Kua ‘Aina

The last time I came here is was quite disappointed. I’ve been here a few times and I’ve always enjoyed my food and would have reacted them 4 and a half but this time my food tasted quite bland and a bit dry.
On a plus note the waiters are super friendly and chatty which makes the atmosphere better but after my last experience with the food I doubt I’ll be coming here again.

Envie d’un gros burger? D’un milkshake? De frites, d’onion rings? De soleil dans votre petit coeur froid d’hiver? Et bien vous êtes au bon endroit ! J’avais déjà testé une autre de leurs adresses et je né suis toujours pas déçue.
Arrivé après une soirée Unilocal bien arrosée et avec une grosse envie de gras, notre groupe de 6 personnes s’installe dans la salle du bas, remplie et bruyante (trop mais c’est vendredi soir). Je commande un burger avec steak (petit et saignant), avocat, bacon et supplément cheddar. Il arrive sans se pressé, bien chaud, plus proche d’à point que saignant (maudits anglais). L’avocat et bien moelleux et le bacon bien croustillant. Bön pain aussi, pas trop sec !
Et avec ça, j’ai partager une part de frites de patates douces et une part d’onion rings avec un de mes voisins de tables. N’oubliez pas de commander des «sides» sinon on né vous sert que le burger.
Au final, une note de £14,75, ce qui est raisonnable pour la taille de ce que j’ai pu manger. Les serveurs sont relativement aimables et rapides. Les couverts eux, auraient pu être plus propres.

Came here with a group of people. A little frustrating to begin as they told us to wait outside for a table, and then someone else came up and sat a similar sized group. Turns out the guy working the counter was wrong and they had plenty of seats downstairs. Ok.
But that was really the only misstep. This is a Hawaiian burger spot, which means you can get a burger with pineapple. And dammit, I love this combination! I don’t know where else I could get it, but I want it everywhere now.
It’s a nice menu of burgers and salads and even a nice Hawaiian beer. The staff are in floral shirts, the space is bright and colourful and they do get the food to you rather quickly. I’ve been, I’ll go again.

I was about to head home after an event when a particularly lovely bunch of Unilocalers said they were going to try and get a late food stop here. I’ve been meaning to try it for a while so FOMO struck and I decided to tag along!
It’s a fun place for a burger stop — bright and colourful, in décor and staff uniforms. I was chuffed to spot the Pineapple Burger on the menu as I have a lot of love for this humble fruit — in curries, as fritters, on pizza, you name it! The only unforeseen issue was that the extra centimetre thickness of pineapple in the burger made it juuuust too tall to fit in my mouth. I ended up taking it out and munching it separately between bites of the burger. I don’t regret the choice though — the patty had a lovely medium pink tinge and I liked the taste the grilled onion added. Crucially for me though the burger held its structure as I ate without turning into a wet sloppy mess — an underrated but oh-​so-​important quality!
It was already later than usual when we arrived so I wasn’t quite as hungry as I might’ve been — luckily I had two willing volunteers to share my favourite side — sweet potato fries of course — which were delicious as expected. I also quite wanted to try a hard shake but couldn’t manage a whole one — so we shared a choc and bourbon shake too! We couldn’t taste the booze in it at first (clearly hardened drinkers that we are) but it got stronger about halfway through. I think others at the table seemed to be enjoying their avo burgers and salads too.
The food and drink then were as tasty as I’d been led to believe — but there were a few let-​downs that kept this out of 5-​star territory for me. The servers were v friendly but had a fail at the very start, as a miscommunication meant another group were seated in the downstairs alcove that another waiter had earmarked for us. Instead we found ourselves a little squished around a smaller table, which I didn’t mind were it not for the guy sat at the next table who backed his chair out into my ribs a couple of times because I was sitting right at the end of the bench. The cutlery that was plonked in the middle of the table also wasn’t very clean, though I think people got involved with fingers anyway.
I do like the vibe here though and the food was tasty, so peer pressure turned out to be a good thing for me! I’d visit again, probably in a smaller group next time — it’s pretty good value for money for the area too.

