Reviews for Hawaiian Drive Inn in San Jose, CA
This place is a hidden gem. Doesn't look like much from the outside, bilut the food is great! You want something Hawaiian good,... you got your place. Don't look somewhere else. Read more
Overall, the food is very consistent here. The chicken teriyaki is always tender. The shrimp could be a little less crunchy but... it still good. My kids love their food. Great for take out. Parking is limited at certain time. Read more
tl;dr: dissapointing, don't reccomend Ordered the number 2 bbq combo and the entire experience can be summed up as... ??disapointing?? Let's start off with the best part of the meal: Short ribs and BBQ steak. The flavor of these were AMAZING!Some of the best seasoned meat ive had. Now here's there downsides: The steak was super gritty and fell apart almost like plantbased sausage. I don't know why the texture was like that but it made my mouth feel wrong. Also the both came with barelyanything of them. I was given 2 RIBS. Not 2 strips, TWO CIRCLES OF RIBS! And maybe a table spoon of steak. Instead you're give atruck load of chicken aka the next dissapointment. The chicken. Oh the chicken. It was dry, tough, really flat (?), and filledwith tiny bones. The marinating sauce was good I guess? I don't know, it tasted like a white Nesbraskan corn fed 12 year oldtried to make teriyaki chicken after seeing it online. Like good shot at teriyaki chicken but not ready to be sold. I wish Icould say that was the worst part of my meal, but we haven't talked about the Mac Salad. This made me sad. This was the part ofthe meal that broke me. I come to hawaiian bbq for the macaroni salad, and some how this was the worst part. The noodles wereoverdone, the onions tasted spoiled, it tasted like they dumped oyster sauce and another random ingredient in and it doesn'ttaste good. I've tried a lot of different hbbq places around San Jose and this is the lowest ranking Mac. And I ordered an extrascoop :( Also for those who look at hbbq as a place to get 2/3 meals out of 1, this is not the spot. I regularly can get at leat2 full meals out of a plate, yet I finished this in one go. Another let down. Overall incredibly disappointing experience. I'drate this closer to 1 but I don't like rating small business that low. The price and beef taste are the only things stopping mefrom rating a 1. Yet, this isn't even worth the price. I hate to say it, but I will be going to L&L the next t Read more
Overpriced by $5 for a simple meal. Food tasted simple, simple enough one can prepare at home. There are dishes that include... spam, you know... the one comes in the can that you can cooked yourself at home. Ramen noodles with spam? Really? lol Read more
Love this place! Eat here as often as I can. Out of all the Hawaiian restaurants in San Jose I believe this is the best one.... Food is always hot, fresh and delicious. They never once messed up my orders and I've been going there for years now. Read more
My first time eating at this location and the food was delicious!!! Will definitely be returning. Bathrooms were clean and... everyone was friendly. Give this place a try. Read more
This may look like a regular old Hawaiian bbq place, but Hawaiian Drive Inn is on the next level, trust me! This place rules,... the food is leaps and bounds better than L&L and others. You can even see the difference visually, the colors are richer and ofcourse the flavors are too. The rice is fluffy, the katsu is wonderfully crispy, and the sauce is tangy, sweet, and a littlespicy. This was my mini plate, you still get a great serving size (don't mind the missing mac salad, I'm just not a mayo fanlol). Quit your other HBBQ places, go to Hawaiian Drive Inn!! Read more
This is a really hopping place with huge platters and plenty of good food. Good prices too!