Update: + Since writing my 1st review here, they also started putting the bagged coconut in another more stable container (like a plastic bowl) to reduce spillage. Aug '26: + Yummy, healthy, filling, affordable Hawaiian bbq. + I got enough to last 2 meals. + Fresh-cut coconuts. Nutritious and delicious. + The main entree is cheap for the value, - but the other items a lil expensive. . Decent service speed. + Ample parking and indoor seating. + Pleasant ambience. . Note: they put the coconut in a plastic bag since it's liable to spill. At the other Ono location (Lake Forest), they take a step further: put the bagged coconut in a lil thin cardboard box, since it's liable to roll. Hope this Santa Ana location does the same. I had: $16.99 bbq + katsu mix + $6.99 spam musubi + $4.99 young coconut + tax = $31.65 My ongoing Costco gc list (9): + 2 Yes: Lucille, Ono Hawaiian BBQ. . 2 Maybe not's: Outback, Urbane. - 5 No's: Fogo, PF, CPK, Lil Sis, Honey Ham. read more

Ordered online for pickup and they were fast and efficient despite it being busy for lunch. The portions were generous and the meat was tender. Definitely could be saved for multiple meals! read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian BBQ Chicken plate - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

This chain has always had really good short ribs, BBQ chicken, and now they make a really good BBQ beef! I wasn't a fan of the latter before, but there's been a big improvement in how they make their beef now. I also love that they add broccoli to the cabbage base served. Everywhere else only has cabbage. I am just so glad that we came back to use some coupons I got in the mail. It had been years since we last dined here. We will now for sure be coming back again soon to use the remaining coupons we have left. Very interested to try the Island Fire Chicken next time. We'll also be back for the new Hula Guava Pie dessert! read more

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Great food and great services! Only thing is I prefer pick up to get as many sauces family would like.

Thank you Jesus for being super helpful, service is 10/10 at this location with friendly staff !

Went today and had a great experience! Food was on point and they have a great meal deal with a teriyaki chicken and drink combo which is perfect. Did a mobile order and it was already ready to go when I arrived. Great seating area and wasn't too packed at the time so it was very enjoyable. read more

This is a review about the restaurant Ono Hawaiian BBQ soon to be opened ! The wonderful menu is posted: the Loja plate with barbecue chicken, barbecue beef crispy shrimp looks very good. Wow, everything on the menu sounds delicious. It's for the low cost of $12.49 cents, so it's affordable too. They're still in the process of hiring their staff apparently, but this place looks like it's really going to be open soon and running! From the ambience, I can discern that there are fresh live Plants such as bromeliads in this themed restaurant. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Wonderful façade - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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When you're looking for a more healthy alternative to your typical fast food this is the place there's nothing greasy or fried or any of that stuff today I went in and got the lemon pepper chicken combo which is awesome you get a nice serving of lemon pepper chicken they're delicious macaroni salad and a nice helping a white rice the only issue is sometimes the weight could be a little long like it was today I like to go in like after 2:00 and before 4:00 for my lunch time when it's kind of dead and when I went there to order I was the only one in line I only ordered the one meal and it took a good while for it to come out makes me wonder how they deal with this during the part of lunch time anyways good food good concept I'll be returning read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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My bro got catering here and it turned out great. Staff friendly and the food was delish!

Food is great, but you should really warn your customers if there's absolutely no more katsu or teriyaki sauce before they order. The front employee was rude when asked about it when our order was ready to grab. A plate of katsu chicken and no sauce was rough to eat with no sauce available. read more

Food is wonderful it was my favorite place but i stopped going due to an employee. If you plan to order for delivery DON'T go through the store. Use doordash or another company. Usually with doordash if something is missing they'll refund you, if you through them they don't give you a refund. I went to the location with a screenshot of my receipt and what was missing. The girl at the register basically didnt believe me and didn't even bother to see the receipt. I also told her I called right away and they said next time I just go in and pick it up. Still dismissed me... I also emailed corporate and never heard back. I NEVER have had such bad customer service. First time for sure. read more

