I used to work in San Clemente and this was one of my favorite spots. Was so excited to eat here for dinner tonight ... food and the service were terrible. What's happened?! So bad. Won't be seeing us again read more

The food here is amazing! My husband and I got the chicken katsu plate and the shrimp truck plate with salad, Hawaiian Mac and fries + stir fry veggies. Everything was so good and the service was quick at lunch time on a Saturday. Would definitely eat here again. read more

Hapa J's is an amazing and special place! A local favorite! The food is incredible, all the nachos are legendary. My favorite plate is the Teriyaki Beef with the pineapple fried rice. They also have a great Taco Tuesday! Service is incredible, Siana and Frankie are fantastic and work their butts off to ensure you and your family are enjoying your quality time and meal together. If you're sitting at the bar Jack will take great care of you! The restaurant is super clean and has a great warm beachy vibe to it, you really can't go wrong here. Hapa J's has got something for everybody! read more

So much food! Delicious and hit the spot! Great island food without having to travel to Hawaii. Best I've had in SD actually. The only thing that wasn't the best was the Mac salad. Can't wait to come back! read more

Hapa J's - So yummy - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

See all

Get the poke salad! Great bang for your buck We enjoyed the outdoor seating and I loved the ginger beer mmmmmhmmm read more

Hapa J's - Seared Ahi Poke Salad Colonel Saunders Katsu Hangover Sandwich - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

Hungry in San Clemente I came across Hapa Js on Yelp and Hawaiian food sounded yum!! The reviews looked great so found my way to the location. Parking is limited but I found some on the street. It was lunch time and I believe they were just opening when I arrived. I thought it would be a standard Hawaiian plate lunch kinda place but instead found it to be a full size restaurant with full bar. The menu had a lot of options with Hawaiian flare including some traditional plate lunch and more. It's been a while since I had a good teriyaki burger so I thought I would try that with their Portuguese sausage pineapple fried rice. To drink I ordered a Hawaiian mule as well. The Hawaiian mule was on point, super refreshing, not too sweet but a great balance of pineapple juice with ginger beet and pineapple vodka. The burger however wasn't as good as I was hoping for. For one I ordered medium rare and it was well done and a bit dry. It had a ton of teriyaki sauce but the teriyaki flavor wasn't in the actual meat like I was wanting. As far as the bun and fixings those were good so it was ok but just didn't hit the spot. Then the fried rice, which based on the description has great potential but, as a side served with the burger came just 1 small scoop with very little sausage and even less of the pineapple. Now good Portuguese sausage is hard to come by on the mainland but with such a small scoop you could have a little more and if there was more pineapple the sweet and saltiness could have been amazing. Unfortunately the balance wasn't there. I did like that it had some onion, celery and egg so again definitely had potential but just didn't meet the expectation. I order a bread pudding to go. Maybe it would have been better on site but it was just ok. I don't think I would recommend it though for the price. I will give props to the service there though. The staff I saw working were hustling. I'm not sure if this is a locals spot or primarily tourist as I think a group came in that were in town for a wedding but Lauren, I believe was the bar tender, and she was on it as well as the other server I saw at the time. They had great attitudes and were keeping up with a few groups that came in for lunch. That's always fun to see in a restaurant where service matters. Also, side note, the bathroom was very clean as well. Overall would I try this place again. I don't know. For drinks... maybe. Again the service is great. And maybe a teriyaki burger isn't the best menu item to judge a Hawaiian food place on....but maybe it is.... With so many other options out there I would try another place for Hawaiian food. read more

Food (4/5 stars): I've been missing Hawaiian food and Hapa J's in San Clemente satisfied my craving. The beef was slightly dry and the gravy lacked some flavor, but the egg was seasoned very well. The salad was surprisingly my favorite side because I loved the dressing. I wouldn't go with the Loco Moco but am interested in their other dishes! Experience (4/5 stars): * Price: a bit pricey * Wait Time: minimal for a party of 3 on a Saturday at 5 * Service: very good and friendly * Parking: there's a parking lot * Ambiance: it's a nice, simple restaurant read more

Hapa J's - Loco Moco Plate - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