Good burgers which can be cooked medium or to taste. Has sweet potato fries which are delicious. A little bit expensive but reasonable for central London.

I love Kua’Aina and aways go for the teriyaki chicken and pineapple sandwich on wholemeal bread, it’s so good! The chicken is juicy and the portion is generous. This time I tried the sweet potato fries, and was surprised to find they were salted — which was actually pretty tasty! Service is friendly and prices are reasonable. My only criticism is how cramped it is inside.

Really good breakfast but slow service as there were a lot of people.

Best sandwich I had in London! I ordered a turkey roast with bacon and avocado and a side of bbq sauce! Also got a brilliantly made piña colada! Highly recommend this place! Cool staff and fun atmosphere!

On est tombés par hasard dessus. mais on sortait d’un bar et mourions d’envie de nous restaurer. et puis le décor hawaïen totalement décalé(jusqu’aux serveurs en chemises hawaïennes malgré le froid !!), la lecture de la carte originale et dépaysante et toute cette merveilleuse ambiance nous ont décidés.On a craqué et on a très bien fait, c’était delicieux !!

I’m not sure why my experience of this place differs to the others on Unilocal,maybe they had an off day, maybe they have a new chef, or new management — I don’t know.
However eating here was the worst experience I have had in a long while. A catalog of error and bad food!
1. We arrived, and whilst the restaurant didn’t seem busy, they were very heavily backlogged. It took 15 minutes to get a drink and when friends arrived, it took longer to receive theirs.
2. It took the waitress ages to take our order.
3. About 30 minutes later we chased her up, apparently it had been lost in the kitchen, but she assured us she’d rush the order.
4. We ordered the Macadamia nut mix and corn chips nacho’s to tide us over for the main course — it came burnt and chips were dry and tasteless.
5. We’d ordered a selection of burgers for the table, when they finally all arrived, they all came burnt… however by this point we’d already given up on the meal. The chips were soggy and pastey, and we had to fight to get sauce.
6. Our final round of drinks took so long (apparently they lost the order in the bar), so the the waitress gave us them for free.
I was so unimpressed. Whilst the waitress was friendly, it was really just a waste of our time and in the end, just a terrible meal.

Utterly fantastic burgers (a little simple, so don’t be afraid to ask for extra toppings if you want something innovative). I had the best service I’ve had in years — our waitress was an absolute gem. She gave us fantastic advice, was honest, warm, funny, and incredibly helpful. Even though she did think that my friend and I were on a date, it was pretty funny. And the hard milk shakes were to die for. Highly recommend the rum and coconut shake.

One of the best burgers in London. Tasty and you taste the grills taste in it I highly recommend it to all

I have been to this place a few times and have to admit, one of the cool places in London. What’s more?! A Hawaiian ambience and tasty big portions, nicely filled beef burgers (from Devon. yum)!! A little pasting of the typical red and green chilly sauces abundantly available in the eatery (if you can’t find it, ask, they are nice and sweet bunch of people who wish you with a pleasant smile while you walk into and out of the eatery but not in a forced or creepy way but rather to make sure you have a good time). There is plenty available on the menu including sandwiches and Fish too. Personally i have only had burgers — cheese/​hallumi/​portobello mushroom/​bacon & cheese/​avocado all on separate occasion (okay, I know I am a foodie but dont think i can manage all that in one go! But I love challenges and I might try. ha!). The sides, pretty standard — colesaw, olives and fries. Personally, what tops for me is not the normal but their Sweet Potato Fries. They are simply great!
Although a two level seating indoors is available, they are not massive on big groups and generally take up to a max of 6 with a bit of waiting (I hope not all wish to relief in the restrooms at once coz they only have one cubical each for M & F: P) The basement does get warmer in summer but is offset by outdoor seating although not massive since its a slip in from Carnaby street.
Final Word: Hungry/​want big portions/​good fillings/​a relaxed poster draped ambience/​Hawaiian pinch/​Oxford circus area — any one of these and go for it.
And finally say «Mahalo!» (When you leave. Thanks in Hawaiian).
«Cheerio» (When I leave. Goodbye in English. ha!)

