Lee’s Deli

Takes a special kind of place to ruin a bagel and cream cheese. Tastes like someone dipped it in week old frying oil and forgot to cook it. Totally in edible.

Cor! I got another photo of the moment?! Why, thank you to my friends who liked my photo of the Pork Chop plate at Lee’s Deli. And believe me when I say the pork chops taste as good as they look.
I was in the mood for pork chops when I got into the People’s Republic of Berkeley. I had plenty of time to have lunch before a class. I was thinking of getting an egg sandwich to go until I saw «pork chop plate» on the menu. I decided to order the pork chop plate and eat in instead.
I remember when Lee’s Deli was next door to a Hawaiian eatery called Alohana. I was surprised to see my pork chop plate served on an Alohana plate. Okay, it appears that Lee’s Deli bought Alohana’s menu, equipment and accessories.
The pork chop plate reminded me of the food I ate in Hawaii with rice and macaroni salad. Two big blade pork chops, steamed veggies, a scoop of white rice, and a small scoop of macaroni salad. I quite like the marinade used on the pork chops, very savory. They cooked the pork quite thoroughly. The vegetables could be better, a bit over steamed, al dente – to the teeth – is more ideal. Just sayin’!
I docked Lee’s Deli one star because the plastic knife and fork were not strong enough to slice my pork chops. Quite a struggle cutting and slicing my pork chops. I would appreciate it if they would use stainless steel flatware. It would be better for those of us eating in. I will have to start carrying my own stainless steel flatware if I decide to eat another Hawaiian plate lunch at Lee’s Deli on the spur of the moment.
SYOY!

Went here for the first time since my freshman year. I remembered enjoying it so I was excited to come back. Sadly, what we ordered didn’t meet expectations.
We ordered the tangy orange chicken. I wanted to get the curry chicken Katsu but changed my mind at the last second I changed my mind (definitely regret that now).
The chicken tasted just like frozen chicken and the sauce was pretty disgusting as well. The rice was ok (but it’s pretty hard to mess up rice.). The vegetables were by far the worst part I can’t even describe how inedible they were. We joked that they were the grossest carrots we’ve ever had. Seriously, how could you mess up steamed vegetables THAT much. The saving grace was that our food was cheap so the price matched the quality.
Tl;dr big portions at a cheap price. You get what you pay for; it’s cheap but it’s not good. If you want Hawaiian food go to dot island or wiki wiki if possible. Won’t be back.

I ordered the BBQ Chicken Bowl, which comes with rice and vegetables. The chicken was bland, and the vegetables it came with were tasteless.
The service was lacking too. I asked the cashier for the bathroom key, and he threw it on the counter in front of me. The customer in front of me had her food brought out to her in the seating area where I was too (guess she was a regular?) but I had to go pick mine up at the counter. That’s not a problem for me usually, but I thought it was odd that only some customers get special treatment.
The only good thing is they serve a lot of food, but I’d give my $ 6 elsewhere and am definitely not going back.

I walked a little further on a lunch break and found this place had «hawaiian» food. It interested me since I do love spam masubi and the like. I decided to get food to go getting a hawaiian wrap and a spam masubi. It smelled good but when I got back to take a bite I was utterly disappointed. Spam masubi had weird «teriyaki» sauce in the middle of it which was unappetizing and the wrap was so poorly made. I could make something better. Totally gross.

I had to do an update since corporate got back to me hours after my review was up. They did not respond to my e-​mail that was sent back weeks prior but responded right away after my review on Unilocal.They couldn’t find out what happened to my gift card and fixed the issue and added $ 15 for my trouble of using the card. The original card I got had $ 25 but when I previously used it, it said I had only $ 10. The card was given to me in 2012 but it shows that it was activated in middle of 2013. Hmmmmm… still sketchy to me.
But getting it fixed does not mean the gift card is still easy to use. We ended up calling the Menlo Park location and they said they accepted the card. Since we have had so many issues with the card, we decided to use all of it that day. We ordered our food and then when we handed the card, the employee swiped the card and said that it was not working! This can not be happening again! I explained the situation and said that I know there is money on the card and that I had called previously and to call corporate. The employee ended up walking to the back room and made a phone call. After around 4 minutes he came out and said that he will take the card but he will have to keep the card. Great job on the employee for doing that but boo to it not working like it should again.
The food was good… not great and not bad, just average.
Bottom line: Don’t Buy Their Gift Cards!

