Ben’s Huli Huli Chicken & Hawaiian Cafe

Taking me back to Kihei, Maui.
Love me some huli huli chicken…
Kit treats his customers like true Ohana.
I will def be back!

Had our first lunch here and thoroughly enjoyed it! Food was tasty and flavorful, atmosphere is fun and feels like Maui, and the owner was extremely friendly. I had the shrimp and my husband had the ginger beef which were both surprisingly delicious. I love that this place is here. We will definitely go back when we need a little dose of the islands (complete with real Hawaiian shave ice)!

First time at Ben’s Huli Huli Chicken. Saw the catering truck and got the address from it. It’s a new location, previously only did catering, but its a step above L&L Hawaiian BBQ. Carrie had the mixed plate. Half chicken and Char Su pork. Came with rice and mac salad. I had kalua pork with cabbage, it came with the same sides. Signature chicken was moist and tender with good flavor. Kalua pork was chopped, ok flavor, not smokey. New thing we had was pineapple water, very refreshing and cool. Fair first visit, hope they get better as they settle in

Food was delicious and healthy. We bought the Aloha combination plate– 2 pieces of moist, flavorful Huli Huli chicken, rice with toasted coconut sprinkled on top (so tasty), macaroni salad, piece of fresh pineapple and shaved ice! Staff was friendly and generous with the portions. They let us pick out 4 flavors on the shaved ice which were all tasty. All at an affordable price of $ 15. It fed me and my daughter. We will be regulars here.

*** Updated review ***
I was hoping for a better experience today since my last visit 7 months ago didn’t really knock my socks off. Sad to say– I was less impressed this time around.
I chose the ginger beef ($ 10.00), and I was disappointed. The flavor was OK, but the meat was tough and overdone –sort of like beef jerky. The meat came with a scoop of clumpy, mushy rice, and a macaroni salad that was bland and mediocre at best.
My kids shared a combination meal with chicken and pork. The pork had a red kool-​aid looking sauce over the top that was not pleasant at all. Aside from the nasty red liquid, the meat itself was over-​done. I understand that you don’t want to under-​cook pork — but really? The chicken was under-​seasoned, and tough. I would not recommend this dish at all.
For dessert, we opted for the pineapple shaved ice. I am happy to say that this is the only thing that saved our meal.
I am done eating here. I can’t see spending the money for marginal food at over-​inflated prices.

Kit and his team catered my bday at my house with 70 ppl. He brought his bbq trailer and cooked on site. We had chicken, pork, lumpia, and shaved ice. Everything was perfect and the guests all loved it. Staff was very professional and friendly. Highly recommend Kit and his team for your next outdoor party

My family and I tried this for the first time last night. We won’t be coming back. We ordered a wide variety of items off the menu and the only thing that was truly enjoyed was the chicken salad.
All the other items we tried were very bland. So bland that I question if the restaurant ran out of salt.
Besides the salad, we tried tried the loco moco, fried rice, saimin, garlic chicken, and the lumpia. I wouldn’t recommend any of these items to anyone.
They had also run out of spam musubi — which is a family favorite.
It is too bad because there is nothing else like this in Folsom and we really wanted to like it.

Every time I go to Vacaville I always hit up the L&L to get that Loco Moco. When I saw this place here, so close to home, I had to come in and try it. I was not disappointed, it was amazing! I was also delighted to see that they have Lumpia, another tough dish to find! Had to try them and again, delicious! Was also greeted at the table by a guy that I can only guess is the owner. Super friendly, thanked us for coming in.
This will be a regular stop for us from now on!

First thing to say is GET THE GINGER BEEF! It’s amazing. We stopped in here for lunch after working in the area and left very full! The owner was awesome as well which is what a lot of restaurants are missing now days. Not one thing we had here was bad. Also try tigers blood flavor shaved ice! We will be back!

I don’t know Hawaiian food, but just had some delicious teriyaki ginger beef. One of my daughters wanted musubi and the other was craving macaroni salad. Both were said to be good. This is such a friendly place – everyone was so helpful for our first time here. We were even given a free shaved ice for dessert. It was POG, which was passion fruit, orange, and guava, which was fantastic. Thanks for making our first visit exceptional.

My mom and I came to Ben’s for dinner a couple nights ago. The atmosphere was very «chill” — it was picnic table style seating and the staff were all in aloha shirts!
The pineapple chilled water looked very tasty, but I’d brought my own iced tea.
I was debating between the fried rice or the chicken salad– and the girl behind the register informed me that they’d ran out of fried rice for the day (it was only 6 pm!). Very sad, but it made my choice easy– the chicken salad was very delicious, and not too bad at $ 6 :)
My mom got the red pork, which she loved (said the meat was very high quality). We also split an order or lumpia (pork), they had so much flavor!
I’d definitely go back here as the food was top notch, but I would say that you shouldn’t expect «fine dining» at this place.

