There’s nothing quite like the untamed majesty of Hawaiian barbecue. There are so many elements that shouldn’t work, yet absolutely do. The popular Spam Musibi, for example, is essentially spam on a bed of rice tied together with seaweed. It’s a big old slab of spam sushi, and those who frequent establishments such as this will sing the praises of the dish from the rooftops. Seriously, who else is serving spam nowadays. You have to admire it, truth be told.
“Founded in 2002, Ono Hawaiian BBQ is a family-owned fast casual restaurant known for our Hawaiian-inspired Plate Lunches and other island specialties,” they say online. “Ono Hawaiian uses the freshest ingredients, prepared from scratch daily in each restaurant and grilled fresh to order. With locations in California and Arizona, we aim to combine the culture and ‘Aloha’ spirit of Hawaii into our restaurants to bring a taste of the islands with exceptional service in an inviting atmosphere.”
It is a fairly popular, if localized, chain at this point. There are quite a few Onos all over Southern California, but they’re so good that we felt them worthy of review. We didn’t order the spam though. We admire the gumption but we’re not the biggest fan of the processed meat product.
Rather, we opted for the BBQ & Katsu Mix plate. That consists of Hawaiian BBQ chicken, BBQ beef, katsu chicken, two scoops of rice, one scoop of macaroni salad, cabbage and broccoli.
We don’t need to go in deep on the vegetables; they were cooked well enough, and they sit nicely in the barbecue sauces. Job done! The rice is sticky and yummy. It’s hard to know why Hawaiian rice is so good, it really is just sticky white rice. But somehow, it’s wonderful.
The macaroni salad is one of the things that makes a BBQ meal Hawaiian. The combination of the tangy mayo with the rice and meat is signature stuff. It really works beautifully too.
It’s all about those three meats though, all of which are spectacular. Arguably the pick of the bunch is the BBQ chicken, which is tender and marinated to perfection. It melts in the mouth and bursts with flavor, especially when paired with the teriyaki sauce which comes with it.
The beef is equally flavorful, and demanding of your attention. Not too chewy, the thin pieces are surprisingly dainty for red meat. The breaded katsu chicken is crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, as it should be. The teriyaki is lovely on the breading.
We also had a fried shrimp appetizer, and that too was perfectly cooked and fresh. Ono simply didn’t put a foot wrong.
Ono Hawaiian BBQ is located at 10814 Jefferson Blvd. M, Culver City 90230. Call 310-202-8688 or visit onohawaiianbbq.com.