Mahalo!

Hella good spot hidden gem in the Inner Sunset! Chicken Katsu is a classic you cannot go wrong with! The portions are beautiful and I wasn't able to finish them, the vibe is comforting with the old school design of the interior. Macaroni Salad was really good here and I'm not a big fan of mac salads in the first place! The service was there, nothing special, but they got the job done and fed me. Will be coming back!

My kids wanted Hawaiian and we tried it on a Saturday night. Seems like mostly a lunch or take out place. Food was served quick and very tasty. Good quick eat.

I loooove the macaroni salad!!!! We ordered the BBQ chicken and a side of macaroni salad. Big serving, great flavors.

They precook their beef patties, so the loco moco was incredibly underwhelming with hard meat. The mac salad is under seasoned. Musubi is good. I’d be more inclined to dine in if they had music going, or something to make it feel more inviting. Pretty average overall each time, been there three times in as many years.

We stopped in on our way down the coast and got the loco moco and the Mahalo! Chicken Club. Both were great, staff were super friendly. In particular, their bbq chicken was AWESOME. Someone put some love into it, I am sure.

I ordered delivery and I could smell the food through the bag. I ordered three spam musubi, chicken katsu (mini), and onion rings. The onion rings were horrible. About $5 for bland, flavorless, and soggy onion disappointments. However, the spam musubi was delicious. Perfectly grilled spam slices on top of delicious, flavorful sauce and perfectly cooked rice. And the price was less than $9 for three. Mahalo's spam musubi is the real deal. Absolutely delicious. The chicken katsu (mini) was about $11. I didn't realize there was a mini and a regular size option until after I ordered. The regular size is about $14. The chicken is so tender and tastes like it's been marinated. It's covered in what looks to be panko breadcrumbs. The chicken was like french fries. Nice and crisp on the outside with a mealy, tender inside. Now, some of the chicken wasn't crispy but most of it was. It comes with some sauce that you can put on but the chicken without the sauce still tastes good. I got macaroni salad for my side and it was really good for macaroni salad but I didn't like it. Looking back, I should've gotten the salad instead. I'm not a fan of macaroni salad so I wouldn't have liked it either way but if you like macaroni salad, Mahalo is where you want to eat. All the food I had tasted just like they did in Hawaii. Overall, I'm giving four stars. It would've been five stars if the onion rings weren't horrible. I expected stuff to be at least a little soggy because it's delivery so it's kind of inevitable. If you're ordering delivery, get food that isn't crispy. If you're eating there, expect delicious food at very reasonable prices.

I really want to support this restaurant because I love Hawaiian food. The musubis are good, but a little too much rice and too little topping. I ordered a garlic fish plate and was sad to see it swimming in butter. See photo for how much liquified butter was in the Mac salad and greens.

From the moment we entered, we were greeted by warm, welcoming staff who made us feel like family. The service was efficient, and the waitstaff was attentive without being overbearing. The food? Incredible! The kalua pork was tender and full of flavor, and the poke was some of the freshest I’ve had. The ambiance was the perfect blend of relaxing and festive—dim lighting, island music in the background, and beautiful wooden accents throughout. The whole vibe made us feel like we were dining on a tropical beach. Highly recommend!

Amazing prices. Large portions. Something for everyone! I came here for the musubi trio but admired katsu dishes I saw at other tables. People devoured them. They do a pretty good takeout business and were busy around 3pm on a Tuesday. Lots of students too (probably because of the very reasonable prices.) Musubi was diverse, unique, and flavorful. Will be back after tennis one day! Very convenient to get to via bike or bus or Muni Metro.

Enjoyed a takeout lunch here with friends! I had the garlic shrimp with two scoops of Mac and one of rice. It was very garlicky & salty - and it had the best taste when I mixed everything together. It was a good size portion (regular) and prices are very reasonable ($13.95). Nice selection of Hawaiian Sun drinks, Musubi, and, overall, a large menu. The service was friendly & efficient. The dining room is serviceable but in need of a refresh to be more enticing to diners.

honestly i was just craving mac salad. the bbq chicken was ok, and the prices were not bad. the workers were sweet. it wasn't the best hawaiian food tho

Came in yesterday, and amazing service , cashier was really nice and everyone we interacted with! Food was delicious and amazing! Portions were big I was able to share with someone and both really full! It was a very nice experience 10/10 would visit again!

