Ola

The best thing Ola’s has going for it is the beach. The food is mediocre at best and the service was terrible. I even tried giving it a second chance but was disappointed at both dinner and lunch.
At dinner we were sat under a non working fan and against sliding doors that we were told «are broken and don’t open.» The air was stagnant and it was quite hot out. The host was rude in general and dripped water over our food and backs when filling our glasses. Salads were served on hot plates. The fish was mushy. And really for the price, the food was quite underwhelming.
When I called to order lunch I was told that they don’t usually take orders over the phone and was given attitude the I wasn’t coming into the restaurant to order. Wow, ok?! When I picked up my food I walked into the bar and the servers were sitting around reading magazines. Not sure if they were on a break but when other customers were asking for help they just pointed to menus on the counter. They did nothing to actually offer any service. I will never come back here.

Ola has potential, but it lacks in some of the most basic areas. The restaurant is located directly on the beach, which is great and wonderful in terms of the views. The major lacking element to a better review is the service. As you’ve read about in other reviews too, this is a major downfall of the restaurant.
On our visit, we had a reservation scheduled at 8pm, 2 hours before the restaurant closed. We were called by the hostess, who was rude (also a common theme in other reviews) telling us to get there quickly or they were just going to close and send everyone home. No exaggeration, it was simple: take it or leave it. The manager wanted to close up. Are you kidding me, in a retail business?
Nonetheless, we had no other options for dinner at that point and we rushed to our reservation only to find that there were several other people in the restaurant who hadn’t been served yet, and another couple that came 20 minutes after us! What’s the rush, and how would you have been able to close early?!
We’ve never felt more rushed, or unappreciated, un-​welcomed at a restaurant ever. Then, to sit and watch the Manager pace around the kitchen prep area, (in front of all the customers) just staring at his phone, literally pacing, was so disturbing. In retrospect we just should have left.
Nonetheless, our server was nice, and the food was decent, but not over the top for $ 30 entrees. The hummus appetizer trio was a great choice, and delicious. The entrees were average, bland almost. We had the short ribs and the fresh fish (see our pictures).
There is a lack of real dining options where Turtle Bay is, unless you go into Hale’iwa, which you should do. Ola is just plan average, and with management having no interest in customer service, just self-​serving himself, it won’t be a place we visit again.

Made a reservation on Saturday, for the next day@ 6:30 PM; only to learn that they closed early on Sunday. We were never called, nor warned, nor anything. Disappointed beyond my ability to express. Can you leave ZERO STARS?

Is it closing time yet? The workers really didn’t seem to want to be here. The food was good, but there was more attention to closing up. Too bad, great location!
Beware of the Ahi Poke, I was sick for 24 hours…

We had a beautiful table on the sand. Our waiter was very attentive and so knowledgable about the fish and wine pairings. I got the butterfish and it was divine. Nothing was rushed and everything was timed well.
Everything was absolutely perfect! We even saw some whales spouting! Coming back again for sure!

Really enjoyed coming to Ola for its beautiful environment and delicious food. Been coming for years, their edamame with roasted garlic and grilled Octopus has been my favorite.
We ordered the edamame with roasted garlic, and Ahi poke for appetizer. The Edamame was so delicious with the roasted garlic. The sweet roasted garlic adds the extra special flavor needed to make this dish restaurant worthy. The Ahi poke was tasty, and good quality.
Sadly, no more grilled octopus on their menu.
For the main course, their garlic shrimp was large and well charred. There are three large shrimp on top of a bed a red quinoa. Healthy and delicious. However, the price was $ 19.
Great restaurant with mesmerizing ocean view.

Waited 20 min for service. We went inside to the bar to order drinks. Waitress comes out and said «oh you got your drinks already. Just so you know this is table service only but it’s slow, I’ll let it slide this time.» Nice attitude — only tip she’s getting is maybe you should do your job so we didn’t break your so called «rules».

Honestly, I felt the servers didn’t want to be there, which hey sometimes I don’t want to be at work too, but you suck it up. Especially when dealing with customers. Food was Meh, kind of blah. and drinks were neither strong or tasty. I’m happy to know that this place will be closing and a Roy’s will be taking its place!

