Pepper’s Place

My whole Ohana loves the Philly Cheesesteak & their baked potatoes!!! The only reason we don’t go often is because of a certain employee who always wants to correct the customer how to order!!! Funny thing we order exactly the way they have it listed on the menu board!!! He is so damn cocky & for what!!! Next time you go good luck!!! The owners, & rest of employees are AWESOME!!!

This review is based solely on the only 3 items I order, the cheesesteak, chili dog, and, «King» baked potato.
I enjoy the cheesesteak with onions and mushrooms. It’s tender and flavorful. The chili dog has a nice snap to the dog and a mild but flavorful chili and is covered with onions. The king is a loaded baked potato. When I don’t want to go through the hassle at home it’s a quick alternative.
They only have two small tables inside and two tables outside so we usually go to the beach to eat or take it home.
The workers have always been friendly and have gotten my order right every time. I don’t even check before I leave as I have to do constantly at other places.

Pepper’s Place is a far better option than Subway if you’re in this part of Kailua.
This little sandwich shop is a mom-​and-​pop place. The owner is this peppy little Korean dude with stud earrings who helps cook. He is often on the grill while his employees do prep work or clean. That is often the sign of a passionate cook. He likes to cook and his employees are there to make his day easier. I love watching these types at work; passion is unmistakable.
Everything here is fairly priced. I love love LOVE the pastrami sandwich. It was fresh and juicy and spiced to perfection. It was about $ 10, a little smaller than Subway but exponentially more delicious. The meat is cooked fresh, not loaded with preservatives and placed in a tray atop ice for a workday.
Parking here is free. There are a couple tables outside and some other tables in front of the strip mall. If you’re looking for a good easy cheap lunch in Kailua, Pepper’s Place is hard to beat!

I had a great cheesesteak, I also got smiley fries and wasn’t a fan of them. I wouldn’t tell someone not to get them it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I would have given 5 stars but I had to wait quite a bit for my food. Overall it was a great place and would definitely go back again!

Great sandwiches. I loved the veggie, and chicken cheesestake. Ingredients are fresh. And prices are fair and inexpensive. I’d definitely recommend Peppers.

Located in the same shopping center as aloha salads and lanikai juice, pepper’s place rounds out the TWO cheesesteak places in Kailua, and pretty much the entire island.
Fast food that isn’t entirely fast, pepper’s has the standard cheesesteaks with filllings and other comparable sandwiches for the non-​beef lovers. First comment on my wish list: sizes. Their sandwiches are one size fits all, which doesn’t work since most people are NOT one size fits all. How about a half bun (6″) and a whole (12″) just for starters?
I ordered mine with peppers and onions, which was a mistake as more than half my sandwich was fillers and a small bit of beef. I’m not sure if there was enough seasonings or MSG or something since the beef didn’t have that savory taste other cheesesteaks have had. It tasted much like ground beef, and crumbled just like ground beef.
I did enjoy the happy fries, but let’s all be honest here. That just means these were pre-​bought instead of homemade. If I’m craving cheesesteak, I’ll just stick to Ono’s

I have to agree with the majority here. Usually too early or inconvenient time to try the menu. Today was the day and I must say, it is a scant two stars.
I had the pastrami sandwich. It was on a microwaved warmed bun. Basically, thin sliced lunch meat from the Oscar Meyer section of Times market. It was reminiscent of a frozen SAMs Club sandwich. Not grilled or braised in an au jus. Think High School Cafeteria. Being the highest priced menu item, $ 9.29, you might think it should have a signature.
Agreed with the gentleman about the $ 0.50 refill, really?
I guess Peppers Place is right on the beaten bus tour path. This Kailua resident will hope some improvement will come to our quality culinary treasures of our local beach city.

Went there for lunch. Got the cheese steak, cheeses teak with mushroom & peppers. Both came with barely any cheese and no flavor. The only thing good was their curly fries. This is no great steak.

Two weeks ago, the young cook fashioned me a reasonable chicken cheese steak — not the best, but not the worst. So, tonight I returned with a similar expectation. I was horribly disappointed. The chicken was tasteless and dry as a bone, the cheese was only melted on the bun allowing all of the ingredients to spill out of the over-​stuffed bun (which tasted stale), and the mushrooms were of the canned variety (and overcooked like the chicken). This was the saddest excuse for a cheesesteak I’ve ever tasted and I will not return. I recommend Charley’s over Pepper’s Place — and that is just sad. $ 10.25 for buyer’s remorse that earned this scathing review.
Eat well and take care of each other.

