The Whole Ox

This review is long belated. I finally got to eat here but right before I found out they were closing. It’s biased because I met Justin Yu the chef before he came here and Ive come to appreciate his intent and more importantly who he is as a person. Any local community will always be against change even if they dont realize it’s for the better. The phrase «if it aint broke dont fix it» generally rings true for a many good things. But sometimes things have to move forward.
After hanging out with Justin and having the honor of him showing me around the island for a couple of days. I learned something. He loves Hawaii. He sees the potential of the people, the farmers, the restaurant scene to really push the boundaries of cuisine. So blessed is it with it’s local customs and produce, why cant it strive for new and better things? Of course the lovers of the old Whole OX complained about why they couldnt get the old menu anymore. Rightfully so, but the same owners and chef are no longer there. You can’t expect someone to come in, want to enact change for the better, and stick with the same old formula. Things have to move on whether you like it or not.
I got the burger, the gravy fries, the Italian combo 2, and the porchetta and they were all fantastic. The food is made with love and passion by Chef Justin and I know that he really wanted to be part of the community. I think he got an unfair shake in the local articles but a journalist has a point of view and I felt really didnt try to understand his food. The only way is to come eat it and try for yourself. It stands to say he’s got his detractors and his loyalists (count me in the latter) but in the end there was not enough to sustain the business.
While Justin took me to his favorite shave ice, malasadas and poke places I really got to understand the man and his mission. I know he’s still striving to find what he started at Whole Ox and I wish him the best moving forward. He deserves it.

I heard that the whole ox was closing this weekend (⁹⁄₂₁), so I knew I needed to give it one last hurrah… despite my last experience here. The last time I came, it was for breakfast and while it was under different ownership. This time I came for lunch. I was pretty glad I gave it another try, and I’ll almost be sad that I won’t be able to eat it again.
Under the specials menu, I ordered the swedish meatball sandwich ($ 11). The boyfriend got the italian combo ($ 11), and we also ordered the beet salad ($ 4) to share. The beet salad was omg-​delicious, with mixed greens, cheese and definitely not skimpy on the beets! This was all tied together with a citrus vinegarette. It made a refreshing side to go with the sandwiches.
I’ve gotta say that I was a little skeptical about the sandwiches at first. In my opinion, $ 11 for a sandwich is a little on the pricey side, especially considering how small they look. I was pleasantly surprised by both the sandwiches we got. I ordered the swedish meatballs thinking I’d get meatballs with a side of something else. Instead, I got 4 meatballs on a bun, topped with gravy. I wondered how it would all work together, but somehow it did… It was definitely messy but the meatballs were so good. Definitely not the frozen meal type of swedish meatballs, I was impressed! The real star though was the Italian combo… If the beet salad was omg-​delish, the Italian Combo sandwich is omg-​amazing. The salty combination of the deli meats went so well with whatever sauce they used… along with the pepperocini. Yum… mouth is watering at just the thought.
Unfortunately the reason why I won’t entirely be sad that the Whole Ox is closing is because of the atrocious wait. We spent an entire 45 minutes waiting in line to place our order and waiting for our food. In the end, we had to take our food to go because we spent our entire lunch hour just trying to get food!!! No free water too. This place would be an awesome treat for a work lunch, but realistically, coming here to try to get food leaves no time to actually enjoy the lunch. Boo.

Every time I come here. I’m less and less impressed.
12:30 on a Saturday and they ran out of bread.

Best seasoned burger I’ve found so far. I’ve only tried it recently, so I had the big mac style double patty burger for $ 14. I can’t compare it to what they used to have, but I can tell you that it’s perfectly cooked, it’s well seasoned, and the pickled vegetables are amazing. I asked them to put the sauce on the side, and I didn’t even need it because the flavors of the beef were that good. Yum!
I’ll definitely be back to try their other stuff.
I guess there’s been a lot of changes recently, but when I went a couple weeks ago, it was still a sit down restaurant for dinner. Take your pick of patio or indoor seating (though the indoor seating is open to the air which I love), complementary water in mason jars waiting to quench your thirst, and a nice waitress took our order and gave us recommendations.

