Some legit Hawaiian poke and lunch plates at this spot. Ahi poke comes in a good sized container…read morewith the sauce on the side (and rice). If you're not into raw fish, I've also had the Furikake Chicken and the salmon musubi which are both solid. They have outdoor seating if you want to eat your food onsite, or you can take it to go. Prices are pretty affordable too for the plates and staff is friendly. Small parking lot in front of the store as well but I've never had a hard time finding parking here since most people are in and out quick.

I've been coming here for a while but today I grabbed a haul of stuff. I bought …read more.. --spam musubi --salmon musubi --ahi tuna poke --salmon poke --seaweed salad --macaroni salad --edamame rice Everything is fresh here. Although the poke can be a little expensive, it's worth it to have a filling, protein-packed meal. You can grab poke and rice and your meal will be $15. The store is small but mighty - they have sweets, fresh food, preserved food, sauces, spices, fruit, drinks, and more. This is my favorite Japanese market.

Musube off the shelf just like Hawaii! Loco moco is a go to…read more Love the frozen section too! Zippys and more! Feels like I was transported to Oahu and the music was nice Hawaiian . All food is served in take out boxes. The guy behind the counter even had a pigeon accent. Will be back to try more Ono Ono food!

Diamond Head General Store is a like a touch of Hawaii in the Bay Area with hawaiian based snacks,…read moredrinks, even frozen Zippy meals available for purchase! They also serve hot food if you're looking for a bite to eat. Interior has some seating inside with a grocery store kind of feeling. No outdoor seating available. Parking is limited to street parking. A few notes: * Not everything in the store is labelled with prices * Hot food was pretty average in my opinion * Price vs value wasn't great in terms of quality of food Onto the hot food: * butter mochi - definitely the best thing we ordered here! Chewy buttery and soft in texture. Don't skip this. * garlic shrimp- this was recommended by the cashier but it was quite lacking in depth of flavor with the primary taste just being garlic. No spice, nothing special to stand out. After a while the sauce gets tiring. Mac salad was prominently peppery but bland in both texture and flavor. * Mochiko chicken - Not bad, crunchy battered chicken. Interior of the chicken was juicy but lacking in that distinct strong sweet savory that mochiko chicken is known for. Again, the mac salad was a letdown. Overall, the food was quite average especially for the price point. I can think of two places in SJ with better Hawaiian food for half the price.

There aren't many Hawaiian places in the Bay Area that aren't Hawaiian bbq, but luckily Noelani's…read moreis one of them and they take you away to the islands. With the live ukulele musician and the decor filled with leis & totem poles, it makes you forget where you are almost. Noelani's is located in this quiet San Carlos residential neighborhood, away from the busy shopping centers nearby. They got seatings inside and outside with cushioned seats and hay-style umbrellas when the weather is nice. I came on a Sunday afternoon and parking wasn't too bad. CK and I sat at the bar and the bartender was wonderful - very friendly and attentive. We got the Kaka'ako Nachos (poke nachos w/ taro chips) to start and it was good and fresh. Initially I thought there wasn't enough sauce cause they were all at the top, but we found a lot of it sitting on the plate on the bottom, and I recommend mixing up the poke. I got the Shaka Chicken lunch plate, which is boneless chicken marinated in shoyu, pineapple juice, rice flour breaded & flash fried, drizzled with sriracha wasabi aioli & unagi sauce. The lunch plate comes with potato-mac salad and rice, but I upgraded with spam fried rice. The chicken was nicely panko'ed around and tender/juicy inside. The flavor was good as you could taste the umami flavor, and there was a good sauce ratio too. CK got the guava steak lunch plate. It was a 10 oz steak with a guava puree & soy sauce marinade, pickled cucumber side. The steak itself was cooked medium rare, and it was tender and flavorful. We both enjoyed this dish as it was also subtly sweet from the guava puree, but you can't really tell. CK and I both enjoyed the meals here and we can't wait to try other things next time!

4.5/5 Let's just…read morejump straight into the food and drinks, because everything on the menu sounded intriguing and appetizing! Drinks: 4/5 P.O.G. Mai Tai: Super delicious tropical cocktail, if you're looking for something summery, fruity, and fun. 4.5/5 Ube Whiskey Colada: I love anything coconut, so when you offer a cocktail with ube, whisky, coconut, and pineapple, that was a no brainer for me to order. It lived up to my expectations and it was absolutely delicious! Food: 4/5 Tsunami Fries: Crispy, sweet, salty, and yummy! A great appetizer to share with the table. 4.5/5 Shaka Chicken: The chicken was marinated and cooked really well. They were perfectly crispy, and bonus points because they were boneless too. The sauce on-top had great flavoring. The coloring threw me off a bit, but it was still good. 5/5 Kaka'ako Nachos (Poke Nachos): This was my favorite! There was a fair portion of ahi poke. The flavoring of all the sauces were great. I really enjoyed the texture of taro chips, compared to traditional corn tortilla chips. I've heard they have a good Happy Hour menu. I'd definitely come back to check that out!

Craving meat so I had to drive out of the city to San Mateo. It's the only place within 20 miles of…read moreus where my wife likes the Mac salad, so it's worth it. I get the short ribs -- they are always meaty, with enough char but not burnt, and great flavor.

Huge portions of Hawaiian food! Everything here was solid and good, but not great. The macaroni…read moresalad was super yummy, and you get a lot of bang for your buck with how much food you get. Short rib (3.5/5) - gets the job done, nothing special. BBQ beef (4/5) - soft, good flavor Chicken Katsu (3.5/5) - huge portion, lots of chicken, but a little dry. Loco moco (3/5) Garlic shrimp (2/5) - with a half order, you only get 6 pieces of shrimp. The shrimp are on the smaller side, and were a little dry. Not too much flavor and a little bland. Food came out quickly! It's more of a casual restaurant so a lot of people were taking food to go.

