L&L Drive-Inn

As I keep saying… this eatery is INCONSISTENT. Purchased yesterday Friday afternoon just before 6pm the same mix plate ‘A’ as I had made the review back on April 30^th.
For today’s review, I’ll have to give it: 3 stars… why? hamburger was smaller, teri beef slice was smaller and thinner, and the beef stew. well, it needed to be cooked I’d say another one (1) hour PLUS to get soft… the meat was tough, the carrot? well, I had to use force to slice through it with my stainless steel hardware at home! Beef stew is tasty/​tomato based, but shoots, they should have just told me that the beef stew was not yet cooked, and to get another option instead of offering it at this time.
Come on L&L! When are you going to be 100% consistent in your foods???

They serve locals before tourists and you can literally wait 30 minutes for a burger, because they serve all the locals before you.

Food here is alright! Rice is re-​re-​heated it was almost crunchy. Also the gravy is okay… a little too thick. We took fish curry and Loco Moco, the fish was good, the Loco Moco not so much… the patty had no taste, the gravy on top not so good.
I wouldn’t recommend this place especially if you’re looking for typical Hawaiian cuisine… unless you are very hungry but there is a Safeway across the street with nice healthy salads and sandwiches ;-) !

food is just ok and service is low

Ordered the veal cutlet. I’m not sure if this is a normal thing at this L&L, but very thing was extremely salty. The veal cutlet was salty, and the gravy smothering it was salty. I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. This one of the few times I wish I ate in the restaurant so I could get my money back.

It was decent food. Went with the family had a few different things from there. The food was just ok. Not great not bad.

I bought a classic chicken Katsu plate. Honestly best katsu I ever had and there was probably about 50 pieces of crunchy moist goodness along with two scoops of rice and some mac attack special. Honestly about 3 lbs of food for about $ 8. Best deal in town for sure and if you order this u better be hungry!!!

The chili cheese fries here are amazing! Finally a place that puts enough cheese and chili on the fries, will be stopping in here every time I need my fix… The chicken sandwich was not bad either. Great place to gab a quick local bite.

With not many choices in Hawaii Kai to begin with. this would have to be our «go-​to» place for food when I am just not in the mood to cook.
Typical L&L — plate lunches in Styrofoam containers, lots of rice, mac salad, and fried food, but they also have healthy plates here (that come with brown rice, salad, and a bottled water). We always get the Shrimp and Broccoli (mini me’s request this every time) and mixed plate A (with curry) for my better half.
I’m the wild card, ever changing… but you really never can go wrong with chicken katsu or saimin. I do love the basa here (white fish) — garlic style — healthy plate (of course my kiddos eat all my cucumbers and tomatoes). That’s ok — if we’re fighting over veggies… must be doing something right!

Came here exclusively to try the ramen burger– noodles fried in a patty shape in lieu of traditional bun. The burger was juicy and tasty, with a faint teriyaki flavor to it, complementing the unique bun

The katsu sauce was watered down, or of cheap quality. The lettuce had black mold dots on it.
Everything else was fine. But moldy lettuce means would definitely not come back here again.

L an l is more like z and z the east coast factory! Great food great prices will come here again for sure.

Ordered to eat in. Service was ok. Cheap on the napkins. I just wanted 1 more. it was frowned upon.
1. Curry Katsu Chicken — curry was tasteless. BLAND.
2. Spam musubi — Good!
In the middle of the meal, I noticed ants running along the ledge of the wall. OK, I am gotta here!

Plate lunches at reasonable prices, including some healthier options. If you’re visiting our lovely island for the first time and haven’t tried a plate lunch before, it will usually have one of a number of entrees including Hawaiian BBQ, teriyaki chicken, katsu chicken, or other Hawaiian/​Asian influenced dishes, with two scoops of rice the size of softballs and macaroni salad. The salad is a point of pride with local cooks, who boil the noodles slightly softer so they can better absorb the dressing.
None of this sounds particularly healthy, I know. This L&L location (and perhaps others) has a few lighter plates. I got a very tasty grilled chicken, with a huge, crisp salad (with cucumbers and tomatoes), and one scoop of brown rice, and it was close to the same price as the original plates.
While my mother was visiting, I got her the chicken katsu. If you’ve been denied the pleasure of eating chicken katsu, I hope you remedy that SOON. It consists of strips of chicken dipped in panko bread crumbs and fried, but it is so much more than the sum of its parts. I was raised in the South, so I know fried chicken. This is better, way, way better. My mother is normally a rather light eater, but she finished it all and asked to go back on the last night of her visit.
This is definitely a takeout place. Not for groups or romantic dates (in that case, take it to the beach for a picnic).

Normal local eats. Quick and good

I’ve lived in Hawaii Kai for 25 yrs and have eaten here many, many times. Never had a bad meal. I love how the person taking your order is courteous and pleasant yet when she calls it into the kitchen it sounds like she’s yelling at her husband in an argument. Really funny! I’m sure just a cultiral thing. One important fact to know, when the power is out, come here. They’ll be open cooking with gas and using flashlights to see. Food is just as good. So nice to be able to eat after a hurricane!

Came here after a great time at SeeBreeze next door.
Apparently, L&L Drive-​Inn is a chain, with locations in the continental states. We thought it was an inn converted to a hole-​in-​the-​wall, and that’s actually kind of what this felt like. Dingy with tasty cheap food. It’s obvious it’s a local lunch spot.
A bit on the greasy side and certainly not healthy, but I’d do this again.

