Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill

I was very disappointed…
Weird location, industrial park (more so for the people who work in that neighborhood because you would never «drive by» it on your way to something.) Décor was cute, service was pleasant. I am a BIG Polynesian food lover, and I lived in Hawaii, so I know good food when I taste it! This was VERY BLAH!!! I ordered the chicken curry special hoping that it would be spicier than most of the other selections on the menu. Sadly, I was wrong. It was SO BLAND that I almost need to ask for salt, pepper and hot sauce just to enjoy it. Didn’t even want to take home my leftovers (and I ALWAYS take home leftovers!) Won’t be back.

I frequently go to this place. It’s kind of a hidden gem. I am always impressed with all of their menu items. This is one place where you can’t go wrong no matter what you order. However I am very fond of the Huli Chicken with Lava Sauce. I highly recommend it. Also if you try this get a side of the Ginger Garlic Aioli sauce to cool your pallet. Very good stuffffff!!! :)
I can’t wait until they reopen in June.

In town on business for a short overnighter, and I wasn’t feeing like sitting in a noisy chain restaurant having the same old same old. Found these guys less than a half-​mile from my hotel and went to grab some takeout so I could finish working.
Got the huli huli chicken with the sweet potato medallions and some haupia for dessert. Chicken was outstanding flavor, cooked right, with a generous portion of sticky rice. The sweet potatoes were good, a little hint of onion to the taste. My only wish is that the potatoes were crisped up a bit more when in the frying pan, give it that little bit of charred flavor (no, not burnt). Price, flavors, and servings, everything was right about this place.
I’m on the road a lot for work, and have had some hits and misses here on Unilocal when looking for a place to eat, and this place is a bullseye in my book. I haven’t yet had my haupia, but it looks delicious. I will be back next time I’m in town!

If you’ve been to Hawaii and enjoyed the cuisine, then this place is a ‘must go’.
The food took me back to the islands, if only in my mind :-) Whenever I find musubi, I try it and this did not disappoint. The spam musubi and portuguese sausage musubi were excellent. The poke bowl was wonderful, with several different and complementary flavors and textures, and the macaroni salad added just the perfect final touch.
The service was excellent, I could not have asked for anything more.
I found this place on Unilocal,and now it’s on my ‘must go again’ list.

This place is located in an industrial area. It’s not a place where you would expect a restaurant to be. There’s a small parking lot next to it but also plenty of street parking. It’s a relatively small restaurant with a couple of tables outside for outdoor dining.
My brother in law made a reservation for 12 on a Monday evening. There weren’t many people eating here that evening.
First lets talk about the food. I tried the huli huli edemame. It was ok. I didn’t know what huli huli was — I guess it’s like terriyaki sauce. I wish I tried the garlic edemame. For my meal, I got the poke bowl. I thought it was delicious. It was poke over rice and wasabi sauce drizzled over it. The meal comes with a side. I got the sweet potato medallions which were really good as well.
Now the service is a different story. When the server passed out the edemame, he was reaching over me to put a plate down, and his other hand had another plate of edemame and the sauce spilled over my shoulder and back. Luckily I was wearing a black top. When he was getting our orders for the meals, I asked what the soup of the day was. When he said cabbage and ginger, I said «oh no. I’ll have the sweet potato medallions.» He said «that’s my favorite.» When he brought out the food, it’s like he didn’t know who ordered what and who got what sides. He placed the poke bowl and sweet potato medallions in front me. Later on he tried to say «wait you didn’t order the sweet potatoes. You ordered the soup.» And I said no, I definitely ordered the sweet potatoes. I guess one other person in my party ordered sweet potatoes and I overheard the server say «we ran out of sweet potatoes.» Weird. And overall, the service was soooooo slow. Unbelievably slow for how few people there were in the restaurant. It took forever to get the food and forever to get the check.
Maybe I’ll try this spot out again, but it would definitely be for take out.

Found this place after picking up my dry cleaning in the area. It is hidden, in the midst of a more industrial area.
Good find! Huli huli chicken plate was good with the mac salad (Hawaiian style). Girlfriend ordered the Kalbi with the cole slaw, which was equally as impressive. The cole slaw had a lemon zest flavor to it! It made for a surprisingly good side dish to her Kalbi.
Would come again, it is a couple dollars more than usual for plate lunches.
Beer menu looks legit, didn’t partake. However from a local boys observations this place got hawaiian beer and it’s juices down to a T! Good job Ono grinds. Seeya next time!

