Honu Hawaiian BBQ

I got a coupon sheet for Honu and decided to give it try. I got the BBQ and Katsu plate to go. The beef and bbq chicken were good and if that was all i would say it was an ok experience. But the Chicken Katsu was just delicious. I was impressed with the crunch and the flavor that came through. The chicken Katsu is like sweet and sour chicken you might get from a chinese carry out but so much better.
I recommend giving Honu a try. I’ll be back for sure.
The food is made to order so next time I’ll call ahead.

If there’s one thing that the DC Metro area has a shortage of its quality multi ethnic foods. In California, Hawaiian restaurants are a dime-​a-​dozen so when we found this place courtesy of Unilocal we jumped at the chance. I love classic Hawaiian food and this place did not disappoint! The spam Musubi is delicious and made to order. It was still hot when delivered on our plate! I appreciated that because in the past I’ve had them and I knew they were pre-​made. I got the short rib platter which was delicious. Super flavorful! You get two scoops of rice and an order of macaroni salad with your order. The macaroni salad was a bit bland and maybe could use some sweetness? I think someone else on Unilocal suggested pineapple. The two scoops of rice might be ok for haoles but not the natives LOL. I want more rice! My husband got the 3 meat platter. I don’t know what the official name of it is but when we got it it was missing the beef so be sure to check your order! Overall it was a good experience! I got to try the malasadas next time!

I checked this place out over the weekend… it didint seem to have that true «local» vibe. The menu did seem however a little more local than most places claiming to have Hawaiian food. I loved the music that was playing too… though it was in repeat with the same songs.
Immediately, you could tell other locals were there checking to see if they could identify other locals. I noticed an «aunt» that had the engraved gold Hawaiian bracelet so we started to talk about what part of the islands we were from and what we were doing this far away.
On to the food… we ordered practically everything that was on the menu. The grilled meats were a little too tough for my liking and didint have enough of the «grill» taste that I long for. Like the chicken, I saw too much white color not even browns, as another poster wrote, overall, not enough char… on the plus side, the portions were big and it was tasty enough to finish. The highlight I think was the Chicken Katsu, which was light and crispy. Most places here make chicken katsu using breast meat where its all plump and the texture is just off.
Anyways…gotta try this place out again until they open something closer to DC or NOVA.

O.k. this review will be in pidgin English for the folks from Hawaii with English translation
Servings: choke grinds=large servings
When pau had dakine kanack attack= When I was done I just wanted to take a nap I was so full.
Taste: no broke da mouth but bus un up good eh. = not the best I have had but pretty darn good.
Variety: Plenty kind stuffs us buggas like but if only had some poke= The dishes are what people from Hawaii are familiar with but it would have been great if they had a raw fish appetizer.
Cleanliness; like Auntie’s house, the one with no more kids= it was very clean.
Staff: what you going do it’s Maryland, dey alright but the guy stay call the katsu sauce
katsu like cat it’s katsu like car. It’s all good no biggy.= Although the person at the front counter wasn’t from Hawaii, and did mispronounce some things, overall they were pretty good.
Katsu sauce: no be minini with da kick: the flavor was a little mild
Rice; they need da cook with the longest fingers to cook rice: the rice it was a little dry.
Mac Salad: brah, I wanted for cry; it reminded me of home.
Would I come back: garins ball barrings; yes most definitely

I was looking forward to this place opening but I was disappointed.
The portion sizes and menu variety are both awesome. The place itself is very clean and the staff is friendly.
HOWEVER — the chicken has a lot of skin/​fat and overall seems poor in quality. It ruins the whole experience for me.

This place was decent, I say decent in comparison to other Hawaiian restaurants I’ve gone to. I’ve been to so many and not a lot of thing stood out different.
#1. No native or natives with that «Family Feel» experience, when I visited. but they did have a friendly staff or cashier saying aloha.
#2. Menu, I wanted to see some luau squid, pipikaula, beef stew, lomi. But you still have good options.
Overall a pretty nice location
Great décor for hangouts
Decent food, great portions for price.
** 6/​4/​16**
Update to your question I ordered a
Seafood combo and bbq chicken, chicken katsu musubi 2 pc, and Hawaiian sun, and took some of you house BBQ sauce which went great with the katsu musubi.

