PANIOLOS Kahala Mall — Restaurant in Honolulu

I had quite the experience at Paniolos Kahala Mall. Let me break it down:

I took my auntie to the Apple Store to get her phone fixed and decided to grab something to eat while waiting.

I showed up at 10:49 AM (they opened at 11 AM) feeling festive—the Christmas decorations were beautiful. The vibes were great… until I met Victor. He greeted me with his signature “AND NEXT!” repeatedly, even though there was no line. I had my order ready because I’d already read the menu and was just trying to read it off my phone, but Victor wasn’t having it. I even asked him to let me finish without saying “AND NEXT!” but, of course, he kept going. He rushed me through like it was Black Friday and the burritos were free.

I finally got my food (after he ignored my request to cut my burrito—tragic). But, being the optimist I am, I decided to come back a bit later to ask for my burrito to be cut. Maybe he was just having a rough morning? Plot twist: nope. Same energy, different time.

The guy who cut my burrito slapped another piece of foil on it aggressively, and it didn’t even cover the whole thing. I think the foil might only be designed for wrapping while making the burrito, not rewrapping it. I digress. I politely asked him to fully cover the burrito, but asking for anything extra felt like pulling teeth. It was clear they didn’t want anyone feeling comfortable requesting anything outside of what they handed over. Not even extra foil. (Victor and the foil guy were a perfect pair.) As I walked away, they were talking and shooting me rude looks—classic.

As I waited to get my burrito cut, I witnessed Victor being rude to another customer—a guy dressed head to toe to the nines. You could tell finances weren’t an issue for him, and he was clearly excited for good food and service. Instead, he got… Victor. The guy ordered 3 or 4 tacos and asked for a mix of meats on each one. He even offered to pay extra for the mixture, but Victor still refused to accommodate the request. The man turned to me, eyebrows furrowed, and said, “I know the owner of this location, and this is bad customer service.” He wasn’t laughing—he looked completely shocked.

Meanwhile, I was standing there, weirdly giggling at how absurd it all was. I even said, “Oh, so you’re getting bad customer service too?” With him knowing the owner, I had a brief moment of hope that Victor might be sent to some kind of customer service boot camp—or at least learn some basic burrito-serving etiquette. But honestly, Victor just WASN’T a vibe.

Oh, and the staff? Miserable. When I first arrived, Victor was “training” one of the girls working there. She might’ve been new (hard to tell), but the whole team looked like they were silently counting down the minutes until their shifts ended. Not exactly the warm, holiday vibes I was hoping for.

The one bright spot was the girl who rang me up—she was polite and nice. She had a mask on, so I couldn’t see much of her expression, but at least she wasn’t giving me Victor energy.

As for the food: the guacamole tasted like sour lime with no tomatoes—bitter and with a weirdly smooth texture (maybe that’s just their recipe?). The chips were good, but the burrito? Not great. The veggies were a bit raw for my liking. Then again, maybe the bad service clouded my judgment. I was hungry, though, so who knows? Oh, and the total? $35 for a burrito, side of chips, guacamole, green salsa, extra veggies, extra corn, extra cheese, and sour cream. I’m sharing the price not because it was too high (Hawaii can be expensive) but to highlight how service like this makes you question the value.

The food? Decent. The customer service? VICTOR and his sidekick ONLY. Straight-up Scrooge-level. If you’re looking for a side of chaos with your burrito,...

Paniolos USED to be great 5+ years ago. This is the third time I've been disappointed by the Kahala location. Every time I order the Veggies and Guacamole Bowl with a Romain Base they NEVER give guacamole and put beans on the bottom 3x now. Skimpy little salad. If the Veggies and Guac bowl doesn't come with guac change the name.

The person with me ADDED guacamole to their chicken bowl for an upcharge and it was a tiny portion almost non existent and completely BROWN. You had to pick through to find it. Mine for the third time now still NO GUAC... not even super brown guac. It's in the name "Veggies and Guacamole Bowl" on Door Dash and Online. I've tried pick up, doordash and online order and it has still not come with guac. If you look at old pictures they used to give a generous scoop of fresh bright green guac.

The queso used to also be fresh melted cheese and now it tastes exactly like tostios canned yellow queso or highly processed cheese whiz like product. Its not even real melted cheese anymore it's a "melted cheese product".

I love supporting local and have been going to Paniolos since they nearly opened in Kailua almost 10 years now but unfortunately this is a local business that has gone downhill. I absolutely HATE to say it but Moe's is so much better now. Paniolos used to pride themselves in fresh local ingredients with house made chips and guacamole but not anymore.

$16.19 for a...

Dropped in here for dinner after work out. First time trying this healthy fast food…burrito, bowl, salad option place. Service was quick, went with the bowl with Kalua Pig protein option (slow cooked shredded pork, very tender, moist and well flavored) I did a sample of the Kailua Pig and Paniolos Beef (seasoned shredded beef…also good as a sampler but Kayla Pig was really good).

Added the brown rice, black beans, grilled veggies, seasoned corn, onions, green salsa and sour cream, some shredded cheese and lettuce. It was a tasty power bowl. Could not finish the whole thing, really filling, I am sure leftovers will be a winner.

The two food prep guys behind the counter were friendly, the gal cashiering was also cordial. I would hit this place again, but kind of pricey $20 for a bowl, with a few veggies and a drink. But maybe in the normal realm for Hawaii heathy fast food.

The grilled steak also looked fresh and tasty. Might go with that option on a future trip.

You are dining in the mall atmosphere food court or outdoors. Parking is a little challenging in the evening I would do roof top parking near Ross and elevator or stair one floor down. Better parking options on the roof...