Forty Niner Restaurant

Came here because of Unilocal after visiting the Arizona memorial. Tried the garlic chicken. It was old, dry, and overly breaded with burned chicken. The hamburgers were nothing special. The hamburger steak was the only palatable plate ordered but the toss salad was pathetic iceberg with only the dressing (thousand island?). Fries were ok. Server was very friendly but overall the food was pathetic.

We love this place for lunch. I like the outdoor patio seating so my daughter can run around the table and get tired.
You must have the garlic chicken. It’s the best and my favorite. A nice portion too for a great price. Husband gets the oxtail soup usually and loves it.
Sometimes they forget about you when you sit outside but I’ll overlook that because we love this place.

Awesome fried rice. Good gravy

Very good place! The outside seem a little discouraging but the food didn’t disappoint. We got the Belgian waffle (average), Elvis pancakes (pretty good) and the garlic chicken which was delicious!

Good food and great fast service. I had a cheese burger and small saimin. Perfect! Nothing fancy, exactly what I expected. Plenty of parking.

Went in to do a take out order and waited longer because they were gonna give me white rice with my forty niner breakfast which is suppose to come with fried rice. The girl helping me caught it and asked me if I wanted fried rice? I was like «doesn’t it come with the fried rice?» and she said yah. So I told her I want the fried rice. Then I got my food and left for work. I got to work and gave my coworkers their food and we started eating. About 2 bites into my omelette I saw a short hair in my food. My coworker saw it too so I called them. I told the girl that answered and she asked if I wanted to come back so they can make me a new one. I told her I am at work and I can’t come back and she just said sorry. There was no offer for any kind of compensation and now I am out 10 bucks for food I can’t eat.

Been awhile since I posted as been in a funk but hasn’t stopped me from eating out. Place close to my work and does a pretty good omelet though not as good as Wally’s a half block up the street though still pretty tasty. My main gripe is they have neither potatoes nor wheat toast; on the flipside the staff here is way friendly and from a dining experience, better has it has that nice midwest diner feel. Outside breakfast the burgers are OK in a pinch but nothing special, the garlic chick was surprisingly good as one of the few places in Honolulu where you can actually taste the garlic and isn’t drenched in syrup, and the hamburger steak is pretty damn tasty though, as with the omelet, second best to Asahi Grill on this one (I’m a sucker for a good gravy and Asahi has them slightly beat out on that regard).
Other bonuses here besides the friendly staff, the good vibe, and fast service is both amply and free parking, a rarity in Honolulu.

Waitress very nice and helpful. We ordered saimin and burgers. Saimin ok. Burgers came out cold, not even warm, tasted like it was pre-​cooked. Lots of fillers in burger. I had the cheeseburger w/​dirty fixins. Didn’t care for it. i enjoyed the french fries though :)
My wife asked if they make their own noodles for the saimin, they don’t. Shiges saimin and burgers in Wahiawa is way better. They make their own noodles and freshly cooked burger off the grill

Had lunch after stopping by the Pearl Harbor Memorial as suggested by one of the employees there. Definitely a locals’ joint (or it seemed as such; we were the only tourists there). It has an indoor and outdoor eating area and it seems a little rundown, but don’t let the throw you off. Service was a little slow but it was worth it! The food was great!
We ordered one bento box, in which the Garlic Chicken was definitely the star! Tender and flavor. None of us had ever tried spam before either, so that was a very pleasant (salty) surprise. Mom got a loco moco which was fine, nothing spectacular. We also ordered the 49er banana pancake as per suggestion on everyone on here, and it was good, but it really didn’t live up to expectation. The pancakes are indeed fluffy and lights, and the sauce was very delicious, but it seemed monotonous in flavor and texture, and got boring to eat after a while. However, we also ordered some of the Elvis pancakes (with bananas, peanut butter and bacon I believe) and they were AMAZING. So many different flavors. Who knew bacon and peanut butter were such natural companions.
Overall, if we go back to visit anytime soon, we’re coming back for the Garlic Chicken and the Elvis pancakes!

