I've never actually eaten here in person but I've ordered delivery from here many times. Out of everything the Mochiko chicken is absolutely my favorite! It's so juicy and flavorful and makes a great lunch when you're having a bad day. I also have tried their karaage and it is good but I'm not a fan of ginger too much and there is a ginger undertone to it as expected of karaage which is why I prefer the Mochiko more. I would also probably skip the spam musubi as I do think the spam to rice ratio is a bit much, perhaps just lessen up on the rice. Overall, I do enjoy getting delivery here and will definitely order from here many, many more times. read more

This is a small cafe that does a really unique combination of Japanese and Hawaiian food. My daughter and I ordered the bento boxes are were very pleased with the portions and flavor. The food was hot and fresh. The cafe itself doesn't look impressive but the food is impressive. Give them a try. read more

look at these shrimp gyoza's... now look at the tiny amount of sauce they give you... Mind you I didn't use any at the time of the picture. This is ...literally...all you get. shameful. read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

Stopped by on a little side quest while my girlfriend was off handling her adulting duties nearby. Having been to Hawaii, I can confidently say this place brings the real Hawaiian vibes. I ordered the cheese spam musubi, and honestly, it stacked up well against the ones I had on the islands. Super tasty! Our only gripe? The rice-to-spam ratio was a bit off. There was a lot of rice. Like, enough to consider rebranding it a "rice musubi." That said, it still worked -- the saltiness of the spam balanced it out nicely, and my girlfriend does like rice lol The food came out quickly, prices were on par with what you'd pay in Hawaii, and for a moment, Downtown Syracuse felt like a sunny afternoon in O'ahu. read more

The owners are always so friendly and nice. The food is always spot on and delicious. I personally always get the spicy fried chicken bowl and it's so good. Probably my favorite downtown lunch spot! read more

I was visiting Syracuse and I wanted to check this place out to see if it's legit. I'm from Hawaii so I figure I'd know if it's real. Let me tell you, it's REAL local Hawaiian food! I ordered the miso ramen with chicken katsu. Omg the flavor was on point and the chicken katsu was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside:) I would go as far to say that the chicken katsu was better than some I've had back home. I also ordered the butter mochi which is a desert and another success! Most important was the service, the owner came out and spoke to me about the islands. He and his wife were very welcoming, representing the Aloha spirit at its finest! Can't wait to try other dishes when I visit again. Thank you for a taste of Hawaii, being thousands of miles away, this was the best meal! read more

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This place is suitable for everyday dining. The food quality was consistent and the portions were reasonable. Service was calm and professional read more

We are on the search for quality ramen around here. We both tried the pork ramen and it was decent for takeout but nothing to rave about. Meat and eggs could have been more tender. Broth was slightly flat in my opinion. Pork gyoza and fried chicken bowl were good overall. We had to add a bit more sauce to the chicken, but it was fried well and flavorful. The spam musubi was a nice touch. This def needed some dipping sauce that we made at home though. Once that was added, it was delicious. read more

Very solid hole-in-the wall place in downtown Syracuse. Prices are very reasonable and everything is tasty. Tried the spam and egg musubi, udon, and combo bento with the special mochiko chicken and teriyaki beef. The spam and egg musubi was good, however the rice ratio was a bit too high (looks like the intention is to fill you up). Udon noodles were really tasty, portion was not large but compatible with price;. broth was not typical udon broth; the "soup" base was really more of a sweet soy sauce base (think soba noodles sauce) that was very salty. Combo bento was also tasty. The karage chicken was overcooked (pieces were a little too dark) but flavor was good. Teriyaki beef tasted very much like bulgolgi style and was delicious (just a bit salty though, eat with lots of rice). I wasn't a big fan of the macaroni salad (very sweet) but the portion of that was small. Rice here is delicious and perfectly cooked. Review is obviously being nit-picky but for the price and convenience, a solid choice! read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

As a Japanese, this place is one of my very comfort restaurant in this area. I've tried only couple of menu but made me miss my country. The owner is not a Japanese but he said he used to live so he speaks even Japanese read more

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Love this place so so much! I go here at least 1x a month and try a new item every time. I personally was not a fan of their curry but other than that everything else has been incredible. Please try this place if u haven't already u will NOT regret it. I highly recommend any of the chicken dishes as well as the musubi and the garlic butter shrimp. read more

