Onomea
“On my way there I didn't know what to expect – Tikki Bar and barely dressed girls dancing hulu dance in straw skirts and coconut bras?”
“I grew eating Hawaiian food so there's the usual basic loco moco, kalua pic and Portuguese sausage plates.”
“I had the ahi poke, followed by kalua pig and cabbage with Hawaiian mac salad and spam fried rice.”
Onomea
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Not bad, not bad at all. Quaint spot with a good bit of heart. The loco moco was delicious but the kalua pig was a tad dry. I was hoping there'd be a bigger plate of fare for their prices but we are in W'burg afterall. Haupia was tasty; who can turn down a coconut dessert that resembles jello with toasted coconut shreds on top??
Staff is attentive and the kitchen does a nice job plating the food. It's a cute little spot for a date or to catch up with a friend.
Came to this restaurant cause there's not that many Hawaiian places in New York!
I ordered the Loco Moco and Spam musubi to share. The Loco Moco is basically a burger patty with a sunny side up egg and some sort of teriyaki sauce. It is also served with a mac salad on the side, which was pretty average but complemented the heaviness of the dish pretty well. You have the option of swapping the white rice in the dish with spam fried rice. The portion was pretty big and I had trouble finishing it all; it's definitely a super filling dish!
The spam musubi came with four pieces for $5. There's subtle wasabi in it so look out for that! The spam musubi was pretty good, but I honestly don't know if it's worth. It's a good appetizer to share between 2 people!
Pairing it off with some hawaiian beer was quite refreshing! I had the Big Wave Golden Ale. It's a nice aromatic beer with a smidge of hop.
I can't really compare this experience with any Hawaiian restaurant because I've never had Hawaiian food (other than Poké). One thing you can expect is to not be in a gimmicky, luau and straw-filled, beach-themed environment, but rather a modern ambiance that resembles a Thai restaurant.
My friends took me here for a birthday lunch and I honestly would've never guessed that this would be a Hawaiian restaurant–it really looks like an trendy brunch spot from the outside. We all went for the Loco Moco, but not before having some appetizers. We had a Spam Musubi, which was okay at best, but pretty pricey for 4 small pieces. The Poké was a nice explosion of delicious flavors but don't expect rice, as traditional Hawaiian poké is not served with rice (counterbalances the flavors, apparently). I have mixed feelings about the Loco Moco; I really wanted to like it, but I didn't enjoy it as much as my friends did–the hamburger patty tasted like low-grade meat and the macaroni salad was almost flavorless. The brown gravy sauce and the runny egg, on the other hand, saved this dish.
For close to 5K miles away (although I've never been to Hawaii), an experience here definitely does not represent the true essence of Hawaiian food, which I'm told is very much like soul food. They also serve Lilikoi, a refreshing Hawaiian passion fruit drink, which is hard to find in NYC!
I came on Sunday for Brunch. the restaurant was empty and we chose a little table in the back. As the place was empty, the waiter came to take the order. The food took about 20 minutes to be prepared. I got the pancakes and my friends got a burger. It was the first time I tried Hawaiian feed and was very pleased. The pancakes were very good, not too thin and not too heavy with few fresh fruits on it and some kind of coconut syrup ( but they also had the maple syrup). I would recommend this place for some interesting flavors!!
I'm not super into Hawaiian food, but decided to give this place a try. The food is pretty good, not great, but I'm giving this a 3 star rating because they were out of several items, and it was only 8pm on a Saturday night. They were out of champagne so I couldn't get one of the cocktails I wanted, and they were also out of 2-3 of the main dishes.
The poke appetizer is yummy, definitely get that. Between 3 of us, we got the loco moco, kalbi, and the tofu steaks. All were good– i found the mac salad to be a little flavorless, and they also charge extra if you don't get the standard choice for rice. My tofu steaks were good but I thought the sauce was a bit salty. Also, I didn't love the kalbi or loco moco. They are good but not mind-blowing. Overall, I don't think I'd come back here but glad I tried it!
Hawaiian brunch in New York? Yes please! I got the taro pancakes and they were really good, I loved the coconut sauce that comes with it. The guava mimosas were pretty good too. Poke and spam misubi were good starters as well.
After noting that they were going to contact us, they made no effort to.
I heard of this place because of a random mention in Bon Appetit, so I expected this place to be packed on a Wednesday night, but it was quite the opposite which was a relief. It was so empty though that it was somewhat obviously staffed by only two people, a bit strange. I really came here for the spam, so I had to swap out the fried rice with my kalua pig and cabbage for the spam fried rice and it so worthwhile. Our server forgot to put in our spam musubi so we got it after our meal, which was still worthwhile and he kindly comped it for the omission. I normally leave macaroni salad alone, but I devoured everything on my plate. If you're expecting a flawless meal, you'll be disappointed, but then again you always will with those expectations anywhere, but for an evening of switching things up and trying something new, definitely give this place a try.