Tried this diner for the first time since I’ve moved in Hawaii. As I am a big breakfast eater, I ordered the 49er breakfast; portion was very reasonable and taste was GOOD but not great (the fried rice was a bit of salty for me) but the pancakes my husband ordered was very tasty! We are going back again to try a different meal.

I’ve been passing by the 49er since I was a kid but never tried it, when I started driving we made it a thing that «We’d go there some day» and never did.
Well.. . just now.. . in December of 2015 we actually managed to find our way through the doors. The 49er is a landmark to anyone who grew up in Central Oahu and Pearl City and as such I was hoping to give it a maximum 5 star review.. . but alas I cannot.
This review will be split into the normal categories.
Restaurant Space: It’s no secret that the 49er is very old and the interior is showing its age, I know that there isn’t really much you can do in the way of cracks in the walls and faded tile without going into at least a partial renovation so this didn’t sway my review level at all.
Cleanliness: The restaurant is moderately clean but my friend and I were seated in the «bar» side of the restaurant where there is a pass through that allows you to see into the kitchen and it is pretty dirty back there, I hate to point it out, especially for a place I was hoping to 5 star for the sake of nostalgia but it’s true. The guys were washing a pot back there and the whole thing was black except for the silver bottom.
Food: The food is great for the price, I highly recommend coming here if you want a decent meal but are short on money, the cleanliness of the kitchen aside. The burger I had could have done with more time on the fire and a little less cheese but I would come back and order it again.
Service: The service here is 100%, awesome, 5 star material in and of itself. The staff is cheery and glad to help.
All in all, yes I would come back again and I do recommend that you try them out.

Forever Faithful, of course we had to check this place out! At first we weren’t sure because the place looked old and it was warm inside. But don’t let that fool you. Most people know that hole in the wall places are truly a gem and yes this was indeed one of them. Our server was a bright gem, she was patient, friendly and down to earth. My sister and I ordered the Ox Tail Soup… it was beautiful. The broth was clear and flavorful. The meat was tender and fell off the bone excellent. My husband ordered the 49ner pancake and that was heavenly. The pancake was fluffy and chewy, the sauce was heavy but not overly sweet. My daughter ordered the garlic chicken and noodles. Oh my, we could have just started and ended with that!!! The chicken was juicy and the crust was crispy. Flavor was amazing. Was so full but didn’t want to stop eating it. I would definitely come back here!

Love the Bento and saimin. Garlic chicken and salmon are amazing. Love the charming patio and wait staff. Now off to find a hammock next to the beach as I enter my food coma.

My bf and I always pass by this place, but we’ve never tried it. Today, after striking out with food options at Pearlridge, we decided to finally give this place a try.
First of all, this place is really small. There is limited seating, and it does tend to get busy, so come early to get a good table! Unfortunately, we came after 11 a.m., so we got stuck eating outside. It was alright, but we were shooing away flies our entire meal.
The customer service was okay. Our waitress was nice, but she didn’t really check up on us. It was busy, so I can understand that.
The food was just okay. The portions and prices were reasonable, but sadly, the food was just okay. I had the NY steak, which was good, but had a lot of fat on it. My bf had the Forty-​Niner Bento. He said it was okay, but the teri beef was cold, and his garlic chicken had a big piece of bone in it.
Overall, our first time there wasn’t a great experience, but it wasn’t a bad experience either. It was just okay. We’re thinking of going back some day to try their breakfast. Hopefully our next experience will be much better than this one.

Not the same as before, but you can still get good comfort food here. Stepping into the diner is like stepping back in time. I like the section with the counter. It’s reminiscent of those malt shops from long ago.
Parking has been expanded.

