Makana Hawaiian & Japanese BBQ
“Fresh, huge rolls with amazing flavor, always friendly on the phone, fast delivery, and great value.”
“It sure beats flying 14 hours to Hawaii for the taste that Makana has successfully brought to East Harlem.”
“Just what my neighborhood needs.”
Makana Hawaiian & Japanese BBQ
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Came to this place because my sister loves it and she insisted on me trying it , is a mixed of Hawaiian and Japanese BBQ , wanted to try good sushi with out raw fish , stepping aside form California roll or shrimp tempura , for my surprise the customer service is excellent friendly and courteous , I order the Da spider roll and the baked garlic mussels, it was delicious , will be back for sure , my new sushi get away !!!!
Super mediocere food but pretty decent considering it's location in the middle of Spanish Harlem. I like their lunch specials. I've gotten the sushi lunch which comes with four pieces of sushi and a roll, a soup and a salad. I've also had their stirfry noodels which are pretty good as well. I've had it with both the udon and the thin noodles but I definitely preferred the thin noodles since udon noodles don't absorb flavor as well. I am also a huge fan of the seaweed salad. I know you can literally get that anywhere but in Spanish Harlem that stuff is literally nonexistent so I'm so thankful for Makana because I love seaweed salad!
east harlem. not the best location. only come for lunch with bright light. any sign of darkness and you best run! way east way way east in 1st ave. cross your fingers and hope the bus comes by soon cause the nearest subway station aint for a few blocks. anyways, its a small place. theres about 5 tables and a little sushi bar to sit. i guess its more about delivery or take out? i mean who wants to stay in east harlem that long anyways. so theres a lunch special for cheaper bentos. had the katsu with macaroni salad and rice. it was meh. lets subtract the location for a second and only focus on the food. the macaroni was plain. when compared to l&l bbq, it was about a 1. did not care for at all. drenched it in sriracha sauce to give it a little flavor. otherwise couldnt eat it at all. the katsu was okay. didnt give all that much and the sauce it came with was okay. it was too breaded and the chicken portion was very thin. also tried the short ribs. those were surprisingly good. flavorful and filling. service was good. we were the only ones there. the lady at the cash register was nice and brought our food to us. she probably thought we were crazy for even ordering in and sitting down. so service was the best part of this experience. the food was meh. the location was scary as hell. so improve those two and then maybe i'll come back. until then L&L hawaiian bbq is still the place to go. chain or not, they make a bomb ass macaroni salad and thats what hawaiian bbq is known for.
Today I realized that I need to give some props to Makana, something I should've done a while ago. I have been a customer ever since they opened and I LOVE it here.
I'm no expert on Hawaiian BBQ, but this is some good eats. The Japanese fusion is a plus. The owners and staff are very friendly people. A few months ago I discovered that they are spreading the Hawaiian BBQ love with their second location down on 106th street, good for them!
I'm so glad that I can walk down the block and grab some sushi. My neighborhood is changing before my eyes, how exciting.
I've tried a few of the meats they have here and I found them to be to sweet tasting. The salad they serve with their meal needs a face lift, and the dressing is just not appetizing at all, and I rather love ginger carrot dressing. So nope I haven't gone back here in a long time.
90 minutes after placing my seamless order (30-45) minute estimate and I called the restaurant and they said "if you have a problem, call seamless."
What a joke. Never again
Was seriously craving some L&L/Hawaiian Drive-In type food and was in the area for the PetSmart so decided to give this place a shot.
First walking in we were quickly greeted by the staff and was told to seat ourselves. We ordered the BBQ chicken and the chicken katsu plates; which are our usuals back home. The food took a little longer than expected but I just assumed meant that they were making things from scratch … so ok.
The BBQ chicken was different then all the other Hawaiian spots I've been to. Not to say it was bad, as it was actually quite good, but if you're used to places like L&L then that is not what you will get here. The same went for the chicken katsu, although the macaroni salad tasted almost like the others; which is a good thing ;). We didn't care for the salad very much. I must mention that the portion sizes are quite large, so one plate could easily be split between two people.
The place itself was very clean and the staff very attentive. They also had some great looking rolls on the menu that I didn't get to try. Maybe I'll try those instead next time.
This is quite possibly the only place in the five boroughs where you can get spam musubi.
I've been looking for a Hawaiian place since L&L went out of business downtown.
By chance I walked past this place and I knew I had to try this place. To my surprise, it was actually good. Spam musubi was good, though I wish the spam was pan-fried instead of grilled, and the barbecue mix had a good grill char. Not a lot of Hawaiian options around here, but this place is good enough for four stars on its merits, not because I'm jonesing for spam musubi.
Wish I lived or worked a little closer, would live to return and try more of the menu.