We had a free night in the Chicago area and found this ridiculously AWESOME tiki bar, Kahala Koa…read moreTiki Bar. The selection of drinks is downright encyclopedic, and the drinks were outstanding. In addition, we ordered a plate of bacon-covered water chestnuts, and they were so effing delicious!! I mean, they were a serious revelation!! So we ordered another plate. The atmosphere is amazing. The family that owns this wonderful tiki bars has put some serious work into adorning the place with amazing tiki decor. And this has to have taken YEARS to do. The outside of the building does not say, "Hey!! I'm an awesome tiki bars!!" But step inside and you are transported to tiki land extraordinaire. And then there is the staff there. They are so friendly, attentive, and helpful, and just very authentic and genuine. I CANNOT WAIT to return to Kahala Koa Tiki Bar the next time I'm in the Chicago area. The place totally rocks!!

This was a spur-of-the-moment choice but ended up being very fun for drinks and dinner!…read more I LOVE tiki bars and my husband noticed this one in the area near where we happened to be on Google maps, so off we went! We had about a 15 minute wait for a table but it gave us time to peruse the menu in the car. They offer many classic tiki cocktails, a page full of seasonal drinks, a page of "Designated Driver" mocktails (nice to have an option for something other than just a Shirley Temple!), Polynesian appetizers and entrees, and then Lola's Pizza. For drinks, I got the seasonal Gingerbread Painkiller and my husband got a Green Flash mocktail. (Pro tip on the seasonal drinks: check the regular cocktail menu to see how many skull and crossbones are listed under the regular version of your drink, if applicable, to see if it's a super strong one!) Mine was creamy and spicy but quite powerful. Props to our waitress, Makayla, who checked if anyone at the table was epileptic, because normally the "flash" part of my husband's drink is a strobing LED ice cube; I actually am photosensitive, so it came in the drink in non-strobe mode and just glowed an alien green. She said this was the first time it had actually paid off to ask, but I'm glad she did! The food was tasty: I ordered rumaki, an old-school appetizer of bacon-wrapped water chestnuts that you don't see very often these days, and he got loaded fries. We also got a small Lola's Pizza, which was very good, with a crisp but also chewy crust. The atmosphere here is pure tiki, with a fountain, swag lamps, bamboo, and Hawaiian-influenced Christmas music playing for the season. Lots of big groups here; everyone seemed to be having as good a time as we were! What a laid-back gem in Arlington Heights! We'll be back. Mahalo!

I would just come here for the drink itself. But the poke sauce is one of its kind. Better than any…read moreother poke franchise places.

I can't say its any different to other poke establishments - you pick a bowl, choose your…read moreingredients. I got a salmon / salmon spicy combo with brown rice and toppings. The rice was a bit undercooked. But the portions are generous. I also ordered a mango smoothie which was OK. I would have ordered a boba milk tea but they don't offer non-diary option other than powdered milk (bleh).

Good portion, good price, good service! They now also have family meal and catering!read more

Just like many of the other reviews, this place was surprisingly good! At first glance, you might…read morethink it's just another fast-food Japanese restaurant. The ambiance isn't fancy, and the service is exactly what you'd expect from a casual counter-service spot where you order first and then find a seat. We ordered the family meal, which is advertised to serve four people. While everything was a bit on the pricey side, the portions were generous. There were eight of us, and we still had plenty of leftovers to take home. Every dish we tried was packed with flavor. One thing I really appreciated was that each item had its own distinct taste. Sometimes when multiple dishes are served at once, they all start to taste similar--but that definitely wasn't the case here. Even the simple side salad was delicious, especially with their house dressing. I was so caught up enjoying the conversation that I completely forgot to take photos! We ordered the family meal, which included chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki, spicy pork, and katsu (we tried both the chicken and pork). It also came with white rice and salad, with the option to upgrade to fried rice for an additional $12. We left with happy, full stomachs and plenty of leftovers. The only downside? Our wallets were a little less happy. It was a great meal, but lunch for a large group added up quickly. Still, if you're looking for flavorful Japanese comfort food with generous portions, this place is definitely worth trying.

What a fun place! Conveniently located in Wood Dale, this lounge gives visitors a casual place to…read moreenjoy an interesting array of fun and colorful drinks at reasonable prices. Though I didn't get to try it on this visit, the food menu fits the tiki bar theme of the lounge and is cooked to order. Service was quick and friendly and it only took a few minutes to make each drink. With each drink I also got a good amount of background on the alcohol used to make the drink and some knowledge on how each flavor combination was developed. The space inside is nice with a mix of everything from tables to a bar to couches. This would be a perfect place to enjoy some board games or a casual evening of conversation with plenty of space to spread out. Parking is plentiful in the shopping center as well.