Why is it called Lee’s Deli when they serve Hawaiian dishes and have pictures of Hawaii on the ways? Although I cannot speak to whether the dishes are authentically Hawaiian. Also, why are the reviews so low? So many questions. But I will say my experience fits a 4-​star review. I got the chicken curry katsu and I couldn’t finish it. There was so much tasty goodness and the spice was just right. It included veggies, rice, and creamy MACARONI! vs non-​creamy macaroni? All I know is that it balanced out the chicken curry, I was full, and the price was moderately decent.

Came in to try their ramen, stood at the counter for a few minutes while the guys in the back kept looking at me and then I was helped. I ordered the ramen and asked for no daikon and the guy taking my order was like «you mean fish cake?» and pointed to the picture. I meant what I said and I really didn’t appreciate being treated like I don’t know what comes in the dish I’m ordering or better the person taking my order doesn’t know… irritating.
Spent $ 5.55 so I wasn’t planning to be wowed but the noodles were bland and not totally cooked, the broth was plain, I took the cabbage out because it looked tasteless and that was pretty much it, the only thing in the bowl that was actually good was the seaweed.
Bad customer service, long wait time and a bowl of below average ramen, I can make better at home and won’t be back!

Okay, this place wouldn’t survive on Oahu, but for the mainland, it’s acceptable. I have to make my own spam musubi in Milwaukee, so I really enjoyed myself here. There’s an oddly wide range of choices on the menu, most are highly inappropriate for a Hawai’ian joint. And they don’t have poi. But we enjoyed our loco moco, musubi, and chinese style noodle and dumpling soups. Run down, student-​ghetto décor, so it looks like it could be a restaurant in Honolulu, but it’s in Berkeley. I’m going to say it’s the best Hawai’ian restaurant I’ve been to outside of Hawai’i.

I’ve been to Lee’s Deli twice. The first time, I had chicken katsu, and I went home with a upset stomach. Enough Said.
The second time, I was desperate for some Hawaiian food. Because Lee’s Deli was the closest to my workplace, I chose to give it a second chance. I ended up ordered two spam musubis. Not only did the rice instantly fall apart, but the sauce was still cold and the spam tasted weird. I have NEVER EVER had a bad-​tasting spam musubi. Until now.
I definitely will not be coming here again.

Since my last time, I’ve tried their Loco Moco and their club sandwich
both of them were meh.

A Lee’s Deli that serves chicken katsu curry. I found that interesting as the Lee’s Delis in San Francisco only serve sandwiches as far as I know. The chicken katsu was alright, but I barely tasted the curry. I think I will just stick to their sandwiches.

The food is decent and the prices are okay too. The thing that I can’t get over is the lousy service.
There are generally two people that will serve you at the front. A male and a female. The female is incredibly nice and remembers us every time we go in. The male, however is one of the rudest people I’ve ever encountered at an eating establishment. Today he got upset with me for making a small mess while serving myself soup. In the past he’s said rude things to my friends that asked if they accepted debit cards.
The tables in back are dirty and very little attention is paid to cleaning up. The only reason they are still in business is because of the high school kids that pile in at lunch time.
With a million options on Shattuck, I’m going to avoid getting yelled at by these guys.

The food is mediocre at best. The place used to be called Alohana.
The katsu sauce is not very good and comes out straight from the fridge/​freezer. Mine was still a little icey. Sometimes your food comes out a little cold.
Tables in the back are sticky from people unable to keep stuff food on their plate or in their mouth. Sure, you have to bus your own stuff, but someone’s gotta wipe the tables every once in a while.
If you want Hawaiian food, stick with WikiWiki down the street. It’s kind of a far walk which makes it less convenient, but a hell of a step up from this joint.

I was taking a Kaplan class for the GRE across the street and since this place was open, I gave it a try. I ended up coming here a few times because they were quick.
I have tried the chicken katsu and the wontons. The food is just okay.
Service varies depending on the person. The male cashier that I usually see is friendly and efficient. However, one time, a lady cashier helped me and she completely got my order wrong twice and she had to give me a refund and put it in again. When I got my order, I still got the wrong thing. I wanted just wontons but she gave me the wonton soup with noodles. Oh well.
Decent for a quick and relatively cheap meal.

