Moana Hawaiian Barbecue

I like the food, it’s tasty and the portions are big. The beef patty I’m not too stoked on, you can definitely tell its a frozen patty and a little tough when fully cooked. But overall, I’ll keep visiting and trying new things.

I’m lucky enough to get to work just up the street from here. My coworkers and I are in love with Moana! We were sad to see the place before it go but the day I saw it was going to be Hawaiian fare, I hula’d back to work and shared the good news (forgive the corny joke, I couldn’t resist). I waited ever so patiently for the Open sign and quickly nabbed a few menus for the break room the day the door was open. I LOVE the katsu and the shrimp is awesome. The sweetest bit is their mac salad. So good! I’ve only been to the islands a couple of times (Mom was born and raised a howlie on Maui) so I don’t have a whole lot of authority on Hawaiian food but my 5 stars come from the heart. Debating on what to try for tomorrow’s lunch as I type! Wanna try the lilikoi soda too! I highly recommend the katsu of course! There’s room to eat with friends inside and they even have seating outside.

The inside smells like the bathroom (it’s actually the cleaning product they use) which is a little distracting as you are trying to eat.
The positives: decent portions
The negatives: lacks flavor (BBQ short ribs, Mac salad, and Manapua were all somewhat disappointing)
TLDR; You’re better off going to Leilani’s down the street.

The food might be great but I’ll never know, because I wanted the food delivered and the online ordering service said it was not available. I called the restaurant and they said they know nothing about it. They also said delivery probably would be 4 dollars, which came as quite a surprise to me, since the places website says delivery is «fast and free». Well, I guess it is not free and as far as being fast, ha ha, no way because it would take decades for it to get here because it doesn’t even exist on a Sunday afternoon at 4 PM while waiting for a football game to begin. Go figure.
Message at order site:
Message Delivery option is not available
Website copy:
ORDER ONLINE FOR
DELIVERY OR PICKUP
FAST, EASY, AND FREE. SKIP THE LINES!
Oh well. Next!

Wonderfully delicious! Service was speedy and friendly. Being able to see them cook your food is an added bonus and a nice twist.
Did I mention how delicious it was?!

I have been to a lot of different places for Hawaiian food. This place is MUCH worth it. It was early Saturday so parking was not too bad. We were able to park in 30 min parking right in front. The owner is really nice. He was able to accommodate our request. My daughter and I wanted to split and combo and he made sure to serve it on different plates. I am normally not a Katsu person but their sauce is perfect. The chicken served was perfectly cooked. I couldn’t get enough of the Mac salad. We had enough left overs for another meal off of 2 combos.

I am always looking for authentic Hawaiian food and found this new business through Unilocal while in San Diego for business.
Everything is cooked to order and you can watch them make the food.
I usually do not order chicken when I am out because people always overcook it making it dry. It was very juicy and the skin is used to keep it from burning. Macaroni salad is one of my favorite side dishes and I really enjoyed it here. Short ribs and BBQ Beef were cooked well. The combo that I got was all three items with rice and salad.
My friend ordered the loco moco which reminded me of my last trip to Maui.
I like to eat and I was stuffed when I left. The prices were very reasonable as well. I like that it was cooked well yet not buried under a ton of sauce.
I liked how clean the restaurant was. My parents live in Oceanside and I cannot wait to take them there the next time that I am down visiting.
Staff was friendly and owner walked around checking on us. I think it is safe to say that they will be around for a long time.

I was looking on Unilocal for some good Hawaiian, Island food and stumbled on moana hawaiian bbq. Simple menu good food. I had the bbq combo, huge portion of chicken and short rib. It was awesome. One of the best ones in Diego and I’m a local … Owner is real nice and welcoming!

The best Hawaiian BBQ I’ve had in a while! Ordered the chicken Katsu which came in REALLY big portions. They also fried the Katsu fresh so it wasn’t dry. Spam musubi was pretty good too. Only challenge can be finding parking in that area but we just had to park in a neighborhood close by.

Ordered the chicken combo plate
Spam Musubi and mini chicken katsu. This place opened 2 weeks ago and when I came on a Saturday it was a Father and son working, and I came with my son and thought that was cool. It reminded me of when I grew up working for my parents’ juice store. The dad was teaching the son how to make the dishes still.
Place looks brand new, fresh paint, clean store, with a window to see them cook which is nice. Reasonably priced and better than L&L and fried better than L&Ls this felt home made. Portions are large and the rice was good as compared to other comparable places (see my L&L review). Service is good but could be better because there was no napkins and the bathroom was not stocked :(when you go to the bathroom.
All in all this place did make me feel like I was in Hawaii and the variety is good (see pics)

I’ve been here twice since this place opened and it is amazing! The prices are super reasonable and if you get the combination plate it is more then enough for two people plus another meal for one. We tried the combination mix, the chicken is moist and very flavorful, the short ribs are amazing the flavor just keeps going as you chew it. All the combos come with a drink and for 10 $ you can’t beat it. The owner is super friendly and as we were leaving asked us how everything was. Both times we’ve been here there has been parking out front as well. Everything about this place will keep me coming back.

This place hit my Island crave with a delicious combo plate of chicken katsu and BBQ chicken with a side of steamed rice and that wonderful Hawaiian macaroni salad for only $ 8.99 plus Uncle Sam’s cut.
They use tender chicken thighs that were well tenderized and cooked with the skins on. This was key, because it kept the chicken not only tender but very juicy. The soy added during the grilling added nice color and flavor. I was very surprised and pleased with the generous amount of chicken the provided.
The chicken katsu was equally as good. It was very well fried with their own family recipe, because the chicken had that great crispiness, but the all white chicken breast inside, remained tender and juicy. Also, the breading was just the right thickness. It was great eating with the thick and creamy katsu sauce that came in a small plastic container.
The two scoops of steamed rice were very good and they serve so much on the regular combo plate, that I could not finish it. The macaroni salad was a little heavy on the dressing but its flavor was on the money. It came with plenty of soft pasta and a little bit of carrot. It was well seasoned and tasted great.
The plate was a lot of food, so if your are not a big eater, go for the mini plate which is half of the amount of food my plate came with and at a lesser price. Great well priced food and great customer service.

Da BOMB!!! They got all the basics down solid… my new go to place for Hawaiian. Everything I have tried has been ONO!!! Island Style.

I ordered a seafood combo with bbq chicken as well as a loco moco. I liked that the fried fish was thick and juicy unlike many places that only serve you a thin slice with mostly batter. Both hit the spot and needless to say, I’ll be back for more! PB definitely needed a place like this after both L&Ls left the area a few years ago.

Food is awesome! We got two regular plates, and we have more then enough food left over. Each Togo box itself must have bee over a pound. The gravy fries were so/​so, but the Katsu chicken and bbq was great.