Family BBQ

Got lunch with a friend here a couple days ago as was only thing in the area we could agree on though neither of us had before and was pleasantly surprised. Figured it was just another hole in the wall Korean plate lunch place that dot this island and while edible and cheap, barely so. And while the bibimbap was nothing special would really did it for me was kimchi cucumbers were actually spicy, a first in my seven years on island, and they had lotus root which I more and more find hard to get at korean quickie joints. To top it off it’s cheap, fast, and they have parking. Really my only complaint is I hate it when bibimbap doesn’t come separate in a bowl or some sort as it’s pretty much impossible to mix it properly with the sauce when your condiments are all in the way. Not picking on Family BBQ on this one, it’s a common issue I have on island.

A nice little Korean bbq spot with the usual food choices but what separates this place apart is the big bone kalbi on Friday’s…excellent…nice juicy & tender pieces, not like the tough pieces of big bone you might find at other places

I was expecting a better food than what I received the other day at Family BBQ with a 4 star on Unilocal.
Chicken katsu was not good at all… very thin, chewy and possibly old chicken. They are battered heavily. Fish cake was the best thing I had here. Mac salad is okay.
It is a convenient location right by the airport to grab something before hopping on a flight but I will not be returning.

So I am all about customer service… and tonight was not the night at FAMILY BBQ… first thing i got when I came in was attitude from this short young lady… like I was making her life hard by being there… so after i order… the rest of time she did not make eye contact with me and slam/​throw my plate around… the food is like all Korean BBQ in Hawaii except for the MAC salad… that was different… place is small so you will have to think about ordering to go…

Family BBQ has one dish that I really really enjoy. That’s the bbq chicken and fried rice. Everything else is ok, but this I will order 90% of the time.

What do you get when you cross rubbery & dry meat jun & chicken katsu & mochiko chicken with spoiled fried noodles, and no sauce? The worst Bento you will ever introduce to your poor tastebuds, a stomach ache and a wicked queasiness that will send you to bed after a long stop at the bathroom. Honestly this was utterly disgusting and the owners should be ashamed of themselves for serving what is probably leftovers from Monday (today is Thursday). The Unilocal reviews must be fraudulent. Please stay away from this place, and particularly the Bentos, no matter how tempting the $ 6 price tag. It’s beyond terrible, and entirely inedible! The worst part is I bought one of these repulsive Bentos for a friend, and together we united what was uneaten (which was most of it) with my garbage can. I can only hope a homeless person doesn’t happen upon it. Family BBQ deserves ZERO STARS if that was an option!

Korean BBQ plate lunch style. Good for lunch or take home for after work’s dinner. It sometimes takes a little while if you don’t phone order, but it’s worth the wait.
They have full plates w/​a generous portion of 4 side selections or a mini w/​2 side selections. Go w/​their House Special for a taste of it all or the Bi Bim Bap is never a bad choice.
They also have pre-​made bentos & musubis for the go!

Classic local Korean BBQ, you’ll get generous portions, pretty good food and reasonable prices. That’s a great formula for multiple visits.
The mini family pack for $ 31.99 is meant for 3 and it’s really enough for 4 with above average appetites. It comes with rice, 3 sides, mandoo, kalbi, chicken, beef and meat jun.
The kalbi is cut for you with the bones, but some pieces were burnt. The beef and meat jun was the highlights of the family pack.
For the sides, the kim chee is on the sweet side, chop chae a bit too salty. But the potatoes are just right and their cabbage has a slight sesame oil flavor.
You should check out their daily specials, for Saturday, it’s fish jun for $ 9.10. Another pretty good dish and like their other plates, it’s a generous portion. The batter is a bit densely packed, not light and fluffy like Lili’s but it’s seasoned very well and the sauces are good compliments.
Please be sure to get your parking validated, as the parking lot now requires that you pull a ticket.

The food here is on point. Taste just like how it’s prepared in Korea. I was only in Hawaii for only a day and I ate here twice.

Lots of different options. Great that they do combination plates. Me and my bf shared a regular plate and that was enough for booth of us.
Minus 1 star for charging 60 cents for brown rice.
Service was fast and they validate

I just ordered some seaweed soup for lunch.
1. The cashier handles cash also serves food. When she grabs the soup bowl container, her fingers were touching inside the bowl. It grossed me out.
2. When I was ready to eat the soup, a bug was floating on my soup. Ewww!
I don’t think I will be able to order from this place again.