What? This menu is just sandwiches? How am I suppose to stick to my paleo diet? Is this beef from a grass fed cow anymore? How would we know? Can we see it’s papers? Where was is raise? was the grass organic? Dammit! I guess the lesser of evils would be the philly cheese steak sandwich. Can I get it without the bun, no sauce, and extra veggies? (my friends): NOOOOO! She’ll just get the sandwich. regular.
First to go was the salad. It was a bit over dressed. I ended up eating the sandwich open faced. And not the bun. It was tasty.
I have been here before back in October when I believe it was the first chef. I liked it back then because the menu selection was really good! The food was of quality and taste.
The service is good! and the ambiance is casual and comfortable with indoor or outdoor seating. I like this place, but I don’t love it. And yes, faleo.

5 stars. Yum!
I brought my mom here for her first time at The Whole Ox last night for dinner and we both LOVED it.
My mom and I shared a falafel, Philly cheesesteak sandwich, a beet salad, and a side of potatoes. The falafel contained perfectly fried kale and a yummy sauce. The cheesesteak had just the right ratio of cheese to meat to bread. :) Yum! I just came back from Philly (ate at John’s Roast Pork & Tommy Dinic’s, look it up!) so my expectations were quite high, and this was GOOD. The beet salad contained nice chunks of fresh beets, greens, and goat cheese. Potatoes were also perfectly cooked — crispy and with a nice smoky flavor. Ooh — and the sandwiches now come with a side of salad. It’s like a nice green salad with (I think) pickled red onions, it’s yum.

It’s high time I write an update on this spot! My original review was from when Bob McGee was the chef, but since then, Chef Justin Yu has taken over the kitchen and totally changed things up! Poor guy had to endure a lot of «What do you think you’re doing?!“s when he came in and made changes, but I think things have actually worked out for the better.
PARKING:
Same. Street parking everywhere. It’s metered (I believe 20min. per quarter), but free after 6:30pm.
ATMOSPHERE:
Really casual. You’re sitting on picnic tables and potentially going to be meeting new people when it gets packed and you have to share those tables. Otherwise, there’s tables both inside and outside and the temperature is whatever it’s like outside that day. They do have a bathroom, it’s unisex; beware, and lock the door when you go in!
DRINKS:
They still offer a Plantation Tea and water, but the place is BYOB. Bring whatever you want, no corkage fees, and they have corkscews/​bottle openers if you forgot yours at home.
FOOD:
The menu has been through a few iterations already (including a fancier dinner menu that since then has disappeared for the time being), but I believe the lunch and dinner menus are now the same and has settled. All the entrees are sandwiches/​burgers, but you can ask to have the sandwich/​burger fillings put on a bed of greens instead of in a bun. Also, none of the entrees come with sides unless you order them separately.
Entrees ($ 12 each)
1) Ox Burger — Has become an amazing double decker burger w/​lettuce & some pickled vegetables. Can add an egg, onions, or cheese for $ 1 each; I suggest at least the cheese! Do it!
2) Sausage — w/​beer onions, kraut & mustard. Thankfully not as greasy as ones I’ve tried elsewhere. Good flavor in the sausage, but the mustard makes it work better.
3) Roast Beef — w/​horseradish mayo & cheese sauce. The roast beef meat itself is really good.
4) Fried Chicken — w/​coleslaw & honey mustard. Pretty good, but I think the chicken is better with something else (salad or the late night mac n cheese) and not in a bun.
5) Italian Combo — Ham, porcetta, loin, lettuce, tomato & perpperoncini. SO GOOD. It’s so packed full of meats that you can’t help but want to shove it down your throat.
6) «Falafel» — w/​harissa, arugula & mushrooms. It’s in quotations because it’s deconstructed. It’s the ingredients from in a falafel, coated in chickpea flour, fried up, and put in a pita with some delicious sauce. It’s fried and a little crunchy (in a good way), but not dripping grease.
Sides ($ 4 each) — Ma’o Salad, Mac Salad, Beet Salad, Ox Potatoes
NOTE: For those of you that have heard that the bread/​sandwich buns are too hard to chew/​bite through… they fixed that. Definitely not a problem anymore.
Whole Ox Late Night:
That’s right, late night. Whole Ox is now open Saturday nights from 9:30p-1am with a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MENU from their lunch/​dinner menu. The things on the late night menu change, so the Fried Chicken w/​Mac n Cheese you had one Saturday might be replaced by the Balboa Burger (think Ox Burger & Italian Combo put together) the next week.
I’ve seen a Loco Moco (brown rice risotto, sunny side up egg, burger patty, gravy), a Maitake Moco (meat replaced with maitake mushrooms), and a Super Moco (same as the loco moco but with Mac n Cheese also). I’ve tried the Bahn Mi (really good and has pâté in it), Kimchi Hash (comes w/​an egg), Mac n Cheese, Philly Cheesesteak (covered in cheese sauce!!!), a Meatball Sub (which is like a meatball and cheese torpedo… sooo much cheese! LOVE it!) and probably a couple more that I’m forgetting. Anywho, the point is there’s a whole other menu that rotates through and only on Saturday nights.
Conclusion:
I love BYOB places, and even though this doesn’t really count as healthy to me, the food is really good. The quality is consistent for both the food and the service (friendly folk working in there!), and that says a lot for me. I actually like the new Whole Ox better than the old one, especially now with the Saturday late night option (which is what I go most for these days). Hopefully, you’ll give them a shot!

