'Ai Pono Cafe

Wow!! 2nd time here in California in a year and this spot is on point!!!! lollipop shrimp with sweet chiki sauce.. spam musubi, Korea chicken musubi, short Rib plate , all Krack krazy good Grinds, Super friendly Staff coupled with Aloha Vibes make this joint a must!!! Ineed this kinda Love on the East Coast Mahalo!!🌴😎👍

this place is superb!!! we’ve tried the ahi poke, OG beef, katsu, and the garlic butter mahi mahi. they were all soooo delicious. I love the sides of macaroni salad and slaw. highly recommend!

Came in and place was very nice and I Got a side of the guava chili chicken and the dirty lickin Korean chicken in a plate and everything was Ono! Came with rice slaw and Mac salad and The slaw was top notch, Mac was really good and so was the rice but the chicken was really tender and had so much flavor, and I got a couple of sauces on the side and I forgot the names but the white one was the best! Also added a POG and a Rice Krispie treat as well, so much good stuff they got here, definitely worth it and I’ll be back to try more items on the menu

The restaurant has a nice vibe to it. Cheeky wall art & staff clothing. The menu is extensive and out of the ordinary Hawaiian. The Crackhead chicken with coconut rice and a good macaroni salad was my favorite meal.

Great find before I needed to head to SNA airport. Very friendly staff, great food and atmosphere. Next time I’m in town I will definitely visit again. Thank you!

Food: As a chef 9/10 As a non chef 10/10 Shrimp Special 8/10 Crispy Shrimp, Garlic Rice, Mac Salad, Cole Slaw - Great flavors, fresh shrimp, good acid, girlfriend loves it. Crackhead Chicken 10/10 Chicken, Rice, Cole Slaw, Mac Salad - Chicken was cherry. Crispy, good flavor, love the Mac Salad, solid flavors all around. Ube / Regular Rice Crispies 9/10 Can't complain... Service:10/10 Aloha all around. Engaging knowledgeable staff. Auntie made me feel like I was at home. Never felt uncomfortable, always attended to. Ambiance: 9/10 Love the local art, colors, design and decor. Cleanliness: 8/10 Restaurant was clean. Bathrooms were a little dirty. Price: 9/10 Summary: Should you go? Absolutely. I would drive back to OC just to eat some more ono kine grindz. Reminds me of being back on the big island. Big hype, but big flavors to back it up. Mahalo!

Went here to check the hype I had heard about the food. So I Just got into California from texas. Texas has a few spots claiming to be Hawaiian food yet are actually far from hitting the mark. So being from Hawaii and local food addict I had to stop and try Ai pono in high hopes. The staff was great the pictures of the food looked great. I ordered the zombie plate because it had some of my hawaii favorites all in one. Meat Jun, Kalbi short ribs & Chicken. Presentation was nice but the plate over all lacked what I expected as hawaiian plate lunch flair & flavors. The meat jun was as if it was a lightly breaded price of meat, slightly tough to chew no egg batter consistency really no flavor and no type of sauce for it, fyi meat jun needs a sauce. The short ribs and chicken was okay but not really hawaiian food, maybe more a fusion and seemed as if both had the same taste. The most shocking part was missing Mac salad, it did not come with my plate! No hawaii plate lunch would dare leave Mac salad as something you pay extra on the side for. I purchased a side of the salad found that the mac salad was okay, but again not the Hawaii flavor I went there expecting. I was taken back that just two plate lunches and two Hawaiian sun drinks cost over $60. I realize its California but think for what you get, its slightly over priced.. Over all experience, the food had a good flavor and was cooked well. It just didn't give me that back home Hawaii flavor or satisfaction I went looking for. Ive read the other reviews, it seems like those that left a review commenting that this was the perfect Hawaiian food, may need to actually taste some real Hawaiian food so n they can make an informed decision. This was not really Hawaii food lol. My mainland search for Hawaii plate lunch food continues. I have been all over the 49 states and have ate at many spots serving Hawaii favorites. I found its few & far between spots that actually take me home with the food they claim as being Hawaii inspired.. I probably won't return to this place. l had ate at a couple other Hawaii food places in LA, that I won't mention here that did alot better with doing Hawaii food justice. Honestly my ventures with hawaiian food here on the mainland US have been more disappointments then satisfaction. I will keep searching for that one, Ai pono just didn't hit the mark.