Let's take a second to flashback to my childhood (once again). I think it was a class field trip in middle school, when I first learned about Po's Kitchen. I had your classic home lunch, handmade by my mom. But, as I looked around me...I was one of the only students to have actually brought their own lunch from home. About 3/4 of my class had picked up a bento from Po's. It was like they had all gotten together & planned it! With that said, it is definitely a popular stop for the locals...especially on a beach day. Or clearly, school field trips. Pros: --A locally owned business --Specializes in bento lunches ~ okazu(ya) style (my favorite thing about this place) --Three different sizes all under $8 ~ small ($5.95), medium ($6.95), deluxe ($7.95) (But while you're at it, you might as well just go with the deluxe) Cons: --Pretty much no seating; it's primarily take-out. --They're only open for about half the day. (Usually 10-3ish) --Portions could be better. -- ...The same goes for the service. But then again, what can you expect when there's only 2 workers (1 working the kitchen & 1 at the register). Of course they're bound to get a little grouchy after a while. P.S. Cash only. 31 Yelps Review Challenge: #24/31 read more

When I come over to Hawaii, I always look for my favorite Hawaiian dish...spam. This morning, I had a hankering for some span musabi for breakfast. I did a quick yelp search and found Po's Kitchen. I walked in and asked for two musabi's and was told that it would take a few minutes to make them. I had to run to the grocery store, so I came back about 20 minutes later and they were prepared and sitting there for me. I also ordered some inari and some egg. What a wonderful Hawaiian breakfast! I have never had maki spam musabi, mostly I have noticed that it is nigiri but it was really good as was the inari. The egg was pretty unique. It looked like a large rectangle of egg sushi with no rice or seaweed but tasted great! The price was just right...2 Musabi for $1.50, .89 cents per inari and 50 cents for each roll of egg. It looks like the do a great business for bento boxes as well as there were many people walking in and out grabbing the box lunches! I am very excited that my fellow yelpers pointed me in the direction of Po's kitchen and am excited to visit during the rest of my stay here! read more

Every time I fly back home to Kauai I have to stop by and get my deluxe box lunch. This is the real staple food of Kauai it has everything that I want and hits the spot every time. It never gets old. My favorite thing that Po makes is the fried chicken. It is so crispy and juicy. The preparation never changes and it is always the best fried chicken I have ever had. The overall box lunch is very well balanced and is the perfect size. It gives you a taste of all aspects that a box lunch should include. Overall this place is a staple of Kauai and everyone needs to try it at least once in their life. Visitors are welcome and everyone is treated with the same respect every time. Quick service and high quality food. read more

I love this place! I've been getting box lunches from this place for years! It has a little bit of everything. Shrimp, meat, rice, etc. And sometimes they have sushi rolls you can buy on the side. enjoy. read more

This place does one thing, and it does it well. Take a look at the picture of the box lunch at the top of the page. Does that look good to you? If so, Po's is the place for you; if not, don't even bother. The size of the lunch is just about perfect for me, and the variety is fantastic. It's just nice to have so many different things to taste, combine, and compare, rather than just slogging through a plateful of the same noodles or whatever in a typical meal. Highly recommended if you've got an uncomplicated palate and are looking for a cheap, VERY quick lunch in Lihue. read more

Went there today. Had to wait 10 minutes as people who had called on their orders were standing in line ahead of me. But the old fashioned box lunches with a little bit of everything tamago (egg),hot dog, fried chicken, Teri meat, Mac salad, and more and rice balls is worth the wait. The owner, Po, a small Asian lady was at the cash register keeping order. I got the deluxe box lunch, it was excellent. A friend got two rolls of maki sushi and a cone sushi. He said they were great. read more

Went there for the first time a few days ago. Was pretty good, quick and decent priced. Getting the DLX was a good choice, my 3 year old definitely enjoyed her food. Although the Teri meat was a bit dry and hard to chew, but good nonetheless. Picking some up right now again read more

po's kitchen bentos are so fulfilling and yummy! we get the deluxe, which includes everything on the menu and it's $9.95 a plate. their service is pretty fast too and usually there is only two people working, i believe it's the owners. read more