Not too sure why they get a bad rap. Perhaps the change in Executive Chef, but sometimes, change is good. And in this case, really good!
We ordered the special of the day, Philly Cheesesteak. It was rich but delicious, and packed with meat It was portioned properly and just enough. We also ordered the Fried Chicken sando. It was nicely breaded and the honey mustard brought it all together. The Beet Salad was perfect. Simple but delicious. Wash it down with a Plantation iced Tea — refreshing not too sweet.
It’s a simple space and very SF for us Bay area folks. Reminded me of our foodie scene in the Bay. Most sandos are $ 12 and sides $ 4. This was definitely a nice change of pace from all of the plate lunches we’ve been eating!
Tip: Be sure to ask for specials when ordering.

The reason I have taken so long to actually check this place out is in the name… As an herbivore, «The Whole Ox doesn’t exactly sound welcoming!
However, I was as wrong as scrunchies and stirrup stretchy pants in the 90s.
My lunch here was amazing. Yea, they only had a few items, but I was even more assured of the quality of each item. The veggie option was a «falafel»… yes, those quotation marks were a little worrisome at first but I soon understood.
This sandwich was a little tough to describe because I am not really sure what I was nom-​ing on– just that it was HEAVEN… and unlike any other falafel I have ever eaten. It was crunchy, almost tempura-​fried parts of falafel! The sando came with fresh Ma’o greens on the side with a very light dressing… the perfect prelude to the taste symphony that was about to occur. The falafel had this amazing crunchy kale topping and a great yogurt based sauce. The tortilla/​pita that the sandwich is on was light and fluffy… probably homemade. Overall, the falafel was creative, inventive and delicious!
I love the environment of this place too! The menu is on a chalkboard and they also sell freshly made bread and Waialua sodas. All the staff was very nice and although it took a little while for the food to be prepared, it came out fresh and hot.
I will definitely be back to try The Whole Ox’s dinner options!

Whole Ox & Whole Pua’a?
***BASED ON DINNER
I have heard about the burgers here and was very excited to go try and came for dinner, since there isn’t enough time to make it here for lunch during the weeks, but I found out they have a special dinner menu. I just sat right in front of the famous cow and looked up at what I wish I could have ordered (
). Instead we got s separate dinner menu. It was simple and short. This menu was for 5−7−13 (
). Not sure how often they change their menu, but I really love the concept of this place. The waitress was very informative and open to question.
CONCEPT: To make a menu using the WHOLE animal that has been locally grown and only grass fed.
It is a pretty hard task, but what they had to offer was all delicious. The lovely waitress said they used 1 cow and two pigs a week. I thought it was really intriguing and I was ready to start eating. Due to their low stock of meat, our meal only included a pork dish. (
) I had to make a collage of our amazing food for instagram @jordannncee
Here is our food:
Chilled Carrot Soup (
). The best carrot soup I have ever had in my life. It was a very cold and bland soup, but when you mixed it in with the grilled carrots and other garnishes, it was amazing!!! I would have preferred it hot, because eating it cold made it feel more like baby food. Overall, this was a very delicious opening.
Mushroom Taste (
) I really love mushrooms, so I was excited to try this. Believe me when I say, BEST EVER!!! I swear, if I had to be vegetarian, I would eat this every day and not complain at all. The textures of the different mushrooms mixed with the salty sauce were the best combination ever!!! I would get this every time I come!!! The kale was also a great touch with the mushrooms. I have never had them on the same plate before.
Pork Belly (
) What meat eater doesn’t like pork belly? If you were Filipino this would look like just pieces of Lechon, and it tasted just like that! It was onolicious. Dipping it in the cream sauce made it that much better. I loved every bite of it. It reminded me of cream of mushrooms with pork chops, but at better level. The extra crispy pieces stayed crunchy in the sauce and my taste buds were just having a party!!!
Banana Dessert (
) I wasn’t sure what this was called, but I would call it «CAN I HAVE MORE PLEASE?» It was super good. I love bananas and I really love chocolate, so having this combo with come cookie crumble and lilikoi purée, WOW! I enjoyed it very much. The chocolate around the banana was fudge-​like and sweet. I just loved it.
Overall, it was an amazing experience. My mouth was exploding with happiness, but my wallet wasn’t. The only reason why I knocked off a star was that the food was extremely overpriced, and I understand that it is because of the price of the concept. Also, the service was too good, where it felt like we didn’t have much privacy. They had a large waiting staff that seemed to really wait and asked us way to many times if we needed anything. Maybe just have a smaller staff would help or they staff could learn to relax a little. I enjoyed myself at Whole Ox and would definitely come back soon!!!

