Ground Floor

Will give them a 1 star just because the food is tasty but the waitress was so rude & no apology. …we waited for over a half hour for our food. .some Co –workers came in & sat down after us, they ordered 3 burgers just like us & they got their order before us! We ended up taking our order to go. She then dropped off the order at the table with no expression or apology. …Then when we got to the office, our orders were all wrong! #FAIL!

Came here today (burger Tuesday). Soon as we got in, we seated ourselves. We noticed the utensils were not washed good. It still has food residue on the fork (first strike). We waited around 10 minutes just to get our order taken. Then waited around another 20 minutes just to get our food. Wtf??? (Strike two) The waitress was not friendly at all. The iced tea did not taste like iced tea at all, but rather like stale water (strike three)! Three strikes all before I even got my food! I am soooo not planning on coming here especially during lunch hour.

Good food, cold beer, nice lighting, working air condition. Perfect spot to drink a few before you head home.

Came here on a recent weekday for lunch. It’s only a block away from my office but I hadn’t heard of it until my friend recommended it. The restaurant was nearly empty when we arrived at 11:30. Only one server was working, but she was great, very attentive and friendly. We both ordered salads (the bbq chicken and the taco salad). Both were pretty good, but not really memorable.
What I remember most was that it was hot. Not sure if they were having problems with the a/​c or they just don’t turn it down very far, but it was extremely warm and muggy outside so the walk over was hot and then I continued to sweat through most of lunch. Ick.
The place could definitely use some sprucing up. It feels old and dark and not super clean. I don’t mind that so much in a bar, but for lunch it’s not really my thing (and there are so many other options for lunch in the area). I would check this place out again if I wanted drinks after work or something, but probably wouldn’t have lunch again there.

Oh em eff gee. Why is it so hard to cook a burger medium???
Didn’t expect much when I came here. Passed by here many times since it’s a block from work. Sometimes it’s open, other times it isn’t. Because of their unreliable hours, figured unreliable food.
Their burger came dressed to impress! Ground Floor floored me with their burger! My new favorite burger in downtown!
Toasted soft bun, 8 oz patty, melted cheese, onions, sh*tload of bacon, and that kabayaki sauce. Whatever kabayaki sauce is, it is good shit! The sauce perfectly complemented the beefy taste of the patty and didn’t drown out the other flavors of the burger.
Check out my pic,
. Notice the light, crunchy fries? Ahhh, damn! You want this now, huh?
Life isn’t perfect and neither was this burger. Cook it medium as ordered, dangnabit!
They have a special on Tuesdays for $ 10 burgers. If this applies for the Ground Floor burger, then this is a great deal!
Add a half star and bump this review to 4.5 stars for the cuties working here!
Ground Floor Burger. Try it! You will thank me afterwards!

I only went there for the first time recently and really enjoyed it! Nice atmosphere and pretty good service (it gets crowded between 11:30 — noon, but can’t fault the servers for that). I had the pulehu ribs which were really good! The price point is very good for Downtown. I would definitely return and recommend.

I came here with just one other person because I had passed it a few times and really wanted to check it out. The serving sizes are pretty large but I think it’s meant for a group of people to share. I only got the garlic friends and kalbi. The kalbi was good (thick cuts) but there was nothing special about the fries. The server was very attentive so that was good. I am willing give this place another chance if I come back with at least 4 people to eat. Maybe I would come back just to drink.

Good burgers! Right up there with the best on da island. Great atmosphere, service and prices.

I’m only giving them a 3 star rating based on one experience. Their poke was a little overpriced for the amount they give you. And it was salty for my taste. I wish I had ordered something else then maybe my review would be different. Their garlic chicken was not garlic chicken like. It tasted more peanut like than it did garlic like. The first serve we had was friendly, but I felt like the other server was rushing us.

It’s convienent because I work close by (a block away). I’ve been coming here for a few years and I’ve noticed that with the managment/​ownership the food is relatively the same but prepared differently. For instance, their taco salad no longers comes out in a taco bowl but now just on a plate, with the taco broken into pieces and scattered on top of the salad (a la won strip style on a chinese chicken salad style).
Now I come mainly on Tuesdays becaue it’s Burger Tuesdays. Yes I said Burger Tuesday. For $ 10.00 you can get your choice of burger (Hamburger, Cheese Burger, Teriyaki Burger, Teriyaki Cheese Burger), side of either salad or fries and a soft drink. They don’t ask how you want your burger cooked (i.e. medium rare, well done). Service is slow and not overly friendly — the waitress is nice when taking your order but she doesn’t smile.
I’ll be back. On Burger Tuesdays. Not for the service. But because I want a burger.

Another well kept secret in Honolulu that you’ve probably driven by a thousand times. It’s on the DH/​Makai corner of Merchant and Richards. If it wasn’t for Mark H, who lives right near here, I would never have known about it. This is a pretty small place but with a big heart. The staff have all been friendly the times I’ve been and the food is pretty solid.
So far my favorite is the short ribs and the garlic chicken. I’ve also had the karaage chicken which was pretty good, too. The things on my radar are the fried chicken (since Emi considers it the best EVER and she knows her fried chicken!) and the teri salmon.
They’re open for lunch and dinner and close at 11pm. Nights when I’m leaving to head to work at 11p, I drive by here and there are always «the regulars» huddled up to the bar and having a laugh. Definitely a neighborhood-​type place that would be cool to hang out for a drink as well as eat.