Got the combo plate which had rice, Hawaiian salad, a chicken leg, and BBQ pork. Also got musubi. Musubi was good. I liked it the most. Everything else was ok. Food was warm when it came out so after a minute it was getting cold. Overall, service was okay, chicken and pork was just okay, and musubi was good but I felt like for the amount of food we got, it was not worth $ 17.
2.5 stars just bc it was my first time eating musubi and I liked it.

The only Hawaiian-​theme restaurant I know of here in Folsom. The thought of «Hawaiian BBQ» reminds me of L&L Hawaiian BBQ. This place is very different compared to the usual Hawaiian BBQ places I’ve been to. I believe nothing is cooked to order (most of the meats are cooked by a big batch and kept warm and served throughout the day). This is not today that their food is not fresh. Their meats, especially the chicken, is so soft and tender, I believe it’s a long process of making it.
A Huli chicken plate comes with 2 pieces of chicken (usually on the smaller side), rice topped with coconut flakes, side of salad, and a juicy piece of pineapple. I always ask for a side of their chicken sauce. The price for a plate is a little on the expensive side. Other Hawaiian BBQ would usually price their equal size plates to Huli’s at around $ 8 – 10. Here at Huli’s, it’s $ 10 – 12. I don’t know how often I would pay $ 10 – 12 for 2 small pieces of chicken as the main part of my plate…
Some tips I might offer the owners would be to cook-​to-​order spam musubi’s. (Their spam musubi’s are made, wrapped, and is in the warmer. This results in very soggy rice and spam. Also, I understand the overpricing may be to kick start their business, but as best as they can, a rework of prices/​portions should be reworked.

This is our first time here. I ordered the Loco Moco with sunnyside up egg. Wow, the hamburger was a tiny burnt overcooked HOCKEY PUCK!! The egg wasn’t runny and overcooked! EVERYTHING needed salt. I asked for Iced Tea and they don’t have any. A true sign of a cheapskate owner is that there is no Fountain Drinks only cans or bottles so you cannot have refills! And to boot the bottles are the 16 ounce size not 20 ounce for $ 2! The most common hot sauce is Tobasco which of course they didn’t have. My wife tried the Huli chicken. She got 2 little overcooked dried up, dark meat by the way, little pieces of chicken, ONLY 1 scoop of dry rice and tasteless mac salad. Where is the salad from the other photos?!! For $ 11 too! This is so far from Hawaiian it’s not funny! It’s so obvious the Owner traded the Hawaiian Spirit for profit and it’s far from Ono!
There are other reviews saying the same thing, SMALL PORTIONS and OVER PRICED. As of today, he has not done anything to give larger portions or lower his price. So all of his responses mean nothing!
The tables were so dirty we had to wipe it ourselves. If you’re looking for Hawaiian food this isn’t anywhere near Hawaiian. Just cause he may be from Hawaii, they dress Hawaiian and it’s décor is Hawaiian sure DOESN’T MEAN it’s Hawaiian! The old saying: Don’t judge the book by its cover!

My husband and I were taking a bike ride on Folsom-​Auburn road when Ben’s Huli Huli Chicken caught our eye.
We love Hawaiian food, mainly I do because it brings me back to my childhood roots. So, needless to say, I was very excited to see a Hawaiian food place so close.
My husband and I weren’t very hungry so we shared a combo plate. The Huli Huli chicken was seriously great. It had such a sweet succulent flavor. It wasn’t overly sweet, it was just right. My husband got the pork, at least I think that’s what he got. I didn’t eat any of his, but Kit, the owner called it meat candy. My husband really loved it and was craving it last night right before bed.
Mac salad was great with the green onions, which gave it a nice flavor. And I always love sticky Hawaiian rice. Coconut gave it a little flare too.
Kit bought us a Passion Orange Guava (POG) shave ice, which totally hit the spot. Our experience was awesome.
The best part was definitely Kit’s welcoming attitude and genuine personality. You can tell he takes pride in his business and truly appreciates his customers. I feel like he really went above and beyond to make our experience memorable.
We will be back soon, the spam musubi is calling my name.
Aloha!

Food is really good. Very authentic. You feel like you were transported to a real hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant in Hawaii.
The owner greeted us with a friendly smile as soon as we walked in. And offered a free small shaved ice after our meal.
The interior looks like they still need to finish some tile work and the food was served on styrofoam plates. There is room to improve, but they are off to a great start.

