Fort Street Bar & Grill

They’re no longer there!!! But I absolutely loved their orange chicken and fried pork chops. Great place to hang out and have a few after work.
Someone bring them back!

Never had lunch service, but was always there for after work drinks and pupus. Love the clams and fries.

When they say you can’t go home again, they really do mean it.
Before spending a few years working out in the food wilderness of Mapunapuna, I’d worked in downtown in the early 2000s and would regularly go to what was then the Amfac Tower to get lunch from Fort Street Bar and Grill. Thursdays were Turkey day and if you didn’t go early you’d be out of luck. They made absolutely the best plate lunches in the downtown area, serving food that was inexpensive, plentiful, and so very very good. I’m not sure if it was because they shared cooking lineage or genetic code with their sister joint, Side Street Inn, but back in the early 2000s there was no other place in town that could serve meatloaf, spareribs, spaghetti, baked ahi, pork chops, or essentially any kind of lunch food that didn’t grow in dirt (i.e., salad) the way FSBG did.
Even better, after hours, the place converted into a karaōke bar and served the best pupus (again, probably akin to the Side Street stuff): fried rice to die for, garlic fries, edamame by the fistful, and those dangerous pork chops. The karaōke was free, and the booze came from the bar that sits just upstairs from the plate lunch buffet.
Boy, the times they are a changin’.
Having worked in downtown again since 2006, I’d avoided going back to FSBG, choosing instead to explore the other five square blocks in the urban core of Honolulu. But, I thought it was high time to revisit this old haunt and see if, like fine wine, it had aged well. I came expecting Pinot Noir and, instead, got Spanada. Worse, Spanada in a box.
The food’s become barely passable. There are a few things that maybe — maybe — I would recommend, but I’d have to say that since returning to FSBG I’ve been disappointed more often than not. I haven’t been to an L&L Drive Inn in years and, honestly, it was because of food like what they’re serving here now. The counter girls have some serious attitude problems and could maybe use some Joker/​BrandX formula to put a smile on their faces.
Also, I know that when you’ve got twenty customers in line you might be a little distracted, or rushed, but when I’m the only person standing in front of you, I’d appreciate it if you took a little more time paying attention to what you’re doing. What’s the point, honestly, of me choosing a tossed salad if your sloppy serving skills routinely flood all three container sections with gravy? Don’t bother putting any dressing on my salad, thankyouverymuch, the curry sauce is going to bury everything but a small tip of my scoop of rice. They aren’t giving out big portions — it’s just simple laziness.
When a colleague and I decided to eat in rather than take our food back to the office, I was met with yet another sad disappointment. Not only was the karaōke area gone, it is now filled to the rafters with supplies of all sorts and was dark, dank, and a little filthy. To top it off, the potatoes in our stew were raw. Not undercooked, or a little firm, but fresh-​from-​the-​Earth-​just-​peeled-​and-​popped-​into-​the-​pot-​20-​minutes-​ago raw.
It’s sad to think that as good as FSBG once was, it’s been allowed to go on a long, decrepit slide into mediocrity.

Food is okay, to me, it’s not worth the price. Nothing is spectacular or wows me there. My husband likes the turkey they have on Tuesdays, but I think C&G’s one is better. The gravy at FSBG is tasteless, but C&G’s is tastier. The portions are small and very pricey for a plate lunch. They used to give more before. I would have given them 2 stars, but the absolute worse thing about them is their service. The girls there are rude and moody. Sometimes, the oriental cashier girl there is really nice, but the other girl there is extremely rude and won’t hold back on letting you know you irritated her. She would roll her eyes, toss your plate over to the other girl or even let out a sigh for you to hear. Although I think if I was a guy, I’d get better service. Otherwise, many people I know thinks the same about her. She talks to you as if you were transparent and just unimportant. Geez, you’d think if someone disliked working with people, they would get a job that doesn’t!

Went for pork chops on Wednesday. I got the «mini plate» with comes with only one pork chop with gravy, mac salad, and two scoops of rice (brown, white, or mixed). For me, it was just about right. The «regular plate» comes with two pork chops and that would’ve been overkill for me. The prices between the two wasn’t prohibitive either, seeing that I think it was only around a buck something difference. I just wasn’t feeling two pork chop hungry that day. Anyway, the pork chops were good, but having the gravy on them made them great! I inhaled them and just left a bare bone remaining.
Additionally, I finally found the name of the building that it is located in, which is the Topa Building. It is actually at the makai (ocean) end of the Fort Street Mall along Ala Moana Blvd. If you wander right out side the front of the Topa Building (which faces Leeward) you’ll have a nice view of the fountain outside and Aloha Tower.
It’s mainly for area workers at lunchtime, so plan ahead accordingly because it can be fairly busy at peak hours.