I am so glad that I drive through Syracuse to get back to New York City! I found Aloha on yelp and it had amazing reviews and the food looked delicious. The first time I tried it was during the beginning of 2017 and their food is still as delicious as when I first tried it. Their employees are very welcoming and would be delighted to recommend you a dish. Their prices are also affordable and worth the amount of food you're getting. I tried a lot of their dishes and I think by far the teriyaki pork mini bento and spam musubi is the best by far. Even their popular kalua pull pork mini bento can't beat their teriyaki pork! The teriyaki pork mini bento is sweet and filling. The kalua pull pork was too smokey for my taste, but if you like smokey, go for it! I usually order to go and it's usually ready within minutes. The food is so popular and delicious that I always see an Uber eats driver there! tl;dr - amazing food and service, recommend teriyaki pork mini bento and spam musubi read more

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The food was delicious! Their udon was so good that we hope to go back for that alone. They didn't have any almost any vegetarian options though. As well, the place was really really hot inside and they were playing a movie at full volume for some reason. The service was good: food came out super fast. Overall, would go back again! read more

This is a totally surprised find in downtown Syracuse area! A hole in the wall Hawaiian/Japanese place! Only 2 tables inside! Don't let the look of this place deter you though! I ordered chicken katsu curry, and the spam egg and cheese musubi! I absolutely love the musubi, if you don't know what that is, check out the picture I posted! That was absolutely delicious! I can probably only eat 2 of them as my dinner! It's pretty huge, great flavor. As for the curry, they are not bad, I had better, but I'm also more picky when it comes to curry as well since I had some really good Japanese homemade curry by my ex-gf when I was in my 20s. It's still pretty decent though. There are free more items I want to go back to try, but I'll definitely go back for some more musubi! read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Spam, egg and cheese musubi! - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

This is probably one of the best Non-Sushi Japanese Restaurants in Syracuse. Always Fresh & delicious. They DO NOT DELIVERY outside Downtown Area, however. We have to come to pick it up. We usually get Spam Musubi Deluxe, Fried Fish, Kara A-ge & Pirikara ( Spicy Shrimp ) bowl. Definitely place to try. read more

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Spicy fried chicken bowl- om nom nom nom nom! This is so tasty! The flavor is great, and, interestingly, the ginger really shines in this dish. Spam and egg musubi- mmm, tamago. Sweet tamago, spam, and a double-wide helping of nicely seasoned rice. One of these will easily fill you up. Roasted pork ramen- the roasted pork is excellent. Takoyaki- enhhh, this was too sour for me, personally. Probably better eaten fresh, too, instead of in delivery form. Macaroni salad- this is an abomination. Do not order this. It's just mayo with a ton of sugar in it mixed with macaroni. Not at all like the macaroni salad I had in Hawaiian food places on the west coast- not sure about how it compares to macaroni salad in Hawaii, but I just couldn't eat it at all. I'll come back for sure though, just for the chicken bowl and musubi. read more

We had an awesome lunch from here today. Bento boxes with your choice of 2 we chose karaage chicken and s shrimp tempura which came with dipping sauces, rice, Hawaiian Macaroni very small green salad and miso soup for $11.99. We added an order of 6 mixed gyoza for $4.75. Stuffed and satiated, we lamented all the way home to Buffalo that Aloha is located in downtown Syracuse. What a treat. Everything was delicious and worth our 15 minute detour off the Thruway. Take out only. read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

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After seeing these great reviews, I really wanted to try this restaurant! It's been a long time since I visited Hawaii, but I figured if nothing else, I would be able to see how their Japanese food measures up to what's in the area. Things we tried: 1. Mini Bento of Kalua Pork: wow!! the pork is shredded and tender, like pulled pork, but of course, no bbq sauce/flavor - it has a salty flavor with a hint of smokiness, and is mixed with thinly cut cabbage on a bed of rice. It was delicious, and there was plenty of pork juice it was sitting in, to eat with the rice! It also came with a salad, which had a soy/ginger type of balsamic looking dressing. Very light and fresh. 2. Combo box of Beef Teriyaki & Shrimp Tempura: the beef teriyaki was extremely tender, well marinated, plenty of sauce, and it was just like the thinly shaved meat you find in korean bulgogi. The shrimp tempura was fried just right - crispy light tempura coating, while still having moist tender shrimp inside. This combo box also came with miso soup and salad (same as the mini bento) - the miso had scallions, tofu, and seaweed in it. 3. The owner's wife is Burmese, and they have some appetizers that are from her region on the menu. They gave us the black bean fritters (appetizer) to sample - the chewiness and crunch were just right. They were definitely plain in flavor, which I believe was intentional, and they reminded me of when people try and make black bean burgers to substitute for meat. 4. They also gave us a sample of their fried chicken and the Mochiko chicken - basically, this restaurant excels at frying things! They manage to have perfectly crispy fried batter, without being too oily, but the inside meat is tender and moist! Both of these chicken samples were delicious. Ambience: this is a small humble restaurant that is just starting out. It seems like they do a lot of take out/are prepared for takeout, as if you dine in, your utensils/water cup/plates will still be the same disposable ones as if you ordered it to go. The restaurant itself though is clean and simple in its decorations Service: This is why I gave them a 5- the owner and his wife were very friendly, and he explained to us at length about what things were on the menu, his favorites, etc. They even brought us complimentary samples of other appetizers, which was so gracious of them as they're just starting out! Bottom line: delicious food, generous portions for the price, good for take out or a casual dine in, very friendly owners . I hope more people come here and that they do well! read more

