L & L Hawaiian BBQ Drive-Thru

I still love you, L&L…
…but I don’t like that you now sell chinese food.
Let’s keep it, A’ina, and get that chinese ish outta Hawaiian joints.
Mahalo.

My wife & I had lunch at L & L Drive-​In on Monday 4 May.
This was a late lunch at about 2:30PM, so some of our favorite restaurants were closed during midday, but L & L always seems to be open.
My wife ordered the Teriyaki Beef Burger combo — fries and a small drink — and I ordered the Mahi Mahi Burger combo. My wife enjoyed her Teriyaki Beef Burger, while I found my Mahi Mahi Burger disappointing as the delicate fish flavor was overwhelmed by the too powerful sliced raw onion — grilling the onion would have made for a better sandwich.
The portion size of the accompanying French fries was huge. However, the potatoes were of crinkle cut frozen variety, so a disappointment.
The service was prompt, as the restaurant was nearly empty at this odd lunch hour. The food was served sans plate or tray — burger was wrapped in paper and the fries in a paper bag, even McD’s gives you a tray.
Of the many places in and near Kapaa, L &L does not merit your attention or appetite.

Got the Teriyaki bowl. Very fatty chicken and the rice was old tasting.

We went to this location twice and the one in Hanalei once. I ordered the «healthy» BBQ chicken which comes with brown rice and salad, and it was amazing. My folks both ordered the regular BBQ chicken that comes with white rice and macaroni salad. It’s great that they offer full size or «mini» portion options.
The chicken is great, has a great teriyaki flavor and has the skin on it. Which may or may not be your thing, haha.
Another time my dad and I had to try the infamous saiman (sp?) ramen burger. I got the chicken option, my dad the teriyaki beef option. The ramen «patties» were so hot I had to wait a few minutes to attempt to eat it, but once I could, it was great. Very unique. The chicken was the same as in their BBQ chicken dishes.
With all meals I ordered their Taro bubble tea and it was always tasty and creamy.
The food is good, but we stuck to the basics. I’m not sure how their many different dishes are. The guy taking our order at the Hanalei location was very friendly, but the gal at the Kapaa location was kind of uninterested and hard to understand. The décor needs an update, but it’s very clean, and has air conditioned searing inside. I would definitely recommend this place!
We found out there is actually an L & L restaurant in our town in Oregon, which excited us and we’re going to see how they do soon. :)

Another Hawaiian drive-​in. Not so good at that.
First it was September and 88 degrees outside. No air conditioning. Closer to 90 inside.
Had chicken katsu. Tasted just like the other katsus at other drive-​ins. Two scoops of rice and one of macaroni salad, both had no taste.
Because this place had no AC, the soft drinks were free with an entrée. They would have no one eating there if they did not give away beverages.
Only nice thing was that they were open on Sunday when so many other restaurants were closed.

Disgusting! Disgusting! Disgusting! I should have walked away when I stepped out of the car and saw a sign that said Chinese Food available until the end of September. It was already October, so I didn’t think too much of it. Well that was the first warning.
Second warning — it had a chinese buffet stand set up inside with a chinese food menu as well as the «Hawaiian BBQ» I came for.
Third — they spoke mandarin. The Chinese food was their main business.
Ordered the BBQ Combo #1, which contains chicken, and kalbi as the mains, rice and macaroni salad on the side. I cannot describe how nasty it was. This was after a long hike, where my senses were shot and I just needed for. Bad choice.

This is propbably the worst L&L I’ve ever been to. The restaurant was dirty and ghetto looking and the food was bad. I’d never come back here… ever.

Quick decent food, the food is decent. The lady behind the counter was nice. We had the chicken, rice and macaroni salad. Nothing special but not bad.

The seafood platters are amazing while their burgers are awful. Their macaroni salad is also the best I’ve had on the island.

