Lilikoi

Insanely great food! I live 30 minutes away and 45 mins away when they were in north portland, and will happily make the drive to stock up on Lilikoi. I couldn’t recommend them enough. Great people, amazing food, great prices. I wish they were open more hours as well, but I’ll take them where I can get them. I highly recommend their sandwiches and noodles.

This place is so good! I’ve been coming here since they were by Interstate and it’s always delicious with good service. The Hawaiian bread is the best I’ve had, drunken noodles are amazing and cake is fantastic (which is weird, since I usually dislike fruit based desserts). I only wish they were open more hours. It’s Monday and I want some right now :(
Also, I like the review that gave one star cause they couldn’t find it and checked in there. Ha, what?

Always great food, awesome prices and you can’t beat their guava cake and homemade sweet bread! I special ordered a large guava cake for a birthday; it was a hit! Bring cash and bring your appetite! I like to support small businesses and Deacon (sp?) and Veth are wonderful folks :)
I have had both noodle and sandwich dishes– you cannot go wrong with anything, just depends on what you are in the mood for.

This is my first Unilocal review and I’m glad to give a shout out to such a lovely spot. Lilikoi is chill, no frills, oasis, and literally a mom and pop shop. I love that their kid is there hanging out. And they seem connected to the community as well. Both times I’ve gone in, Veth — one of the owners — has been very kind and excited to chat about yummy food and her culinary inspirations. She also made sure I used her favorite sriracha hot sauce, shark brand.
The food was super tasty. I ordered drunken noodles w/​the works the first time and then came back for laos noodles with tofu and a pork w/​slaw sandwich on sweet bread the second time.
It’s definitely worth checking out.

The most delicious pork I’ve inhaled ever!
Very tiny mom & pop hole in the wall. But if you know anything about food, then you know these are the best places on earth.

The signature sandwich (Hawaiian sweet bread with Kalua pork and Asian coleslaw) was amazing! The soft slightly sweet bread pairs well with the juicy and savory pork. The sandwich is ⁵⁄₅ stars.
The drunken style noodles were good but nothing mind-​blowing. The noodles are ⁴⁄₅ stars.
If you decide to eat in, be warned that the interior is tiny and worn down but everything is clean. The owner mentioned that the majority of her customers tend to order to go. Also, there is no designated parking lots but we had no problem parking on the street.
We received free sweet tea on our first visit.

Lilikoi is one of my favorite casual food destinations in North Portland. They serve a immensely filling selection of Hawaiian comfort food that blends what I like best about Asian and Southern cuisine. Think crumbly sweetbread sandwiches filled with creamy coleslaw and kahlua pork, piles of rich drunken noodles, and tangy banh mi. This is not light food, but it just tastes too good to care about calories. My personal favorite is a breakfast sandwich made with egg, pork, and the aforementioned sweetbread. At $ 5, all the sandwiches are all a steal.
That being said, Lilikoi is very far from a suit and tie dining establishment. Dining there is akin to being cooked for by your friend’s parents who you like but don’t know very well. There is no real decoration to speak of. There is a TV in the back. The signs are all hand written.
That being said, I love every dish that is served at Lilikoi, I like the people that run it, and I think that the rather homey and improvised décor comes across as earnest and focused on the food. The perfect restaurant? No, but I wouldn’t change it.

From the laid back friendliness to the bare bones ambiance to the delicious piles of food, Lilikoi makes me feel like I’m in Hawai’i.
They make their own sweet bread for sandwiches and different desserts every day, and the drunken noodles are dangerously amazing. I couldn’t stop eating them.
The tea is delicious, but it might send you into sugar shock. But it might be worth it.

My best friend is Hawaiian and her mother died when she was a teenager, and she had forgotten that anniversary of her mother’s death until later that day. She called me and felt guilty about and I said we should go get some Hawaiian food for dinner in her mom’s memory. I’m not sure exactly how long about this had happened, but it was when Lilikoi was brand new and we had just heard about it from another Hawaiian friend (well, I’m the token Alaskan, but our non-​48 state similarities and mutual love of spam let me get a free pass I guess).
We weren’t sure what was going on when we got there, it seemed like we had just shown up and sat ourselves down in a family’s carport and beckoned them to fire up the grill for us — but they didn’t seem to mind.
Again, this was in the infancy so our food took a little longer than we were into but it gave us time to catch up.
I don’t remember what anyone got but my friend was ridiculously stoked about whatever she ordered. (Helpful, I know.) And I had ordered some fried egg/​spam on sweet bread heart attack monstrosity but they had run out of sweet bread so it was served up on a buttered tortilla instead. I know with every bite heart disease and hyper tension were nigh, but I cared not because it was the most delicious things I’d ever eaten.
We were served like part of the family and after I meal we got to chit chatting with the owners. I absolutely adored the owner and her rant about not giving a crap about what «Portland hipsters» thought of her food with some choice pidgeon thrown in. She was awesome and entertaining.
I took a peak at their webpage, and I see now that she has expanded her rant to not only hipsters but « Unilocalters» as well.
Well as a Unilocaling punk rock haolie — I salute you Lilikoi lady — I know you don’t care about what I have to say, but I love your food and I love your philosophy! Keep it real!

