TL;DR Amazing BBQ ribs and garlic dishes. And huge portions. But the prices are lethal. ---------- The food here is fantastic. Seriously. I've tried several entrees on the menu and everything is delicious. The BBQ ribs here might be the best ribs on the island. All the garlic selections are absolutely packed with garlicky goodness. The portions are gigantic. I've always ordered a 2 choice combo plate, which comes with generous portions of both meat selections, two giant scoops of rice, and a side macaroni (spaghetti?) salad. You could easily turn one plate lunch into two meals. The food at KKG is worthy of 5-stars. There's no questioning that. I must say, however, I was shocked when I saw the most recent pricing. I haven't been to KKG in a few years. The last time I visited they were still in the Mapunapuna area. The prices then were already on the higher side, but to actually see a "3" in front of some of the plates now is mind boggling. $32 + tax + tip for a plate lunch just seems astronomical. Is it worth it? That is for you to decide. There is no question that KKG offers some of the best and most filling plate lunches in, dare I say, the world. read more

Kau Kau Grill - Garlic Chicken + BBQ Ribs Combo - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I've been here a few times now, and I've really enjoyed the cooked dishes every time. The garlic chicken is so flavorful, and the barbecue ribs are delicious. Those are definitely what I'd recommend ordering. I wasn't a huge fan of their poke, so I don't think I'd order that again, but I'd absolutely come back for the chicken or ribs. If you're looking for a good local meal, those dishes are definitely worth trying. read more

Not a lot of places have ribs! ...maybe whiskey smoke kaneohe or easy que kailua. Definitely add this place to the list. Onolicious! Little hole in the wall spot in sand island. When ur in the area swing by and grab and go some solid BBQ. Very nice staff. Open strip mall style parking. read more

Kau Kau Grill - Ribs! - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

First time there and it won't be the last!!! Everything from start to finish was fantastic. Highly recommend the KKB plate. If I could give more 5 stars this place would get a 10. Poke was also broke da mout great. So fresh read more

Worth every penny Every plate I've gotten here since they moved has been excellent. Today's order was the KKG bento. Pork ribs, garlic shrimp, and short ribs Let me tell you the one disappointing thing about this dish: absolutely nothing. The pork meat fall off the bone ribs were succulent, the shrimp was smothered with delicious garlic and the butter coating the rice way too good, and the pulehu had the nice grilled flavoring. Overall five stars. Plate might be a little pricey but it's a good two meals in one. Or keep it one meal with a nap later :p M read more

See all

I recommend the Pulehu short ribs. Although they say the pork ribs are their best seller I think the Pulehu short ribs are their best. read more

Kau Kau Grill - Pulehu beef short ribs! Onolicious! - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

The food was really good and they made it super fast. It is a 6min drive from the airport. There was some fish they couldn't serve bc one of the chefs was out, so that was a bummer. The poke plates and ribs is what we got instead, which didn't disappoint. It was great they took apple pay too. Side note, there is limited to no parking in this industrial area read more

See all

Food portions are HUGEE!!! I got the signature baby back ribs and the palehu short ribs and these are definitely the best choices!! My friend got the smoke meat with garlic shrimp and said the shrimp was really good! They offer seating in the store which is cozy and has tvs. The fresh fish looked super ono but need to go back to try. Service is always nice and they are super friendly and helpful. Definitely coming back to try more! read more

Kau Kau Grill - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Love Kau Kau Grill. The food is delicious, the meat falls off the bone and the garlic shrimp is as good as Giovanni's, minus the big $$$. Get the "Trust Us" - BBQ ribs, garlic shrimp and macaroni salad. Ty is the owner, an aloha guy who loves his work. We will be back. read more

Kau Kau Grill - No frills or fancy decor, just the best ribs you can get. - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Great food, service, and price. Close to the airport we were hungry and four kids in tow. The owner was so kind, patient, and helped us order. The ribs fell off the bone and garlic shrimp was the best we had on the island. Our kids loved everything . Poke was fresh. Loved the feeling of this hole in the wall restaurant. The owner brought our youngest more seaweed to enjoy her food. read more