I went back today, ordering a combo plate with the shrimp, fish, and bbq chicken, plus a kalua pork, and some saimin.
The service again was excellent, and the bbq chicken was even better than last time. A little thicker, I think, and definitely more searing/​charring. This was A, maybe A-​plus chicken in my opinion.
The crispy shrimp and fish are fine. Nothing unique about them, but they were crispy on the outside and tender, and the fish had some seasoning on it. The katsu sauce definitely complemented its flavor. (Unfortunately, I accidentally ordered crispy shrimp instead of garlic shrimp, which’s what I’d meant to try.) I think there’s much better value with the katsu and bbq plates, though.
The kalua pork was really cabbage with kalua pork. About twice as much cabbage as I’d have preferred, with everything sliced way too thin and small. There was a still a lot of pork, but it was drowned out and hard to appreciate. From what I can tell, it didn’t have as much smoky flavor as I’d like and seemed a little mushy. Again, though, it was really hard to tell. I mixed in some mac salad with a few bites, and the salt helped.
Finally, the saimin. No. I’m sorry, but this stuff doesn’t come close. The noodles are too thin and were mushy. The broth seemed tasteless, I dumped in two packs of shoyu to try and get some kind of flavor there. The spam pieces were a decent thickness, but way too broad. They should be cut into thin slices, maybe half an inch wide by however long the can is, but these were maybe three or four times that wide. It makes it too hard to get a decent bite containing spam and noodles both. Plus, egg is $ 1 extra. I think egg should be included, or no more than 25 cents; you shouldn’t be talking about a lot of egg; it’s more of a garnish. (Some kamaboko would also be nice, but that’s harder and more expensive to source around here.) In my opinion, the recipe needs a LOT of work.
On my way out, I ordered a katsu and bbq chicken plate to go, for later. Naturally, I tasted some of the hot katsu, and it also was at least as good as my first visit. It’s A-​plus katsu.
So, having now tried just about everything on the menu (except the musubi and garlic shrimp), I’d say this is a great place, but I’d stick to the bbq chicken, chicken katsu, teri beef, kalbi, and mac salad, while holding off on the other menu items for now.

The positives: I will say that their complimentary fruit water was really good. The cashier was also very nice. Their restaurant is clean, spacious and well designed. I also enjoyed the music and the mural. The layout really does give you a Hawaiian vibe.
The negatives: I really wanted to like this place after reading the reviews, but honestly there was nothing special about this place. We had the chicken combo and bbq chicken and katsu combo. The katsu chicken was flavorless. The other meats were dry and didn’t have enough sauce. Even after adding their bbq sauce (which was kind of salty) to it, it just didn’t cut it for me. The food was really mediocre at best. For the price, I could have easily went to Sarku and would’ve been completely satisfied.
I wish them the best of luck, but unfortunately I won’t be back.

Saw this place on here and decided to try it. I wanted to have something new and this place did not disappoint !!! Came here with my sister we didn’t know what we wanted but the staff was real patient with us. Even asked if we had any questions, they didn’t rush us or looked annoyed bc we were talking a while to order. The place was neat and clean. Good was good I loved the spam Musubi !!! But the staff AWESOME, very nice guys with great service. Def will be coming back when I’m around the way!

Checked this place out for the first time and was pleasantly surprised! I have been frequenting taste of aloha near BWI whenever I get homesick and am so happy I found a place closer to where I live that serves even more affordable food!
The facility is super nice and I love the Hawaiian music playing. Walking in I felt like I was walking into zippy’s and jt made me miss home so much! It definitely feels like home. The food was great, large portions and all very yummy — we got spam musubi, garlic shrimp (not the same as Giovanni’s but equally delicious), kalua pork, saimin, and loco moco. Definitely get the mini size if you want to try a couple options. Oh! We also tried he malasadas. Not Leonard’s but they came out warm and were super yummy!
All in all, it was a great experience and we will definitely be back! Thanks for bringing some aloha to Maryland. Now, can you expand to Rockville?

You’ve either visited Hawaii or you haven’t if you have, you’ll-remember the local Saturday morning charity barbecues kind of like popcorn at the movie theater, there’s just something special about it. I can’t explain it. My apologies but this place will only rate 5 stars with those who can appreciate it. To the rest of you, head on over to Popeyes. Now true helpers, go in and-​order their. Short ribs. Be patient20 minutes later you’ll be in line for a second order. My name is Scott Myers and I support this 5 star rating.

