Ige’s Restaurant & 19th Puka

If you want greasy truck-​stop food than this place is for you! The food was very bad! Cold no flavor and very low quality. The décor was something out of a bad 70s movie. The chairs are stained with mold and there were empty beer cans and ash trays every where in the dining area. I wouldn’t go there again if the food was free!

Friday night. Very busy.
Got sat quickly. Food came quickly.
Waitress seemed very preoccupied. She stopped by once and asked how the food was but, wasn’t paying attention to our answer. She was more concerned about what was going on across the room.
8pm and the salad bar had empty containers that never got refilled while we were there. (Green lettuce, Mac salad, croutons, pickles, carrots, cucumbers, celery and buns (3 left).
Ive been here many times before but, this was not a good experience. I hope its just a one time fluke.

We love this place. There is such a local friendly vibe here. They have live music Wed-​Sat. All the food we’ve ever ordered was really tasty and at good prices. This combination is not easy to find in Hawaii, usually you wind up paying a high price for mediocre food. We like to sit at the bar and the bartender (s) have always been friendly and the service quick (another Hawaiian rarity).
It is in a weird location on the top of the hill but if you come here, I believe you won’t be disappointed.

A very «Hawaii-​local» style restaurant.
Easily located in Pearl City and parking is available, however you would want to get there a bit earlier from the lunch/​dinner rush. There’s always street parking available if you’re willing to walk for a little bit.
The restaurant has that warehouse size, very spacious, and lots of tables. They also have a stage area where they would occasionally have a band play. The menu has lots of selections and they also have daily specials. I came here with my family for dinner and it was very busy and popular. The restaurant was very busy, but staff is very accommodating and made sure we were taken cared of. My favorite dish was their Korean Fried Chicken. I like the flavor and the quality. It wasn’t overly battered nor seasoned.

Flash back Fridays are awesome. Food OK, Fried noodles too oily, Flap meat winnas, Fries great when you order it extra crispy, good pork chops, love the pickled onions…

Everyone is always raving about what a great place this is and though it seems to be quite popular among the local crowd, I don’t get what all the hype is about.
The first time I came here, it was for a going away party because a friend was moving to the Mainland. There were about 20 of us and we ordered a lot of pupus (appetizers) and of course drinks. None of the pupus stood out as being great, just your typical local bar apps.
Ige’s is a bar/​diner and is separated into 2 sections. The bar area is dimly lit with tables and a bar. There’s also a stage for bands and a small dance floor. The first time I was there, the band was playing old school disco songs.
The dining area is very well lit with booths and tables. There’s nothing separating the bar from the dining area, so you’re basically in one big space with the lighting and seating being the only difference. You can hear the band even if you’re sitting in the dining area.
My second time here, we went for drinks and pupus. Didn’t want to sit in the dining area since we weren’t planning on eating a meal & told the host this. As he walked us past the bar area, my friend asked him if we could sit in the bar area and was told no. I didn’t understand this, there were a lot of open tables & there were no reserved signs on any of the open tables. My friend asks if the tables were reserved and the host mumbled something about people waiting for their family. Since the bar stool area was wide open, my friend asked to be seated there but the host walked us to a booth and placed dinner menus on the table. My friend again told him we didn’t want to eat a meal. He ignored or didn’t hear him and told us our server would be over. Dang, this guy was just Mr. Aloha. Woot woot! High five for awesome customer service skills.
When our server Cher came over we told her we weren’t there to dine, asked her for a pupu menu and also asked if we could sit in the bar area instead. She said it wouldn’t be a problem and would get a table ready for us. When she came back and as we were scooting out of the booth, Mr. Aloha rushed over to her and pulled her aside. Don’t know what he was saying to her but he looked annoyed. Mr. Aloha was going to stand his ground and make us sit in the dining area anyway.
My friend told Cher if it was going to be a problem then we’d stay where we were. She assured us it wasn’t but the host made such a big deal about it that we stayed in the dining area. She apologized but we told her not to worry about it. Didn’t take a genius to figure out Mr. Aloha didn’t want us sitting in the bar area. I didn’t understand this, if we were there to drink and have a few apps, why sit us in the dining area? Especially when the bar area is open. Oh well.
For pupus we ordered poke, flap steak (I think) and french fries. The food was ok, nothing special. Just something to fill my belly while enjoying a few drinks with friends. We weren’t feeling it sitting in the dining area with the glaring lights. It was actually killing our mood so after about an hour and a half we left and went somewhere else.
As we walked out, the bar area was still sparsely occupied with a lot of open tables.
On the plus side, our server Cher was very friendly and checked on us often.
I haven’t eaten a meal here but if the pupus are a testament to their meals, I think I’ll pass.

