It was horrible experience did not even get anything I was in line for 1hr and 20 min I was there before it open at 3:00 did not even get any shaved ice because they are so slow it's ridiculous! You first order then wait another 15min - 20 mins and so badly managed sad I had such hope for this place. Will never come back I will stick with Nuyo they have saved Ice way faster! read more

I'm giving 5 stars because even though we waited almost 2 hours, we thought the shaved ice was very good. I agree with other commenters that they should find a way to streamline so that people aren't waiting two hours like limits on large orders or holding places in line. I will probably go to the shaved ice place in Scripps Ranch until the hype dies down here. read more

Ululani's - Root beer, habanero mango and lilikoi with their homemade mochi and the sour tart combo with ling hui ming powder and mochi. Very good! - Shaved Ice Near Me - Chula Vista, California

I was really looking forward to trying Ululani's based on all the hype, but unfortunately, my experience left a lot to be desired. We waited about two hours just to place an order--and once we got to the front, it was another 15-minute wait for the shave ice to be ready. A big part of the delay was due to groups sending one person to hold spots for multiple people, then ordering five or six items at once, which made the line crawl. There didn't seem to be any effort from the staff to manage the flow or keep things moving efficiently. To make matters worse, the staff didn't appear to be in sync, and the pace of filling orders was frustratingly slow. I understand it's a popular spot, but this just felt chaotic and poorly managed. When we finally got our shave ice, it was good--but not two hours good. If you're going to wait that long, there are better ways to spend your time on a beautiful Friday. read more

The shaved ice was OK, nothing bad to say about it. The experience however, was horrible. The best way to explain it is, as a family of 4 ordering 4 things... We waited 20 minutes to get our first item, another 20 minutes to get the second item, another 20 minutes to get the third item and another 20 minutes to get the last item. C'mon man! That defeats the whole experience of eating it as a family. There's like 8 kids in there working at a snails pace. Give me my order when ALL ITEMS ARE READY! Again, nothing special about the shaved ice. I FOR DAMN SURE WONT BE GOING BACK AGAIN! read more

Absolutely amazing shaved ice! I drive from north county just to have same excellent shaved ice. Worth the drive! You won't regret it! They do shaved ice right! Best I've had in San Diego. read more

Let me start off by saying I would have rated as a 3.5, but I can't so rounding up to 4. I'm basing my score when comparing this shop to my 5* shave ice shops - Baltimore Snowball (unfortunately closed down :-( ) and Ululani's in Waimānalo. Let me start with the positives for the Chula Vista location: - Shave Ice texture was spot on! Perfectly smooth. - Syrup amount (at least in mine) was just right. There was no ice without syrup. - overall amount of shave ice was good. - Had the Mac nut ice cream and it was delicious (not as good as in Oahu but you can't get their ice cream in the mainland, so I'm not that surprised. Ok, onto areas of improvement: - ice cream scoop... Ok... where's my ice cream? Felt like I got half a scoop when comparing to both Baltimore Snowball and Ululani's in Waimānalo. My wife felt the same - her ice cream scoop was small. - service. When I was called to pick up my order, it was for my shave ice. I had to wait another minute or so before I got my wife's. Normally, not a big deal, except when you are watching one of the employees holding her completed order in his hand as he stands there talking to his coworkers. I didn't realize it was her order at first. Not until he finally walked over and called my name several minutes later.... By then, her order had already started melting and was starting to drip over the side. How about focus on delivering the customers' orders before stopping to chit chat. Didn't really check out the seating availability as the place was super crowded. So once we got our order, we went and ate our shave ice in our car. So would we come back here? If I was down in the area on a hot day, I probably would as it was a good shave ice! Just give me more ice cream and process orders more promptly and you would find me driving from North County just to come and indulge in your frozen treats! read more

Nice place, long line for good reason. This was the softest shaved ice I've ever had (in a good way lol) The flavors are good, the service was great and it was a nice ambiance. Will definitely be back! Also kudos to the guy who was giving out samples and doing product education lol good way to upsell! read more

Best shaved ice I've ever had hands down and I've been to a lot of Hawaiian shaved ice spots. Will be back very soon

Yes yummy, but wait is crazy so we ordered and it took like 30-40 mins to get our order. Yikes

Real Hawaiian shaved ice! The Lappert's ice cream at the bottom (Mac nut) was so good. Friendly staff--we feel the aloha when we visit.

