Hawaiian Bros — Restaurant in Houston

This review is going to be referring to my first time trying this restaurant on August 27th, 2025. Now to preface I live literally 3 minutes away, so seeing this spot had 6.4k+ reviews with a majority being positive it must’ve been a hidden gem hiding right under my nose… but my experience left me rather disappointed. I ordered around 6:30pm using Ubereats to save time, surprisingly the ETA was roughly 10 minutes, so I got in my car and started heading there. I arrive park and walk inside as a customer typically would, however upon arriving and walking in… the store is empty? Confused I looked in the kitchen and saw a couple employees but nobody acknowledged me nor my presence. Strange I thought, but I stood there another minute or two and realized on my phone there was a pickup note that said pickup orders in the drive thru… ok I guess I mean would’ve been nice if someone told me that or, idk given it to me over the counter seeing as I’m not a delivery driver or someone just a customer, but ok i guess.

Start my car again and go into the drive thru. Now for my second first impression, a younger gentleman kind of shakily asks what I’d like and I say I’m picking up an order to which he says ughhhhh just a moment. A few minutes later he’s like yeah ughhh it’s gonna be a while, then he pauses and doesn’t say anything… so I say ummm so how long will it take? And he replies I’m waiting on rice!! Almost in a panicked way then pauses again. Mind you there’s other cars now lining up behind me like 2 or 3 and we’re all just sitting there, so then I have to ask ok well how long does that mean? And he says wait one minute, takes about 5, comes back and says 45 minutes all nervous and stuff and I’m like oh crap. Then he offered to sub vegetables and I paused and said yes (because I have rice at home and a cooker that makes it in 10 minutes) to which he said ok just a minute, takes another 5 minutes and forms back and again says it’s gonna be 45 minutes for the rice. So I say ok I’ll come back… Ubereats doesn’t let you cancel unless the restaurant does and so I called them to ask and they said they called the restaurant and no one answered, and uber told me to wait 30 minutes then drive there again! I go at 7:30 now, food is all ready it was a lady now, and I saw maybe 5 employees working. Who knows when my food was actually ready? Would’ve been nice to have proper notification. Food? Chicken was pretty good! It’s the only star I can give. I had 3 of their signatures the Huli Huli, a nice teriyaki, Kilauea which was more spicy but less flavorful so more 3.5/5 but nice spice, then the Molokai my favorite. Now the rice I waited 45 minutes for and had to make two trips? Overcooked? Idk if that’s the style but it was like a mushy rice-ball at that point, which was so disappointing.

Recap Food 2.25/5 Service...

When this restaurant first opened it was great. The food was fresh, the portion sizes were worth what you were paying for, and I was always a repeat customer.

The first time I complained about my portion size at Hawaiian Bros a representative apologized for the inconvenience and told me that they strive to keep the portion sizes consistent, but sometimes depending on whose working... it's not. In my opinion, the staff no matter who's working should all be trained the same. To correct issue they offered me store cedit to come back and eat. I told them that was the first time that had happened to me and every restaurant has a bad night, and that I would come back.

Now here we are again with the same problem, and I'm so done with eating at this restaurant. I had been coming back for a while with no problems, so I thought this visit would be the same. The one time I didn't get a receipt is when my order was totally unacceptable. I ordered a small Honolulu, small Molika, and salad w/Honolulu chicken, or should I say little to NO chicken. If chicken is the only item you serve then the meal should have an appropriate portion of chicken.

When I got home and opened my containers there was little to no chicken in my 2 small orders. The only reason I had the appropriate amount on chicken for my salad is because it comes in a container where you cant hide the portion size. This is the second time that this has happened to me eating at this establishment, and I'm DONE! I spent $32 on a meal for my family that was unacceptable and nothing but macaroni and rice.

Hawaiian Bros is not the only fast and fresh option in this city, and I will never eat here again. The last time I complained about the unsatisfactory protein portion size I was told that the staff "tries" to keep portion sizes consistent, well they have failed, again.

I work too hard to spend my money for food and services and not get what I paid for. I could have spent the same amount of money or less at Chipotle (where it's BOGO) and got a better meal, with more consistent food portions, than at this establishment. In fact, I will go to Chipotle next time. I'm so upset, and I am never eating here again.

Word of advice, check your order...

am writing to formally express my concern regarding the ongoing issues faced while delivering for Uber Eats at your.

As a professional delivery driver, I take pride in providing timely service to customers. However, the current system in place for handling delivery orders at this location is inefficient, unclear, and at times, hostile.

We are instructed not to enter the building and to use the drive-thru instead. However, when we follow those directions, the food is often not ready, and we are told not to wait in the drive-thru lane. We are then told to wait in the Walgreens parking lot, which is not affiliated with your business and creates unnecessary complications.

To make matters worse, no one brings out the order, and when we return inside to check on it, we are frequently met with attitude and unprofessional behavior from staff. This treatment is both discouraging and disrespectful to those of us working to support your business and ensure customer satisfaction.

We understand that store policy may vary, but the lack of consistency, coordination, and communication with delivery drivers is creating a frustrating and unproductive experience. It reflects poorly on the store and ultimately affects your customers who expect timely deliveries.

I respectfully request that management review and implement a better, more streamlined system for handling delivery services — one that includes: • Clear pickup procedures for delivery drivers • Timely preparation and handoff of orders • Staff training on respectful communication with delivery partners • A designated and safe waiting area (not another business’s property)

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I hope to see improvements soon, and I am happy to discuss...