Aloha Café

I’m usually at Aloha Café for breakfast because their Loco Moco is the top notch compared to the other Hawaiian food places I have visited. Why is their Loco Moco better than others? I particularly like the richness of their gravy that is complimented with grilled onions. It’s really comfort food. A heaping portion of white rice topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg (the way you want it, mind you…) beef gravy and grilled onions. The Loco Moco also comes with a scoop of macaroni salad which is good too. You cannot go wrong and I need my Loco Moco fix every now and then at Aloha Café.
I have also tried the cabbage ramen salad which has a light dressing. It’s a complete contrast to the Loco Moco, light, refreshing and the crunchiness of the cabbage and ramen is a good way to balance all that Loco Moco you’re about to eat.
The Kalua pork is another favorite. The slow cooked pork is shredded and served with cabbage next to white rice. What’s not to like about slow cooked pork that fork tender, moist and mouth watering… Until next time…

Had the runs after eating here. So that’s not good. Also, it’s not the first time eating here. Not as good as the first time we are here.
The teriyaki beef didn’t look appetizing and the Mac salad was bland & peppery.
Spam Masubi is big, but the rice is not seasoned. It’s just plain rice with spam in the middle then rolled in seaweed wrapper.
I would rather eat elsewhere…

Aloha, Aloha Café! I’m thankful for a lot of things (Family, friends, dogs, video games, KBBQ, whiskey, Unilocal) in my life. And now I can add one more to my ever growing list! Since moving back to Ktown (Koreatown), I was surprised by the lack of Hawaiian food restaurants in the area. Who doesn’t love Loco Moco, Spam Musubi and macaroni salad??? Lol Whelp, Unilocal to my rescue… AGAIN! Aloha Café offers some solid Hawaiian grub! One of my pet peeves when it comes to Spam Musubi, is when the spam to rice ratio is in favor of the rice. Aloha doesn’t have that problem. I could taste the spam in every, last, bite. I ordered their Big Breakfast… And that’s exactly what it is. Everything tastes good on my plate. But I’m a texture kind of person, so, I would have liked my spam and sausages cooked until crispy. Just my preference. Mac salad was good as well. My brother ordered the Loco Moco… One of the BEST I’ve ever tasted! My brother and I believe it’s all in the gravy! If the gravy sucks, it’ll ruin the dish. Aloha, your gravy was spectacular! Some may say, phenomenal. Which is also acceptable. Lol Good job guys. You’ve just locked in a lifelong customer. #ForksUp

Just the thought of re-​visiting this little spot makes me feel ill! The menu was un-​enticing. There are few even slightly healthy options (SPAM…I didn’t realize people actually ate this!). Decided on the chicken salad and it was one of those times where I could easily be convinced that the chicken meat was actually rodent meat. I left feeling sick. Clearly not a café for me! Maybe the french toast is good???

Aloha Café is in the Honda Plaza in Little Tokyo. When I worked in Downtown LA, I used to visit one or more times a month for 2 – 3 years, so I was a regular. It’s nice to go to a place and they know you by name and it had been great… I’ll have to visit again when I’m in Little Tokyo more. Service there is excellent and they are very friendly. They remodeled the place some time ago, so it looks great and homely.
I ordered catering from them for meetings when I worked in Downtown LA. I usually got chow fun or other noodle dishes, and it was often enjoyed by my clients. For me, I ordered a lot of stuff from the menu that make me think Hawaii, like Loco Moco and Kalua Pork. Rarely will they have Pork Lau Lau, but one weekend I had it and I bought like three other plates to save for later. I usually get the specials, usually a bit different variation of their menu items. For example, they may have deep fried musubi, poke, bbq ribs, and more. Their breakfast is good when I am in the mood for it since I’m not likely to be there in the morning.
Oh yeah, they’re not open for dinner, so try to enjoy them for breakfast up to the afternoon.

We love coming here on Sunday mornings after church. We are regulars here. Loco Moco is very tasty. They actually make their own patty, unlike others that use frozen patties. If you want comfort food, come to this place.

