Kainoa's Hawaiian Grill (Rexburg Idaho) Hawaiian Restaurant — Restaurant in Rexburg

TLDR: The food can be hit or miss. Having been in other Hawaiian restaurants before, I can say that this place is not the best, but it's not bad either. I don't think it's on the expensive side, but I can definitely see why some people can say something about the portion sizes for a Hawaiian restaurant. Overall, it was not bad. Food came out fast.

Full: It's a clean place. Kind of hard to find if you're just passing by. The design did not affect the score at all, but the logo and lettering is a bit tricky to see (for the designers there, they might get a giggle for having Papyrus as their font for everything. Like, everything.). The food came out fast. I was very pleased. I got their large combo meal to try out their meats, and they still got it fast. I was very impressed by that. However, like I mentioned above, for a Hawaiian place, it's not the best but it's also not the worst. I felt like it was in between. At least from what I was served, some of them I really loved. Some of them I liked. Some not at all. Their greatest meat I got to taste was their grilled chicken. It was cooked to perfection, and it was very savory. I didn't need to dip it in the sauces provided, so I was very impressed. I forgot what it is, but it seems to be their beef. That one was a good bite too. Their kalua pork was okay in my opinion. Another place around the area has a better kalua pork. I'll include the mac salad too. I thought it was okay, but not the best. The one that disappointed me was the chicken katsu. It's probably always cooked to perfection, but I got a bad one in mine. The chicken was rubbery. It didn't have that nice texture that goes along with the crunch of a typical katsu. I would like to try another chicken katsu later and change my mind about it. But for now, I would say that I did not like the katsu I was served. One thing that people might find different about this place too is that it would cost you more to get more sauce. It didn't deter me, but for some, it might be a deal breaker. I think it's definitely a first for me seeing a Hawaiian restaurant charge more for sauce, but that maybe I just haven't been to a lot of Hawaiian restaurants.

Overall, it was good. Not the best, but a good addition to the city of Rexburg nonetheless. Looking forward to see...

Food is horrible and an insult to actual Hawaii local food when it tastes so bad! Just because a place makes itself look like a Hawaiian restaurant with the use of Hawaiian words, music, and the impersonation of plate lunch recipes doesn't mean they actually know how to make island food. We have never been to any mainland "Hawaiian" restaurant where the food just needed to be thrown out, but we sadly did. Believe the reviews that say the food is bland. Don't ever eat at a place that can't make rice properly either or has to compensate with sauces on their food to make it taste ok. Nothing in the Wipe Out plate was edible.

Rice had both soggy/mushy and dried out sections. Misoy chicken looked barely cooked or marinated. If it was marinated it wouldn't look or taste like the same color of bare chicken. There were no grill lines or hot pan heat marks. Katsu and bulgogi beef were really tough that we just gave it to our dog who could tear it up. The katsu sauce doesn't compliment the food at all. It's sour. Better to just use original katsu sauce or substitute with BBQ sauce. The bulgogi lacked flavor, especially if they say it's marinated. Kalua pork didn't even taste like it had salt which is a main ingredient!? Mac salad was just inconsistently cooked macaroni with mayo. My sign of quality Hawaiian grinds is how good the mac salad is. I should've just started there to know the rest of the meal wasn't...

I think the prices are fair for what they offer, but as many people have pointed out before, the food is a little bland. It is not bad, but it is not great either.

I ordered the one where they give you all 5 meats because I wanted to have a better understanding of their food, but nothing there excited me. Surprisingly, the rise was probably the best out of the whole meal, followed by the SPAM. Their sauces are bad, except for the pineapple one, which was excellent. But that only comes with the salads, which is a miss in my opinion. I would suggest to switch one of the default sauces with this one for every meal, or offer it to new clients (As a suggestion).

Something that really soured my experience however, was the fact that they charge you for water. I do not like sugary drinks, and always get water. This is the first time that I have been told that they do not offer water cups, and that I will have to pay for a normal drink if I want water. This, together with the fact that they charge you for extra sauces gives a bad impression (And I don't even get extra sauces 99% of the time)

The interior was a little simple as well, which you do not expect in a Hawaiian restaurant. I would suggest getting a more fun coat of paint, and maybe more themed tables.

Honestly, if it was not for the good and fast (So fast) service, I would have given this...