I love this place. Every time you visit, if you don't want to cook but have a fat wallet, you know…read morewhere to go even early as 8am you get nice hot Poly food fresh and very delicious! Whoever the Chef is, you're doing a great job. So get ready to go and enjoy this Yummylicious hot Polynesian food! MAHALO

The staff here were welcoming and kind to my son and me, who came here looking to experience Samoan…read morecuisine. We left with a locally made coconut drink and a coconut-sauce bread desert. The bread desert was not too expensive either. Alofa!

If you think 5,400 reviews are lying, let this one be the reason you make sure to visit this local…read morebusiness when you're in Honolulu. It was love at first bite for me with musubi and onigiri, so when I saw a spot dedicated to this deliciousness you better believe I made a point to go there! I ran even faster when StaciLei, Yelp Hawaii's amazing Community Manager, told me it's a must and gave me her list of greatest hits and must not miss items as a guide! Now I've had a lot of these in my life, and I must say, Iyasume are easily the best. See musubi and onigiri have humble origins as a quickly made homespun snack or on the go lunch, and when you spot them in the convenience environment they're often a giant ball of rice with a tinge of protein or seasoning for flavor. At Iyasume, these are culinary adventures, stacked with ingredients, all in handheld form, and the variety they offer is IMPRESSIVE! Of course musubi starts with the classic, SPAM. I had to order the kimchi + spam, shiso + spam, and unagi + tamago + spam, all of which were awesome (even the next day!). Onigiri here are actually layered with ingredients, so you get them in every bite, unlike the convenience store versions! They have a HUGE menu, and I went with spicy mentaiko and salmon, spicy mentaiko and ikura, ikura and salmon, and tuna mayo curry, all of which were great. I LOVE that they make these to order. You can see the line in the back hard at work, and they're very fast. You're sure to encounter a line when you arrive, but don't be scared, it moves quickly. I only had to wait about 5 minutes for mine to come up! Well worth it. Reasonably priced. Very filling. A taste of Hawaii and Japan in one place that'll have everyone smiling!

Friend recommended this spot and I'm grateful she did. There were so many fresh and interesting…read moremusubis to choose from. I bought kimchi spam, eel spam, inari spam, and a furikake rice ball. Didn't really interact with staff as they didn't offer to help while I viewed the items and I selected my items fairly quickly. I found purchasing four musubis very affortable. Finding parking was tough and expensive in the area. Not the restaurant's fault and probably drivers are not the bulk of their business.

Born and raised Oahu and never stepped foot into Helena's, WHAT?!! They are serious about serving…read moreono tasting, authentic Hawaiian food. Brought BFF here for a celebration of her new job position and left with da Hawaiian paralysis AKA: wanted to get home and sleep it off it was just that GOOD! God blessed our entire time together, with a parking space, which is challenging during lunch hours. Had a hard time deciding the best way to get all my cravings fulfilled, so our helpful & friendly server recommended Menu C and add the chicken long rice ala carte, when I told her I was craving the pipikaula short ribs and kalua pig AND wanted chicken long rice. BFF ordered a laulau and the beef stew bowl and wanted rice, so I ordered Menu C with rice instead of poi. It came with 2 big ass balls of hot, sticky rice. Food came out pretty quickly, and she let me taste the laulau...mouthgasmic smoky flavor, soft pork, ah, ah, AAAHH...! Had to savor that bite with eyes closed to remember da feeling for when I need to go to my "happy place." I didn't know where to start on my lunch, everything was laid out in their own small plates and bowls. Had to cut into the ribs, and Lord have mercy, they were the perfect mix of salt, fat and just chewy enough meat! Kalua pig was smoky, savory, perfectly salted and just so good! Chicken long rice had bouncy, springy glass type noodles, coated in chickeny broth and chunks of chicken meat topped with a sprinkling of green onion, completely satisfactory! Lomi salmon tasted perfect as well, filling my mouth with that fresh cut tomato and bits of salted salmon we all love! Every table gets Hawaiian salt, onion slices and haupia coconut pudding desserts which only adds to the flavors you experience all mixing together. It was what everyone writes about, just about the best Hawaiian food made fresh and tasty! We got to pack up our leftovers, and I was secretly clapping in my head, knowing what my dinner would be! Because I requested a bag for the leftovers, my bill was recalculated as they add a small bag fee. By this time the restaurant was emptying out, so if you don't mind a later lunch, about 2:00 PM there lots of parking and practically no waiting for a table. By dinner time I was more than happy to relive my lunchtime experience, so glad we decided to celebrate my BFF at Helena's!