Great local spot for Hawaiian shaved ice! The staff were super friendly, and the flavors were authentic and delicious. Definitely recommend and will be back again. read more

Shaved ice was good. I really wanted to like this place... we just came back from Oahu so I was so excited to hear about the grand opening. We have so much love for the islands and the food! I stopped by twice but line was extremely long that we just looped around... Third time is the charm! Came around 12ish on a weekday, trying to beat the line and was so happy to see there were only 6 people in line at the time. I left my 8 month old that is taking his nap with my parents in the car... I ordered 1 keiki to try out the quality... it took me 18 mins to get to the register and order... and another 35 mins waiting for my order at the counter. The folks in front of me had to ask a couple times for the status of their order... we chatted a little while waiting and it seemed like majority of the customers have the same concern- why was it taking so long... it was a full staff, and not busy for about 20 mins... the line ofc picked up towards the end because there was just no care for the amount of time customers were waiting. Everyone behind the counter seemed to be young maybe students... lots of talking and laughing (which is great! Work environment should also be fun & enjoyable) but it was so clear that they are in no hurry no matter how busy or slow the business is going. Very clear there isn't enough training for customer service. The folks in front of me mentioned that it was "always like this.. lots of flirting". I guess that wasn't their first visit. Very disappointing, hope owner makes some improvement. Maybe we'll visit again but for now, Koli bar is still our go-to, even though its 45 mins away at least I won't wait almost an hour for our order especially with kids. My baby ofc woke up and was fussy by the time I got back. It's embarrassing, my parents and I just ended up laughing about the frustrating experience. read more

Love the service, food and location of Carmel, Monterey . So organized with great food

Can I just gatekeep this place??Close your eyes and your back on the island enjoying a true shaved ice!

+45m wait on a Friday at 4pm. I timed each aspect of the experience, getting to register, placing order, and being served. Wildly inefficient. Taste is fine. But at +$30 for 3, and some non-flavored middle sections, it's great for novelty but this business can't survive off the current model.and I forgot to add, on arrival the line was inside the joint. Not long at all read more

Amazing! A taste of Hawaii here at home! It was sooo good! I highly recommend and will definitely be back.

the wait maybe long but well worth it! what do you expect when a new establisment opens in the area. the service ia top notch, working hard to keep their custimers happy. i will definitely be coming back again when i need a dose of an islander feeling. read more

Honestly, they are really slow, waited in line for about 45 minutes and waited another 20 to get my ice cream, they don't have any sort of urgency while working. Once receiving my order I noticed there wasn't much syrup and asked for more. They also should have bigger spoons I am not a little kid.. There was also no where for me to move not even to sit down, they need to have more pace and more seats available. Overall I would not come again. Very disappointed after hearing such high things from them. read more

The best shaved ice ever!!!! The operation needs to improve though. The line moves very slow due to inefficiency. Get consult from the Maui location please as they have it down! read more

Went there today and waited in line for over 30 minutes and barely moved. People in line were letting other people cut in with them, which is fine if it's one person or if a mom and kids are waiting for their Dad to park the car.. but a group of 3 became a group of 9 when their friends showed up and they let them in. Not sure how to fix the issue but it happened a lot and a few families left because of it read more

Honestly, super frustrated. Been waiting over an hour and still no order. I get that this place is popular, but it would really help if they let people know upfront how long the wait might be, so you can at least decide if you want to stay. Not cool to waste people's time like this. read more

Best Shave Ice! Friendly staff providing great service. Enjoy with great music playing.

Just wanted to say that it was ok at best. This is our second time here. I guess because they are new things are a bit chaotic. I did not mind waiting in line but both times we had the same person take our order and he got it wrong. Can't blame a high schooler for trying. Waited for about 40 minutes for our order, after they ran out of snow cap. But what was disappointing was that the ice cream that we had ordered with the shave ice had melted. I did see some others on the counter before we had ordered and they also were a bit melted. I also received a keiki when I ordered an ulo- my daughter received the ulo but did not finish it. I think that maybe a better ordering system should be implemented or have the orders done at the 1st register by the merch. I will still come with my family because we love the vibe and it brings us back to when we were in Maui. Hopefully because it is so new things will get better and I can give a better review. It was also great to meet the original owner from Hawaii on our first visit, he was very humble and welcoming. Will be back in the near future, and will bring positive vibes for a better experience. read more