Not bad. Was expecting huge portions like in my So CA location, but not on the island. Garlic Mahi is tasty — many other items not available on our menu that would have been nice to try…

I was with several people so I tried a bit of everything they had, BBQ steak, chicken, ribs, fried rice, and hanmburger.
Positive: the fried rice was really good, the teryiaki steak was amazing and so was the chicken, the woman behind the counter was very polite.
Negatice: the hamburger tasted like onion and I HATE onion, the riblets were all fat and the sauce on it was a little bitter tasting, the establishment was a little run down (the mens restroom doesnt even have a door)

At last a place with local food!!! I was reading the reviews and It’s out dated. Yes they do have some Chinese food to choose from but I stuck to the menu items. Had the classic chicken katsu plate, brought back some memories. I guess this L and L re-​opened because they had their grand opening. Note that this place also has the name Chopsticks express. My opinion good food and reasonable prices and if your hungry their portions are substantial. Good eats ppl. :)

One word best describes this place — AVOID.
Food wa subpar to any other L&L I’ve eatten at. Staff was not interested in being there. Bathrooms were scary fifthy. Can’t believe that wouldn’t indicate the kitchen would be bad.
On a «funny» note, the vegi egg plant garlic dish had PORK chunks. The shrimp curry was beef curry with stirfried shrimp on top — beef was very chewy — ugh.

I didnt think it was as bad as other Unilocalers, this is if you are on a budget. I went in expecting so-​so food, anyway. This place is affordable (just DONT get that refill you kinda think you want because you will have to pay for it, and in our case, not even finish it.) And I agree, you have to know what to get. The loco moco was good, and a steal at $ 5.99. It’s low budget, most definitely, but it gets the job done. Especially if you are starving.

We love Hawaiian food, the macaroni salad and rice, so we asked someone where to go and they sent us here. We don’t care if it’s shabby, or what the place looks like, as long as its GOOD. Which, it was not so much. Sub par food.
ALSO, while we were eating lunch a man in the reseraunt started to choke and gag and throw up. We told the lady behind the counter that a man was choking and to call 911, and she said «Who is?» We said, «A guy, call 911!!!» And she just stared at us. So again, we said «Call 911 on the telephone!!» And she handed us the phone and said «Want to use the phone?» So as one member of our party was calling 911 while the man was CHOKING, we asked for some towels to clean up where he had gagged and she handed us 1 paper towel. ONE. Really?
Overall, not a good experience, service was not great at ALL, people couldn’t care less and food not that good.

I have been to a L&L in Oregon, so I had to try the real deal in Hawaii. The food was decent and you can’t really expect too much from a L&L. L&L is Hawaiian BBQ fast food style. This place was a bit different from the one in Oregon. This L&L location had a little Panda express style. You can order from the menu or get the food that is already cooked (just like Panda Express) and they also serve Panda Express type food (orange chicken, spicy chicken, etc). Their mix BBQ plate wasn’t bad, along with the spam masubi (sp?). They even serve lopchorn (Chinese sausage). Overall, this place wasn’t that bad, very affordable and was even better than a few of the places I ate in Kauai!

I think the other reviewers are showing how spoiled and picky they are. Personally, I don’t really like L&L. But I don’t think it deserves 1 star. Especially if you know what to order. Never order from the steam table. I always get Chicken Katsu, BBQ Chicken or BBQ Mixed Plate. Their Curry is usually ok too. Don’t go here expecting gourmet food peoples… this is just a quick in and out place to go.

l&l on the mainland is way better than the 2 i tried in kauai. they were like chinese fast food joints that served a mix plate. the quality wasnt that good. def wouldnt go back to these places

If you think this is the L&L you expect anywhere else (on the mainland, or in oahu, think again.) It’s more like a dirty run-​down chinese food restaurant to go, serving day old leftovers.
Have you heard of a L&L serving fried rice, chow mein, orange chicken, and mongolian beef??? my point exactly.

As I was renting gears at Snorkel Bob’s, I saw L&L across the street & figured I would try it while I’m here — I LOVE Hawaiian BBQ & the concept of ‘lunch plate,’ which has 2 scoups of rice & macaroni salad with BBQ chicken on a bed of shreded cabbage. SO, naturally, I was disappointed to find out that the place is more of chinese fast food than the L&L I frequent in the mainland. The drive thru is NOT — cardboarded with a ‘closed’ sign. No refill on your soda, unless you pay $ 1. The food sucked along with everything else. DO NOT GO THERE!