Hula Dog

K, they got a new employee. Totally different experience.
The bread was perfect. Lemonade was perfect. Dog was awesome!
Glad they got rid of the kinks!

Not like there old location. The place is a pain to find and the lady was very polite but she had open sores up and down her arms. I will never eat there again.

I’ve eaten at this location twice and the first time was okay but the second time I ate here I was given an old, disgusting hot dog that tasted like crap the second I bit into it. The young kid who made it didn’t seem to give a crap that he was giving that disgusting old hotdog to a customer and I will never go back to that place because of it.

Took me so long to finally try Hula Dog for lunch. Its kinda tucked away near Bishop towards Fort Street Mall, a quieter location.
Let me just say this nails any sort of hot dog craving I might have. I got the polish sausage in a wheat bun with mild garlic sauce and coconut relish with guava. Freaking fantastic!!!
Salty, sweet, garlicky, softness of the bread, snap of the sausage… oooo soooo good!
The bun is the wrap around type, pretty much a huge bun with a hole cut in it to place the sausage, then all the goodies included inside.
Got the combo which includes a large fresh squeezed lemonade (delish!!) and some maui onion chips, I think it was around $ 8 which is competitive for downtown lunch.

Okay, so on my first attempt, I walked about two miles to this location since it was a nice day outside and the International Marketplace location is closed for construction. Arrive and learn that they’re closed for Memorial Day. Not a happy camper; the website said nothing about the closure, like many other restaurants’ websites did.
Finally made it back and got my Puka Dog on. Sorry, it’ll always be Puka Dog to me; something about the name «Hula Dog» just sounds like something lame at the Arizona State Fair, less authentic. I know, I know, but it’s a mental hangup I have about them.
Somehow they just weren’t QUITE as good as I remember. Perhaps my palate has matured (doubt it), perhaps I wasn’t as hungry the two times I went this trip (doubt it), or maybe there are just subtle differences in the process or the appliances that have almost-​imperceptible yet detrimental effects… but I didn’t love it the way I did at the other location.
Lost one star for the minor drop in quality, lost one star for not having holiday hours listed on the website, so as much as it breaks my heart, it’s just a three-​and-​a-​half star place nowadays, to me. I gave it four stars, however, because I was always taught to round-​up, and for the sake of nostalgia.

Hula Dog Aka Puka Dog is one of my favorite places in all the land.
Service is great. The employees are fun, nice and seem to enjoy working there.
First off the lemonade is baller. Ask them to put a little less sugar in it.
I always go with the wheat bun but the bacon taro is great. Skip the the white bread.
Their veggie dog was rated top 5 by PETA and will change your mind about veggie dogs. Skip the cruelty and go with the veggie. Takes maybe 2 more minutes but you won’t notice cause you are going to be sucking down your lemonade.
The next selections are overwhelmingly awesome. They have a variety of sauces and you can’t go wrong from here.
Me: wheat, veggie, hot, coconut relish and lilikoi mustard.
Partner: wheat, veggie, hot-​hot, pineapple relish, lilikoi mustard
My buddy Andrew: taro, meat, mild, coconut, papaya.

I’m so sad that there isn’t a location in Waikiki anymore. This one downtown is a little hard to find and parking is no fun. It’s on the otherSide of aloha salads and you can’t see it from the street. The only parking near huladog now are the paid parking lots.
Anyways, I had to come here because I sadly crave huladog. If you are wanting a regular, beefy, hot dog, this isn’t the place to go. Hula dog has many options on relishes and mustards. My favorite combination is a polish dog on white bread with mango relish and lilikoi mustard. It’s pretty sweet & some of my friends don’t like it because it’s a sweet hot dog. But to me, it’s soooo delicious. It’s such a good combination of sweet and savory. I also recommend getting the fresh squeezed lemonade.
Since the last time I’ve been, they’ve added new relishes and also added the bacon taro bread that I really want to try next time.

I had the taro bacon bread, polish, mild garlic and mango relish and it was delicious! I didn’t taste bacon but the bread was very good; as others noted the buns are a little too big. I also enjoyed their lemonade. I would like to go back and try other toppings and breads.
The price was a little high for a hot dog, chips and drink; my combo was close to $ 10.

