TK Cafe & Hawaiian BBQ — Restaurant in Monrovia

TK Cafe Hawaiian BBQ in uptown Monrovia provided a satisfying experience all around. It’s a small family-run counter serve operation with great Hawaiian inspired plate lunch comfort food, especially for meat lovers.

The place is tucked in a corner of the Vons mall at the southwest corner of Myrtle and Foothill, so plenty of free parking. The chef and manager Ken took my order and was very friendly and helpful to recommend certain specialties on their menu.

I ordered the Chicken Combo (BBQ Chicken and the crispy Katsu Chicken) and the Hawaiian BBQ Mix (BBQ Chicken, BBQ Beef, and substituted Teriyaki Chicken in place of Kalbi Beef). Both plates come with two scoops of white rice and a scoop of Mac Salad. See images.

Their BBQ Chicken is definitely a specialty, flavorful, and both combos I received were a generous serving of the moist and flavorful chicken.

I would go back the next time I’m in the mood for Hawaiian plate lunch and would recommend 5 stars compared to other local counter serves...

Some foods here are ok, but so far my experience has not been good. Their steamed buns are ok as well as their gyoza (pot stickers) and spam musubi. But just ok. But whenever I've ordered a meal, my experience was bad. They are very over priced for the poor quality. There is no flavor, just a lot of pepper. I ordered loco moco, which is hamburger patties, fried eggs, rice and brown gravy. This place managed to be completely unable to serve hamburger patties. I don't know what we ate, but it was rubbery and didn't taste like meat at all. The eggs were way over cooked and the gravy was clear, like it was water and flour with lots of pepper. I paid $88 for a family of 4 and threw most of it away. I'm not going back there and I don't recommend...

This is my GO TO place for quick and easy Hawaiian food... or when I'm just craving meat. Yeah, their meat is satiating. That's what she said.

FOOD: Musubi - I love their musubis... they put a lot of rice, but I just remove some. The sauce and spam is good. The seaweed is wrapped really well.

Chicken Katsu - MAKE SURE YOU GET THE SAUCE. They don't give it to you. You have to get it from the side. But it's good. Very crispy. Mac Salad - the macaroni salad is really good. Cabbage - Their steam cabbage is really good too.

SERVICE: SUPER FAST

AMBIANCE: Hole in the wall feeling

PARKING: In the same complex as Vons Pavilions. So TONS of free parking.

OVERALL: Fast...