![Facebook]( "Recensione")
Omg, omg, omg this place is ridiculously amazing!! I am super impressed with the flavors, presentation and customer service. I am picky with food: flavors and quality and this place is delicious!
We tried a variety of plates:
Breakfast Potatoes: must have with homemade Hawaiian aioli
Smoked Honshimeji & King Oyster Mushrooms: the mixed side salad was even awesome! The sausage resembles bacon and tastes out of this world!
The tarro root purée with poached eggs and the Hawaiian bread...wow!
Kalbi Loco Moco: unique breakfast combination and great as well!
Punalu'u Bakery Taro French Toast:
Another MUST have!
Shared one for our dessert after our brunch. It's more than just a French toast; the creamy texture and flavor of the fresh whipped cream, coconut caramel for sweetness and taro root bread - a Big Bang in your mouth!! Making you want another bite each time.
I'm salivating just writing this review and I am full after just eating. That's how awesome this place is.
Small dining area, doesn't fit a lot of people. We did have to wait a bit for a table but it was so worth it!!
Wonderfully well thought out and executed menu of dishes that mirror the culture and cuisines of Hawaii. I already enjoy Hawaiian soul food but the chef here takes it to a whole other level, using the freshest ingredients available locally.
Turning spam to it’s head with their own version - house made every week and upping the ante on an island local favorite, saimin by making it with squid ink topped with shrimp.. And, although there were so many more exquisite dishes, I just had to give them props for dressing up a version of corn that takes you back to the roadsides of Haleiwa.
When you can take something so simple then make it even more simply delicious, well, that’s worth noting.
If you're willing to brave the brunch wait, you'll absolutely be rewarded. We waited about an hour and were pretty far down the list, but a lot of folks before us decided to go elsewhere [their loss] and we got in faster than expected.
We had the spam masubi which was a really fresh and delightful take on the snack favourite. The mushroom dish with sausage and poached eggs was incredible, grilled, smoked, and a perfect piece of bread to mop it all up. We also had the chicken katsu which was fried perfectly, the udon noodles were creamy and had a lovely kick to them.
Portions were perfect, plating and flavour were on point, staff was attentive and despite being busy still took good care of us. Can't wait to go back to try out their dinner service.
Hands down one of the best brunches we've had in the city. We love Hawaii and everything we ordered made our palettes miss the islands. Guava custard malasadas were a hit with everyone (esp kids!) and the pork belly had a perfect crunch on the edges. Mushroom brunch plate and Portuguese hash we're delicious too. Service was attentive and sweet and they even had special kid-friendly utensils/plate ware for our littles. Really appreciated the simple but honest Hawaiian nod to design elements too. Thank you aina! Our bellies will be back soon!
'āina had been on my list for some time, so when I saw a last minute reservation available for the chef's counter tasting menu, we jumped on it.
Overall, we had a blast and the food was great (almost everything), and this is definitely one of the best values in the city for a paired tasting menu. Make sure you get the drink pairing, it's a healthy portion and there are some creative matches.
Chef has a great time explaining dishes, there's a lot of interactions and laughing, and there's a great buzz of energy in the restaurant.
Our only complaint was that my girlfriend's main pork dish was undercooked and a strange cut of the pig. However, mine was perfect, and had she said something, I'm sure 'āina would have been happy to replace the dish.
I would make sure to try it, and brunch looks good too!
Love this restaurant! I went there last Sunday and did not wait long. (But the line was very long when I left) I had the pork belly, which is really good. It seems a bit fat and scary but the crispy outer layer was soooo good. I actually finished the whole plate eventually because it tasted so good.
So......the prices are a bit high, but I say that because I'm from Hawaii so it's hard to digest the Bay Area prices for food.
With that being said, this place is definitely worth checking out. The Pork Belly was superb and the homemade spam was pretty legit. The malasadas w/guava were amazing too.
The place is great, they got ingredients at farmer market, the butter fish is so flavorful! The server offers friendly service, all the dishes are instagrammable, highly recommend! Better for book a reservation:)
I loved everything that I ordered, the place get full very fast after opening. Very friendly service, they explained about each dish you order. The desert was the best! I can't recommend enough about this place!
Delish little tapas style bites. The dishes are small but tastes good! Nice presentation as well. Apparently there’s a tasting menu that maybe I’ll try next time.
I loved this place so much! From it's cute environment to the friendly staff and amazing food... I cannot say anything bad about it!
They wrote me a handwritten birthday letter and gave me a candle with my malasadas 💕
We got the spam musubi. It was small but SOGOOD!! Not typical at all, as it was like a Ssam (wrap) thing.
We also got the guava malasadas! So good as well! A little messy but delicious nonetheless. I liked how it wasn't super sweet at all and wasn't as tangy as most guava things.