Great food, and lovely staff, I had the mahi mahi and Monterey Jack sandwich which was cooked beautifully, with sweet potato fries.
Gorgeous little Hawaiian tea selection too!
I really wanted to give them 5*, and I think I would have done, if I hadn’t been made to realise how close and small the tables were-​by the fact we ended up sat well within kneeing and sneezing distance of an absolute moron, he was loud and obnoxious, and quite possibly on something other than the drug of life sat with his mid teen son. When he lent over our meals to reach for the sauces, I just wished the tables were further apart, and the tables not against the walls had bottles on themselves!
It wasn’t the restaurant or the staffs fault that we were sat next to a loudmouth training his son to be a pervert, and the staff were extremely professional and lovely despite his bad attitude, so super kudos to them for that, but I feel like I wouldn’t have been bothered if the tables weren’t cramped.
Definitely recommended for the food, but ask to be seated downstairs!

Well up there as one of my favourite burger joints, beats Bodeans and Meatliquor in my opinion!
I had bacon, cheese and pineapple with sweet potato fries and dill pickle. Exceptionally well cooked and full of flavour. Bun and salad lovely and soft /​fresh
Staff were friendly and attentive, even though we went at a busy time of night.
Could have done with a shake — but that’s being picky!

Always busy with plenty of diners waiting for a table. Today was no exception especially as it was raining cats and dogs. Even the ladies toilets had a bucket in the middle of the floor as the ceiling was leaking. The décor leaves a lot to be desired, shabby with an aloha theme but needs to be tidied up a bit. It has a layed back feeling so no need to be dressed up to eat here, with a chilled atmosphere. The place is on the small size and we were shoe horned into a tiny booth in the corner.
The service was hit and miss. One server was spot on, the others stood around chatting when I was trying to get their attention, very annoying.
The haloumi and pepper sandwich was delicious but not hot only luke warm. I was with 5 friends who enjoyed their burgers. Unfortunately we had to send back the 4 portions of sweet potato fries as they too were cold. Credit to the server who was good, she replaced them with no quibble and took them off the bill.
This place does nice food, not expensive but I’ve had better. Xoxo

Really happy outgoing staff — got accosted by one waitress whilst checking out the menu outside (if that’s your kind of thing).
The décor lives up to the sunny Hawaiian theme — lots of buckets and spades, glass milk bottles for the drinks etc.
The food was good and fresh (got the seared ahai tuna salad).
Not that expensive either!
Definitely would recommend.

Some of us had burgers, but I had a turkey sandwich. I’ve never tasked a better sandwich in my life! There was a lot of delicious meat and I was already full after the eating the half. My friends never thought that you could sit and moan for the great taste of a burger, but ther certainly did.
The service was great and due to the fact that we had to pay separately, the waitress was also helpful with some questions we had.
The decorations were great, you really felt relaxed in a Hawaiian atmosphere.
Great Time!

A fun burger joint on Foubert’s Place, as far as I know the only outpost in London, it’s a Hawaiian joint, but that does not mean pineapple or spam on everything, just that it started there and has continued the Hawaiian theme of décor. Pineapple is still available though. The burgers are tasty but the sweet potato fries are what keeps me coming back. Normally happy with their standard cheeseburger, but the avocado does provide an extra creamy flavour that’s hard to describe but tastes really good! It may look like a fast food burger joint, but this is a seriously good burger.
The staff there have always been friendly, but the place can get a little cramped, the tables upstairs being better in my opinion for service. They do takeaway but you’ll need a lot of napkins!
BTW, I know I said they don’t do Spam, but they’ve told me you can bring some in yourself and they will add it to your burger.