I walked in to the Pau Hana Lounge and expected a tiki bar but did not expect to get an education…read moreon rum. We were looking for a unique bar, and boy, did we get that. The bartender, Ron, seemed to have a good deal of knowledge about rum. All of the specialty cocktails contain rum. Ron was very engaging and enthusiastic about the cocktail menu. He was very friendly and spent a lot of time talking with us. We ordered the Zombie (a trio of light, gold, and dark rum with lemon, lime, passion fruit, and bitters - limit two per customer), the Navy Grog (lime, grapefruit, honey liquor, light rum, dark rum, and Demerara rum), the Painkiller (Pusser's rum, fresh nutmeg, pineapple, orange, and cream of coconut), and the Pineapple Coconut Delight (white rum, coconut, orgeat, pineapple, and lemon). The drinks were very good and I liked the sweetness in the drinks we chose. The drinks that we were served were very strong. I can see why some of them have a two drink limit. Ron kept telling us about the his brother who cooks in the kitchen. He is a classically trained chef, but we were unable to try any of the food because the kitchen is closed on Monday. Overall, the Pau Hana Lounge is a nice bar with a neighborhood feel to it. I recommend Pau Hana Lounge, just be prepared to get a lot of alcohol from these drinks.

I went here with a friend for Happy Hour...only we didn't know it was Happy Hour. What a SURPRISE!…read moreAll appetizers (except wings) were half off. We feasted and had leftovers! Drinks were delicious and also half off. Dessert was worth the splurge and probably my favorite item of our trip. Ambiance was vacation mode and our server was great. It was packed for happy Hour too!

I would give 3 stars to this place. TBH we were excited to…read moredine here but were disappointed by the food quality. We ordered hot sriracha wings which were very sweet. And Nahi mani tacos which had a bit of smell and was chewy! Ambience was good summery vibes!!

A little piece of Polynesia in DesPlaines Hawaiian decor…read moreand music. Food portions are ample but my Kailua pork was dry and a little bland I enjoyed the hibiscus mocktail and service was friendly.

It was a Friday Night, so it was busy but we were able to walk right in for the bar…read more We tried a couple of the drinks on the menu and they were all amazing! Glad I was finally able to knock this off my bucket list of places to try!

Flyin Hawaiian had their food truck outside of Mikerphone Brewing in Elk Grove Village and I am…read moreextremely happy they did! Their food is full of flavor and delicious. The menu is on the food truck which offers appetizers, main courses as well as desserts. My fiance and I shared the Hawaiian plate which gave us the opportunity to try a little bit of everything. Service was very quick as it only took about 5 minutes for our order to be ready. The Hawaiian plate came with a mac salad, side of white rice, BBQ short ribs, shredded pork and chicken with pineapple. It's hard for me to pick a favorite since I really enjoyed everything, it was well balanced and cooked perfectly. My fiance did mention his favorite was the chicken. I hope Flyin Hawaiian ends up being a regular at Mikerphone bc we would definitely order from them again!

I love food trucks! It's great to have more food trucks in the burbs since you see them more in the…read morecity. I, for one, have never tried Hawaiian food and this food truck brought that taste to us! The food is fresh and made to order! Their grand opening was this weekend and the owners are great!

I'm pretty late to the poke game but I've now visited a handful of times and am really becoming…read moremore and more of a fan. I was in the area and decided to grab some grub from the poke bros nearby. I ordered online and it was ready before I could drive across the parking lot - 5 min max. This location is really adorable and it appeared incredibly clean and well managed. The women who helped me was very kind and attentive. She had everything ready except the soup and poured that upon arrival. I appreciated small extra effort to ensure the miso soup stayed hot as long as possible. If you've never been to a poke bro's it's essentially like chipotle but with island vibes. There are menu items for bowl combinations if you don't want to personalize your own, but you can add or take away anything you'd like. I don't always go for raw fish so when I'm in the mood, I'll opt for the Hula shrimp bowl and it's great even with no customizations. There is plenty of parking around this restaurant and it's located near the CPK in the back of the parking lot by Nordstrom Rack.