It's a great place as soon as you land easy to find. I thought it was a bit pricey but just wait till you see the size of these portions! I want to say they give you a rack of ribs basically. Very flavorful. Service was easy to he was friendly and the place has cute picnic tables inside. 10/10 read more

This little hole in the wall spot has some top tier food. Kinda nestled and hidden away in a small parking area, pretty sure it's a local spot as there were 2 locals who were asking how we found out about this place in front of the store! The locals were recommending the bbq ribs so had to try that. 0 regret, probably the best ribs I've ever had, the meat was fork tender and fell off the bone when poked around. Smothered in a sweet tangy bbq sauce, def a mess but a great mess. My order came with a side of poke as well and this was made fresh to order! Nearly inhaled the large chunks ahi poke first before my ribs off trying one bite. Side note there's parking but only like 3 spots in front, otherwise you'd have to look for parking around the industrial area. There's also no seating inside so everything's to go but there is a bench outside. The people inside working were super nice as well. Great recommendations and very friendly! Everything came out pretty quick too, def coming back read more

Kau Kau Grill - Bbq ribs with poke combo - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Local gem we found through reviews on YouTube. We wanted something away from the tourist traps. Huge portions, and a taste of local flavor. Grilled ribs were the family favorite. For Garlic lovers, try the garlic chicken. Comes with rice and macaroni salad. Large portions o. The regular size plates too. read more

They recently moved to Sand Island Access Rd. so be sure to go to their new location. They're in the same building as Streats and Lunch Box. Food here is a little pricey, but so good and worth it. The poke tastes fresh and all of the cooked food I've tried so far has been great. I don't think it's on the website but they also have a sampler plate where you can get small portions of a few selections so you can try more things. I recommend the garlic shrimp and the pulehu short ribs. Smoked meat was also good. They're always super busy so I would recommend calling in your order or be ready for a wait. You can also order online but there's an extra charge for paying with card. read more

Tried for the first time......ordered their lechon and the miso grilled chicken. Loved the Lechon. Pork was not too hard....wonderful cruncy onions and sweet petit tomatoes. They were out of white rice, but the fried rice was really ice. Wonderful taste with lots of kamaboko, meat and onions. Wonderful surprise. The wait line was long and parking was tight, but will definitely go again. It is a small grab and go place, so a bit crowed. Service was friendly and somewhat fast. read more

See all

This place is absolutely freaking perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!! Try to come a few times a month. Can't ever get enough! Honestly the best on the island. We have eaten every single thing on the menu. It's all perfect! The poke is perfect!!!!! Service is the best. read more

Their omakase chirashi looked different from what the restaurant posted, even though the photos were only three months apart. I loved the variety shown in the pictures, but when I purchased it on December 15, 2025, it didn't look the same as what the owner had posted. I was really disappointed because I love scallop, crab, and chutoro. I was in a rush so I didn't ask, and since it was my first time purchasing from this location, it was quite a shock to see what I received when I got home. read more

Kau Kau Grill - Omakase chirashi i received on 12/15/2025 - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

First time there today, I work down the road at Amazon. Always passing them Thought I'd check them out. Walk in No greeting, guy stands there and just stands there! We greeted him. Then he stands there still dead faced. So we make our order with Mr.rude attitude Ordered bout $120 worth of food. Food was ok, nothing different from others around. It's sad we try and support local establishments and get No Aloha! But they talk about support local! Why? when we get this stink local attitude? read more

I completely understand food cost increases but quality shouldn't decrease with time. The brisket was overly sauced and very tough. The ribs and garlic shrimp were okay, but when you consider it's almost $30 a plate for it, it's not worth it. Overall good service but the food wasn't worth the price. read more

See all

Great service & legit GOOD FOOD! Was running errands in the area and was starving! We usually go to Street Eats but wanted something different so went to look inside. It's your typical plate lunch hole in da wall spot but nicer and cleaner and had seating. Never noticed this place was even here but glad we stopped in. Got poke & 2 plates of bbq ribs. Poke was fresh and perfectly seasoned. Ribs were so soft, fall off the bone, & juicy, mac salad noodles was bomb. We will definitely be back next time we are in the area. read more