This place always delivers! The family meal is a great deal--plenty of food for 4-6 people. The BBQ is consistently on point, and both the rice and macaroni are solid sides. The ambiance is great too--comfortable and welcoming. Definitely a go-to spot. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Family meal - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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Ordered the aloha plate seems new so thought I might try it. The house dressing is gingery and vinegary. A good refreshing zinger accompanying the salad. No Hawaiian Macaroni Salad with the Aloha Plate. Crispy Chicken Katsu and I got the Shrimp which was a good crunchy texture. Overall clean atmosphere and super dining from a box. Thank you! read more

Walking into this establishment on 10/22/23, I was pleasantly surprised by the interior of this place. It reminded me of a Bikini Bottom in Spongebob Squarepants. I really like the marine/sea theme of the hanging rope lights inside a cool warehouse with dark ceilings. I was actually really impressed. The person who took my order was named Tiana. Tiana was a great worker who has very good conversational skills as she greeted me and explained the menu to me. She was also friendly and could carry on the conversation. I was doubly impressed by the decor and the service. The food here reminded me of Hawaiian food. Chicken Katsu with Fried shrimp, sauces, and mac salad. It was quite tasty to say the least! Here I am, being blown away 3 times bye food, service, and ambiance! Such a shame that I live in HB, as Santa Ana is quite far for this type of food. However, if I am in the area, I will gladly stop by again! read more

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Friendly service and delicious food! Not in the mood to stuff your face with a mound of Hawaiian BBQ, but still want your own sensible portion? Their "mini meal" is where it's at! Save money and calories, AND still get the Hawaiian BBQ experience. The only downside is when eating inside, avoid sitting in those awkward yellow, low back chairs. They're poorly designed and very uncomfortable. read more

Filling and good quality Hawaiian BBQ. I came to get food to go around 3 PM, there was no line at all since it was off hour. There is plenty of parking since this place is in a large plaza. There is plenty of table seatings indoors. Menu is huge with various Hawaiian meat/seafood options. I got the BBQ and Katsu Mix ($13.00, comes with 1 scoop Mac and 2 scoop rice) and shrimp fry appetizer ($7.99). Service was quick and food came out within 10 min. There is sauce at the counter where you can take it to go in plastic sauce cups, The plate was a little skimpy on the chicken katsu but the BBQ chicken and beef portion was generous. All well cooked with good flavor. The shrimp was crispy and went well with the sauce. The spicy katsu sauce is bomb here, lots of umami with a hint of spice. Overall, solid BBQ place with filling and delicious dishes. Would love to try the short ribs my next visit! read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Crispy Shrimp (6 pcs) and BBQ & Katsu Mix - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Ono Hawaiian BBQ is very generous, I live far from this restaurant but for a "buy one get one free" count me in! This is the 2nd time I went here so this was what I ordered. Beef n chicken combo, delicious beef kalbi, a little fatty but so delicious, the grilled taste came through. The free one is the lesser valued chicken combo. By the way the price listed on Yelp was incorrect, listed $2 higher. Brandon inflation caused many restaurants to go bankrupt, people just can't afford to eat out so come here for $18 you get so much food to last 2 days ! So why is this not 5 stars? The sauces were so sweet I thought I poured syrup on my plate, I had to squeeze lemon then it was still not good enough I poured sone pink Chinese vinegar it finally worked. If the manager reads this here is my recommendation, your sauce is not really bbq it's a sweet teriyaki, please give us 1 real BBQ sauce, the teriyaki sauce should be less sweet then I'll be here more often. Most Americans have sweet tooth n unfortunately too many have diabetes so if you can make it less sweet your restaurant will attract more customers. read more

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First off, Ono Hawaiian BBQ is in a large parking lot. The interior is beautiful and decorative, with splashes of colors and ample seating. It's good for group settings with big tables but also small tables if you want to just chill and eat alone. I ordered the Kalbi and Chicken Katsu plate, which came with korean-style marinated ribs and fried cutlets of chicken. The kaylin had that sweet and salty flavor I just can't get enough of. It was also soft but maintained a bit of bouncy chewiness. The chicken katsu was delightfully crispy with juicy chicken coated in seasoned batter. The mac and cheese was so refreshing we kept eating it with every bite! The steamed vegetables also cut through the greasiness of the meats. We also got the spam musubi, a classic you just can't go wrong with. We tried the Hawaiian Sun drink (lilikoi passion flavor) and found that it tasted just like passion fruit unsurprisingly. What stood out to me the most was the service! Our cashier, Alex, was super helpful. I really appreciated that he assisted us when I realized that I ordered the wrong plate initially and he quickly and efficiently told the chef about the change. He didn't have to since it was my mistake, but my dining experience wouldn't be the same without him! read more

