DB Grill — Restaurant in Oʻahu

Love going to DB Grill and have been going for about a year now and most of my experiences have been amazing. Friday night (08/14) my husband I decided to go. I made a reservation for us two for 7pm. We arrive and (I suppose the MOD at the time) tells us that they don’t have anything available inside for another 45 minutes. The upstairs was completely empty, there was one table inside open and the ones outside and asked us if we wanted to wait. First of all, I understand times are different right now with the challenges that Covid has presented to us all, but I wish the hosted would’ve informed me that a reservation is not a guarantee for a table. I can wait 10-15 minutes, 45? That’s too much. So we took one the of the outside tables along the side of the restaurant. The table was definitely not the cleanest, had critter feces on it, but we dealt with it and just wiped it off. Would be nice if they would check the table again before sitting people down to make sure it’s absolutely clean. Things happen. I get it. We ordered appetizers and drinks. Then ordered our entrees. My husband ordered his and I ordered mine. His food comes out fairly quick, but mine took a very long time. My husband ate half of his entree and by this time I’m still waiting for my food. We were ready to even just ask for the check since there was no meal in sight. Finally one of the girls comes over with my food and I tell her: “I was almost ready to ask for the check. Thought they had forgotten to put in my order” and she was like: “ oh did it take a long time?” And she walked away before I could answer. Once again, things happen. Friday night, kitchen’s busy. I get it. I’ve worked in restaurants. Then our waiter comes by ( who has served us plenty of times before) comes over and asks how everything is. So I once again bring up that we were waiting for a long time for my entree and just wanted boxes. Told him it took a long time. Not once did they come by to ask if everything was ok or if we needed more drinks. Was actually disappointed about that. I wish they would’ve told me that it was gonna take a while, I would’ve ordered something more basic, like the wings or the tacos. So with that being said, they need to get it together with the reservation system, maintaining the tables outside a little better and to give people a heads up if a dish will take...

I was told by a colleague to try DB Grill, so while at the Kapolei Commons, my wife and I gave it a shot. The restaurant was not very full, so it seemed like a good time of day to check it out. To be honest, a quick look at the menu and I saw soy garlic chicken wings which sold me on staying. It turns out the soy garlic wings were only an appetizer, but I figured I'd try it anyways. I'll go down the list: Drinks: my wife ordered a Stella from tap, which she said tasted funny (although she'd only ever had it from a bottle). The waitress said they had a new bartender, so I decided against trying to see if they could concoct a spicy margarita; I stuck with water. Appetizers: we ordered a poke and the soy garlic wings. We'd asked if they could make the poke spicy, but they came out fairly bland. The wings were actually the best part of the meal; they were crispy and had enough of the soy garlic sauce to cover each wing. Entree: we settled on Ed's Signature Kalbi Plate. The kalbi was fine, fairly tender, and a savory flavor. The plate came with kimchi, which I didn't touch (can't review it) and some duck fat fried rice. The rice was very dry, like some long grain rice. I'm not sure if it was meant to be dry, or if the duck fat made it extra dry, but we were dipping the rice in the left over soy garlic sauce until the waitress took it away. Regarding the waitress, I could tell she was doing her best to check in with us, and I appreciate her letting me know about the bartender situation, but she was also assigned to the upper area. There was some sort of party up there and it was taking a lot of her attention initially; I'd think the restaurant would keep a sole server in that area and let other servers take the main floor... idk. Upon leaving, my wife said she saw a guy who worked somewhere in the back use the joint washroom and barely ran his hands under the water. I'm fairly big on hygiene, so I was trying to strike that from my mind. Not sure what he was 'washing' off, but it was not a thorough job of washing. In the end we spent over $60 on what amounted to a glorified series of appetizers, and that was during happy hour. I would probably recommend heading to...

Have had occasion to visit twice. Props to the staff and management for delivering a consistent all-around EXCELLENT guest experience. From the moment we were sat until after we paid the bill, everything just made for a memorable time. Food has been consistent and excellent. Imaginative and fun concepts coming out of their kitchen - GREAT JOB to the Kitchen Staff and Chef!

Visit #1, we had the pleasure of being waited on by “Rod” he was the primary reason that we decided to go back for visit #2 to celebrate a friend’s birthday. So here is where we were so pleasantly surprised. For visit #2, we were helped by “Kiane”. Again, SUPER TOP NOTCH SERVICE! Both Rod and Kiane were very attentive (to all of the tables in their stations), and incredibly patient in addressing all questions that we had about the menu (both food and drink). At NO time were we ever made to feel like we were pestering them with our questions. Not that we asked that many, but it was crowded - and I’m sure they had a million other tasks going on in their heads that they had to do for other guests. ALL of that said, it was like we were in their home and they both (again, this was over 2 different visits) wanted to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. I’d say they’re hosts to the overall experience vice simply serving up food and drink.

I do believe that the staff HAS to be happy to be working there. That’s the only way to explain the consistency in service that DB Grill is able to provide for guests.

Although its a bit of a drive for us to get there, will be back - there’s so much more to try on both their food and their beverage menus...PLUS, we all look forward to the great service that has been...