Not familiar with this kind of food at all but it’s in the neighborhood & I saw a picture of something that looks good so I went & ordered it! I got the bbq & katsu combo. Bbq chicken, steak, & chicken katsu. The portion size is HUGE. 2 mounds of white rice, lots of chicken, lots of steak, the katsuuuuu! So good! I definitely suggest getting the katsu sauce on the side. The bbq sauce tasted a lot like soy sauce so it was very salty. But the katsu sauce tastes sooooo good on the rice & all the meats. It wasn’t the best meal I ever had but for the price & the size I will most definitely, 100% come back again. I want to try more of their menu!

I passed by this place a few times. I stopped in one day for lunch. I ordered their bestseller/​signature dish. It was fried chicken cut into strips. The chicken was petty crispy but not as described. I thought it would come with sauce on it. They did say it was marinated in the sauce. It wasn’t bad though. Their signature sauce was gloppy, goopy, like corn syrup or something. It didn’t even separate when I dipped my first strip in it, I won’t be trying that again. I used the BBQ sauce instead which was good with the meal. It came with white steamed rice and macaroni salad. Their macaroni salad is bomb. I would definitely go back for that.
I thought it was a good amount of food for the price. The staff was polite and gave good suggestions, seemed to be knowledgeable of the menu. It took longer than expected to get our meals. We also ordered the ribs. They were pretty good also. When our food did come out they brought it to our table which was a nice touch. I would try this place again. Just something more juicy, not that the crispy chicken was dry, I just like saucy items.

After reading the reviews I had high expectations for this place. Let’s just say expectations only set me up for disappointment…
Pros: Very clean and orders were handled very quickly. We ordered at the counter and they handed me my food. Friendly staff smiled and told me where to get utensils and sauces.
Cons:
Hawaiian BBQ chicken was bland and greasy. The veggies that came with my plate lunch were just chopped cabbage with no dressing or anything.
Teriyaki Chicken Bowl was not well seasoned and had a piece that was a clump of fat.
Maybe we ordered the wrong things on the menu. Definitely a try once type of place imo.

Another place that I’d give 3.5 stars! We were STOKED to check this place out, especially after knowing we were going to be somewhat in the area after an Ikea run!
Stepping inside, it feels like you’re in a touristy area of Waikiki, chowing down at a L&L. Love the décor and the easygoing music that they continuously loop! They have a pretty large selection on their menu, so I’m sure everyone can find something that they’d like to eat.
I loved my kalua pig and cabbage. Got a mini plate (one scoop mac, one scoop rice) and it was still more than enough for two servings! My plate was savory and oh so juicy. Washed it down with some lilikoi hawaiian sun and I was a happy camper!
However, my eating partner wasn’t so happy with his dish. His loco moco, while seemingly impressive, had tough patties (definitely not fresh or handmade) and the brown gravy wasn’t up to his expectations. I clearly had the best dish! If we are back in the area, I’d definitely stop by again — maybe to try the chicken katsu, short ribs or garlic shrimp (PLEASE BE LIKE THE SHRIMP TRUCKS!!!).

What an awesome find! Hawaiian food is hard to come by in this area and this place is legit. Sure, you can go to Hula Girl in Shirlington for a fancier sit-​down Hawaiian menu, but it’s not quite as authentic as Honu Hawaiian BBQ! For example: Hula Girl cuts up the spam musubi into smaller pieces, but that’s not how they serve it in Hawaii! Honu Hawaiian BBQ serves it up straight in one piece, as it should be.
Regarding entrees, you can get a «mini» portion or a «regular» portion for not much more. Take my advice and pay the extra couple bucks for the «regular» because you’ll get 2 meals out of it! And it tastes good both times. :)
I got the chicken katsu plate and it was delish! So much chicken, 2 scoops of rice, mac salad, and as much katsu sauce as I want!
My boyfriend who grew up on Oahu says the only thing missing from the menu is saimin noodles but that is not enough to lose a star because the menu is full of a lot of amazingness at a great price.
Not only is the food delicious and at a great value, the interior design is really nice. This is a new place and it feels like it when you walk in. There’s this great countertop seating area that is the focal point of the restaurant, aside from the huge mural taking up the whole right wall, on which there are only 2 honus! A honu is a sea turtle, by the way, for those who don’t speak Hawaiian: P
Go drive to Honu Hawaiian BBQ jamming out to some Hawaiian tunes and take yourself on a vacation! It will be delicious!