I don’t know what it is about this place that makes heart and stomach satisfied — but deliciously greasy is what it is.
Drunken noodles are a fave! And this time I tried the Kalua Pork Quesadilla = if you like pork and cheese together, then this should be an order for you. I heard the chicken version is just as good if you don’t want to be as gluttonous.
The owners are very chill and take care of their customers. It’s no wonder they keep this little place so busy! (I don’t even consider it a food cart since it’s in a small side of a building.)
This is not your typical hawaiian food fare, but definitely delivers in the ingredients and makes it into their own asian-​fusion, take-me-back-home-greasy-goodness-because-it’s-a-good-hole-in-the-wall-kinda-place.
Lilikoi is something you shouldn’t pass up if you’re in the area!

Can’t go wrong here.
I usually get the Signature Sandwich — grilled homemade Hawaiian sweet bread with kahlua pork and asian slaw, served open faced for $ 5. This a good combo with the crunchy slaw, sweetness of the bread, and the tenderness of the pork.
I stopped by last night for dinner and had the Kahlua Pork Quesadilla because I just wanted something different. My boyfriend had the Shoyu Chicken Drunken Noodles. Both choices were amazing and each was big enough to serve two so needless to say we were set for our midnight snack and next day lunch. My boyfriend is asian and said the drunken noodles are something he will crave now that he’s experienced the dish’s yumminess. All their meats are fresh and tender.
Top it off with a bottomless cup of lilikoi ice tea for $ 1.
I am looking forward to trying their fried rice next time. It’s nice to have some options other than the standard plate lunches served at every other Hawaiian restaurant. These guys are certainly making it interesting!

A good start to this experience: one of the owners gave me a complementary lilikoi iced tea. It was tasty and refreshing for a nice summer day.
I then ordered the shoyu chicken sandwich on Hawaiian sweet bread and topped with Asian slaw (all made in-​house) for $ 5. A lovely presentation on the sandwich. I loved the buttering of the Hawaiian sweet bread and toasting that bad boy on the flattop. Nothing like a toasted bread for your sandwich, trust me. The sugars in the sweet bread also got a chance to caramelize a little, livening up the dish just a bit more.
The shoyu chicken was quite good. Although I feel like I’ve had better, Lilikoi’s version had good flavor and was very enjoyable. I liked their combination of sweet (sugar) and salty (soy sauce) on the chicken.
I’m a fan of the Asian slaw here. Nice saltiness from the soy sauce, a bit of sweetness from the sugar, and just overall very good. In my book, the right amount of mayonnaise and a very vibrant presentation.
I added a little sriracha to the sandwich, per Vette’s suggestion. Loved getting the bit of zip from the sriracha to add to the wonderful experience. I planned on just taking a few bites and saving the rest for later, but the food was too good to ignore.
To top it all off, the owner gave me ANOTHER complementary small Lilikoi iced tea to take home with me. Simply amazing, over-​the-​top service. I’m a huge fan of Lilikoi and definitely plan on returning in the future! I’m probably trying their signature Drunken Noodles next! Oh, and by the way, their desserts are around $ 1 (at least it was $ 1 for a slice of guava cake)…can’t go wrong with that!

So I was driving around N Portland towards Killingsworth looking for a place to grab lunch when I reached out to some of my Yeeps. I was immediately pinged back almost in unison to the tune of «go try Lilikoi». Well my trustworthy peeps did not let me down and really if there is pork involved I rarely am.
Thinking this was a cart I was a little confused driving down the street unable to see any in sight, then I noticed their banner hanging over the sidewalk outside. Lilikoi is not literally a cart but a small storefront with a kitchen that sits outside under a covered patio where the majority of the seating resides. Although don’t worry the comfort you seek is not in their space but their food. Enter through the patio into a side door to place your cash only order. In case you arrive without any greenbacks they have memorized the closest locations to an ATM and will gladly point your way. Lilikoi literally means passion fruit which is defined by their signature tea infused with this exotic treat. Tea is one of the only caffeinated drinks I consume regularly and the passion fruit brings it to a whole new level. To go with this drink I chose the drunken noodles topped with pork but you can also choose chicken or beef. The staff was very friendly and helpful when recommending these south Asian inspired, Hawaiian fusion dishes. I sat outside on their patio as my food was cooked in front of me along with smells that were quite enticing. Soon after a to go box was presented almost as if to challenge that I wouldn’t be able to finish. Inside was an ample portion of wide egg noodles, crisp cabbage, bean sprouts, a touch of basil leaves and a big pile of Kahlua pork. I think I expected this dish to be spicy but it wasn’t. However the Sriracha was only an arm’s length away, after a few squirts I was ready to resume enjoyment. One thing I thought was a nice touch was the added fennel which gave the noodles a distinct flavor and helped to compliment the salty pork. I could have finished the entire box but decided I’d rather have leftovers than a very full stomach.
Afterwards I hung out talking with the co-​owner Beth who explained their enjoyment from the supportive Portland community. It was apparent this helps push them through the long hours maintaining the focus to provide the best comfort food to their customers. The only thing I regretted was not tasting the homemade sweetbread but it’s just another reason for me to come back again for a visit.

