Aloha Kitchen — Restaurant in Honolulu

A few years ago, we had visited this place and knew it could get quite crowded, so yesterday we decided to arrive 5 minutes before opening. However, there was already a line of over 20 groups, so we gave up for the day. The next day, we arrived 15 minutes before opening, and although we were still the 13th group in line, we decided to wait. After waiting for about 45 minutes, we finally got seated. We ordered the Classic Loco Moco and Soufflé Pancakes. It was our first time trying the fluffy pancakes, and despite their large size, they were light and not overly sweet, making them easy to finish.😋

05/03/2024 We usually see long lines here, so we came at 7 a.m. to be first. However, when the staff arrived, they told us 'Today is cash only,' so we had to rush back to get cash. We ordered the ham eggs Benedict and the macadamia nut souffle pancakes with coconut sauce. The Benedict was pretty good, but the souffle pancakes were flat and not fluffy.

Based on my experience from several visits, the food is generally good, but nothing outstanding. The souffle pancakes are inconsistent; sometimes they are fluffy, but other times they are flat and disappointing. Compared to the consistently fluffy and delicious souffle pancakes at the French restaurant, Cream Pot, these pancakes here lack stability and can sometimes be disappointing.

Some restaurants, like Eggs 'n Things, use Yelp to avoid long lines, but this place doesn't seem to use it not because they don't want to pay Yelp, but because they want to use the long lines as a selling point. When talking to people in line, I often hear them say, 'I saw the line and decided to check it out.

While they usually accept card payments now, there are still days when they unexpectedly only accept cash. It's worth noting that they might suddenly switch to 'cash...

I mean, it really depends upon your definition of what "good" food is. We know food and this food is just not good. Very large portions and quite pricy, but the quality is similar to like a Denny's or worse. We wanted to try a few dishes between the two of us and bring home the rest of our food, so we ordered the Loco Moco, Eggs Benedict, and Coconut Souffle. The wrong main dish was brought out to me, so I had to wait while my husband had his food. Even after waiting, when my eggs benedict finally came out the hollandaise was curdled and everything was cold, the poached eggs were cooked HARD and the english muffin was soft, dense, and untoasted. This was probably the worst eggs benedict I've ever had in my entire life. The loco moco and coconut souffle pancake were just passibly okay, but I mean, it's eggs gravy and rice. The souffle was very heavy and slightly soggy - not light and fluffy. I had a stomachache after eating here. The worst part is that I'm a type 1 diabetic and give myself insulin via pump before eating and since the insulin was already active in my system, I HAD to eat, otherwise risking a low blood sugar. I ordered another juice just so I wouldn't have to finish any more of the souffle or benedict. Our server was very kind and sweet and accommodating, and she did feel sorry that we did not have a good experience. We still left a very good tip because we are restaurant people (and also we read reviews about people being chased out onto the street, yelled at for a tip). Alas, we would never not tip a server for the restaurant's poor food, but we definitely won't be back for the food. I wouldn't recommend this place unless you think Denny's is...

Stopped by and asked for a table for 1 at 12:30PM, ahead of me were two other groups that arrived at the same time. They were sat down. I asked if I would eventually be seated too and the sever said she’d prefer if I ordered takeout hinting they wanted to close quickly. I showed her that I biked over and she reticently said she’d seat me.

Once seated she was very pleasant and I ordered a POC, two fried eggs, Portuguese sausage, and the coconut soufflé pancakes. They came very quickly. The pancakes were light and airy but almost tasted under cooked?? It might just be my lack of experience. However the flavors were good. The eggs were overcooked so that the yoke was completely solid. The sausage was fine, pieces that were hard to chew, but such is sausage.

Before I was done (before most of the other tables, the other waiter started taking away my syrup and ketchup. I told her I had only started eating. Getting the hint I didn’t finish my pancakes and asked for a box. She waiter that had started picking my items up prematurely gave me a box the size of my palm, even though my pancakes were largely undated. She became frustrated when I asked for a bigger box.

Overall the service was unwelcoming and the rush, I believe, cascaded into the quality of the food. Disappointed for such a highly...