YU aren’t gonna believe the changes they are going through
YU think you can have things your way, think again
YU have better let me take the cow home if i’m paying 120 dollars for a piece of meat
YU have big balls to make a statement like that about Hawaii
YU and Scott Caan should make your own talk show
YU will learn the hard way when YU see how empty this place be because of YU
YU is the letter that comes before V
YU better watch out
YU better not cry
YU better not pout i’m telling you why
YU have to think about customer’s concerns and dietary needs
YU have to sustain yourself from having such a shitty attitude
YU should’ve just bypassed Hawaii and went straight to Australia
YU come here with very high credentials. but this ain’t La Mer or The French Laundry
YU have diner’s that eat on picnic tables for crying out loud!!!
YU want to win the heart’s of the Hawaiian people???
YU just can’t come here with that kind of attitude ok?
YU created quite a buzz here on Unilocal
YU only make 30 burgers a day?
YU better hope you can turn this place into a gold mine
YU have to remember Chef, us Hawaiian People aren’t Hillbillie’s
YU think the Hawaii food scene has to change now?
YU will realize what Obama said when he said «Change is Good «
YU will ask yourself why customers are «Changing their mind to dine at The Whole Ox»
YU, yeah YU Chef YU will be the reason behind it
YU better pray to the foodie gods that this venture will work out for you, and then, and only then will
YU see me change this review of mine