Yoboseyo. Higher quality fast food Korean. That’s the best way to describe this place. I’ve been coming to this place for awhile since I’ve worked near here for many years.
It’s small, only a couple places to sit at to eat inside and there’s a couple seats outside as well.
It’s on the far left side of the Airport Trade Center if you’re looking at it. They have grab and go small and larger bentos if you’re in a rush that seem more local or Japanese style… such as some bentos have an onigiri and hot dog or feud rice and garlic chicken. Sometimes they have butterfish too. Unfortunately no kim bap.
They take credit card and I would recommend calling in your order if you’re in a rush or if you come at lunch time. This place can get pretty busy, although they are still pretty fast despite the lines.
So, first you order. They have the basics… meat jun, bbq chicken, kalbi, etc but they also have things like garlic chicken, chicken katsu and mochiko chicken. You can choose mini or regular for most options. They have soups too like kook soo and mandoo soup.
Then you choose your sides. My personal favorites is the hasu (lotus root), choi sum, fish cake, tofu and the chop chae. I like that their sides aren’t doused in sesame oil.
They have a daily special plate where they discount one of their regular plates. For example, on Monday, you can get a regular meat jun plate for $ 9.05 instead of $ 9.55.
They have a lunch special with 1 piece kalbi, 1 piece chicken, 1 shrimp, 2 piece mandoo, 1 side, 2 scoop rice for $ 8.95 from 11am-​1pm.
One of my favorites is the box lunch with BBQ beef, meat jun, BBQ chicken, 1 mandoo and fried noodles with 4 sides and rice. Another favorite is their chicken katsu. Their chicken katsu is crispy and not fatty at all.
They aren’t open too late since this place caters more towards the businesses around the area. But definitely one of my favorite Korean places!

Despite the four stars, be warned. I ordered a very easy dish: mini bbq chicken which came with two sides. While the side dishes were fine, standard fare like at most Korean joints, my chicken was spoiled. It was actually SOUR. Gag at first bite. I even attempted to eat it multiple times after the first bite, huge mistake… as I don’t feel too well right now because of the small portion I did manage to force down my throat.
Even my brother who is nicknamed «the garbage can» couldn’t stomach it. Who the heck messes up bbq chicken?
While the owner/​cashier lady is very nice, it is no excuse for spoiled food. I’m sorry but I have to be honest and warn people. Food poisoning isn’t a joke. Bad chicken can really do some damage if you’re not careful.
Needless to say I won’t be returning.

My family is in love with Family BBQ! And I’m mostly vegan, so I wasn’t expecting to love it.
I always get their «vegetable plate.» You choose 5 sides, and they are very generous with the portions. It’s definitely a solid meal. I often end up going there for it once a week, because I crave it.
My favorite sides are the glass noodles, seaweed, kimchi, tofu, pickled daikon, broccoli, green beans, cabbage & bean sprouts. My husband liked the chicken katsu meal, but often ends up getting a veggie plate too because he likes the sides so much.

Walked in very helpful. Bout 3 bentos and one musubi 24 dollars not bad and the bentos are packed. And they give you sauces some places forget. The lady was very helpful telling me the prices and the overall favorite the chicken number 4 it’s skinless and they cut out the fat. Gotta try that next time I’m in the area

Punahou Carnival wore me out and after I napped, I was quite starving. I guess the Teri cheeseburger, some nachos, and a malasada for lunch wasn’t enough. I was Unilocaling to see what we could try. It was between Ricardo’s and here. My husband said we had pasta a bunch last week so we thought we would eat Korean. We got here at 7:30, 30 minutes to close. Parking was easy enough since it was later at night and not too many places were open.
I got the fish jun and my husband got the house special. I ended up getting cucumber Kim chee, regular Kim chee, bean sprouts, and broccoli. The sides weren’t that amazing. My fish jun was alright as this was the first time I tried fish jun; I normally eat meat jun. My husband’s meal came with kalbi (small bone kind), 2 pieces of beef, 1 chicken, 2 pieces of meat jun, and 1 mandoo. His also came with noodles. I tried the kalbi but there wasn’t a whole lot of meat on it. The flavor was good though. Everything else was alright too. Nothing stood out in my mind. I asked if his noodles were good and he said it was better than the rice but that’s it.
The service was just okay too. You really have no idea who the cashier calling when she’s like what do you want? She wasn’t friendly but not mean or rude either. Normally I would increase a star for hospitality but since it wasn’t that amazing, I’ll leave it at three stars. Food came out to $ 22 or so for 2 adults and my son sharing my meal. It wasn’t too pricey considering it’s always about $ 10 for a full or regular size plate of food at Korean restaurants now. Just FYI it’s $ 3.50 or more if you want to use your credit card and it’s s best to take out as the tables are small.