Man O man… this was probably my biggest let down since moving to PDX. I love Hawaiian, and I feel Lilikoi was off the mark.
We got here fairly early on Saturday. It was a sunny day so we took advantage of the outdoor seating. All seating is limited. 3 tables outside and about 3 or 4 inside. But… the seating has no reflection on this review. Just pointing it out.
I ordered the drunken noodles with shoyu chicken. The noodles were quite oily, and it didn’t feel/​taste like what a hawaiian plate should. All that basil that was in the dish along with the other ingredients, came accross as Thai food to my tongue. I dug into the shoyu and there was nothing there but… chicken. From shoyu chicken i’ve had in the past, it’s very tender and sweet tasting. Where as this was tender-​ish, the flavor completely lacked.
The menu didn’t have any teriyaki chicken at that. I was craving teriyaki something (beef, chicken etc…) and I didn’t see anything that would come close. No Mac’ salad, no side of white rice. That is where I get my fix.
I DO however, think that the sweet bread they served was AWESOME. My wife had one of the sandwiches. Where as I thought the coleslaw was rather plain and the kahlua pork was less than par, I thought the sweet bread was outstanding.
For about $ 10 I wouldn’t order what I did again. I wont be coming back to lilikoi for a while. Perhaps if I’m in the area and feel generous enough to give them another shot I will, but I wont be jammin’ back to desperately.

Lillikoi is tiny. However, there’s both indoor and outdoor seating.
I would have to agree the pulled pork is very good. It’s not spicy, rather more like the Sunday pork roast your mom may have fixed you as a kid.
The noodles were okay, but kinda oily. You have your choice on what meat to add. I picked chicken (seasoned as nicely as the pork) and JP picked the pork.
We were confused about the sandwiches. On the menu, sandwiches are specified, for example, as «spam» or «ham». In reality, all the sandwiches are pulled pork, with the other meats added to the sandwich. JP felt a bit overloaded on pulled pork, because he ordered a ham sandwich (to go along with his noodles) not expecting pork in the sandwich.
The gal serving us was very nice, quite accommodating actually. When she indicated that they didn’t have unsweetened iced tea (they do have sweet iced tea), she provided JP with hot tea, with a glass of ice cubes to make it into iced tea.

This place is awesome. Though I will say to fully appreciate this place, you have to be hardcore about loving great food in the most estranged places.
When I got here, it was not what I was expecting. The family runs this place out of what looks like it might have been the basement of their house. And they just made some simple conversions to the place, like adding tables and chairs. So the place is small. Deacon (the cook) cooks outside in what looks like a complete makeshift tent. And a little boy runs around playing imaginary games with his toys. It’s similar to something I’d expect to find in an Asian country, not the US. But this didn’t deter me at all.
I walked in and talked to Bev. Bev runs the rest of place while Deacon cooks. She is really nice and sweet. Just trying to put money on the table to take care of the family. And luckily for us, this involves eating their cooking!
I ordered the drunk noodles and got the lilikoi tea. Not sure if I’ve ever had lilikoi but the tea is similar to a guava juice. It’s good. And she did a fantastic job refilling my cup. While I waited I saw a lot of other people come and get take-​out orders.
When the noodles came, it’s a lot. Definitely will fill you up. And for only $ 6! That’s crazy. A real steal and it’s good. Lot of flavor. My only complaint is that it was just a little too sweet for me. I should say it’s sweetness was really good but with so much to eat I think I got a slight overdose on it. But I would definitely order this again. After this, I decided I wanted to try the specialty pork sandwich that’s the other talked about dish. I was originally going to get it to go, but I really loved the fact that I was eating out of someone’s basement. So I decided to stay and eat it. Yeah, this is a lot of food. Enough for 2 people easy.
But even after being full from the noodles, the pork sandwich is excellent. Really shows how good the food is if after being completely full I still found a lot of flavor in this sandwich. The sandwich btw is a fork ordeal. It’s big and really full of food which makes it a Herculean task to it eat with your hands. Again, only $ 6! And my drink, $ 1. So $ 13 in total! Crazy. Oh, this place is CASH only. But man, this place is awesome. A real gem in Portland. My biggest hope is to come back to Portland years from now and see Lilikoi as a huge successful restaurant and I’ll remember when they operated out of their basement.

