After moving here from Hawaii and trying out a bunch around San Clemente, Nalu's is the best, hands down! Recently, we were in touch with Anthony to help with a small catering order for a celebration. Our family (from Hawaii), friends and neighbours (and us!), were all delighted. The poke and the chicken katsu were polished off in no time, and my husband savoured every bite of his favourite, kalua pig and cabbage. The portions are always super generous, and they included everything we needed for the catering like plates, napkins, serving tongs and also a few surprise cans of Hawaiian Sun, nudging us even closer to the islands. If you haven't been here, yet, you're truly missing out. read more

Fresh & yummy! Tried the garlic ahi plate & poke crunch plate & both were good & solid portions. The fish itself was fairly fresh, the slaw was simple but not bad, & the mac salad contrasted well with the freshness of the slaw. The team was nice & restaurant had a surprising amount of seating. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Seared Garlic Ahi, Crunchy-Spicy Poke - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

I love Nalus. After the one nearby closed, I found this one to be the closest to my area. Low and behold, the same nice guy that spent years at the Aliso one is now here! He's super nice. My usual is the seared ahi plate, which comes with rice, mac-salad and cabbage slaw. It's super filling and always fresh. Let's keep this place open for a long time for all of us to enjoy. read more

I got the salmon with brown rice, steamed veggies, and Mac salad. The veggies and were cooked perfectly. Everything was delicious!! I asked for the sauce on the side. The sauces were so tasty too! Service was great! I definitely can't wait to go back to try other things like the pineapple chicken. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Salmon plate, brown rice, steamed veggies, and Mac salad. - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

I tried this restaurant not too long ago, maybe two weeks ago and today is like my fourth visit!! It is beyond delicious! Today, and 2 days ago, for that matter, I tried the grilled salmon plate where I replaced the coleslaw with steamed vegetables. It is so good I can't wait to try it again although I'm gonna try my HARDEST to try something else! The restaurant is very casual Hawaiian vibes. You order at the counter, grab a table and they bring your food out to you. The utensils are plastic, just as an FYI. They have a large parking lot so there's plenty of parking. I think I've only been here off times but I've never had a wait and the food comes out quickly. Highly recommend! The menu is huge so you have lots of options! read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Interiors - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

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This place surprised me! I stopped by here as a stop while the 5 freeway was closed/backed up a couple weekends ago since I was extremely hungry and was trying to find something casual. I was hesitant since San Clemente isn't really a place I think about when it comes to good food (sorry!) but this place was wonderful and unique. They have plenty of options and the menu is vast. I loved how I was able to get two proteins. The Mac salad was tasty (bonus for the wrapping it up so I didn't get warm with the good!). This is definitely my new favorite place for Hawaiian food and I would come again. Vibe and ambiance is extremely casual. It was not busy, but don't let that stop you! Staff were chill. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Steak and Pineapple Chicken plate! - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

They deserve 6 stars, I used to go to the location on Irvine for the longest time and always loved it. One day I arrived at the Irvine location and unfortunately I found out it closed. Few months later I find out they also have a San Clamente location, owned by the same really nice people and same super high quality food and delicious if you had a doubt until now. Employees are always nice they serve your food every time very nice place quiet and definitely giving the Hawaiian vibes. They have came suger soda which is cool, only good things to say really. Couldn't wait to dig in before the pic but it still looks great. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Spicy Crunchy-Spicy Poke - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

Brought this cater to a party and it was a hit! I got the BBQ Short Ribs Half Pan and it came with plenty of sauce for people to use. It was honestly sweet and savory enough for people not to even use to dip! One thing to suggest is to definitely have a carb on the side if you're bringing this to a party. It would've done even better with some rice on the side! We ordered on Doordash and it was ready for pickup in about 20 minutes. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - BBQ Short Ribs Half Pan - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

Solid lunch today at Nalus with the wifey. We both had the grilled mahi mahi. I had it with the signature wasabi soy and she had the pineapple one. Excellent flavor on the fish but seems like they don't give you as much as before. Macaroni was delish and the grilled zucchini was on point. They take their time on making the dishes but they are fresh. Will be back for this dish for sure. The Laguna Niguel restaurant closed. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Signature Chargrilled Mahi Mahi with wasabi soy - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

This is our go to for fresh made fish with salad and soup! Order and eat it there, take it to go or have it delivered! read more

