Jane’s Fountain

Jane’s is a classic hole-​in-​the wall. Cash only. Street parking only. A jukebox, an old cash register (for nostalgia purposes), plywood booths, no a/​c. A classic with a menu from the 50s or earlier! Most likely, the founder/​owner Jane who’s passed, had kids or family not interested in taking over the operation. So perhaps Jane’s family retained ownership of the land & old building & looked for an operator who, now, is a Chinese family who was likely trained on cooking the menu items & perhaps with a promise to not change the menu without OK. Jane’s old clientele is surely getting fewer & fewer in number, so a critical point will be reached soon to keep on! or change with the times with new everything, to include exiting the restaurant business. So, enjoy their kau kau & atmosphere now.

Finally got to try here, got lucky and found street parking in front of Jane’s.
Style — old time saimin fountain place with booth seating, big sliding entry glass doors, electric fans (no ac), menu displayed on various walls, old cash register, Wanted Japanese toys ad and a juke box that still works. When we first arrive music was playing with various types of music from old Japanese songs to early 80’s local Hawaiian music, I didn’t realize till customer next to us feed the juke box.
Service — friendly
Food — I like to try saimin, fried noodles, bbq stick and hamburger at these type of places. Fried noodles and bbq stick was so so (I like Old Saimin House better), dining partner had the saimin who enjoyed the dashi. They also served free mac salad and Japanese pickled cabbage which was a nice touch. I didn’t get to try the hamburger though.
Oh, and cash only.
Overall, 3 stars.

My husband flavor this place but I’m not really like it that much. I would only recommend sarisari

I’ve ate here once and it was with my girlfriend about 2 months ago. We ordered 2 Loco Mocos, A root beer float and pancakes and some breakfast place. At first you can say this place is old. It’s been here since the 50’s and has been through it all.
The food is awesome and the vibe here is awesome as well. There’s a jukebox and a lot of food under cheap prices you can’t beat!!!

I really wanted to like this place…
I’ve driven by Jane’s often and really wanted to go in. On this day, I was very lucky to find parking right on the street in front of Jane’s
Being that it is an older saimin stand type business, I expected it to taste like that.
I was told to have the hamburger, but I opted for the saimin and BBQ stick.
Saimin was ok, bbq stick reallllllly tough.
People were ok… kind of just doing their job and there was a street person kind of ranting and raving a lot. I was a little nervous because I sat in the booth that was right inside the door and my back was to the door… didn’t feel really safe.
Don’t think I’d go there again… sorry folks.

Wow, the saimin was not Al dente and noodles were a bit chewy. A little more time in the broth or hot water would’ve been better. Very pedestrian saimin. Nothing special. Haven’t tried the plate lunches yet although it looks like the menu selection is huge.

If it wasn’t for Unilocal I would have never heard of this place! Since then, I have been eating here for years and the food has been very consistent — consistently good!
The only two things that I wish would change would be their payment option (cash only) and their parking. Parking may be something they can’t fix because they are literally street-​front stuffed in between some other businesses. A literal «hole in the wall.»
I have always had the same consistently good service and food here. I usually get a breakfast plate with a side of french toast. The french toast is pretty mean, even better than Liliha’s. It is very smooth and light that melts in your mouth once it hits your tongue. For lunch, their cheeseburger deluxe and saimin are most popular. Decent tasting, but I do prefer their breakfast food overall. As far as the portions go, I’m sure that some people may think of it on the lighter side, but to me, it’s just right.
In sum, if you can find the parking, it wouldn’t hurt to try this place. As a reminder, make sure to bring cash as they are a cash-​only establishment. Take this place for what it is and I’m sure the majority of people will like it.

A good place for a bowl of wun tun saimin and a burger. This restaurant does not have air conditioning.

If you are craving a simple, old fashioned saimin, Jane’s is one of the places to go. Even though this is literally a hole in da wall, I love how they use raw luncheon meat, the right amount of green onions, and the pink round kamaboko. The broth could use extra salt and shoyu as it’s on the rather watery side, but that can be added yourself.
The teriyaki burger with cheese is a great add-​on. Both times I’ve gone, I gulped half a burger before even receiving my saimin. The teriyaki stick is also a nice compliment to the saimin. It not only adds flavor to it, but it just makes you go back to the old school.
A small saimin and a shared burger is the perfect amount for me. I haven’t tried the wonton yet, but I hear it’s a hit too.
Please note there is no AC inside, so be prepared to sweat! Parking is located on the street. If you keep driving up Liliha towards the mountain past Kuakini, there are a bunch of stalls on the left-​hand side.

