I had read about Southern Love in an issue of Honolulu magazine. I had wanted to try them for a…read morewhile, and since I was flying solo, I thought, why not give myself a little southern love....LOL! Finding them can be a little tricky. But once you do, there are four parking spots right in front. If you can't get one of those, it's street parking. The owners are really nice! The wife told me to sit wherever I wanted and I chose outside on the patio. I ordered Da Meat Combo plate. A well-seasoned pork chop. An old school fried chicken leg you'd think your grandma made for you, so good! And two tender delicious barbecue ribs! The cornbread was great! They were out of collard greens, so I opted for the mac n cheese. Me: Which one, potato salad or barbecue beans? She: The potato salad is more tangy, we add a little mustard, and the beans are more on the sweet side... Me: I'll take both, please. This rounded out my meal! I also had the fresh squeezed lemonade. And for dessert, a real hard choice, the peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. This was a great way to end my meal. Such a wonder place to come to! Looking forward to returning! Mahalo Southern Love!

Catfish was cooked to perfection!…read more Fast friendly service. I sat at the bar and had a catfish po' boy sandwich served with chips and a sweet tea. I wanted to try dessert but was too full. Will I return? Yes! Next time for the dinner menu and peach cobbler. Mahalo!

Love that we can have southern bbq delivered west side! Ribs and tips are amazing! Tender and…read moreflavorful smokiness. They're sauced but not doused in it to the point where it's difficult to even taste the smokiness. Hubs gets one or the other each time. I am VERY picky about my grits and I love theirs! I crave it often lol. The shrimp is blackened with a mild but tasty kick. The grits manage to be creamy and pleasantly textured at the same time. In some magical way, they each have their own bold flavor that compliments each other perfectly. And the serving is so generous that it makes at least 4 meals for me. Oh and their fried okra is a must! The cornmeal batter plays so well with the creamy vegetable. And it's perfectly fried maintaining the bite of the okra. We ordered DD so we can only attest to the food. But look at that perfect presentation for take out, no less! If you're craving southern bbq, this is your answer!

I love southern food, but this was mediocre. The place did not appear that clean, which was a…read moreturnoff. The staff was friendly. The catfish plate was very tasty and what you'd expect from a southern food place. However their ribs were tough and could have been cooked a bit longer so they'd come out more tender. Overall, I'd rate them as average, but give them a try and make the decision for yourself. Aloooooooha and happy eating.

I def recommend this spot as well the burgers are super good, there is always a line so try to…read moreplace an order online if you can. There is indoor seating, and outdoor seating, the secret sauce is always really good, and their onion rings are really good as well. Ambiance is super sick its outdoor, and indoor, but def would recommend coming here after surfing, swimming at the nearby beaches. Mahalo!

Definitely worth the stop if you're on this side of the island! We checked out the bakery first,…read morethen grabbed food from the separate chicken sandwich shop. The chicken sandwich and fries were so good we ate every bite before I even thought to take a picture. The whole area has such a fun, relaxed vibe with lots of little shops and places to walk around, making it a great spot to spend some time instead of just grabbing a quick meal. The service was friendly and welcoming, which made the experience even better. We'll definitely be back!

Literally the best shrimp I ever had. Absolutely delicious!!…read more I don't say that lightly either. It was otherworldly!! The staff was great too!!!! I'll be back!

Giovanni's is one of those places where memory does a remarkable amount of the seasoning. I've been…read moreeating here across decades. Enough visits that this is no longer about catching them on a bad afternoon, ordering the wrong thing or failing to understand what the place is supposed to be. I've tried the different shrimp, stood in the lines, eaten at the tables, navigated the parking, brought people here and returned because, for a very long time, Giovanni's was simply one of those places you went when you were on this side of the island. At some point, repetition becomes evidence. The truck itself has become an artifact. Covered in signatures, battered by time, photographed millions of times. There was probably a period when all of that felt charming. Now it mostly feels tired. There is a difference between patina and neglect and the surrounding experience has increasingly crossed that line for me. Flies, crowded tables, overflowing activity, rough parking, heat, trash nearby. You can romanticize rustic only so far before rustic starts asking for a pressure washer. Then there is the service, which has consistently been the hardest part for me to understand. I don't need anyone performing hospitality like they're auditioning for a resort commercial, but basic warmth costs nothing. Too often the interaction here feels impatient and transactional, as though the customer is somehow inconveniencing the operation by showing up to buy the food. After enough visits, you stop calling that an off day. And then there is the plate. The shrimp itself is actually the least offensive part. It is generally cooked reasonably well. Tender enough, rarely destroyed and when you get a good batch you can understand why this formula became so popular. Everything around it drags it down. The rice has repeatedly been soft, clumped and bordering on mushy. I am annoyingly particular about rice, but rice is not some decorative substance placed beneath the main event. It matters. When half the plate is rice, screwing it up is not a minor detail. The garlic is abundant, certainly, but abundance and care are different things. It often arrives more like a wet mass of processed garlic than the fragrance and texture you get from properly chopped fresh cloves. Add the butter and oil and you certainly get intensity, but after several bites the whole thing becomes heavy rather than interesting. The little salad on the side generally feels like an afterthought that has been waiting for someone to remember it. And that is ultimately my problem with Giovanni's. The entire experience feels as though its reputation arrived at the destination years before the restaurant did and everyone decided there was no longer much reason to keep improving. People will continue coming. Of course they will. The name is famous, the truck is recognizable, the photographs are practically mandatory and nostalgia is one hell of a business model. I understand it because it worked on me for years. But strip away the mythology and ask a brutally simple question: If this exact plate came from an unknown truck with no history, no signatures and no reputation, would you still wait in line for it? I wouldn't. Two stars. The shrimp can still be decent and I have too many memories here to pretend the place means nothing to me. But nostalgia should bring you back to a restaurant. It shouldn't be responsible for making the food taste better. I kept returning because tradition can turn habit into taste. I'm done confusing the two.

