Last week, one of the volunteer organizations that I belong to held its annual Holiday Party. It's organized by the members of this year's graduating class of recruits with advice from members of last year's graduating class. Funding is provided by our Association. Everything from finding a facility to host us, ordering the menu, decorations and entertainment, set-up and clean-up is dependent on the members working together and is part of a surprise team building exercise. The menu this year was food from Ono Hawaiian BBQ in Castro Valley. They ordered a "Standard Menu" designed to feed 95-100 people. It consisted of four entrees, two salads, rice and 100 Crab Rangoon. Our entrees were Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, Hawaiian BBQ Beef, Chicken Katsu and Kalua Pork with Cabbage. There was more than enough food for our group and plenty of leftovers to be taken home. I've made plenty of BBQ Chicken, Kalbi Ribs, Pork Tonkatsu and Kalua Style Pig with Cabbage in my time. We've also eaten at numerous "Hawaiian" quick service restaurants including in Hawaii. Is Ono's food authentic? For us mainlanders, reasonably yes. Is it the best Island Grindz ever? No, I wouldn't say that. But it certainly is good enough and hits the spot! Everyone at the Holiday Party enjoyed the food so much that I placed an order for two meals serving 10-12 each for a family event on Sunday. Considering that there were only 9 of us eating, that was a ton of food but we're all huge fans of variety and leftovers. The food was ready on time and three of the staff members helped box it up for us. Good food and good service. As soon as we got to our van, we removed the lids from the Chicken Katsu and Crab Rangoon in an effort to keep them from steaming the crunchy exteriors soft. The one failure were the sauces. There were six round containers of sauce. They need to use a different container to keep the sauce in the containers. One of the lids came off in transit and all the sauce spilled, making a mess inside the plastic bag. Next time I'll know to unstack them so that doesn't happen again, but a tighter fitting lid would have prevented the spillage. We were given plenty of plasticware, napkins and plates, another major plus. read more

I am giving this one-star review to bring to attention and experience we had today. This was at about 5:30pm on April 2nd. First, I'd like to say the food was great and we come regularly. This time we ordered the island white fish aloha plate and was good. Food has been consistent when we come. However the girl at the front started as super unprofessional and rude. She had dark hair, and their were two other girls, one with lighter curly hair and one that I think had braces and skin tone was a little lighter. Just describing so maybe management can address this with the employee who refused to give her name. We had asked to use the bathroom, and they first said it's only for customers and we told them we did order. After that, it just escalated. The girl ended up yelling, and she even called my mom a "puta" and we called her out on that. She then proceeded to speak in spanish with 3-4 guys that were cooking, probably about us. We waited for our order and I asked for the manager and this girl kept saying he's coming. Then, one of the guys that I had seen thst was cooking came and said he was the manager and his name was Mattias Mendoza. I asked for the girl's name but she refused and kept yelling. She also turned around her badge so we could not see her name. Honestly if she didn't do anything, why was she hiding her badge??! We could see the other employees were scared of her, and she just kept yelling and saying we were the ones that cursed at her but every employee heard her say it to us, including some other customers that were standing there. We have also reported this to corporate, but we're unsure if anything will be done. She was absolutely horrible with us, picking fights and cussing out customers for nothing. read more

This place is always clean and the workers are welcoming! Young gentleman that works there is always super friendly! The food is always consistent and the mac salad is always on point! Love the seafood mix! The fish is always a nice, thick piece, that's always cooked properly! Shrimp is always nice and crispy! And the meats... well, that's what they known for besides the mac salad! Always seasoned well! This is a great local go to spot for us! If you can't think of what to eat, this place will never disappoint! read more

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Food is ok service is terrible we ordered to eat inside the restaurant kinda close to closing because they asked if we were dining in we said yes. Then 10 minutes after getting our food they asked if we were done because they had to go! Meanwhile the kitchen was still being cleaned. If you're going to offer to let people dine in you definitely shouldn't rush them out!!! 4/13/26 read more

I fell in love with Ono Hawaiian BBQ because my ex took me there a few times, their food is healthy and delicious. I'm def a fan...my favorite id the BBQ combo read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian BBQ combo , always full of flavor and cooked just right! The cabbage and veggies are delicious as well - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