I love Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill! Who would have thought there be such an excellent restaurant in an industrial park area? (keep your eyes out, you will easily miss the signs for the restaurant if you aren’t careful)
My friend and I came here on a Friday night so we could eat some Hawaiian food and listen to the live musician that they have here weekend evenings. I ordered the Loco Moco ($ 11.49) immediately with the side of macaroni salad. It was fresh, delicious and not too heavy on the sodium. The Loco Moco is probably one of the best ones I have had in my lifetime. My dining companion had a more difficult time in deciding what she wanted to eat. With some great advice from the waitress, she ordered the Huli Huli Chicken with the coleslaw. My friend said the huli huli chicken had great flavor and enjoyed every bite of her entrée.
The whole atmosphere of Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill is just very comforting and relaxing. There’s a whole beach-​like atmosphere here, even though the restaurant is stuck in the middle of an industrial park. They play surf movies on their televisions and serve some delicious tropical fruit mimosas! There’s always a soothing feeling about eating yummy Hawaiian food while listening to a rendition of «Somewhere over the Rainbow».
I shall be back.

The food was excellent. My kids also ate their entire meal which is awesome and means it was kid friendly. Macaroni salad was amazing. Exactly what I was craving. The sweet potatoes were perfect, and meat was very tender.
Couple complaints; it was very warm inside. Almost too warm to enjoy the food. The service was S L O W. It wasn’t even busy either. Island time? Maybe. My kids got restless so my husband took them back to the car while I waited for the check. The server didn’t get the hint, and finally made his way over. Also, my kids wanted baked beans which they no longer offered. They have paper menus which would be an easy fix. Kids meals also didn’t include a drink and they don’t have a kid’s drink price on the menu.
I will come back. Maybe the Air was off, just went at a bad time.

In the midst of eating dinner and figured I’d do a review before my pretty plated food became completely destroyed.
Love how close the location is, but parking is minimal. Cute little wooded dining area with a few tables and a bar section… but tonight was definitely take-​out.
Combo Huli huli chicken/​Kalua pork plate with macaroni salad side. I like the flavor of the mac salad, slightly sweet but not too overpowering. The chicken is juicy with a nice charred tasty finish. Pork smelled amazing, but could use a little more flavor. Rice was nice and al dente, perfect for pouring your sauce over. Overall, nice meal. I’ll be back!

I would give this place more stars but I want to be fair because I came for a private event and don’t know the service on a regular day.
For the private event, they would get a ⁴⁄₅ stars. The food was delicious and flavorful. Melt in your mouth Hawaiian BBQ.
They had a wide variety of beers to choose from. Not EVERYTHING but there was something for everyone. It was the first time I tried Dark Beer. Coffee and beer? A little weird for me but there’s people that enjoyed it.
The staff was very courteous and kind and very patient with the large party.
The location is a bit hidden. You have to know where you’re going to find it. It’s in a row of office building. I’ll try it again on a regular day and see if it’s just as good.

Randomly visited here after running errands on my day off.
This place is hidden in the industrial area of Mission Gorge.
Plentiful of parking spaces in the lot.
Lots of seating inside. Small tables, large tables, high tables, bar seating and even seating outside!
Thought the bar was really nice and had cool wooden lamps with mason jars. They also had a fooseball table!
Jody is the best! He is very professional and friendly.
It was very slow here during lunch time on a weekday.
Came in around 1pm and there was only one couple inside.
FOOD:
Ahi Poke Bowl $ 12.99
A generous portion size. The ahi tuna was very small pieces but had just enough to be scattered around the bowl. It tasted kind of old though, not very fresh. I didn’t like the wasabi mayo very much either. Everything didn’t have much flavor and the soy sauce they poured over the rice was very overpowering.
Side of mac salad
The mac salad was pretty good. But the texture was colder and slightly harder comparable to american mac salad versus Hawaiian mac salad.
Pineapple Tea
Free with first time check in! It was a very light flavored tea that was infused with pineapple. Not too sweet. More on the plain side but it was a nice change.
Overall great service. Food is ok and is expensive.
Maybe I’ll come back one day to try the BBQ plates.

Believe the hype. Especially if you’re into pineapple.
The only downside was the slow check at the end — but hey, there was like one dude serving everyone, so there’s no way I’d take off a star for that.