See all

I wish I could leave a zero star for this cause it was that bad. I ordered the garlic chicken plate $18 which came with rice and a scoop of macaroni salad, which looked like spaghetti and mayonnaise with no flavor as for the garlic shrimp was overcooked and all you could taste was garlic, no other spice seem to be included, worst plate lunch I've ever had. On top of that I paid in cash and also got charged for the credit card fee as well. Save your money go somewhere else. There's several in the sand Island area where this was anywhere is gotta be better than this place. I don't normally leave reviews however when it's this bad, I'd like to warn people about it. read more

There one awesome place to grind and nice people with choke aloha nice dine in area and mix of all kine foods it's a must stop destination when visiting the island read more

Kau Kau Grill - This is there combo plates we got always come with salad or MAC salad!!! - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Used to eat here when they were in Mapunapuna and just recently visited this new site of theirs ambience is much improved. They even have a little dining area that is cute as it kinda looks like a picnic area and they even have a nice big screen TV so you can watch the game. Food is delicious as always my favorite go to is the Pulehu ribs. They also sell snacks and desserts. They have fresh made hand rolls as well as fresh poke. My favorite hand is crab rolls and theirs was delicious with a good proportion of crab cucumber to rice. Not sure what to try. They have a mix special with their popular choices. If you're a medium size eater, then one of the plates should be able to stretch into two meals, but it is so delicious that you may force yourself to scarf it in one. read more

See all

Had craving for Kau kau grill since haven't been here in a while. Still busy as ever and food is still killa. Got the following Special Kama & belly read more

Kau Kau Grill - Special Kama & belly - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

I am back and wanting to try their poke! I did an online order as it was the easiest. The prices were quite expensive compared to a couple years ago and to other plate lunch places, but everything was was delicious! My family and I were sharing family style, so I ordered the BBQ Baby Back Ribs, Surf & Turf (pulehu short ribs and garlic shrimp), Garlic Chicken, 1/2 lb Spicy Ahi, 1/2 lb Shoyu Ginger Ahi, and 1/4 lb Hurricane Spicy Ahi. There was actually a crazy amount of garlic chicken. It didn't have a strong garlicky flavor but was enough to give it some delicious flavor. My favorites were actually the BBQ ribs and the Spicy Hurricane Poke. The BBQ ribs were suuuper tender that the meat practically fell off the bone! Tons of flavor and thankfully, there wasn't an overbearing amount of sauce either. The spicy hurricane poke didn't have a ton of mayo which I liked a lot, making it my favorite. The flavor was perfect to me too! The other two pokes were still very good. Loved how fresh the ahi was! The short ribs were okay; I wasn't that impressed by it. I did like how tender the meat was, making it very easy to chew. The shrimp was delicious! I wished there was more of that. Overall, loved the food here! There was a variety of different flavor bombs that kept my mouth salivating. Would love to come back for more in the P.S. when ordering online, there will be a mandatory 10% service charge for take out orders. I think this was newly implemented since I've never seen that previously before moving out of Hawaii. read more

Kau Kau Grill - Garlic Shrimp/BBQ Baby Back Ribs combo & Garlic Ahi - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

The amount of rice and shrimp was perfect combination for lunch on Friday afternoon.The parking was adequate. The Staff was friendly. read more

Kau Kau Grill - Delicious food - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

These are still my favorite BBQ ribs on the island. Actually, it's my favorite ribs anywhere. They also have great seafood/other stuff too like poke, salmon, garlic ahi, garlic shrimp, pulehu ribs... but I don't even bother because if I'm anywhere near Mapunapuna, I'm getting the ribs. Hours are limited to daytime only Mon-Sat 10-2 They're open TODAY, MLK holiday. read more

