This place specializes in Hawaiian BBQ and I was not disappointed! When I came here, I ordered the beef short ribs combo plate, which comes with a side of cabbage, macaroni salad and rice. If you mix everything together it tastes absolutely delicious! The meat is juicy and fresh, and it is a huge plate! I also have to rave about their spam masubi. Spam cooked in soy sauce and then put on top a block of rice, wrapped in seaweed. I do think they put a little too much rice in this and it takes away from the overall flavor, but it is still really good. The place is really small and it is on a street with a bunch of great food. I think this is a great place to grab a quick dinner and afterwards, you can go to Molly's! read more

Aloha Eats - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The food was delicious! It my first time trying Aloha Eats I've never seen this place before but this Hawaiian restaurant is a gem! definitely coming back my whole family loved it! read more

Wowowowowow. My reaction trying this place was "no wonder Hawaiians are fat!" Entrees come out quickly and hot. Spam katsu musubi- EAT IT! It's a deep fried, panko crusted piece of spam on top of warm sushi rice. This appetizer / side is large enough to be someone's entree. The minis are also sufficiently sized - don't let the small clamshell fool you. It's packed to the top with food! I had the BBQ beef which is like this super sweet, mild version of Korean bugolgi. It's served on top of a bed of cabbage to make you feel a little bit better devouring this carb bomb meal. The sushi rice is just the perfect texture and temperature. I could seriously eat this all day (thank god I don't live here, obesity here I come!) The Mac salad is definitely interesting- it's savory (no added sugar apparently) with a lot of white pepper. The only thing I can knock is that it's all served on foam regardless of whether you're dining in or not. Back where I live, foam was just banned! read more

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As a kid who grew up on Oahu, it warms my Kama 'aina heart to have such good plate lunch spot close to the house. Can't go wrong with anything on the menu but I'm a fan of the double chicken and the spam musubi. Side of curry for the katsu never hurt nobody! Onolicious! read more

I came here with my friend and we literally had a feast. But at least that gives me authority to review several of their items on the menu. But first and foremost, if you are a moderate eater, a "mini-plate" is more than sufficient. It comes in a small Styrofoam container, but they stuff is full of rice, macaroni salad and meat of choice. So you can get a pretty cheap meal and leave feeling very satisfied. The BBQ beef and short ribs are very tasty and my favorite. They are marinated the beef in a soy, garlic, seseme-esque sauce - very similar to Korean BBQ beef. The egg noodle soup with Spam was tasty as well. The broth had a nice flavor. Plus you can't go wrong with egg noodles and Spam. The chicken Katsu, I thought was just okay according to my palate, but then again, my palate requires a lot of spice. The chicken Katsu is chicken tenderized to a very thin slice, breaded and fried. It is served with BBQ sauce to add extra flavor. The fried shrimp was good and average. Nothing special. Breaded and fried, per usual. One thing I liked was that the breading was too thick. The macaroni salad is just macaroni pasta in a mayonnaise mixture. It was mild in flavor, pretty tasty and it complimented the meal pretty well in adding variety of texture. The ambiance was decent. Cute decor, clean. A good place to grab a quick bite with friends or by yourself. Not a good place for romantic dates or large parties. Don't come here if you want to stick to a healthy diet since the main menu items are breaded/fried or served with Spam. Come here for some good, fast and cheap food. read more

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Oh baby. A great example of the trifecta of awesomeness -- cheap, huge portions, quality food. I take pride in my quantity-eating prowess, and so when I heard "I'd be impressed if you finished that" it was game over. After the chicken cutlet, macaroni salad, and rice were gone, I was definitely stuffed but was impressed that I didn't feel like I had to pass out on the nearest sidewalk bench. Food was flavorful and filling but not too heavy. We went back and got some chicken katsu to go... which I have been picking at and is delicious. Can't wait to come back and try some of their other dishes. read more

