This establishment is well-versed in bait-and-switching. Their website clearly advertises that live reggae on Thursday night is free before 10pm and $5 after 10pm. My sister and I were looking forward to having some drinks, enjoying good food, and listening to music, so we arrived at 9:15pm and a party of about 4 other people arrived at the same time. We all walked in, ready for a good night, and the hostess at the front says, "Five dollars, please." There was also a sign letting people know that admission is $5 before 10pm and $10 after 10pm. My sister and I looked around like she must have been crazy...the place was DEAD and there wasn't a live band within earshot! And they had the nerve to try to charge to get in?! Nope. My sister and I walked right out the door and so did the party of 4 behind us.
We headed to a bar down the street where we were able to have a really good time and listen to some decent karaoke for a few hours. We drove past Kealoha's a little after midnight and it was still completely dead. LOL!
Whoever is running the marketing at this place needs to be fired. Your establishment lost good business (ahem, MONEY) all because you tried to be greedy and wouldn't be honest and upfront with your customers. Had we known that there would be a cover, we could have made an informed decision and might have even ended up staying at Kealoha's. But feeling like we're being bamboozled? We will always take our business elsewhere.
I came here on a Saturday night and there was only about 30 people at 11PM. We went in for about 30 minutes, the DJ kept playing the same music. It was pretty much dead. Skip this place, it's definitely not worth the cover charge.
The bouncer at the front had horrible customer service. Charge a cover for this place. I think not. There's no one here. Not to mention he was super rude.
Overpriced Hawaiian food. The environment is pretty legit but honestly, if you're coming here hungry on a Saturday night, you probably won't get your food until after 30-45 minutes so plan ahead. The servers were very nice though but they couldn't do anything about the wait since it's no longer in their hands.
Review Source:I have never been to this location before, and I wont be coming back. Â We came with a gift certificate...and I must mention previous posters have had this issue...it was not accepted. Â Yes, it was mothers day, and crowded for brunch, Â but by 2 pm the place was empty. Â $10 off would not have killed them on a 50 check. and NO WHERE was any mention of conditions for holidays.
Pros: Â roomy atmosphere, Â friendly staff, Â SOME of the food is decent.
cons: well lets just tell the story.
We walked in and were seated, and told someone would be with us soon....soon was after i got up after 5 minutes and asked why we hadn't seen anyone. Â Apparently this was buffet only day, and we were not told. Then the gift cert thing. Â Then we find out (no menu, so no price printed, or seen anywhere) that this buffet is 24.95 a person. Â A bit steep, but comes with drinks.
Now at $25 a mouth, Â I didn't expect the buffet to be a set of folding tables with plastic serving spoons. Â The french toast strips where dry and hard, syrup was in a large bowl with a spoon. Musoubi was 1/8 inch thick spam and gummy rice. By the way, don't leave pasta on a warmer, it overcooks. Â
Oh, and when it was in the hi 90s outside, a staff member props a door open near our table for 10 minutes to load a car?
This place had a chance, but a bunch of little irritations ruined our experience.
Only giving 2 stars because the drinks were good.
Came down from San Francisco to watch my younger cousin perform hula at this restaurant. We were excited to get some Hawaiian food - but were highly disappointed.
At a glance the appearance and inside is very welcoming. Large areas, full bar, in the corner there's a small dance floor and band area. The menu overall does not have much to choose from; about 7 appetizers to choose from, a few entrees, The Kealoha's Luau (23$ deal where you choose 2 out of 5 entrees), and then their fish entrees and sandwiches.
We were a large party of about 15 so we expected slower service. They took our drink orders right away (alcoholic drinks are probably the best thing here). The service was OKAY. The waiter only refilled our drinks once after multiple times to flag him down. One major downfall is that the food took FOREVER. (we realize it would take longer due to a big party but we did not expect THAT long) By the time I received my food everyone was finished and they had my order wrong. Also we had a few children in our party and they were complaining they were hungry because their food came last which was not cool. My younger brother who ordered ribs: which were cold. My food came last after everyone was finished eating and everything was pretty much cold.
