Hawaiian Walk In Restaurant

Here I stand in front of a rusty scissor gate, broken-​hearted.
Hawaiian Walk-​In, you will be severely missed, and your story deserves to be told.
When I first moved to the Bay, finding a decent Hawaiian joint usually meant having to do 1 of 3 things:
1.) a long-​ass bus ride on the Mission bus to some hole-​in-​the wall place between the Filipino video store and the sewing machine repair shop that’s never open, or
2.) renting a car and driving to Takahashi Market in San Mateo, or
3.) saving up for 4 months to have some expensive «Island Fusion» dish that was long on flavor but short short short on portions (cough…Roy’s!)
So here’s the story I heard about how this beautiful place eventually graced downtown Oakland with its presence. In the 1990’s, before L&L Hawaiian BBQ became the franchise powerhouse it is today, Johnson Kam, one of L&L’s co-​founders, gave his blessing to a relative to open a similarly-​themed restaurant on the west coast. This relative opened the first Hawaiian Drive In deep in south SF, between the Filipino video store and the sewing machine repair shop that’s never open. The place eventually caught on, leading the owner to pass on the recipe book to a cousin of his. Said cousin, wanting to differentiate his place from Hawaiian Drive In, came up with the incredibly original name, Hawaiian Walk In.
This place embodied all that’s good about real Hawaiian BBQ: quick, no-​frills service, huge portions, very reasonable prices, and surly counter staff.
So sad. Aloha, and a hui hou, Hawaiian Walk in. You are missed.

Sorry to see you are no longer in business.
I will miss the cheap good eats!
Enjoy your retirement?

i wonder why they closed

This place is awesome! They have the best chicken katsu around. It’s family run and they are very sweet people that make consistently good and reasonably priced food. I have been going here for the past seven years and will continue to go until they close or I move away from the Bay Area.
The décor could use some sprucing up, so you are better off taking it to go.

This restaurant has been closed.
Not sure what it is going on,… the door is closed all day long.

I am completely estatic to have found a Hawaiian BBQ place close to work.
I ordered the Mahalo Chicken Combo, I wanted to try a few things, couldn’t make up my mind. It is a HUGE portion of food, I ate literally ¹⁄₃ of it and the rest will be my dinner. They offer mini-​plates which I’ll probably spring for next time.
This isn’t the best Hawaiian BBQ place but it’s decent, then again I’m from Hawaii so I could be biased but I’m trying to be fair.
Food:
–Rice was cooked perfectly
–MAC salad was the same as all the others
–Lemon Chicken was great but the sauce was PERFECT
–Chicken Katsu was good but the sauce was watered down
–Teri Chicken was a little bland and slightly dry.
I ordered take-​out and beware they take CASH ONLY.
It was good enough for me to give them a second chance but I’d have to try something else or stick to the lemon chicken.

There aren’t many Hawaiian BBQ joints in Oakland, I believe this is the only one. However, the food here is just as good as any other Hawaiian BBQ restaurants in nearby Berkeley, Alameda, San Leandro. The prices are definitely the cheapest compared to other similar restaurants in the region. The inside of the restaurant is very low budget and could use a make over, but that doesn’t really bother me, you get what you pay for. The food here is definitely worth a visit, especially if you work in Downtown Oakland.

It’s your basic Hawaiian plate lunch restaurant. Being from Hawaii, I’d say it’s decent but not the best. The plus is despite the bad economy, they have managed to keep their prices pretty reasonable… Much cheaper than Ono’s Hawaiian BBQ or L&L’s. The food doesn’t necessarily match their quality but if you aren’t picky you wouldn’t really notice much of a difference. I recommend the Spicy Garlic Chicken and the Aloha Combo. Good staples for a lot of food. You can actually even share the Aloha Combo because they give you a good helping of each entrée.

Expect small, dingy looking place. Not dirty, but just plain. They serve the food on disposable plates and containers I think the prices are reasonable for the amount of food you get. I like the mini BBQ plate and macaroni.

«fuuuuckk dude» — me looking at my BBQ Mixed Plate.
so much food. cannot compute. Probably 2 pcs of each meat (short rib, chicken, Teri steak) on a bed of cabbage, a scoop of mac salad, and 2 scoops of rice for just seven bucks!!!
The meat was pan fried as opposed to BBQ’d, but other than that, no complaints. The mayo from the macaroni made everything richer. Cabbage added just the right amount of crunch. Rice was rice. When you mix everything up and get a little bite of each it’s just heavenly.
The service is mild mannered and sparse (when I walked in dude was like «Cash Only!» and my food was served in plastic containers. Welcoming.) but definitely good food that fills you up without hurting your wallet. I’ll definitely be back!

so… u need to know what ur dealing with for this spot… hawaiian walk in… in the name it tells u, just walk in… then get ur food and walk out… it’s in a word… a dump… so u probably won’t want to eat here (tables are sticky, surroundings are super bare bones, dirty carpet etc)…but…the food is good… yes, the food is good!!!
i get the seafood combo, with 3 fried shrimp, fried mahi mahi and i pick the bbq shortribs with 2 scoops of rice and 2 scoop macaroni salad
best of the bunch is the mahi mahi, which actually surprised me as i’m usually biased towards short-ribs…but the mahi mahi had excellent flavor, the fish was juicy but the fry was dry, not greasy and flavorful… also, it was a nice batter but didn’t overwhelm the fish.
very close second was the short ribs… good, juicy bbq with great flavor… and who doesn’t like short ribs!!! only downfall on the shortribs is that they can have a bit of fat on em which i don’t realy like but it kind of comes with the territory…
the shrimp were large and also fried nicely… although there was a lot of batter on them… they could be fine with a wee bit less batter… nonetheless the shrimp were big, meaty and delicious
macaroni salad — in general i’m not a fan but it was standard, not overly mayo’d but not OMG stuff ur face with it…
white rice — well, if they screwed this up they should just close…

The workers have an attitude than ranges from «get out» to «I could have been at home asleep if I didn’t have to come sell food to you».
The interior is bleaughh.
The upside? I like (not love) their moco loco and can’t find it anywhere else within lunchtime walking range.