An old favorite in Lincoln Park area of Chicago for me. An Aloha Eats visit is always a must whenever I'm in the city! Their portions are HUGE for the price. My favorite is their mini plates with one scoop of rice, one scoop of their famous macaroni salad and an oversized portion of meat! My favorite is their chicken katsu, teriyaki chicken, kalbi, or a hawaiian favorite, loco moco. Actually, it's all good! If you're really hungry, get their regular portions but I always have so much extra food left...it's definitely shareable! For an authentic Hawaiian experience, definitely get the spam musubi! You get 2 huge spam musubi per order and it is always my favorite and a meal in itself! Their staff is always friendly and helpful and the atmosphere is very laid back. Give Ahola Eats a try...you don't regret it! read more

Aloha Eats - Spam musubi - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Portions are huge and prices are pretty good for the amount of food you get. However, the food is just alright. The spam masubi was pretty good but the ratio of rice to spam and seaweed was a little off for me. I also got a bbq chicken which comes with rice, cabbage, and macaroni. The chicken was a little dry. As for service, the man working there was really nice and he seemed very genuine :) read more

Aloha Eats - spam musubi - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Amazing! We tried the chicken musubi and the BBQ mixed plate, replacing the bbq chicken with chicken katsu. Both dishes were flavorful, hot, and best of all took us back to Hawaii! Service was good and quick. Seating was easy to get even though we showed up at 12:30. This will be a go-to spot anytime we crave Hawaiian! read more

Aloha Eats - Bbq beef, bbq ribs, and chicken katsu - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been going to Aloha Eats ever since it opened and it never disappoints. I use to live in Hawaii and would bring family and friends here when they come visit and they all say the same that they nailed it on the Hawaiian food. 10/10 read more

I can't vouch for authenticity, but wow this is great cheap eats! There were six of us and we basically ordered the whole menu. Be careful to not eat with your eyes - they're portions are very generous. And don't forget that rice is heavy on the stomach! I probably could've ordered just the spam musubi as my meal alone but we're not from Chicago so of course I had to order a combo too. Also, they don't have a bathroom for customers to use (but there's a Starbucks across the street). read more

Before I was vegetarian, I used to come here all the time for the chicken katsu plate. I recently came back since I've heard they have a tofu katsu plate, and IT IS SO GOOD! To make it fully vegetarian, replace the macaroni salad with fries. The tofu is perfectly crispy and the sauce resembles teriyaki but with a kick. If you're a vegetarian looking for a place meat and non meat eaters will love, definitely make your way over to Aloha Eats! read more

Aloha Eats - Vegetarian Mini Tofu Katsu - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Hawaiian food is influenced by several cultures: Japanese, Filipino and Korean, to name a few. A plate lunch is a classic Hawaiian meal composed of an entree or combination of entrees, served with rice and macaroni salad on the side. It is the de facto meal of choice in Hawaii, and best characterizes the blend of cuisine and culture found on the Islands. Tonight I enjoyed a dinner of saimin (thin egg noodles) vegetable soup and a shrimp burger... It was a great marriage of soft and crunchy, hot and cold! My husband enjoyed a distinctly Hawaiian plate lunch of Loco Moco, which is a uniquely seasoned hamburger patty, scrambled eggs, and brown gravy over a scoop of steamed rice and macaroni salad. Soo ono, brah! read more

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I have never had "Hawaiian" food, so I can't honestly tell you this is the best I've ever had or it's just like "that thing I had when I was on vacation". I was so interested in this place and each time I walked by, I was on my way to dinner so it's been about two years, BUT I made it. So I had the Kalua Pork because it sounded like something that was very Hawaiian. Of course I love Katsu and BBQ, but it's about trying something different. The people behind the counter were very nice and I love that you can watch the cook make your food from scratch. You end up waiting about 10 minutes for your food, but that's better than waiting 30 seconds and having awful food. Hawaii is all about being laid back or so the TV tells me, so don't come in here having a hissy fit for waiting. The service again is nice and the environment is very clean. Can we all have a meeting about that macaroni salad though? It's so mayo-y and bland, why does everyone die over it? Maybe some of these people are carb starved, or maybe it was a bad macaroni day. Either way, it was yuck and if you love the macaroni from this place we should go together so you can have my portion. See, I'm considerate. Onto the pork. Okay, so the word that I would say I felt when I opened up my tray was really confused. It's described differently from what I expected, I was expecting something borderline sweet. This pork is savory. Not salty, but very very savory. After a few bites I had to take a break because I think my palate was confused. It wasn't gross or awful, but the pork has such a strong taste it forces you to eat small amounts. Great diet food seasoning. Would I come in here again? Yes, but I would try the "small plates" until I found my absolute favorite thing. read more