Located right on the beach, you really can’t go wrong with the view. My husband and I stayed at Turtle Bay for our honeymoon and tried this restaurant our first night. It was so good we ended up going back another night. The food was better on a weekend night than a week day night, probably better chefs. The Misoyaki Butterfish was to die for. And the Poke… wow, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. The staff were very friendly and wonderful. The service was great. Definitely worth going to, even if you’re not staying at Turtle Bay.

Checked into Turtle Bay Resort after a 12 hour day of airports and flights to get to Hawaii. Wanting something good to eat that was nearby and with a view of the beautiful Hawaiian waves I went to Ola right there at the resort; although it is an independently owned restaurant that is on the Turtle Bay Resort property. Without reservations and on a Sunday night seating wasn’t an issue, although the wait for food was a bit long since a table of 12 had just ordered – however the waitress covered the desert for the wait time, which she got back extra for the tip for that act of kindness – again, service goes a long way with me in terms of my return business! The food was worth the wait as was the Mai Tai I had watching the waves. The Five-​Spiced Grilled Shrimp and Quinoa Salad was delicious and made the arrival to the island very fitting.

The view and ambience of this place is worth it. Turtle Bay is one of the most beautiful spots on the island. I would only eat at this place again because our waiter was a Jets fan and you have quite possibly the best view of the beach… because you’re on it! The food prices aren’t too bad and likewise with the drinks. Their lunch menu was small but had a variety of different types of food for everyone to enjoy. I ordered three Kaloa (sp?) tacos but also sampled the nui hot dog. My tacos were great, but the hot dog was both delicious and filling. Next time I go there I’m getting the dog. My he tacos were still good and filling, but the restaurant needs to get a hot sauce other than Tabasco! It’s a must eat if you’re in Turtle Bay!!!

PARADISE with ATTITUDE!
What a view! Talk about an advantage on your competition… Yah baby!
It’s too bad that Ola and its staff has no desire to give good service, and have fun doing it!
Maybe it’s because by some crazy design the Turtle Bay Resort has every option for food closed except Ola’s and the Pool Bar. No main restaurant, room service, ect., so you have to choose between the two spots.
The joke is on us as a party of twelve!
Yesterday half tried Ola’s and the others the pool. My wife told me that Ola’s service was bad, but after the pictures I took at the beach this morning I thought «how bad could it be?»
Ha ha. I dined with «Spencer R.» Who clearly hates his job, and showed me how bad it can really be!
Besides bad service we had an order of some bland tacos. Seriously… Tacos and bland do not go together. We also had the Ahi goulash, and a few plates of frowns from Spencer along the way!
Who can screw up a beautiful day at the beach?
3,2,1… Spencer can!
The worst part is we are stuck here for 5 more days… I hear the taco trucks are pretty good, but why can’t Ola’s get it together?
Back to the pool I guess…
#restingonsaramarshall #goodviewgonebad
#replacethebadapples

For lunch: I have had a better burger at McDonalds. The patties were performed and processed, I ordered medium rare, it came well done, dry, and missing any juice whatsoever.
Dinner: Came back because a party member really wanted the octopus and butter fish. We were hoping the dinner would be better, so we ordered the Octopus to give them a second chance.
The octopus was cooked correctly however it was literally drowned in oil! The vegetables were soggy, the drinks were so-​so at best.
We decided to leave and go somewhere else. Very disappointing! The word around the resort is there lease is up at the end of the year, and quite frankly they don’t care!
So beware!

Ola is apparently the only restaurant in Oahu that sits directly on the beach! The restaurant has an open & airy layout and of course a beautiful view of the water.
We had the misoyaki butter fish & scallop risotto. The misoyaki butter fish was flavourful, moist and cooked perfectly. Though, the portion of the fish was on the smaller side. Next, the scallop risotto was good, but didn’t hit the spot for me. I actually had to turn the first risotto back to the kitchen because it was over salted! The second one was better, but I still wasn’t a fan that the risotto wasn’t creamy enough. It kinda tasted like wet fried rice.
Also, the drink list is pretty extensive, though beware of the tropical drinks. We ordered 2 drinks off this list, I can’t remember exactly what we ordered (one was a lemonade drink??) Anyways, not sure what the bartender was doing because the drinks tasted horrible. Both drinks tasted like cough syrup!
Overall the restaurant was just A-​OK. The food was OK, the tropical drinks were bad, the view was awesome and the service was another OK. Our server wasn’t very attentive and we pretty much had to wave her down to grab anything.

