Hawaiian Express

Came in here with my obviously pregnant friend desperate to use the bathroom and immediately promised to buy some food. The lady working the register literally said, “I’ll believe it when I see it” and made each of us buy something just to use the bathrooms, took her sweet time checking us out and kept rolling her eyes, and didn’t give us the code until we had paid. At this point my friend had literally pee’d her pants waiting in line. When we got to the bathrooms they were filthy. The food itself was mid at best.

The kalua pork tasted like it was soaked in liquid smoke. The pineapple salad was simply pineapple that tastes like it was sprinkled with jello powder. The loco Moco was pretty good. The macaroni salad was good. The come slaw was good. I'm not from Portland do buy default will never be back. If I was a local I dont think I'd be back either

Delicious Hawaiian food!! I had ordered the #4: Kahlua Pork. It was cooked perfectly with a wonderful smoky flavor!! However, I chose the wrong sides, the Mac salad and coleslaw. Both of those were bland and gross. My friend had ordered the #2: Short Ribs. She said they were also delicious and melted in your mouth. Her side looked tasty, seaweed salad. Would go back (and just get different sides lol)

I love this place they are truly amazing. They always remember us. The food sostefu and fulfilling but it's awesome that's s homemade and they are wiling to do any combo. Please support this business. They are mom and pop type of place with great prices and great food.

Had a previous experience there when doing food delivery and my work partner had insisted that the experience was unprofessional. I left a negative review and moved on. Since then I have had a good experience here and I wanted to fix my review to be fair to my actual experiences. Sorry for the mixup before. Local businesses deserve fair reviews.

Absolutely delicious and well priced Hawaiian food! Love their Hawaiian chicken and their mac salad. Recently got a spam musubi and wow best in the area. They put in two pieces of spam for the same price as other places that just put one skimpy piece. Highly recommend!!

The food is fabulous and service is quick. Plenty of options for protein and sides, though some of the sides aren’t for everyone. The mac salad is great but is served chilled which isn’t my style. I would HIGHLY recommend the loco moco beef as a less expensive protein option. Super juicy, huge patty of beef, and not lacking in flavor.

I can't recommend this place enough! The large portions and friendly service keep me coming back. The owners are so welcoming and the food is consistently delicious every time. I get a combo of shredded roasted pork and boneless beef short rib because I can't decide which I like better :)

I ordered to-go from here and it was delicious. They had written a thank-you note on the package, which I thought was very cute and appreciative. (Support small local businesses! :) ) I ordered the salmon poke with pineapple and extra avocado. I thought that the portion size was alright, but a bit smaller I was expecting (especially with the salmon). Everything was delicious. The poke was good and had a good marinade, the seaweed salad was a nice addition, and the pineapple was a nice burst of flavor. Overall, not a bad spot for poke in Portland!

Hawaiian Express helped curb my craving for Hawaiian food that I didn't know I was missing! I stopped by Hawaiian Express because, honestly, I was very hungry after a long day of traveling...and they were the closest option I had from a place I was staying. There were options of various combos...from $8-$12. I had a locomoco (with a side of coleslaw) and boy...I was so glad I had it! I have been living at a place where Hawaiian is just so rare...so this definitely hit the spot for me. Overall, great, super casual place for express food. They don't have too many hawaiian options (for example, no mochiko chicken or saimin noodles!), but at least it was fast and the portion was decent! I would consider stopping by this place again for a quick, super casual, affordable meal!

I adore Hawaiian Express. The family meal is so worth it!! My favorite is the salmon poke. All the sides I ordered are fresh and delicious. Best comfort meal. Generous portions.

Chicken was a little funky. Very doable. The pork was great though. The poke was fantastic. Super fresh. This is as staple as Hawaiian food comes.

This was my first time ordering through Uber Eats and I must say - it didn't disappoint. I'm in SE and so I normally go for Ate O Ate but they were back ordered so I went with this place. I hear it's a small mom and pop food truck and despite there being mixed reviews, I decided to place an order. Presentation was great even in take away containers. I ordered the large short rib plate with 2 scoops of sticky rice and a side of Mac and cheese, sauces I picked were teriyaki and i think hey give you the drippings sauce from the meats too and in my opinion it's the best combo since you have leftovers for 1-2 more meals and can combine with other things you have at home. Great way to stretch a meal. No problems with the delivery. My second item I ordered was a bibimbap style roll with spam and egg and holy stars it's big! So this was enough food for 4 people. And they have desserts but I had to stop myself from getting that lol! All in all great food so far and looking forward to more! Thanks Hawaiian Express!!