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Stopped for lunch and got a cute table outside. The paintings and decor are cute. The menu is big so it took me awhile to figure out my order and then I didn't see the specials section. Regardless it was delicious. I had the chargrilled mahi mahi with pineapple salsa brown rice, Asian slaw and veggies and my husband got butter garlic white fish with Mac salad and brown rice and Asian slaw. It's real food so I felt the prices are fair to fuel your body. read more

Great spot, regular go to when craving Hawaiian food. Menu has a lot to pick from, something for everyone. Plenty of seating if you wish to dine in. Plenty of parking. Friendly staff. read more

Nice small local spot. I definitely drove by it thinking it said "nails". I think there were only two people working so we waited a few minutes before our orders came out. The chargrilled swai came with a side of slaw and mac salad. Slaw was not overly dressed, fresh, and refreshing. Mac salad wasn't seasoned but still tastes good. The swai was soft and lightly chargrilled, laid on a bed of soft, nicely cooked rice. read more

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Food was INCREDIBLE. For my entree, I got the chargrilled teriyaki chicken plate. The portions were gigantic and everything tasted delicious. I got a side of sausage musubi which blew me away. So delicious! Everything came out super fast too! The restaurant has plenty of seating and is decorated very nicely. There's a parking lot with plenty of space, which is a huge bonus. Staff were kind and attentive. Would definitely recommend stopping here. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Chargrilled teri chicken plate - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

I wish I took pics my poke looked appetizing, but remembered when it was too late! Anyway, my spicy poke plate was good. I could've done without the slaw/salad. The mac salad was a little too soggy and mayo-heavy. There's not much seating in the place but I was able to find a table to eat at. The cashier was nice and friendly. Next time I go, I'll take a picture to update this review! read more

We love Nalus! Our location in Laguna Niguel closed so I will go here. Love the Mahi Mahi with pineapple salsa and their char grilled steak is also really good!! read more

This is one of my Mom and I's favorites. The food is great and the service is just as good. We were the only ones in there today and they turned on Bob Marley which made the ambiance much better. read more

Forever a fan of this place. Musubi is so good and we got the best service from the gentleman at the front. He showed us this special sauce that he mixes up with a few of the different sauces they have and let me tell you, it was FIRE. The food here is delicious and it gives you the home vibe we all love in San Clemente. Cheers! read more

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This place is big and the flow of the place gives you a chill vibe. There was no customers when I went but there was a lot of things to look at. I only came here to get rice and try the mac salad. I ended up getting a side of broccoli. I kind of expected more from the broccoli. I was hoping it would be seasoned in garlic, it's just plain. Mac salad was good. The lady who helped me was nice. I for sure want to come back and try the food. read more

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We were about to go beach camping but our friends were late and we needed food to hold us over til dinner and Nalus was perfect to share We got the crunchy spicy poke with spam masubi on the side! The poke plate was very generous, it came with lots of poke, AND a yummy crunchy side salad AND a macaroni salad side The hubby and I enjoyed it and would definitely come back again, not to mention the service was so friendly read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Crunchy-Spicy Poke - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

When my wife and I first moved to California, this was the first restaurant we tried because we had both lived on the East Coast for many years and I lived in Hawaii before that. This place tasted like home. It was almost a shock seeing actual Hawaiian plate lunch fare, and I nearly shed tears tasting real Kalua Pork and Mac salad again for the first time in many years. This place can get quite busy during lunch rush but the service is reasonably fast. Ambiance-wise it's about the size of a large café so there's a fair number of seats, but not a lot. read more

Quite good. Spicy poke (not crunchy) flavor was good, fish tasted fresh, came with rice, mac salad, and a salad. Everything tasted as it should for classic quality hawaiian food. Satisfying. The Chargrilled Swai was also good, delicate texture and good flavor as well. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

One of the best Hawaiian plate lunches I've ever had. Fresh fish with pineapple salsa, delicious coleslaw, large portions, and even the rice was good! Super reasonably priced. Friendly quick service. read more

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Absolute gem of an establishment. The food menu has so many different items. I can't wait to try the entire menu. Tuna and chicken were both amazing. Mac salad and rice with great. Overall great place and will be back! read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Panko Crusted Ahi and pineapple chicken - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

1st time here and I was very happy. The atmosphere and music was so calming. The food was delicious and fresh. I will come back again