I just went to search for this place since it was recommended by a few of my friends and the one at international market closed. Upon arriving I notice the young cat who worked there just listening to his music on his phone earplugs and all. He saw me and made this face like «uggh customer» he then finally took off his earphones and just looked at me. I waited for him to say something but nothing. I asked «Are you open?» He replied yes. «Oh I didn’t know because you were just standing there not saying anything.» At this point I wanted to say eff it… I’m not buying anything from this rude guy, but my fat ass really wanted to try this so called hula.dog. so I ordered my dog… He gave me my change. I waited and waited while watching him… He put back on his headphones and then a minute later he took it off then went to make the food. I was curious so I walked up closer to see what he was doing… When he was finally done, he just stuck out the hula dog out the window to me. No thank you no nothing. So I left and ate my dog and it was ok… There was more filling and bread then the actual polish sausage and the taro bun seem old. I ate like only half of the bun and threw the rest in the trash. Worst first experience of the hula dog for me!

8.22.13.
What a nice surprise I stumbled across when I was heading back from the Fort Street Mall area…
I loveeeed Hula Dog (s) when I had tried it at the Waikiki location. So I can vouch that it’s so worth it to come here if you’re looking for a tasty hot dog with a little local flair!
Honestly, what caught my eye today was the «Fresh Squeezed Lemonade» on the menu ($ 2.67) – it’s been ridiculously hot in downtown lately! I know, yes I did pay that much for ~20 oz. of lemonade. I have to warn you though it is a little sweet & the fresh lemon is strong! But I personally loved it!
I know one of these days I’ll be back for the signature hot dog :) yummm
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #233/​365

Since I lived in Colombia and I watched No Reservations I craved a Hula Dog.
Yummy! Taro bread, polish sausage, lilikoi mustard (just a little bit), coconut and papaya sauce.
Lemonade is delicious also.
They offer kama’aina.
I don’t give 5 stars because the bread is kinda big compared to the sausage and i always end up with a left piece of bread.

OMG… today was soooo hot and humid as I was out searching for somewhere to eat during lunch. As I was walking past Hula Dog, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the Shaved Ice picture that was staring back at me. I just had to have one to cool down! At $ 4.90, I ordered the Blue Hawaii w/​Coconut, Vanilla & Coco Cream, and boy was it HUGE and ONO! Never mind having to go all the way to North Shore to have finely shaved ice… it’s right here downtown at Union Mall! You can have single flavors up to 3, or special combos. It was all worth it, especially on a day like today! Even if you don’t have one of their delectable polish or veggie dog concoctions, at least have one of these!

We were directed to Hula Dog from a «where to eat in Waikiki for under $ 10» video on YouTube. This place was amazing. I had the taro bun, polish dog, pineapple relish with guava mustard and the mild garlic sauce and it was AMAZING. Sure, a bit on the pricier side for what is basically a hot dog with a gigantic bun, but it was really worth it. Fruity and sweet with just a hint of garlic that went great with the salty dog. I’m salivating now just thinking about it. I might go back again before I leave Waikiki to try a spicier dog. So worth it. Delicious!

Hula Dog offers polish sausages (or veggie dogs) completely wrapped in a soft bun (think a hot dog sleeve). You have a choice of white, wheat and bacon-​taro bread. Picking your bread is the easy part. Then you pick a garlic lemon sauce with various degrees of hotness, followed by fruit-​forward relish and fruit mustards. You can also get traditional toppings like plain ‘ol mustard and ketchup.
I ordered a polish sausage, in wheat bread, with spicy jalapeño, pineapple relish and guava mustard. Cost $ 7 – 8.
The dog was tasty, the bread soft, though it’s too much bread for me. I set aside about a third of the bread. The sauce and relish were ok, not spice but pretty sweet, almost dessert like. and goopy… thick fruit stuff oozing out of the end. It was a bit too much flavor for me. Next time, I may go for a simpler style.

Its different…

This is what boredom does to me. It makes me spend money on food I rarely crave to eat. It’s hard to justify spending more than what Costco charges for their polish dog.
Anyway, I came here for lunch today to try their Combo which includes a hot dog, chips, and their fresh-​squeezed lemonade for $ 8.90, tax included. I got my dog with wheat bread, spicy garlic lemon sauce, and the mango/​lilikoi relish mustard or whatevers (their recommendation). After waiting a few minutes, I got my food.
I was pretty impressed with the size of the dog at first but I’ve read the other reviewers saying there was too much bread. I completely agree. About half way through, I started ripping bread apart because there was just too much. By the end of the polish dog, there was still over an inch of bread leftover.
The relish was good. It wasn’t too sweet and had the right amount of fruitiness. However, the garlic lemon sauce was weak. I ordered the «Spicy» level sauce because it was labeled as jalapeño spicy but there was none of that. There wasn’t even a little kick. I tasted the garlic lemon sauce by itself after my meal and it was very bland. Barely any garlic flavor yet alone spice.
The saving grace for the whole meal was the fresh-​squeezed lemonade! It was sooooo good! Not too crazy sweet and still kept the lemony fresh taste. Delicious. I would come back just for their lemonade… only.
For my Downtown lunch standards, Hula Dog doesn’t add up in value and quantity. At almost $ 9 for a meal, I was still wanting more when most eateries in the area would leave me stuffed with leftovers. Hula Dog was worth a try but that’s about it.
This would be a 2.5 star review but their super refreshing lemonade earns them 3 in my book!