I don’t like to give under 3 stars unless the service was terrible or the workers were punk a$$e$, but if I’m keeping it real, I’ll have to give this place 2.85 stars.
Let me set up the menu for you as I remember it…
Chicken, andagi, shoyu pork, andagi, rice, andagi, mac salad, andagi, meatballs, andagi, andagi, andagi, andagi, rinse and repeat.
Get the picture? The first time we went there, for some reason, we liked the food. Maybe we were starving. Maybe we were deceived by the andagi balls bouncing everywhere. Every time after that, we started realizing that it’s nothing special. It’s not bad by any means, just not outstanding. The service was fine.
Maybe people enjoy the bar, but we don’t drink, so that doesn’t help us at all. Okay food. Just not our cup of tea.
And I suck at golf…

Had dinner here with some classmates. They were already seated when we arrived but still waited 20 minutes for someone to take our order. My friend ordered the Lau Lau with beef stew and I order the Hawaiian plate. The rest of our party ordered pupu’s. They received their food within 15 minutes but we waited an hour for our order. When she finally brought it, the food was so cold. I sent mine back but my friend was so hungry she tried to force herself to eat hers. It was so unappetizing the fat on her meat had turned white. When we were presented with the check the waitress told me I wouldn’t be charged for my meal. I was like what meal, you took it back and never brought a replacement? I called the manager and he said we wouldn’t be charged for our meal and hoped for a better experience next time. Again charged for what, I left your restaurant starving!

Walked in to the restaurant and waited for a long time for a hostess. We actually thought we had to seat ourselves. As we started to walk in to find seats, someone finally met us.
After we were seated, our server promptly took our drink orders. When it was time to order, I ordered one of the specials that was on the board. The server told me that they didn’t have it. I was surprised that they didn’t have a special at 5:30pm dinner. However, the server explained that it was «on and off» sometimes they have it and sometimes they don’t. I politlely told her they need to take it off the board when they don’t have something. She showed her dislike for what I said.
When it was time to cash out, I had a
voucher. There’s no reason to print it because you are allowed to show the server the voucher from your phone. Unfortunately, the server said I needed to print it out.
**print out your voucher just to be safe!

Mmm we love the shoyu pork. They offer Hawaiian plate on Fridays. Enjoy the sweet & sour shortribs and hamburger steak. It is only $ 8.50 for these two lunch plates. They offer brown or white rice and toss or macaroni salad.

I attended a fundraiser dinner at Ige’s last night. In the past, I’ve had Ige’s for catering at birthdays and funerals, but I never went to eat at the actual restaurant.
The place is pretty big and it was packed with people. They had a buffet lined up closer to the bar area. So people had to form a line around the area where the stage was set up. I didn’t care too much for the music blasting in my ear while I was trying to talk with my friend.
The buffet line had the following items:
–rice
–pasta salad
–veggies (carrots and celery) with dressing
–meatballs
–shoyu pork
–fried chicken
–fried noodles
–andagi (of course)
I piled lots of food on to my plate since I didn’t want to stand in line again. Out of all the food available, I enjoyed the meatballs and pasta salad the best. I was fortunate to be in the right spot when one of the cooks came out with a fresh batch of pasta salad.
I wouldn’t mind going back again on another day when there isn’t a fundraiser going on. It was just a bit too crowded for my taste.

First time here came with family. Hostess– young and didn’t know how to greet customers was a little snobby. We went in to find our reserve table and was a little early.
Waitress– very friendly and took our drink orders before we sat than followed with taking our pupu and dinner orders. Food came out quick.
Food– husband recommended chopped pork chops. Very tender and was very Ono. Ordered Somen salad which we shortly sent back. Noodles were spoiled. Ordered lumpias which says homemade but the pork in the lumpia was gross. Aunties who know how to make lumpias says the meat tasted old. Mother in law ordered rainbow sherbet she didn’t eat it all said it tasted weird and was like a container of ice cream in the freezer long time with no lid. Waitress brought us Andagi towards the end of the night. Andagi cold and hard.
Drinks– mixed drinks tasted more on the syrupy side than what a mixed drink should taste like. Think it was a drop of alcohol and majority syrup. Ordered a coke and it was flat.
Live band– great live music awesome band. :)
Dance floor– too small if you are one who loves to dance make sure to be the first one there or else no more room.
Overall experience will not come here again. I’m nursing a belly ache as we speak.