Surprised to find this local Hawaiian spot in the area! Ordered the plate lunch of the pineapple chicken combo. The pineapple chicken is the star - must order! Plenty of food for a reasonable price. Good service, most people seem to order take out to go. Only wish they sold regular spam musubi (: read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Pineapple Chicken combo - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

Beware: menu says authentic Hawaiian SAimin. Owner needs to come in and taste the soup every once in a while. Our first time to try this restaurant. They weren't ready for business when they opened. Saimin Stock had raw white onion in it, if it needs more flavor, green onions is all it takes. They substituted hot Portuguese sausage instead of roast pork so these two items alone change the flavor of the soup stock. Before writing this review, I checked the website again and sure enough it says Roast pork. I did ask the counter server if they normally use Portuguese sausage in this soup and he said yes just roast pork on the side of some dishes. Hawaiian soup needs roast pork, need I say more. The website is beautifully done, but I can tell you it does not match the restaurant so why would I trust that they could do a catering job? read more

A nice spot to go for Hawaiian style food! It has a really nice cozy vibe on the inside of the restaurant and the employees are very kind and helpful! They even had a book with all their food options that came with pictures which was a huge help. I ordered the Ponko Seared Ahi I believe and my girlfriend ordered the Crusted Talapia with Furikake. Both were good but for myself the sauce on the tuna became slightly sickening over time. Initial bites were awesome and really good but was hard to finish over time. The Talapia was amazing and very light which was what we liked. We didn't see too much Furikake on it though but the lady at the front was nice enough to give us some more on the side. The Mac salad that came with both plates were really refreshing and good and the cabbage salad was also very refreshing. We got waters but saw they had Shirley Temple at their soda machine which was pretty awesome to see too! Overall a good spot to go but will probably try something different than the Ahi. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Talapia W/ Furikake - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

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Always good fresh fast hot tasty ono Hawaiian grinds served by Mike and his crew, reasonably priced large meals and good variety menu too! Da Kine read more

Fantastic all items were perfect and especially the sandwiches, I've never had anything like that and I can't wait to come back soon

Food here was good and service was nice. The place was clean with nice decor. The menu here is massive so I would like to visit again and try the other stuff. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

We love Nalu's and have been going for years, even when it was at a different location. Fresh fish, good slaw, excellent mac salad. Haven't had a bad meal here. Mike is a staple in the surf community for a long time. Service is fast and with Aloha! read more

Grabbed lunch here on Saturday after shopping at the outlets - parking was plentiful and service was great! The employee taking our order was patient & informative even though they were clearly busy (lots of customers - always a good thing). When we walked in, there was a big party taking up the entire left side and two booths on the right with only a long table open in the middle. Luckily one of the booths opened up because the middle table was too tall for us to use a high chair for our baby. We loved every single dish we ordered! Everything was priced reasonably & each plate had so much food. The rice, slaw & Mac salad were the perfect sides. - Garlic Shrimp Noodles (My dad originally wanted soupy noodles so we ordered this accidentally but it ended up being one of the faves. The sauce was SO good & paired perfectly with the salad.) -Shoyu Poke (Fresh, delicious & plenty of food!) -Spicy Poke (Had a little kick - we loved it so much we finished all the rice that the spicy aioli sauce was on even though we were stuffed.) -Pineapple Chicken (This was our favorite! We think it was fried then sauce added .. it was addicting.) -Spicy Steak Katsu (This was different than the usual chicken katsu & tasted so good!) Can't wait to come back to try everything off their menu. read more

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My party got to the restaurant about 30 min before closing. we were starving. The man at the counter helped us pick our meals since this was the first time we ate here. the restaurant was clean and inviting. the staff was very nice. we got the chicken Katsu and teriyaki chicken combo. the katsu was fantastic. my teriyaki chicken wasn't teriyaki at all in my opinion. more like just grilled chicken... but it was still very good. The side salad that comes with it was great. very bright in flavor with the vinaigrette(possibly rice vinegar or something) dressing. my husband said his steak was kinda tough but still tasty. The guy let us sit in the patio once the restaurant was closed while he cleaned up for the night. The drinks were also good. We will for sure come back! read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Chicken Katsu and teriyaki chicken combo - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

