I'm pleasantly surprised by this place! Whenever my husband and I crave Hawaiian food, we order from here. I typically get the chicken katsu plate. You really can't go wrong with that. Chicken is always crunchy and sauce is perfect. I also recently tried their garlic chicken and it's also delicious! I do think it needs some sort of sauce, so at home, I eat it with some banana ketchup (Filipinos know what I'm talking about, hehe). Their spam musubi is also great as well. Yes the portions are smaller than places like L&Ls but it's also cheaper. To me, the portion is perfect for a full meal! read more

Pretty good food, and portions. Friendly customer service! Definitely a pit stop we go to when we are in the area! read more

Maui Express - Maui Express & Grossmont Center - Hawaiian Near Me - La Mesa, California

I went there on 11/22 and the food was awful! The first thing I noticed was my chicken was very thin and it had zero flavor. The beef was also flavorless, the only thing that was maybe decent was the rib. Oh and the soda/lemonade was also flat! I love supporting small business but I'll never go to that shit hole again. Rather have Burger King! read more

I really enjoyed my meal here. It was fresh, hot and delicious. The portion size was generous and it wasn't very expensive. It was also fairly healthy I would say. The employees were also very friendly! read more

Maui Express - Hawaiian Near Me - La Mesa, California

Portion size runs on the smaller size than other Hawaiian bbq places I've been to. Me and my friend got the chicken mix plate and two spam masubis. The chicken katsu was thin but good and the bbq chicken needed more flavor. Good thing they have us their katsu sauce because it definitely added the flavor that the meal was missing. The spam masubis were decent. Lots of rice and very thin slice of spam. All in all if you want fast, cheap hawaiian bbq while shopping at Grossmont Center then guess this is the place to go! read more

Maui Express - Chicken mix plate and spam masubi - Hawaiian Near Me - La Mesa, California

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Delicious, my sister loves it here! The prices are great as well! Glad they are still open during this time read more

Maui Express - Maui express - Hawaiian Near Me - La Mesa, California

Cute little Hawaiian Food joint in Grossmont Center Mall Food Court. I normally come here for a quick Hawaii style food when I'm craving a plate lunch. In this case, I came here to order a saimin. aka just like ramen I ordered my saimin and asked that they don't cook the spam. I want it cooked in the broth instead. What's funny is that they did not cut the spam into small pieces as how a saimin spam should be done. (Why do I know this? I'm from Hawaii) Overall, a place to return to. I've tried other dishes but I will wait to post about those. read more

We dropped in here today for a quick meal and the food was still very good. I was impressed with the quantity of food they give also--I got the mini-size of Kalua Pork and it included a scoop of both macaroni salad (still good) and rice plus cabbage. I ate about 2/3 of it on an empty stomach and still couldn't finish it. H. got the chicken combo and also couldn't finish even though he'd told me he was starving when we headed over there. I like the owner/manager--he talks to you in a down-to-earth way and explains which items are shipped in from Hawaii and what they make on the premises, plus gives a very good description of any dish you enquire about. I hope they hang on to the place for awhile. read more

I wouldn't bother coming here again. Not worth 9.75 for this light plate lunch. The menu above the register does no justice of what your gonna end up with, I was pretty sad when I left with my plate, especially for the price I paid. Oh and they are located in the food court. You will not find this place in the parking lot . Google was taking me in circles of the parking lot. read more

Maui Express - BBQ MIX PLATE KALBI, Chicken & Teriyaki Beef - Hawaiian Near Me - La Mesa, California

We love going here at least a couple times a month. My wife and I plus our 2 granddaughters love their chicken teriyaki bowls and their chicken Katsu. We have also enjoyed their garlic shrimp. Very nice people and a very good value. read more

Sweet Chinese couple. They obviously take pride in their business. Everything is very clean. Great smells coming from the kitchen. The food was wonderful. Thank you for the smiles. You made our day read more

Maui Express - Very clean. - Hawaiian Near Me - La Mesa, California

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Maui express is pretty much okay when it's Coming from a food court in Grossmont center. I like how the workers are family oriented. If I didn't have anything else to eat, I would come here as a last choice. It is Hawaiian food and it's going to be there stars for me. read more