This location is in our neighborhood. We've come here several times, usually for takeout, and it has never disappointed. The tables, chairs and floor are clean. The teriyaki chicken is my favorite. I've also tried the Hawaiian BBQ chicken, which is also very good. The chicken is usually grilled just right with the meat still succulent. One time I had a few charred to burnt pieces, but it could have been an off-night or a new person at the grill. My hubby has tried almost everything else on the menu - katsu chicken, kalua pork, seafood mix, Hawaiian BBQ mix. Each time, he nodded approvingly and inhaled everything. There are dispensers for teriyaki and katsu sauces. The katsu sauce was a must-have with the katsu chicken, which was nicely fried - crunchy on the outside with the meat still juicy inside. Orders come with rice, Hawaiian macaroni salad, and vegetables like cabbage and broccoli. The Aloha plates come with rice and salad. We'll definitely come again because the food is tasty and the place is convenient. read more

Located in the luckys shopping center. Right when you enter off redwood. Parking can be sparse. Inside is pretty spacious. Everytime I go, there is always available seats. They even have outdoor seating. Majority of people order online or via phone for take out, so even though you don't see a lot of people in there, they still might take a while for the food. I am an example of that. I ordered online today. I got an email for 22% off for their 22nd birthday of being open but must order online. Online ordering is easy and not a problem. I got the bbq mix (Hawaiian bbq chicken, Hawaiian bbq beef, and kalbi short ribs). It comes with some steamed cabbage, macaroni salad, and rice. I also got an order of spam Masubi. My usual order when I go here. I probably eat here maybe like 5 times a year and each time the food is great! They have a sauce bar for you to get your katsu or teriyaki sauce or sriracha sauce. This is my go to place for Hawaiian bbq in my area. :) read more

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Really good food tried the island fire chicken really good flavor came out really fast nice service

Well, the food is always good when it's made to order fresh and hot and once I get it home, we'll see how hot it is. The service is pretty good. Kind of busy here this evening. Ambience is wonderful love the music clean smells good flowers and the plants look amazing the succulents they have, I'll definitely be back. I haven't been in a while so I was actually craving this one because I had a bad experience at another one and San leandro so Castro Valley is the one that I come t Angela and Memphis are great. Customer Service is on point. He took my order. He also gave me some other options and that was amazing. Angela also help me with the condiments, the tartar sauce, the teriyaki and the Katsu sauce keeping the caster Valley when this is the only one I'm coming to my chicken is soooooooo damn crispy and delicious read more

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Since it was delivered to me all I can review on is the food itself. The food was very tasty. I especially love the tuna, Mac, and cheese. Ive had both the BBQ chicken and the fish, both were very good. I appreciated the extra tartar sauce. Thank you. I would recommend to others for a quick bite. read more

they gave me so much sauce without asking and my food is very warm even though i was shower and took some time. i am so blessed for this thank u read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - my sauce - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

My husband orders to go from this location frequently. A few nights ago, he came home with the (usual) Hawaiian BBQ plate. It was a total disappointment and a huge fail. This isn't the first time. It is frustrating when restaurants charge quite a bit extra for a kalbi short rib and give you something inedible. I told my husband no more since this has happened three times. Their beef was literally scraps too. It was gross. I remember when I worked in a Korean bbq restaurant back in the day and that would be automatically added to the plate and I'd let the customer know. They'd always appreciate the extra ribs and meat and believe me we would give them more than one extra. I know times have changed drastically since then; but, this was unacceptable. read more

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I'm from Hawaii, I know local style plate lunches. For mainland plate lunch katsu, the sauce is solid. The chicken and breading flavors are acceptable. What's not acceptable is about 1/3rd of the pieces of chicken being so thin (see pictures). One layer of breading is thicker than the chicken. Supa sad. Thought it's be an occasional treat but probably not. I guess there's a reason it's only my second time here in one year of living in the area. I want chicken katsu not katsu chicken read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Thin cuts of chicken. Supposed to be chicken katsu not katsu chicken. - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Been going here for a while now and decided to finally review it. I usually get the chicken katsu here, but this time I decided to get the kalua combo. It comes with kalua pork and chicken katsu. The pork was fine and no issues but the chicken katsu was a little over fried. Each bite felt hard, but still good. I also ordered the spam masubi and those came out ok as well. The service was good. I was greeted as soon as I walked in and took my order without any issues. The place itself is ok. Some tables were clean and some tables had crumbs of previous costumer's food. The sauce bar was a little dirty from spilled sauce, but I don't blame them because the way you dispense the sauce can be tricky. Overall, I like this place and would come back again. 3 out of 5 stars read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Kalua Combo - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Terrible pink chicken no thank you! I ordered grilled chicken breast teriyaki and it was covered with pepper and was raw I will not be coming back! read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Got the Grilled Chicken Breast and it's raw still pink! Totally grossed out after I ate a piece! Not ordering this again - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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I came to this location today before work. There was three people in the back of the grill arguing in Spanish. My food was very cold and dry. The Katsu was pink from the inside. The chicken was dry, and the beef teriyaki had no flavor. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Open for dine-in and carryout. A very clean store with extreme Covid precautions upon ordering. Even disposable gloves, if you want them. I got the old faithful Chicken Katsu with one scoop of rice and 2x mac salad. It's a plentiful box, not inspiring, but good. Tonkatsu sauce is weak and thin. Not Hawai'i style however all good. Cabbage and broccoli veggies are okay too. A generous five stars by me, as always! read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Chicken Katsu (2x Macaroni Salad) - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