A good ol fashioned saimin and burger joint; no frills, but satisfying none the less. A good substitution for the townies who don’t feel like dealing with the traffic to get to Shiro’s (the place and menu at Jane’s is quite a bit smaller though).
I had the cheeseburger deluxe and large saimin. I should have got a small saimin; didn’t finish it lol. The burger was good; nice char on the outside, juicy on the inside and quite flavorful. The saimin was good, but nothing special, nostalgic and satisfying. I wish they had fries, I’d be more inclined to come back for a burger and fries.
All in all, it’s I think it’s a good place to try out.

Ambiance: Step back in time and savor the flavor a that this restaurant has to offer. It’s a cash only place with a menu on the wall, a jukebox with that old time sound, and a bit of age showing.
Service: Staffers were attentive, but didn’t hover. Our cups were full and the orders were right.
Food: The BBQ Pork was just hiding in the mish mash of comfort food on the menu. Boy was I glad I picked it! I think it was marinated in a simple Teri ginger sauce of some sort. Seared to perfection, the texture of pork shined through and the fatty parts melted in my mouth. It was a large portion with two scoops rice, mac salad, corn, and cole slaw on the side. My girlfriend had their small saimin bowl, which was perfect for her. It came in a cereal bowl sized bowl and had a unique flavor reminiscent of a walk around the noodle factories in china town. Again, simple perfection.
I would gladly eat here again!

You know, one to the beautiful things about using Unilocal — is reading your Unilocal buddies reviews! Recently, I’ve been craving some good ol’ local kine GRINDZ and I remembered my Unilocal buddy bruddah Brian M. posting a wonderful review of Jane’s Fountain, so I went to the Jane’s Fountain page on Unilocal to read the reviews… low & behold when I got to the page, I realized my other Unilocal buddies — Nat N. bruddah Dave F., Judy C., Reimi D., & bruddah Eric Robert R. all had posted wonderful reviews about this place too.
After reading all of their reviews, I was convinced that I had to go to Jane’s Fountain for lunch today… and I was gonna roll da dice to see if I could find any street parking.
Low & behold, when I got to Jane’s, the parking gods must have heard me rumbling down the road today, because there was a metered parking stall smack in front of Jane’s…and to top if off, there was like 40 minutes left in the pay meter too… can you say SCORE!
Parked my car & fed a few more coins into the meter just so I could get a little more time… then stepped into Jane’s…
Walking into Jane’s, is like going back to my childhood day’s of mom & pops diners. WOW, this place is really old skool I tell you! Small hole in the wall place with bright orange vinyl booths (sorry gang, they don’t provide sunglasses, so you better get use to the bright booths). This place kinda reminded me of Archies in Wailuku, as they seem to have the same kind of bright orange vinyl booths!
Upon seating ourselves, I looked at the wall menu. So many local choices, and I really wanted to try them all, but I knew it would be impossible. I ended up getting the Shoyu Chicken, and my friend ended up getting the Liver with Onions. Both plates came with two scopes white rice, corn, mac salad, & tsukemono.
What can I saw about the Grindages?
Well, the Shoyu Chicken was so soft… coming off the bone soft (just the way I like it!), they used a light shoyu sauce so it was not overly salty. There was a hint of sweetness, as well as an aroma of ginger to the dish. It was prepared perfectly, and I must say the serving of food was so generous.
My friend, who ate the Liver & Onions (Yuck! I hate liver), said the dish was prepared perfectly too… in fact my friend mentioned that the Liver & Onion dish was done even better here, than at Meg’s Drive In’s (liver & onion dish).
I did not eat my Mac Salad today, but my friend had mentioned that the Mac Salad was done perfectly too… just the right amount of mayonnaise in conjunction to the macaroni.
Apparently, this little hole in the wall restaurant has quite a strong local following… as there was quite a bit of people in this restaurant today. I don’t know how many years this business has been around, but I can tell you this… they certainly are doing something right over here!
Oh, and one friendly reminder… CASH IS KING! They only take cash over here, so bring money, or no eat!
Chance ‘em gang! No can go wrong with da local kine grindages!