Aloha Eats - Kalua Pork Plate - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It's hard to find some quality cheap eats comfort food involving rice in this city. Aloha Eats serves this exact purpose when I need just a little comfort on a lazy day! I typically get the Hawaiian mixed BBQ plate which gives you a little bit of everything! Hawaiian BBQ chicken, short ribs and beef. The best is definitely the chicken as it's tender and flavorful! Their mac salad is also as flavorful as can be, not just slathered in mayo but definitely has some good seasoning mixed in! Check this place out and make sure you try the chicken in whichever combo you decide to get! read more

During these covid times, if you can't travel to Hawaii, bring Hawaii to you by picking up a feast from Aloha Eats. Chicken katsu and their bbq beef plates are family favorites. Mac salad is so good. Can't ever get enough of it. Thanks for being heros and staying open during these challenging times! read more

Being from Hawaii, we were craving a local plate lunch. This was the perfect spot! The chicken katsu was great (reminded us of L&L). BBQ chicken was okay. I wasn't a huge fan of the tofu katsu musubi (it was a bit dry and falling apart), but my husband liked the spam musubi. We will be back the next time we are missing home style food! :) read more

Missing Hawaii during covid and the food from Aloha Eats made me feel like I was in Hawaii! The set up at the restaurant for covid is very good. The tables block off so you are not near the cashier or kitchen. They also have a basket of used pens vs clean pens! That made me feel like they are taking extra precautions during this pandemic! I would recommend to call and place your order so you don't have to wait outside (limited amount of people allowed in the restaurant). read more

Aloha Eats - Hawaiian Bbq Mix plate and spam musubi - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I have stayed on Oahu Island for over a month and have family there, if your looking for decent poke try them out, I would recommend that you order ahead of time especially if you are driving to there since parking is limited. read more

small place, big flavors! Everything is a little bit on the expensive side considering the atmosphere of the place, but everything is also delicious! Especially love their teriyaki beef and chicken katsu! And if you love spam musubi, this is the place to go! They now also have vegan version as well as deep fried spam for extra flavors! We always like to call ahead and pick up in store! read more

Currently sitting in bed in NYC missing Aloha so so much! The food is so so so delicious, and the staff is absolutely wonderful as well. This used to be a favorite spot of mine when I lived in Chicago, I especially miss Hel's smiling face and interacting with them when I would have the chance to stop in. Hope Aloha is not only surviving but thriving in Covid times! read more

Based on reviews from my friends, I am quite surprised that I didn't like this place more. Between a friend and I, we got a Chicken Katsu plate and Spam Musubi. As reviewed by many others here, portions are pretty huge and these two dishes can definitely fill up more than two stomachs. The chicken katsu was quite bland and dry, the meat separating from the batter, and even the dipping sauce didn't help. The spam was lightly fried and wonderfully flavored, but there was too much rice in proportion. I believe with more seasoning, the food could be elevated to a different level. Nonetheless, I'm pretty convinced that this is an authentic Hawaiian place as it is run by a Hawaiian family and the whole place gives off a super homey and mom-and-pop kind of vibe. read more

Aloha Eats - Chicken katsu lunch box and spam musubi - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Pros: - great portions (1 portions is enough for 2 adults!) - very nice staff - price is fine Cons: - food quality pretty low from my point of view - taste was not even equal to Popeye or KFC or McDonalds When I saw 5 stars I expected something different. read more