We normally do take out but last night we decided to dine in . It was a pleasant experience the food was good and the dining area was nice and clean the restrooms are well kept read more

Food is always hot and prepared on time (online order). Wish they offered specials. The staff is nice and it is always clean read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ opened a spot next to Ramen !01. seating is visible inside but not permitted at this time. just take out. offerings: usual Ono Hawaiian BBQ menu eats: crispy shrimp (7.39) 6 pieces, came with teriyaki sauce -it's heavily battered with panko type crumbs and fried accordingly -very crispy/crunchy on the outside, shrimp taste not discernable -teriyaki sauce sweet, didn't add much to shrimp experience. -not my kind of fried shrimp, it's made well nonetheless. parking lot big, so walking a distance to Ono needed if close parking spaces not available. read more

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I got to try Ono for a yelp event, and I ended up coming back and using some of the coupons to try a few more items. We got the hawaiian BBQ mix and the hawaiian seafood mix combo. The food here is really fresh, and the inside is super super clean. Our food was ready in about 10 min, and was still warm by the time we got home. One plate is definitely enough food for 2 people. I will probably stick to the hawaiian BBQ mix because I felt like it had more meat. It is a little pricier than L&L for the amount of food that they give. It looks like a lot of meat, but underneath is mostly veggies. I don't mind that because I need to eat more veggies anyways lol. read more

I love their portions specifically the extra veggies that are always hiding under the meat Everytime I come here there is enough food for dinner and lunch the next day. Staff are supper respectful & kind I also love their juices read more

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I'm not always impressed with Hawaiian food chains, especially on the mainland. So when she said "let's go here cos I got a coupon", I was doubly skeptical! Luckily my fears were unfounded. The place is super clean, parking is easy in the strip mall, and covid measures were very well laid out and safe. Lots of signs and sanitizer, plus a plexus glass screen with the counter. Servers were super friendly too. We got the shrimp and white fish combo plate, and the mahi plate. We also asked them to hold the double scoop of rice and add more salad instead. They happily obliged! Food was quite good for a fast food chain, and seemed fresh. We'd go back again... when she has another coupon ;) read more

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I'm used to Hawaiian fast food joints overcooking the meats (especially the kalbi), but this place kept them moist and tender. I got the BBQ mix which comes with chicken, beef and kalbi short ribs, all of which were generously portioned. The amount of food in one platter typically equates to about 1.5 meals for me. The seasonings are very flavorful, and perhaps a bit on the saltier side for specifically the beef, but is by no means overwhelming. Comes with a well-made, fresh mac salad, rice, and a good portion of vegetables underneath the meat which allows them to soak in all the juices. The restaurant interior is very clean and decently modern, but dining in is currently not available. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian BBQ Mix (chicken, beef and kalbi) - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Order ahead as they can get busy around lunch time! I placed my order and upon arrival, my food was ready to go! So glad I planned ahead because it got Pretty packed not too long after I arrived. Portions were huge, they do not skimp on the meat whatsoever! I love that they add veggies under the meat! Brought my girlfriends along, and they loved it as well. The meat was tender and flavorful, and my fav, Mac salad was delish! read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian BBQ Beef Plate - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Unfortunately I went there on Sunday after church... had a coupon that I got in the mail from this company.... presented it to the cashier and she told me that they had the wrong date on the coupon.... Keep in mind this is on the other side of town for me.... Shouldn't they honor a coupon that they sent out basically it was for one meal and the second meal is for free. The girl tells me she can't do anything because it's not configured and their computer to do that .... Total waste of time..... even with the coupon it doesn't have their address on Redwood Road in Castro Valley.... It just has a generic coupon.... The food was OK but the corporate company is very dishonest. And of course that filters down to each individual location that they have. So just keep in mind anytime you get some kind of coupon from this company it's some kind of scam just to get you in the front door, and tell you to come back at a later date and they will honor the coupon... terrible way to do business.... read more

