Alohana Hawaiian Grill

I have been here several times and I have never been disappointed. I get the seafood combo and it is amazing. The macaroni salad is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. It does a great job representing how the food in Hawaii actually tastes. The restaurant has been clean every time I’ve been there– no dirty dishes are ever just sitting around. Amazing place!

My dad was born and raised in Hawaii, as a result, I grew up enjoying many of the wonderful dishes of the Polynesian culture. This restaurant has brought back many childhood memories for me. I wish they would open a location up down here in Springfield, Missouri. I would love to bring my family here sometime when I go back up that way to visit family in the area. If I had one complaint, it would be maybe a bigger variety of Hawaiian cuisine, make Mauna pua more often, and maybe offer poi. The staff is very friendly and happy to help. The atmosphere is very nice, and the place is always clean. Fair priced, and always a great experience. I highly recommend them, and look forward to visiting again. If the owners read this: Please seriously consider opening up a location down here in Springfield, Missouri.

Have been here many many times and never a bad meal. Always friendly staff and the owner is a great lady!
I usually get the Hawaiian Style Pineapple Chicken, which is the house special. It’s pineapple with a special sauce, pineapple, green peppers, 2 scoops of rice, pasta salad, a crab rangoon and a drink! All for $ 6.99!!!
I love this stuff!!! I’m usually here over my lunch hour but have brought the fam here for dinner as well.
Highly recommend for great people and great food!!!
Also, the crab rangoons are pretty darn good!!!
ENJOY All!!! :)

Yummy! I drove 20 minutes just to try this place out. I’m originally from Utah where Hawaiian and Polynesian food is everywhere. So I was pleased to find a place like home in Iowa.
Nobody makes Kalua pork like my dad, and well, now I must change my belief because there Kalua pork tastes just like my dad’s. Perfect amount of salt and smoky flavor. Moist and delicious. Great Katsu chicken and mac salad just like Hawaiians make it. I would eat here every week if I could.

«What, dammit»!
I screamed into the phone after deciding to finally answer it after Nova’s non stop texts and ringing.
«I’m hungry» then silence for what seemed to be like hours.
«Did you hear me. I’m hungry» she said again.
«So eat some fruit loops. I got shit to do»
«Asshole, no milk and I need to get the fuck outta here for a while. She’s driving me nuts. The only thing that will save her is if you fill me up with Michelob Gold and short ribs. Take me to dinner then we’ll go watch the game and drink.»
«WTF Nova, I’m…I feel like the old woman in the shoes uterus. I’m worn out.
«Fine. I’ll be at Alohana in 15 mins. If you join me, you join me.» and she hangs up.
Son of a bitch
We’ve been talking about trying out Alohana Hawaiian Grill in Ankeny since we got back from Maui over a year ago but never pulled the trigger so I guess now was as good a time as any, plus it’s what she wanted. Nova and I, even though married have a very open and honest relationship but if I’ve learned anything in my 30 plus years with her it’s that if she is happy then my life is substantially more enjoyable, so I saddled up and headed to Ankeny.
«15 minutes my ass» I said when she finally pulled up a good 40 minutes later.
«I could of had half a dozen lap dances at the Lumberyard and blown my paycheck by now»
«You know you can’t get anywhere at the Lumberyard without me. The girls like me better then you anyway so reign it in»
It was less then an hour before they closed but they were friendly and greeted us when we walked to the counter.
After Nova had grilled the poor lad at the counter about almost every dish they offered I interrupted…
«I’ll have the BBQ mix»
«Yeah, I’ll have the same»
We found our seats and reminisced about Maui and the amazing foods we had when we visited. The seafood, the roadside chicken, even the weed that the tattoo artist in Paia hooked us up with was all amazing but was it really all that good or did the surroundings somehow play a roll in all that.
We went outside to smoke and when we had finished they were plating up our dinners. I grabbed them from the counter.
The BBQ mix consisted of short ribs, chicken, steak, rice, macaroni salad and a grilled pineapple slice.
I’ll start with the rice first because it’s super easy to screw up rice but I found the rice to be damn near perfect. Add a little soy and ginger sauce and it’s a little bit of Maui on your tongue.
The macaroni salad I thought was bland and so when I reached for the salt and pepper, which were not there, I had to go up to the counter to ask for them. Salt and pepper improved it but it was nothing special.
The grilled pineapple was just that, grilled pineapple but not to the point where it was lifeless. It was daaliciouss.
The chicken, steak and short ribs were wonderful. All cooked properly, nice, tender and very flavorful. Not sure what they were marinated in but they very tasty and each of us were given more then we could eat at the time.
I think I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $ 20 bucks for the food.
Although it did cause memories of our Maui adventures to come flooding back, it was tasty, priced right and made Nova happy and when mama is happy, everybody is happy.