Randomly found Mahalo while searching for Hawaiian food spots and am so glad I tried it out! It's a cute, small, family owned restaurant that is no frills and very home-y. They have a pretty extensive menu with all of the classic Hawaiian plates. I got the mini chicken cutlet with gravy and subbed my rice with macaroni salad. My friend got a regular loco moco and subbed one rice for mac salad as well. We both requested gravy to be on the side. The food came out about 5 minutes after ordering. My chicken was super juicy and perfectly crispy on the outside. A super generous portion of meat as well. The gravy is a bit on the salty side in my personal opinion, which was fine since I asked for it on the side, so I just dipped. My friend also enjoyed his loco moco. The service is amazing-- warm smiles and lots of enthusiasm. If I lived closer to the area, I would definitely come frequently! Overall I had a great time there eating dinner and would highly recommend you give this spot a try for wholesome vibes and filling food.

I am a fan! This was my first time here and I took it to-go, but even after a 20+ minute train ride it was still hot, crispy, delicious chicken! There were plenty of tables to eat inside as well. Service was friendly and fast, I recommend!

Solid Hawaiian bbq spot! They have all the usual fare and are quick bite to eat with expected massive portions!!! Share a plate and still feel full.

Stopped by recently for lunch with my wife. We both had BBQ combos. Enjoyed the chicken, beef, and macaroni salad, but not too fond of the ribs. Friendly and efficient service, and well priced.

I ordered pick-up on the Yelp app with a friend, and our food was ready when we arrived 15 minutes later. It's quite small inside, and it seems most people take-out, with the walls lined boxes and supplies I think it would be difficult for larger groups to come to stay and eat their food. The man at pickup was super friendly and everything was packaged perfectly and HOT! Chicken Katsu Mini: $15.55, this was my dish and despite being marketed as mini this was the perfect amount of food for me. A very generous portion of katsu that was hot, with the best light crisp and moist, tender chicken inside. The mac salad was good too! Loco Moco Mini: $15.95, this was my friend's dish, and I was told it was pretty average; good but not super notable. Probably good if you have a craving for loco moco while in the inner sunset! Musubi Combo: $13.99, we split this and these musubi are BIG. Again, my favorite was the katsu which was just so perfectly made. TLDR, come here for the chicken katsu, it's really good. Quick and easy takeout that you can tell is made to order. I've already been back twice :)

It would be four stars if the shirt ribs were more tender. But the katsu is consistently good. And I approve of the katsu sauce (Hawaii girl here lol). I've never eaten in the restaurant, I've only ordered delivery and my food is always packed well. Whenever I'm craving for chicken katsu, Mahalo is my go-to.

I love this place! Ive gotten takeout from here many times so im not sure about seating. I usually get the chicken katsu with mac salad. Their mac salad has to be one of the best ones i've ever had! I would recommend this place if you love chicken katsu.

We Have A Good Bruch Yesterday Tuesday Feb 18,2025 As We Came From The SF Botanical Garden And Decided To Order A Loco Moco The Food Serving Was Good And The Service Was Great And The Ambience Was Super As We Were Seated To Enjoy Our Food.

I was looking for some breakfast food and Mahalo caught my eye with the food pics in the window. I enjoyed being there, but I was the only person dining in. Seems like they mostly do carry out. The man who took my order was really nice and I liked the feel of it being a small, independent business. Like I said, I wanted breakfast. I had M's special: French toast, bacon, two eggs, and hash browns. $11.95 before tax and tip. It was all pretty good. The hash browns were like the kind you get at McDonald's, but they were OK. They do not serve coffee! Crazy, right? I thought Hawaii was known for its great coffee. Oh well. Bring your own coffee if you want it with your breakfast.