My dad always comes here to eat the wun tun min. I’ve finally got to try here & I liked it! It’s a really old school eatery and it has that old fashioned feel. They have an extensive menu ranging from saimin to Filipino food. I was so surprised they had Filipino food! I had the hamburger steak which I liked because the meat was really tasty! Not a ready made patty. My boyfriend had the pork chops and he really liked it also. I will definitely be back to try something else!

Cash only
It is cooler in lower Liliha versus Kalihi-​Palama and the front of Jane’s Fountain is almost open air so the place is comfortable with just a couple of fans providing air movement.
This is more of a diner than a saimin house with everything from pork with bitter melon, sari sari, to miso soup with an egg, and canned corned beef or liver with onions. There’s also a long list of simple sandwiches for kids or older folks, like a fried ham or luncheon meat slice, deviled egg, or tomato in plain white bread. This is the kind of neighborhood diner people would frequent on a daily basis in the days before mobile phones, the Internet, McDonalds and Starbucks. You’ll see regulars relaxing with their newspaper, talking story with other regulars or the waitress, having a coffee and maybe a side dish of canned corn before the meal.
The plates come with a side of macaroni salad, and if they know you, an extra side of shredded cabbage.
The broth for their saimin and wun tun is an ordinary clear, slightly salty dashi style that most people will eat with a shoyu mustard slury added. But, the noodles are nice and toothsome with a texture that holds up well if you’re the kind of person who takes 20 minutes to eat a bowl of noodles. The garnishes are a standard chopped luncheon meat, green onion, and a slice of red and white kamaboko fish cake.

I was in the mood for a cheeseburger, but not willing to drive all the way to Teddy’s. I used Unilocal (thank you, Unilocal!) and found this place, only to realize it is next door to The Salted Lemon on Liliha… my other new find. Honestly, I felt like I was cheating on The Salted Lemon, especially because instead of eating a healthy Acai bown or smoothie, I was on a mission to eat a CHEESEBURGER!
Parking: Street parking, metered, on Liliha St. It’s not guaranteed, but so far… we’ve found a spot each time.
Location: very close to corner of Liliha and Kuakini. Jane’s Fountain isn’t clearly marked, but the large SAIMIN sign above it is!
The Feel: hole-​in-​the-​wall, not fancy, old school diner. It’s clean enough, though. The lady (owner?) works hard serving everyone. She answered the phone and answered my questions. Short «Yes» answers, but sounded welcoming.
The Burger: someone’s Cheeseburger Deluxe photo on Unilocal is what drew me here. I had to convince my husband that it was worth it, being that we are hardcore Teddy’s fans. We each got the Cheeseburger Deluxe (I think it was $ 4.20) and I got a rootbeer float. I waited for his reaction because his is most honest, and he really liked it!!! We both did. The burger was very moist and tasty, and my hubby and I agreed the ingredients (vegetables, onions) were all FRESH.
The ONLY bummer is that they don’t make french fries. No french fries with a burger? Oh well… the upside to it was that I got to completely focus on the burger and float. Plus, I didn’t walk out feeling grossly full, but totally satisfied.
Great cheeseburger!

The building dates back at least to the 1950s and probably 10 — 20 years earlier and the décor has hardly changed. The current operators may be immigrants but traditional fountain foods are still available along with favorite local dishes.
I had a regular-​sized bowl of saimin. The noodles were chewy and the broth was not salty. Slivers of spam replaced the commonly used pork char sui but a slice of fishcake was included.
My wife had a hamburger deluxe – an obsolete phrase now perhaps that describes a burger with tomato, onion and lettuce. The meat was ground beef.* Sis had won ton saimin – very filing.
*Hamburger was once ground beef with cereal filler added. (19¢ burger at McDonalds in the 1960s.) During the latter part of the 20^th Century the fast food burger chains were in such heavy competition that some started using pure ground beef – advertising the fact heir burgers were GROUND BEEF; soon all the other restaurants were also using pure beef but the name hamburger remained.