Very tasty food! Hawaiin BBQ very flavorful and the Mrs had the Loco Mocho and it surprised me that she liked it because she’s not usually a «gravy» person. The Beef was very tender and the spices were awesome.
My only complaint was I was thinking it’d be a larger portion but next time I think we’ll get the family deal and have some to take home.

Place is awesome to get a lot of food for cheap.
Came last week and ordered volcano chicken and beef rib combo platter. It came with rice and macaroni salad. Food was good, but the place is need of a good cleaning. Floors were very sticky and tables were not wiped down and cleaned.
Spam musubi– I wish the spam was grilled. Served in plastic wrap with teriyaki sauce. Sadly only place in DSM that has it on the menu.
Would come back if they cleaned up the restaurant!

I love the food here. One of the few places in the area I can get Korean style short ribs and Spam Musubi. The service is pretty quick since they are not busy. Unfortunately, for a not so busy place, they do a horrible job of keeping the dining area clean. I have come in at 2 or 3pm for a Spam Musubi craving run, which is way after any lunch rush and the dining area is filthy. Most tables are dirty. There is some trash on the floor. If they did a better job with dining room cleanliness and had a better desert menu, I would give them the 5^th star.
My other issue is the lack of a dessert/​drink menu. A midday Spam Musubi craving needs a little something extra. Who doesn’t love Spam on rice wrapped in seaweed but it needs a counterpart like a Caramel Moolatte from Dairy Queen. The perfect balance of soft serve and caffeine to go along with the salty meaty Spam. Yum.

Good mix of basic local favorites. I flipped around on the highway to get here.
Pros: good menu mix with lots of spam and Bbq choices. They have Aloha Hawaiian juice. Kalua pig was super Ono.
Cons: The rice tastes like jasmine instead of the typical sticky calrose. The saimin broth want very flavorful.
Comments: Advertise the fried saimin, that’s what I thought I was ordering. Get some kamaboko in there too. I think the Alohana Bowl should be one scoop mac salad and one scoop rice. I was bummed I didn’t get mac salad. And please clean the bottom of the chair legs. They’re sticking to the floor and it feels like a gross movie theater.

Short ribs, white rice and pineapple were delicious! The little mayonnaise based salad on the side was not my cup of tea, but that’s okay! I’d highly recommend. The flavor in the ribs and the way they prepare is worth 8.95 for sure. I’d come back.

Finally was able to try this place! Ordered the volcano chicken, hawaiian bbq mix, and got the Aloha Maid — Strawberry Orange. All entrees come with white rice and a side of macaroni salad!
FOOD: Food here is very good! The volcano chicken was delicious — the chicken is crispy, breaded and fried (similar to chicken katsu), but the sauce they use is a special sauce (not the normal chicken katsu curry sauce), which is spicy and tangy! The hawaiian bbq mix was tasty, with barbecued chicken, beef, and kalbi short ribs, but I personally enjoyed the volcano chicken more! The hawaiian bbq mix also comes with a grilled pineapple slice, which was yummy. The macaroni salad was also good. Portion sizes are pretty good, and I can’t complain about the pricing! (about $ 6-​$ 8 per entrée). The strawberry orange alohamaid was not bad, but wasn’t crazy about it — it’s essentially strawberry juice!
AMBIANCE: The ambiance is very casual and relaxed and makes you feel like you’re in Hawaii, or in a tropical destination! :)
SERVICE: Service was excellent. I was greeted right away, and my order was taken shortly after. The young woman who took my order was very friendly and we conversed while my order was being prepared.
VERDICT: I do plan on returning — plan on trying other dishes!