What a find, da kine is located in a desolated industrial like area. A few other small food take out places adjacent. No dine in, strictly takeout, opens at 1000, they were already slammed with take out orders, luckily we online ordered in advance. Opened the door and your basically in their kitchen/storage areas, they work hard and make it work. Staff friendly and efficient to a fault. Now let's get to their broke da mouth plate lunches. For a small place they have an extensive menu, small or regular plates, can make your own combos. Smoked meat & onions. Meat was tender and had a rich chocolatey smokey flavor profile, onions cooked not soft with with a slight crunch, all over rice and a separate small container of the spaghetti salad side which came with all the other plate lunches. Roast pork & gravy plate lunch. Chunks of tender shredded pork slathered in tasty brown gravy. Gravy lovers wet dream. BBQ ribs plate- rib meat tender and falling off the bone. Meat had a slight smokey crust, perfection. This would rival other rib places but at an affordable cost Btw, we ordered the small plate which was more than enough, I was told the large plates are humungous. I'm still salivating on how well each plate lunch held their own, now this is how you become a successful business. Michelin star reviewers, if you're out there, they deserve a minimum 1 star rating, do your job. Aloha, until we meet again on my next visit read more

See all

Awesome local grinds. Generous servings. Very tasty and delicious. Love their Mac salad spaghetti noodle style. So ono. Ribs and beef are wonderful and plentiful. But I enjoy their chicken special which has mushroom gravy which is all over the rice. So delicious. Owner and workers are very customer service oriented. They do good! read more

Everything went well. My first-time there before they moved to Sand Island. Onolicious food. I had the Beef Stew and my brotherr had the burger combo I hope the service and smiles are the same at their new location read more

the best bbq ribs i tasted in awhile. Poke is great also. my new spot for lunch. parking is a problem though

Not a dine in place just grab and go but I phone ordered so didn't need to wait. I haven't been here for many years and sad that they don't have krazy rice no more. Food still amazing but doesn't taste the same like before but not disappointing. I'll still come back! read more

Kau Kau Grill - Lunchbox - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Was looking for Masa's, but ended up trying Kau Kau Grill. Upon entering, it wasn't the cleanest in appearance. Their "mini" plates are around $14, and "regular" plates are around $17. The menu did not have many options, and some plates went as high as $30. I decided to try the garlic chicken and ordered a regular plate. I went in at 11 a.m., there were no other customers waiting, and my food was prepared fairly quickly. Upon getting home, I opened the plate and was surprised to see a large amount of chicken and one scoop of rice. I later found more rice under the chicken; I didn't care for this rice because it was salty from all the chicken juices. The taste of the chicken overall left much to be desired. Aside from garlic and salt, the chicken had no flavor. The best part of the plate was the "mac" salad, which was actually spaghetti noodles. Not a fan of this garlic chicken plate. read more