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How can they call this stuff food??? Do not go. I had my cravings for Hawaiian. Buy how low has this place gotten. Food and service horrible. How can anyone eat this stuff? This place is horrible! read more

You get a lot of food but in my opinion it was still too pricey. I ordered the ribs but half of the meat was just fat so I didn't end up eating it. Macaroni salad was yummy!! And I like that they put veggies in the plates. Just wish it didn't cost an arm and a leg read more

The meat was all fat and really tough, and the rice smelled spoiled. I'm never coming back here.

Walked in told them I ordered online but I wanted a drink. I sat there for a very long time as I watched these men drool over 2 teenage girls before they realized I was disgusted and asked why was I sitting there, did I need something... just shameful those girls were so uncomfortable looking down as they walked out the door. I will almost never complain about Ono's food because it's very good. It was the self awareness or respect these two grown men lacked. My food had been sitting there the entire time btw....I am always satisfied with Ono this review is about the cook and cashier that lack decency or decorum. I already told them I made an online order but they were more interested in making guest feel uncomfortable. Nothing wrong with looking but gawking is too much! Good grief it was a lot. read more

I went here the other day and was very disappointed with the portion size. Online there are pictures of way more chicken read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Lack of chicken. - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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I doordash this all the time and it's still so good! I call in to change my order sometimes to double MAC & they are so nice over the phone and always give you sauces and napkins! Will continue to order read more

This location surprised me...the place is bright, open and clean and it looks white new to me too. Parking is free and plenty, but be careful of drivers since some one them could be careless. I ordered a chicken Katsu rice and musubi with spam and the food came out quick and potion was generous. The workers here were also very nice. read more

Really enjoyed this location! Ordered the grilled chicken + fried shrimp combo and spam musubi. The shrimp was juicy and crispy. The Mac salad and rice was on point. The bonus is they keep their sauces in a heated container! Service was great and fast, perfect if you're picking up a quick lunch. Lots of seating and clean restaurant. I'd definitely recommend giving this location a try. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

One of my substitute teachers was kind enough to pick this up for me after I left my lunch on top of my car on the way to work and it flew off somewhere on Beach Blvd. The BBQ beef plate paired with rice and potatoe salad was yummy with enough food to last me all day long. My other Co Workers have had this delivered a few times as well. I am not a huge fan of this place. Don't get me wrong, I'm just not into Hawaiian BBQ like most people. If you are into it you came to the right place. Plenty of choices and different sizes of meals to please tiny tummies or very hungry tummies. They open at 11:00am read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

PSA series: Substantial Lunches for Substantially Cheap or the What To Order From The Kid's Menu Guide - the series nobody asked for. Next Stop: The Keiki Meal at Ono Hawaiian. I ordered the Chicken KatsuKeiki Meal ($6.49).It came with several pieces of chicken over your choice of a scoop of white rice or macaroni salad (macaroni for me!) and the entrees come with steamed veggies as well and corresponding sauces. The chicken was quite tender with a nice crunchy exterior. I love dunking it in theirhair katsu sauce and chasing it down with a mouth full of macaroni salad to mitigate the tang. What a good value for under $7 bucks. Mind you I ordered a bagel earlier in the morning so I wasn't terribly hungry, however given the prices, I wasn't ashamed of my wasteful food deliveries for the day. Give the kid's meal here a try because it's a smaller portion than the usual and definitely not as artery clogging. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Chicken katsu keiki meal: chicken katsu over a scoop of macaroni salad + steamed veggies- $6.49 - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

The food was delicious! Also 10/10 service-Eva greeted me with a smile and was very kind! She went above and beyond to make sure I felt welcomed. read more