It’s been many years — 6 in fact, since I first came here. And I thought if it’s been opened all these years, maybe there has been an improvement. There hasn’t.
From the dead plants when you walk in, to the terribly old décor, to the speed (still ridiculously slow)…it has not gotten better.
But hey, they say they make their food fresh, so well worth the wait, né? NO.
We were there at 8am for Breakfast and I decided to order both eggs and the Chicken teriyaki. Well that chicken tastes and had the texture of something from yesterday. Plus it was not hot. Tasted warm to cold, and reheated. And surprisingly, even the portion is smaller than back in the old days (used to be piled on high).
My friend and I ate the chicken with the omelette and left. Slow but mildly friendly service. Odd crowd. Depressing interior and I would have written nothing else except were have both been SICK for the past 2 hours. BOTH OF US. So if that’s a coincidence, it’s mighty unlikely one.
I don’t know if it was the omelette, or the chicken but let me suggest not giving this place a try anytime soon. I mean, if you can’t keep a cactus alive and you’re idea of Japanese-​Hawaiian culture are mini-​marvel characters placed around the cash… well…maybe it’s time to go elsewhere.
I wonder if the owners have any connection to Hawaii. Doubt it.
And hey owners (Jennifer Yee?), if you would like me to visit a doctor of your choosing and have my stomach and that of my friend examined — I am all for it. And would like to refund my money — I would be happy to stop by. And I mean that. Just send me a message.

The french toast was absolutely heavenly — and I mean that, they look thick but the slices were as light as an angel’s wings and as fluffy as the clouds you’ll ascend through as you reach the pearly gates. At which point you’ll be sent to hell for your gluttony, where you can finish off with the salty, sinful portuguese sausage.
Coffee was fair but not great, and for a diner that wasn’t very full, the food took over 20 minutes to come out. Nevertheless, I’ll be back for that song of Hawaiian sweet bread soon enough.

«Where is the chicken katsu? How can this be a Hawaiian restaurant when they don’t have chicken katsu???»
This is what I had to hear for the entire duration of my meal. My friend was (obviously) distraught over the menu omission, and he even asked the server if they might have some in the back. I guess it’s served sometimes, but not on this particular week. This week they had ribs.
I do have to give them credit, however. My friend’s phone was dying (so many problems…) and the server gave him a portable charger. That was really nice of him and great service.
We both ended up getting the short rib plate, and we both finished our meals completely. The food was good, but mostly if you’re already in the area and craving it.

Not bad, not bad. I came here with a larger group and service was great. Everyone was super friendly and helpful in answering our questions about the menu. I liked sitting in the booth seats in the back. Unilocal check in offer for free soda was a nice perk.
We ordered a few dishes and shared family style: kahlua pork & cabbage plate, char siu, loco moco, and spam musubi. Very homestyle and comforting! I pretty much enjoyed everything. The portions were generous and we had some leftovers.
We came here for lunch on a weekend and I believe the lot right in front charges for parking, but only at prime times. I didn’t know about the lot at all and found a street spot a couple blocks away so I didn’t run into this issue, but friends had to cough up the cash to pay to park.

Poor service at this place. I guess they were closing in 20 minutes and rather than seat me, just ignored me so I guess they can close up. Won’t be going here again. No aloha here brah.

Went here this morning with my boyfriend. We’re not from around the area and was just looking for something to eat before his train which was leaving LA Union Station at 11:15 am. We got into the restaurant at 10:36 and wasn’t sure if we should even be eating or not. We asked our waiter how long it would be and he said that it shouldn’t take long, and that he would put it in to go boxes so we could eat or leave when the food gets to us. The food came so quickly and it was amazing! One of the best Hawaiian food joints I have ever been to. It was extremely tasteful. Definitely coming back even if it’s out of the way. It most certainly is worth it. Will be back soon!

Food was good, but not spectacular. Staff was courteous, but was inefficient at multi-​tasking. A party who arrived after my party and ordered after my party received their food first. It seemed like there were multiple catering orders being prepared at the same time. The staff seemed frazzled and disorganized while trying to manage the catering orders and their dine-​in guests.