Kau Kau Grill - Garlic Chicken - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Gimme something Old School. When I find a spot by reputation that sells good OG Pulehu ribs, I'm going to that place if only Siri can navigate me to it. Begin the adventure to drive cuz I didn't know where it was. But I hit Kau Kau Grill shortly after they opened on Saturday. Definitely do want to try their barbecue ribs, roast pork and gravy and their salmon belly with kama someday but I took that specific trip to Māpunapuna, in the industrial area of town that has a faded sign and maybe 3 parking stalls for, PULEHU RIBS. They must do a decent lunch time walk in crowd because they close at 2:00 and parking is minimal, although I managed to get the last spot. Not only are the guys affable and genuinely kind hearted, they are super fast with packing up the plates as I barely collected my change and the 2 pulehu boxes were packaged hot and ready to go. Friendliness is desperately lacking especially in joints that think they make a good plate of food. Often service is mundane depending on their level of narcissism on any given day. But not here at Kau Kau Grill. Genuinely sweet crew. Plus, I'm glad that they mentioned that they are moving to Sand Island very soon because this is a place I plan to go to again. Although I cannot indulge in this kine meal, as much as I would like to any more, it is well worth the trip for me to go to Sand Island from Nu'uanu where I live. Forget the restaurants that serve steak. Because for the same price as the modest portion of Bob's BBQ rib steak, Kau Kau gives a ton of meat, white rice to last for two meals plus spaghetti, "mac" salad. Talk about OG! As many people have said, WYKYK. Don't talk to me about the meat being a bit fatty. Particular cuts need that amount of fat to distribute a deliciousness of pure meat flavor, and without it, this cut would be a little tough to eat. Yes, it is on the chewier side but iffen you neva listened to yo ma about brushing you teefs and you don't have at least yo front choppers, don't blame me, cuz dats on you. Yes, it's toothsome. Just enough to make you feel like a cave dweller chompin' and chewin' your way through this carnivore's delight. The cut is not what I consider to be tough to eat, but it is munchy, pupu level ono. Salty enough, without sugary sweet sauce or tons of garlic to mask any flavors. The two main ingredaments needed for pulehu beef, SALT AND FIRE! Yessah, the Holy Ghost descended upon me while driving home and sprinkled me with the faith and promises held insigh dat package and dang it, if I didn't have to pull over and dig my fat, stubby greedy fingers into one plate (I bought one plate for me and one for my big brother) to sampo. While I was chewing on a wonderful, slightly gristly, meaty, fire flamed bite, I was already scoping out which other "small" bite I needed to mark for my second piece. Fortunately, there were no small pieces so I visually sonar-ed into the next big chunk and I deftly reached for the second piece. Mmmmm. Slurped my fingas in the loudest, most grosses-like, rude manner possible. The cars that passed by me be damned, eh look all you like, I no shame! I couldn't even stop for a mouf-ful of rice and spaghetti-Mac salad but after the second chonk of heavenly chomping and gulping, I closed the box so I could finish lunch at home. Before starting my car again, I said "who am I kidding?" and I open the box again for my third meaty, beefy piece. It was so worff it. Now truth be told, I'm not a huge Mac salad fan. If I can't get green salad instead, I usually just throw it away. How many places put way too much onion or planny wet mayo and it's not even Kewpie mayo so why bother? But having said that, it was a pretty decent spaghetti Mac salad. And while I didn't eat, all of it, there was nothing offensive about it and most people would enjoy it. It did have a good mild flavor. It was not over salted or (eek) sugared! C'mon, you know very well that places drizzle sweet pickle juice on the stuffs. Yuck. "Old School" pulehu ribs is a sadly dying tradition. Tradition that puts meat and beef flavor ahead of all else. Meat, salt and fire. That's it. Pau and done. Kau Kau Grill does this right. P.S. Guys, I lied about the 2nd plate being for my bro. He lives in Florida. I ate 'em bofe. read more

Ty and Myles always awesome and takes good care of their customers! Food is ono-licious. Can't go wrong with the Ribs! Awesome poke too! Loved the way he packed it to go - mixed it the following day to taste and everyone loved it! Everyone said fish was fresh and delicious read more

Awesome food - huge portions. Pulehu ribs were solid. Recommend this place. Thx to Kau Kau for a great lunch.

Ordered online and it was finished before the time indicated! Love the new place! The food still great! The poke was awesome too! Thank you so much! read more

It's been a while since I ate here so I went to grab pick up for my lunch. I ordered their bbq ribs which was finger lickin good and so tender fall off the bone meat. Love their spaghetti Mac salad it comes with cause it goes great together with the bbq ribs. The mini size was very generous! This is Hidden gem in Mapunapuna! read more

Kau Kau Grill - Barbeque Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Garlic Shrimp! Now I know you can get that from many places on island, but nobody does it like Kau Kau Grill. The place itself is as hole in the wall as they come in an industrial-esque area. We ordered our food that morning and were given an estimated 'ready' time of 4:30PM because they had like 140 odd orders ahead of ours. Fortunately, our food was ready by 1:30PM. The plates did not disappoint. That garlic sauce soaks into the bed of rice under and makes it taste so good! The shrimp themselves are jumbo, perfectly cooked (shell on, so don't be surprised). Bona fide broke de mouth! read more

Kau Kau Grill moved from Mapunapuna to Sand Island Access Road. Their new location is nice and has enough parking, but it is take out only. The fried saimin combo with pulehu short ribs was $24. Food quality was okay with good noodles, rice, mac salad, and the smoked short ribs. All you can eat Korean BBQ is a much better value. read more

See all