This location sells Hawaiian BBQ! Their chicken katsu is pretty good, and their bowls come with rice and steamed veggies and are super filling! Or if that’s not enough, get a plate for more meat and macaroni salad as well. But I’m not a huge fan of macaroni salad, and the bowls fill me up just fine (since they come with a lot of rice) and are cheaper.
The only downside were there steamed veggies, which seemed overcooked, and not that attractive. But they still did a good job of balancing out the fried chicken.

Having read Unilocal from Ivy R. who just returned for Honolulu and with Vi T. leaving for «The Rock» soon, I was jones’n for a plate lunch. My wing-​man and son rolled over the Lee’s, which was close to my office. The kid order the beef and fried seafood combo and I went with the Loco Moco (bowl).
The tables in the back were, well, sticky. However, when I mentioned it to the server, he quickly cleaned it up.
My son’s combo was huge and include a side of mixed steamed veggie. I tasted the beef and it was a bit too sweet for us Island Boyz. My Loco Moco came in a bowl, which made it hard to navigate with the hamburger patty, fried egg, rice, and macaroni. The gravy was OK. Kinda bland. All this for $ 16?
We left somewhat disappointed with the meal, for it was not the letter from home we’d hoped for. A few days later, still missing the fantasy of a Hawaiian plate lunch, I stopped off at Trader Joe’s, got all of the fix’ns for beef teriyaki ($ 8) and whipped it up at home.
My kid said, «Brok’ Da Mout!» which Kama’aina (locals) say. Meaning «Tastes really delicious and yummy!» I guess we won’t go back to Lee’s.

I occasionally came here just for their BBQ Chicken Bowl or their Katsu Bowls. I always ask for no skin because I don’t like the skin on my chicken and they’ve always remembered so I’ve actually had no complaints with the service here.
The katsu is pretty good, but nothing to write home about. The same for the BBQ chicken. My complaint is that it comes with way too much steamed cabbage. There’s too little meat and way too much cabbage. I would rather get more broccoli and carrots than the cabbage. The Macaroni salad here is pretty yummy though. I’ve tried some of the soups here too and it is just way too salty.
It’s not bad for the price but you can definitely find better. ²⁄₅

Me: arrived downtown on Bart, heading to a show at the Berkeley rep and HUNgry. I just needed something quick and easy. I see the sign for this place (can’t go wrong with bbq and noodles right?!) and thought «perfect — this’ll work»! So I saunter in.
The ordering part could’ve been better. But this is Berkeley, home of some of the most smart scientific minds, so running into two people conversating about some kind of science (artificial intelligence from what it sounded like) is inevitable. It just sucks when you are hungry and are next in line and the cashier is very enamored by that very subject with the last customer… and only a quarter of her attention is on you as she’s taking your order at the same time trying to maintain her convo with Einstein. Something like this for example: «…for here or to go… for here… so you’re working on it tonight… huh… oh I was talking to him…» She haphazardly rings up your order, gives you change then instantly puts back 100% of her attention to Einstein as if you weren’t still standing there and completely neglects to ask you what you want to drink. Gah! How annoying.
Anyway. I ordered the bbq chicken noodle. Not bad. it was actually pretty tasty… until I saw a piece of pink chicken. Eeks! Couldn’t continue eating. :(

Your typical Hawaiian food place. Things here are pretty standard. I’ve tried their chicken katsu, khalua pork, curry chicken katsu, BBQ chicken musubi.
Most of their plates have plate or bowl option. The bowls are generally $ 5 and they are very filling. At first I thought I won’t be getting a salad/​side with my bowl. My friend ordered a spam and egg bowl and it came with a scoop of macaroni salad. I ordered the curry chicken katsu bowl and I got some steamed veggies. They weren’t the best veggies though, I kind of wish I got some macaroni salad instead. The bowls have more rice than the plates. Plates have more meat, it seems like.
Service is pretty okay. The girl that works at the counter is very speedy and nice. The only bad thing I can come up with immediately would be their water cups. Really? Dixie disposable shot glass cups (your local grocery shop would call these the 3oz bath cups). I don’t like how the seats are so far from the soda dispenser where I would finish my water in one gulp and need to constantly refill my water.
Comparing Lee’s with Wiki Wiki, I would choose Lee’s for a slightly better taste and selection in their food. Lee’s do have a friendlier cashier, so if you do care a lot about customer service.