Gotta say, one of the better Hawaiian food places out there! Compared to other Hawaiian food places in the area (Aloha, L&L, The Loft) this is a better one! Their portions are a bit smaller, but the food definitely tastes like it's higher quality! I tried: The Chicken Katsu, Island Fire Chicken, Crab Rangoons, Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, Kalbi Short Ribs, and Hawaiian BBQ Beef. Everything was so tasty! Typically I find chicken to be dryer and a little boring, but the chicken here was FLAVORFUL. The Island Fire Chicken was well marinated and quite spicy while the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken had a great flavor and was moist. The Chicken Katsu was solid. I always love Kalbi Short Ribs and these were no exception. The BBQ Beef was also well marinated and not try. Their macaroni salad was solid too! AND I LOVE CRAB RANGOONS! So simple, yet so tasty and addictive. The service when I arrived was a bit slow, but they were super friendly. The workers at Ono Hawaiian BBQ were also incredibly accommodating. And the restaurant itself was big and clean! Overall, I'm a fan! read more

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Say aloha to your taste buds! I have not had such good Hawaiian bbq in a long time!! Hands down my new favorite it Orange County! Easy access off Bristol, with plenty of parking space. The restaurant is attractive, very clean, modern and new. The service was top notch. Cashier and others were friendly and helpful. The food was all made fresh and delicious! The rice was cooked perfectly, the macaroni salad was freshly made. The most important part is that the chicken and beef are GOOD quality. I prefer a nice healthy serving of quality meats than a huge pile of cheap stuff!! Tasted like it was cooked to order. I didn't need to add any sauce because the flavor was good. The masubi were big, warm and perfect! I work close to Ono on Bristol so I will definitely be coming here for my Hawaiian bbq! read more

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Ordered the Hawaii BBQ mix plate, Spam musubi and a fountain drink. The inside of the place was very clean and neat, you can tell everything gets wiped down and cleaned often. I absolutely could not believe how backed up they were when I got there. Not from lack of trying, these guys were all hustling really hard trying to get everything done. There must have been 40-50 boxes of already made food ready to go into to-go orders. There were 15 or so plastic take-out bags already filled with boxes of food waiting to be picked up. This place was absolutely slammed with take out, call ahead and to go orders. Everyone was very nice and trying to help but it was obviously overwhelming to the staff. Porfirio was working so hard he was sweating. Please look at some of the food packages and bags in my attached photos. I am keeping my rating here higher than I normally would, just because of the sheer volume of orders that they were trying to process. That said, it took over 35 minutes for me to get my food from the time I ordered. Unfortunately, I had people that came in after I had ordered, and they got their food before I did. I'm sure that it is not normally this busy, I will try them again at another time (not lunch time) and see if I can rate them better. Now onto the food. I got the Hawaiin BBQ mix plate so I could try several things. The Kalbi rib was good, lots of meat on it and cooked well. The shredded beef was good, but no flavor other than the sauce on it. Same thing for the chicken. Cooked well, but absolutely bland in flavor outside of the sauce. I felt like it needed something, a pineapple seasoning, a dry rub, something...anything. I was disappointed in the Spam Musubi because the Spam was sliced much thinner than it should have been, please see the picture I included. I would like to try the chicken or their sausage Musubi, and I will next time. The amount of food in the plate was good. The seating area was good. Special note, some of the table chairs are larger than normal which makes them really comfortable to sit on. Ono Hawaiian BBQ is a chain, the food is pretty consistent across the restaurants. I'm imagining that they are all using the same suppliers in the area. Give it a try but be careful right around the lunch hour at this one. They are so close to many other businesses and corporate offices so I can see how they do get slammed at times. Hope this helps. read more

