Delicious homemade Puerto Rican food. Hands-down the best on the island. Not that there are a lot…read moreof Puerto Rican restaurants on the island. But this place is excellent No matter how many you have... My usual is the pernil plate-- tasty pulled pork with your choice of sides. I usually like the yuca or plantains, and gandule rice. Tried the bean stew hanchules today--so good on the rice. Also got to watch them make the pasteles. Stevena the owner said that in Puerto Rico they only make this for special occasions. But here everybody wants it all the time, and she sells out of them. Small parking lot out front and outside seating. But with the heat in Waianae, I would definitely sit inside in the air-conditioning. Definitely one of my go to places on the west side. Always friendly service.

Pernil is my absolute favorite, so I was torn having to choose between a Cubano or trying their…read moreMofongo. Luckily my husband decided to get the Cubano, the mofongo with pernil, yucca fries, and gandule rice for myself, and my sons: saimin, chicken with rice and fries, the pernil sandwich, and the jibarito sandwich. All of which were amazing! I was a little disappointed that my mofongo was a little undercooked and the 3.5 pieces of yucca fries. But it's fine! The pernil was soooo good and I would definitely come back!

Ahhhh I love this place the Lua Ham Hock omg winna winna chicken dina lol just an all around good…read morecomfort food I WOULD LUKE TO THANK TES AND HER MAN FOR LUCH always happy to meet new ppl especially when dey from the hood thanks to both service good setting is like ohana Marie

Update 7/8/26 on Jackie's Diner . Last time I was here it was about 3 years ago . I gave them 3…read morestars today what a difference 4 stars . Look at my pics the Lau Lau is very moist and they put nice amount of pork fat . That's the trick you need to add a little fat not all lean pork it will be dry . Last time I experienced a little dry Lau Lau now it's very good and moist . The only recommendation I would like to tell management they need to cut the luau stems a little it was long and stringy. Their service is always on point and friendly . Support local

It's been a while since we got some pastele, so decided to phone order for lunch. Simple order, #5…read moreone pastele (hot) and gandule rice, 1 small order of pastele stew, and 1 side order of bacalao salad, and 2 pastele lumpia. Hubs picked up the order and brought home lunch. Side note, the last time I ordered the stew/rice combo, it wasn't enough for the Mr, and since there was rice at home, he ordered the stew separate. I was in a meeting, and would enjoy my food after I was done. As I stepped out of my home office, I see hubs hardly at any stew, and I asked him if he was waiting for me to eat. He said no, and told me "if you want the stew, you can have it". Oh no, I know exactly what that means, so I offered him half of my pastele plate. He said no, and he looked bummed out. I knew I would need to reheat my plate, as it sat for 20 minutes before I got to eat it. While I was reheating my plate, I took a bite of his stew. I had to stop and look at the stew and it looked different. So I took another bite. The taste was ok (not like the amazing stew in the past), but the meat had a different texture. One more bite.....that's when I realized and then asked hubs, "Is that ground pork? Is that why it's different?" And he agreed, "that's what it is! ground pork!" The flavor was a bit off too, but the meat made all the difference. My reheated #5 plate was fine, a little bit salty, but just fine, no complaints. Finished up with the pastele lumpia, which was greasy (usually is unless its fresh) and asked hubs about the bill. Well, I understand inflation is a terrible thing for small businesses and consumers, but my jaw dropped when he said it was $50. And he wasn't a happy camper about the price or the stew. -Sigh- I don't give up easily on places I've enjoyed for years, so I will be back, eventually.

Updated menu as of 02/27/2026. Menu on their website is pretty outdated. Came in a little earlier…read morethan our pick up time which is fine. Lady that helped us at the counter was super nice! :) coworkers said they came here a lot, but it's my first time- so we'll see. :) Okay wait- update on the food. Their stuff is mean! I wish there was an option for it to be more spicy tho because, Ho! That would be immaculate! definitely coming back if I'm ever in town again

As I browsed to see which trucks I haven't tried at Taco'ako Tuesday, I came across Kai's Pastele…read moreShop which I haven't seen before. I guess I'm the first to review this truck because I couldn't find any other posting on Yelp: Pastele stew - 4 stars - For $7.50 plus 20 cents tax (yes, this truck is one of the few that the tax is not included in their price) it pretty much tasted like the stew I make, but they had more ingredients in it. I like how they blended in cabbage, olives,. chunks of tomatoes and some other spices other than your basic carrot, potato, onion and celery in it. They gave a pretty big serving with two scoops of rice and watercress salad. Pastele - 3 stars - For $4 you can order the pastele ala carte. It's something I haven't eaten before, so I can't say if it's better or worse than other places, but it was something different to try - if you like spicy, it has a spicy after-bite to it. Goes well with the stew. My friend ordered the taco, and he said it was ok. However, I can't rate it since I didn't try it. Service - 5 stars - the man and woman were very friendly and answered my questions on what a pastele is, but more so because I didn't know what a pastele was or tasted like, he gave me a free sample to try, which is something not many lunch trucks would do. They also sell tacos and burritos, but I have to go back to try those too before being a fan of the truck.

