Uncle Bo's Pupu Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Honolulu

Uncle Bo's has been my favorite restaurant for years. I'm alone, and the manager has always made me feel special, even sitting with me for a few minutes talking. Some places I haven't felt comfortable, an older woman eating alone. But not here. I go for my birthday, my anniversary, Mother's day, Valentine's day, and times in between. Eating out is a luxury for me, so I truly enjoy the experience here. The wait staff is excellent, and the food is usually top notch. On my 65th birthday I decided to get brave and have the escargot, something I've wanted to try for years. It was perfectly cooked and delightful.

About a month ago I brought a friend there and she was just as impressed as I've been. We ordered the Boca Rota, a favorite of mine, and the Calamari with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce. We raved about the sauce, and my friend just wanted to drink it, it was so good. We asked what was in it, but sadly I don't remember other than the sweet chili sauce. Maybe horseradish and something else? But it was somewhat thick and only a reddish sauce.

So tonight my roommate and I ordered take out for our birthdays. He for the Boca Rota Pizza, which looked great,and I had the Calamari, which I have been craving since last month. The Calamari was in very large pieces 😔 not the smallish rings, although it wasn't tough, and the sauce was definitely NOT even CLOSE to the sauce we got last time. This had greens and tomatoes in it and looked like an oily soup. And I truly didn't like it. Never was a fan of cooked tomatoes, and this certainly wasn't the consistency of the dipping sauce I got last time. Fortunately I had a bottle of sweet chili sauce in the fridge. Not the same as the awesome one I got last time, but much better than the oily "soup" I got this time.

I will, of course, continue to go, and like everyone else, I look forward to Uncle Bo's being able to go back to their full menu and being able to safely dine in. But I won't order the Calamari again. And that's a disappointment after craving it...

Being a tourist in a new place I take locals advice on restaurants to try. And being in a new city or place I rely solely on reviews and recommendations when I want something to eat, which leads me to this review. I had Uncle Bo's suggested to me by a local here in Oahu and I was super excited to try a place that local people enjoyed. I was looking online for pricing and what they had on the menu so I could better prepare myself for what I was walking into. Online the prices seemed reasonably priced. $16 for a pasta dish, $8-12 for appetizers. My sister and I walked 20 minutes to get here and we see that pastas started at $22 and appetizers were over $14. That's fine, whatever. Vacations are for spending a stupid amount of money on food, right? Wrong. The food was meh (I had no intention to write this review on the okay food, it's just food.) I mean it wasn't the worst thing I've had but nowhere near the best. On top of being upset about the increase in food price our waitress, Heidi, was BEYOND rude. She implied my sister and I were miserable because we weren't jumping with joy to be blessed enough to be seated in this restaurant. And as the night progressed she noticed we weren't really enjoying our food and completely stopped checking in on our table. When the time came for our check she took over 10 minutes to bring it, again completely skipping over our table, and when she gave us our check she threw it on our table without a glance. Kinda just tossed it as she passed by our table. All thoughts of giving this place a second chance were dismissed once we were treated this way. I understand that someone cant stay beside our table the whole night to ensure were happy, that's illogical but being ignored and being treated like this? Unacceptable. No matter how busy. Wont be coming back here again and will tell anyone who asks to...

Uncle Bos is one of my favorite restaurans to eat yummy local favorites plus fusion twists like the Boca Roca ( prime rib strip with mushrooms & cheesy garlic bread). I have been to this location several times and always love the food and service. Tonight I checked out the new Waikiki location - Pupu House by Uncle Bo's and the food is just as ONO. And the vibe is old Waikiki Tiki Bar. The style of eating here is pupu or appetizer sharing. We had clams Thai Style which are delish. The Boca-rota chopped prime rib and mushrooms. Fresh Ceasar salad. Pipikaula short ribs ( totally yum). Plus prime rib ( which was delish and HUGE). And Salmon that was cooked to perfection. Plus shrimp Tacos. The high light was dessert which is the famous - The hobos (Taro Beignets with ice cream & American honey sauce)This is a MUST order, even if you are full! Besides all the delish food. I also had a freshly brewed glass of iced Shangri-La Tea 🍵! This NEW location is the former Moose McGillycuddy's on Lewers Street. Soon, the manager David told us the upstairs will open with a nice bar and stage for local bands! I can't wait for a cool, adult...