Mini Plate Kalua Pork $ 5.17 (with tax)
The smell of food lingering outside is so tempting when you walk passed by this place. Finally gave it a try during my lunch break. There was about 7 – 8 tables for dine in. Pay first at cashier before seating. This place seriously needs a new make over, inside & out. I decided to eat in anyways. It was about 5 – 6 minute wait for the food.
The mini meal includes one scoop of rice & one scoop of macaroni salad. The kalua pork was average. A bit dry. Nothing spectacular. Taste better with sriracha sauce. The macaroni salad was pretty good. You just need to adjust the seasoning with black pepper and a dash of salt. White rice, eh.
After I came back to work, I can smell bbq smoke on my hair about an hour later. All that smoke in the air that you can’t see in the restaurant. They need to open their door to air out or turn on their circulation fan. :o/​
If you like this type of pork, go to Chai Thai Noodles and get their Khao Kha Moo Pork. It’s pricier but better & oh so good there!

Um I was scared to walk into this place. But the sinage on the window promised good looking Hawaiian food and YES I love spam anything. It’s like a scene straight out of Joe vs. the Volcano. You remember the office scene with the super green fluorescent lighting. You can almost taste the smell of god knows what in the air. I had the spam Musubi and I couldn’t finish it after being inside the place for 5 minutes. YIKES!

This place is great, and come here often! It’s the definition of a hole in the wall, mom-​and-​pop place (I can’t say how many times I’ve stumbled on them having dinner).
GREAT AT
— take-​out — there’s not much in there
— mini kahlua pig — I don’t get anything else. the pork is juicy and delicious, and the cabbage always complements the moisture well. Get your rice in the juices for extra yuminess. The mac salad is less flavorful, but stands well with the rest
— will make you full
— super cheap — like a taco truck of hawaiian
Awesome little biz in Oakland!

So, since my last review back in 2006, I’ve frequented this place quite a bit. I can’t recall any more instances of burnt food since then. Hooray!
Prices are still hard to beat and they haven’t changed their portions. I still get the mini-​plate and it leaves me full. I’d say they’re probably a 3.5 star, and they’re a solid lunch place. The place is still pretty minimal and I always get food to go. The woman at the counter is still there and pleasant to order from.

I ordered the Mahalo Chicken Combo and it was a MASSIVE portion for $ 7.50. I brought my order back to work and all my co-​workers looked at me like I was crazy.
It came with a generous serving of Katsu Chicken, Lemon Chicken, and Terryaki Chicken. The Lemon Chicken was alright… kind of tasted old. Katsu was crispy and satisfying, Terryaki was forgettable. There’s so much chicken I recommend ordering a side salad or substituting the mac salad for greens cuz you might get overwhelmed with all the meat and no veggies like I did :(

I’m going tonight, right after work and before the crazy party that is us bartenders at Infusion.
After I got a clue-​in from my buddy EL, S_​and I strolled in for some good cheap eats. Not the most outstanding mind-​job in the way of holes-​in-​the-​wall, the food and the prices are great for what they are. I always come away stuffed like a pig, and leftovers to boot. It also makes me happy that they have beer on hand too.
Note that it’s one of those cash-​only places, so run to the ATM aforehand. Don’t expect top of the line gourmet cuisine here; think more along the lines of home-​cooked soul food. Good and plenty portions to fill that aching gap in your tummy, with enough to give to your dog or cat when you get home.

Another day of Jury Duty Woo, Woo, Woo. My Posse and I are Hungry so we roll to Hawaiian Walk In. Its a Hole in the Wall Mom and Pop place.
But they serve Hearty and In expensive Food and Plenty of it. Cash Only. I ordered a Combination Plate –Kahlua Pork and Pork Lau Lau with Steamed Rice and Mac Salad.
10 Minutes later I had a nice Plate sitting in front of me. The Kahlua Pork was Bomb Diggity and the Pork Lau Lau was so Moist and Tender Yummy. All this for under $ 10.

3.5 Stars, IMO
If you’re looking for grubby, well portioned meals at a great price, turn back before you cross Franklin St., because you probably didn’t see Hawaiian Walk In Restaurant.
The Good:
+Great portions
+Great prices
+Decent selection of «Hawaiian» favorites (SPAM!)
+Name is not a misnomer
+The «Mini Plates», aka «That’s a lot of food for $ 3.95»
The Usual:
…CASH ONLY (keeps prices low)
…Oily, but how else could you cook this kind of food?
…Staff is quiet, but helpful.
…In lovely (?), picturesque Downtown Oakland (?)
…Near 12^th St. BART
The Bad:
–Not the greatest location at night
–Interior. But forget about it, you’re taking this out anyway.
Try the:
Katsu Chicken Mini Plate and Fries. A good lunch combo at $ 5.71 out the door. Lightly breaded chicken and some crispy yet gooey fries makes for a good lunch.