I’ve been putting off this review for some time because it’s really difficult to put into words how great it is. I’ve probably eaten here a good 6 or 7 times in the past month or so and it just keeps getting better and better.
Normally I tend to take places with 5 stars with a grain of salt, especially places near colleges (what’s with restaurants in close proximity to colleges getting tons of 5 star reviews when they’re mediocre at best?). This place, however deserves every 5 star rating that it gets and it makes me wish that Unilocal would allow me to give it a 6^th star. It’s really that great.
I’ve had basically every item on the menu, and while the presentation isn’t fancy or anything, it’s absolutely divine. The Hawaiian sweet bread for the sandwiches is the perfect companion to their savory chicken or tofu and coleslaw. I could seriously eat that stuff for every meal of the day.
Oh, god, and how could I forget the noodles? Both the drunken noodles and the Laos-​style noodles seem to be quite simple, but they’re so full of flavor that you can’t help to almost finish the entire portion. In fact, I give major props to whoever finishes an entire portion of them because they are GARGANTUAN (and only $ 6 to boot!).
Finally, the family that owns it is incredibly genuine and friendly. They always strike strike up interesting conversations and have a tendency to throw in free Lilikoi tea a lot of the time. The place really feels like you’re in someones home, especially with the little kid playing video games behind the counter.
Overall, I can’t help but whole-​heartedly recommend this place as one of the best lunch spots in town. I just wish they were open 24 hours so I could get some drunken noodles when I’m a drunken Matt at 3am.

I stopped by for my first time for lunch today and was very excited because I’ve been wanting to try their food for several weeks. I asked what their most popular noodle did was and went with the Drunken Noodles with Chicken. The owner asked if I wanted a dollip of slaw but I declined. After seeing the slaw, I would be tempted to get it next time.
I popped open the lid before I left to add some spicy sauce and headed back to work. The noodles were wonderful and the chicken was flavorful and moist. I ended up sharing the lunch with a co-​worker because of the large size.
I’m only giving them a 4 out of 5 stars because I need to try MORE of their food. :) I’m stil waiting to try some of their sandwiches on homemade hawaiian bread. OH YES!

Eating here has temporarily disabled my English so I’m reverting back to da pidgin… (There has only been a handful of times when I was sent back to da aina when eating out in Portland)
Hawaiian, you gotta eat here!
I ordered da signature sandwich plus an ova-​easy egg. da bugga is pretty big, ono and messy! I broke my egg yolk and wiped da (biodegradable) plate clean with the las’ piece of my sweet bread. My haole friend ordered drunken noodles… I ate most of his too, cuz he eats slow and his was SO ono too! Been long time since I would pound some food, then have to pound somebody else and take their food. Woohoo braddah Deacon! I think his name was Deacon, you got the touch, keep it up.
The kalua pig is pretty much at the standard which I would eat it again – I think this is perhaps the first time that I will re-​eat someplace’s kalua pig. Their freshly made pao doce (portuguese sweet bread) was buttered and grilled just like my dads used to make for breakfast. The coleslaw was just right to compliment the saltiness of the pig.
Again with the drunken noodles; the slaw’s sweet mayo run-​off mingling with the noodles heated with a great blot of sriracha set off the flavor explosions you’d expect after surfing a nice afternoon session and picking up a ono mixed plate sitting in the sand waiting for the sun to set. In other words, I was back home… my overstuffed mouth told me so, even though the cold fall air and the ominous clouds disagreed!
Ho’i aku au i ka lilikoi! E hele kakou! HAwaiian!

I know that Liliko’i means Passionfruit in Hawaiian, and anything associated with Hawaii brings me many happy thoughts. The weather is perfect, the beaches are beautiful, the people are the nicest I have ever met in my life, and the food, the food is amazing.
I quickly looked over the menu and knew exactly what I would be diving into, the Kalua pork nestled between homemade Hawaiian sweet bread and coleslaw. The owner informed me that it’s their take on Hawaiian comfort food. I got my order to go, which came with a coconut blossom cookie and it took all my self-​control not to devour the goods on my 10 block walk home, considering I could smell it the entire way.
I’m eating it as we speak and it’s so, so good… definitely the best value amongst all the carts I have ever been to. The food takes me back to Hawaii as do the owners which are every bit as kind as I remember Hawaiians to be. Please go now!!!