I discovered this hidden gem 3 months ago. I'm telling you that this is the best spot for a good meal! I come here about once a week. I always get the large number one with a double of their delicious pineapple. I order my chicken whole, and it always tender. (which for me goes a long way) My favorite part is talking to the people who are serving! A beautiful couple run the business and they are always checking in and friendly.

This is my go-too spot here in SW Portland! It's really good, amazing service and reasonable prices! Their Loco Moco is also one of my favorites to get! Out of the food available in this area, I always prefer to go to Hawaiian Express than the food carts across the street.

I've seen negative reviews and was worries this place went down hill. Long story short it's been a bit since I've been here and thought things may have switched up. But it's still just as good and the main lady who I tend to see her is very nice and chill. I definitely would recommend this place especially is something it looking for this type of Hawaii food. Very happy and filling place. Thank you

Their kalua pork is really good. I come back to this place because of the service as well. The couple who works there is very nice and always welcoming. Their Mac salad and coleslaw are also delicious. It reminds me of home in Hawaii.

Older lady in restaurant was rude. I will never go to this restaurant again. I was nice and polite. I was waiting to pick up an order. And I was not expecting such a bad experience.

I love this place. Before and after Covid the consistency is always there. Theresa is so sweet, and is great conversation. The food is delicious, so much variety in both cost and types of food to choose from. Definitely, a place I go to for hearty, comfort food.

Food is amazing as I am not from Portland I had many places to choose from and I sure chose the right one today!!

Great service. Great kalua pork. Great decorations. Great people!!! I've been coming here for the 4 years of my university experience and love it. Truly a blessing

I love this place! Their pulled pork has the most incredible flavor! I don't even need sauce with it honestly! My favorite macaroni salad I've had to date. It's a nice light flavor, no mustard, & not mushy. The pineapple salad is addictively good. I don't know what sauce is on it but I always eat it first lol. The family pack is a great way to try some of everything. The people that work here are very sweet & I enjoy supporting their local business! I've been here a few times & will continue to come here for the food and the service.

Loco Moco from this place is fantastic, and delivery menu has the option for extra gravy which most Hawaiian places don't have. Only complaint is that their to-go gravy cups pop open at the slightest touch, and my delivery bag was soaked in spilled gravy by the time it got to me. Guys, please wrap those up in plastic wrap or foil, or get a better quality to-go cup.

I have had three different plates from here na sleep coming back because their Ahi and seaweed salad is so fresh and so full of flavors! Great proper amounts as well! I have also had their Hawaiian chicken and it has many mixes of flavors, not dry, and creamy Macaroni salad. All great fresh food! Plus no brown avocados!

Unlike many others, I read the reviews beforehand, but decided to give this place a try. Like many others, the (person) was friendly enough, the overall portion size was ok, but it was mostly plain white rice. I got the chicken with macaroni salad, the salad wasn't bad, the chicken was pretty blah. 2 good chunks of chicken, that looked grilled and slpiced, but I think it had been cooked a while ago and lost most of its flavor. I was hoping for better for the price, but I bet their rent isn't cheap. I would normally attribute this to covid, but it seems like people were making these same comments before covid.

Came by for a quick bite and got the Hawaiian Chicken. Folks at the restaurant were friendly, and the food came out quickly. Food was a-okay. They were generous with portions especially the seaweed salad. Overall, not too bad but not perhaps my go-to for all Hawaiian food needs.

I'm from Hawaii and this food is nowhere close ordered a poke bowl fish wasn't fresh orders the short ribs looked like they had it in a crock pot for a while not on the grill like back home Mac salad was bland so not the place to eat they weren't from Hawaii so no pride in the food just using the Hawaiian name to make a fast buck disgraceful not recommended wasted 25$ what a rip off making Hawaiian food look bad Ahi Tuna Poke Plate threw it away

Love going to this restaurant, the food is delicious and the owners are extremely friendly and welcoming! It's like being on Cheers, "welcome back, how have you been?" All the food is hot and fresh, I usually go with the Lunch Special or rice/mac salad with Hawaiian Chicken or Kalua Pork.

