Makana Hawaiian & Japanese BBQ
“The food is probably a 3.5, but the portions, prices, and quick delivery make this place a 4 in my book.”
“Ate at Makana several times , love their Hawaiian BBQ mixed platter , stir fried noodles , Loco moco and specialty rolls.”
“I have been in love with Makana for about four years, since I discovered their East Harlem location back in college.”
Makana Hawaiian & Japanese BBQ
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I was around the area and needed a hardy lunch before heading to work, of course yelp found me the best place!
The place has a bright orange interior and very lively with high seating for people to dine in. Didn't feel like I was in NYC bring in here.
Must have:
Loco moco:
-Had this in Hawaii and must say that this place is on point with this dish! The patty was juicy and smothered with delicious mushroom sauce that was made perfect. Portions were pretty decent, filled me up and prepped for work. They also gave a side of macaroni salad, which was ok.
Service: for take out, they were pretty fast, didn't wait for too long. I did notice that during lunch, they have a lot of orders togo.
Price wise, it's not too bad…lunch is a great deal and about $2 more for dinner.
Overall: will go back if around the area, just wish there was another closer to lower Manhattan.
I stopped in for lunch after a friend recommended it (and checking yelp). There was a pretty good selection of food and it was reasonably priced. I decided to go with the chicken and short rib plate for $10.95. It only took about 5 mins for me to be in and out, which is a plus during lunch hour. The food was good but nothing spectacular, exactly what you expect it to be. I'll probably stop by for lunch again and try something else.
items are hit or miss. but overall an enjoyable meal at economical prices… i'm hesitant to order sushi, but the tacos are pretty good. the spam musubi are just OK nothing spectacular, could of used some teriyaki sauce or something…?
Solid delivery place in the morningside heights / south harlem area! Their $17 3 roll special for dinner is great, comes with miso soup & salad. The rolls are BIG and you will be very, very full after eating this. I like the dressing they use on their salad, but the soup was very flavorless and underwhelming. I tried the NY roll, eel avocado roll and salmon avocado roll. All were great. I saw that the same 3 roll special is offered for $13 during lunch. I am curious, does this lunch deal apply on weekends?
Its really upsetting I have to give this place one star, but the food just didn't taste good. The ambiance is very chill they have some nice island Bob Marley music playing in the back, and the actual restaurant is very bright and colorful.
The staff was very sweet and nice. Service was excellent, the only issue was that the food was really not appetizing. I got the BBQ chicken which ended up having not a single strong note of bbq flavor, and the macaroni salad that it came with was just in-edible. The salad was good and so was the white rice but the chicken was fatty and I ended up leaving food behind, which I hate to do.
The mango bubble tea tasted medicinal, I'm not sure how, but It was just bad. My friends coconut bubble tea tasted much better, but still not great.
I would definitley not return, probably one of the worst bbq chickens Ive ever had.
I don't typically do review updates, but Makana definitely deserved an update. My initial complaint with this place was the timeliness of their service.
I'm glad to report that they've cleaned up their operations and as a result service is much faster here. They were able to churn out orders with ease and I was duly impressed. All in all, Makana is a solid Hawaiian option in the UWS. You should check it out if you're in the mood for some Loco Moco!
Makana has a lot of stuff on their menu, but I just wanted typical fried Hawaiian food.
Loco Moco ($10.95) – beef patties topped with fried egg, caramelized onions, gravy, over rice, macaroni salad:
There isn't one right way to make loco moco, as it is mainly beef patties, gravy, & fried eggs over rice. However, the only reason I say this wasn't quite loco moco is because I'm pretty sure there was no gravy. The so-called gravy tastes like the brown sauce over salisbury steak that comes with frozen meals. Also, I've never had caramelized onions with loco moco before. Everything else – the hamburger patties and macaroni salad was okay. The best part was the runny eggs.
Fried Mahi Mahi ($11.95) with tartar sauce, macaroni salad, garden salad, & rice:
There was a good amount of fish in there. Good balance of batter & fish. The only thing that wasn't too enjoyable was the garden salad. It tastes and looks like airline salad, but topped with a sweet, tart dressing.
Most people get takeout or delivery, but there is a good amount of seating in the restaurant.
There are definitely not enough Hawaiian places to eat in NYC so Makana is a sight for sore eyes.
Portion sizes are huge (albeit, NYC prices so.. you know 5 bucks for a spam musubi) and you'll definitely feel full and satisfied.
Get the Chicken Katsu or Karage and if you've never had spam musubi before it's worth it – I promise.