IPO Hawaiian BBQ — Restaurant in Poway

Today is Sunday, and according to their posted business hours, they open at 10:30 AM, which is why I stopped by after church. I arrived at 10:50 AM to find the doors unlocked, but all the lights and menu screens were off. A staff member told me they weren’t open yet. When I pointed out the posted hours, he replied, “The girl that opens isn’t here yet.” This was frustrating, especially since I drove over 20 minutes to get there. Management should do a better job ensuring the business opens on time and is properly staffed.

I decided to wait 10 more minutes to see if the employee showed up.

The employee did arrive, and I placed an order for the seafood combo and the BBQ short ribs combo.

The food was mostly excellent. The garlic shrimp was flavorful, and the BBQ short ribs were outstanding with perfectly balanced seasoning. The only disappointment was the mahi mahi, which tasted more like a basic battered fish with little to no flavor.

Overall, a rocky start due to poor opening management, but the quality of the food (especially the short ribs) helped redeem...

Tried it for the first time a couple days ago under the new owners. Before it was OK. Inconsistent at times. Let's just say it wasn't my first choice when I had a Hawaiian BBQ food fix. After trying it recently though, it'll probably be one of the first places I'll think about going to for my fix. Ordered the Garlic Shrimp, Surf & Turf (asked for Mahi instead of shrimp), Garlic Fried Chicken, a la cart Short Ribs, and a Spam Musubi. ALL of it was good! Big plus for me: two scoops of rice, with the mac salad. Some places only give one scoop rice, one scoop mac. It was all so good. Such a big improvement than before. Simple menu. Can't wait to try the other offerings. Chef David took my order and prepared the food. Such a nice guy. He was welcoming and kind. Had a...

My first time back since I heard it’s under new ownership/management.

I ended up getting the Special BBQ Combo #1 and Seafood Combo #3. The BBQ plate came with chicken, pork and beef with a side of rice and Mac salad. The seafood combo came w fried fish and shrimp. I also got 3 spam musubis.

I have to say, the food blew me away. The portions are generous. The meats were flavorful and has a char without being burnt. The seafood combo was crispy. The spam musubis were proportional! Most places give too much rice to spam but here it’s perfect enough take away from the saltiness.

IPO has plenty of parking and lots of dining spaces to eat inside. I wanted to phone in my order but saw no phone number. When I asked, they said check IG.

They have drinks that I’ll have to...