It has been an interesting week for The Whole Ox with Martha Cheng’s article drawing heavy criticism over the new chef, Justin Yu. Not knowing whether I should be «feeling sorry for the Hawaii food scene» I ventured over to The Ox for some dinner.
Met with mixed reviews since Yu’s arrival, I was intrigued and curious to see if this pedigree lived up to his name.
Here is the dinner menu; an eight course tasting menu for $ 75 is also available.
I sprung for the tasting in order to really gain a better understanding of Yu’s cooking. At $ 75, the tasting isn’t cheap but the overall portion is hearty. The one obstacle to overcome in dropping this kind of cash on a course menu is that fact you’re sitting on a hard wooden bench without a tablecloth. If you can get past that, you’re all set.
Course 1: Pickle Plate. carrot, beet, watermelon rind, fennel, turnip, radish.
This is a nice, bright introduction to Yu’s cooking and influence. The beets were simply amazing. If they brought me a whole plate of pickled beets and replaced the rest of the veggies, I’d be a happy man. The turnips were also notably delicious. The clean, fresh flavors of pickling really come through and accentuate the natural flavors of the veggies. The carrot was a nice surprise; light pickling but retained a nice earthy carrot flavor.
Course 2: Chilled Carrot Soup. ginger, curds, daikon, horseradish, tangerine.
Everyone from the restaurant including Chuck, their butcher, described this dish as refreshing. A cold carrot soup should be particularly clean, cool, and refreshing. This dish delivered. Great balance of flavor and the plating was beautiful. The soup is well-​flavored and the tangerine adds just the right amount of acid. Great dish.
Course 3: Ma’o Garden Roots. radish, turnip, carrot, beet.
Very earthy. A nice encore to the pickle plate. Using much of the same veggies, a second preparation gives a different temperature, texture, and flavor to the diner. I find it strange how each root was seasoned. The radish and carrot were particularly seasoned but the turnip and beet were subtle in flavor. Odd. Not my favorite dish of the night, but an honest preparation.
Course 4: English Pea Quinoa Risotto. gruyère, brown rice, toasted barley.
Amazing. This course was freakin’ good. Holy cow. It is important to incorporate each element into the risotto to tie all the flavors together. This is definitely a dish for those who love texture. The brown rice is surprisingly tender and mixed with the quinoa. The hulled english peas give the dish a nice firm texture, the barley dust tones down the richness of the gruyère. Fantastic balance. Semi-​rich, appropriately seasoned, refined flavor.
Course 5: Deli Tasting. speck ham, braunschweiger, pickles, house-​made cheese, Christopher Sy’s «city loaf».
This is quintessential «Whole Ox» fare. Basically a meat board, this course is a solid addition to the tasting menu. The 45 day aged speck ham is nice and oily. The braunschweiger is a type of liverwurst and probably the best I’ve ever had. The bitterness is nonexistent, the texture is perfect for spreading, and the pairing with Chris Sy’s bread is immaculate. I could eat a whole meal of this braunschweiger and bread. More pickles. OMG. I really think the pickles could be replaced with something else since they were a course in themselves– maybe fresh fruit to cleanse the palate.
Course 6: Mushroom Taste. maitake, shiitake, kale, buillion.
I have mixed feelings about this dish. On one hand the earthiness matches that of the Ma’o Root course but eating this after downing a fair share of pickles really takes its toll. The natural and subtle flavors were muted because of the lingering vinegar from the previous course. A palate cleanser or swapping the pickles out for fresh fruit in the previous course would be helpful. Although very neutral on this dish, I feel it would serve much better after the Ma’o course. The ordering here is crucial.
Course 7: Kuahiwi Ranch Ribeye. Roasted onion cream, leek, pearl onion, scallion.
The cut of meat here changes. Tonight it was the ribeye. Lean and aged for only 14 days, the color was nice but the meat was a little tough to eat. Cooked rare-​medium rare, the flavor of the beef was mundane, but the cream pulled it together. You need to have a little of each element with each bite here.
Course 8: Dessert.
Not good at all. Brioche was dry and chewy, calamansi sauce was too tart. Not their forte.
Overall, the food was very good and the flavors were solid. Now the Whole Ox has to overcome the backlash from this past week; if they do, this is definitely a good find. They need to work on the progression of dishes and ease into and out of the bolder dishes.

The Whole Ox is located down Keawe Street near Eat The Street and right next to CoXist Studio.
The first time I visited The Whole Ox I came for dinner. It was good but the waiter mixed up the order so we waited a good 30 minutes for our last two dishes to come out after eating one appetizer and one main entrée. But the server was cream of the crop, best of the bests, and up to par or even better than fancy five star restaurants. Kudos to you Mr. server (with the short blond hair, glasses, and tattoo). Rather than making up some BS, you were honest, came clean, told us what happened, apologized, and brought out two complimentary desserts! Dinner is on the smaller side but enough to make you feel content for the time being (unless you’re a hefty eater).
My second visit was during lunch. That’s when you can get that ever so delicious, mouthwatering Ox Burger! Okay so the ox burger may be «overpriced» (to some), shoddily put together, and with inadequate bread. But it’s unrivaled. One bite and you will forget everything I just said.
My top picks are
The Ox Burger for lunch $ 15
and
The Shinsato Farm Pork Loin for dinner $ 25
All in all, lunch is by far the winner! Both are very different. Both lunch and dinner have their own unique menus (sorry no ordering lunch things during dinner and vice versa). Lunch is order at the counter/​get your food, whereas dinner is sit down, order, and be served. Lastly lunch is available to take out, whereas dinner is sit down (but you CAN get take out, but with some difficulty). Oh and I forgot to mention, food comes out when ready and there’s NO SPECIAL REQUESTS! The cook is very meticulous about his food, so don’t bother trying, other wise you might be in a soup Nazi situation (sorry for you younger people who don’t understand that reference).
But hey, they take all forms of credit except American Express and it’s BYOB!