Even though 9th Ave has always had a solid variety of cuisines represented, one thing that I used to always pine for was a Hawaiian eatery. Sure, there's Ono way down Sloat and a handful of options that have come and gone in the Richmond, but I always wished there were more options around this part of the city. So, when I first discovered Mahalo a few years back, I was stoked to eventually come and check them out. Clearly, a global pandemic and, admittedly, my own forgetfulness of them contributed to it taking longer than it should have, but I finally made it! It's just a shame that things seem to have gone south between my first and second visit... Based purely on appearance, Mahalo probably doesn't make the greats of impressions. It's not shabby looking by any means, but everything feels pretty bare (though, to be fair, it's more of a to-go spot/order at the counter than a full service restaurant). That having been said, what does look pretty impressive is the menu. Not only do they have a surprisingly wide array of Hawaiian BBQ favorites (including Kalua Pork and Garlic Shrimp!), you can also enjoy them in several ways - rice plates, bowls, and even salads. What's more, they also have a full slate of breakfast offerings too, ranging from your basic Eggs & Bacon, to Loco Moco, to even Portuguese Sausage, Eggs, and Rice, which isn't something you often see on the mainland. -- (A4) HALF & HALF COMBO - Chicken Katsu and Kalua Pork with White Rice and Mac Salad...$15.75 (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mahalo-san-francisco-4?select=NapbN9frnAvNquWBjJsbRw) As excited as I was to see Kalua Pork offered (most places don't have it), it was a miss. Even for Kalua Pork, it was fairly salty and not very flavorful otherwise. As for the Chicken Katsu, it wasn't very juicy on the inside, but it was really crispy and the portion was generous. -- (D1) CHICKEN CUTLET WITH GRAVY - Golden Crispy Breaded Chicken Topped with a Special Brown Gravy with White Rice and Mac Salad...$13.95 (Regular) (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mahalo-san-francisco-4?select=5RAn8yopkGZ3aQ-IHI3s4Q) Thank goodness the sauce was actually on side and not on top. In part so that the chicken stayed crispy, but mostly because it was so salty! Sadly, I couldn't avoid it entirely either, as the Chicken Katsu needed something to go with it. While the Chicken Katsu was decent both times I had it, one thing that my friend and I noticed from our first visit here is how the food seems to have gotten quite a bit saltier. It's one thing that the Kalua Pork was salty before (it's inherently salty, though theirs very much so), but between the brown gravy and my friend's shortribs, we both found ourselves reaching for our drinks just a couple of bites in. Also, on a related note, they don't offer free tap/iced water - just bottled water, soda, and Hawaiian soft drinks you have to pay for. Given how they're the only Hawaiian joint in the immediate area and how the menu has so much to offer, I had high hopes for Mahalo and genuinely believe the food here has some potential. It very well could've just been an off night for them too, but it's hard to look past how the food seems to have dropped off too. At some point, I'm sure I'll give them another chance to see if things have turned around. However, for the time being, TWO AND A HALF STARS rounded down is probably the most fitting.

The people working are so nice but the food was so off putting. The flavors and textures were wrong for me but they might be well received by others! I love Hawaiian food and this just didn't hit the mark

I went here on my lunch break for a loco moco & spam musubis. It took waaaaay longer than I expected. Almost 15 minutes waiting. For the spam musubi I would give a 4/5 knocked it out of the park on flavor but they both fell apart after 1 bite. The loco moco 2/5. It filled me up. No flavor or seasoning on the rice, eggs or patties. Gravy sauce was frozen, couldn't be poured. Dissapointing. Patties were WELL done. Beyond having any flavor left in the beef. Macaroni salad, 1/5 I think something was expired in this item because I had speedy indigestion afterwards. Not nice. I'll try it again. I think this was just a one-off.

Popped in this non ambiance style food place for lunch as an alternative to my first choice which was closed. I ordered the BBQ Mix Plate chicken & short ribs The chicken was moist and flavorful short ribs were a little chewy but flavorful The rice and Mac salad were common no special differences from other similar Hawaiian spots The service was very pleasant and professional the gentleman behind the counter was playing video games to keep himself occupied but promptly stopped when I came in I approached that. I may go back to try other menu items.

Loved their spam musubi and chicken katsu Their sauce .... is amazing as well as the Mac salad Fast service when you are hungry this is so important

We absolutely loved this place! We ordered the Hawaiian BBQ Short Rib, Beef, & Chicken (Combo) which I recommend if you want to try all the meats to see which is your favorite. This plate is shareable but if you have a large appetite, you can definitely finish it yourself like my hubby did. We also ordered their mango smoothie with boba and an order of pork lumpia. The mango smoothie was creamy and smooth and the boba was perfectly soft and delicious. Everything tasted great! We're definitely coming back to try the rest of the items.

Review regarding a strange observation while waiting for a different restaurant to open: a person leaving this place to rummaging through trash bins in the area to collect recyclable items. This individual was wearing a black kitchen apron and entered this place with her loot (a few cans and a cooking oil plastic jug, savaged from trash cans around the street). We have no guarantee this person works there. Recycling is great but probably not doing it elbow-deep in trash while between shifts as a cook.

Mahalo! Ordered the F1 grilled Spam Masubi, F4 Portuguese Sausage Masubi, & F5 Masubi Combo. My go-to take out for a quick healthy lunch nearby Golden Gate Park. If you are weary of trying Spam, Mahalo will change your palate!

After having visited Kauai, Hawaii Mahalo is a great reminder of the delicious food I enjoyed! Great food for a great price (also decently sized dishes so awesome for leftover lovers!)