If you're just looking for the cliff notes the food is good but a bit pricy…read more With that out of the way I decided to try this place after seeing the sign and checking out the yelp pics. I was surprised to see the place pretty empty on a Friday night around 7. I went to the bar to order take out and the guy working was really nice and took my takeout order. I will say it smelled amazing in the restaurant. Food took about 10 mins to come out. The catfish was great, two pretty big pieces very well seasoned. The Mac and Cheese and Yams was also pretty good. I will say the Mac tasted better than it looked and I only say that because at first glance it didn't seem to have much cheese but I was wrong. The corn bread tasted good but was dry. I warmed it and added some butter and that didn't trick. The only thing I personally wasn't a fan of was the greens. They weren't necessarily bad but like Keith Lee says I don't know if I'm their target audience. They tasted a bit sweet and there was something else in the seasoning that I wasn't a huge fan of but couldn't quite put my finger on. I almost forgot the plate came with "yellow seasoned rice" which is under the fish on the Mac side. Honestly it's a free inclusion so not super fair to judge it. Everything in the picture was about $47 bucks. In my opinion that's a bit high and I'm guessing that's because it's in Waikīkī. I definitely plan to go back especially to try the Happy Hour, and I'd like to dine in to see how that goes.

Takeout dinner from Honolulu, Hawaii…read more.. Heaven's Soul Food Cuisine (food truck) was two trucks away from Chicano's taco truck, across from the Convention Center. We were right there, so I ordered a Smoked BBQ Rib plate. It came with 2 sides. We chose Baked beans and Green beans with smoked turkey. Service was very friendly and efficient! I believe that they worker said, "I appreciate you!" Wow! That's very nice of him! We took the plate home (it was too windy to sit alongside the busy sidewalk) and discussed the tasty ribs, sweet (molasses?) Baked beans and yummy green beans with smoked turkey. Mmm! I would return and get the catfish plate, Po Boy sandwich, and walking tacos!

GET THE CORN BREAD!…read more Okay, now that the most important information is there...we loved this spot! The brisket plate was perfect for two meals. It falls apart as you're eating it in all the best ways. I regret not ordering it by the pound. The potato salad was a bit too mustardy for me but the cream corn was 10/10 I should've asked for it in a cup. My favorite part was the corn bread. I'm used to corn bread being dry and not my choice of a bbq side but I took a chance thanks to the employee hyping up all my food choices and tried it. The texture was more of a bread budding and was unbelievably delicious. I regret only getting one piece and not another one for the following day. I guess what I'm trying to say is, swing on by, order a little bit of everything and you'll leave a few pounds heavier and very happy.

The absolute best Texas BBQ in Hawaii. Great, consistent taste. Reasonable prices for their great…read morelineup of smoked meats and sides. It helps when the owner does the slicing and offers the choice between lean, fatty or some of both when selection brisket and burnt ends. All served with patience and a smile. Hard to believe owner moved from Texas as he and his staff serve aloha every day consistently. So tempting to over order as the smoke permeates the air and I do. Their meats have converted my wife into a carnivore and it's not hard to see why she crossed over into the smoky side. I still have bits of the brisket in between my teeth as I write this review while waiting for my dental visit.

The kalbi was so tender and charred nicely. I liked its slightly sweet marinade and the japchae…read morethat came on the side. Since the food is freshly cooked, there was a slight wait. You get a good portion of food per order! Definitely try it out, I left full and satisfied! I was probably so distracted by how good the food was that I forgot my purse at the dining area. The owners found it and held onto it for me. It was so nice of them. Thank you so much for keeping it safe!! I'm so grateful for you guys!

Kalbi on Fire is what some say is the best kalbi on da island, and I can see why! The owners were…read moresuper friendly and the portions were generous with plenty of rice and japchae. Everything came out fresh and almost unbearably hot, which I'll never complain about. The kalbi was a little sweet for my liking, but had a great char and was still really good. The outdoor seating area was fun with cute cats and plenty of chickens roaming around. The flies got a little annoying, but we're eating outside in paradise, so who can really complain?