How has it taken me so long to get here? It’s like being the last person on Earth to watch «The Lord Of The Rings.» I have really been MISSING OUT!
Met my friend @NathanKam here today for lunch and man, I was seriously blown away by our meal! At first I was disappointed because they were out of the Whole Ox burger, which word has it is phenomenal. But I believe that the Universe creates situations that appear to be difficulties or mishaps for a reason. There really are no accidents and today’s 86’d burger lead us right to not one, but two delicious sandwiches which we smartly shared.
+Roast beef with cheesy sauce:
The roast beef was perfectly cooked, thinly sliced and the sauce was just the right layer of flavor. I was worried it would be too rich but it really was perfection!
+Fried chicken with cole slaw:
It’s difficult for me to pass on fried chicken in any situation and this sandwich is easily my FAVORITE fried chicken sandwich of ALL TIME! Do you hear that? ALL TIME!!! If you ever want to win me over or get me to do something for you, just bring me this sandwich and I AM YOURS!!!
Limited menu, but I actually appreciate this because that means the quality of each item should in theory go up. Not sure if I’ll ever try anything else because of how IN LOVE I am with that damn fried chicken sandwich! On a side note, the macaroni salad served with our sandwiches was wonderful too. Can’t wait to go back to this wonderful Kaka’ako find!

Tip:
Might want to just come here for lunch only.
Parking:
Well, I parked on the street. I have a feeling you can’t actually park in the lot next to the restaurant.
Service:
Service is good. People are nice. Waters are frequently filled. It takes quite a while for the food to come out though. I feel like it took 20 minutes.
Food:
Bro… $ 100 for a ribeye steak? I almost wanted to try it but I highly doubt that perhaps the second most expensive ribeye in Hawaii is THAT good. I could literally buy a whole slab of meat from costco with $ 100 — Or if you want a fair comparison, I treated my broseph to a 36 ounce wagyu beef steak for $ 85 as a birthday present, how good is your ribeye, really? — Then I settled for the NY Strip which was almost like a $ 35 (after tax and tip) sampler. Seriously. I was hella pissed when the food came out because I’m usually the guy eating a 16 ounce steak for dinner and all of a sudden here comes out a pre-​sliced 4 – 5 ounces. I felt really bad for dragging my friends here because I thought it was so good. Half of us went to McDonalds after to fill the empty space in our still hungry stomachs.
In all honesty, their «Family Sized» plates are actually the ones that fill you up and that’s if you eat it by yourself.
Conclusion:
Don’t come for dinner unless you have deep pockets and you eat feathers for meals.

Tonight was my first time visiting and I have to admit… I was sold on my first bite! How is The Whole Ox not 5 stars? I’m baffled!
My friend introduced me to this place and I will forever be grateful. Why, you ask? The dry aged foie gras burger!!! The beef patty is so moist and flavorful. The meat is soft and crumbly. It’s a huge, simple burger packed with delicious, meaty flavors. And to top it off with perfectly seared foie gras??? HEAVEN! I have died and gone to heaven. I literally just finished dinner there and I am already wondering when I can go back for another meal…
We also ordered the sausage a la carte. The plate arrived and I was pleasantly surprised to see three HUGE sausages surrounded by fresh mustard and a small side of kimchi. The sausages were über flavorful and very moist. Delicious. The mustard was the perfect tang and spice.
I can’t wait to come back and try other menu items for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I heart The Whole Ox!