The food at Chris’ Ono Grinds is simply fantastic!!!
You have to give them a try. Your taste buds will kick you for waiting so long once they enjoy the perfect combination of fresh and flavorful.
I’ll add more to my review later (maybe after another visit). Yes, the location is odd (it’s in an office park/​industrial area) and may be harder to find but you will be rewarded.
Remember: If you are a foodie, your goal is TASTE!!! Give them a shot.

this is a really cool place Hawaiian food in an industrial complex pretty cool! I had the Guava Burger with a side of macaroni salad it was not a traditional «burger» and i am a traditionalist but it was really good.
The rest of my party had a variety of menu items like huli huli chicken and Kahlua pork they loved those dishes.
the beer was cold and the staff was very friendly
My friends had Haupia Dessert. Hawaiian coconut pudding on a macadamia nut cookie crust, served with guava sauce. said it was great!

One hidden secret place for Outstanding Hawaiian style!
We had short ribs and rice while my wife had the half and half… no I don’t remember all we had b/​c of food coma! Rice was abundant, the mac salad was delish! Our son couldn’t get enough!
It is well hidden! So Use whatever navigation aid you have and go right to the BEST Hawaiian food around!

If you want some Ono food you better come here! I’ve went to this place so many times, I’ve lost count! It’s certainly a must-​try. The poke is great! They have a wasabi aioli that is amazing!!! You can ask for this on the side if you’d like. They have their own in-​house sauces that you can buy to go as well. I’ve true jus about everything in the menu and they have something for everyone.
The edamame is absolutely tasty and delish and comes out steaming «delishous!» I’ve had the spicy and garlic versions on this and both are great.
They now have a BBQ, bacon, chicken bowl which is pretty tasty.
I can’t believe they have pulled pork in their baked bean?! It’s fantastic!
The feel of the place is always low key but the food is never low-​key. There’s always a surfer competition show playing or something island related to make you feel mellow.
There’s live music in the evenings there and it’s not too distracting from a nice dinner conversation.

We’re from HI and so we know good local food… lets just say if your accustomed to good Hawaiian food this isn’t the place. Now if you don’t know any better then this place will def sweep you off your feet.
We ordered the kalua… and it didn’t taste seasoned, the Mac salad you could taste miracle whip
My husband had the kalbi and it could use some help .
The haupia custard was probably the only thing we enjoyed about our dinner.
Other then that the place was clean and the servers were very nice.

This place is a little hard to find as it is smack dab in the middle of a business district. But once you find it, it’s well worth it!
Came here on a Monday night about 8pm to order take out. The place was so quiet, which honestly with the island ambiance they have going on, it was a nice! We could’ve sat at the bar enjoying Hawaiian beers all night.
The Ahi tuna appetizer was alright. Not as fresh as I hoped it would be.
The hubs had the ribs and pork combo plate. The ribs had great flavor. The pork was a little but on the dry side.
The macaroni salad was very good, but reminded me of something you’d find at the deli… or maybe Costco for that matter. But still yummy!
Whatever you do, you absolutely need to try the Huli Huli Chicken. It is beyond. And paired with their sweet potato medallions? Get out. The chicken is very tender and smothered in their signature sauce. The Sweet potato medallions were seasoned beautifully and cooked to perfection with just enough crisp out the outside.
They have specials for every day of the week and live music on the weekends. Will def be back to check it out.

I tried a few other items:
— Huli Huli burger with sweet potato medallions: The patty was about an inch thick and juicy. Definitely FILLING!
— Sweet potato medallion curry: I don’t like curry, but I liked this. I would order this again.

YES!!!
Excuse me, but I’m still on a food high.
I got the combo plate, which came with huli huli chicken and kahlua pork, two scoops of white rice, and a side (I got mac salad). And everything was SO delicious. The flavors went really well together. I’m glad I didn’t get just the huli huli chicken because the flavor might get a little overwhelming after several bites; it was great to eat it along with the mac salad and pork. Tender, flavorful, delicious.
My friend got wings with the huli huli sauce and said they were delicious. Our server was nice, too.
The meal wasn’t super cheap – $ 10.50 if I remember correctly, but it was a decent sized portion. They had some lunch specials that were around $ 9.
I can’t wait to come back!!! This might be the best Hawaiian food I’ve had in San Diego.