DJ'S BOX LUNCH - Japanese Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Always a must stop when the wife and I are back home on Kauai visiting! Deluxe box lunch with extra Teri beef and extra shrimp! They make a pretty good maki sushi also! read more

My friend and I wanted to get the deluxe bento box but knew we wouldn't be able to eat the whole thing by ourselves. So we shared it for lunch and it was perfect that way. It comes with fried noodles, spaghetti noodle mac salad, coleslaw, lunch meat, 2 pieces chicken wings, 2 pieces shrimp, hash, and rice. The whole thing was so good and really hit the spot after a long working trip! read more

This is the old fashion, downhome, local, Japanese okazu take out bento lunch place. It is the closest thing to the old Lihue Delicatessen where they used to make bento lunches to go. Po's Kitchen has three or four size boxes and all with a tremendous variety of small items including chicken wings, shrimp tempura, katsu, teri beef, spam, hash, rice, mac salad, long rice, tsukemono. If you're taking a day trip to one side of the island for the day, this is a good place to pick up a bento to go. But before you take off, stop by Big Save and pick up a small cooler for your drinks. Before picking up your bento, give them a call to make sure they are open. read more

Got a box lunch for hiking. Paid about $10 with a drink. Not bad, this lace is pretty close to the airport as well.

not a huge fan, being that i'm a semi vegetarian and not a big fan of fried food. its a cool little box lunch place though not the best quality you get around town, you can pretty much build a box lunch. they charge by piece or you can get "specials" things you can have just off the top of my head- hot dog fried chicken teri beef mac salad corned beef hash luncheon meat. read more

Absolutely awesome okayu-za in Lihue. It is bento box lunch place with a small variety, but everything we ordered was great. I had teri-beef, fried chicken and shrimp tempura. Added some tsukemono that was wonderful. read more

Looking for a good, hearty to go lunch in Lihue? This is it. In a small strip mall next to a donut shop and Smiley's Kitchen, a block from Ace hardware. Not a place for ambiance, only 3 seats, and everything is made take out. It's a local secret, don't tell anyone. The box lunch comes in small, medium, or deluxe, and it will fill you up. Mostly rice and meat, but it's a killer deal starting at 5 bucks. I always get that, so last time I tried the teriyaki fish of the day. Took about 15 mins for it be made, but it was fantastic. The fish was tender with an amazing sauce that was perfect with rice. Also had the Inari sushi cones which are a good deal for 1.80$ read more

This is a very convenient place to grab a lunch for work or school. Variety of choices for your box lunch and a small local store.

Ate there today, it was so good! Creamy flavorful macaroni salad and fresh long grain rice. That paired with my saucy sweet teriyaki chicken that was so fresh and tender, was the perfect meal for the perfect price! read more

Super authentic Japanese lunch box with friendly owners! Small place so plan to eat elsewhere.

When I was younger, we started coming here after Lihue Delicatessen shut down (that was hands down the best, sorry sorry). Anyway, it was a good place to get box lunch for school field trips. Everybody would go. I love the hash, the noodles, the chicken. I guess the whole thing. Haven't been in a while and was told the quality has gone downhill recently. Almost inedible. But I wouldn't mind going back to check it out myself. Maybe it's okay now. Idk. Brings back childhood memories. School field trips. The owners (or workers?) are really nice. And they remember you from long time ago. Crazy! read more

I ordered the regular size bento but found the portions too large for me and my sedentary lifestyle. I would order a small or a la carte next time (yes, I'll be back). The food is freshly made, wholesome, and comforting. The fried chicken wings were warm, perfectly crisp, and golden. read more

Good variety, I like that I didn't have to select what I wanted in my bento and they have the small, medium, and large options. :)

Not one of the better box lunch we had in Hawaii. Store doesn't look quite clean. Food is fare. Had bone-in chicken wings, feather-on as well... Ham didn't taste good either. There are better lunch places than this out there. read more

Great box lunch! Super fast service and reasonable prices. Friendly staff. A little crowded inside and also looks a bit clustered and/or unorganized. read more