Ate here otw to Dana Point from SD this past summer because we were jonesing for rice ----- hey, we NEEDED rice and were sick of constant bar food while on family vacation in San Diego. I Yelp'd "rice/ plate lunch/ poke" and this popped up with exactly what we were looking for. The name alone sounds like it's a "local Hawaiian spot..." Kinda hole in the wall/corner but, easy to find street parking with their own little lot, as well. Walls were decorated with surfboards and kinda reminded me of places back home on the North Shore; like it was someone's home. COZY. My family of 7 walked in and was immediately seated in back area where there was more room. It was kind of a busy brunch/lunch for them, which means the place is prolly good, right??!!!?? I ordered something to share with my son so, chicken katsu is always an easy choice. It's, also, pretty standard in "local Hawaiian food" so, it's nice to base the place on a "local staple." My niece was hesitant about hate loco moco because "the photos on yelp showed a white gravy" -- we are used to dark gravy. We inquired with the waitress and she was nice enough to bring a sample of the white sauce to use to try. It def was a "haole" kinda gravy and rich in a different taste way -- good, nonetheless so, they ordered that. Believe we, also got Da Mixed Plate, with a little bit of everything we already love -- katsu, shoyu chicken, and kalbi. With the full bar, my got a drink that was pineapple type of maintain?? It was pretty good. Overall, we were super satisfied with finding this place; we even ordered musubis (to-go) for my son. Spam rice and noris are easy favorites! read more

My husband and I had dinner here on a trip out to Dana Point. The service was great, food was even better. Will definitely be back when we are in town! read more

The food is good however, the service is the worse. One waitress for the entire place.

we came in on a sunday afternoon and got seated right away; we waited a bit for our food to come but aside from that, food was great and portions were huge! read more

Hapa J's - Chicken Katsu Plate Spicy Poke Plate - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

My favorite restaurant OF ALL TIME - this place is goated I hope they stay open forever, the luau plate is my go-to and the perfect portions

The serving size for the nachos is unreal. I literally want to start clapping every time I see a nacho order because the mountain sized serving is so satisfying to look at especially during these hard times with inflation at an all time high. The ambience is chill, very homie and family like. I also really appreciated that there was a plug in the bathroom because I was beyond desperate to straighten my hair, so thank you for that alone! Parking wasn't too terrible we were able to find a spot across the street where there's a small lot. read more

We were looking to try something different on our visit to the west coast and got recommendations for Hawaiian food. I've heard good things about this place and we were hungry. We ordered an assortment of dishes and they were all tasty. Portions were generous, service was friendly and efficient. We had one glitch, the online ordering system wasn't working properly so ended up calling in the order. I mentioned to a staff member and they said they will let the owner know. Prices are a little higher when ordering through Yelp. Will have to try the other dishes next time! read more

See all

Always great service and excellent food! They have the best chicken katsu and Mai tai's read more

My husband and I were driving back home from valley view casino and we wanted to sit and eat somewhere. Hapa J's popped up when I googled nearby restaurant, and my husband and I are always up to trying new restaurants. So we thought we would give it a try. The food was so delicious and flavorful. I got the chicken yakisoba and the fried spam masubi just thinking about it makes me want to go back! My husband got the chicken katsu. He likes it so much I didn't even get a picture of his plate! The service was fast and friendly. Everything came out hot and fresh. The ambiance was intimate. This is a MUST TRY if you're near San clemente! read more

See all

Really awesome babe brought me back to Hawaii. The food was really good my baby loved it, and the staff was attentive.

Hapa J's is the perfect place to stop by after a surfing in the morning. The portions are large and the food is great quality. I was very hungry after surfing so my review may be more favorable but I really enjoyed the experience and ambiance in the restaurant. Hapa J's has a happy hour special where the drinks were approximately half off. I ordered an amber ale and only had to pay $4 instead of the usual $8. I also ordered a mixed plate with multiple meats. Usually this plate does not come with kalua pork but I was able to request a substitute of their special kalua pork for one of my meats. The plates are a bit pricier than other Hawaiian restaurants but the portions make up for it. I appreciated that there was a large open space to dine when sitting in the booths. The service was for and the waitresses were friendly. Overall, a pretty chill place to relax and enjoy a good meal. read more

Hapa J's - Mixed Plate with Pork - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

Hapa j's did not dismay. Not great but just ok. Can recommend da poke. 20 dolla bit steep for one terri chicken plate lunch. Chuckster read more

Delicious food, great portions, friendly service all at a very reasonable price. Happy hour also on Saturdays!