What we ordered:
Da'Kine Poke - Market Price: Small portion of fish, yet a reasonable size. I've had poke MANY times before and this was the saltiest poke I've ever had. The flavor was generic, but the salt was so over powering that it was hard to eat. Almost like they had chunks of salt and just threw it on top. Definitely had better.
Sweet Potato Stack - $5.95: Looked very appetizing; Had a nice crunch texture and went very well with the sauce. Strong sweet potato taste - if you don't like sweet potato don't bother. Flaws; The crusting was too loose. Basically after one bite the sweet potato and crust separate.
The Kealoha's Luau - $22.95: We had the choice of ribs, chicken teriyaki, coconut shrimp, seared ahi tuna, and kalua pork. I decided to go with the chicken teriyaki and coconut shrimp. The chicken had a good flavor to it, the coconut shrimp went well with the mango dipping sauce. The rice was stale and cold. By the time it came I was already full off of everyone else's plates.
Lastly, The Rocky Road to Hana Dessert - $5.95: Hoping this would make up for the entrees. Not. It was two large scoops of ice cream and to TINY pieces of brownie on the side. It was basically the brownies from the dollar store that come in a pack of two with nuts - but just one of the squares cut in half. I know this because I've eaten them many times before.
Overall: The Hawaiian food was very generic and bland. I wish I had tried to fish to possibly give this place more stars. But I don't think I would come back - or any of my family members that came with us will.
Sorely disappointed. Â We went on Sunday for the first time and maybe it wasn't the best idea to be going out to eat at some place new on a special day like Mother's day, but if I can't be wowed on a special day, is there hope for a normal day? We showed up not realizing the only thing they were serving was a buffet.
We were seated and the hostess pointed to where the buffet was and that our server would be out shortly. It was a little past noon and the place was half full. Â We waited awhile and the hubby had to go back to the hostess stand and let them know no one came to our table yet. Our waiter finally came and got our drink order. Â He asked us if we had a coupon for $5 off for the Mother's day brunch. I said no, but I do have a gift certificate for $10 off. He had to check with the manager if they would accept it and eventually came back telling me no. I was hungry and wanted to try this place so we decided to still stay anyways. It still annoyed me though that they were taking $5 off coupons from people for the brunch, but they wouldn't take my $10 off? Wouldn't it have been the same if we both had a $5 coupon? I'd be more understanding if they accepted no coupons whatsoever for the brunch or if my certificate stated that it wasn't good for specific events, but it didn't.
Still, I wanted to give them the benefit of the good things I heard about the place. The buffet cost us $25 a person! Not worth it at all. It doesn't seem like they planned the brunch very well. Â There was a meat carving station with ham and turkey, but no one working it. People had to carve their own meat! Â There was also an omelette station that was a mess and no one there to handle it either. Â The buffet was until 3 pm. If you are going to advertise something as part of the buffet, then it should be available the whole time. If you can't care to keep it manned the whole time at least clean it up or move it back to the kitchen. And plastic serving spoons next to each chafing dish! Oooh la la..fancy.
The buffet items were okay at best. There was Hawaiian fried rice with ham/spam. For the $25 I was paying, I wished it was shrimp instead. The french toast sticks were hard and dry. Â I've had much better spam musubi at fast food Hawaiian plate lunch joints. The "lobster and shrimp" pasta was more pasta than anything else. The pieces you could find were the size of the tip of your pinky finger and were hard to tell if it was shrimp or lobster. The potstickers were a bit dried out on the edges but the sweet chilli sauce on the side made it better. Â The watermelon slices were not ripe and there were still pieces of the rind on the honeydew slices that were missed.
On the up side, the kalua pork and coconut shrimp were good. The ribs were pretty tasty. And it's pretty hard to mess up bacon or shrimp cocktail. Â And yay for tropical iced tea and cookies. Egg rolls were okay but a bit soggy.
Subpar for the $25. I can make any of these dishes at home. Â For $25, I could have some good AYCE sushi. Â I could have had some stellar AYCE Korean BBQ. Â For less than $25 I could have hit up a Chinese seafood buffet that would have had a lot more variety. Which I did the day before to celebrate Mother's day with the family!