I ordered the Seafood Combo with the Chicken Katsu, and the portions were so large that I couldn't…read morefinish the whole thing (which I consider a GREAT thing for a meal just slightly over $20 dollars)! The chicken was the best part, especially with the sweet and sour sauce, while the rest was decent as well. Next time, I'll just have the chicken alone tho. Gonna try out one of their burgers next!

Worst L&L plate I have had in 25 years !! Asked for a BBQ mixed plate and why I got was some…read morechicken with some horrible lettuce and tomatoes !! EXTREMELY Disappointed!!

I was surprised by this spot! Both of my drinks were really good…read more Ube Taro - Less Sweet: perfect sweetness, taro and ube flavors equally shined through. There was ube pieces which were a nice firm texture and not too overwhelming. The boba runs on the softer side, but I like that. Dracula - strawberry forward with some hints of ube. It was also delicious at Less Sweet and goes well with lychee jelly. I would come back! the drinks were not syrupy, and the natural flavors really popped out. Service was fast and friendly. Good amount of seating inside

My first and last time here. I got a strawberry lemonade here and it was way too sweet. The boba…read morewas super mush and soft. The drink came out fast but was so bad. Order at the self order kiosk.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect at William Barbecue. It's actually a Hawaiian barbecue…read morerestaurant. The portions are generous with some orders looking like an additional meal for two. Among the three of us, none of the finished our lunches. My order had 16 pieces of small shrimp, Mac salad and 2 scoops of rice (that I finished for dinner), I enjoyed my meal. There are 2 tables inside and a few outside. It is mainly a takeout restaurant. Street parking is available and turns over frequently.

I've DoorDashed William BBQ a couple of times. I tried the wagyu beef once and it was unfortunately…read morea miss for me. The beef was difficult to chew and super stringy. After that, I gave them another shot and ordered the grill shrimp (meals come with rice, mac salad, and broccoli). This one was great! Shrimp and broccoli both cooked really nicely - broccoli is tender with nice grill taste, and shrimp has great texture. Mac salad isn't too overpowering which I like. I've gotten this dish several times now and I would continue getting it. Portions are very generous here as well.

Came here for happy hour and had a wonderful time! The food is probably some of the best Filipino…read morefood I've had lately in the bay. You can tell the quality of the food with each bite. The pinakbet was not skimping on the bagoong and was delicious. The kare kare was tender and the bangus sisig had a perfectly crispy bottom. The high quality of the protein here really makes each dish taste worth the price. The cocktails were also really good, I enjoy the purple jeepney which was an ube based cocktail. They do have smaller sizes for entrees that you can order so you can sample more of the menu. Will be back to try to crispy pata! The service was also very warm and friendly, they first asked if we've had Filipino food before (which we have many times) to see if they could help make any suggestions from the menu.

Bustling on a Friday night - great food and great vibes! We had a reservation for the evening and…read moreluckily so, as the restaurant was packed. Located in downtown San Mateo, it can definitely be difficult to find parking, even in the garages. We had to circle around a couple of times until finding a street parking spot. Keep that time in consideration and come early if you have a reservation. The inside has relatively dim lighting and is quite spacy, and there's plenty of seating both upstairs and downstairs. Service was pretty quick despite how busy it was, and the servers were great! We ordered: - hot calamansi tea - thai chili & garlic wings - inihaw na pusit - pork sisig - sinigang - garlic rice The food came out pretty quickly and mostly all at once. Standouts of the night were the inihaw na pusit (super tender and chewy, and grilled with a great char) and pork sisig (super umami and tender). With that being said, was very satisfied with all the dishes, and there wasn't one that left a negative impression. I will say that this restaurant does lean on the pricier end, but there's a great ambiance for good food and conversations with friends. Would come back!

The salmon is very good and very full of flavor. The service was also great; they were friendly and…read moremade the whole experience even better. The ambiance was warm and inviting, making it a really nice place to relax and enjoy a meal.

AMBIANCE: They're located right next to the Japanese grocery market. There's no seating, so I…read moretypically take it to Central Park or something for a picnic. I grew up getting their bento boxes and love that they're not cash only anymore. FOOD: I got their teriyaki beef bento box ($19). It comes with 3 sides: macaroni salad (my favorite macaroni salad ever), sweet miso salad, and miso soup. The portions are good and worth $19. If you're in Downtown San Mateo, I recommend you check them out.

ordered the coconut shrimp and went into the place to pick up order - it isn't clear what to do -…read morewalk in and if picking up for yourself, go further in to the desk on the right and tell them your name and restaurant. Not sure how this place works. OK. Waited longer than time estimate, I had nowhere to sit, and it was very hard to park - many double park because they are food delivery people, coming in to grab the food and deliver. I felt like I was in the way. Ah well. Got the food in hand and it didn't feel very warm. Took it home (2 miles away) and the food definitely needed to be heated up. Theres no way this order was finished right before it go to me. I don't blame the chefs, the flavor was good. I blame the system - where I had to wait for someone to show up at that desk. The food was fine but microwaving fried food just makes it soggy - but you can't eat it there because it isn't a restaurant - and I'm not eating in my car because I'm German lol. The flavor was good, the rice flavor also good, the mac salad was just fine. Portion size was small. See pic. Just not stoked on the setup of this place. I think they would be better off in a brick and mortar restaurant - mmm sit down Hawaiian food yum yummy- maybe I'll try another location

We had the big mix bowl. I agree with the other reviews no flavor. This is not Hawaiian foodread more