Ohana Hawaiian Cafe — Restaurant in Portland

We had family from out of town visiting & wanted to have an excellent meal on their last evening with us. We had 10 individuals in our party and Ohana Hawaiian Cafe (OHC) was able to accommodate us on short notice.

We were not in a hurry so we enjoyed the "Ohana" level of service. Laura was very helpful. Being in the service business myself, I sensed that like many businesses these days that are still able to operate in this "almost" post pandemic time, they were under staffed but still seemed to work well as a team. Yes, our orders seemed to take a little longer to be presented to our table, but this allowed our group to have conversations that most likely would not have occurred AND enjoyed. All the better!

As a courtesy due to the wait, Laura brought us some complimentary delicious appetizers that helped tap down the hunger tingles that we all were beginning to experience. I am giving a 5 Star rating despite the wait issue because Laura & her team did everything else RIGHT! The team was friendly, the food delicious and the overall experience was very enjoyable.

Well...

We swung by here on our way home this last weekend and I'm so glad we did. My husband got the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken sandwich and I got the garlic Mahi Mahi steak and they were both to die for. I've never had a restaurant side salad that was anything more than mediocre but these guys got the salad to dressing ratio perfectly and the dressing was so good that I bought two bottles to take home-- one for my dad who is impossible to shop for and the other for me so I don't just eat his. We got two spam musubi to-go as well and devoured those later and they were killer. The added glaze just knocks it out of the park. The desserts looked amazing, especially the lilikoi cake, but I'm gluten free so I was heartbroken not to try some. Great place to eat, very reasonably priced, and it seems like a great place to work. Everyone, especially our waitress, was really kind and friendly, but it came across as really genuine rather than "this is my customer service face." Highly...

Why have I not written a review before?! I've been to this place a total of 4 times already, and I live 5 hours and a country away from this local joint. My family was first introduced to this place around 7 years ago by a Californian friend and we fell in love with their dishes. One night, we were the last ones in the restaurant and the owner stroke up a conversation with us. Turns out, he was familiar with where we lived (5 hours and a country away) and we had a great time talking about what we loved about it. When we were about to leave, he insisted we take an entire sweet potato pie to enjoy! I can never skip up an opportunity to come back for that same pie every time I'm 2 hours around the area. Here's a picture of my attempt at bringing back an entire pie home as proof of my devotion to you, Ohana Hawaiian Cafe!! Thank you to the lady who helped me come up with a safe and portable way of transporting this...