I’m no Philly cheese steak connoisseur but I am a self proclaimed chopped/​iron chef judge and undercover food critic! I guess the secret is out since I’m posting this! Just Kidding.
My girlfriend and I were browsing Kailua on a random food trip day and she was saying how she had been eyeing peppers place for a while. The decision was made and we headed over for lunch.
Peppers place is located in the same shopping center as aloha salads, lanikai juice, times, book ends and mexico lindo –across from macys and whole foods. This shopping center is usually packed with locals and tourists alike so wait patiently and a spot will open up.
Ambiance & Seating: When you walk in you are greeted by an older lady and a man that I assume is her husband. Off the bat you’re thinking, hey, they probably make great home style food, i’m excited! The prime real estate of this dive would also give you the impression that you are getting awesome food, but do not be fooled! The details that make you second guess.
There is one or two small tables inside, but they are near the counter and grill so its not a very nice spot to sit. The counter is clean, and on the left hand side there are two soda fountains. Meh, divey but not. There is «patio» seating outside near the parking area. Its a prime people watching spot so I gave it a +1
Service: The older lady was nice, and friendly. She suggested what sounded like all wonderful things. The older man working was nice as well, but looked like he didn’t want to be there.
What we ordered:
I ordered a regular philly cheese steak with everything on it and onion rings.
My girlfriend ordered a plain philly with potato wedges.
My first gripe is the price, for the both of us, it totaled to almost $ 40. No, that is not okay. There were no packaged meal deals, and the owners should probably look into that since the drink prices alone were tooo much for a small hole in the wall such as this.
My second gripe is that the portions are SMALL. If you are hungry you will be filled up solely because this place is carb heaven. The bread to meat ratio was ridiculous. The meat was a small portion and my girlfriend says the pre-​portion it out. I think that in all phillys, there should never be more bread than steak. You should never just lightly dust the meat, I want it packed in! and It was not. The bread was greasy, the meat was hard and the onions were over cooked. My girlfriend agreed and her favorite thing was the homestyle fries which were big and cooked nicely. My onion rings were good, but tasted pre-​made like they were from costco
This place has a lot to do before it even will live up to its slogan as the «best philly cheese steaks in the world» I do not think i’d ever waste my time or money here again.

Great Philly cheese steak and great chicken cheese steak sandwich… but that is it!
They have way overpriced food $ 6.99 for a medium size cheesecake with onions. Add mushrooms or bell peppers for about $ 1 more. They were very very very chintzy with the amount of cheese they put on their Philly «cheese“steak sandwich.
In fact, this place is also chintzy with their soda refills., they charge 50 cents! Get with the times… no place charges for refills! And their sodas are around $ 2! This place is obviously looking for ways to cut costs (i.e. lack of cheese on their cheese steak sandwiches, refills for 50 cents). They also give the kid’s meal those happy face fries that you buy from the frozen section at the grocery store. The chili (like for the chili cheese fries) is that lousy poor tasting Hormel garbage… what a complete joke.
There is no A/​C in the restaurant (another cut back). The employees are super nice though… too bad the owner is really tight and doesn’t care about the customer… only ripping them off and finding ways to do it.
A $ 7 Philly cheese steak sandwich is not worth the price here… FYI!

While perhaps not as epic as I remember from a few years past, Pepper’s is still a solid place to get a decent cheesesteak. I wouldn’t necessarily eat here over Teddy’s if I’m just craving meat, but it’s a nice shift if you’ve overdone it on burgers. (if possible)
I’d opt for something a bit more complex than a simple cheesesteak on a return visit, since the basic meat + cheese can end up tasting a bit bland. But on the plus side, you aren’t likely to find a cheaper place for lunch!

I love this place! Maybe it’s just because I usually go here after swimming at Kailua Beach, when I am cold, tired, and super hungry, but the cheesesteak with mushrooms and onions is amazing. Curly fries are good too.
I like to eat outside and bask in the sunlight.

Philly cheese steak or tuna melt! Cheddar jalapeño poppers over mozzarella! Perfect for before or after the beach or pillbox hike. Happy fries are pretty hilarious. Idk if I’d compare them to waffle fries? They just look happy though. I go here maybe every other time I’m in kailua. It’s cruise.
Small seating area under some umbrella tables outside. This is definitely a lunch spot.

