This place is sooo delicious. We came here twice on our five day trip to Kauai! The flavors are unique and every bite was absolutely insane! The Mac salad was definitely the best we tried all week too. The restaurant was clean and everyone was friendly and kind. The price is great for how much food is served as well! We would come back to Kauai just to eat here again! Highly recommend!!
My wife and I were staying across the street from this hot spot. After pre-planning where we wanted to go for quick bites, there was no question we weren’t going to be stopping here. After reading the reviews of others and seeing Guy Fieri’s video on the place, we opted to try the regular size chili pepper fried chicken and the meat jun (egg and steak). Both were excellent and filling. The meat was juicy and flavorful. The rice was cooked to perfection. The Mac salad was delicious which was surprising since it’s usually not a go to side for me. Got our food within 5-10 minutes of ordering. Overall, great experience and probably would’ve eaten here every day if I didn’t want to try other places!
I can tell why Wailua Drive In would have been on Diners Drivins and Dives! They have great food at reasonable prices. The staff was friendly, and they kept the restaurant in great shape. My wife and I tried 2 of the mini plates.
Chicken Katsu mini plate: the serving of Katsu and rice was very generous for it being a mini. The chicken was moist and the breading was well seasoned and crispy. The rice was good and the side of Mac salad was delicious!
Loco Moco mini plate: the serving of Loco Moco was generous as well! For the mini plate it still came with egg, 1 beef patty and plenty of rice with gravy. The Patty was well seasoned and grilled, I could tell it wasn't a frozen patty. It also came with a side of delicious Mac salad.
This no frills joint will fill your belly with delicious fried chicken, big portions and reasonable prices. Don't overlook a spot like this especially when there are so many inferior and overpriced options around that are dressed up to appear better than they are. My only regret is not visiting here more often during our stay. Easily one of my favorite places to catch a bite on Kauai.
Food was salty but delicious! Love the Mac salad. Tried to go again during our vacation but they were closed from Sept 13 to 26 or 28th 😭
We ordered the Garlic Chicken and Panko Mahi/Chili Pepper Chicken combo. The mahi and dynamite sauce were very good. Both the garlic and chili pepper chicken had good flavor, but they tasted very deep fried and seemed hard to chew at times. Prices were very reasonable for the portions you receive, and their menu has a lot to offer so there are options for everyone!
Thanks food tasted great and the portions were very generous. Our only critique was that the chili chicken was a little bit dry. The flavors were awesome though!
If you're looking for delicious Hawaiian food, you need to try this spot.
My husband and I shared:
- Meat Jun Plate Lunch with Fried Rice and Mac Salad
- Chili Pepper Chicken Plate Lunch with Fried Rice and Mac Salad
Everything was absolutely fantastic. I couldn't decide if I liked the Meat Jun (steak cooked in egg) or the chilli pepper chicken more. The fried rice is some of the best I've ever had. The mac salad was great.
We got two of the bigger size plates and I would probably get at least one of them as a small plate next time. It's a ton of food. If you upgrade to fried rice, they give you so much.
This is one of my favorite restaurants in Hawaii. I'd highly recommend it.
Great spot. Go there. We had the chili pepper chicken and it was fantastic. It’s not fancy, but that’s not the point. Plus, the value is great. My wife and I split the large serving at it was plenty.
Not much seating to eat in. Food was good. Mac salad was good. Worth trying the food. If you have food allergies or sensitivities they can’t accommodate
This was some of the best Hawaiian food overall out of all the places, I've been to on my vacation in Hawaii. We tried the Hawaiian plate, chili chicken, katsu curry chicken, loco Moco, and ube cheese cakes. The most memorable ones were the kalua pork in the Hawaiian plate (super flavorful with the white rice), the loco Moco with the tasty gravy sauce, and oh my the ube cheese cakes. You have to give those a try! If I'm ever in Kauai again, I would 10/10 return here for my Hawaiian food fix!
Quick and friendly service. I had the garlic shrimp which were delicious but they had the shells on which is the authentic Hawaiian way of preparing the dish but I did have to remove them.
My wife and I loved this place. If you've driven around Kauai, you know there's not a lot place with sit down area. This is one of the place that has a sit down area so you can enjoy your food on the spot. The ahi katsu and pork lau lau is very good, and their lilikoi and ube tart is also amazing. Would've gone here everyday if there wasn't so much traffic driving back south.
Had the chicken plate and a side of Brussels sprouts for two people, portion size is good but chicken can be more tender and juicer, Brussels sprouts are actually better dish here, gotta go with salt flavor and add the honey sauce on the side 😃
Ignore the bad reviews and give this place a try! My husband and I were so happy we decided to eat here. You can tell the food is authentic. The food was also served nice and hot. Freshhhh 😊. So delicious!!
Became our go-to stop for lunch and dinner over our short trip to Kauai. They had plenty of options to satisfy myself as well as my wife, a vegetarian. Everything was great, fresh and with sizeable portions but the chili pepper fried chicken was off the charts. Mouthwatering chunks of crispy white and dark meet chicken with just the right amount of sauce. Service was quick and friendly too.
This was a wonderful detour from the tourist trap offerings, this place was local and had local flavors that were super tasty. The service was done with a big smile and it was extremely fast they were so ready for you even though it was packed in there on a sunday!! Bring an appetite and don't be afraid of carbs and fat🤭😅
Great food, quick service. It's a must try local food. Everything we tried was perfect, the Oxtail saimin special was out of this world. The crispy chicken as a side dish was the juiciest fried chicken I had ever tried. loco Moco without the gravy - very delicious. We will be back to try some of the other items as well.
Next day - we went back to try more food. The roasted eggplant was more onion than eggplant, so they can easily change the name or revise the amount of the eggplant.
Dynamite Axi without the sides was good.
The Smoke meat - was very tasty but also very overcooked, so sad.
Also the fried chicken had very dry and overcooked look tonight as well.
Base on the two visits - the quality of the food is not quite consistent.
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