This was the perfect place for our wedding rehearsal dinner! Jacob was so helpful and guided along the way to the perfect menu. All of our guests loved the food and drinks, 10/10 recommend! read more

The food I had was delicious! I ordered the shrimp truck special plate and boy was it delicious! It had the perfect amount of garlic and scampi seasoning - I would definitely recommend this. The Local Boy Platter as a starter - the Portuguese sausage was SOOOOO good. Also definitely need to upgrade to Tempura musubi. Although, we also ordered the Classic Hawaiian Teriyaki Burger and it was bland. Not enough sauce or seasoning. The reason this wasn't a 4 star review is because it took FOREVER for our food to arrive or to even order. The restaurant had 5 tables filled and it still took a long time. read more

We camped at San Mateo campground and wanted to hit up a local spot for lunch. We ordered the hapa nachos, man fries, and a mixed plate. The nachos were okay, nothing special. We added pulled pork and they were really dry! The man fries were almost identical to the nachos except they had BBQ sauce which added some moisture to the dry pork. The fries are better than the nachos, if you were to order one. We shared a mixed plate with shoyu chicken, chicken katsu, and two kalbi ribs. The katsu was the best, the chicken was dry, and the kalbi ribs were disgustingly cold. They definitely microwave the hell out of these items and forgot to heat up the ribs. It was actually so gross that I spit them out. I wouldn't come back. Everything is pretty mediocre. read more

See all

I will always be a fan of their kalua pork. And even more so when piled high on a delicious mound of crispy French fries. If you have a chance, I would highly recommend it. And as for their bbq- the big mixed plate was alright. I feel like it could have had more meat on it, but overall, the pork was good, the galbi was tasty and the variety of chicken was delicious. read more

We love this place. But just FYI, Tuesday's they're only doing a small (mostly taco) menu. So don't be like me and come here on a Tuesday night hoping for a regular menu read more

All my reviews are just reminders to myself. Thought it was pretty good overall. Probably go again if I'm in the area. Generous portions. 3 plates and the 4 of us were stuffed. Chicken salad- decent salad with tender grilled chicken pieces Chopped garlic steak- a bit salty for my tastes but filled with garlicky goodness, next time eat with rice Mac salad- (side) i have no comparison to other Mac salads at this point, has interesting Earl grey flavor to it, personally kinda liked it Fried rice- (side) standard fried rice, meh Man fries- massive plate of fries with pulled pork? and sauces, definitely get again Old school MaiTai- they make it pretty strong White ginger Cosmo- tasty read more

Yummy! I would go back again. Casual and laid back feel. Enjoyed watching the sports on TV while eating delicious food. Easy to access from the 5 freeway, especially when heading north. It was a great place to stop at to get something to eat and rest. Our servers were attentive. My water glass was kept full. Score of 4 stars due to tax was added into the suggested tip. read more