We tried Mahalo! a while back via delivery, and it was very average experience. It could be that we ordered the wrong things. Not a bad option, but our experience was not exciting.

Ordered delivery, very small scoop rice and tiny scoop of mac salad with chicken. Very tasteless except for salt, salt salt.

Good food, big potions, and very kind service . I will return to try more items on the menu!

Ordered from here Christmas Day! One of the few restaurants open during the holidays! The garlic fish was so flavorful, super garlicky and the macaroni salad was super creamy, and satisfying. Honestly love macaroni with mayo so ordered extra as a side. Also got the musubi combo which consisted of 1 spam, 1 Portuguese's sausage, 1 chicken katsu and 1 bbq chicken. Super worth it to try all the different types of musubi! My favorite was the chicken katsu! The atkins place was good as well, the chicken was great, beef was good and the two eggs were made perfectly as well!

My friend had mentioned this place to me before about how you can get a huge plate of food for a decent price. We went there for a late lunch around 1:30-2PM and the place was empty. We got our pick of a table and the waitress brought over two menus and water. Here's what we ordered: 1. Loco Moco (regular size) [mine] 2. Chicken Cutlet with Gravy (Regular size) [his] I'm not usually a fan of macaroni salad, but I think since I was super hungry that day, it tasted alright to me. I enjoyed my loco moco dish. The yolk was runny, the burger patties were hot; mixed all of that with the rice and gravy and oh gosh my stomach was so happy. It was a good amount of rice and gravy to protein; I ended up cleaning my entire plate. I grabbed a few pieces of the chicken cutlet (which there was a lot of!) and they were lightly fried, chicken inside juicy. They have quite a large selection of food to choose from and it's very affordable. Will definitely be back to try other things!

Food was hot but very salty had the Kasu sandwich. Went to the bathroom which it through the kitchen and pass the refrigerator. Passing the refrigerator and older lady had a pan filled with uncovered marinated chicken sitting on the floor in front of the frig. She picked it up so I could pass but there was juice from the marinade I had to step in on the way to the bathroom. The people there are very nice, but I won't return.

This place is one of my favorite places to order lunch delivery while I'm at work. The serving sizes are great and the food is delicious. I buy lunch for coworkers occasionally and this place always delivers. The mixed barbecue plate is definitely worth the money and is honestly two meals in one, maybe three if you don't eat much. They have spam misubi which is a guilty pleasure of mine, so I would highly recommend this place for the delicious food.

Excellent chicken, Mac salad, Kim chi, Portuguese sausage musubi. A-ok short ribs and spam musubi. Look for parking in the residential streets though and walk in. Service was friendly and helpful.

Good price, tasty mix plate -combo family meals. Healthy choices too. Fast, good service.

First time going to Mahalo. My grandkids wanted musubi for dinner, so I thought I'd support a small family restaurant. I ordered 3 Spam, 3 grilled chicken, and 1 Portuguese sausage musubi for a variety. I was a bit disappointed with the presentation of the musubi; it was not put together well and looked rather raggedy. I also prefer the rice to be more heavily seasoned and the Spam to be a bit thicker. The Spam and grilled chicken musubi were each $6.95 for three pieces and the one Portuguese sausage musubi was (I think) $2.95. Just okay... nothing to go out of my way for.

Mmm, Loco moco sounds good in the morning , huh? Staying at a hotel close by, bf and I were craving this. Ordered through Door dash. Can't go wrong with Loco moco, right? We were wrong. The beef was dry, there wasn't enough gravy, the mac salad had a strange taste, like from the plastic it was wrapped in? Saran wrap? It just had an odd plastic taste. My bf didn't notice it until I said something. He said "oh yeah, taste like cellophane". Kalbi is dry as well. Tough. I liked the rice though. Thai tea and Hawaiian sun was acceptable. Not horrible, but not great either.

Walking around the area and bumped in to this place .. I'd say for the price and the food choices!!! It's worth the find.. Their Kailua pork is good .. I order it to go because of the pandemic.. it good and very reasonable...I'd go back to the the Locomoco for breakfast for sure .. mahalo Nui e mahalo

Place is always empty, service barely there. They just take ur order and put the order in the front for you to grab. I always come here before I go to work. I've always enjoyed the bbq chicken and spam musubi, but the spam musubi barely has any spam, it's 10% spam and 90% spam basically. But taste wise, I would come back.