This place has the best teriyaki salmon salad, that I’ve ever tasted. Fish here is very fresh, and the owner is really picky about the fish that he serves. I’ve also tried their poke and that’s also tasty as well, but if you don’t like a little heat then I’d stay awsy from that.
If they don’t have the fish, then my next go to is the surf and turf bento. Tons of food, but takes forever to make.
All, in all, the food here is pretty good. They’re near to my work, so it’s an easy place to meet up with friends. Service is super slow so come early to beat the crowd.

Love it here, owner tells it like it is, pretty chill live music. Older crowd, downtown after work vibe and great food. Owner is a formers Roys chef. Small place but nice. I love the burgers and pulehu.

You cannot pay me to return to this restaurant. I was sort of a regular there for weekday lunch with co-​workers but after today I will not give owner, Klein, another chance. His servers are very friendly, and most of the food on the menu can be good, or even really good, but the consistency overall is terrible.
Today, Klein served my friend a taco salad with «taco sauce» that was actually french dressing. Before her plate got to the table I could hear Klein and his servers in the kitchen trying to locate the «taco sauce.» I expected the server to come over and say «sorry, we are out of the taco sauce» and perhaps check if my friend wanted to change her order. But no, the taco salad was served, with the French dressing presented as «taco sauce.»
We’ve had this salad many times — it was clearly French dressing. But the servers insisted that it was the same taco sauce. I asked to speak to the owner, Klein, but he would not come to our table. He even charged us $ 1.00 for «extra taco sauce» so we had to adjust our «tip» accordingly. (Apologies to our very friendly servers.)
My friends and I have been very forgiving with Klein and his tendency to charge for extra ketchup, under-​season his meat, or ignore tables ready to pay. He can act very friendly, but after today’s lunch I’m just done.
I’ll return to Ground Floor when there is new ownership.

Great place to hang out with friends, watch the game, and listen to live band!
Karage Chicken, Kalbi, Fried Rice, and Poke was onolicious!

Thumbs up on the bentos. I enjoyed the ahi belly and gyoza. My meat was rubbed with just the right amount of seasoning. Just remember to ask for steak knife.
Ground Floor is a good place for small business lunches or pau hana with friends. Has bar and tv around.

OMG YUMMY. I was out for a walk and stubbled onto this place.
The place appears to be a bar first and restaurant second.
I had the garlic fried chicken. The garlic sauce was outstanding. The fried chicken was better than I’m used to. BAM!
The lunch special came with white sticky rice and choice of green or macaroni salad. You’re in Hawaii no brainier get the macaroni salad. Which was freakin delicious.
The staff is super friendly. If you’re in this part of town do stop in.

First time here, parking in the lot is free after 6:00pm. Live entertainment, Deja Blu was playing, the place was packed…
We had wine $ 6.50 a glass, we also tried the Steak poki, $ 18. 00 a must try but a bit pricey, bathrooms are outside. Heard the other food is ono too, I’ll try it on my next vist. Staff is very friendly, one waitress/​bartendress, one cook and the owner. They were taking care of the 40 customers…

I’m a huge fan of low key bars. Bars that make me think that maybe, if I came often enough, this could be the «Cheers» bar of my life. I feel like Ground Floor is that bar.
Klein, the owner, was an amazing host. I don’t think he was quite expecting the 12 of us that rolled in at 7pm after the Unilocal Elite Coffee Break @ Café Central was over, but he let us rearrange a back corned into one long trestle table so we could sit together and got us served quickly. A couple of us ordered food — fried chicken, kalbi, and garlic fries — while most of us just sipped on beers and wine.
The food came in larger portions than I was expecting and was delicious. The garlic fries especially, they came with melted cheese and a chili powder and were super garlicky without actually being tossed in fried garlic.
It was quiet-​ish with TVs and jukebox. If I worked in downtown, I would definitely kill time here before heading home. Fridays there is live music and parking is free in the building lot after 6pm.
Seriously sold.

A bare bones bar that has the best fried chicken EVER.
One doesn’t often think of Downtown Honolulu when you think about where to get a cocktail but thankfully Unilocaler Laurie P knew just the place! We had just wrapped up an Elite event at the First Hawaiian bank building and wanted to gather for an after-​party drink. I was wearing three-​inch heels and insisted it be close by or else I was going to jump ship. We walked just two blocks away to Ground Floor. It’s located across the backside of the post office and there’s no way I ever would have found it on my own.
We walked in with a rowdy group of about 15 people and were welcomed with a blank stare from the bartender and what I can only assume were regulars. We took up the back end of the bar and I hurried to the bar to get my one drink for the night. The bartender who I didn’t feel was very happy to see us (I theorize he may have wanted to close up for the night or maybe he just wasn’t having a sunshine day) but carded us all diligently while taking our orders.
We sat down to socialize and played a «add your own sentence» game with new Unilocaler Jason who was Victoria M’s +1. I can’t retell the entire story but basically it started with Jason ordered fried chicken and Victoria lost her virginity which forever changed her relationship with KFC. I cannot even explain how awesome this game was. Jason and Victoria had ordered some pupus and I nibbled on Jason’s fried chicken which was OUT OF THIS WORLD good! It was so light and not greasy at all! No wonder Victoria lost her virginity over it. Okay this is not true at all, but it makes a good story doesn’t it? You really had to be there. And you REALLY need to eat this fried chicken!!! Bring your virginity it may need to be traded in.