This was fun to try and nice to know there is a hot dog place downtown, but most likely I wont be eating here again. Its about $ 6.25 for just the hot dog or $ 8.50 for hot dog, chips, and drink. I opted to just try the hot dog today.
My choice was bacon taro bread, polish sausage, hot sauce, pineapple relish, lilikoi mustard. Lets break it down by each piece of this hot dog puzzle: 1. The bread– there was way to much bun and it didnt have much taste, I would have like to have about half the bun. It was also rather cold; 2. The hot dog-​I chose the polish sausage, but it was really small compared to the bun size, and it had a cheap taste to it; 3. Hot Sauce– I like things pretty spicy so I decided to try the Hot sauce, but I couldnt even tell there was any hot sauce present at all on my hot dog; 4. Pineapple relish– Was okay, but super super sweet, this may have ruined the whole thing; 5. the lilikoi mustard-​which they claim to be tangy, but in reality it tastes like mustard with a whole lot of sugar… gross.
Overall it was a fun experience, but not worth my $ 6 bucks. Most likely wont eat here again, I think I would rather go to Costco and get a $ 1.50 polish dog, which tastes much better then Hula Dog.

New eatery in downtown… I’m not impressed. Hula dog is similar to Puka dog, basically it’s a hot dog that’s in a hollowed out bun instead of in a bun that’s sliced in half. Then its filled with your concoction (usually garlic sauce, some type of fruit relish, and some sort of mustard). Today I tried a Taro Bacon bun, with Polish Sausage dog, no fruit relish (because I didn’t feel very fruity today), but I did get the Lilikoi Mustard, Spicy Special Garlic Sauce, and Ketchup.
The Taro Bacon bun was cold in some spots, warm in others, not bad but way too much bun to dog ratio. The Polish Sausage didn’t taste really good. IDK why, it just tasted cheap or something. I would’ve rather had Costco hot dog. :) The Lilikoi Mustard, Spicy Special Garlic Sauce, and Ketchup were good though… Except the Spicy Jalepeno Garlic Sauce wasn’t spicy and the hot chili pepper garlic sauce my coworker got wasn’t hot! LAME.
They make a sort of happy face on the top of the dog with the sauces which is cute, but… it makes the first bite really unappealing. haha. Then, the inside (idk if its the way it was made or just how it is, but the rest of the dog, the sauces seemed to evaporate! They probably got soaked up in the bun, but that was just disappointing.
For a Hula dog and some chips, I think it cost around $ 8. Meh. Not impressed. This probably won’t be a go-​to place for lunch.

polish dog so good
licking sauce off my fingers
mango relish wins

When I noticed that Hula Dog was coming to the downtown area, I frantically called my boyfriend; the conversation went something like this:
«Babe, they are opening a Hula Dog DOWNTOWN!»
«Oh my god, really?!»
«Yes! We can eat there EVERYDAY for lunch now! We don’t have to go into Waikiki for them anymore!»
«Let’s do it.»
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long to get my Hula Dog fix; I think they opened either this weekend or today.
Today I had: bacon taro bread, polish sausage, spicy garlic sauce, coconut relish and lilikoi mustard. I was pleasantly surprised to actually find bits of bacon in the bread! Yummmm. I was worried the bacon flavor might be a bit overwhelming but it isn’t at all and adds a nice hint of flavor.
The staff was extremely friendly. When we arrived, they asked if we had been to Hula Dog before, we replied that we have visited the one in Waikiki and they told us the difference between the two locations:
1. No kama’aina discount
2. They offer a combo: fresh squeezed lemonade (delicious!), chips and a dog for $ 8.50.
Downtown has such a wealth of food places, it was about time Hula Dog got in on the action.
I will be back!
Plus, they have shave ice :)