Having moved from California to Iowa, I really missed my Hawaiian food. I discovered this place when the location was on the Clive/​West Des Moines area and my heart broke when I came by the west Des Moines location and it closed.
When I found out it moved to Ankeny, you’d have thought I won the lottery — this place is very very unique to the area.
I have family in Hawaii and have experienced some great traditional Hawaiian food. This place is pretty on par with them. The food is pretty consistent and the staff is always friendly.
If you’re new to the cuisine, the staples are white rice, Mac salad, and an entrée. It’s delicious and even the most boring Iowan palate can be satisfied here.
The only reason I didn’t 5-​star it is because the tables are not always the cleanest.
I love this place — hope it stays around for a while.

Spent the weekend with my daughter Genevieve Wright in Ankeny IA and before returning home today we decided to try Alohana Hawaiian Grill. Not having much experience with Hawaiian food I really had nothing to fall on to compare but what I did have there was quite good.
I had their Hawaiian BBQ plate which consisted of thin sliced beef, thin sliced beef rib and Chicken. All in generous portions with steamed white rice and macaroni salad. We also ordered the crab Rangoon and pot stickers that seemed to be of a potato mixture for the filling. The Crab Rangoon was very good with a nice creamy filling but the real surprise was the sweet/​sour sauce. It was not the same stuff you get in most Chinese restraunts but was more likely their own recipe that was more sweet than sour. I liked it. The meat was teriyaki glazed and seasoned nicely.
For a get away from the norm of fast food this was an excellent place that I would not
Hesitate to go back to again. Prices were not cheap but right along pace with other take out restraunts in the area.

First time ever trying Hawaiian cuisine and I am impressed. Take out tiki bar style was super cute and eclectic ! Lived the vibe of the place right down to the music playing! And the sodas! Super yummy!
Loved the BBQ chicken, per recommendation by the staff! Staff said it was a best seller! I could see why! Almost like a hibachi teriyaki chicken served with a large portion of rice, a piece of yummy grilled pineapple, and a macaroni salad. The macaroni salad was sweet but not too sweet, creamy, and soft. Really good but hard to describe. You get a large portion!
Not sure on authenticity but sure was yummy!
Place was clean and really well bright. Staff was pretty friendly and great with recommendations!

My boyfriend, being from Hawaii, doesn’t get much local food in Omaha. And being a frequent flyer to Oahu, I realize I miss the food even more than the beaches most of the time. So, making the drive to Ankeny is definitely worth the trip for us!
The menu is very authentic, having items you’d find at any Hawaii food truck or restaurant that serves local food plate lunches. The loco mocos, which are hamburger patties drenched in gravy over rice and topped with an over-​easy egg, is absolutely mouth-​watering. The spam musubis were also super tasty, and the Mac salad was as authentic as you can get. I also love the fact that they have Hawaiian Sun canned juice, which is super refreshing. The portions are great for what you pay for. Large menu to choose from with various meats to create your plate lunch!

This is a great little place, for not much more then a Big Mac you can have a much healthier meal. This place is fast, but much better then fast food. The menu has typical Hawaiian items such as spam, specialty burgers, bbq (teriyaki bbq sauce), seafood, and Katsu. Many of the menu items seem to be a blend of asian and american, which makes sense since Hawaii is half way between the mainland and Asia. I find they have some of the best crab ragoons, and my favorite meal is not on the menu. But since the owner is so accommodating she always gives me a bbq mix with Katsu (a breaded deep fried chicken) instead of beef ribs.

went there following a Unilocaler’s suggestions, it is amazing!
i ordered a loco moco, the thing I liked about:
1. it is not loaded with salt, it is a bit on the healthy side, yet tasty
2. the beef patty is well marinated and quite flavourful, than just plain salty taste
i cannot comment on the authenticity of the food as this is the first time i have Hawaiian food.
the portion is a bit on the smaller side, but compared to the price it is not bad

