Aloha BBQ

Food isn’t as good as it used to be since the change of ownership. The portions are still huge but you can definitely taste the difference! The wait is way longer too! Not sure how the prior owners were able to get the food out so quickly (15 mins max) with only 1 – 2 people cooking. Waiting here now for my to-​go order that I put in 45 minutes ago… food still isnt ready and there’s 4 people cooking!!! They seriously need to call the prior owners for some tips! Would come back but not when I’m needing quick take out.

Delicious. Love it. They just take a while to get the food out to you. So call ahead. But worth the wait

It is impossible to ignore the amazing McDonald’s color scheme the interior of Aloha BBQ has, its bright yellow walls lined with large framed pictures of hula dancers. So sexy. The space is quite cramped though, and tables are very close together. Perhaps you should get your food to go if you have a large party with you. Or maybe you do want to be that close to complete strangers, just like I do.
Portions are large and flavorful, served in styrofoam to-​go boxes or disposable soup containers for easy takeaway. The spam musubi is a popular item, which is a block of spam atop steamed rice with a bit teriyaki sauce wrapped together in a nori cast.
I’m not too fond of the rice here, which is why I only rated Aloha four stars. Some Asian restaurants serve jasmine rice and some serve unscented – both are fine. But here, the rice implies something unclean to me… it is unscented with a familiarly dirty, oily kind of flavor that makes me feel kind of sick. Maybe it’s something linked to a painful, buried childhood memory of mine and is only relevant to me, but I thought it was worth mentioning. The bathroom is not amazingly clean either, which usually says something about the kitchen.
All of that aside, this is a pretty unique eatery, especially for Lubbock! Worth a try for sure. It seems authentic to me, but I don’t know, I’m not Hawaiian. Maybe you’re asking the wrong person. What restaurant am I reviewing again? Hope this helped you.
Love,
Daisy

I’ve eaten here quite a few times since they opened in Lubbock in the mid-2000’s. The portions are always huge and the food is always good, It’s a very unique restaurant for west Texas and there isn’t anything else quite like it in town.
I usually order the BBQ mix plate, but I also really enjoy the beef fried rice or beef with noodles. My wife really enjoys the Loco Moco and Kalua Pork w/​cabbage and they are both very good, too. Most of the entrees come with a side of steamed white rice and macaroni salad, which is always very good. As far as sides go, the egg rolls and manapua are both great!
It’s a pretty small place, so carry out orders are common. If you have a party larger that 4 people, there won’t be any tables big enough for you. Be sure to give them a try if you want something different than the norm.

The other reviews are 100% correct when they say you get a lot of bang for your buck. Everything I tried was great, and the portions are huge. Spam musubi!

The food was very flavorful. Not really a place to dine in IMO but for takeout I would do it all day.
I can’t say enough about the portions, we split the mix Bbq plate, I don’t see how 1 person could eat that by themselves.
If you are looking for good food off the beaten path this should be your destination.

Not as good as it used to be when the original owners ran it. The quality of the food has gone down quite a bit.
My last order was the chicken rice bowl.
The rice was dry and was missing the flavor it used to have. And the macaroni was terrible !

After enduring poor customer service and over an hour for my to go order, I was surprised that the food was amazing. No lie, an hour. I had the short ribs and the hubs had chicken stir fried noodles. Both were delicious.

At the beginning of this year I would have given this place a ⁵⁄₅. I had started eating here since my freshman year and this place was the bomb. The owner was awesome and very friendly, he got to know me and our group of friends and would even look out for us to make sure we weren’t getting in trouble. The quality of food was never a let down and the food portions were gigantic. Unfortunately around June he told us that he was selling the place to some buyers to move back to Cali.
At first I was open to the idea, we were told they would keep everything the same. The food tastes have gone down in quality a little bit but the portions were still big. After a couple months I noticed that the wait time on food kept getting longer and longer. What usually took 10 minutes before now took 25 then 30 minutes, the bathrooms were unkept with no paper towels or hand soap, and the tables were grimy. The lady that usually runs the cash register now is pretty rude and just had a bad attitude in general. They even lied to us saying they were cousins of the old owners which I knew wasn’t true.
Overall this was a ⁵⁄₅ before but now it has gone downhill after months with the new owners.

Everything has so much flavor, and huge portions. Always count on leftovers! That’s why I justify driving across town for it, as I’m really getting lunch and dinner. Have tried the chicken, beef and pork fried rice and love them all, but chicken is my favorite. Also like the mixed chicken meal as well as the katsu. It’s not fancy, so you’re not going for ambience. I usually call for pick up and she always says 20 mins and it’s always ready when I get there. They also always turn the open sign off at like 8:45ish even though they say it closes at 9. They’re not crazy friendly, but ifs efficient and tastes good.