Great lunch spot for those who work in the Downtown Honolulu area. My favorite is the Prime Rib French Dip sandwich for $ 10. A little pricey but well worth the money.

I was introduced to Fort Street Bar & Grill by my father who works in a building nearby. It’s a small, hole in the wall type joint that most people will have much difficulty finding, but, trust me, it’s worth the effort.
Fort Street Bar & Grill is the sister (brother?) restaurant of the famous Side Street Inn near Ala Moana. I’ve never been to the upstairs portion of the restaurant where people usually go for pupus and drinks, but I’ve been a regular of FSBG’s lower level plate lunch take-​out for nearly a year. Everytime I’m at school in the mainland, I ALWAYS crave FSBG plate lunches, and it’s always one of the first things I eat when I get back.
FSBG is not like most plate lunch restaurants; they don’t have a set menu. Each day the restaurant cooks up several dishes, which you can order by themselves, or mix and match to create a mixed plate type dish. Each plate lunch comes with your choice of white or brown rice and tossed of mac salad. Let me say that their mac salad is probably the BEST IN HAWAI’I (from what I’ve eaten). I have no idea how they make it, but it’s got a really distinct flavor that is absolutely amazing. If you’re a fan of mac salad like I am, this place is a must.
The food is always delicous, and they provide a wide variety of entrees for just about everyone’s taste. They usually have some type of chicken, pork, fish, and stew dish available. They also have pre-​made salads available for those looking for a healthy option.
While I haven’t exactly memorized the menu of specials, I can recommend Wednesday as probably the best day to go. They usually have chicken katsu (amazing!) and beef curry (also amazing!) and you can combine them to order a katsu curry plate lunch, which is always a winnah! Also, if you’re lucky, they may have the famous fried pork chops available. All I can say is that these pork chops are deep-​fried, salty, peppery goodness. Add some gravy and you have one of my favorite plate lunches on the island.
My only complaint would be that the plate lunches are a tad bit pricier than the standard, but it’s worth it considering the food quality. If you want a delicious, filling plate lunch, FSBG will not disappoint!
Rating:
⁵⁄₅
Pros:
Possibly the best plate lunch you can find in Honolulu.
Cons:
A little expensive, but I think it’s worth it.

To kick off the holiday season’s feasting weeks, I decided to start getting lunch from this place. For a while, I was intimidated to order the real meal here. Oh no, don’t take me wrong… it’s not that they’re bad, but because everything looks so yummy and heavy.
Everyday they have different kines of comfort foods like baked spaghetti, beef stew, lasagna, ahi furikake (fried), mochiko chicken (fried) or garlic spicy chicken (again…fried). Basically if you’re not afraid to fall into food coma zone after lunch, please slap on those extra mac salad on top of the gravy. Most of the times, I order the chinese chicken sald, which is very tasty eventho I know that I’m lying to myself about the oily dressing.
I’m not a big fan of Side Street-​Inn, which is owned by the same owner as this establishment, but I gotta say that this local eatery has grown on me. But I should not frequent this place too much… unless I decide one day that I need extra tire & love handle… ehhe. good eats!

This lunch place is pretty much like my second home. My Co-​workers & I frequently order lunch from Fort Street. Now for those of you who don’t know it, Fort Street and Side Street is the same owner and therefore serve up the same type of food. It’s important to know that because everyone knows how popular Side Street is. What’s great about this place is that the menu changes daily. Our favorite day to go is on Thursdays because of the Swiss steak with gravy all over… oh snap!
My boss and I had a meeting down there today so we decided to drop by there. I ordered the Beef Stew with Brown Rice and Toss Salad. Big mistake I tell you, my eyes are so heavy right now… uuugghh. Shit what am I gonna do for the next four hours?
Well… I’m gonna take a nap and try not to get caught (heh). Hey boss, if you’re reading this I’m just kidding! ZZZzzzzzz…