I came to a Unilocal event here over a year ago and it’s taken me far too long to get back. I was expecting it to be more like a fast food restaurant but it’s actually a table service place which was a nice surprise.
My burger was delicious. Little bit of burn on the onion and burger with a nice pink interior to the patty added an extra touch of flavour to this already delicious combination of beef, veggies and bread.
I was there super early (5pm) but the place was getting quite busy before I left at 5:40pm. They have more seating downstairs so I don’t know if you’d need to book but you can if you want to so I’m told.
I made a bit of an error asking the waitress to validate my check in offer that was running until the end of March for free fries. When the manager came over I suddenly realised this was a check in offer that expired almost a year ago that I must have picked up at the Unilocal event. I immediately apologised and pointed out it was out of date but they did it for me anyway which I thought was extremely nice of them.
I feel like going back to try the other things on the menu but I don’t know if I’ll be able to deny myself that burger.
Prices around the same as Byron, less suitable for large groups maybe but give it a whirl. There’s always a Byron round the corner if you can’t be seated here.
Take away also available.

Nous y avons mangé un midi et même si l’endroit est petit nous n’avons pas eu d’attente. Le personnel est agréable et le service est très rapide. Nous avons pris un burger avocat/​bacon qui était tout simplement délicieux ! L’avocat se marie bien avec les autres ingrédients et apporte une saveur inattendue au burger. Par ailleurs, même s’ils paraissent petits, ils se révèlent particulièrement copieux. Quant aux frites de patates douces, elles sont à tomber… Si l’occasion se présente, nous y retournerons avec plaisir !

Nous avons mangé lundi dans ce resto de Soho et ce sur les bons conseils lus sur Unilocal.
Mon plat: burger poulet haloumi etait bon quoi qu’un peu fade.(mais il y a de quoi assaisonné a table)
Le burger de chéri était bon mais sans plus.
Par contre les frites sont délicieuses
Et les buns maisons très bons.
Le service a été un peu lent mais le personnel est très sympa.
Vous pouvez y manger sans peur!

Superbe découverte ! Dans un style tout hawaïen, ce petit resto propose plusieurs hamburgers, sandwich et salade avec une petite touché hawaïenne. Nous avons pris des hamburgers avec ananas et halloumi, et des frites de patate douce en accompagnement, c’était nickel ! Les pancakes myrtilles banane était super aussi, épais mais aérés !

This was another atypical experience as I actually got the meal from Unilocal as the prize from the Capture Soho photo thing. However, they are all SOOOOO nice there that I can’t imagine being treated in a different way.
Ed and his team has created a truly remarkable experience featuring burgers, sandwiches and one of my favourite junk foods– yam fries (or in England, sweet potato fries). Everything we ate were spot on and absolutely delicious (Ahi sandwich, burgers, philly cheese steak and LOADS of fries). What’s more important was that everyone there were friendly, super hot and all so flexible and attentive– something which should come naturally to a restaurant but somehow falls flat on so many occasions.
The only gripe I have is that the cocktails are a tad sweet– but then that’s just my personal preference, and I must say the sangria was super easy to drink.
Lovely booths downstairs, but if you don’t want to die of embarrassment and have a return visit, I’ll reliably inform you that people can hear your conversations outside the booths thanks to the acoustics– don’t be a dumb dumb like me and talk about internet dating and sex all night.

Natsukashiii!
This used to be my favourite burger joint in Namba, Osaka… so I was chuffed to see it come to London, but didn’t really expect it to be as good. It’s more like a cheap, happy fast food stall than a restaurant… but that is the kind of atmosphere I like with burgers. Yay!
The burger itself was juicy, a little pink in the middle and gorgeous. I looved the huge onion, juicy tomato and perfectly squishy avocado that came with it, but I couldn’t quite get my mouth around everything! This burger requires some epic mouth exercise to work your way into the first bite!
…and then I tried the sweet potato fries. I really, really like sweet potato fries! These ones were crunchy on the outside, squishy in the middle and just perfect! Omnomnom they take the whole kua ‘aina experience to burger heaven.