Aloha Cafe — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I hate to leave a low-rated review for a small business, but I tried to visit this restaurant a few weeks ago and had an underwhelming experience. To be clear, I didn't get to eat here or try the food. This review is only for poor communication and lack of organization.

I believe I called the location between 11am-12pm (forgot what day of the week) to ask in advance how long the wait was - and they told me it would only be 5 minutes. I'm about a 20 minute drive away, so as soon as I heard that I hopped in the car and left.

Finally got to Little Tokyo and called the location again to ask about parking. There's a small lot in the shopping center but I wasn't sure if they validated or if I'd have to pay. Ended up finding a meter close by because it would've been cheaper regardless. They suggested that I park in the lot but now the wait time was 30-40 minutes.

Only 5 minutes later, I walk from my car to the restaurant after already paying for parking, and the hosts at the front let me know that they actually aren't taking any more sit-down guests and are only doing take-out. But the take-out would take around 45 minutes to be ready. I wasn't enthusiastic about waiting 45 minutes just to get food and bring it back home to eat, so decided not to go for the wait. I'm not upset over a $2 parking meter fee, but found it pretty ridiculous how much the situation had changed in those 5 minutes. From being led to think I'd be able to sit down and eat, to almost abruptly being told that I couldn't be served at all.

I understand with COVID and the current climate, small businesses are having understaffing issues and other increased demands, so I'm not writing off this business forever. I would love to try it out in the future and eat here, but wanted to bring attention to the substandard treatment I received...

Finding Aloha Cafe was a godsend for our wedding. Myy husband and I had dreamed of having Hawaiian mix plate food for our wedding. After some time searching we finally found Aloha Cafe and scheduled a tasting with Jennifer. The variety of dishes she offered were all delicious and exactly what we were looking for. Although AC couldn't offer full service catering, we hired them for our wedding appetizers (spam musubi!) and buffet food. The menu included green salad, mac salad, white rice, kalbi ribs, teriyaki salmon, and teriyaki chicken.

I can't express enough how helpful and involved Jennifer was throughout the process. She was very generous and proactive in helping us source things like banana leaves, bamboo plates, utensils, bulk dry foods, etc. The banana leaves were a huge part of our wedding design (we laid them on the guest tables with the appetizers on top in an ode to Filipino style "kamayan.") Jennifer was mindful of our guests with dietary restrictions and created vegan mix plates and musubis for them. One of our guests couldn't have pork so she made a special chicken musubi just for her! She also took the time to ensure that everything was dropped off, set up, and served properly. Our guests enjoyed their meals, which was a different experience from regular wedding food. My only regret is not having eaten more!

Aside from catering, the restaurant itself is top notch. Delicious food and amazing service. LA is lucky to have a gem that...

I arrived 45 minutes before closing. When I came through the entry gate to the lot the attendant asked me for three dollars. I've never been charged to park here and I'll be damned if I pay three dollars for parking at this location. Previously, they would validate my ticket and there was never a charge.

So I go into the restaurant and I wait for my turn and I tell the young lady at the register that I wish to place an order to go. Her response was that it would take 45 minutes to receive my to go order. So I ask her how long will it take if I dine in instead. So I Ask her if that includes waiting in line to be seated. She tells me that she's going to go back in the kitchen and check on that 45 minutes for a to go order and then she proceeds to pick up and take a check to one of the tables across the restaurant. I asked her hey didn't you say you were going to go in back and check right now about my wait time and you know you're dealing with me right now why are you making me wait while you go attend to something else. I've eaten here in the past and have enjoyed the food but today's experience was lousy from start to finish. The young lady was sarcastic and did not treat me as a valued customer. Now I have to go find something else to eat because I opted not to place an order. Extremely...