Honu Hawaiian BBQ is a nice little Hawaiian joint, located in Hyattsville. They offer a nice extensive menu of appetizers & sides (musubis, wings, fries, etc.), plate lunches, burgers, salads, the Honu bowl (choice of meat with steamed broccoli and steamed rice), combo packs (for larger gatherings), and beverages (such as the Hawaiian Sun!). The hubs and I stopped by to check them out for lunch, and we tried the following: Spam Musubi (a block of rice topped with a dash of teriyaki sauce and a slice of grilled spam, wrapped in seaweed; these come with 2 ‘rolls’ — I just wished these were either cut into thirds or in halves for easier consumption; however, these were pretty tasty, and no extra dipping sauce was needed); a Loco Moco (homemade hamburger patties over rice, covered with brown gravy and topped with eggs (we requested over medium; the patties had really good flavor and were pretty tasty; the gravy was not overly salty (as I’ve had in the past at other Hawaiian eateries, so I was happy with it!) — it was a great complement to the grilled patty, and the couple of eggs on top were delicious with them); Hawaiian BBQ Short Ribs (Korean style beef short ribs that were grilled; these had a good taste to them, but they were really tough — I just wished that the ribs were tenderized, as they were pretty tough); and, a Chicken Combo (BBQ Chicken and Chicken Katsu; the boneless chicken is marinated in Hawaiian BBQ and grilled; this was actually pretty tasty (just note that the menu states that it is skinless, but it is not, which is definitely not an issue for me HA); dipping the chicken into the extra bbq sauce was great; the chicken katsu was fried perfectly, with its crispy breaded exterior; the Ono Katsu sauce is made in-​house (along with the Hawaiian BBQ sauce), and it has a little tang to it — not much is needed). Each of the plated lunch has an option to be ‘regular-​sized’ or ‘mini-​sized’ — the only difference is that the regular-​sized comes with 2 scoops of rice, rather than one. Both come with a generous scoop of macaroni salad and shredded cabbage. The macaroni salad was creamy, and the pasta itself was cooked perfectly well — I just wished there was a bit more seasoning to it, though). I also would love to see more options for sides, such as kimchi! :D The portions were extremely generous, and we both enjoyed our meal — I loved that they had a condiment section where you can get as much of the katsu and the bbq sauce that you need; there is also complimentary ‘Fruit Water’ (with sliced apples) by the cashier. We washed it all down with a few Hawaiian Suns (the Pineapple Orange, the Guava Nectar, and the Strawberry Lilikoi. Staff were super friendly and helpful, and there were plenty of seats within the restaurant. I really loved the hand-​painted mural as well — really gives you a sense of serenity (and, makes you want to book a trip to HI STAT!) :D I’d love to come back and try out their Kalua Pork with cabbage and their seafood options (such as the Island White Fish and the crispy shrimp).
+Spam Musubi
+Loco Moco
+Chicken Katsu
+Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
+Hawaiian Sun beverages available
+plenty of extra sauces available
+super friendly staff: D
+pretty mural: D
+plenty of parking in the Glenridge plaza

Background: a few weeks ago, I was in MD for work, so driving all the way from VA, I looked up a place to grab a bite. Unilocal led me to Honu (featured «Hot and New»)! When my boyfriend and I walked in, we instantly noticed how nice and clean the place was. They have a great mural too… The guy at the front let us know about all the drink flavors they have (canned Hawaiian juices all the way from Hawaii!!). We both got a can (strawberry & a tropical) and they were delicious.
— — — FOOD — — —
HUGE portions! We got the BBQ plate which came with short ribs, chicken, and beef with 2 scoops of rice and macaroni salad. That one platter was around $ 9. They also offer «mini» sizes, which is the same exact thing basically, but with one scoop of rice instead of two. I ordered the «mini» Chicken Katsu meal, which was a very filling $ 6 – 7.
The beef was good, and the chicken katsu was delicious with the provided katsu sauce. I really loved the macaroni salad here, and I usually don’t like pasta salads! It was creamy and flavorful. We also ordered the 2-​piece spam musubi, which was okay, but convenient if you don’t wanna make it at home. If I’m ever back, I will get the short ribs again and try the shrimp!
We had plenty of leftovers to bring home to VA. I definitely enjoyed my visit here. Honu is a unique, yummy fast-​casual place to grab food.

