ABC Hawaiian BBQ

Best Hawaiian BBQ I have had! I crave their mac salad on a daily basis!
The wait is a little long but totally worth it! Just call it in!

ABC is a small little spot that offers food similar to Hawaii’s «plate lunch». It’s hidden near the corner of the Pavilion’s parking lot off of Foothill Blvd. The interior can hold only approx. 10 people but seems like most people order for pick up.
The menu is simple: Choose a protein item such as BBQ chicken, beef or ribs. There’s also salmon too. It comes with 2 scoops of rice, one scoop of mac salad and some cabbage underneath the meat. Prices are very affordable, ranging from about $ 6. to $ 8.79 for the combo. They also have daily specials (ie. BBQ chicken is $ 5. but only one small scoop of rice, which is not enough for the salty meat.
We tried the BBQ Chicken & the combo (chicken, beef, rib) during our last few visits. Chicken was tender, tasty, and they are generous with the quantities. The beef was also tasty but some bites are a little chewy. The rib (singular) was pretty lean and also good. I expected the mac salad to be like the type you find at the supermarket, but actually tasted more like the kind you get on the islands. (those of you who traveled to Hawaii before know what I’m talking about) Not bad at all.
I like ABC as a place to grab a simple lunch plate. It’s nearby, convenient, tastes better than Golden Teriyaki for about the same price. For me, it’s a little taste of Honolulu when I start to miss being there.
We wil go back!
Tips:
* located at the southwestern corner of the parking lot (for you directionally challenged, if you’re facing Pavilion’s, it’s to your right)
* large parking lot
* call ahead to order & pick up later w/​o waiting
* gets pretty smoky in there, so you might leave smelling like grilled meat.

The worst the guy at register was very rude the lady cooking was using her phone while cooking how unsanitary

Food was okay to say the least, service on the other was horrible! I have never treated like this before in a restaurant. I will never come back and don’t recommend anyone coming here unless you want to be treated horribly and have to pay for over priced food.

These people should be ashamed of themselves. It’s nowhere near Hawaiian BBQ. The chicken is undercooked and EVERYTHING tastes as bland as the back of my hand. Never going back.

I love this place. It’s pretty much your average Hawaiian BBQ place but if you know my reviews, you know I love customer service just as much as the food. They are SOOO nice here. They check on everyone multiple times, greet everyone so warmly and always make sure everyone leaves happy.
They also have GREAT weekday deals. Check them out!

We ordered party platters here for my baby girls 1^st birthday and everyone enjoyed the food! We ordered bbq chicken, bbq beef, chicken Katsu and Kalua pork. You can order small med or large sized trays. Our only mistake was that we should of gotten the larger sized tray of the Katsu as people kept saying how crispy it was! We ordered a week in advance, and the owners were nice and reliable on having our food ready for pick up on time. The only thing I wish is that they would fix up the inside of the place as it looks very outdated and very unappealing to eat inside.

THE BEST Chicken Katsu & Macaroni Salad
Chicken Katsu is made to order. Super hot (temperature wise) crispy and their Katsu sauce is almost drinkable. Sooo good.
Idk what’s in their mac salad, but it’s magical. It’s not healthy, but it’s worth the muffin top.
I once witnessed a group of 5 teenagers approaching to dine in when they were closed. One gabbed the door and pulled to no avail. They all cried «NOOO!!!» and continued to whine and complain as if their lives were going to end! It was hilarious and a testament to how good this little place is.