I visited here a while ago, but the experience was quite memorable. The prices are fair for the location, as it comes with a fantastic view. The service was average, not over the top friendly, but helpful nonetheless. I would recommend making a reservation, which I was able to do online through Open Table.
I ordered the Misoyaki Butterfish, and it was one of the most rich and delicious fish dishes I have ever had. The fish had a natural buttery flavor to it (this may sound unintelligent, but full disclosure: I’m not sure if butterfish is a type of fish or just a style of cooking a certain type of fish), and each bite was a savory bit of heaven in your mouth. It quickly became my favorite seafood dish, but it cannot be found in many places on the main land (at least from what I have seen).
Fun fact: this is the restaurant where many of the scenes from «Forgetting Sarah Marshall» were filmed, and that is indeed why I chose to dine here. I highly recommend it to anyone!

First off, stop here if for no other reason than to say you dined at the very same restaurant where the best line of Forgetting Sarah Marshall was shot… «Take my eyes but not the shirt!»
Secondly, it’s the only restaurant on the entire island that serves food on the beach, so it provides for a very special ambience (especially for dinner), and the food here is also quite good!
I would recommend ordering the kalua pork nachos (must order) and butterfish (very tender). Also the macadamia nut tart is very sweet but VERY good, and the kona (coffee-​flavored) cheesecake is also great!
By the way, service was wonderful :)

Right up my alley– fresh, local, organic. I really enjoyed the ambiance — right on the beach, with option for toes in the sand or dining inside the open-​air restaurant.
Had the mushroom risotto with fresh fish– monchong today– and grilled Kahuku shrimp. Both seafoods were perfectly cooked and moist. This and a top shelf cocktail and I’m very happy, watching the bay and the waves while enjoying fresh foods of Hawaii, a win-​win!
I just had the «house made» chocolate cake, good but I like lava cakes better.

A 3.5 in total. The food was good. We had salmon and the rib eye steak. Yum. The drinks were good and the wait staff kept the water glasses full. If I were rating the food and service only they would get a higher score.
The cons: there are alot of cats that hang out in the restaurant area. They are constantly begging for food. The wait staff tried to keep them away from those folks eating bit were unsuccessful. Additionally, one of the waiters kicked a cat to get it away from one of his tables. While I didn’t want the cat begging I didn’t want to see it abused either. Very disappointing.

Omg! The view and prices do NOT match. During this trip where you eat and what you pay is akin to buying a house. Location, location, location.
The food is so underpriced I could not believe my eyes. I am eating right on the beach. The open air is fabulous.
The food was good. The menu is small but has something for everyone. The beef is local sourced and fresh. The Super Burger is spicy and a veggies delight.
A good choice during your stay that will not break the bank. Just turn off the road at Turtle Beach.

One star if that much honestly. My boyfriend and I came here for Valentine’s Day and it was so not great. The menu had been altered, so I was expecting to eat that yummy looking grilled shrimp my fellow Unilocalers wrote about so much. So here is how it went:
Drinks: eh, nothing special and my boyfriend returned his Ola tea because it tasted like grapefruit, ew. At least the server was able to change it to a Blue Hawaiian which was ok. I had a lava flow, can’t mess that one up.
Food: Was pretty awful, as I said before I had to settle for something else because they didn’t have the grilled shrimp. I got the salmon which was pretty much fish and some nasty beans on a pretty plate. Same went with my boyfriend and his dish, he got the Risotto with seafood trio. The Risotto was not completely cooked, the fish was mediocre and not fresh at all. I am honestly surprised this place has this many stars.
Server: When we mentioned that we were not going to eat dessert because the food was not good, the server didn’t really care and just said she was going to bring out the bill. She only came out a couple of times to see if everything was ok if that much.
Overall this place is just fancy shmancy because of the location. They are just trying to get money from tourists who are staying at Turtle Bay. This place was such a disappointment and on Valentine’s Day. Never again. All for $ 85. I prefer eating greasy cheap bar food which I know will be good. I don’t usually type this much but I needed to rant. Ok rant over.