The food was great… probably some of the best Hawaiian style offerings in LA.
4 of us shared a couple orders of spam musubi, the loco moco, the galbi combo and the salmon teriyaki. Everything was ono.
The service was friendly but a little infrequent. Not a huge negative.
The only sad part was they were out of shave ice.

I love the breakfast here. I’ve only been here a couple of times for breakfast and I always get the Komais Big Breakfast. It includes Corned Beef Hash, 2 Spam, 2 Portuguese Sausage, 2 Vienna Sausage, 2 Eggs, 2 Scoops Rice and Hawaiian Bread. Cooked perfectly and not oily. Bread is nicely toasted and soft.
The food and service are great!!!

Closest thing to hawaii.
Moco loco and the corn beef hash are as good as it gets. I still need to try their other dishes. But their breakfast items are awesome:
Corn beef hash
Spam
Char Siu
and portugese sausage.
French Toast!
better than kings hawaiian!

The owner had messaged me right after the review and let me know that it was for a photoshoot and they werent touching the tables.
I saw the place and the place had new interiors making the place look cleaner and nice.

Kalua Pork with cabbage was too bland, teriyaki was too salty. Mixed together they’re okay. Mac salad was also just okay. Portions are large though.

I’ve had this place bookmarked for so long from my Belle B s and Ninong Jojo s recommendations. Finally made it here on an early Saturday morning. And fortunately we came early because just like in the islands, they are on Hawaii time. But that’s one of the things I do miss about Hawaii…
We were seated right away. The furnishings were simple and clean. And the staff were all smiles after getting our order. I knew what I was ordering even before I got here, doesn’t every Unilocaler??? Duh!
Dishes slamming… sink water running… with Hawaiian folklore playing in the background… I was totally reminiscing about my last trip to Kauai. Gosh I need it to go back. Soon.
We got a few combo of their breakfast plates with combinations of eggs, bacon, Portuguese sausage, vienna sausage, hash, toasted Hawaiian bread and rice. We also ordered 3 orders of spam musubi. They were cooked and served the way we liked it. So yey.
And then of course the oxtail soup served with a side of rice and macaroni salad. This is the reason why I am here. Served in a big bowl– large &medium &small pieces of oxtail so tender that the fat and meat part easily fell off the bones! The soup was garnished with soft napa cabbage, scallions, and round slices of ginger. Although soup was indeed savory and very tasty, I really wanted cilantro and grated ginger with it.
But all good. I was pleased. Happy. And satisfied. I’d definitely return. It’s closer of a drive than Kauai.
#miss#Kauai

#9 review for Unilocal 100 Challenge
I’ve had this place bookmarked for so long from my Belle B s and Ninong Jojo s recommendations. Finally made it here on an early Saturday morning. And fortunately we came early because just like in the islands, they are on Hawaii time. But that’s one of the things I do miss about Hawaii…
We were seated right away. The furnishings were simple and clean. And the staff were all smiles after getting our order. I knew what I was ordering even before I got here, doesn’t every Unilocaler??? Duh!
Dishes slamming… sink water running… with Hawaiian folklore playing in the background… I was totally reminiscing about my last trip to Kauai. Gosh I need it to go back. Soon.
We got a few combo of their breakfast plates with combinations of eggs, bacon, Portuguese sausage, vienna sausage, hash, toasted Hawaiian bread and rice. We also ordered 3 orders of spam musubi. They were cooked and served the way we liked it. So yey.
And then of course the oxtail soup served with a side of rice and macaroni salad. This is the reason why I am here. Served in a big bowl– large &medium &small pieces of oxtail so tender that the fat and meat part easily fell off the bones! The soup was garnished with soft napa cabbage, scallions, and round slices of ginger. Although soup was indeed savory and very tasty, I really wanted cilantro and grated ginger with it.
But all good. I was pleased. Happy. And satisfied. I’d definitely return. It’s closer of a drive than Kauai.
#miss#Kauai

Love coming here for breakfast on the weekends.
Likes:
–The French toast is delicious!
–If you want a simple Hawaiian breakfast meal, I suggest getting the eggs, rice and two choices of meat. I usually get the Portuguese sausage and Vienna sausage.
–I have always got seated right away.
–Prices are so cheap considering the portions are pretty big!