Anyone who gives this place more than 2 stars clearly has never eaten at any of the Aloha restaurants in Orange County. They are like the Zankou Chicken of Hawaiian bbq, and I judge other Hawaiian bbq joints based on my experiences with Aloha. I wouldn’t say that the food at ABC is bad, but it’s simply not that good. I’ve been here 3 times over a span of 6 months, and every time I’ve wished that I instead walked across the street to Wendy’s.
First off, their signs are very misleading. They put out signs like «Today’s Special: Chicken Katsu — $ 4.99». I think to my self «hot damn!» only to soon be told that the «special» is actually a smaller portion, yet actually costs more pound-​for-​pound! That’s not a «special», it’s called a rip-​off. They aren’t lying, but they are misleading by omission.
The service takes WAY too long. Aloha and even L&L on their busiest hours can knock out largely-​portioned mixed plates in less than 10 minutes per order. ABC takes twice as long or more every time. Is it worth the wait? Heck no.
The portions are adequate but simply do not compare to the humongous portions you can get at Aloha or L&L. The food itself is generally alright, but the Katsu is NASTY. It’s way too salty with little slivers of meat. Chicken nuggets in the freezer isle have more meat! Far more breading than chicken, if that even was chicken. It didn’t exactly taste good. The meat on the mixed bbq plate also tends to be extremely dry, though the beef tends to be alright.
Do yourself a favor and drive west to Pasadena and eat at L&L. Better yet, stop at any Aloha down in Orange County.

I’m dropping my stars down to 3 because of how rude the workers can be. I placed an order over the phone because I know food usually takes 15 – 20 minutes here. After placing my order on the phone and arriving to pick up my order I handed the owner a coupon. He made such a big deal about it like «why didn’t you tell me before?!» I told you when you rang me up in shop, what difference does it make if I tell you on the phone? Just because I have a coupon does that mean you’d be giving me a smaller portion? He was being an asshole and very rude about a fucking $ 1 coupon. This pissed me off because I used to be a regular here along with my family and they treated me like crap. When they tell me «why you no come long time?» There’s a reason I no come long time, the owner was being rude and it made me feel uncomfortable to be honest. Leaving 3 stars only because I like their Hawaiian beef and free sauces. Other than that they need to learn better customer service skills if they want to keep their clients.

I was excited to eat Hawaiian food and come to find out there were little critters in the soup, boiled lettuce and on the spam masubi container. Double check your food next time.

They are very friendly, yes, the service I received was just slow because they were so busy speaking amongst themselves. Which is fine but don’t let It slow down the orders? I ordered the spam musubi (which comes with 2 pieces) and it took a total of 10 minutes. I was the only customer in the room. And like when they finally finished making it, it took her another 2 minutes to put it in a bag with the napkin and what not because she kept pausing cus she was conversating. Overall the spam musubi was okay. Nothing special honestly. I might be back to try other things on the menu but not if I’m in a rush lol

I like to come here from time to time to get my fix for Katsu chicken. But this weekend I ordered 2 family meals for a small get together of 7 adults and 3 kids. I placed my order the day before and picked up my order promptly at the time I selected. Didn’t encounter any «bad service» as stated in other reviews. He was nice to me. I paid when I picked up my food. We had more than enough food to go around (granted I also ordered a 31 piece sushi platter from another local sushi joint) we even had leftovers for dinner.
On the weekends they give a free appetizer or 2 liter soda with a purchase of a family meal. We opted for the first option. The food was great. Everyone was full. The day was successful.

This place is located in the pavilions shopping center in old town Monrovia. It’s kinda hidden in the corner of the shopping center and is rather small. The restaurant itself is not the cleanest or nicest looking.
Their was dust and and old booths and chairs with an old menu that looked like it was taken directly from an Ono Hawaiian BBQ restaurant.
The guy who took our order was nice and brought our to go order directly to us.
The price for the food is fair on par with other Hawaiian BBQ places, but they do have weekday specials.
Thou can’t exactly see the kitchen but you can see them cooking, and their seems to be a man that keeps the cooks in check.
Now the food itself is why this place gets for stars. The food it’s exactly what you’ll get at Ono Hawaiian BBQ just better and taste much better. The katsu breading on the chicken and fish was very good and not too fried.
This is a good option if you need a quick dinner for your family and don’t want typical fast food.

Great place with good food. My favorite once a week place to grab dinner. I always order the same grill salmon $ 7.99 or bbq chicken $ 6.89 both fresh and great taste. I highly recommend. I also had catering for family parties in the past. Good service.