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It's 8:45pm and they have already closed. Lady at the door said there is nothing in the grill. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - It's open if you have an online order though - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I reviewed previous reviews of this location and noticed some of the concerns being brought up. Since I've been to another location previously I knew what to expect from Ono. Just to update those concerns... 1) Parking is plentiful. No issue finding parking at 12:30pm on a Friday. 2) Staff was friendly and helpful. There was about 4 staff that I saw at the time. Two staff were at the counters. (Perhaps they didn't have enough staff during covid restrictions in the past? So not sure about the previous review that things moved slow before) 3) Food was tastey and not over fried. For people that enjoy Hawaiian food but want more options, that is what I would describe Ono. Slightly different than other similar places in that they offer more varieties of things. I chose the fried fish and bbq chicken plate, side of spam masubi, and a fountain drink. Fish was lightly seasoned, crispy outside and not dried inside. Came with a side of sauce. The bbq chicken was grilled nicely, and still juicy. Over a bed of veges. The thing that I wanted to compare is the masubi. This place did it right, spam was fried just right and the rice was the correct sticky consistency. Some other Hawaiian food places use the wrong flakey rice and it breaks apart. This wasn't like that. Lunch took about 10 minutes to get ready, and service was good. The two available bathrooms were clean and the eating area was also clean. I saw two high chairs available for the little ones to use, which also was clean. Cleanliness is so important at this time, and glad this location did a good job. read more

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Tried their chicken katsu and their spam musubi. Both were delicious. The katsu plate came with a ton of chicken and rice -- it's definitely good for at least 2 meals! The mac salad that came with the plate was also solid. I really liked their selection of Hawaiian Sun drinks. The restaurant itself was very clean and the staff was super friendly and helpful. I will definitely be back! read more

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I would actually give Ono Hawaiian BBQ a 3.5, but I didn't want to round to 4 because it felt too high. I want to start off by saying that Ono has many positive aspects - parking was easy to find, the service was friendly, the menu was clear, and the food tasted great. The interior was also decorated beautifully with the color scheme making me feel like I was actually in a restaurant in Hawaii. Ono is currently only offering take-out; I actually saw quite a few customers come in and ask if they were open for indoor dining but left after hearing that they are not. The service was great - they greeted us upon walking in and were patient and got my customized order right, even though it was hard to hear through the masks and plexiglass in between us. I ordered the same combo that I usually order at other Hawaiian places with my own customization (e.g. at Aloha Hawaiian BBQ) - the Hawaiian BBQ Mix combo, which comes with the short ribs, BBQ beef, and BBQ chicken. However, I asked them to sub the BBQ chicken with Katsu Chicken instead. I also know these combos are usually stuffed with lettuce/cabbage underneath the meat, so I asked them to sub the veggies with more macaroni salad. I also got a short rib plate as a separate order. The food all tasted great. They also have a lot of sauce options that you have to request. **Don't forget the Katsu sauce!!** I gave them 3.5 stars because of how little food Ono gives compared to other Hawaiian food places (and for a similar price). I usually get so excited to open up the box to see how stuffed it is, and to have so much left over that I can eat it over 2-3 days even after sharing with someone. When I split the combo here, it only lasted 1 meal for 2 people. I also got a short rib plate hoping that they would give more short rib pieces than in a combo, but they only gave three pieces (1 extra piece than it would be in a combo). In addition, the short rib pieces were quite thin, so there wasn't much meat left to eat after taking off the bones and fatty chunks. Conclusion - Ono has great service, food, and beautiful interior, but I get more bang for my buck at other places. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Hawaiian BBQ Mix (sub BBQ chicken with katsu chicken) - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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Alright I probably have bad taste buds or something cause I love Onos, especially their mac salad. I tried ordering a small tray of Mac salad online but they required a minimum of 3 days. I called in the day before and they were able to accommodate for next morning pick up. In case anyone was wondering, the small tray of Mac salad is about 4lbs. Worth it instead of ordering 2 orders of their 6 scoops. read more

Ate here last weekend. The macaroni salad was to die for. All the food was so good! And the service was amazing! I believe his name was Octavio, and he was stellar! read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - BBQ platter - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Shout out to Octavio for making my first time here amazing. He deserves a promotion. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and great food as well. Katsu was crispy and macaroni salad was outstanding. read more

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Chicken combo plate - Hawaiian Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Very small portion . I ordered Hawaiian bbq chicken plate . The portion of chicken was very small . Expected more food for the price I payed . I ordered their #1 plus a drink for about $18 not worth it . read more