This place was pretty new when we went. They have a pretty nice selection and if I lived closer, would probably come more often and try their other dishes.
We tried the chicken katsu, the garlic shrimp, the teriyaki chicken bowl, and of course spam musubi.
So disclaimer, I have never tried spam musubi in Hawaii so I cannot compare but I really liked the spam musubi. You have to eat it while fresh though because the seaweed will get damp and will lose it’s crunchiness if you take it home. Love the ratio of rice and spam and whatever sauce they have in it. Delish!
The chicken katsu was ginormous. But I guess we got the larger dish isntead of the regular. It didn’t really stand out from other ones I’ve tasted but it wasn’t bad.
The Garlic shrimp was really good. Crunchy with great flavor and just went well with the rice.
Lastly, the Teriyaki chicken bowl. I really liked it too, but I like this type of stuff. It wasn’t the best I’ve tasted, but the chicken was not dry and very flavorful.
All in all, a really good place to go to. I’d definitely recommend it.

I miss Hawaii. I miss it every day and in every way. My family has many ways of keeping our heart’s home close, but the easiest one is with food. I cook in a Hawaiian style often, but it was a wonderful feeling today to walk into a sleek new restaurant and allow someone else to help us remember the joy of sitting around a crowded table with friends and family.
Hawaii is a true melting pot, and the food served at simple lunch counters reflects this better than one might think. Honu Hawaiian BBQ has a nice selection of the simple favorites that make up a Plate Lunch. Two scoop rice, one scoop mac salad (macaroni salad) and a choice of meat. Even though the food is simple, the recipes come from far flung places to meet in one meal. «Hawaiian style» BBQ has roots in Korea. Katsu is from Japan. Kalua pork is traditional Hawaiian, and loco moco and Spam musubi are distinctly «local,» meaning a modern twist of foods that make perfect sense in the Hawaiian mix of cultures.
Today we had crispy shrimp and fish, kalua pork and cabbage, and chicken katsu. We also had both chicken and beef BBQ, and an order of Spam musubi.
Fried fish and shrimp were a bit too greasy, they were also quite tasty. no one would find them unusual. I it had been served with french fries instead of rice it would have been a standard plate of fish and chips.
Chicken katsu is simply a breaded and fried butterflied chicken thigh. The katsu sauce served alongside was fresh and light. If you like to dip fried chicken in BBQ sauce you will probably also be happy with katsu sauce. (I did miss having the option of curry for my chicken katsu, but understand that most people would never order it that way. Someday I’ll do takeout and have chicken katsu curry at home.)
Chicken and beef BBQ were both well cooked, and I was so happy to discover that they had truly been marinated and not just dipped in a sauce after their time on the grill. My order included 3 chicken thighs, so I have lunch for tomorrow as well, a great value for the money I spent!
Kalua pork and cabbage was ordered as a bowl. The pork needed a bit of salt, but many people here will want to dip it in a sauce, so I get why it was not there. Still, I can’t tell you how happy I am that I can have it for lunch at a moment’s notice, as it takes me 10 – 15 hours to make it at home. The bowl was a huge portion of food, crammed with rice and meat, with steamed veggies instead of mac salad. The bowl is a great lunch choice, and you still might go home with leftovers.
Spam musubi. Oh my dear darling Spam musubi. One slice of grilled Spam, a block of rice, and a small amount of teriyaki sauce all bundled in a warm blanket of seaweed. Many refer to it as Spam sushi, but in our house we call it perfection. Honu Hawaiian BBQ served us two lovely fresh musubi with just the right amount of sauce and rice. They were good enough that we immediately planned to order them from the catering menu for our next family event.
And all of this was washed down with a Hawaiian Sun Lillikoi (passion fruit) juice. Oh happy happy me! At around $ 10 per person, we will be back soon and often.
So I send my mahalos to Honu Hawaiian BBQ for serving my ohana some ono kine grinds today. Kau kau was winnahs for sure!