Hawaiian Bros Island Grill — Restaurant in Live Oak

I honestly don't know how anyone can say that this establishment did not disappoint or that they haven't had "authentic" Hawaiian food like this in a long time. I am Native Hawaiian, born and raised. I was even lucky enough to be stationed there while active duty. The only good things about this place is the Dole soft serve (delicious!) and some of their meats. We visited this place a couple days after their Grand Opening. Customer service was awesome! It was the grand opening, so of course. We enjoyed our BBQ plates EXCEPT for the macaroni salad. Horrible. Not the way we make it back home. I understand making an item "their own", but not when it comes to a food that is a staple. Hawaiian macaroni salad, like our potato salad, is very simple. Whatever seasoning or ingredient they use in the recipe is quite frankly, gross. None of us could take more than one bite.

Some months later we did give Hawaiian Bros a second chance. Drive-thru this time. Customer service was awesome. We got home and dove into our plates and once again the mac salad was just disgusting. Very disappointing. So, I determined that it is just their recipe and we will refrain from ordering it. But, seriously, it's not a real Hawaiian plate without it. We love our mac salad!

The third time was a delivery order. I ordered double rice with my plate. Would you believe that they messed this up?! My rice was hard. It seemed they gave me rice that was nearly gone and been sitting in there while the pot was in "Warm" setting. I'm positive they scraped the remaining rice from the bottom of the pot for my plate or it was rice that was not fresh. So, while the BBQ was great, the sides was horrible. This last effort was in January of this year. Third strike. Never again.

It's fine if you happen to like their mac salad. Knock yourself out. I'm just warning those like me expecting "authenticity", it's not good at all. The rice situation... I put that on whoever made my plate. Hopefully that individual no longer works there and no one is being served crunchy, hard rice, or management has done some additional training on how to prepare and serve food properly and employees are abiding by...

On Thursday 04/25 we placed an order for pickup through Uber eats. We placed it at 10:50PM and were told our food would be ready around 11:05 PM. We arrive, go inside, and we see employees in the back but no one coming out to assist. Furthermore, we tried to wave people down, but they were having conversations and not looking our way. We tried calling over the phone to see if that would get someone's attention, twice, and they ignored the phone ringing, we could hear it and see them standing around and continuing to talk. It was now 11:14, 10 minutes past when our food was supposed to be ready, and no one was acknowledging us. When someone did, five minutes later, they came over and asked if we needed something. We let them know we were trying to pick up our order, and they said we could not until we marked it as 'here' for pickup. We did not have that option on our phone, I'm assuming it is an option for Uber Eats drivers. We showed them our phone saying our food was ready 15 minutes ago, and they argued with us that they couldn't give it to us. We told them and showed them the order, and they finally gave it to us. We had placed an online order to be quick and easy for both parties, but it ended up turing into a 20-minute ordeal. I have never just stood there for 10–15 minutes in a store with no one acknowledging me. The staff was too busy socializing in the background. Of course when we got our food and go home, it was now lukewarm, but we knew calling to complain or going back would be ignored by the employees. Frankly we were shocked by how the situation went down, and welcome you to pull up the camera footage for your own viewing of the situation as I would want to know if my employees are participating in behaviors that are causing me to lose business. If it wasn't for the order already being paid for we would have left. Dreadful experience, and I would suggest speaking with your staff to ensure this does not...

Neat for what it is. Nice peeps, good food. Kiosks to order, pickup at the window. Not too many choices, all seem similar but pretty good. Not many sides to choose. Still a nice change once in a while. 1 of the 2 dip sauces are pretty good.

Update: I went again Monday afternoon August 14th 2023 for the 3rd time, this being my 1st time in the drive-thru. I asked for the classic meal. I asked for an upcharge to get the vegetables instead of an extra side of rice when the entree(s) already come on a bed of rice as well as an extra up charge for the second entree on that meal. When I left, the bag was closed and I was driving so I didn't want to stop and open the bag and take out the styrofoam plate so I can make sure that they got my meal right. Well I guess you have to do that because when I got home, the two meat plate that I asked for two times loud and clear when I was asked to repeat again, was incorrect. I asked for the Honolulu chicken and the luau Pig two times perfectly loud and clear because I was even told that it was loud and clear but then I was asked to repeat it again. When I got home, it looks like I got Honolulu chicken but the stuff next to it, is not luau pig. I do not know if it is pork or chicken but I didn't see any spices on the dark colored meat so it could have been pork or chicken. The vegetables had a few bites that tasted really peppery that some people might not like but it was OK for me. I liked them like that, not al dente crunchy but more on the cooked soft side. The macaroni salad was pretty good. The Dole dessert that I asked for swirled with strawberry and pineapple, was a nice refreshing option that seemed a little healthier than me going to get ice cream. I did not see where the flavors were listed on the menu outside but the guy told me it was strawberry and pineapple. The Honolulu chicken and the mystery meat were both pretty good with a hint of spice as well as...