Don't order from this place unless you want to get price gouged for so called bag fee. $5 charge for all to-go pick up orders. They explained that it's the charge for box and bag fee. I'm all for supporting local businesses and willing to pay a small fee for to-go orders but to profit from the "bag fee" is unethical and ridiculous. Also, I didn't get an itemized receipt up front and had to request for it since the charge for two items seemed high. I would bet many people paid without knowing about their so called bag fee and didn't realized they were gouged.

Mahalo is decent for what it's worth. While not amazing, it's not terrible either. If you find yourself craving Hawaiian BBQ but not L&L's or Ono's then Mahalo does well. You go in, order, they serve you and then leave you alone for the rest of your meal. Nothing too crazy. I will say that my loco moco wasn't particarly amazing. The gravy wasn't too flavorful or anything so I'm not quite sure what happened there. But there's plenty to choose from: your typical bbq items, spam musubi, loco moco, katsu, and so on and so forth. It's low key here but it's quiet and empty so there's never going to be a wait.

Catered from Mahalo today using ezcater and I HAVE to give them 5 stars for serious all around great service and professionalism! Their order arrived perfectly on time and totally accommodated our order even though it was in a random picnic area of Golden Gate Park! They came with a wagon and actually arrived so early they ran into us on our way into the park! They were super friendly and even helped us move our folding table and some bags to the picnic site. It was about a half mile walk and they were SO generous about helping us - it truly was going the extra mile! I got wonderful feedback about the food - most delicious dishes from the order was the macaroni salad, garlic shrimp and chicken katsu! The spam musubis had sooo much rice - probably a bit more rice than I'm used to, but people really loved it anyway! Great portions, fantastic service and super reliable in getting us there. THANK YOU so much for really going above and beyond the call of duty to help us out!!

i've just recently started working over in this area. A lot of amazing restaurants I must say. Can't wait to try them. I was starving and was recommended by my manager this place. I got Chicken Katsu today. Amazingly delicious The food had so much flavor and they put so much which now I can have for lunch !! Definitely coming back

Good amount of food for the price! I got half half with bbq chicken and bbq short ribs. The food was really good and just what I was craving. It comes with two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad. The macaroni is a little overcooked but not terribly so. Overall, this is a great place to takeout or get delivered. Very satisfied!

$10 for 3 fatty stacked masubi (Spam, BBQ chicken, katsu, or sausage). Usually I get to go and stroll and eat while others watch with drool!

I really enjoy this place! A no frills Hawaiian comfort food joint in the Inner Sunset, I am particular fond of the BBQ mixed plate, although the spam musubis are the best I've found outside of specialty musubi purveyors. I've been here several times for a mid-day meal, and their COVID-era service is just as fast, efficient, and tasty as usual.

Great Hawaiian food in the city! I love the crispy breading for the chicken cutlet! And it's surprisingly affordable in this area. Parking is fine if you look a bit further a couple blocks away in the residential, hilly area.

Short ribs - So damn tough. Flavor was mostly a meh sweet teriyaki sauce. Kalua pork - Mostly dry-ish lean meat with some salt. Mac salad - No.

food was so good and fresh, the portions were more than I could finish. delicious, would recommend.

What I got: Spam musubi Chicken katsu musubi What I thought: It's not that easy finding spam musubi in the city apparently, but glad I found this place while I was near by! Had mad musubi cravings so went on a hunt to find it. The musubi wasn't bad. The spam was tasty(as usual) and the chicken katsu was good as well. Thickness was perfect and extra crispy! A few things I didn't like was that there was prob a tad too much rice. I also wish that there was more seaweed wrapping the insides. There's only a small layer of seaweed and after the first bite it was a bit hard to keep together. Other than that, I thought the musubi was aite.

I love this place when I'm in town! But tonight was a flop I ordered food for here and they said sit where ever I like. Brought the food to meet in a bag, so I sat there eating with plastic utensils out of a to-go bag. Then seen my fries old and burned, garbage. I only ate less than half. Almost finished my meal and had to ask for water. Then returned to the counter to pay for my meal. ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE TONIGHT! (Don't go at 8:20pm when they wanna go home) Get it together guys! Mahalo

Bomb ass food, huge portions & friendly non-authoritarian service. God bless these guys!

I've been to Mahalo many times and am never disappointed!! I am part Hawaiian and have been eating classic Hawaiian dishes my whole life, and this is my go-to spot. I also recently had them cater my birthday party and it was the best experience. The ordering process was easy, they were super helpful and even called me the day before to confirm. Everyone loved the food, so much so that I had no leftovers. And there was ALOT. Can't wait to order more. :)