One of my favorite places to eat in downtown Portland. The Food is always great and the service is always friendly. Counter service, quick, clean and just excellent. give it a try

Big portions. Easy, quick delivery with GrubHub. I get the shredded Kalua pork, Mac salad, and edamame. It's delicious every time.

The service here was amazing, great people!! Answered any questions and gave us recommendations on the best dishes. Food was so good!!

There's always an attitude from the lady that works here. There's always an issue when I get delivery highly don't recommend. Roxy's is way better.

The food here is extremely bland and nothing about it tastes Hawaiian. Take your money across the street to the food trucks and you'll surely find a better meal.

I found this establishment on yelp. I was hungry and wanted Kalua pig. On the menu this is the #4. I ordered the medium which comes with a protein, rice and 1 side of my choice. I picked avocado my daughter ordered the same and picked pineapple. The people were very nice and the place looked clean. The food was great and the pig was not too salty. I loved the addition of the side choice. I would eat here again.

This place is ridiculously delicious. Ordered delivery multiple times and each time was consistently tasty. Ordered the Hawaiian chicken plate with the whole chicken thighs. WOW! The Hawaiian teriyaki sauce is sweet and savory and compliments the perfectly cooked chicken. Their Mac salad is sweeter than most but I like it! I usually get an extra side because it's that good!

The old lady who works here is so rude. I don't know if she's the owner or something but judging from the other reviews left by delivery people she needs to fix her attitude. I went to pick up an order for doordash and when i went to grab the bag she refused to give it to me until i confirmed the order and i told her i did confirm it and in the rudest she said "we'll i need to see it" like i don't mind showing you but dude work on your attitude. If you don't like working with delivery people why bother using door dash at all?

Good food. Strange inside setup - large plastic barrier between employees and customers. COVID holdover? The Shoyu sauce is excellent.

Moved here from California and wanted to try some Hawaiian food. Place is terrible Mac salad taste so bland. Plate is all rice with 1 piece of thigh. Dont even attempt the pineapple salad

Extremely rude owner (I think it's the owner) but the lady who is usually working. I pick up DoorDash orders often here and she is very rude and has an attitude. Also did not allow me to use their restroom quickly while waiting on them to finish an order I was picking up.

It is so BAD I want to give it a zero but that's not possible so I'll give it a 1. DO NOT WASTE YO MONEY ON THIS TRASH FOOD! The 4 star reviews are lying to you and those people have obviously never had actually good mac salad or food in general.

Super disappointed with food quality. Poor menu and service. I ordered multiple dishes and most of it had rice.

Food quality is pretty good. However, overall sloppy preparation as they rushed and missed a crucial component of the delivery order. Salmon poke calls for one scoop of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad so it was disappointing to have two scoops of rice and no macaroni salad at a hawaiian place. Too much rice and the sides are pretty expensive for the small amount they give you. I also simply asked for chopsticks which were not provided.

Oh my Do not eat from here. Saw rats while waiting for my food, one in the kitchen when I went to the restroom. Never going back.

(I ate here last year but saw I hadn't finished the review) Delicious food with a decent to large size serving. I ordered their 6.99 special, teriyaki chicken shredded and got an extra rice scoop instead of macaroni salad. They offer prepacked tiny to go sauces or self serve station of all the sauces you can put as much as you want. I love their sweet chili sauce and their teriyaji sauce was good but a little salty. Very friendly owners who showed me what the chicken options looked like, shredded and barbeque pieces. (2019) I like their outdoor seating in the front with sun. Thanks I will be coming back often!

Solid 3-star rating, mostly for the service. Presumably husband and wife family owned establishment, and they're both so nice and sweet. Friendly service every time I've come in.. they always greet their customers with a smile, and they appear to have a handful of regulars who they know by name. The restaurant is clean, food is either already cooked or comes out fast, and the prices are more than reasonable. The food is not particularly authentic Hawaiian food by any stretch. They have a lot of the dishes you'd expect to see on the menu, the things that many mainlanders associate with Hawaiian food like loco moco and kalua pork and the like, but the flavors are somewhat off. That's not to say they taste bad necessarily; just not what I'm used to. The poke is a great example; it's not prepared how you'd expect in Hawaii, but it isn't horrible. It's a little over-done with the "Hawaiian" decor as well. Kinda like your neighbor who stocks up on Hawaiian themed decor from Party City and says they're throwing a "luau" in their backyard and grills up some pineapple chicken. I come here occasionally when I work nearby downtown, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way. The owners are sweet, it's inexpensive, and the food is okay.