Korean local food. Their meats are so well marinated, that every bite is so satisfying. The sides are also amazing. The portions are colossal. Let’s just say, dang, that’s a heavy and gratifying plate!
FOOD
Let me just say pretty much everything is flavorsome, but my favorite (and my family, especially the hubby) is the MOCHIKO CHICKEN. Their chicken is not the crispy type. It has a sweet, mochi taste and consistency. Their SPICY PORK is on point with it’s spicy, sweet love. The MEAT & FISH JUN batter is decent and yummy. The dipping sauce is more on the saltier side. I prefer the sweeter jun dipping sauce to balance my salty jun, but it’s still good though. I love their sides also! Uh hello, their thin slices of FISH CAKE and ZUCCHINI TEMPURA is the bomb diggity! Best sides ever. They also have bentos.
ENVIRONMENT
Located in the Airport Trade Center. There are only 2 tables. So, it’s probably best just to take out. Fairly clean. Private lot with lots of free parking.
SERVICE
They seem pretty nice and especially friendly to their regulars. I’m just happy about their generous portions.
CONCLUSION
This is a great korean plate lunch place to try especially if you’re heading or coming from the airport. This is by far one of my favorite local korean plate lunch places on the island.

Hawaiian Airlines told me I’d get breakfast on my flight, except it was pretty much a lie. «Breakfast» is not a few pieces of cut up fruit with cheese and crackers. WTF. Fast forward 4 – 5 hours. My parents and I are RAVENOUS, and desperately so. I search on Unilocal,and end up here which thankfully ended up being extremely close to the car rental place.
I ordered the BBQ Chicken and my mother ordered the special which was basically a sampler of all of the «meats» (kalbi, chicken, mandoo/​gyoza, meat jun). We got the regular plates which came with 4 sides each. All of my sides were pretty bland but to be fair, I picked bland ones (mac salad, bean sprouts, broccoli, etc.). The meat, however, was DELICIOUS.
Despite the gargantuan amount of food on my plate, I’m fairly positive I scarfed it all down in 10 minutes. It was delicious and I was starving. Simple as that. Why don’t places like this exist in Seattle? Fast food-​style Korean is a brilliant concept. Yumz.

I love this place. Food is great, awesome banchan options (I like the seaweed and lotus root best). I’ve only been in Hawaii 2 months and I’ve already tried more than half the menu, and I haven eaten a single thing I wouldn’t eat again.
My recommendation? Spicy pork plate!

This is probably the best «hole in the wall» place to get good Korean BBQ. For years, Family BBQ has been my go-​to place to get lunch when I feel like eating rice, veggies and meat as it’s conveniently located just down the street from where I work. However, I often crave their food so even on my days off, I find myself going to Family BBQ for lunch or dinner.
I highly recommend calling in your order for lunch as the line gets pretty long during the lunch rush. Family BBQ is like a little cubby hole in the Airport Trade Center so the line often goes out the door. The neat thing is, they have pre-​made musubis and bentos so if you’re in a hurry, you can just grab one and go. They also have a daily special so whatever the daily special is, it’s a discounted price. The menu items that I order on a regular basis are: chicken katsu, spicy BBQ chicken and shrimp tempura. Their shrimp tempura is very different from Japanese-​style shrimp tempura. They have a nice crispy batter around the shrimp with bits and pieces of peanuts on it-it’s delicious!
They accept both cash and cards and the staff is always very friendly. Prices are very reasonable and they have a lot of good vegetable choices. My mouth is actually watering while I write this review so I’m certain this is where I’m heading for lunch today!