My new favorite place for plate lunch on the North Shore. Â Stopped by Tita's in Kahuku to check them out. Â But at $8.50 for a teriyaki plate, bench seating outside, and I was in a rush, I decided to check out Keneke's in Punaluu for the first time. Â I saw their sign advertising specials w/ drink for $7.50. Â Called ahead, and the person answering politely read off all the specials, so I placed my phone order. Â She gave the option of fries or rice, so I opted for the fries.
Easy and ample parking in the front. Â The food was ready when I arrived, service was very good and friendly. Â They didn't charge any tax, so the TOTAL was $7.50. Â Free refills on drinks. The coconut shrimp (7 pcs) was moist, w/ a nice batter, and delicious! Â The Bible verses on the wall made for good reading and to pass the time. Â TV also on. Â There's also tables and benches on the outside, with the mountains as a backdrop, in case you prefer a more quiet and natural ambience.
I used Kenekes to cater my wedding of 240 people at Sea Life Park (NEVER use them as a venue - ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE!!!). Anyhoo, Keith was great to work with from the food tasting at the Punaluu Kenekes (fabulous and friendly) to the menu he created and the service he provided. I would recommend him to anyone planning a party who would like delicious, affordable, professional catering... They passed pupus to guests (breaded coconut shrimp, Teri beef skewers, ahi poke, guava BBQ chicken skewers).. Then we chose a buffet dinner of kalua pig and kale, mango BBQ chicken , grilled mahi mahi, hapa rice, sweet potato mash, greens salad, sautéed vegetables... All of this for $26/head!!!  (plus tax and tip)... They wore all black and provided water goblets and glass 9" square plates... I can't thank Keith enough for being the most stress-free vendor to work with while planning my wedding... So flexible and relaxed in ever aspect. Kenekes is a hidden gem in the catering world! Thank you Keith for everything!
Aloha,
Kristine
Went here twice. I had a bad first experience a year ago. The kalua pork was extremely dry and there mochiko chicken was tasteless! They served my food in a brown take out box that was falling apart from the gravy that was being absorbed. I told myself I would never waste money there again! A few people I know have tried there and had nothing but good things to say and I noticed they had a good deal going on. Hamburger steak & a drink for $7.50 so I decided to give it a try again boy was that a mistake. The hamburger was tasteless I threw it away and they cashier was very rude to me. After that being said you can guarantee that I will NEVER waste my money there again! I liked the scriptures on the wall and the amount of parking and that it why they get 1 star
Review Source:There is a reason for 5 stars:
plenty food (really a big portion) for a cheap price, so if you are big and hungry guy, you will find your lucky place. Free soft drink with the meal. Plenty street parking, the shack itself (with bible verses on walls) is airy and cooled with a shade and breeze.
And reason for less stars:
The food is typical Hawaiian - greasy, heavy and too salty. First few bites are tasty, but then, you have a problem finishing it (I always take leftovers - not just because it's too much but always too heavy). There is a restroom next to the restaurant but it's "very" simple, I can imagine some ladies and guys will be disgusted. And for some reason, I always had stomach problems after eating here :(
Okay, it was between The Crouching Lion and this place, and yelp reviews made me choose this place...thanks Yelp! It is my 50th birthday and I wanted to treat myself to something good for dinner. I am a totally picky eater and I was thoroughly impressed. I ordered the garlic shrimp and fish combo plate.....YUM! Â The service was outstanding and I totally enjoyed the fish plate.....great birthday dinner:) Thanks Keneke's!
Oh yeah, and the bible verses on the walls I found endearing...
2.5 stars. Â I ordered the hamburger steak plate, which was about $7.50 and comes with a drink. Â The hambuger was pretty tasteless. Â The gravy was what really gave any flavor to it. Â Would not recommend this or ever order it again. Â
A friend of mine got some garlic fish. Â That was REALLY ONO. Â If I ever find myself back here, I'd def. get that. Â If I had that, this place probably would have gotten more stars.
Portion sizes are huge, btw.
Visited this place for the first time in December and it was delicious! Keneke's is a small hole-in-the-wall that serves really good local food that's fresh! The only downer is it's a little bit pricey, but I guess that's the cost of shipping good, fresh food all the way to that side of the island. In addition to the delicious food, they their decor is quite memorable. Inside the dining room, there are dozens of scriptures painted on the wall, along with small pictures and other unique quotes. We will definitely visit this place again!
Review Source:Food was good for the price but we had better in the area. Garlic shrimp was decent and peeled which isn't the norm here. White fish was good. Chicken was not so great.
Has a good ice cream and shaved ice selection if you are looking to hit your sweet tooth.
I would agree with some of the comments I've seen on cleanliness. It's not terrible, but definately not the cleanest we've been to. Wait staff was not the friendliest either, which I found odd with all of the bible versus written all the walls.
Also, watch the hours. I believe they are open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. but tried going at just after 9 one morning and they weren't open yet. Then tried going at 7:30 that night and they had already closed. I love "island time"!!
I had a chance to dine here and camp on the property so I'll keep the two reviews in separate paragraphs.