We tried Ige’s out when they first opened and was disappointed. We went back and found things to be so much better. Our nachos and mixed plates were served hot and fresh. The food was tasty but not overly salty and the rice didn’t have any dried-​out hard spots.
The nachos is too big for two people but it was very good and we wished we could have finished it. Ige’s offers 10% off the mixed plate on weekdays so we figured we couldn’t go wrong. I got the Korean fried chicken (Wednesday special) and teriyaki flap meat. The chicken is boneless but not skinless and the skin is decadently good. The flap meat was perfectly marinated and tender. The Mrs. got hamburger steak and pork loin. The gravy was really good — could have just eaten rolls with the gravy. The hamburger was okay, nothing special, and the pork was tender and moist. Dinners come with soup or salad bar at no extra charge, a nice touch since that is an add-​on at so many restaurants. It was really nice to see they still give free Okinawa donuts at the end of the meal.
We’re glad we went back after the long hiatus and are looking forward to returning.

Came here for the first time to dine in at the bar — My family has gotten catered food from Ige’s (love the shoyu pork) but this was my first experience actually in the restaurant.
It was a Friday and there was a live band scheduled to play. They were there setting up and testing mikes from when we arrived but didn’t play until 8:45pm. That’s a whole different story.
My friends and I sat at the bar and ordered a ton of food: Fried Saimin, Shoyu pork, Lechon Kawali, Steak, Edamame, fries, chicken salad… I think that was everything… let me refer to my photo cause there was a ton of food — for 4 people. And drinks galore — I didn’t have an alcoholic beverage because 1, I was already tired, 2, I had to work early in the AM, and 3, it was actually quite fun people watching…
Well, like champs, we ate everything… And I have to say, new favorite dish! Lechon! It was fabulous. I could have eaten the whole plate. So in case of not knowing, lechon is crispy pork belly with tomatos, onions, and sauce. And super ono. I mean, everything was good but this was heavenly.
My friends dubbed the night «Fat Girl Fridays» and we are going to try to make this a Friday night tradition. I’m not sure if I can do it every Friday because of work schedules and such but it was hella fun.
The live music was an added bonus, with watching the «old people» dance. We did join in the dancing with the electric slide and then some. It was a super awesome night out with friends and we will definitely be going back!

We ate at Ige’s again because of the hotdeal coupon, and the food was pretty good, but the salad wasn’t as fresh, and one of the dressings smelled a bit sour. In all, we got a good deal for the price, especially with the hotdeal coupon, and I ordered the right food this time:
Salad Bar — 3 stars — same as my previous review, but it wasn’t as fresh. It is a big filler, that it’s a meal in itself.
Flank Steak & BBQ ribs — 5 stars — two choice meals are discounted to only $ 15.99 on Tuesday — Thursdays only, so we lucked out, especially since we could use the hotdeal coupon with it also. The flank steak was very soft as usual, and most of the bbq ribs are almost at the «melt in my mouth» range and flavorful also. Came with choice of mash potatoes, brown or white rice or french fries. The brown rice was also cooked right, and soft enough that my son liked it. I hit the jackpot this time with the right order. They gave so much that I was able to take it home the next night and eat it as leftovers. The flank steak still remained soft and tasty after I broiled it in my toaster oven the next night.
Ahi — 4 stars — it was ok, but a little dry and just a tinge fishy that I think they use frozen fish.
Kid’s meal hamburger steak — 3 stars — For $ 7,99, the kid’s meal is a LOT, but my son thought it was a little too salty this time. Kid’s meal comes with a drink and dessert.
Service — 4 stars — The waitress looked really busy, but she was fast, and our food arrived fast this time. We had a really good waitress this time.
In all, I enjoyed dinner this time, with hot and tasty food and great service. The live band also starts playing at 7pm. However, initially we first visited Ige’s on Monday, but found out that effective Jan 23^rd, they close on Mondays for bigger parties even if the hotdeal coupon lists that we can use it Monday — Thursdays.