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Been meaning to try Nalus for some time, but seem to forget about it as I don't go to this strip mall-like area much. I was looking for something different for lunch and was thinking about sushi or Italian, both available in this group of restaurants. When I saw Nalus, I figured that would be different from my usual sandwich or salad at home. As I gazed at the very large menu board above the order counter, I was having trouble focusing on each item and (perhaps due to my age) realized that the font was the smallest I have seen on this type of board. So, I asked if there was a menu I could look at. The server pointed to the small font board near the ceiling. OK, I'll have to stand here a bit and check it out. I looked down and there was a large book with the title, "Menu". I opened it up and it looked like stock photos of chicken and salmon and rice, etc... No help. While I was looking I also asked a couple questions to the counter server and could not hear a thing he said (again, perhaps due to my age). Finally I just found a chicken dish, teriyaki chicken, and chose that. The menu said that thighs were available. So I placed my order for the Charbroiled Teri Chicken Breast Plate with mac salad, white rice and Asian slaw. I asked to change to thigh, per the menu. The server said something and I did not understand, so I asked what he said. "No thighs." Oh, it says it on the menu and he replied that the thighs are only for catering. All righty then. I would prefer thighs, as this is what I always have while in Hawaii. I took my drink cup and filled that up with "Batch Craft Soda" from the machine. Tasted like any other diet cola, but I am glad it was craft soda. Since it was around 1:30, it was not crowded and I had a chance to seat anywhere. After passing some tables still dirty from the lunch rush (I assume) I chose a table and sat down. This table was less dirty than the others, but plenty sticky. I got a couple of napkins and wiped it down. Not long after I sat down, my plate showed up and the server was nice to bring it do me. Looked good. Summary: Rice - delicious rice. Don't know how to describe it, but just really good. Even better with a touch of soy sauce. Asian Slaw - at first I thought there was no dressing, but a little toss and there was some on there. The perfect amount in fact. It was not drowning in dressing and it was very tasty with crunchy fresh cabbage. Mac Salad - the wife makes the closest mac salad to the ones we enjoy in Hawaii, but this was spot on. Please don't tell my wife I said this. Her's is still very good. Chicken Breast - the pro is that there was a drizzle of teriyaki on it and it was not floating in teriyaki sauce. I liked that. Remember I wanted thighs? That's to prevent getting dried out chicken breast and I really prefer chicken teriyaki with thighs. The chicken breast was pounded or cut very thin, so I am not surprised it would be hard to grill it without drying it out. Wish I had been able to get thighs, because everything else was very good. My question to myself when am a bit disappointed in a restaurant, especially when I get my hopes up, is would I come back and try it again. In the case of Nalus, I would say "Yes." I will give it another go and bring the wife. I want to see what she thinks about the mac salad! As he picked up my empty plate (see pic) I chatted with the server a bit and he was very nice. Away from the noise of the kitchen, I could hear him much better! Go. Eat Pretty Good. HAVE FUN! read more

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Best seafood restaurant I've have been to in san clemente. If you like clean fresh Hawaiian flavors and ingredients you cannot do any better than Nalu's. My new go to in San Clemente! Check it out! read more

It's a great place with good healthy choices. We haven't been there in a while but we were frequently here while our kitchen was under construction. read more

Had the signature salmon, with rice, coleslaw, and macaroni salad. It "Broke da Mouth". Best macaroni salad outside of Hawaii. Food is fresh, clean and amazingly tasty. Highly recommended! read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - BROKE DA MOUTH Excellent food, very fresh and tasty! Thankful for this option near me in San Clemente - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

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Ordered the Aina mix plate and Uber it was supposed to be steak and chicken. Guess not and got just chicken and it was dry and overcooked. Also no sauce. When I called to see if I could get a refund or something they only offered to come down and replace. I will not be back read more

From someone from Hawaii I was excited to find a hawaiian local food spot in San Clemente. This is not close to Hawaii 'hawaiian' food. Food is bland. Both meats were dry and lack of flavor. THIS IS NOT AN EXAMPLE OF HAWAIIAN BBQ. Macaroni salad is so disappointing. I suggest people try 'Da Hawaiian Kitchen' in Huntington or Aunty Maile in Torrance or 808 Hawaiian Grill in Artesia or Costa Mesa. read more

Nalus Hawaiian Fish Grill - Salad that comes with combo plate - Hawaiian Near Me - San Clemente, California

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