L&L Hawaiian Barbecue — Restaurant in Paradise

My family visited this location 4 days ago and the food was so awesome I feel compelled to review now that we’re back home! We stayed at 3 different higher end strip Hotels (Venetian, Palazzo and Mandalay Bay) dinned all over the strip at Paris, New York, Giada, Gordon Ramsey ect-and I can honestly say this was the meal that impressed me the most. We were surprised by the portion sizes vs price immediately once receiving our meal and the quality/flavor was spectacular. We recently vacationed in Hawaii and fell in love with Kalua pork-if you don’t know-you just don’t know 😋 so when I saw the Hawaiian BBQ sign I drove straight there. Read yelp and google reviews that were subpar but decided to check it out for myself, and I’m so glad I did. Food was delicious, my only complaint would be if you’re looking for an upscale atmosphere over food quality-this is not the place for you. The lobby was dirty-almost every table had been used and not cleaned. I’d describe the establishment as a ‘hole in the wall’ mom and pop shop. The person that took our order was (IMO) just someone that could translate and work the register. She was sitting at the register area on her phone anytime there was no customers instead of cleaning the lobby. She also told me there was no seafood in the side pasta that came with our order until I informed her my inquiry was due to an allergy, at that point she asked the kitchen and was informed there was indeed an allergy contamination. Overall, we loved this location-food was delicious and price point was well below expectation. Cashier attentiveness/knowledge on menu items and overall location cleanliness were the...

The hostess today makes it obvious to me she has issues with BLK people.

Read the negative reviews and you will see complaints from Black people about the same issues.

I suspect the host who is usually there has issues as well.

Instead of ordering to go today, after getting weird vibes from her, I decided to stay and see what would happen when more of US came in compared to all of the other customers. She had no issue telling everyone else “greatly appreciate it” and “thank you.” These words seemed to be firmly in her vocabulary… until she is dealing with one of us. In fact, the other staff there that I have observed (not just today) act very reserved at best.

I won’t patronize this place again, it’s like the hostess has contempt for taking my order. Instead of making a fuss about it, which isn’t in my character, I left her a note, as you can see in the pics.

As for the food, it was OK; the portion sizes are fair for the price, but as you can see from the photo, they probably have a roach issue which I took a pic of a couple weeks ago.

I’ve patronized this business multiple times, but I couldn’t keep ignoring what I noticed. I won’t be returning...

Large indoor dining area open during pandemic. Friendly service. We ordered a barbecue cheeseburger, the seafood mix and chicken katsu saimin. The seafood mix was served with macaroni salad, which was tasty.The two large mahi mahi pieces were a little thin, but delicious with a very thin batter coating. There were only two scallops, but they were large, cooked properly and also tasted great. Unfortunately, the three shrimp were very overcooked; so disappointing. I couldn't bite through the hard parts. I could barely get through it - just terrible. Rice was served with the meal, but it was dry and bland. The barbecue cheeseburger was fantastic! One of the better burgers I've had in a while. And, the crinkle cut fries that came with it were also very good. The chicken katsu was very good, but the saimin was bland, and had mushy noodles. Everything was cooked fresh to order (except maybe the saimin?). I just wish it was a little better overall. I'll be back for the burger, but a burger shouldn't be the best thing at a...