Mildly disappointed with the food I ordered. Chicken Katsu was all breading with old dry looking meat inside. BBQ beef was wayyyy too salty. I could barely eat it. I liked the macaroni salad but really nothing special. Spam Musubi didn't have much flavor. Maybe too much rice compared to Spam. Overall it was a bit disappointing. I think the quality will continue to suffer if consumers praise restaurants for the portion of food you get vs the quality. Why would you want a plate of mediocre food?? Does it taste better when you have more of it?? Just don't get it. read more

I cannot believe the rudeness of the guy at the register. I understand that the place is small and food is meant to be consumed rather quickly, but create some type of organized system if you're going to have only 5 tables available. It so happened that a group got up to leave while my sister and I were in line. Naturally, she took a seat while I remained in line. I get to the register to order and before I can say anything, this guy points to another group of random people in a corner and says "uh, they have been waiting for a table.." That was embarrassing and unnecessary, so we left. read more

Tips: ~$6 Spam Musubi only comes in 2 ~$6 Chicken Katsu mini plate (chicken katsu, rice, macaroni salad) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've been craving Hawaiian food for a while now and I was so glad to have found Aloha Eats. Chicken Katsu: Taste is great and the portion in the mini plate is HUGE. They give you a ton of chicken katsu in that tiny square to-go box. It ended up being 2 meals for me. The katsu has a great crunch and the katsu sauce tastes great as well. There is almost a 1-to-1 ratio of breading to actual chicken meat, just be warned, but it tastes great! Macaroni Salad: Just as you'd imagine in any Hawaiian food place. The best part of hawaiian food in my opinion. Spam Musubi: Classic tasty spam musubi! read more

When I moved to my apartment, I thought the best thing about it was its proximity to Molly's Cupcakes. It turns out I was wrong. Enter Aloha Eats. This unassuming Hawaiian fast food joint has the feel of a Hole in the Wall mixed with a surf shack. The place is littered with newsclippings of former President Barack Obama, pictures of Spam, and old timey Hawaii travel ads. Honestly, it's heaven. On to the eats part. If it's your first time here, get the Chicken Katsu plate. Do it. Warm crisp chicken piled on top of white rice and macaroni. Mmmmm. Oh yeah, the white rice and macaroni? Don't knock it til you try it. From my experience bringing my friends, it's hit or miss. But for me, it's a big hit. The portion sizes here are HUGE. Luckily, you can also get a Mini Chicken Katsu plate. And even then, sometimes I find I have far more than enough. While you're here, you might as well get the spam musubi. What's musubi? Well, per Wikipedia research: "Musubi" is a popular snack and lunch food in Hawaii composed of a slice of grilled spam on top of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori (seaweed). I've overheard conversations between supposed "foodies" in the restaurant scoffing at musubi. I don't get it. Is it not refined enough for your palate? Scared the spam will make you lose Instagram followers? Again, try the musubi. Overall, Aloha Eats is the closest you'll get to an "authentic" Hawaiian experience save for digging a hole in the ground and throwing in a pig. Go try it now! read more

BBQ short ribs are my go to here, it is solid! My most favorite item here has to be their macaroni salad, they make the best! Prices are reasonable and staff are always friendly. Definitely one of my favorite restaurant in Chicago. read more

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First time here. Friendly staff. Ordered for pick up and by the time I got home, the food was still nice and hot. I got the fried shrimp and bbq chicken plate, mini loco moco, and the spam katsu musubi. Everything tasted amazing. Definitely fills you up. read more

I didn't realize how much food I got with such an affordable price, and they are delicious. I have never been to HI so I can't judge it's authenticity, but it definitely made me want to go back for another round. read more

Aloha Eats - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It's fast comfort food with great portions without killing your wallet. what more do you want? whenever I order for delivery I make sure to buy enough for multiple meals. katsu chicken is still crispy the next day. plenty of options, even the choice of mixing and matching if you can't decide on just one entree. can't go wrong with the loco moco, hurricane fries, and musubi. again, it's comfort food. doesn't have to be extremely extravagant to be satisfying read more