You won’t find relief from the hot weather with AC in here, but old school fans blowing down on you while you sit in orange booths with red cloth tape that patch the years of customers.
I just love love these mom & pops diners and if it was closer to me I’d be a regular here with prices that is hard to come by nowadays and that warm welcoming feeling.
Sitting comfortably while waiting for our food I thought I was warped to somewhere in Hilo, looking around seeing quiet patrons enjoying their homemade cooked up meals. You can just feel that relax atmosphere this eatery brings. Then to my surprise the waitress turns on that old jukebox and starts playing Hawaiian and Japanese music from probably the 60’s! Awesomeness!
I enjoyed a small Wun Tun Min and a Cheeseburger, it look and tasted just like what I picturing in my head. Basic nothing fancy, plain good olé’ food you crave sometimes, satisfying your soul and stomach. I think that I’ll put Jane’s on my brekkie and brunch rotation, I enjoyed it that much!
Service from Karen who served us this Morning was friendly and attentive, our coffee was constantly topped off.
Parking might be a problem if you don’t luck out with something in the front, just cross your fingers and hope you find a spot nearby on the surrounding streets.

I don’t know how this place eluded me to review but it’s probably because aside from last week, the last time I was here was before Unilocal was even around!
Motivated by a recent Honolulu Magazine article that came out on «old school» saimin stands, I totally forgot about Jane’s. The day the article came out, I just so happened to be headed to see a movie at Dole and I figured the surrounding area is littered with saimin eateries! Since I had to make a stop to pick up my friend in downtown, the easiest thing to do was to head up Liliha and check out Jane’s again.
The parking is the only downer, you’ll have to depend on finding most of it on the street. Once you’re lucky enough to get a stall you’ll walk into Jane’s which is like walking into a time warp from the 40’s. They have the $ 0.25 jukebox, an old cash register that’s probably older than you’re parents and grandparents.
They are known for the saimin which we had but I should also clue you in on their homestyle hamburgers and plate lunches which are also winner. The prices are very very reasonable so if you’re ever in the area and just want some home cooked comfort food, look no further than Jane’s. Just remember the sign outside says «Saimin» not Jane’s in case you’ve never been there before.

Amazing!
This restaurant has been here on Liliha Street for over 60 years!!! WTH?! The décor is almost all if the original & their recipes have been passed down from generation to generation.
I highly recommend you getting the cheeseburger & the wuntun min! The servers & cooks are SO sweet. I loved all the patrons there too.

Euro-​Tapa, French-​Fusion, Asian-​Pacific… It seems to me a lot of restaurants have been adding a lot of «flare» into their cooking. Which is good for most… But have you ever had that craving for good homestyle cooked food but was just too lazy to cook it yourself at home?
Well that’s where Jane’s Fountain would step in for me.
This aged small diner is not a fancy diner. The fact that the word «fountain» is a part of the business name should give you an idea of how long this place has been around. My aunty has told me stories of when she came here when she was a child. It always brings smiles to the heart when you hear of businesses that has stood through some generations.
Parking (street) is nearly impossible to find, especially during the lunch hour. But if you have to wait, then wait. You’ll get a stall sooner or later. Don’t forget to pay the meter.
As you walk in, you’ll notice a jukebox that’s still working. Feel free to drop in a few quarters and flip through the list of songs for everyone to enjoy. It’s like being your own dj while everyone is eating. Haha.
Seat yourself at an open table and look on the walls for the menu. No, you won’t be given a printed personalized menu. The wall is all you have.
The staff is very quiet. They’ll come and give you water and take your order and although they rarely talk, their operations are ran very smoothly. Everyone knows what they should be doing as people are constantly coming and leaving.
The prices range from $ 3-​$ 10 serving things from hamburgers to oxtail soup and root-​beer floats. The average plate lunch is about $ 7 which all comes with pickled cabbage and their delicious mac salad (which IMO is ‘one’ of the best mac salads I’ve tasted)
I’ve been here a few times and haven’t been disappointed with any of their food items.
–The liver and onions was very tender and tasty. Cooked the way I liked it.
–The pig feet soup is a Chinese style (not «lauya» Filipino style) but it didn’t matter because the broth was just as delicious and the pig feet was «fall off the bone» tender.
–The hamburger steak has got to be my favorite so far. Homemade patty, not the frozen ones you buy at the store. These are shaped by hand and cooked. Which is why the shape isn’t a perfect circle. The seasoning was perfect and I was told they use the same homemade patties for their hamburgers. Sad part is they don’t serve french fries here. But no biggie, just order more mac salad :)
So if you’re lucky enough to see an open parking, take it and give this place a try. I’m positive you won’t be disappointed. Oh and if you have room for dessert, get an ice cream float. Awww c’mon there’s always room for dessert :)