I dropped in looking for poke because Braddah Bowl across the street was out of fish. The decor is a fun homage to tropical life. You order at the counter, cafeteria style, picking a meat, rice and sides. I got the medium poke bowl ($9-10) which came with two scoops of rice and one side. The rice was dry and the Mac salad bland and soft, but the poke was pretty good. The staff were friendly and it's nice to be able to sit inside but for the quality of the food for the price, you're better off going to the carts across the street. This place is like a diner but with Hawaiian food. Nothing amazing, but it will fill you up quickly.

Found this restaurant on DoorDash. Decided to order the family pack with 4 scoops of rice and 4 scoops of mac salad. After placing order decided to look at Yelp for the reviews. Got a little scared with some older reviews. I am not a fan of Reeser's Mac salad as some older reviews said of this restaurant. However, got our food and it was delicious. Mac salad tasted great. Nothing like store bought Reeser's. Also, all the meat was perfect as well.

Very bland. Subpar tasting dishes. So many better Hawaiian food places in Portland, save your money.

I ordered from Postmates so this review is only about the food itself. I ordered the small ahi tuna poke which came with at least a cup of rice, a small portion of seaweed, and smaller portion of pickled ginger, two slices of avocado (about 2/5 of a regular sized avocado), two pieces of nori, a nice pile of fish, and a sprinkling of Furikake. The fish was cut irregularly, some tiny and some bite-sized as other have mentioned in their reviews here. The sauce tasted like teriyaki sauce and came in a separate container. There was too much rice, but it was warm and just sticky enough so I only ate what I wanted of it. Whether it tasted like authentic Hawaiian, I don't know. It tasted like other poke bowls I have had, very fresh and tasty. It is a little pricey, but I do work downtown and its location is at PSU so that is to be expected. Overall, I enjoyed my lunch.

I loved my order of chicken and rice with macaroni salad. The chicken was SO flavorful and moist and the macaroni salad was a good cold counterpart to the warm chicken. I would add a bit of vinegar to the dressing for a stronger taste. The only thing I would add to the chicken and rice is some kind of vegetable. I added green beans and the broccoli. I will definitely order this again. Very good!

The Chicken was dry with no flavor. Rice and Mac salad was average. I am not sure I would order again unless I tried a different entree. Quick service tho!

This place is incredible. I have been Hawaii multiple times and I've been trying to find anything comparable to kalua pork and mac salad I had there, this place is definitely the closest I've ever had on the mainland. I've ordered 3 times from them in the last month and not once have I been disappointed with their food. I 1000% recommend this place to anyone looking for great hawaiian food.

Like many people have said before me, this place is very average--slightly below, but more or less average. I got the small poke, which was supposed to be protein and rice, which is what I was looking for, but this was 85% rice, 5% seaweed, and 10% fish. The fish was mostly scrappy pieces of salmon, rather than chunks or pieces, which made it seem like they were discarded pieces from something else, rather than intentionally for poke. Overall, I probably wouldn't come back for poke, that's for sure. I probably woud consider returning if I wanted to try the chicken or pork.

Always great service when we come in and the food is deliciously home made and sauce unlimited. I had the pork and rice special and it tasted like I was back in Hawaii sitting on the beach!!! The spicy mayo has the perfect amount of spice and the pork was melt in your mouth if slow roasted and the Kailua pork is very seasoned (good).

I decided to try Hawaiian Express since I was in the area with friends for lunch. I had the teriyaki chicken and the Kahlua Pork. The chicken was dry and flavorless. The Pork while tasty was also dry. The Mac Salad was absolutely disgusting. It tastes like it was made by someone who thought they knew what mac salad was supposed to taste like and got it horribly wrong. I will never go back to the restaurant. There are much better places like 808, Noho's or Local Grind.

Wish I would have read reviews. Pretty bad actually, I didn't know Hawaiian food could ever taste bad or bland. Chicken was very dry and had little or no flavor. Would not order from again. Good luck

I wanted to like this place. The staff is so nice but the food is mediocre. I got the tuna poke, which was not bad. I got it with rice and Mac salad and a drink for $7.99. Great price! However, the teriyaki sauce for the rice is way too salty for my taste but the real disappointment was the mac salad. It isn't Hawaiian style mac salad at all. In fact, I think it's Reser's mac salad or mac salad from some grocery store deli, it's definitely not made in house.