The service is extremely slow here!! I walked in and got in line with only 2 people ahead of me and it took me over 40 mins to get my shaved ice. This is not the first time I have come either the first time I came I waited over an hour. I won't be coming back until the service gets faster. Shaved ice is good. read more

I'm from Hawaii and believed all shave ice is the same. After trying Ululani's... I realized not all shave ice is the same! The ice is so soft like fresh fallen snow and the syrup is actual fruit puree. Yes, the line is long, but the wait is worth it to me for the great taste, quality, and service. If you have tried shave ice from different places, you'll understand. Congrats to the new owners and thank you for bringing Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice to Chula Vista! read more

The shave ice was really good and we enjoyed it. But it will be hard to go back if we have to wait over 2 hours. I hope things will settle and be faster. Not sure that will be possible because it looks difficult to form the ice. But It is really good. Might need more workers and extra machines for now. Maybe a couple of extra machine in the back during this rush. read more

Such a great experience for me and my daughter bringing some aloha spirit to Chula!!! We loved it

Delicious. The owners are so friendly, out visiting with patrons. They make you feel like you're old friends. Will definitely go again and again. read more

Just like at home on Maui. It was such a treat to share some Ululani's while on vacation with my hubby who's never had any. Wish we lived closer! read more

Wow! The best shaved ice I've ever had! Recommend the Haleakala! Impressed with the friendly staff and understand now why it is wildly popular! read more

Ululani's was unexpectedly amazing. I didn't know what to expect from shaved ice but their flavors were great. Although their flavors were great their service did not reach that same standard. We waited 2.5 hours and the service was EXTREMELY slow. The employees although nice and friendly were super slow and seemed to have no sense of urgency like their wasn't a line outside the door. We didn't think it would take as long as it did. After we placed our order, we waited an additional 15-20 plus mins to receive our order. Great for a hot summer day/night. read more

My hubby and I waited 1 hour and a half in line. While we waited the owner came out several times with water and umbrellas. Great friendly staff and once we were inside the music took us right back to Maui! I had the Lahaina with the snow cap, so delicious! So worth the wait. We'll be back. The "Aloha Spirit" is absolutely there! read more

Currently waiting in line and so so so many people are cutting in line, it's been 2 hours and we aren't even having our order taken yet, atmosphere seems really nice but the people in the line genuinely ruin the experience, the amount of people letting 6 family members cut them in line is crazy and it's just genuinely a bummer this review is solely for the line and waiting the food hasn't been tried yet since we're still waiting but it definitely is making me wonder if it's worth it, I was very excited to try and still am but im more irritated than anything right now read more

There are so many different flavors to choose from, and it's like eating fresh snow! Super light mochi. Cheese cap is great.

ululani's has such a fun and lively environment! the ice tastes so fluffy and the flavors i tried were delicioussss. definitely coming back read more

Ululani's - tigers blood, blue hawaiian, peach - Shaved Ice Near Me - Chula Vista, California

I truly hope this review finds the owner. I've been wanting to try this place for quite a while but I work 7 days a week, I was barely able to slip in and I ended up arriving at 8:59PM. One minute before close and wasn't denied entry. Stuff like that is rare nowadays and with a crew as young as there was today there was not one single complaint about our presence or any look of annoyance. I tip my hat to the owner for that, judging from the outside it seems like you've got a very friendly crew and everyone works very well together. As I was in line one of the crew member raved about how amazing you were and you truly do care about the people that give your company a chance. We waited a little longer than an hour but it was well worth it. I recently helped open a new restaurant and train some employees and people or guests I should say should understand that when you come across places that are unique in areas it's not always easy to adapt. I used to live in Hawaii for years and I've tried many different Hawaiian Shave Ice places on different islands (Lahaina Shave Ice, Jojo's, Wishing Well, Kokonuts and many more) and only one of them was somewhat near as good and even still it didn't compare to how good this place was and that one was in Kauai. From all the ones I've tried I can guarantee you that if they were to go elsewhere you'd wait longer if the amount of business was the same and you'd be disappointed with the quality and service. The ice is extremely soft, and all the syrups taste very good. The Mac Nut ice cream is truly amazing! I will for sure be coming back when I find the time in the day to do so. Just know this place is truly worth a try. read more