Don't think I'll be back to spend that $10 gift certificate.
The wife and I came back on a late Sun. afternoon. They were rather slow, so no problem getting a table. We sat near the waterfall-wall and I got the "Loco-Moco", which means Crazy Snot in spanish, but is a charred beef patty on a bed of jasmine rice, topped with an egg (there it is) and some gravy. The mac and cheese also had some shredded carrots in it which was a nice touch. I thought it tasted great (albeit kinda dry on the [patty) and the tea was not too sweet. She enjoyed her burger and we took 1/2 of it home. Again, so nice to just jump on the 60 fwy. right next to the restaurant.
I noticed they have comedy shows fairly regularly, so that may be a nice option too. I remember the drinks being pretty good...Aloha and Namaste!
The Hawaiian music was very ono, but the food was not.
I ordered the poke and got sahimi instead. They dont really have a poke dish. My wife had the loco moco and was VERY disapointed, my teri chicken was ok but the sauce came from a bottle....or at least tasted like kikomam teri sauce. And kinda high price.
And then they cut off the Hawaiian music for some DJ
And ther service was at a snails pace..
It is a nice CLEAN place so if you go, eat before hand order coffee and desert and enjoy the live music before DJ man comes on.
Decent service. Good food & drinks. Blue hawaiian was great...very tasty with no skimping on the alcohol. I had the ribs....they were fall off the bone but could have used more sauce on top....some of the pieces were dry because the sauce was not completely covering the ribs. We will return.
Review Source:went there sat night , it was the bomb, the sweet potato stacks are awesome, the ribs and teriyaki chicken and vegetables is very good.  The wasabi mashed potatos were the best I ever tasted.  Great dinner.. The star attraction was the award winning Mai Tai wow so good!!!  I think i will just go back for those.  lol!!  Loved the hawaiian music band they had there very entertaining.  We will defenitly  be back at.
Review Source:If  a samon fish or mahi mahi cost $ 21.00 a plate shouldn't be less like a chip food.
white rice was dry, I wish it was more like picture that they have in their menu. Â bar was not busy but it took long long time to have a drink
Hawaiian music was good , waiters was friendly , she needs to be more focus. not forgetting things.
Food was just ok. Wife liked her ginger smashed potatoes. My burger was burnt to a crisp (asked for medium well). Asked for no onions or tomato and had to pick both off myself. Service was dreadfully slow even though the restaurant was almost empty. After waitress brought a to go container for my kids' meals we had to wait for 10 minutes for check after already slow service up to that point. Wife says she might try again, but I won't be upset if I never spend another dollar there. It wasn't TERRIBLE, but not good.
Review Source:This used to be Honolulu Harry's which from what I remembered had a decent happy hour. The Kealoha menu looks similar. Actually didn't order off the happy hour menu this time but did get a sweet potatoe stack for an appetizer - RECOMMEND!. I ordered the loco moco as my entree and fatty ordered ribs + coconut shrimp. If you don't like the taste of wasabi, do NOT get the mashed potatoes... ask to substitute for something else. We didn't eat a bit of it :( the coconut shrimp and ribs were both good. My loco moco was really dry. Had to ask for extra gravy on the side. We came on a Saturday night and they had an older social event starting at 9 that would have made us pay a cover if we stayed past that time. Not sure if it happens often but I'm thinking that's how this place stays open bc I don't think people come back for the food
Review Source:Service:
Only reason the review doesn't have five stars is because we walked in to the restaurant and there was literally no server or hostess or anyone to at least tell us that we can seat ourselves. We stood there for a good 10 minutes before we saw some other people just walk in and seat themselves and we followed suit. I also had to get up and ask someone for menus because we sat for another 5-7 minutes neglected. Otherwise, our server was very nice and prompt with water refills. Our food was also brought very quickly , so kudos.
Food:
Sweet potato stack was YUM. I can't even describe how good and scrumptious these are! Props to them for choosing thousand island sauce as the dipping sauce. Fried to perfection and my friend and I loved the presentation.