The kalbi short ribs dish and the sausage hash were both amazing, filling, flavorful, etc.
I would definitely come back! Again and again :)
Just discovered this place and we loved it! The food is absolutely amazing, the best thing that you can do here is sharing plates and try a few different things. My recommendation is the octopus luau, the poke, saimin and mochi dessert. Fast service, cozy place too.
Great dinner! My favorite was the Spam musubi. (Just craved spam)
But everything is excellent. The corn had great flavors, the poke was prepared well with the toasted rice, charcuterie plate was a fun dish (pig face was panko crusted and was a hit!), ribs were delicious, Halibut fried rice was a winner.
Drink menu is good. Beers paired well with the food. Definitely coming back again.
![4]( "Recensione")
TBH, there’s not too much to do around this area and if Aina wasn’t conveniently located near the Caltrain, I probably wouldn’t have stopped by, but even if you don’t have easy access to the Caltrian, you should come check out this place. Expect a wait during weekend brunch. We got there around 10am on a Saturday and the wait was about an hour. We were excited to finally get seated. Aina has a cool, contemporary (okay, hipster) vibe, but the place is really open, simple and clean which I like. We were excited about our order (which is why we decided to come in the first place) and didn’t hesitate to let our server know that we were ready to order once we sat down.
We got the spam musubi which is probably my favorite. The spam was so good and tasted like it was house made (which it is). There was a proportionate amount of rice and nori flakes and I liked how it was wrapped in lettuce. We also got the kalbi loco moco which was delicious as well. The rice was good, the eggs were cooked perfectly to my liking and the kalbi was super tender and had a great marinade. We finished our meal with a taro French toast and I’m not normally a taro fan, but this made me change my mind. The toast was super soft and lightly sweetened. I loved the toppings of bacon, macadamia nuts and strawberries and especially the whipped cream as I’m a huge fan of really good vanilla.
Overall, it was a delicious and beautifully presented meal. Do yourself a favor and come try this place one day.
Went on a Sunday at 10am and had to wait 1 hour and 45 minutes for a party of 4. The food is very good and worth the amount paid for each plate. Although it is around 18-20 dollars a plate, it is very filling. The Portuguese sausage was a bit salty. The best overall dish was the kalua pork belly, and then the kalbi loco moco. Also had the smoked guava soda, which was also pretty good, and really complimented the food. The ling hing mui rim is so good, even on its own.
Love the visual on the plate also everything taste unique especially the gnocchi so good, definitely recommended, and for sure to get wine soda.
This place definitely brings back Hawaii memories to me. Love their brunch! I definitely recommend trying out this restaurant. What's interesting is if you have been a Korean food lover, they served Musubi "Ssam style". Isn't that cool? Definitely don't miss the musubi!
Great food and the wait isn't too bad if you get there early. Prices are a little steep but you won't be disappointed. Parking may get difficult if arriving near noon/lunch time.
The food was really good and had many upscale version of dishes I've had in Hawaii. The wait time was pretty awful and they didn't do the best at seating people. I will say I went on father's day which probably was one of their busiest days. The food was fairly pricey too.
This was a lovely brunch time experience. Located in the sunny Dogpatch neighborhood, the half hour wait was pleasurable & well worth it. You can get on the waitlist online and they send out text when your table is really. Servers were really sweet & accommodating. I went to this restaurant with low expectation because this type of cuisine isn’t something I’d normally go for. I was blown out of the water with the flavor profiles achieved in the dishes we got. They encourage that you eat family style so my party got the 3 apps, (homemade spam x2 and doughnuts) to share and one entree each (I got the chicken katsu). Including drinks our bill was $141.00 split between 4 equally, $35 a person which is not bad from brunch in SF. I must emphasis how pleasantly delicious and intentional prepare everything was. We left feeling satisfied, but not food coma stuffed. I’d highly recommend it!
Found this gem by accident and what a great stop it was! The French toast may have been the best I've ever had! The malasadas were also delicious. Wonderful service to boot!
Loved the vibe of the place. They managed to bring in a nice Hawaiian island theme without being garish or overly done.
I got the Charred Octopus Luau | $19
kalo cream, vadouvan roasted almonds, marble potatoes, coconut gel
And
Kiawe Wood Smoked Heritage Pork (it was pork belly tonight!) | $26
The octopus was honestly a little more chewy than most grilled octopus I have had. So I think it may have been just slightly over cooked. However the taste and flavors we're 100% on point!! Super delicious!
The Heritage Pork Belly was done perfectly! Excellent flavor, super crispy crust from the smoker and then it simply dissolves in your mouth. So decadent and rich, just spectacularly executed!
Service was also very good. Frequently checking in and service with a smile. Two thumbs up!
Find me on Instagram @DevourSF
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes