Island Grill

I was running late for the movie and decided to have my friend order something simple for me. She ordered BBQ Chicken but when I got there, I did not see BBQ Chicken. I doubled check with my friend that she ordered BBQ Chicken and not Shoyu Chicken. Then again she’s from Iceland, she wouldn’t know what Shoyu Chicken is, let alone order it. It felt like slow cooker chicken that was soft and not crunchy BBQ Chicken that was on the grill. The «BBQ Chicken» didn’t taste bad but just not BBQ Chicken like I was looking for.
Really sad as I would love to find some Hawaiian food I can be proud of, this isn’t it. Maybe my problem is that I’m thinking it’s Hawaiian food just because they are called Island Grill and they have decors that reminds me of Hawaii, but maybe it’s some other island.

If I had a choice of giving no stars I would have done it. I ordered BBQ Chicken Plate and what I got in the end didn’t look or taste like it. It had the texture of BBQ Pulled Pork, but taste like watered down BBQ sauce with a dash of soy sauce. It was awful, but I was willing to give them another shot. I wanted to return what I got and in exchange get a Loco Moco. What they did next annoyed me the most, their Customer service. When I spoke to the person behind the register, she gave me attitude that I wanted to return something that I didn’t like. She then spoke to who I think was the owner, then she turns back to me and states, we’ll give you 10% off of your next order. Basically, no refund and I have to pay AGAIN!
I would like to say thank you Island Grill, because I am never going back to your food stand and I’ll make the extra effort to purchase food elsewhere. I had a terrible experience and all you needed was a hint of customer service and to fix the situation.
My rating is one Star but my true rating is 0.

This place is okay.
The kalua pork is quite good. It is moist, flavorful and served properly with the cabbage and all. I’d give the kalua pork a solid four stars and would definitely like to eat it again.
The mac salad is passable, but not terrific. It tastes a bit heavy on the mayo and light on everything else, with the end result being that it is a bit on the boring side. It isn’t gross or anything like that, but it is a little bland, at least to my taste.
The rice was a little on the dry side. Again, it wasn’t horrible or inedible or anything like that– just slightly dry.
The portion size was very generous. It felt a little expensive for a plate lunch, but hey, it is Bellevue.
I’m pleased that I stumbled across a place to get plate lunch on the Eastside. I’ll be back for more when I have another craving for Hawaiian comfort food.

Place was pretty underwhelming when they first opened, but have improved quite a bit since then. They are pretty quick with the service, even on busy days (at least the times I’ve been there, YMMV), and the food taste decent for mall food. It’s a bit on the salty side, but if you are craving this kind of food, it does what it needs to do.

The kalua pork is super tasty. Wasn’t a fan of the BBQ beef — it was a bit fatty for my tastes — but the few times I’ve gotten the pork it’s been delicious.

Portion size was a bit small but the food was good, probably the best in the Crossroads mall food court in my opinion.

Best Hawaii food in Bellevue! I use to live in Hawaii for few years. I love the food here.

My sister and I made our first visit to this place on 8÷28÷15 and it wasn’t good. The coconut prawns were dry and small. The pineapple chicken was better but not by much. We won’t be back for a second visit.

Hawaiian soul food in the middle of a Bellevue mall! This place is fabulous. I ordered the combo plate of Kahlua pork and BBQ chicken, and they were both tender, juicy and flavorful. Large portions. Remind me of the food at the Honalua store in Maui, back when that good was great before ABC stores took it over.

A bit pricey for sub par food! Tried their loco moco and it was enh. My eggs were way overcooked on the bottom and I found a piece of wax paper in my food. (I think it was from the beef patties) The mac salad was the worst I’ve ever had. It does not taste like mac salad from Hawaii at all! I would not come back. If you’re looking for better Hawaiian food I would go to Kona Kitchen.

Their Loco Moco is really good! I agree this place was a little hit and miss in the begining when they opened, but now they are consistent and delicious!

I feel like they must have changed their kalua pork recipe since most of the reviews were posted because its pretty darn good. Tastes almost exactly the same as pig fresh outta da ground! Not sure about the rest of the menu, but the pork is great!

For some reason every time I go to the Crossroads mall I end up eating here. It’s been three times and every time I have the loco moco (at least I think that’s what it is called) which is two burger patties topped with fried eggs and gravy and served with macaroni salad and rice.
Each time I have really looked forward to it and each time I have been sorely disappointed. The rice is always sticky and over cooked but otherwise the food tastes pretty good. The reason I have been so disappointed is that every single time the day after eating there I am sick to my stomach. If it had been once I would say it was unlikely to be related, twice looks likely but three times? Well it seems clear it is related.
I love Hawaiian food and there are very few places in the area so I had been hopeful it would be good. Looks like I need another trip back to hawaii to get authentic food!

Yeah, this place is not that bad entirely. It was pretty terrible as they were experimenting when they first opened but they have gotten better.
They make up for the amount of food given and the effort they give. It is unfortunate and odd that there are no food options for Hawaiian fair in the area. Also, they seem pretty open to feedback to make changes. I don’t think they know exactly what we expect from Hawaiian foods.. . but they do fill a void in the area.
The mac salad is definitely something I avoid here. If they sold standard QFC mac salad it would be better than the stuff they give. Yes, mac salad is very important in a local Hawaiian meal!
Anyway, they seem distant in service with some people I think because they are just quiet and Asian. They seem very timid but they do have a couple of younger workers with lots of energy. It depends on the time of day on scheduling and the area is a bit loud so you need to make your presence known.
Over all the bland taste everyone is talking about on here is very much the theme of this place. Someone needs to help them so we can have some decent Hawaiian food please. I’m no cook so I’m rubbish.

To be honest the place wasn’t that bad. I mean one its a food court so already my expectations weren’t the highest. Two Hawaiian good is meant to be filling and Island Grill certainly satisfied that.
I got the BBQ chicken and kalua pig combo got an extra side of Mac salad. I was satisfied with my purchase. Being from Hawaii my expectations of the rice and salad could have been a little bit better but like I said manage your expectations its a food court

I came here tonight with my husband and kids. I got #5 Kalua pork with macaroni salad and my husband got the # 10 shorts ribs and coconut shirmp with macaroni salad. My dinner was just okay. The kalua pork tasted okay but it’s nothing I will come back for. It was boring. The macaroni salad wasn’t that great either. I also ordered a coke, no free refills on drinks. Which is how it is for most places in crossroads. This places wasn’t an exception.
I gave this places a few stars because my husband actually liked his short ribs and coconut shrimp.

Wow. We made the decision to come to this place before I checked reviews. After I placed my order, I sat down to check-​in on Unilocal and I saw all the negative reviews.
I do have to say that the food was better than most people have said. Maybe they’ve stepped it up? We got the chicken BBQ and short ribs and kalua pork, and we had to try the spam musubi.
The chicken was juicy, but got old fast. We didn’t finish eating it. The macaroni, true to all the reviews, was really boring and just flavorless and mayo-​y. The short ribs were decent. I’ve had better, but there was a good amount of meat provided. I saw another reviewer post up a seriously sad picture of just the rib bone parts with barely any meat. So at least there’s that. The kalua pork was decent, at least the 4 shreds of it that I got.
The spam musubi did not use sweet rice. The rice also tasted dry, so this was not freshly made for sure.
The food was just «okay». I wouldn’t come back, especially not with so many other tried and true eats surrounding this place. The prices are pretty horrendous for the amount of food that you get.
Do not recommend.

The guy at the register was an asshole. He wouldn’t even acknowledge me when I stood there and it seemed to me that he may have been a cook used to being in the back who was forced to man the till while the regular person went out to smoke a bong or something. Who knows. Anyway, once he condescended to look at me, I tried to order the BBQ shredded pork + cabbage, but it turned out that they were out of pork. Okay. So I ordered the Hawaiian Chicken BBQ instead because the guy recommended it after some prying. My boyfriend ordered the Coconut shrimp.
The non-​social register guy, now cooking our meals, then didn’t bother to holler at my boyfriend — who was sitting right next to the place — that the food was ready. I went to go buy something at the Crossroads QFC and I came back to find the man just kind of standing there looking into our general direction expectantly, not saying a word.
The food itself: My BBQ chicken was immensely flavorful (it reminded me of sweet teriyaki) and tender, so I give it credit for that! But the macaroni salad was tasteless and the portions were too small, I feel for the amount that I paid. My boyfriend’s coconut shrimp was alright but it tasted like I could have bought the same thing at QFC for half the price and cooked it at home.
I’d wanted to try this place for a while but that guy’s social skills sucked, and there was nothing there to make up for it. Mall food indeed.

When I checked into Island Grill, I got the «Maverick» Badge: «Because ratings are overrated, because you go your own way… You’re dangerous. Yeah dangerous… and there’s a badge for that.»
My first thought, «Oh !@#!#%»
And here’s why Island Grill would be an easy way to check in for a Maverick Badge:
1. It takes a while to order. They’re not the fastest.
2. They may not have enough materials to make things off of their menus. We were told to order something else after 5 minutes when they realized they couldn’t make it. We ordered something that costed less, but they didn’t offer to refund the difference. It wasn’t enough for us to argue after already waited that long.
3. The short ribs were really sad, mostly bones. The meat was really TOUGH.
4. The Mac Salad was just mac and bland watery mayo. Mac Salad should not be swimming in a white puddle.

Finally! After writing numerous reviews asking for one, it has come to fruition. There is now a Hawaiian barbecue place on the Eastside.
Island Grill is located in the food court at Crossroads in Bellevue. It is now in the spot where a couple barbecue joints, Jones and Burney’s was located.
The menu is fairly simple. It contains seven Hawaiian favorites, three combo choices, sandwiches and musubis. Interestingly saw BBQ chicken musubi on the menu. It always seems like Hawaiian places just have Spam musubi on the menu. Lastly, there is also a kids menu for the keikis.
Decided to get a combo to try out more than one item. Got the BBQ chicken and beef combo plate ($ 8.75) which comes with a choice of macaroni or green salad. Mac salad seems like the default choice as I was not asked about which one I wanted.
Took the plate lunch to go and the first thing I noticed is that it was surprisingly light. In Hawaii, plate lunches are known for its ginormous portions. Sometimes, enough food for two meals.
The combo here has portions like the other food court places at Crossroads. Filling, but not enough to make a second meal from. Thus, the meat portions are a bit smaller and there is only one scoop of rice.
Flavor wise, the meats were okay. BBQ chicken has the flavor part down, but a bit too much sauce. Also it didn’t have the grill marks of Hawaiian BBQ, so it was a bit more like teriyaki chicken Hawaiian style. The beef was okay, but I would go for the short ribs which are $.20 more if you get a combo. The mac salad was good and has a nice consistency. Some versions of mac salad have tasted a bit funky with unneeded extras like celery and carrots. This version is classic which is how I like it.
It is not the best Hawaiian barbecue that I have had in the Seattle area, but I will take it. Better than nothing. No longer do I have to go to a teriyaki joint if I am looking for a meat and rice plate on the Eastside. I can go to Island Grill to fill this need instead.