I got the Combo so I chose ribs, kahlua pork, and this came with vegetables and a choice of jasmine rice or wasabi mashed potatoes. I chose the mashed potatoes and boy did I make the right choice! I have no affinity for wasabi aka I don't like it! But the potatoes were something from another planet--so good!
My friend got the loco moco and from what I could tell, she loved it! The side of macaroni salad was good too, according to her!
We also shared a crunch roll which was pretty good.
Ambiance:
Nice decor and atmosphere. Family friendly and we went there when it was pretty empty because we just missed the lunch crowd (thank goodness). I am impressed that food still came out quick even though there were maybe only 3 other tables. (I usually find that the less filled a restaurant is, the slower the food comes out... but Kealoha's didn't disappoint!)
Overall:
Liked the place - probably will come back! (Service could use a little bit of help.)
Another of my favorite places now has gone the way of the dodo.
No, Kealoha's has not closed. Â But it will be a long time in coming before I head back here.
So, what happened here?
One, on a weeknight, the wife really wanted to grab their marinated skirt steak, so we hightailed it over here.  They close at 9 and we got there about 10 minutes before closing.  I know, poor etiquette.  I quite understand since I worked in restaurants for a better part of my life.  But you see, you have business hours for a reason.  We walked up to the door and it was LOCKED.  The open sign was still LIT.  They opened it for us  and told us the kitchen was already closed.  I asked if we could order something to go.  We could not.  Nail number one.  I also have to add that we never failed to be served when this place was Honolulu Harry's.
Two, on Valentine's Day, the wife is still hankering for the skirt steak, so we make our way over there again. Â The problem this time? Â I brought a coupon THEY had sent ME with a free entree option for the wife's birthday. Â At the end of the meal, we present the coupon to the waitress and she told us they couldn't accept it since it was Valentine's Day. Â I pointed out that nowhere on the coupon did it limit or exclude holidays. Â She took my iPhone with the coupon on it and went to talk to the manager. Â Comes back and says no again. Â I ask to speak with the manager. Â Manager still says no, says that the exclusion was intended to be included in the email. Â Say WHAT?! Â Hey, I intended to pick the winning lotto numbers, does that mean I did? Â I persist and he readily relents. Â But really, put me through all of this hassle? Â The coupon drove in business, did it's job, brought good will, all pissed away. Â Nail number two.
Three, we get the sweet potato stack and it was filthy greasy. Â I mean oil is just dripping over the thing. Â Yuck. Â I usually love the skirt steak, but man was it SALTY this time around. Â We also switched out the Wasabi Mashed Potatoes to the Spam fried rice. Â It was a tiny portion for a large price ($1.95). Â So, at the end of the meal we had a large bill (even with the entree subtracted) and food that was very much sub-par. Â Nail number three.
this place was ok, i had heard many good things about it, but i left unimpressed. the food was good but not great like i had been told. I tried the Kahlua pork, which is my favorite Hawaiian dish, but again it was just ok. Great location right off the freeway, and may visit again when in the area. but i would not make it a point to drive here to just try this place. I also think it's a lil overpriced.
Review Source:I wish I could give Kealoha's TEN STARS!! We stumbled upon this restaurant largely by accident. I was meeting up with family halfway between where our respective houses are. We had never stopped in Chino for food before, so we were looking for a good place, and found a GREAT place! I see that there are several extremely negative reviews on here about service... if there was ever a problem with their service, they have ABSOLUTELY fixed it! I have never gotten better service than we did tonight! Â (I'll talk about the service more at the end of my review). I live 40 minutes away from Kealoha's, but I will DEFINITELY be coming back!
Atmosphere: Super cool! Classy interior, mesmerizingly beautiful glass wall waterfall. Classy island feel without being cheesy or kitschy in the least. LIVE MUSIC!! A band came in and started playing jazz music! And friendly people.
Appetizer: Thinly sliced sweet potatoes, coated in coconut and fried, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and served with an AWESOME chipotle-ranch sauce. The outsides were crispy and delcious, the inside sweet and soft. So freaking tasty!!!