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Order the spicy fried chicken weekly, Always delicious, ready on time, nice people and service read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

What a great staff running Aloha! Great food, even better service. Teriyaki pork is the real deal. The black bean fritter is quite unfamiliar, which is the best reason try it! A good meal in the heart Syracuse. read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

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I love Japanese food. This place is like Japanese food went on a Hawaiian vacation. Don't worry that it's small, there is one chef (the owner) and usually one or two girls who act as half sous-chefs, hostesses, servers, waiters, cashiers, and bussers. The small staff excels in service compared to some restaurants I've eaten at and worked at where there have been three times as many employees. Anyhow, the food is a Hawaiian/Japanese fusion as stated in the restaurant name. I have had their ramen--which is a soothing bowl of comfort on any Syracuse day between October and April. It comes with the proper garnishes like seaweed and a sliced egg white with a fuchsia swirl design. I have also had and highly recommend the Japanese fried chicken bento box which comes with rice, a spicy garlic sauce on the side, and a dressed greens salad. I actually crave the spam sushi. It comes with either an egg or cheese (get cheese, I think it's American) and it makes me want to go to Wegmans and buy a tin of spam. It's lightly fried for a delightful crispy exterior and its salty bite pairs excellently with the white rice and creamy cheese. If you're in the mood for dessert, they have these mochi butter bars. They are best served warm and I would describe them as little custards that ever so slightly remind me of mochi. But not as chewy and gummy. They're not overly sweet, but they satisfy a sweet tooth at the end of a savory feast. I would say the prices are relatively cheap. They do take out or dine in. The owner welcomes you like Moe's, only he is more cheerful and genuine about his greetings and goodbyes. I am so pleased with this place because it's just the distinct flavor Syracuse needs. We have a multitude of Chinese/sushi restaurants, but Aloha brings an authentic cultural and regional flare. read more

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Food was great, I ordered takeout and had a good experience. I can't remember what I ordered but there's an iPad up front in which you walk in and place your order. It's sent to the kitchen and prepared. I'd come here again, it would be a lot more convenient to have online ordering available though. read more

Came here for lunch one weekday. I'd seen bento boxes in lots of Japanese shows/films/food videos, so I was pretty psyched to finally try one. To ensure that I'd have enough time to eat on my lunch break, I called ahead so that my order was ready when I arrived. This turned out to be an unnecessary step, because when I arrived around one the restaurant was empty, which is a real shame, because it's pretty adorable. There are dollhouse flower boxes hanging on the walls and a few booths-- nothing fancy, for sure, but it gives off a cute and cozy feel. I opted for the fried fish bento box. Presentation was nice-- the box looked very attractive, and it was packaged nicely with all the necessary sauces and utensils. The taste itself was on the plain side and I would've enjoyed a bit more flavor (especially on the salad,) however the fish was crispy and nicely fried. The price was reasonable and the portion was fair. I'd consider returning to try another dish. read more

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Bring me back to Hawaii! If you wanna grab some Hawaii style Japanese food. Here is the best choice. read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - sh 13. Shrimp Tempura Mini Bento 18. Pork Cutlet Curry - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

What is one to do, when one leaves work late, doesn't want to cook, and it's cold outside order pick up from Aloha Japanese. I ordered from Eat 24 before I left work. Walked a couple of blocks to Aloha and when I arrived my order was waiting. I ordered the ramen and decided before I left to add a spam musubi to my order. All I can say is that these were both an excellent choice. I had never had the musubi, it's fried spam, placed on top of a small block of rice and wrapped with seaweed. Great tasting little appetizer. The ramen was excellent on a cold night. The noodles were perfect, the broth flavorful, and well the hard boiled egg adds the perfect touch. I will definitely be ordering from here again. read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Ramen - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