The Whole Ox is a bit different than most restaurants that I have been to. Instead of regular tables and chairs, they have large, wooden picnic tables! It’s very interesting to say the least, but a nice change of pace. Another difference? A unisex bathroom! I was not sure on what the proper etiquette was and I had so many questions. Do I knock first? Do I lock the door? Do I wait outside if someone of the opposite sex is in there? It did not feel proper to lock the door, because there is only one bathroom and so many customers. At the same time it felt a little weird using a urinal when a female could pop in at any moment.
The reason that I came here today was for Restaurant Week! They aren’t kidding about «the whole ox» as a whole animal is used at times to make their dishes. After doing a little research on what I ate, I am impressed by the quality of ingredients! On special was the Mimi-​K Sandwich served with a Sassy Salad
and Plantation Iced Tea
. Altogether it was $ 16.
The Mimi-​K Sandwich features «Slow smoked Shinsato pork shoulder rubbed with dried Korean chile and brown sugar topped with pickled cucumber, and a Carolina style vinegar sauce served on an onion bun with kimchi mayo.» It came with a «MA’O Organics Sassy Mix Green Salad with white wine vinaigrette» and a «Whole Ox Plantation Iced Tea, 20oz.»
When the food was ready, they called my name and I had to pick it up myself. Their system is where you order at the counter and then pick up your food when it is done. I really enjoyed my sandwich as it was well-​filled and could not help dropping pieces of pork while I ate it. The flavor was savory and I never had a pulled pork sandwich quite like this one before. The combination of ingredients was unique. The sassy salad was made with Ma’o greens, which are 100% organically grown produce from Hawaii. The dressing used was very light. I enjoyed it because it wasn’t overly salty like some dressings. The tea was also light and had a hint of sweetness and fruit flavors.
Parking was a little rough during lunch, but I got lucky and found a stall right in front. It was a metered parking stall, but not too bad at a quarter for every 20 minutes. The workers were very friendly and knowledgeable of their menu and were able to answer all questions that I had.
After today, The Whole Ox’s unique and quality ingredients have won me over. I must come here again to try another dish. I can’t wait!

Some days, I am so hungry, that I really do feel like I could eat an entire animal in one sitting. Sometimes it’s chicken sized. Sometimes it’s swine sized. Sometimes it’s…ox sized?
The portions at this butchery meets gastropub establishment do not disappoint. They are for sure, ox sized for the quality and type of dishes they offer. You’ll be hard pressed to find many places on the mainland that serve poutine in a bowl that big. Topped with foie gras? With that new lame band now in effect in California, not gonna happen.
The scene:
–Friendly servers. At times, it was a little slow, but we were there pretty close to closing time, and there ended up being a little rush of people who came for dinner. Plus, we were in no rush, so… shaka.
–Those big wooden knives. Especially the butcher cleaver. Not kitschy at all. They’re actually quite modern and chic.
–Community seating. Because, Hawaii is a community. We should enjoy eating together more often.
–A vast improvement to the space. You wouldn’t believe that its predecessor was an old grimy bar in its past life.
The grinds:
–Vegetable Pakora — Deep fried frittery crispness. Does it count toward the 5 a day fruit and veggie requirement? Probably not. But it was tasty!
–Dry aged burger — Local beef, juicy and cooked to perfection. Enjoyed this immensely.
–Poutine — potatoes, gravy, cheese topped with foie gras. Heavy? Yes. But that’s the point.
BYOB — this is something I loooove about Honolulu. We didn’t BYOB, but the fact that you can, is just straight up rad. I appreciate this in a major way.
Next time, I want to try the pork shank, as recommended via twitter by none other than CW (locals know who I’m talkin’ bout). I would also love to come for breakfast and lunch, because I was eyeing some items even though I was stuffed to the brim full of poutine and foie as we were walking out.
Thanks for the baby ox food baby, guys. I’ll take another when I see you again soon, yeah?