Parking: Plenty of parking in the badly painted lot across of the restaurant.
Ambiance: Live Hawaiian music on Thursday nights and at that hour the place has a half local restaurant diner feel and half bar or lounge feel with the low light, powerful sound system, rocking local band and full bar.
Service: Casually efficient from what I remember.
Food: The menu is very local-​American style meat dishes. I couldn’t make up my mind so I went with the BBQ Beef Tips and Baby Back Ribs with Honey glaze combo. I thoroughly enjoyed the ribs which were tender and nearly falling off the bone. The beef tips were moderately tender but I tend to balk at sweet brown sauces so I couldn’t enjoy this one as much – not to say that it was bad. Ironically the honey sauce for the ribs were mild enough to not trigger my sweet tooth much so kudos for the restraint in flavor.
For dessert I opted for the custard pie which was a rather large and sweet as well.
Verdict & Takeaway: For me, the style of the setup and the cuisine is not something I’d normally hunt down but the ribs were good and though it’s no steal you do get what you pay for. Therefore on the basis of the ribs alone, I give this place 3 stars.

I can’t tell if this Ige’s is a sports bar or a divey restaurant; it’s probably somewhere in between. Either way, just come and see for yourself. Ige’s is the family restaurant where you get your local plate lunch food and uncle can pop back a few cold ones while everyone talks story.
Saw the stage for live music and the list of happy hour specials. I’d imagine it’s a fun place for some pau hana drinks with friends, but the talk story family dinner nights are more my speed.
The teri flap meat and shoyu pork are my favourites here. Just come and try it if you’re in the area.

Ige’s the 19^th puka… where are pukas 1 – 18 located? (NOTE: I KNOW THERE IS A GOLF COURSE.)
We went to Ige’s because I had one of those coupon deals. We decided to sit in the lounge area and from the moment of choosing our table I knew this was not exactly the place for me. Why ask us to pick our own table and when we do, act like we could have picked another table? I picked the closest table without having to go in the middle, but I made the mistake of picking a table that had more then 2 seats. It was as if I was inconveniencing them. Please! There were like 50 other open seats available and I wasn’t planning on staying there long.
We ordered the shoyu pork, pork belly, lechon kawali, and ribeye steak. Nothing but the shoyu pork was that great. The pork belly is just the lechon kawali without the onions and tomato. And we all know that Thelma’s is and will always be the BEST place for lechon kawali. the ribeye was just a piece of meat. They say it is seasoned with rosemary, but I couldn’t taste it. In fact I couldn’t taste ANY seasoning on the steak. We also asked for it medium rare and it came out medium well. Kinda bummed about that, but ate it anyway.
The wait staff seemed very short handed and a little inattentive.
I’d say the only saving grace and reason to come back would be the shoyu pork and the fact that they give you undagi on the house. No need to buy desert here, they give it to you for free!

Why does this place have a rating of four stars? The food is about as good as Zippy’s. Not bad, but definitely not four stars. The portions are large and the prices are reasonable, but the food is just okay. I had the flap meat, which I read is supposed to be really good, but to me it wasn’t that special. I also tasted the grilled mahimahi which tasted better than the flap meat, but again, not impressive. The shoyu pork tasted okay but probably ranks last on the things I’ve tasted during my dinner at Ige’s. My aunties really liked the food though. lol.
I guess this is a spot for people who really like Zippy’s or plate lunches and local food. The food came out fast but the waitress wasn’t that friendly. The restaurant itself resembled a dark cafeteria. I probably won’t go back, but I know my aunties will. To people who are wondering if this is a good place for a date, I would not recommend it. Do not go on a first date here… the ambiance and food will not get you a second date.

The food is MUCH better when catered for some strange reason.
I’ve had Ige’s at many catered events and I’m always drawn to the shoyu pork, thus when going to Ige’s I ordered the shoyu pork. NOT the same. The meat was not tender at all. The flavor was still good, but the meat was hard. (the office anyone?)
Anyway, my friend ordered the flap meat. SUPER tender. Get that if you go.
The free andagi at the end of the night and the live music (on Wednesdays) made everything a little better :)