An afternoon trip with a friend of mine in Kailua started off here at Pepper’s Place. We wanted to go to Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, but as fate would have it, we decided to check Pepper’s Place out. Teddy’s credit card machine was on the fritz that afternoon and we both didn’t have the cash. Pepper’s Place is obviously a mom and pop operation, located in the strip mall in the heart of Kailua town, across the larger shopping complex of Macy’s and Starbucks, and Cold Stone, to name a few. There is plenty of parking spaces at this strip mall, so you can have a ball shopping and spending the day here at your leisure.
I checked out Pepper’s Place on Unilocal and found out that this place seemed to have some hype around it. Maybe I should have read further since there were some reviews there that basically hit the nail on the head of this place (Norm G.). I will say that this place is not worth the hype. Although the sandwiches were good and tasty, I thought that the price paid for it wasn’t a value that I thought it would be. The service was pretty good, although my friend and I were the only ones there at the time. I ordered the grilled tuna melt with curly fries and my friend had the cheese steak with mushrooms and unions. What came out of that shop was less than what i had imagined it out to be. While the bread was quite tasty, I never thought that they were so skimpy on the cheese steak part — when my friend showed me her food.
For my tuna melt, I thought it was decent, but it could have been better. The sandwiches tasted good — which was the saving grace, although I thought it would have been much more of a value if they gave more than what we had. My friend thought that the extra mushrooms and onions came with the regular $ 6.99 basic cheese steak, but learned that she had blindly paid $ 7.39 instead, when I pointed it out to her. She should have read the menu board before ordering. lol. She was a bit peeved, but what can you do. I also had the curley fries, which was $ 2.99. Even Jack In the Box, gives more than that for $ 2.99. I was just disappointed.
I don’t think I will eat here again.
C–

What’s with all the amazing reviews? Seriously this place is not a cheesesteak joint, it’s a place where they make sandwiches with meat and cheese. Big difference.
I get it, maybe it’s cause people in Kailua don’t know what a real cheesesteak tastes like. The meat was kinda bland, bread was a bit hard, but where are my cheese options? No whiz??? Wheres the Amborsia bread??? Where is the f’n TastyKake??? And worse of all… where are the sweet and hot peppers!!!
The two folks who own/​run the place are nice though, but 50 cents for a refill? C’mon, no need to nickel and dime folks.

The rain cloud chased us away from the beach in Waimanalo. After a light tanning session and some fun sand play, our tummy was calling for some attention. Lunch time.
Where should we eat? Pepper’s Place in Kailua, really good Philly Cheesesteak and some happy fries. Happy what? Happy fries.
Pepper’s Place is a small place with finger-​licking good Philly’s Cheesesteak. I ordered a Mushroom Cheesesteak and some happy fries. What are happy fries? Fries shaped like happy faces. It was «happy» to eat. The meat was filled with flavor and the bread was toasted to perfection. I love the fact that the meat and bread proportion was exactly what I preferred, more meat than bread.
Thanks to my friends for introducing this townie to Pepper’s Place.

I’ve had their steak and chicken cheesesteaks here. The prices are decent, but the portion size is okay. It’s not as meaty, but it has fresh ingredients like onions, mushrooms and bell pepper that you can really taste. As a meat lover I also love my vegetables too. Good balance is key =)
It’s not overly salted at all and the rolls are just as good as it appears. It’s quick, fast, comfort food.
There is a sign inside the shop that reads, «If you like it at Gina’s or Pat, you’ll like it here.» They’re referring to the two rivals in downtown Philadelphia. I would say they can claim that, but I think more meat would be ideal. The cheesy gooeyness is delicious and double meat is recommended if you’re in starvation mode.
This place is an excellent choice to eat after a nice swim or in our situation before our normal snorkel session at Lanikai Beach. The service is friendly here, 2 cheesesteaks will run about $ 15 which is more reasonable than Ono’s cheesesteak on Kuhio in Waikiki. At either restaurants, the only add on for sauces were ketchup and Tabasco. =/​
Unilocal 365 Challenge # ⁰⁴²⁄₃₆₅

I can’t say that I’ve ever eaten their cheese steaks. I must’ve I tried it when they first opened, but I just can’t remember. Not that it wasn’t tasty, it’s just that I like their vegetarian sandwiches better. It’s made with marinara and has onions, peppers, mushrooms and zucchini. I’m a sucker for anything with marinara sauce. It can be messy to eat so get a lot of napkins.
I’ve also tried their baked potatoes… The King is my favorite with sour cream, butter, cheese, bacon bits and green onions. (They have it down as chives, but it’s really green onions.) They also offer broccoli and cheese, and marinara/​veggie toppings. The potatoes are huge, and they cut and cube it so it’s easy to eat. It’ll satisfy your starch cravings :)
The service is fast. There are only a couple of small booths in Pepper’s, but there are several small outdoor seating areas where you can relax and people watch.
****Eat their sandwiches right away because the bread becomes very very chewy if left to sit.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #20/​365

This review is for their HAPPY FRIES.
I absolutely love their happy fries. They make you feel all happy and giddy inside when you see them… and even better when you eat them, they actually taste good! ^_​_​_​^ Mmmm…
So, if you wanna get away from it all and just wanna feel HAPPY, head down and have some Happy Fries… it will sure brighten up any day! ^_​_​^