I am glad that I tried this place. I was very skeptical when I first saw the place. The restaurant had a fast-​food flare and the furniture looked totally cheap and outdated. It reminded me of a cheap Chinese place near Woodely Park, D.C., where I had to grab my to-​go food during my grad student days.
Being nostalgic on one side, I ordered my food. The lady who took my order does not seem to care what hospitality is. No «American» smile and her description of food was nothing more than what was in the picture. Interestingly, I didn’t mind because sometimes superficial over cheerful hospitality with forced smile does get a bit annoying. It seemed that her blunt attitude was more appropriate to me at this store.
Then, nice surprise! The lady brought our food to the table. It is given in a styrofoam container (ah, good old grad student days) but the food was flavorful. I had BBQ beef. The meat was a bit too chewy for my taste, but I liked the flavor. Beef was served over cabbage, so it allowed me to balance beef and veggies. It also came with macaroni side dish and rice. I was not a huge fan of macaroni thingy because it was nothing more than macaroni, mayo, and tiny bits of carrots. Rice was ok, just what I expected to get at a typical take-​out restaurant.
Overall, it was not bad at all. I think it’s a great addition to Lubbock food scene (if such thing existed), because it needs more diversity. Although you’d have to overlook the parking lot, when the weather is nice, you can also eat at the outside table, too.

I’ve been here a few times, gotten the pork bowl– and every time it’s been delicious. It’s Hawaiian BBQ chicken or pork with fried rice and is always very good and quick. It’s a tiny little place, but they do take out and I’ve been told they cater. One to check out :)

THE PORTIONS ARE HUGE! It is a great value. Most of my friends and their spouses share an entrée. I love leftovers, so I usually order my own entrée. Their food is great left over thrown into a pan with some butter on high! The food here is always fresh and full of flavor. I love how juicy the BBQ chicken is, and the rice is always done perfectly. It is a little out of central Lubbock and more South then I am used to going. It is worth the drive though. I love have unique their flavors are. I cannot find anything else like this in Lubbock. I Highly Recommend going.
I just wish the restaurant itself was a little larger. I would say no more then 15 people can sit inside.

The food is good. Most people agree with that! My toddler poked a hole in the side of his drink and when I took it to the front, there seemed to be confusion about how to take care of it. The little girl running the register had to ask her mother what to do. The mother gladly gave us another cup. Of course my little boy made a mess on the table because he poked a hole in the side of the cup. We needed paper towels to clean it up with. I sent my other little boy up to the front to get paper towels. The little girl running the register told him that he would get some with his meal. I had to go to the bathroom to get paper towels out of the dispenser to clean up my mess.

Everything was on-​point. My brother goes here a ton and has also never been disappointed. The chicken fried rice was delicious. The chicken was grilled perfectly, juicy, and had amazing flavor. I could have eaten the rice plain, that’s how good it was, but the two combined was ridiculous. Also tried the BBQ beef– loved it, soo much flavor and smokiness. Everyone that works here is super friendly too. Check this place out if you haven’t already!

This place great. It’s kind of a dive. It’s not somewhere you’d go without seeing the reviews, but it’s tasty and you get a lot of food for the price. The only downfall is how far out it is, but I like it enough to come back again. And sometimes ambience isn’t what you’re after, since well, we’re in Lubbock, I’ll take tasty tasty food over ambience and boring, tasteless food any day!

Unexpected Hawaiian food in Lubbock.
Tried this place after other reviews piqued my interest. The BBQ beef and short ribs were tender flavorful and delicious. The Manapua (steam buns) reminded me of the fluffy buns I’ve had at Chinese dim sum restaurants, sweet bread with a pork mixture inside. Want to eat here again and try more menu items.

Spot on Hawaiian food. Sounds like the Loco Moco is the favorite as everyone seems to order it including myself. Large portions, friendly and fast service. It makes me miss Hawaii!

Such a cool spot in a town you would least suspect there to be hawaiian cuisine. They are friendly and so are their portions! I had the kalua pork and i got the mini and, that mini portion is PLENTY of food. also grabbed a couple of spam musubi’s because how can you not? Great stuff.
Anyway, if I ever have to come into town, I’ll be back here just to get some good ol’ comfort food. not much more you can ask for when grabbing a quick meal.

I just relocated here and was so happy to find out about this place. I had their mini fried shrimp plate & their manapua. Everything was on point especially the homemade manapua (pork filled bun/​char siu bao). My significant other had their bbq mix plate & we both are leaving here fat & happy :) Gary conveys the Aloha spirit. Needless to say we will be back.