I would consider Ono as a fast food bbq chain. As a fast food restaurant, it's BOMB here. Parking was super easy to find since there's a lot out front. When we got inside, there were stickers to help with the social distancing spots as well as a glass to protect the workers and customers. I found the workers here to be super friendly and helpful too! My friend and I grabbed a mixed bbq plate and a katsu/fish aloha plate to share. I basically like anything fried. I mean... how could you not? However, the surprising front runner of the meats for us was the bbq chicken. It looks like it would be dry, but it was moist on the inside with a nice char on the outside. Delicious! I would highly recommend getting this. Honestly, you couldn't go wrong with any of the remaining meat/fish options. Keep in mind, it's protein focused, so if you're looking for a balanced meal, I wouldn't necessarily recommend Ono. However, I would consider the aloha plate the most balanced as it does come with a salad along with scoops of rice (the salad could use a little more dressing though). On the other hand, the mixed bbq plate came with two scoops of rice, a scoop of mac salad, and cooked cabbage with a couple pieces of broccoli. Overall, I had a great experience eating here! I would highly recommend this place if you're looking for fast bbq foods, and the service was on point. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Aloha plate with fish and katsu (top) and bbq mix on bottom subbed beef for katsu (bottom) - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

I had a craving for Hawaiian BBQ and this place is near where I am staying right now. It is tucked into the parking lot near the UPS store, so it has ample parking. The staff all had gloves and masks on and designated spots where we can stand when waiting for our food. I ordered the BBQ Beef Mini Plate, which comes with Rice, Mac Salad, and my Entree. I also ordered Spam Musubi as an appetizer for myself. BBQ Beef: For the price I paid, I found it worthwhile for it. It was delicious and the steam cabbage that comes with all Hawaiian BBQ dishes was actually good. I love the Mac Salad and the BBQ Beef had a delicious Teriyaki Sauce to go with it. Spam Musubi: It is a bit expensive for this. At $5.79 before tax, you get two Spam Musubi. The amount of meat looks a bit small for the amount I paid. It was alright. Overall, I give it a 4/5 stars. If it was solely based on the BBQ Beef, I give it a 4.5/5 stars, but the Spam Musubi did bring it down a bit. I would consider coming back here and trying the Chicken Katsu sans Musubi. read more

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Finally! I've been waiting for this place to open and it finally has. Don't like the cleanliness of the nearby ones, so I wanted to go to one that is cleaner and newer. Yesterday was their grand opening with a special coupon book with purchase of entree. Prices seem slightly higher here but glad I don't have to go far Food is fresh and chicken bbq was good. Short ribs were kind of tough/fibrous, but they generally seem to be that way practically wherever I eat them. Beef was ok. Mahi mahi had generous portions, was fresh, healthy and a little on drier side but it tends to be for this type of fish. Spam musubi was pretty good. Like how they give you extra teriyaki sauce to add to your liking. They have the plexi glass up and it's fairly spacious. Got my food pretty quick. There were only a couple of others waiting for food at time. This place is in the Luckys shopping center next to ramen 101 FYI this place has excellent sanitization standards. They change out their gloves and wash their hands after using the cash register before the same person gives you your food. I was pretty impressed by this and like how they are putting safety as a priority. There's also a bottle of hand sanitizer on the table for customer use, which I appreciated so you could sanitize on the way in and/or out. read more

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Located in the same shopping center as Ramen 101, and across the street from Hong Kong BBQ Restaurant, Ono Hawaiian BBQ is one of the newest spots to have opened in this plaza. Having been to other Ono Hawaiian BBQ locations, this one is pretty much on par with the rest, but does feel much cleaner, and more spacious than some of the other ones. Certainly not a bad place to be able to sit down to eat at, when available that is. Just a good clean and open feel to the place. Price wise, it's about on par with all of the other food options in the area. The portions here are pretty good. Our order today was made in the family style, and it was exactly as advertised from a bang for buck perspective. The only thing I did wish we got more of was the mac salad, which was pretty measly all things considered. The main focus today was the BBQ Chicken and the Fried Fish. The BBQ Chicken was nicely made. Tasty, tender, good portions, and unlike most Hawaiian BBQ places, the veggies below are actually quite plentiful, which makes it pretty great because the BBQ chicken juices from above will cover all those cooked veggies below to make them even yummier. You don't quite get this with the fried fish though, for obvious reasons. The fried fish was good. It was fried fish, so everything was as advertised. It was tender fish fillet, and fried well all around. No weird batter issues with some places that do fried fish. The mac salad was pretty good. Not the best mac salad I ever had, but a pretty standard one for Hawaiian BBQ. I do wish I got more of the mac salad though since it's a staple for Hawaiian BBQ. It felt like it was just one scoop for each order, while most other places will give you a couple of scoops as default. Overall, good Hawaiian BBQ spot, especially since there aren't that many off of Castro Valley Blvd and adjacent streets. If you're craving some Hawaiian BBQ, swing by Ono for a decent experience. If you also like your veggies from your orders covered in tasty meat juices, Ono does a pretty good job with it since their veggies are actually cooked pretty well, which is typically the least of the focus for most Hawaiian BBQ spots, so combine that with the BBQ flavoring is yummers. read more