We decided to try a new place for breakfast today, and decided to come here since it’s close to home. This was the first time I’ve dined in here, surprisingly after being on this island for over thirty years. The outside hasn’t changed since I was a child and needs some remodeling inside and out.
The parking lot was full, so we were expecting it to be busy, and it was. All the tables inside were full, so we went to the back lanai where there are picnic tables you can sit at. They don’t have any a/​c here so it was cooler outside with a nice tradewind breeze. There was a screaming toddler inside, so being out in the back was better. However, you do have a feeling when you sit out there, the service will be scarcer than being sat inside.
The tables were all dirty from prior customers, so we picked the table with the least water spots and crumbs on it. Service was quick to get our order but after that, customer service was out the window. I ordered the pancake breakfast, which comes with one pancake, side meat and eggs. I also ordered coffee. The condiments for the coffee were big corrugated containers you shake sugar and powdered cream out of. I was disappointed that no sugar substitute or liquid creamer was available.
The food came in a decent amount of time, and was hot. My pancake was OK, spam and eggs were salty. No one came by while we were eating to check on us or refill our drinks. My syrup bottle was leaking on the table.
This place is not on my list to return to. I prefer Zippy’s which has the same pricing but better ambience, cleaner, better service and a/​c.

Although the food was delicious and the service was ok, the restaurant was rather warm (warm as in temperature) and its interior could use some renovations (the covering of the seat was nearly half gone). Nevertheless, the food was GREAT! (5 stars for the food. Good enough to ignore the aforementioned cons. Which means you should definitely come here to sample the yumminess!)
We ordered the banana macadamia nut pancakes with the lovely sauce on the side, as well as the breakfast plate with smokies. Took my grandma here and she was literally THRILLED by the amount of smokies on her plate! So cute ^_​^ The menu was just full of yummy local, feel good foods.
On a side note, loved the fact that we weren’t rushed; in fact, it took awhile for the check to come (a little bit too long, but it’s ok. Most restaurants shoo everyone out as fast as possible).
On another note, my sister frequents this place with her bf and loves the salmon. She RAVES about it. Hoping to return here soon to try this salmon dish and ALL the other dishes! Nom nom

This was our last meal before leaving Hawaii since it was so close to the airport. Apparently this is a very popular place with Hawaiian locals because one of our local friends loves eating here. She said that we had to try it before we left.
We ordered a 49er bento, a 49er pancake, and some garlic chicken on the side. The 49er bento wasn’t great. The only item that I enjoyed on it was the garlic chicken. It was a good thing that we ordered garlic chicken on the side because it turned out to be the best menu item.
The 49er pancake wasn’t too great either. It was a banana pancake with haupia (coconut sauce) and macadamia nuts. It sounded amazing, but it didn’t live up to the hype for me. Pancakes were bland the haupia wasn’t too impressive either.
The service was bad as well. We were the only two people in the restaurant and it was really hard getting the waitress’ attention. The bathroom wasn’t too clean either. At the end of the meal, we paid with a card, but the credit card machine went down so we had to pay with cash. That was a minor inconvenience.
I didn’t really like this restaurant much. Call me a filthy tourist, but this just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Forty Niner Restaurant was probably our favorite breakfast stop during our five-​day stay on Oahu. Based on the raving reviews, we were expecting a long wait time, but that was not the case! We were quickly seated, which was great.
Our waitress was extremely friendly and accommodating. We took a little while to decide what we wanted and she never made us feel rushed. I got the chicken and waffles, my boyfriend got the banana macadamia nut waffle. Both were OUTSTANDING. I loved how the waffles were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The chicken was cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of crunch.
We left the restaurant with our tummies full and smiles on our faces. Just writing this review makes me crave those chicken and waffles, mmm!
Hopefully on my next trip to Hawaii, I’ll be able to come here for breakfast again!

We were done visiting Pearl Harbor and found this place on Unilocal.The place looks like it was built in the 50’s, giving it a pretty cool vibe. We were greeted by one of the friendliest servers ever. She helped us make our choices for what to eat and was very attentive to our table.
We ordered their Loco Moco and Cheeseburger. Overall, the food was good but not great. I feel that the meat patty in the Loco Moco was lacking some flavor, and my wife wasn’t impressed with her burger… but I liked her burger The prices were also really reasonable… which I loved!
Go get your grub on!
Cheers!