Today I went to a small restaurant that's nestled right in the heart of downtown on Salina street. I can tell you I left with a full belly and a smile on my face. I tend to smile when I get amazing food for an amazing price! The inside is small but well decorated and has a nice home feel to it and the staff is very friendly and will explain any dish that might confuse you. I ordered the pick two and got the Teriyaki Beef and Mochiko Chicken. It came with a side of rice, salad, Hawaiian mac salad, and Miso soup. When they put it in front of me the first thought in my mind was "Hello, Beautiful!" I dug into the succulent beef and crunchy chicken and made short work of this amazing dish. I highly recommend a visit here! They have a great menu filled with beef, chicken, and pork dishes. They also have the very rare to find in Syracuse, Spam Mitsuba! read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

The service is always good and super friendly. It is a great spot to catch a quick bite to eat or for take out. My friends and I got ordered a few things off the menu. Everything tastes great and prices were very reasonable. They have ramen too!!!! read more

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Extremely fast service for take out and very reasonable prices relative to the rest of the area. The spam musubi is amazing as well as the majority of the mini bento dishes. Great place to grab a quick bite for lunch or take out. The dining area is not the best but doesn't take away from the quality and authenticity of the food. read more

Stopped in with my husband just wanting to try something new...no big expectations. Here are a couple reasons to not pass this one by, I guarantee you'll be returning for more. 1. We were greeted by friendly face's(owners wife And daughter I believe) 2. Vin(my husband) and I were delighted at how very clean everything was, always an important detail with our family. 3. Service was fast and very fresh ingredients!! 4. The Mochiko chicken curry....wow over the top delicious. Spam Musubi weird but very good! We cannot wait to go back for more it was a big hit with our kids too There is nothing like this that I have ever experienced in Syracuse....in my opinion everyone needs to try this place its fantastic read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Front view - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

Just add this very successfulHawaiian Asian fusion spot to the heart of downtown Syracuse. Popped in for lunch and had the oh so yummy crispy spicy fried chicken over sticky rice with Japanese mayo and sirachi, omg so yummy. Lunch portion was perfect so I could get the Spam Musabi or what I called Spam Sushi wrapped in seaweed, served warm, another 4 star winner! I told all my coworkers to try this place, I will go again on my next business trip here. read more

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I like the agedashi tofu, and the spicy fried chicken bowl. I get cravings for it sometimes, I'm always pleased when I am downtown and have time to get takeout. read more

On our last night in Syracuse, I fet like having something more Asian and stumbled upon this place on Yelp. Family owned, I believe the daughter is the one at the front and the father is the chef. We thought we could have it delivered but somehow the items on the menu are all about 1$ more expensive. Since we were hungry and wanted to try a few things on this menu, we opted to order for take out. Our hotel was only 5 minutes away. We chose the two appetizers and meats bento box.h favourite was the fried tofu with bonito flakes appetizer. Very affordable at only about 35$ (us), we had enough food leftover for when we would get hungry at midnight :) The only "negative" thing is that it was a bit too sweet for my liking but it might just be how Hawaiian/Japanese food should taste like. I've never actually had food from Hawaiian influences. read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

Got this as a grub hub order while on call at the hospital, not really expecting much, so long as is was better than cafeteria food. Better than expected! I thought their ramen was the worst menu item I got, but even that was still better than average. Their chicken karaage was actually very very good, and their dumplings good as well. I need to try this place in person while the food is really fresh, and not after the food has been sitting in containers for 20 minutes; from the taste I did have, though, I'm a fan. read more

This is a great Japanese takeout restaurant. I sat in with a few friends, we ordered our food, and received it in about 10-15 minutes. It was hot, fresh, and very flavorful. We both got the Shoyu Ramen, and shared a combo. The shoyu ramen comes with an egg, egg white with a design in it, and pork, all which are very flavorful with the egg having a nice, sweet, distinct taste. The broth is very good, and the noodles are just like ramen noodles. The combo came with Hawaiian macaroni salad, soup, salad, rice, and your choice of two meats. We picked Karage and mochiko chicken, one which is a Japanese chicken cooked with spicy garlic sauce, and the other being Japanese fried chicken. The chicken was amazing! They both were fried perfectly and had very good flavor. The atmosphere and pricing is why I take a star away. For the three meals, I paid a little under $40. Two of these entrees were ramen, and each was $9.00 which I though was a bit pricey considering the combo was 10.99 and came with an abundance of food. Eating in is also a little dull. The lighting is nice, the temperature was a little chilly, and unfortunately the restaurant is "blessed" with loud refrigerators and machinery, and I am not blaming them in any way for this, but it does take away from the experience a bit. I recommend this restaurant though if you are in the area and are craving Japanese food that will be hot and ready in no time! read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