Good Grub! Fast and friendly service!
Food so delish, portion so filling, and very authentic.
Not free public parking, however there is a private parking which is a a few dollars ($ 2?) right outside and upfront.
The Loco Moco, Kalua Pork, and Fried Musubi was total deliciousness.

I am in LOVE with this place. Man, breakfast done right, tastefully and just… Dare I say it? ORGASMIC. Yo for real! This place is sooooo delicious! Of course you have to really like the usual Hawaiian style of rice with canned meats and eggs. Needless to say I clearly love that type of stuff. And it’s CHEAP too! For 2 people, $ 20! That’s a cheap breakfast that has completed me exponentially more than any kind of brunch. .
Ok so I suggest getting the «Komai’s Big Breakfast». It comes with two scoops of rice, two eggs, corned beef hash, Vienna sausages, spam, and Portuguese sausage. It also comes with a roll of bread, but I requested a scoop of mac salad. All this for $ 8 and you can eat this for two meals if you have the self control not to stuff your face in one sitting (I did NOT have that self control)…
There are oodles more here to order and I know I gotta come back. And you should try it out!

I like this place and food was grate. I had breakfast with fried rice. That’s delicious.
Also I tried the Loco Moco, it’s just ok for me.

My guy and I have been here couple times now. We walked in during lunchtime and we’re pleased to find that they had available seats. This place is cozy and it feels like your eating over at a friend’s house with there aunt and uncle cooking in the back kitchen for you. To be utterly frank, Hawaiian food for me is not something I crave everyday. Even my trip to Hawaii I wasn’t too impressed. But there’s definitely a charm about this café and I actually like the food! I highly recommend it!
Service: excellent
Atmosphere:cozy
Food: great!

Well this little restaurant is outstanding
So good and very nice waitress
They have been opened for 8 years and I finally found The Best Hawaiian Food so close to work:)
I ordered Pork Fried Rice Loco Moco and it was Fantastic
The loads of pork bites and the hamburger was just Incredible
Across the street is Tenno Sushi which we all love but we never knew this was right across the street.
I can’t wait to try more of there So Ono Grindz! Mahalo&Aloha Nui Aloha Café
The front of this place looks so alone and sad but just go in and Wow:) very roomy and clean
I Love It:))

I LAVA’D IT!!!
Could not resist that reference being Hawaiian food and all.
This restaurant has been on the top of my list to try out. All of my friends and family rave about this place and I could not be more intrigued. After taking one delicious bite of of Loco Moco, I knew what all the hype was about.
Being Filipino, tastes were oddly familiar, but the combination of gravy, rice, burger, and egg became a welcome new experience.
The place itself is really charming. Nice staff and quick service. Would totally come back to try breakfast.
You get a lot with your meal so bring a big appetite!
Enjoy your Hawaiian food!
Aloha

I’ve always been curious about this place and finally got around to trying it for a late lunch on a Saturday afternoon. We walked in around 1:30pm and the place was pretty empty.
FOOD:
— chicken kal-​b bowl — this was pretty tasty! A large-​ish bowl of rice topped with chicken kal-​b. Tasted similar to teriyaki, but not saucy. Flavor was helped with some soy sauce and sriracha.
–loco moco — HUGE portions! We got the eggs over easy and it smothered with gravy. The gravy is mushroom based (I think) and not too salty. The mac salad that comes with it is pretty good — peppery and not too creamy, if that’s not your thing
SERVICE:
Slow. I knocked off a star for that. It seems to be family owned and run, but when we walked in, there were tables that still hadn’t been cleared. Our food came out separately, maybe 5 minutes apart and it took a while to get our menus, place our orders and get the check. Maybe they were a bit understaffed at this time of day but there was a table of workers/​owners just sitting and chatting away.
VENUE./PARKING:
The space is large and airy and looks recently remodeled. Clean and modern, gets lots of sunlight and the AC blasts! Parking is available in the lot but free parking can be found on the surrounding streets.