The food here is fantastic. I almost always get the Hawaiian BBQ Mix, but their fried rice is amazing too, as is the Loco Moco. The BBQ beef burger is something else too. And I always order a side of Spam Musubis.
My only complaint would be that they’re kinda slow. I usually order ~15 min in advance so it’s ready when I drive there. Otherwise you’re gonna be waiting there for a good while. I wouldn’t recommend getting their delivery, not because of the quality of the food, it just takes even longer.

Quick tips!
1. Located in the farthest corner of the Pavilions lot next to the laundromat.
2. They have daily specials. If I recall correctly, the Monday special is BBQ Chicken Plate for $ 5, the Thursday special is Katsu Plate for $ 5. The weekend special is a free two liter/​appetizer with purchase of a family dinner for $ 28.99.
3. You can call ahead to order as everything is made to order, which will delay people who want to get something to go and expect food to be prepared in 5 minutes.
This is a mom and pop place that is a beloved institution for Monrovia locals. On most Friday nights, you can see the place packed by teenagers and families alike. They seem to be really into the NBA as they always have the games broadcasted and the grandma always seems to be cheering for one team or the other. But, I digress.
You won’t expect much service from most of the family members there. However, they are friendly enough. They do deliver your food straight to your table though if you are sitting in the restaurant. And, they do acquiesce to most requests too.
The menu is pretty extensive and includes Hawaiian-​y favorites such as loco moco or spam musubis. My personal recommendations are the ABC chicken salad and the Chicken Katsu. The large salad for $ 5.99 is an absolute steal if you’re looking to cut carbs. The salad is GIGANTIC and the portion of chicken, which is the garlic lemon chicken that they have on their main menu, is pretty sizeable. My only comment on this is that they could do better on their ranch dressing, which tastes pretty weak.
The chicken katsu, which by far has the most recommendations in the reviews, is also the star of my review. The breading is crunchy and tasty. The katsu as I’ve always had it is never over done. Since they do all their cooking made to order, the chicken always arrives hot and crispy. The portion of meat is pretty good.
The rest of the plate includes a serving of boiled cabbage and carrots, a scoop of rice, and their wonderful macaroni salad. I commonly ask them to give me two scoops of mac instead of their rice since I’m not a big rice eater. The rice does come with black sesame seeds on top. I suggest coming on Thursday for the Katsu as there is a daily special where it is only $ 5.
I’ve also had the chance to have their bowls, which are smaller versions of the plates except with no mac and more rice. The servings of meat are smaller, but appropriate for the price reduction. I have not had the chance to try their saimin or their other appetizers such as their musubis, but from the pictures they look pretty good.
I hope you guys have the time to check out this great place for the cheap and good eats!

As a local and a regular I can safely say this is one of the best and tastiest Hawaiian BBQ joints in all of San Gabriel Valley! People come from all parts of California for this grub. Its family owned and their authentic tastes are unique as well as cheaply priced for the amount of food you get. My fave is the Chicken Katsu, its absolutely amazing! Highly recommend!

Family meal is a good deal.
The guy working the register and taking orders isn’t the friendliest of sorts but it’s not a linen napkin kind of place anyway.
Katsu chicken was crispy and flavorful. It was meaty! Not flattened down like other places. My kids loved the Katsu and teriyaki chicken.
We will be back.

This is my GO TO place for quick and easy Hawaiian food… or when I’m just craving meat. Yeah, their meat is satiating. That’s what she said.
FOOD:
Musubi — I love their musubis… they put a lot of rice, but I just remove some. The sauce and spam is good. The seaweed is wrapped really well.
Chicken Katsu — MAKE SURE YOU GET THE SAUCE. They don’t give it to you. You have to get it from the side. But it’s good. Very crispy.
Mac Salad — the macaroni salad is really good.
Cabbage — Their steam cabbage is really good too.
SERVICE:
SUPER FAST
AMBIANCE: Hole in the wall feeling
PARKING:
In the same complex as Vons Pavilions. So TONS of free parking.
OVERALL:
Fast cheap and easy!