Entrée: THE BEST baby-back ribs I have EVER tasted. In a sweet Aloha BBQ sauce. I went to pull the end rib off of the rack. As soon as I tried to lift it a bit I was left with a clean rib bone in my hand! The meat didn't even "fall" off the bone, because it never even lifted from my plate!!! So tender, so juicy, so well flavored. Absolutely mouth watering. I cannot rave enough.
Sides: (I split a combo meal with my brother) It came with delicious Island Veggies and a choice of Wasabi Smashed Potatoes or Steamed Jasmine Rice -- we chose to get both and just paid a little extra.
*The veggies- cooked in a buttery oil mixture, soft, buttery, and the perfect compliment to the mashed potatoes.
*The wasabi mashed potatoes- to die for! They were not the least bit spicy as I had imagined; the wasabi actually somehow made them taste sweeter! They were not quite perfectly smooth, with soft flavorful chunks that had managed to escape whatever tool they use to mash the potatoes. So delicious!
*The Steamed Jasmine Rice: perfect.
Dessert: Complimentary birthday dessert. Ice cream, with raspberry and chocolate sauces, and whipped cream. Light and creamy, totally delicious, I literally licked my aesthetically pleasing square bowl ^_^
Service: EXCELLENT!!!
Our server Valerie was phenomenal! Extremely accommodating, friendly, made great menu recommendations, Absolutely on top of refills; brought my brother FIVE root beer refills over the course of the meal without him having to ask, or wait with an empty glass at any point.
The host was attentive, personable, funny.
They even sent the chef out to talk to us and make sure we enjoyed everything at the end of the meal.
Meal as a whole: TRANSCENDENTALLY DELICIOUS!!
I was hesitant to come to Kealoha's because of the bad reviews but I'm glad we decided to go anyway. Â The atmoshere is great. Â The restaurant is well-decorated (not cheesy Hawaiian decor), comfortable, well-kept and with a great atmosphere. Â The service was excellent. Â Our waitress, Talia, was friendly, attentive, and she had great menu suggestions.
Sweet Potato Stack - crispy fried thinly sliced sweet potatoes with a coconut coating. These were amazing!
Loco Moco - Very good! Â They do it right here. Â It was great. Â Even the side of macaroni salad was well done. Â Not bland at all, like most places.
Kailua Pork and Coconut Shrimp Combo - This was good. Â Not outstanding but not bad either. Â However, the side of wasabi mashed potatoes was great. Â I don't even like wasabi but these were good. Â
Road to Hana Volcano Ice Cream - Coconut ice cream with a chocolate shell and Oreo cookies. Â It was great! Â We really enjoyed it.
Mai Tai - I don't usually like Mai Tai's but there's was fabulous! Â It was so good. Â I'd go back just for this again.
Overall, everything was great. Â I don't know why other reviewers said it was expensive. Â It's not. Â Same as going to a chain restaurant like BJ's, Cheesecake Factory, etc. Â Food was great! Â Music and ambiance was great! Â Service was excellent. Â I'd definitely go back again.
The service was terrible! I would love to say the good was good, but I never even received my entree! After waiting 2.5 hours, and several reminders my burger finally was brought out,, after my entire party was finished eating. My husband ordered the ribs and coconut shrimp. It came out cold and the coconut shrimp was more like popcorn shrimp. Also we ordered an appetizer, it came out extremely late, and getting refills on our drinks was nearly impossible. First and last visit to this place!
Review Source:Aloha, I absolutely love this place. Â Being here really makes you miss being back in Hawaii. It's as if they plucked this restaurant right off the shores of Waikiki and transplanted in Chino. Definitely my favorite Hawaiian/Islander type eatery in the Inland Empire.
First and foremost, the food. Â They have a great selection of authentic island dishes, seafood, and even regular restaurant fare cooked with a little Hawaiian twist. Â I highly recommend their ribs and pork entrees, they are outstanding. I've also had their teriyaki chicken and coconut shrimp, both were delicious. Â What makes a huge difference are the sauces they serve with their dishes. Â They just add a unique flavor that is amazing.