Ordered the Pineapple Orange Chicken bowl on a whim, turned out to be the best Orange Chicken I've ever had - hands down. Maybe even the best chicken dish I've ever had. Everything was whipped up fresh right there, and the folks running the place were so nice! read more

I tried the Kalua pork plate. It was okay... not much flavor. The Mac salad too was pretty bland. Prices are reasonable but food was just average. read more

Best place for teriyaki chicken, they serve jasmine rice with meal !!tasttyyyyy very reasonable rice, clean, friendly and fast service . I love this place, always come back twice a weeek read more

You know what you're gonna get. This is a food stall at a shopping center with no frills attached. Chicken was cooked perfectly and wasn't too greasy, as well as seasoned. Had the lau lau plate and it was pretty solid as well. Highly recommend for the price! read more

This place is definitely a yummer for me!! The owners, Randy & Chris, are so nice. I ordered the the chicken combo, but didn't want rice or any carbs with it. She gladly offered to replace the rice with vegis. I also ordered the lumpias, which are pretty good size and tasty at that. My daughter wanted (shucks! I forgot the name of it) the spam and rice wrapped in seaweed. It was so good my daughter wanted to order more to go. The chicken was really delish and the vegis were cooked perfect. (broccoli, carrots, and cabbage). I would go out of my way to eat here again :-) You don't always run into people who look like they enjoy working with people. This little nook at Grossmont Center's food court is a people pleasing, happy and friendly place to pick up a bite to eat. I highly recommend it!! read more

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A+ for customer service. Portion sizes were just right. Only thing I did not really like was the chicken seemed to be chopped up into bite size pieces. A little too small for my liking. But other than that, overall a great place to chow down for a quick meal. Mahalo Maui Express. read more

It appears this is a franchise Hawaiian Plate Lunch chain. It looked like mom and pop were running this one. We stopped in the food court at Grossmont Center after a movie to feed the kids and the place caught my eye. I was introduced to Hawaiian plate lunch at one of the L & L Hawaiian places in Kona a few years ago and so that is the stick by which I measure Maui Express. I would have to say this little booth in the food court compares very favorably to the giant L & L. I ordered a chicken teriyaki bowl and a piece of spam musubi. The meal was as good or better than L & L. Had I been more hungry I would have loved to try one of the plate lunches but you can bet I'll be back soon. read more

Food is pretty decent for food court style food. But this full star review is for customer service. My girlfriend ordered the chicken combo. She mistakenly picked up the wrong order. And the gent behind the counter still provided her a secondary plate to make sure she got a full size order. read more

Really good customer service, but difficult to get my order across since the cashier didn't speak English as a first language. Prices are decent, but portions are small. Lots of seating in the food court. Food was of food court material. I did order a bbq bun and it didn't have much meat in it. It was mostly just bun. read more

I see all these negative views but honestly what do you expect from a fast food place in a dead food court? Y'all need to calm down and if you want the best food go to an expensive place. The food here is great in my opinion, I always get the chicken combo. Fills me up and has great flavor. Only idiots give this place bad reviews because it isn't "fresh" go to Hawaii if you want fresh. read more

At L&L, my norm is the Chicken Katsu, so whenever I try a different hawaiian plate lunch place, I usually start with that. Maui Express offers a combination plate with both chicken katsu and bbq chicken, so I went with that. The chicken katsu was a little bland compared to L&L; the bbq chicken was tasty. I have to admit that I like the mayo-y mac salad at L&L so I wasn't a huge fan of the mac salad here. Portion size seemed okay for the price. read more

Maui Express - Hawaiian Near Me - La Mesa, California

My friend ordered me a strawberry boba when I took a sip out of it it was super super sour. I went on my break and asked if I could exchange it because it was hurting my stomach of how sour it was. But the lady said that there's no refunds or exchanges. I was extremely disappointed. I've worked at this mall for over 10 years and have ordered food from there before and given them my business. They always give me attitude when I would ask for extra ketchup for my fries. Really? Anyways don't waste your time or money here they treat you like shit. And they don't care of your Happy with their food/drink. read more

Great Hawaiian food. I've almost had everything on the menu and have not been disappointed. Hefty portions and great service

Great food and great service, they have a good variety menu, go support your local restaurants !!!

The food here is excellent! It's always fresh and yummy! They also have boba which is really good!