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This is seriously some of the most delicious food anywhere in upstate NY. The shoyu ramen is the platonic ideal of "comfort food". I have yet to experience an item off the menu that does not compare favorably to any other Japanese cuisine I've had on the east coast of the US. I cannot recommend it highly enough. read more

3.5 stars. I tried the spicy chicken bowl for under $9, the Bento box combo with shrimp tempura and chicken katsu and some complimentary miso soup. I ordered through GrubHub and my order came sooner than they estimated. The tempura was less crispy and warm but the miso soup was nicely insulated in the styrofoam cup. I enjoyed the chicken katsu with the side of katsu sauce (packaged) and the sesame vegetable mix underneath it. The tempura had three pieces of shrimp, two green beans, some sweet potato (very tiny piece of it) and 2 lotus slices. It came with a tempura dip sauce and a potato salad. I didn't care for the potato salad because it was too sweet. Potato salads are in general on the sweet side but this one was even sweeter than most. I was disappointed that the spicy chicken didn't have the spiciness inside the batter itself but was instead drizzled with sriacha and teriyaki type sauce. It made the crispy chicken soggier. I would have liked a spice incorporated into the chicken itself. An extra katsu sauce would have been good because we ran out. Katsu sauce is like a Japanese BBQ sauce made with ketchup, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. I wouldn't get the spicy chicken bowl again but I'd go for the katsu. I think tempura is good but loses its freshness thru the delivery process so that would definitely be a better item to eat at the restaurant. They charge $2.99 for delivery. read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Spicy chicken on top. Katsu and shrimp tempura bottom. Complimentary soup - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

A nice little piece of Hawaii in Syracuse! The bento box with teriyaki and mochiko chicken was very good. I had the tempura us in which was ok but not something I would get again. I will probably try the ramen instead. They butter Mochi was perfect and a good portion for the price. Definitely worth another visit. read more

This review will be based on the dishes I had. Pretty solid place for food when looking for food that is filling. I ordered some delivery food from Aloha. I was missing the traditional Japanese food from a cafe back at my hometown, and saw there was Japanese-Hawaiian cuisine around these parts and give it a try. I got the roasted pork ramen with a side of spam musubi and miso soup. Roasted Pork Ramen: The first thing I noticed was the soup was very salty compared to the ramen soup I usually had at other places I've been to. I gave up drinking the soup midway through the meal from how salty it was. I could almost feel the hundreds of sodium in it. The ramen egg and the roasted pork were pretty good though. The noodles came clumped together, but I guess maybe that's from it being a delivery order. Spam Musubi: I ordered this because it was a small salty dish, and I wanted to balance it out with the ramen (which I didn't think was going to be super salty). I was feeling nostalgic and missing the spam musubi that my Hawaiian-born long-distance partner would make. In contrast to the ramen, I fully expected this to be salty because of the spam. However, I couldn't even finish it because the saltiness of the ramen soup lingered in my mouth, and I couldn't take another bite of the spam musubi. I saved it for later. It would've been good without the ramen soup salt lingering. Miso Soup: I ordered this as something to "clear" me up after the big meal. It was a small container of miso soup, just the perfect size because I didn't want a lot. The miso soup had a weird cardboard-styrofoam smell and aftertaste that made me cringe as I tried to drink it. It could have been from the container that they put the soup in. Maybe I should have ordered something else on the menu rather than the dishes I choose (except for the spam musubi). read more

Rusted metal hook find in the noodles. Missing one item of the order. Agreed to refund but got nothing after two days. read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Raman and a metal hook - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York

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This is my half way stop from NJ to Toronto. I needed to get some takeout and so I strolled into this college campus area Asian food joint. It is small and only have a few tables. It is run by a couple from Hawaii and they were super friendly. The spam musubi is quite interesting: Hawaiian style rice block with spam wrapped in seaweed)...quite a catch. I only got two. I wish I'd gotten at least six. The Oyakodon (chicken covered with egg) and the chicken Japanese curry tasted good enough for me. Price is very reasonable. Cute little place!!! It offers a wide range of appetizers: octopus balls, guidance, age dashi tofu....Wish I had more time to explore the appetizers. The chef/owner gave me a sample of the Mochiki chicken... Hawaiian style fries chicken. I like it! Oh man...still craving for the spam musubi!!!! MUST HAVE!!! read more

Aloha Japanese Bento Express - Spam musubi is one of a kind! - Japanese Near Me - Syracuse, New York