Secondly, the atmosphere. Â It's obviously Hawaiian/Polynesian stuff, but well done and not tacky or touristy looking. The bar is also nice. Â We once went on a Saturday night, and walked in to the music of a live Hawaiian band. Â
The place is a bit pricy, for two people we paid somewhere around $70. Â But it was totally worth it for the outstanding eats.
So if you are missing a nice Hawaiian experience, definitely give this place a try. Â Listening to live Hawaiian music, being surrounded by all the people in tropical attire, smelling the island food, and looking at all the different Hawaiian decorations, you actually believe for a moment you're back on the Islands.
This place sounds great for displaced Hawaiians or people wanting a quick fix for Hawaiian/local food. When you first walk in, the space is nice, clean and decorated very nicely. Service was also good. Â
The FOOD is the problem. Â I ordered the Chinese chicken salad, spam fried rice and a sushi roll. Â Anybody who is from Hawaii knows that people from Hawaii or local people always use medium-short grain rice. For whatever reason, Kealoha's uses jasmine rice. Â When I tasted the spam fried rice it tasted really weird. Â The rice had a different texture and aftertaste. This was even more noticeable with the sushi. It was the wrong rice to use for sushi. Â jasmine rice and sushi don't go well together. Â In addition, the rice was not seasoned for sushi. In addition, the soy sauce or shoyu that was used in this restaurant was Yamasa. Anybody from Hawaii knows that Aloha shoyu is the only brand that can be used!!! I can also go off about the Chinese chicken salad, but I think I have said enough regarding the choices in rice and soy sauce.
It is clear that Kealoha's  does not cater to people from Hawaii. This is clear by the food. This place caters to people who romanticize about going to Hawaii, but have never visited, lived there, or tasted the food.
This place used to be Honolulu Harry's.
I like the idea of having a Hawaiian restaurant not far from home. The atmosphere is very tropical and inviting. The food and service needs improvement though.
Came here on a Thursday night (which is Reggae night with a band playing in the bar area). We sat in the bar area and they have happy hour all day everyday which is good to know. We ordered some app's right off the bat and either the bartender forgot to put our order in or they were just slow in the kitchen because we waited a good 30 min for 2 app's to come. How hard is it to cut some seared ahi and throw it on a plate? Come on, really???
As for our main entree's...I ordered the Kealoha's Revenge with Shrimp and my BF ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich. Sadly, the Kealoha's Revenge was not to my liking. Hardly any shrimp and a TON of rice. I ate a few bites and left it to be thrown in the trash. Now, the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich was really tasty! Thanks to my loving BF, he shared his meal with me since mine was not so good.
I was happy to see that they serve Spam Musubi so of course we placed an order and they were good. You can't mess that up!
The service was not really good. It took forever to have our water glasses and cokes refilled. Alcoholic drinks seemed to be watered down. Bartender didn't seem to be very attentive to his patrons.
I will have to think twice about giving this spot another chance.
Thought it would be kitschy fun, but the restaurant is classy, with a lovely glass wall waterfall (where a wedding reception was going on the night we were there) Â Calamari so-so, but the spam musubi roll, kahluha pork, and seared ahi tuni were delicious. The drinks are fun, served with umbrellas, and fun cups, orchids and slices of pineapple.
Review Source:Kealoha's is defiantly a large taste of the Hawaiian Islands!! I can't say enough great things about this place. The food... fantastic and fresh! The atmosphere... warm and friendly. The live music... lovely and if you get a chance to catch Aunt Geri perform you are in for a real Hawaiian treat!! The Mai Tai of course is a must, Â and the Hawaiian dancers are so beautiful.
Taking my mom back for her birthday this month!
All in all, real Hawaii food and Aloha, in Chino, CA.!!
Formerly Honolulu Harry's this restaurant has it going on.