I love this place! Me and some friends went here for lunch and we all loved the food. I had the combination plate with barbecue chicken and beef. I was expecting like barbecue sauce all over the meat but there was actually none on it. When I took my first bite into the food it was just an explosion of flavors. Their macaroni salad is not as sour as the deli one. It's just right and delicious. I would recommend going to this place. For the price of the food, it's worth it because I think you get a lot. The people there are so friendly and polite. Great service. If you're looking to try something new, go here and try it out. You won't regret it. read more

Aloha Eats - Hawaiian BBQ Mix Plate - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

3.5 stars. Came here on a weekend and there were a decent amount of people already there. Room for maybe a little more than 20 to sit, but felt cramped. Food comes out in to-go box and it comes with a lot! Ordered the Chicken Katsu which was about 10 bucks and it was overflowing! Base was covered with rice and the katsu on top. On the side there was macaroni salad, which was meh to me. The chicken was a tad dry and the outside was too crispy for my liking. read more

Not happy overall. Service was great, but that's about it. I ordered and was charged for the Hawaiian BBQ Mix Plate ($14.95), but received the Double chicken($11.70). I walked there and didn't feel like walking back to correct the issue. The receipt said Double Chicken $14.95. Also got the chicken and beef combo plate, a side of broccoli and carrots and an order of SPAM musubi. Everything was a bit generic. You shouldnt have to, but double check your order before you leave I suppose. read more

Very Hawaiian nostalgic with all the basic plate lunches you'd imagine off one of the food trucks or diners in Hawaii. They offer a smaller option of the loco moco which satisfied me 100%. All the staples of that dish - 1 scoop rice, scoop mac salad, beef patty, brown gravy and sunny side up egg. Served up in classic Hawaiian style styrofoam containers, but that's just how they do. The patty was maybe slightly overcooked, and def needed some salt and maybe a little more seasoning in the gravy. Decent for what I was in the mood for. Had the Aloha Brand POG (Passion Orange Guava), I much prefer the Hawaiian sun over the Aloha made which is a bit watered down. read more

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I literally could not ask for more in a cheap eats restaurant. This place is family run, counter service, delicious Hawaiian food. If you've never had the pleasure of enjoying chicken katzu, spam masubi, or loco moco, please bring yourself here ASAP. Order anything on the menu, but warning, even the mini plates are MORE than enough for a full meal. The loco moco (a yolky egg on top of a beef patty and rice) is addicting, and the chicken katzu is perfectly fried with delicious sweet and tart dipping sauce. A side order of spam masubi will give you two delicious rolls, both wrapped up if you want to save them for later. Everything comes with macaroni salad, and if you thought macaroni salad was a boring picnic dish, you are so wrong. I don't come here nearly often enough! read more

Aloha Eats - Enough for 3 to eat 2 meals! 2 orders of chicken katsu (one mini, one huge normal), 2 orders of spam masubi, and one loco moco! - Hawaiian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Fantastic plate lunch food!! The closest you can get to authentic Hawaiian food outside the islands. Considering you're in Chicago, this is a must visit if you're in the area!! Plates are giant!! So keep that in mind when ordering. The "mini" lunches are plenty for one person. Ignore the 1-3 star reviews on here! They don't know what they're talking about! Service was excellent, food was amazing, and I will definitely be coming back in as much as possible!! Mahalo! read more

We love Aloha Eats!! Small business, family business. Alway a treat. Vegetarian friendly. :)

The pork tonkatsu, though employing light gravy rather than tonkatsu sauce like it's traditional Japanese, was quite authentic. What really stood out though, was the helping could easily have fed three people, or a Japanese family of 7. read more

Really solid place. If you enjoy a large carryout container of meat and rice this is your place. I got the combo of teriyaki barbecue chicken and barbecue beef. Came with two large scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni salad and I was satisfied with both. They have a lot of menu options and I plan on coming back to try the spam and chicken katsu. read more