It was completely by happenstance that we turned into this place. Our family was doing a little…read moreSaturday night "dinner hop," and we originally planned to stop at a bibimbap spot. But as we drove by, the sign caught our eye and my husband and synched up in harmony, "Poké Bros -- Hey, we haven't been here in a really long time!" So kudos to their signage being clearly visible from Golf Rd, because as foodies... that absolutely matters. When we walked in, it was already past 7:30 PM and the restaurant was empty. And not to pat ourselves on the back, but there's something in Asian culture about having "good food juju" -- meaning if you love food and love eating, you will draw in crowds after you walk in. My husband and I are both born under the Pig sign (take that however you want ), and I swear that within 10 minutes of us ordering, three different groups walked in and the place filled up to about 70% capacity. This is not the first time this has happened to us over the years, so yes... we're a little proud. Our kids are foodies too, so if you ever see our family in your restaurant, likely more foot traffic is coming your way. So the ambiance here is fun and casual, with a Hawaiian surfer vibe that totally fits the fresh fish concept. It also makes me miss Hawaii! Now onto the food. We really like Poké Bros because it feels healthy and fresh -- quality fish, vegetables, flavorful rice -- basically deconstructed sushi in a bowl. You also get good value for what you're paying. Most bowls start around $13 (there has been a slight price increase of a couple dollars since our last visit years ago, which is expected). For an average person, one of these bowls which is usually packed with ingredients to the rim will totally fill you up. We ordered The Duke ($14.50) which comes with tuna, salmon, and shrimp. Because we were dining with kids, we left out the jalapeños and swapped the gochujang sauce for the sriracha aioli, which isn't spicy at all and is kid-friendly. We had sushi rice which was well flavored with vinegar (if you don't like that, ask for white rice) and also added extra imitation crab for $1.25. At the end, you can customize with additional toppings -- we added seaweed nori, wonton crisps, and rice flakes for extra crunch. Everything came out to be about $18 for a bowl so you can get feel for cost. Service was quick since bowls are made immediately, and we didn't have to wait at all. The staff were friendly, and nothing felt off or uncomfortable. It's also nice that they'll give you a lid with your bowl so if you don't finish, you can easily take it home. Once we sat down, the kids went wild -- and they even ate some edamame, which I count as a win. Everything was delicious and while the toppings were cool, the sushi rice was warm and it was a great combination. Since this was our second stop of the night (yes, dinner hopping with kids is a thing in our house), we didn't order more, but we'll definitely be back. Years ago, my husband and I used to come here for date nights when our kids were too young for fresh sushi. Now they love it, and it's nice to be able to enjoy this together as a family. We actually use this place as a bit of a "pregame" before going to rotary sushi spots -- our kids can absolutely eat us broke (not exaggerating), and this helps take the edge off their appetite. I know that's probably a unique situation, but if you're going with kids who devour sushi like water, this is a great option. For most families, this would easily be the main meal. For us, it's a sushi-deconstructed bowl of happiness before the final round. Tip: Ask for a punch card. Every bowl earns a punch, and after 10 punches you qualify for a VIP card that gives you a forever 10% discount on every order. We're definitely holding onto ours. Not sure why it took us so long to come back, but now that Poké Bros is back on our radar, we'll be returning for sure.

Poke Hale is soooo delicious! Hubs and I were craving sushi, but it's pretty pricey these days and…read morewe've had some "off" meals at our usual places we decided to have poke instead. Poke Hale was our favorite and yet somewhere along the way it fell off our radar as places to eat. Well, we are back!!! Our order can be easily made online. Hubs and I go with the Build-your-own Bowl. A regular bowl allows 2 proteins and a large bowl allows 3 proteins. We can have a reasonable amount of adds in and toppings. We started with appetizers of edamame, shrimp tempura, and Crab Rangoon. All were really good, there was a good amount of edamame for the order. Everything was fresh and hot! The portions of the poke bowls were generous and filling. The Hale Ginger dressing was SO DELICIOUS!!! Service was friendly and quick. We placed our order online and picked up. The woman at the counter was appreciative of our order, doubled checked to make sure we weren't missing anything, and thanked us for choosing their business. She was so nice! The inside and outside were clean and comfortable. There are tables for dine in. Plenty of space for people to stand without bumping into each other while waiting to order or waiting for our order. We will certainly be back! Not only is this such a well priced meal, it was absolutely delicious! *No pics - I forgot as I was really hungry and it was all really good!

This was my third visit to Poke Hale. I started to order the Tuna Lover's Bowl and the server…read moresuggested the Volcano. I followed her suggestion and it was really very good. Poke Hale is consistently good. I've never been there when it is crowded so I hope they are doing well. They certainly deserve people trying them. (If you aren't into fish, they have a vegetarian bowl as well as other proteins.)