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This is my go to Hawaiian bbq and my usual order is the regular Hawaiian bbq chicken. They allow you to substitute rice or mac salad or vegetables. Hawaiian chicken 5 stars Mac salad 5 stars Vegetable 5 stars love the blanched cabbage and broccoli Rice 5 stars always soft and fluffy. I got something different recently and got the short ribs. It was a good cut of meat but they over tenderized it. So probably going to knock a star off for that. read more

This was my first time visiting an Ono restaurant. i got the Aloha plate which was pretty good. I like the salad and salad dressing. The island fire chicken was delicious and so was the fish. The rice was a tad mushy and my partner got the shrimp which was mostly batter. The lady who served us was so horrible. She looked sooo miserable and it reflected. They need to make sure she doesn't work at the front or reviews are going to plummet. The other workers around her seemed so nice though read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Aloha Plate with Island Fire chicken and Island White Fish - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

The service was fast and friendly. The food was really good. I was wondering why L&L was so slow now. I ate there the other day and decided that will be my last time. Then I see one of these flyers hanging around so I had to go see for myself. Actually it was a coupon and I forgot to take it. I will definitely eat there again the food tasted very fresh and tasty. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Teriyaki chicken and rice with a little macaroni salad. - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Feeling like going to Hawaii without having to fly there? Eat here. I ordered the BBQ chicken and Kahlua pork Aloha plate which came with a side salad. The pork was juicy and even though this was a single serving, it could feed two people as you can see in the photo. That does not mean I am suggesting you buy one for two people lol. The salad was fresh and the flavor was piquant (that is a big word I know) and had a hint of ginger and possibly some chili. Since I could not decipher it, I am sure it is some secret recipe! Just enuf rice where some places pile on the rice as filler. This place makes the meat the filler - BOOM. Inside was clean when I did the pick up. Two sauces came (I think one was additional salad dressing) but I did not even use them as the base power feed did not require touch ups. Can't go wrong here. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Enuf for two but really one should take it down. - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California

This place never disappoints when you want it. BBQ Chicken cobo plate is always the way to go. There teriyaki sauce is good, fruit punch always completes your meal. Easy quick and tasty. read more

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One of my favorites Hawaiian bbq places in the area! I first tried Ono for a Yelp event and my family really enjoyed the food. Plus, the service is fast and friendly. I came back for the Ono Family Deal and it is a great deal for my family of four. Portions are generous and the food is made fresh. The deal comes with a choice of three meats, rice and Mac salad. I subbed the Mac salad for a green salad and just ordered one small portion of Mac salad. Our three favorite meats are the bbq chicken, bbq beef and the kalua pork. I like the generous amount of fresh veggies with the meat. So good!! read more

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I love Hawaiian food and tend to gravitate towards Kahlua pork, spam musubi, and macaroni salad. All are my favorites. The pork was shredded up and seasoned well, the spam musubi had a brush of teriyaki sauce on it, and the mac salad was perfection. I know this will be added into the restaurant rotation! NOTES: ample parking, though it gets packed. easy to order over the phone. locals get coupons in the mail, which seriously makes me patron here. read more

No ono! It's been a couple of years since I've eaten here at this location - it was good then, but not tonight! Order chicken katsu. When I got it, it was almost room temperature- def not cooked to order like it used to be. Katsu sauce was super jelly-like - too much corn starch! And, the Mac salad noodles were undercooked. I'm sticking to other Hawaiian food restaurant down the street where you wait a little long for your food, but at least it cooked to order! Never this place again for me. read more

Tried Ono Hawaiian today for the first time and it's bomb!! We got the island fire plate and the bbq plate with 2 scoops of macaroni salad and 1 scoop of rice. Also got the crab appetizer, which was a bit oily. We def enjoyed the plates though- the food had good flavor and tasted fresh. The portions are huge, they don't skimp on the meats at all. Looking forward to having their food again! read more

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This place is conveniently located to my job, so we pick up food to go from time to time. I have noticed though, that anything deep fried is always over cooked, causing the meat or seafood to dry out inside. I wish they'd check out there fried items, to see if the food could be done without drying it out. That way I don't have to toss it out. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Over cooked fried meat. - Hawaiian Near Me - Castro Valley, California