Kealoha's Taste of the Islands is a large restaurant featuring a casual tropical ambiance complete with photos of Hawaii, lots of bamboo and a soothing large waterfall wall separating the two dining rooms. The flowery upholstered booths and other tropical décor and the soothing Hawaiian music filtering throughout the dining room set the tone for a most memorable and relaxing dining experience.
Now the food! The crisp Sweet Potato Stack was also a treat and was served with dipping sauces. Another great dish was the Kealoha's Skirt Steak which comprised of a large skirt steak marinated for 72 hours in a teriyaki-like marinade and then char-grilled and topped with fried Maui onion strings along with wasabi smashed potatoes and fresh veggies. If you have a hard time choosing an entrée, why not try the Kealoha Luau (combination plate). Let's see there is the No Ka Oi Baby Back Ribs, Seared Ahi Tuna, Hawaiian Kalua Pork, Island Teriyaki Chicken and the Coconut Shrimp. Fresh veggies, smashed Wasabi potatoes or Jasmine Rice and your choice of two entrees makes this dish a real deal!. Other outstanding dishes I enjoyed included the spicy Fire Wok Kealoha's Revenge, the slowly roasted Kalua pulled pork sandwich on King's Hawaiian rolls and their popular half pound Teriyaki Swiss Burger.
Quick note: check my Yelp profile for extended coverage of this and other great restaurants. Also, let's stay in touch! Add me as a Yelp friend to talk and share tips about the best eats in the Inland Empire!
Another great dish was the Kealoha's Skirt Steak which comprised of a large skirt steak marinated for 72 hours in a teriyaki-like marinade and then char-grilled and topped with fried Maui onion strings along with wasabi smashed potatoes and fresh veggies.
If you have a hard time choosing an entrée, why not try the Kealoha Luau (combination plate). Let's see there is the No Ka Oi Baby Back Ribs, Seared Ahi Tuna, Hawaiian Kalua Pork, Island Teriyaki Chicken and the Coconut Shrimp. Fresh veggies, smashed Wasabi potatoes or Jasmine Rice and your choice of two entrees makes this dish a real deal!.
Other outstanding dishes I enjoyed included the spicy Fire Wok Kealoha's Revenge, the slowly roasted Kalua pulled pork sandwich on King's Hawaiian rolls and their popular half pound Teriyaki Swiss Burger. They also serve a variety of fish like Ono, Opha, Opaka, Mahi Mahi and Basa to name a few but be aware that some of the fish is seasonal and the prices vary depending on the current market price.
For dessert, I highly recommend the Kilaue Volcano $5.95, a large scoop of coconut pineapple ice cream cote with a chocolate shell served on a black sand beach of Oreo cookie crumbs and topped with hot fudge, raspberry sauce and a whipped cream.
In addition to great food, the large Mai Tai Lounge serves many signature drinks including the award winning Mai Tai's and other tropical drink favorites. One of the highlights of dining at this restaurant is their live entertainment. You can enjoy Karaoke on Tuesday Nights at 8pm, Open Mike on Wednesday nights, Live Reggae on Thursday nights at 9pm and Hawaiian bands every Friday & Saturday nights from 5:30pm to 9pm and at their all you can eat Sunday Brunch 11am to 2 pm.
Tasty Hawai'ian food, live music, very friendly staff and clean/enjoyable atmosphere. I try to stop by on my way home to LA from Palm Springs. I'm never disappointed and makes me fiend for a trip back to Hawai'i.
Yes, it's a little gimicky but nothing out of the norm for tourist driven restaurants in Hawai'i. The drinks are huge and you can't complain with the mini umbrellas and fruit garnishes in them.
Worth checking out during your drive through/passed Chino.
Atmosphere:
I must have passed Honolulu Harry's counted less time on my way to Chino and never was tempted to stop. I ended up seeing their ad in the Clipper Magazine and decided to give this place a try. The decor inside is really nice. It felt clean and plenty of things to look at in the walls. (1 Star)
Taste:
I don't even remember what I ordered, but I remember being good. Must have been some sort of burger. (1 Star) Â
Price:
On-par with other restaurants of this type. Around $10/person. (1 Star)
Service:
Our waitress was great. Even though it was a late Sunday night, she was always carrying a smile and making sure we had everything we needed. There was absolutely no wait due to the time that we went. Â (1 Star)
Overall:
I don't see myself becoming a regular, but I do recommend this place if you're on the fence. At least try it once. (1 Star)
Really?