I've been to plenty of local spots, and Helena's is one of those places that lives up to its…read morereputation. After hearing so many people say it's a must-try, I finally made the trip--and now I get it. We ordered the pork lau lau, fried butterfish, luau squid its like Daing filipino dish, short ribs, and macaroni salad. Every dish looks basic not something that needed color to make it look good. The pork lau lau was incredibly tender, the fried butterfish had a light, crispy coating without being greasy, and the luau squid was rich, creamy, coconut and The short ribs were packed with flavor and practically almost off the bone. Even the macaroni salad was the kind you keep going back for. The only thing I probably wouldn't order again is the lomi salmon. It wasn't bad--it just wasn't my favorite compared to everything else on the table. If you're visiting Oahu and only have time for a few local food spots, make Helena's one of them. It's the kind of place that reminds you why simple, traditional food never goes out of style. I'd honestly stop here one more time before heading to the airport if I had the chance. That's probably the best compliment I can give it. Fyi food portion are on the smaller side but trust me they will hit the spot.

Tried the food at sunnys today after church with the family- so good!…read moreLots of different hot food and had poke too. All the food was fresh and the place was clean. Prices are the cheap compared the other Samoan food places in town. They also have super cheap prices on the case meat - cheaper than sams club.

The box was open coming from Wong meat market. The box had very mix and match cuts of meat. some…read morethicker than 4 fingers some of the meat cuts were so thin. the quality of the meat was mostly fat with little to no meat on what you see in the picture is the only meaty pieces

Great experience upon entering the store, the cashier was very friendly and helpful when I asked…read morequestions about items I didn't see out anymore, even the guy and lady that was in the back was helpful. I was able to get my corn beef. All The food i got was delicious and tasty and I will definitely come back again.

Too expensive. Items bought should be itemized on receipt. A weight of 3 cooked bananas for $9 is…read moreridiculous. Rip-off! Definitely overcharged on food that we can't see exactly how much the weight of the hot food is defined with the overcharged priced.

I like this place better than the old Dot's that was in the corner a while back. Its much more…read moreorganized and all in stainless food warmers. Corned beef and cabbage, palusami (luau leaves with coconut milk and onions. Looks like a little laulau), taro, banana and fe'e (squid w/coconut milk and onions) just permeates the air when you walk in. Being able to free range in here is a bad idea if your familiar with the food. The plate starts to get heavy, you run out of space on the plate and theres still other stuff to get. If its not that, its the sticker shock when you pay for your stuff. Single items like the palusami and food by the pound like the poke and the fe'e has its own price while the others in the warmer get weighed together. So when it gets rung up and $27.00 and some change later, you learn to get one staple and two main and get out. Apparently, I still haven't learned that. The food here is obviously expensive. It is definitely worth the price though. The plate I made could feed three people easy and no I didnt eat it all, lots were taken home with me. The workers here are really nice and helpful. The parking is small but never did I have a problem getting one. The stalls are angled down towards the stream so if you reverse or pull straight in, it would be wise to use your parking brake just so you know your car will be there when you come out and not in the stream.

Only been here a handful of times over the years. There's lots of little markets within a block of…read morethis place so it does have lots of competition, but I like coming here when I'm waiting for the bus to get a snack. There's a lot to choose from in the hot food section as well as plenty pastry like goodies at the front. I got some bwiro here once, assuming it was the sweet kind you get at keemems. Turned out it was the straight up kind without any sugar, so that was a bit surprising and disappointing but I guess that's my bad.. the downside to this place are it's prices! Ughhh man that's probably why I'm so butt hurt about the bwiro - it cost $8 and I couldn't even eat it! Dang it. I would recommend this place to fellow bus riders and for snacks when you got some $$ to spend - just make sure you know what you're buying ;)

Ono Hawaiian Kau Kau...don't forget to stop by for some ono lau lau n Kailua pig with da poi and…read moreHaupia...

This place is an Oahu staple for a reason. There's usually a line and cars parked along the road,…read morebut the food is worth it.Just be there early to beat the crowd. The combo plate with kalua pig and laulau is my go-to, and the hand-pounded poi tastes fresh and real, nothing like the store-bought kind. The mountain backdrop makes the whole meal even better. Do not leave without trying the Sweet Lady of Waiahole. Warm kulolo with cold haupia ice cream is unreal.Simple setup, great food, and still feels like old Hawaii. ps. I didn't get the other Pic cause it was eaten.

Love the drive-in vibes. Parking lot is small but we got lucky with a spot and also got lucky with…read morea bench table. Not a long wait for food. The four of us shared the loco moco plate, boneless chicken with gravy plate, and the BBQ beef plate. Food was good and hearty. My favorite was the loco moco plate. Boneless chicken had some pieces that were on the pink-ish side and the breading was a little soggy and didn't stick to the chicken that well. BBQ beef plate was good but nothing mindblowing. Some beef slices were dry. Mac salad was good. Overall good place for a cozy classic Hawaiian meal.

In the land where everything is at least $100 for our family of four, it was nice to find a…read moredelicious place that seems to cater to the everyman. For us, the star of the show was the garlic chicken plate. You really can't go wrong with deep frying sweet soy sauce marinated chicken. The mix plate with gravy was also delicious served with beef short rib, fried boneless chicken and mahi mahi. You'll leave full without worrying about the dreaded credit card bill at the end of the month.