Restaurant: I was a little wierded out by all the bible scripts on the wall, but found it interesting. It helped pass the time reading them while I waited for the food, which is slow coming out when there are several orders. Food is delicious, large portions, and inexpensive. I always get the teri-beef & garlic shrimp, comes with rice & mac salad. My bf raves about their kalua pig sandwich but it's kinda small buns, even though they pile on the meat. They also sell Dave's Ice-cream from Waimanalo.
Camp ground: We camped here Fri-Sun with a group of friends. The property is large. The owner usually opens it up for surf competition campers. There are two parts of the property, in front is a wide grassy area, fenced in. The back part is also grassy but has a huge fire pit. Not much shading. It's a good thing we brought our pop-up tent. Plenty of firewood, but when we were there, it was a bit damp from rain. There are also cows & chicken on the property and usually stay behind the gate/shrubs but a couple usually wander out to the camp ground. At night, be careful when walking to the bathroom. There are LARGE snails and frogs all over.
Overall: My experience was awesome. There are bathrooms with electricity all night, showers, garbage bins for trash, right across from the beach, yummy & cheap breakfast-lunch-dinner 100 ft away (they close at 8p). Best of all, Keith, the owner, was super friendly...don't let his biker appearance scare you!
I am torn. Do I give two stars or three?
I want to give 3 stars because the food is great, they serve large portions, and it's relatively cheap for a plate lunch. I love the BBQ chicken, mochiko chicken and chicken katsu.
But I kind of think this Keneke's deserves 2 stars because it smells like rotting fruit outside and inside there are fruit flies galore! Kinda nasty if you ask me!
My fiancé used the restroom outside but I wouldn't even dare. Eek!
I'm gunna stick with the OG Keneke's in Waimanalo. It's so much cleaner and they serve Kalbi.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE:
OUTSIDE: Inviting. Lots of parking.
INSIDE: I like the rustic ambiance. Scriptural passages handwritten with a marker on the white walls. There's a television in the mauka side dining room. The best way I can describe it is that it's COUNTRY. It's set up like a drive-in except that it's indoors. There's a take out window where you order and pick up your food.
FOOD SELECTION: Average local selection from katsu to loco moco, burgers and fries, shave ice, and smoothies. They have an interesting range. I ordered the Garlic Steak plate with all tossed salad. I was expecting a Steak seasoned with salt and garlic. It was more like a teriyaki steak with some garlic. Actually, I think it's the May's brand teriyaki sauce. Based on the texture, the meat seemed like it was previously frozen and not fresh. A friend of mine ordered the burger combo. I didn't get to take a look at what the burger looked like but I did get some fries. I was disappointed with the fries. It, too, is previously frozen. Does anybody cut their own fries?
VALUE: The value's are EXCELLENT. $6.99 for a meal and drink. That's unheard of. The portion size is decent - just the right amount! $5 for two burgers.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: Excellent!
I think this was our favorite meal on the island. It was the cheapest, most satisfying meal too.
When you first walk into Keneke's, it really is kind of like a scene from any horror movie; there is scripture all over the walls and the lights all have a weird neon look to them that makes you think they're going to start flickering any moment. However, the woman who took our order was very nice and didn't even seem to be bothered by the fact that we were most certainly tourists. (I'm so white, there is no doubt of it.)
I ordered the Kalua pork meal, which came with your choice of two sides. I had rice and toss salad. This had to have been the most flavorful, tender, and moist Kalua pig we had anywhere on the island, and we tried it in quite a few places. The only bummer was that the salad was served in the same box as the pork and rice, and therefore it got warm. Cam had the Kalua pork sandwich and said it was equally good.
Also, free refills on the drinks!
If you make a trip up to the north shore, this is a must stop place! Don't let the look scare you off!
Reasonably priced and good food, worth a stop if you're in the area. Â I liked my burger and fries and my husband enjoyed his terriyaki chicken plate lunch. Â I can't give this place four stars because our food took a lot longer than it should have to come out, and I was a little taken aback by all the Bible verses on the walls, but that may be just because I am a heathen :)
Review Source:You can only imagine my delight when I'm driving to north shore and SEE THIS PLACE! Â KENEKESSSS!!! Â IN PUNALUU!!!! Â Pork Adobo is still just as good. Â No one was really here, so you know most people don't know it exist yet. Â You know what I like about this one over the other? Â You refill your own drinks. Â Unlimited Drinks!
Review Source:I'm pretty surprised this place has no Yelp page yet but maybe because people don't know it's there. I got the address from Google Maps so I'm not even sure if that's accurate but if you're coming from Ka'a'awa side, it's a little past Kahana Bay on the left side of the highway. If you're coming from the Hale'iwa side, it's past Punalu'u beach park on the right. It's a little blue and white building that looks like a house with a gravel parking lot. I think there used to be some kind of touristy shrimp shack here before.
Although the menu is pretty much the same as the Waimanalo one (standard local food - hamburger steak, mochiko chicken, shave ice, etc.), this location is really pretty. There's a large yard/garden area, surrounded by lush green landscape, where you can hold events like a birthday party or a wedding, catered by Keneke's. Like Waimanalo, the inside is decorated with Bible verses but there's also a TV and plenty of room to sit. When we came, there were only four other people in the place so we had the choicest options for seating.
Overall, I'm super stoked there's a new food option opened in Punalu'u so I don't have to resort to the Ka'a'awa 7-11 on beach days. Yay, Keneke's!
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