The sign out front reads Ben’s Hawaiian Café and is also known as Ben’s Huli Huli Chicken.
I’ve had some «authentic» Hawaiian bbq but never had Huli Huli (apparently a sauce used to baste the meat while grilling over flames). I came in at lunch for the Huli Huli chicken but this specialty was sold out for the day. Huh.
Instead, I ordered, to go, the Teriyaki Ginger Beef lunch that came with rice and macaroni salad (or a green salad, if you prefer). Many of the lunch plates are $ 9 with a few at $ 11. The Teriyaki Ginger Beef rounded off to $ 9 even. The meal flared more of Asian than Hawaiian, except for the macaroni salad.
The thinly sliced 1″-2″ long beef was atop a bed of rice lightly coated in a teriyaki ginger sauce. The portion is not large. It was sufficient for my lunch but expect others would find it a bit meager for the price. Good flavor and not chewy. A rounded scoop of rice on one side and a friendly portion of mac salad on the other. The mac salad was not over dressed nor drippy, chopped celery. The macaroni was not over cooked. Overall, a tasty side.
The inside of the restaurant is humble. Not a fancy place but appeared clean and kept up. Also serving shaved ice.
Overall impression is that it was a tasty, fresh, but a little pricey for lunch. Good bbq is generally not inexpensive but I’d class my food experience in a different category than bbq.

I wasn’t really impressed with how much the meal cost, and the shave ice was too sweet. Their service was good though. I got a pink drumstick. I wouldn’t say this is my favorite restruant. — written by my daughter (an up & coming Unilocaler… Yes, we’ll continue to work on spelling!).
Check it out! Really want this place to do well. It’s like eating at a favorite aunt’s house, that lives on da big island. Nothing fancy, just home cooked goodness. You can taste the love… they just need to cook it a little longer. I understand the desire for moist chicken (which it was), but can’t stomach chicken that’s still pink inside. They were very gracious about giving us a new piece though, and the tall haole boy was cute and eager to please.
For $ 11, you get a scoop of rice (optional sweet coconut flakes– not authentic, but tasty! Gives it a nostalgic island feel– like sipping a mai tai on Waikiki!), 2 pieces of delicious grilled chicken, a green salad or scoop of mac salad (both are good), and a piece of fresh pineapple.
If it was $ 8−9/plate, would give it a 4 star rating. $ 11 is a little much to pay for styrofoam. Drop your prices a dollar or so, and hopefully you’ll see gobs of people flocking in to taste your ono aloha chicken.
Shaved ice– super fine – just how we like it! Need more ‘local’ flavors– POG, guava, lilikoi. Ask «Uncle Aaron» in Kapaa, HI for his homemade syrup recipes. Da best!
Love the kids table and easel. Relaxed, casual place. Perfect for picking up a picnic to eat at Folsom Lake. Rooting for you!
UPDATE: Just saw on their FB page they have $ 9 specials and saimin for under $ 5. Gotta go back and check it out. Maybe I’m being too pake! Food is expensive, and all the regulations in CA even more. But that’s another story. Check this place out. Eat local. Love, peace, aloha!

Gave this place a second chance today. I ordered the #1 Huli Huli chicken plate lunch again but this time the nice girl behind the counter offered mac salad as she took my order, so I opted for that instead of the green salad I had last time.
I ordered my meal to go just as I did the previous visit. When I got home I opened the styrofoam box and dug in.
This time around the chicken count remained at two but the pieces were quite a bit larger. A single scoop of rice and a scoop of Mac salad along with a small chunk of pineapple rounded out the meal.
I found the chicken to be much better than before. Not just larger pieces but much more flavor! Very delicious! Smoky with a hint of sweet, juicy, cooked perfectly. The Mac salad had a little case of the blands but wasn’t a bad offering. It has potential.
Now on to the rice. This time it was not at all dry or chewy. Instead, it was overly moist/​wet and the grains just clumped together into a soft mushy lump each time I took a bite. Might be the rice sat in the cooker or warmer too long with the lid shut so it steamed? I don’t know, but I do know that the scoop used by the young man to put the rice in my container came out of a glass of water and I’m sure that moisture didn’t help matters any.
So, as with my last visit I was served great chicken, ok salad and subpar rice. But also as before I had great service with a smile!
This place has a lot going for it. Super friendly staff, unique meat offerings, great location, motivated owners (today Kit was making shave ices, being social with patrons), it’s a great fit in the community, and lots of Aloha!
I truly hope they address the consistency issues and bring it all together.

A taste of Hawaii without paying for the airline ticket! lol
I stumbled upon this place after my co-​worker had said a Hawaiian place was opening in town and I found them on Unilocal.I was immediately taken back to Maui when I walked in as the décor is very reminiscent to the restaurant there. The owner, Kit, immediately greeted us and treated us like family which was very common on my trips to the Islands. Looking at the pictures on the wall I immediately realized it was actually a place I had visited on my last trip to Hawaii.
Needless to say, the food was just as delicious as I remembered. The Huli Huli chicken was cooked to perfection and even thought it’s not on the menu, Kit gave us a combo that included the Pork which was equally as good. With a side of rice with dried coconut flakes and a salad, who could ask for anything else. They have the real deal shaved ice too and there’s other items from Hawaii coming soon to their menu like the Garlic Shrimp (similar to Giavoni’s Shrimp Truck). Once the Garlic Shrimp is added to the menu, Kit may not be able to get rid of me! lol