Some of the best Hawaiian food you can find around this area.
The portions are big, the food is delicious and the prices are very reasonable. My personal favorite here is the Kalua pork with cabbage. Has a great smoked flavor within the meat. You also cant go wrong with the spam musubi trio. Not sure which type of musubi you’d like to try? This plate serves up three types cut into three huge pieces per musubi.
You get more than your moneys worth here and beats any quick grab Hawaiian BBQ any day.
Lunch 12/​27/​2014 and 2÷21÷2015

After reading so many good reviews for this place, I was excited to finally try Hawaiian-​style breakfast. Aloha Café is located in a small plaza in Little Tokyo. The restaurant looks really small from the outside, but it’s surprisingly spacious when you walk in. It wasn’t too crowded on a Sunday morning and we were seated immediately. I ordered the spam musubi and the loco moco (apparently a traditional Hawaiian dish). My first biggest issue with this place: VERY SLOW SERVICE. It was almost as if the kitchen was making one dish at a time. The place wasn’t even packed when we went and it took them over 30 min. to finally bring out just the spam musubi. ONE spam musubi cut in half. I mean really? Why would it take so long?! 10 minutes later, the rest of the food finally came out.
The portion sizes are very generous. The loco moco is a huge plate of rice topped with a meat patty, 2 eggs, and a side of macaroni salad. The whole thing is drenched in gravy. That being said, it’s a very very heavy dish. The meat patty was pretty good, and my sunny side eggs were cooked perfectly. Wasn’t a fan of the macaroni salad… I didn’t think it had any flavor. Gravy was pretty salty, so I’m glad I resisted the urge to mix everything together. So with regards to the food, besides the portion sizes here, I was not impressed. And having to wait 40 min. for this simple dish to come out was a huge disappointment.
Overall, I was definitely expecting a lot more from this place. The slow service here ruined my experience. Especially because this place wasn’t even that busy. The food is okay. Very simple, but very heavy. Prices are decent only because of the generous portions that you get. In my case, the Loco Moco was made up of pretty cheap ingredients to begin with (meat patty, eggs, a ton of rice, and gravy) that I still found the $ 8.95 price to be pretty expensive. But I guess for being in Little Tokyo, it’s still one of the cheaper options.

On our last day in LA, we decided to come to Aloha Café for some Hawaiian. The look of the place seems clean, pretty modern with splashes of photos of Hawaiian culture upon the walls.
Their located in the Honda Plaza which has a pretty small parking lot shared by all the restaurants & stores. Parking can get pretty pricey, but the restaurant can validate the parking for $ 2 for up to 2hrs. Not too bad.
We ordered the KalB combo of beef & chicken, Chashu plate, fried spam musubi, and with fried rice. Omg really big portions. I felt like the plate was going to explode since it was so full. Lol. The short ribs were the best tasting of all the meat. The BBQ pork would be 2^nd best tasty. I liked everything for the most part. Sis didn’t really like the fried rice though or the mac salad. It’s my first time to see the pink fish cake bits in fried rice. It’s usually in ramen.
Service was good & bad. There was two girls working the outside of the place. Both taking turns. Pretty moderately efficient. Although, when I asked to get my parking ticket validated, it took forever. So we ended up going to the counter to pick it up instead of kept on waiting. They were just standing there chatting.
What attracted me to this place was the fried spam musubi. Now that I’ve had it– it’s good enough to try & but not omg enough for a return visit.

Breakfast is amazing!
Hawaiian bread French toast with strawberries and whipped cream! Really good and tasty, something different about the whipped cream, it’s yummy!
Loco moco, flavored beef patty on a bed of rice and topped with gravy and eggs the way you want it cooked. On point, most places make it very salty but this was perfect. Portions are big enough to share.
Expect a little wait, good food needs a little tlc!