We were meeting some friends coming up from San Diego, and since we were in Newport Beach we thought let's meet halfway and try Hapa J's. Especially since "Hapa" comes from the Hawaiian word Hapalua which means half. So we headed down to San Clemente for some Hawaiian grinds and good company. We arrived early around 5:00 on a cool foggy Sunday December evening and there was no wait and a only a few people in the restaurant. Most of the booths were taken but the center tables were open and we had our choice of where to sit. Pro Tip - Ample Hapa Js parking next door across Cornelio behind Stewards Surfboard Shop. Everything looked so good we decided to order family style and try a little of as much as we could. Appetizer - None of us were "Man Enough" to order the Man Fries, so we went with the healthier option (ya right) and got the Hapa Nachos. Blue corn chips mixed with regular tortilla chips topped with loads of cheese, avocado cream sauce, salsa, and a mild chipotle sauce. Piled high on a hot plate and topped with parsley/cilantro. For an additional charge we got it with beef. 4 stars Salad - We went with the Seared Ahi Poke Salad which had a good amount of Seared Ahi that wasn't over-cooked (key), crispy won ton strips, and a light Japanese vinaigrette. Really liked the seaweed salad in the middle, but didn't discover it until halfway through the salad. Pro Tip - If you get salads with seaweed, dig it out and mix it with the rest of the salad to distribute that good seaweed flavor through out. Shrimp Truck Plate - This plate was designed to emulate Giovanni's or Blue Water Shrimp or other trucks that are so popular in Haliewa on Oahu's North Shore. For MP (Market Price close to $20) we got 6 pieces of shrimp bathed in a butter/oil and loaded with garlic. Comes with 3 scoops of sides (nice!) and I can't remember why we got three scoops of only Mac salad (???). The garlic butter/oil is so much better when soaked into plain rice, or even greens. The shrimp were not memorable and for the price were just a shadow of the original shrimp trucks. 3 stars Pro Tip - Don't get three scoops Mac Salad! Mixed Plate - We wanted a sampling of everything, so we got "Da Biggest Mixed Plate" for about $23. It came with Shoyu chicken, Kalbi ribs, Katsu, Portuguese sausage, Kalua pig, and 3 sides. I can't remember why we got this with 3 sides of rice, but again might have been better to mix it up. The Shoyu chicken and the ribs may have sat for too long as they seemed to have dried out, but the other proteins were good. 4 stars Dessert - Always a tough decision here but we decided to share the Mac Nut Cheese Cake. A nice light cheese cake with Mac nuts over chocolate syrup and strawberries. One of their best dishes as we polished it off. 5 stars Service - Our orders were taken fairly quickly and food arrived promptly. Water was occasionally replenished and we were asked how everything was once. Just for fun I asked our waitress what "Hapa" meant as she was wearing a shirt that had a big H-A-P-A on it, and she said she didn't know. I then asked if maybe it meant "half or mixed" and she said, "oh ya, that's what it means because the owner is of half/mixed ethnicity". I hate to admit it but I often will test the owner/chef/waiter/waitress' knowledge of ingredients, sourcing, and restaurant history for fun. Our waitress probably just forgot and had a good comeback so a solid 4 stars here. Overall - A nice place to stop right off the 5 and halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego if you have a hankering for some Hawaiian food. read more

See all

If you want to feel like there is a bowling ball in your belly, this is your place. I'm from near Buffalo, NY - home of the chicken wing. I will admit I'm a chicken wing snob. We were headed from San Diego to LA for a concert and San Clemente is about half way. We saw this spot and I was sold when I saw the attached picture of wings on their menu. When ordering, the waitress said, "yes, they're crispy." See second attached photo of what we actually got. I've been on some bad tinder dates where the dude was wayyyyy cuter in the photos than in person but this wasn't even the same person. Furthermore, I politely showed the waitress the photo of the wings on their website and she tried to convince me they were the same thing. She said she'd take them off our bill. Fine. Bill comes and they're on the bill. At this point we just wanted to leave and paid for the very broke-@ss version of wings. read more

Hapa J's - What I actually got - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

See all

Reminiscing the old days, I decide to try out this place again. The Pineapple Portuguese Fried Rice - the rice was more on the mushy side, it's better off becoming a porridge at this point. - I barely tasted any pineapples. Grilled Kalbi Marinated Boneless Short Ribs - if you love super saucy and savory food, you might like this dish! Mac Salad - apparently this was one of the craze side dishes, but I didn't like it. I'm just not a fan of their mac salad. Fries - the one thing I enjoyed the most :P IMO: Atmosphere: 3.5/5.0 Service: 4.5/5.0 Food: 2.5/5.0 read more

Hapa J's - Pineapple Portuguese Fried Rice & Grilled Kalbi Marinated Boneless Short Ribs with Mac salad and fried on the side - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

The poke nachos were amazing! Some of the best I have had. There was plenty of ahi on top of the yummy wonton chips! read more

Hapa J's - Ono Poke Nachos - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

Food portions were very large but taste wasn't my favorite. It was a little too salty for my preference. Service was good and the people were nice. Very casual vibes. read more

If you're thinking about going to Hapa Js for dinner, you should rethink your dinner plans. Online they say they're open till 9 o'clock. I went twice this week once at 8:05 and once at 8:30 and both times they said they were closed, multiple people sitting at the bar talking to the bartender still getting drinks who is the one that told us they were closed. He was very unsure about what time he closed. He said 830 or 9 o'clock and it was 830 and he wouldn't let us sit down knowing what we want. Been a local in San Clemente for years. Been coming here for years. This place has gone completely downhill. Every time this place changes ownership. It drops in quality whether it's packed for happy hour and they have one or two servers on a shift, or they are just not into helping their customers. Will not be returning to Hapa's. They clearly can't even be consistent about what time they close. read more