Being from Honolulu, I was shocked to see on my Unilocal radar that there was a «hawaiian food» joint not far from my hotel. Could there really be hawaiian food in Ankeny, IA??? My curiousity got the best of me, and I was dying to try a slice of home while visiting. Although I can make most of the menu items myself and grew up cooking hawaiian dishes at home, I really wanted to support this small business in the middle of the US promoting my hometown-​and of course evaluate it’s authenticity. Besides just having a good recipe for these menu items, Alohana grill must also find all the ingredients to make these dishes, and in my experience, not always easy to find in the middle the US. My family members send me care packages for the items that I need and cannot find out here. I also find that I tend to be more lenient on foods and restaurants that pop up in places where they are not expected, because I support the expansion of new things in areas that are used to the same olé thing all the time. I researched into the background of the restaurant a little and found this great article written a few years back:
I guess the chain originated from California and the owner Nay Baccam did actually grow up in Hawaii. It’s funny, no matter where you are in the US when you find someone who is from hawaii its like an instant feeling of community, or Ohana. I expected her to talk to me a bit more esp after I mentioned I was from Hawaii but she seemed busy training a new employee and kind of just brushed me off a bit. Too bad, I would have liked to hear her story about how it all started.
I agree the decorations are a bit tacky, but hey that’s part of the experience right? All the plate lunch places in Hawaii have a very casual vibe, as if they might be a food truck that became a permanent restaurant (A little history lesson: Plate lunches originated from food trucks back in the 1880’s for plantations workers on the sugar cane and pineapple fields of hawaii. Mixed with the Chinese, Japanese, Portugal, and the Philippines influence, it became a mixture of rice, mac salad, and a meat dish)
I decided to order the Loco moco, and it was pretty good. I can get a better one in Hawaii, but this is Iowa folks! I can tell that the beef had been marinated and the beef patty was generous. One egg and about a scoop of rice. All for $ 6.77, that’s really affordable. It’s not quite as much food as they pile on in Hawaii but that’s also prob a good thing.
I recommend any of you who stop in Ankeny to try Hawaiian food here. I’m all about spreading cultures all over :)

All I have to say is that this place is amazing! Now, I have never had Hawaiian food before so I cannot say if this is authentic cuisine or not, but I can say the food will not disappoint.
I have been here countless times, I probably stop by twice a month. The food options are limited which is a plus because you don’t need to be bombarded with different choices. This is also a go order your food at the counter set up, not sit down restaurant. When looking at the menu on the board, there is a very Asian inspired selection. You can pretty much order standard Asian restaurant appetizers such as eggrolls, crab rangoons, chicken wings, etc.
Now, when I eat here, 90% of the time I order the BBQ Mix plate, which I want to say is there signature dish. It is a combination of beef slices, short rib, and BBQ chicken served with rice and their famous macaroni. There is a good amount of food and the flavors are wonderful. I can’t describe the macaroni, it is creamy and fulfilling.
The noodle soup is good, reminds me of Japanese ramen from Japanese restaurants. Their special appetizer is a spam on rice sushi-​looking snack. I have had it and can only say it is average, worth a try, but nothing amazing.
The price is standard, price would be like eating at a standard Asian restaurant. Staff has always been friendly. A plus of this location is that there are not many people who know about this place, so it is a quiet atmosphere for eating. Usually there are only a couple of other families here while I am here.

My significant other is part Hawaiian so I must learn to eat Hawaiian food. This won’t be a problem, I love it so far. I can see this becoming a usual spot for me.
First off this place is authentic, not just a name sake. They have many native dishes available. I would describe the food as BBQ/​Islander/​Asian fusion (I hope that makes sense) since Hawaii is very diverse they have many cultural influences. Very delicious unique blend of items. I had loco moco and Kaluha pork both were excellent.
Definitely check them out, they are pretty quick with getting your food out.