The Great - No wait to be seated
The Good - The diet soda
The Bad - After getting drinks (no straws) we had to flag someone down later to take our order. Â The chips came AFTER my pork sliders were almost gone. (no i didn't inhale them ha ha)
The Ugly - My mother-in-law's cold sides with her ribs.
This is the worst service I've received in quite some time. Â Although no one was outright rude, It seemed we were forgotten about and the kitchen did not have their stuff together. Â When it was Honolulu Harry's the service was bad. Now it's worse.
If you don't care about what you eat and wanna pretend you're in Hawaii, come here.
The decor is VERY nice. It's beautiful and really islandy. They even have an indoor waterfall kinda thing. It's pretty, no doubt.
But the food is nothing near paradise. The menu was kind of disappointing, to be honest. It wasn't what I expected from such a nice looking place. We spent over $30 for two people, didn't like our food, and left hungry. Seriously, it sucked. Oh yeah, and we were the only ones there and our food took 30 minutes to come out. THIRTY MINUTES.
Nice look, bad food. I will never go here again.
I remembered dining here with co-workers before it was Kealoha's (was also an Island theme restaurant then) and I remembered really enjoying their kettle potato chips. When I saw it re-opened and they maintained the island vibe I bookmarked and planned a revisit.
The day came and had dinner with my kids. The island ambiance is pretty cool. They have a glass waterfall divider, lots of nipa and live Hawaiian music.
The food and service were so-so...they several items in the menu that they are out of...it was only 6pm...so that's less star for them. The spam fried rice was salty..they also serve kettle potato chips and that was good but not really to rave for. My kids had a crunch roll which was the same in other restaurants, but their burger was delicious.
I probably won't be going back to Kealoha's coz my curiosity about the place has been answered.
Let me start off by saying that anyone who would say the food here is not good must have something seriously wrong with their taste buds! And they wouldn't know good food if it hit them right in their pie hole!
With that said, this place is fabulous! I have been here several times since it reopened as Kealoha's. Love, love, love the island decor and the water wall! Check their web site for the entertainment schedule because you will want to go on a day where they have live music (singers are amazing).
As for the food: YUMMY! The calamari here is the best I've ever had. Hawaiian skirt steak is so flavorful and tender (I'm drooling as I write this). The sweet potato stack is to die for! If you decide on fresh fish get it blackened; it's perfectly seasoned. The Kena Roll is tasty and fresh. You MUST have a Mai Tai (if you are of legal age) because they are super tasty and they come in a really cool tiki cup!
We recently came here to check out the Sunday brunch on Mothers Day and the buffet food is just as exceptional as the food on the menu. They even have food during the buffet that they don't have on the menu, such as Loco Moco, Spam Musubi, crab legs, macaroni salad, and an omelet/waffle station.
The new owner, Preston Kealoha, is living his dream of owning this restaurant and takes so much pride in running this fine establishment. He truly wants you to enjoy your dining experience here. He will come to your table to see how everything is and make you feel like family!
P.S. Kealoha's is no more expensive than if you were spending money on food at Applebee's or Chili's (but that food is crap). If you only ever eat off the Dollar Menu at McDonald's, then you might think its expensive.
Aloha!
Pros: Â Decor is great. Â Place is clean. Â
Cons: Â Expensive. Appetizers are boring. Â (More like selections from Chili's) Island drinks are not stiff enough. Â Kalua pork was luke warm and not tasty. Â No potato or mac salad served with rice.
You won't be able to measure this place up with King's Hawaiian, Local Place, or Back Home in Lahaina. Â (I know, they're all in the south bay, but they know how to do Hawaiian dishes right)
There are no Saimin noodles, Loco Mocos and Spam Musubi's served here. Â Seriously?
This place seems like a Hawaiian restaurant better served in Toledo, OH!
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