I'm gonna be honest and say that this is the best Pastele place I've been to on the island…read more I can't say that i can compare it to an actual sit down puerto rican restaurant, since I'm not familiar with many around the island, but in comparison to all the Pastele trucks and stops Ive been to around the island, this one takes the cake! I've been to stops along the windward side, while heading down toward Koolau. There used to be (not sure if its still there) Pastele stops along the road. One of the guys that used to serve Pastele along with poke had decent Pastele, but his business was way sketchy. The dude would always "accidentally" miscount the money. He also inaccurately counted up the total of your order in his head. Not to mention his erasable white board was unreadable which made the prices even harder to determine. So don't go to that guy! Instead go to Kai's. Great prices (you don't have to worry about getting ripped off) and their Pastele ingredients are unique in texture. I'm really not even sure if they were made out of the traditional banana base. But i don't really care because they were just so awesome! They offer a a few different types Pastele with different types of meat all at different spice levels. Also several other peurto rican dishes which i still have yet to try are available. Next time I'm getting the seafood Pastele. I'm so bummed because they sold out the last time. I'm a huge fan of seafood and Pastele so when i saw it on the menu i just thought it was the coolest mix. (if you've never had poke with your Pastele you should def. give it a try)

Worth following and hunting them down…read more Very friendly service and they make it easy to order by using instagram messenger to place orders. Gandule rice was amazing and probably the best I've ever had, packed with flavor and ingredients that you can pretty much just eat it by itself. While the food is expensive, they do give a lot of food which increases the value. The pastelillos was also a delicious treat. Packed with ground beef and cheese and accompanied by their creamy sauce, it makes you wanting more. Overall very good food and would recommend.

One of thee hidden gems of food trucks on Oahu, the flavors is off da charts. Food takes a lil bit,…read morebut that is to be expected when it's made fresh and served hot. According to Puerto Rican's from Puerto Rico that I know and have spoken too, this truck serves "authentic" food from back home.

Hubs and I love the Thursday Wai Kai Market! It's close enough to us where we can walk there. It's…read morea great break from cooking and cleaning at home lol. Best of all, we get to try so many new delicious local bites! We now look forward to our Thursday dinners! A few weeks ago we had already ordered our dinner at a couple other booths, but while waiting for our meals to be prepared, we took another lap around to plan for our next week's meal haha. I was excited to see a Puerto Rican food truck! It had been so long since we've had Puerto Rican; I was counting the days until we came back lol. I placed my order for the Tripleta sandwich and we took our stroll while waiting for our meal. I asked for no potato stix on my sandwich; personal preference, but I definitely know a lot of people who would've enjoyed the added crunch! It was ready just as we returned about 8 minutes later. Each bite was juicy, perfectly seasoned, and fresh. The bread was divine and soft, the best pair to the symphony of meats and veggies. I will definitely be trying the plantains next time! Along with more of their menu; everything sounds so yummers! For the meat sandwich lovers; the tripleta does not disappoint!!

I tried their food and it was good. I got the Pincho-con. It was $28. Flavor wise it was good but…read morepresentation wise I was disappointed. From what they posted on Instagram I was highly excited to get it but when I received it, the sauce wasn't mixed in with the rice. Also the person running the window was a young person. They weren't being rude but they did seem like they were bored. I ended up paying with a $50 bill for a $28 dish. So my change would have been $22 but instead I ended up getting $12 back. So.....like I said flavor was good. Presentation was disappointing. Service was meh. My overall score to this establishment is 2 out of 5. I won't be coming back because I don't trust the person running the window.

I received my Pastele Pot Pie as a Xmas gift- weird but daaaaang, so onolicious! I told my hubs we…read moregotta go there buy some to stock the freezer! Hubs had the beef stew & he too "We gotta go here and get MORE!"

The pot pies are a tasty meal that you can have hot any time at home! The crust are just right…read more They also make great gifts.

I don't ever review tbh but the chef at the Tasty Kreyol was amazing. He greeted my husband and I…read morewhile we were looking at the menu and offered us a free sample. We ordered the fried pork (because the sample was good) and the plantain philly steak. Everything was delicious. Tbh the rice rivals my own. Also I usually hate plantains they are usually too soft or too hard but these were perfectly medium and flavored well. I will say it was all a little spicy for me since everything part of the dish had a kick to it but I also think hot Cheetos are spicy so my level of spice tolerance is low.

Just had the jerk chicken plate from Tasty Kreyol and I'm still thinking about it hours later. The…read moreflavor was unreal; perfectly spiced with that smoky heat you want in a real jerk dish, and the chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender. The sides were just as good, savory, well-seasoned, and clearly made with love. You can tell they take pride in what they serve. Everything was fresh, the portion was generous, and the vibe was warm and welcoming. This place is the real deal. If you're craving authentic Caribbean flavor, do yourself a favor and get over to Tasty Kreyol.