Lots of parking. Good, simple local food. They let you customize your lunch box in pretty much anyway you'd like. The prices are extremely cheap. Even the biggest eater would be filled by their deluxe box (only about 9 dollars) read more

Great Okazuya style plate lunches. No need to make decisions; since there's few to be made to change anything. all is good. Th deluxe will be enough for two...unless you want one for yourself! cone sushi is really good! read more

4 stars! You've got to be kidding! Please note that there were only 5 reviews! They must've been written by relatives, owners and employees! In all my years of eating Bento boxes and plate lunches, this has to be the worst and the worst value for the money in Lihue. I would totally recommend Mark's Place a million times over! First of all, we got there at 11:30am and there was NO line-- they weren't even CLOSE to selling out I'm sure! We ordered 3 large boxes, took it back to our hotel and expecting a 'smorgasbord' were instantly disappointed. First, everything was a rather tepid temperature (to be expected when taking out-- but not to this extreme!). There were 2 rice balls (as noted), a rather sad 'cut in half' hot dog, 2 'small' greasy deep fried shrimp, 2 unremarkable fried chicken wings, a small spattering of teriyaki beef and a thin piece of luncheon meat (certainly NOT SPAM-- and it tasted awful). Yes, there was a tiny scoop of mac salad and a tiny portion of cabbage pickles. All of this for $8-9!! This is NOT a deal! This food is NOT good! Go to Mark's! read more

Very disappointed. I thought I was going to be the one on the airplane everyone was envious of. Before going to the airport i went to say goodbye to my mom. Started eating the spaghetti salad...way too salty. Teriyaki chicken was super dry and hard. I ended up giving the rest of box to my mom. I miss the small kid days of going to the Okazuya and picking my favs before school field trips. Good concept but not impressed. Lots of other places for airplane bento. read more

a must go to place to eat while on kaua'i. cheap and great tasting.

Interesting little mom and pop shop. I had the deluxe bento with little of this and that's. It resembled food I would make for myself before going on a picnic. The owner lady was very nice. read more

This is a local favorite for many years. My friend told me about it when I visited Kauai. The quality of the food is impressive. I have tried other local style lunch bento boxes, the food here is always fresh, and the shrimp is sweet. Teriyaki beef and hash brown is my favorite. Considering the food price in Kauai island, this is an awesome deal! read more

Po's Kitchen has always been one of my favorites! Since the beginning of my field trip school days, I have been hooked on this place. The menu is the same time and time again but somehow it never gets old. Great box lunches with fried chicken, teriyaki meat, corned beef hash, koko (pickled cabbage), hot dog, luncheon meat, macaroni salad, noodles, etc. Plus you can build your own, which is what I usually do as I personally don't care for luncheon meat. Not a place where I would sit and eat. This place lacks the customer service aspect but it hasn't bothered me much as I keep going back for more. I guess it's true, if the product is really good, people will come back regardless if you serve them with a smile or not. read more

Flew in from oahu hungry asked a local where to get good food. Ah not bad if u think this is mean u have to try lunches from Campbell industrial oahu any lunch wagon you'd be impressed read more

Best bentos I've had all my life since elementary school days. The prices are worth it and the customer service is always the best!

Okay...so when I get off the plane with the family in Lihue....the first place we usually head to is Po's Kitchen...Unless it's too early or too late, but if it's open business hours...we are there...! All I'm saying is don't get overwhelmed by looking up at the bento box options....just get the Deluxe Bento box which has all the comfort food you need...: Tempura Shrimp, Fried Chicken, Nishime, Tsukemono, musubi' Luncheon Meat( Spam), Mac Salad, Terriyaki Beef, and I'm getting hungry as I write this.... Usually I can eat that box and maybe another (because it's that good), but it's just great food for a picnic, lunch break...or whatever...The folks here are always plesant and friendly and supporting all mom and pop type businesses is a must...because they don't sell this at WalMart or Costco...and even if they did...I don't think it would be the same...Mahalo Po's for serving the community these good grinds! read more

big variety in the deluxe lunch box. a little of everything in hawaiian comfort food.