After hiking Mt. Olympus, we drove to Hawaii Kai to revisit some of our old haunts, including a friend’s house we stayed at during a month-​long trip to Hawaii years ago and a beach down the road.
Then we started looking for food in the area and ended up in the Hawaii Kai Shopping Center. There were a lot of options, but I really wanted barbecue for dinner. I knew L&L is a chain, but had never tried it, so there was my chance, very spontaneous.
We walked in. The girl taking orders greeted us with a big smile and was quite courteous. We each got a combo/​special. Price was very reasonable. There were plenty of seats available. Most local people did takeout. While waiting, I was pleasantly surprised to see a poster of my favorite show back home in New York called Shen Yun inside the restaurant. It is actually touring to Honolulu in May 2013. I also noticed that there was a smaller size for the combo I ordered and regretted repeating the same mistake as in a Korean BBQ takeout restaurant the day before, but it was too late at that point.
Anyhow, my dinner was a Chicken Katsu & BBQ Beef combo. It was indeed a lot of meat and just the right amount of rice to go with it. It is not like most takeout places I have been to in New England where they try to fill up your box with as much rice as possible and add only a thin layer of the actual entrée. A big plus for this!
The BBQ beef came in boneless thin slices and was very tasty, apparently well marinated. I am not a big fan of Katsu unless topped with curry sauce, but ordered it anyways. The Chicken Katsu was not greasy at all, although it is really meant to go with the accompanying sauce, and was otherwise quite plain.
We each had some leftover to take back to the hotel for a second dinner later, simply because it was way too much food. Had I given it a second thought, I would have ordered the smaller size combo or considered sharing one. I got a plastic bag and extra napkins from the cashier girl.
This is the very first 5 start I have given on Unilocal,main reasons being the friendly service, the excellent food, the clean environment, and the cheap price. For what it is, a fast-​food restaurant, I am very satisfied. However, there is definitely room for improvement. I would have given it 4.5 starts if it is possible on Unilocal.The cashier girl could have suggested that we may not be able to finish the huge meals and mentioned that smaller sizes are available.

I came to Honolulu, HI and I actually had a hard time trying to find real hawaiian food. I love the stuff and I was so perplexed that it didn’t exist on the strip in honolulu. I have some great local friends and they brought me to L&L.
This is what went down:
1) Price– Pretty cheap. It’s almost like a diner for hawaiian food.
2) Quantity– Pretty good sizes. I ate about 2 full meals.
3) Quality– Tasty indeed. We had the curry chicken katsu, garlic shrimp, and mini fried chicken. Everything tasted great– mac salad and all.
4) Atmosphere– As I said, it’s like a diner so it’s cozy and very casual. There are also pictures of fine hawaiian women drinking out of L&L cups– I doubt they eat that much L&L if they look that good– just saiyan.
5) Staff– Cashier was helpful and patient when explaining what stuff was.
I’d go back and try to get everything on the menu

Considering only 3 reviews have been made by locals on this location it’s pretty clear there really isn’t any reason for locals to mouth off about this place… why? Because everyone pretty much eats here.
I doubt any Kama’aina will read this or local for that matter as well, but I’m not posting this for those who live here, I’m posting this for people who may be moving or visiting Hawaii…
L&L Drive-​in (named so in Hawaii) and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue (named so on the mainland and other countries) is a staple for Hawaii, the same way Zippy’s is in Hawaii… and the same way Burger King and McDonalds is for the mainland… Every single person that lives in Hawaii has eaten at L&L.
Unlike Burger King or McDonalds which all taste the same no matter which one you go to, L&L clearly has a different taste at different locations and different cooks that craft their skills differently. This means there is a seriously good chance that one L&L menu on the East Side may not taste like the one on the West Side. It all depends on the passion of the staff, management and the way the cooks like to cook the menu.
For tourists visiting for the first time, L&L from an outside perspective could look kind of intimidating. What is this place, they say as the walk by, it looks kinda dingy… Some vacationers ponder if it would even be wise to even walk in and order food there. Well let me calm all you mainlanders nerves… GO IN… DON’T BE AFRAID… lol. L&L DRIVE-​IN is a great place to get BUDGET PLATE LUNCHES under $ 10.00! For the Poor Man… That’s my style, but being cheap for me isn’t everything… I want to feel I’m getting good service and good quality food as well… L&L has and always will provide that for me and my ohana.
Of all the L&L’s I have been to on the island… There is no doubt by my taste buds that the Hawaii Kai location has some of the best TASTING PLATE LUNCHES…
GARLIC AHI… CHICKEN KATSU… TERI BEEF, all the best tasting lunches here!
*The only issue I have here is the fact that the GARLIC AHI sells so well it’s always OUT! These guys need to find a consistent AHI supplier at a good price.
I live walking distance to the Hawaii Kai L&L so I grab a Reg or Mini Plate lunch from this location at least twice a week.
What if you never have had a HAWAIIAN PLATE LUNCH before… I’m sure you’re asking… what exactly is it?
Let me explain: There are two Plate Lunches to choose from… a REGULAR and a MINI Plate Lunch…
The traditional Hawaiian «REGULAR» plate lunch consists of two servings of rice, a serving of macaroni salad, and features a generous serving of your hot entrée of choice.
The traditional Hawaiian «MINI» plate lunch version of the traditional plate lunch consists of one serving of rice, a serving of macaroni salad, and a smaller serving of your hot entrée of choice.
THAT’S IT, IT’S COMFORT FOOD AND I FRIGGIN LOVE IT… you will as well!
So if you are in the area of Hawaii Kai and starving after a hike or day at one of the beaches near by… perhaps if you have even been shopping in Hawaii Kai… Hit up the HAWAII KAI L&L DRIVE-​IN for Cheap Ono Killer Grinds!