definitely recommend). For drinks, a coffee and a Green River. Coffee cup was small while the fountain drink cup was huge! Total ordered was ~$60, tax and tip included. The waffles are worth a try but for those that like a variety for breakfast, I'd opt for a meal instead of piecemeal ordering the way I did. Each side came in it's own box so I had 3 take out boxes which...