Maui Express is one of my favorite places to eat in San Diego. They have a lot of my island favorites like Lau Lau and Chicken Katsu, and the prices are very reasonable. I return here weekly, and recommend Maui Express to my friends and ohana. read more

Love their garlic chicken and Portuguese sausage musubi! I often call my order in to pick it up, and the sweet couple that owns this tiny restaurant in Grossmont's food court has it ready and fresh to go without fail. The garlic chicken has the perfect amount of garlic and crunch to it. It normally comes with two scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni, but because rice is life, I get it with rice only. I've ordered their BBQ plate before, and I unfortunately, didnt enjoy that as much. Regardless, I still frequent this spot to get my fill on the best garlic chicken I've had locally. read more

"yay! i'm a fan." is EXACTLY right. i can only comment on the garlic chicken because it's the only thing i ever order from this spot, but it is THEEEE shit. it kinda reminds me of salted pepper chicken wings, but nuggets instead. love the macaroni salad, it isn't too mayo-y like l&l's. love the hawaiian fried rice, it's the only time i'll eat spam. nice, large portion at an average price. they are not cheaper than l&l's but you can expect that their quality of food is no less either. it's a little spot in the food court of grossmont center so it's very convenient to do some shopping before or after. i normally do my shopping afterwards to burn it all off. it's run by the same 2 people i see every time i visit and both are very friendly. i assume they are husband and wife. on a busier day, you might have to wait a little bit longer because one will be taking orders while the other cooks. extra kudos for the fact that they gave me free macaroni salad. turns out, if you order the hawaiian fried rice with any combo (instead of the regular steamed rice) you also replace the macaroni salad. i didn't notice this on the menu, so when i asked where it was, the owner said "i'll give you some this time at no charge." happy camper here. read more

For $7.99 for the BBQ mix plate was not worth it compared to L&L's. Better off there! They forgot our short ribs. The chicken was too chewy and rubbery for me. The BBQ beef was the only one that was tasty for me. This food court in grossmont center is a nope! read more

Came in for some katsu n mac salad. Never again!! The katsu was old n overr cooked! The mac salad was bland no taste! Yuck!! Stay away!!!

Never again! I guess the cook was worried about her bangs other than her food. Dry paper thin meat... where is the kalbi? Fake hawaiian fronting haoles!!! I rather starve than eat their bootleg food. Dry, just dry I mean really dry! White girl cooking hawaiian food.... wow!!! read more

Pineapple Orang Chicken Bowl is the best food I ever tasted! Very cheap for the price! Workers are very polite! Deserves infinite stars!!

This honestly is way better than L&L. And tastea in Chula Vista. I was able to cut the meat with plastic knives and fork. Service was kinda slow tho. read more

I personally would choose this place over L&L any day. Their chicken katsu taste better and more authentic. The staffs and very nice and usually hooks me up every time I come. The location is their only downfall because Grossmont Mall is like a ghost town nowadays. For under $10 you can get a whole course meal with almost all the good meats. read more

A lot of the reviews seems overly critical, this is a mall food court Hawaiian place. Let me start by saying I don't have any island credentials, never been. I have ordered the spam musubi, and I would put it on par if not better than l&l's I would prefer more sauce but I also never ask, now the customer service I have received there EVERYTIME is great, I will continue to come back. read more

This place is revolting! I have lived in Hawaii and since moving back to SD I frequent Hawaiian establishments quite often. I ordered the Kailua pork mini plate. When I opened the container I knew it was all bad just by looking at it. It was mush not meat. The mac salad was disgusting. After 2 bites I threw it away. read more

Love this joint & the sweet couple that run it! My Thai tea was delicious, and teriyaki chicken so tender & juicy. They prepare your food quickly and it's perfect for your lunch break. They also have chicken katsu, spam musubi, and different flavors of boba! Yum! read more

I got super fresh food and nice service here! Seems like an old asian couple was working when I came here. They took our orders and I was surprised they cooked it to order. I ordered teriyaki chicken with the fried rice and my friend ordered the bbq short ribs. We saw the woman scooping out steamed white rice to make the fried rice from scratch and the man taking out fresh/ raw chicken to make the teriyaki chicken. Both were good and simple, with distinguishable flavor, the boba drinks are not too bad either. Very affordable too! This is located in the grossmont mall's foodcourt, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. So, 5 stars for what would seem like a typical fast food place. read more