I really enjoyed this establishment. Their menu was authentic & choices were plentiful. It's kind of like Hawaiian with some Japanese/American fusion in it. Good portions, service, and price too. You can tell it's good with the local clientele and steady stream of people. My dish: the luau plate which had shredded pork, mango, rice & Mac salad, a little cup of a salmon mix, and a cubed dessert piece of haupia. They gave so much pork that I had it for two meals. The salmon (lomi-Lomi) was the only weird one for me.. it could have been the mix or herbs they used. I surprisingly liked the haupia which was a coconut/pudding jello type dessert. Overall it was a good variety mix and would recommend it. (You can change the sides too) If I'm ever in south OC, I'll be back. read more

See all

Wonderful experience dining here after surfing. Generous portions. I tried the wonton poke nachos which was a new item on the menu. My gf had tacos which were great. My friend also had the chicken katsu burger and loved it. Would definitely come back. read more

See all

We got a ton of food! there was salmon, hapa fries, asian chicken wings, chipotle mayo, a hangover burger. it was all so delicious! worth the babysitter and the food cost, which is far more reasonable than most places in san clemente. the service was good. if you're the kind that doesn't want to have to ask for water refills, you might have a complaint. it was busy in the little dining room but everyone was nice and happy. it has the feel of a dive bar at night, which felt intimate. the tables were huge and we felt far away from each other. we ended up changing to a booth so we could sit beside each other. the place is clean and the tv had the sports on, which was nice read more

We visited on a very rainy Taco Tuesday. Their menu is specialized on Tuesdays, and we truly enjoyed our tacos. The fried egg burrito wasn't quite as good as we hoped, but c'est la vie. The tacos were magic. Service was efficient and friendly and the place was clean. It smelled like cleaner, which was a teeny bit off-putting, but at least we know that they was the tables! Good food, good people, good location. read more

Hapa J's - Big Wave Dinner!! - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

My boyfriend and I were visiting San Clemente for 24 hours and I'm so glad we stopped here for lunch! We ordered the Hapa Nachos and added the Kalua Pig on top. I ordered the Local Boy Plate and upgraded the spam musubi to tempura style (a MUST do, because it's life changing). The musubi was definitely the star of our order. But the nachos were delicious and the Portuguese sausage did not disappoint. The service was great too and they have a great happy hour which made our meal a deal. We left with leftovers and with our bellies full. Highly recommend and a must go! read more

Hapa J's - Hapa Nachos with Kalua Pork - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

See all

Definitely coming back here. Nice neighborhood with casual, beachy and surf type restaurant. They also put on sports games and it would be great to have some great food and drinks here when the sports games are on! Everyone is friendly and accommodating. Thank you for the great service read more

See all

My brother recently moved to the area and ate at Hapa J's a week prior to my visit. He raved about the food and he wasn't wrong. Unfortunately I came to Hapa J's on Tuesday. Not being a regular, I didn't realize on Tuesdays they have an abbreviated menu. I was really looking forward to trying some of the Poke but unfortunately I had to settle for the smaller Taco Tuesday menu. The restaurant wasn't busy so we chose a table by an open window. The ocean breeze added a nice touch to the ambiance of the restaurant and made me feel like I was sitting on the beach in Hawaii. The service was quick and the employees were friendly and welcoming. One of the servers brought a nearby table the nachos. I couldn't believe how monstrous the platter was. It had to have been five pounds of chips, cheese, meat and salsa. I didn't think I could take down that massive amount so I ordered the chips with bean dip appetizer and my buddy ordered the wings. Both were delicious and the portion size was definitely shareable. I decided to try the kalua pork quesadilla since my brother had raved about it. I did not disappoint. The pork was amazing. Sometimes pork can get a little dry if it is overcooked or held at temperature too long but this pork had delicious flavor and was moist. The portion was huge! I was only able to eat three of the six slices and had to take the rest to go. I definitely will return to Hapa J's on a non Tuesday so I can sample the rest of the menu and get a better idea of what they have going on. read more