FINALLY!!!
After hearing so much hype about this place before they opened I was a little disappointed to see the lukewarm reviews that were popping up on Unilocal.I just had to try it and see for myself, and I can honestly say that I’m a fan!
PROS:
+ Eggs Benedict with FOIE GRAS!!!
+ Meats cured and smoked in house
+ Friendly service
+ Clean
+ Serves breakfast and lunch
+ House made pickles!
CONS:
— A little pricey
— They stop taking orders for 15 minutes between breakfast and lunch
— Not open on Sundays
— No waiter service
We came here on a Saturday morning at about 10:00 am, or so. I stood there taking it all in, and seeing what they had to offer. At 10:00 am they are still serving their breakfast menu, so I focused mainly on that. I’ve been reading a lot about fellow Unilocalers enjoying Eggs Benedict at various places, so I decided to give these a shot, and since they had Foie Gras as an option instead of ham I decided to go with that.
Eggs Benedict:
This Eggs Benedict was a little different from what I’m used to mainly because it came on more of a halved biscuit instead of an English muffin. Aside from that it was pretty good. The eggs were nicely poached, and the Hollandaise sauce was rich and tasty. There was a nice size piece of grilled foie gras, and a few dried almost candied apricots. It was a rich decadent breakfast which I don’t think one should eat every day, but it’s a nice treat every once in a while. Also, $ 19 is pretty steep for breakfast!
My friends ordered…
Biscuits and Gravy with Roast Beef:
Pastrami Hash:
Watermelon Salad:
I had a little taste of each of these, and they were indeed tasty, but I don’t think I can give a good review of these items, but I will say that the Watermelon Salad is definitely worth trying. It may sound and look strange, but trust me, it works!
Since we were there at the end of breakfast time a couple of us decided to grab lunch to go after we were done with our breakfasts. Brilliant idea, if I may say so! After I finished my breakfast it was still before lunch time, so I looked over the menu board some more to see what I wanted to take home with me. I decided on the roast beef sandwich, which they had dubbed The Landsberg Law Office. I also got a pickle to go along with my sandwich.
The Landsberg Law Office:
Even though I took this sandwich home, and ate it a few hours later it was still delicious! The meat was soft and juicy, and the horseradish sauce on it accented the roast beef perfectly. The fried onions were soggy due to time, but they weren’t too crispy to begin with anyway. I would definitely get this sandwich again, but next time I think I’ll try something with pastrami!
The Pickle:
Why is this pickle worth mentioning? Well, it’s not just salty and vinegary, but it’s a little sweet, a little dilly, and you can even taste a hint of cinnamon when you bite into this pickle! I’ve never had a pickle that tasted quite like this before, and I loved it! I will definitely be adding one of these to all of my future orders from here! And at just $ 1 you can’t go wrong!
The service here was very friendly, and then answered all of the questions we had about their menu and shop, and the food came out quickly. You order at the counter, and they call your name when your order is ready. I kinda wish they had waiter service here, but I guess I can live without it.
There is a lot next to the restaurant with a few stalls that you can park in, or you can find parking along the street.
Street Parking:
We saw this sign outside the restaurant for the street parking, and I wasn’t quite sure how to interpret it. Since we were there on a Saturday morning it indicates that we would have to pay since it’s two hour parking, yet Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays are exceptions to the two hour parking rule… We fed the meter just in case. As we were leaving I noticed other cars didn’t feed their meters, and their cars weren’t towed, though, so maybe Saturday really is a free day? C’mon, City and County of Honolulu… Minus one!
I’m not sure how authentic New York deli’s are, so I don’t have much to compare Whole Ox to, but I definitely enjoyed my experience here, & I look forward to going back for more!

Wish they had a bigger breakfast menu.
They have 6 items on the breakfast menu, all ranging in price from $ 9 – 13. Nothing ala carte, no baked goods. Just coffee, and 6 entrees to choose from. I wasn’t in the mood for a hearty breakfast, so I was S.O.L. But the hubby was happy with his $ 10 plate of corned beef hash with two eggs on top. Note — does not come with rice or toast.
Definitely not your typical breakfast joint.
I will be back for lunch though. I want to try the burgers that everyone’s Unilocaling about. Stay tuned for an update to this review.

BREAKFAST
Anyone who appreciates meat should give this place a whirl. The breakfast is killer, so I can imagine it only gets better from there!
(I am a total breakfast person, but the lunch menu looks fantastic!
)
BTW — Lunch starts at 11am, so plan accordingly.
CANADIAN BACON EGGS BENEDICT $ 11

Canadian bacon was incredibly tasty and the eggs were perfect and still runny. The Hollandaise was light and not overpowering, which was a great highlight on the Canadian bacon. I could clearly taste the flavors of the meat.
CORNED BEEF HASH $ 10
This is a breakfast dish, not a side. It comes with two over easy eggs atop a beautiful mound of freshly homemade corned beef hash deliciousness. The hash part of it is like mini breakfast potatoes! And the corned beef hash is packed with flavor! It’s so tender and flavorful. There’s really no need for any type of extra sauce bc the flavor of meat together with the rest of the ingredients pack a punch full of excitement.
CAFETERIA-​STYLE
This place is like «self serve yourself» with its cafeteria-​style dining. You walk up to the counter to order and pay; grab your own water, utensils, and napkins; and have a seat. When your order is ready, your name will be called and you pick up your goodies at the counter. When you’re done, you bus your own table – the dirty dishes and utensils go in the black bin in the wooden trash can caddy thing
.
VERDICT
The Whole Ox Deli is definitely a go! I’m excited to go for lunch, but breakfast is a winner.
Highly recommended.
Unilocal 365 — #259/​365