Joe’s Grill Express

The strip mall and area of this place is a bit sketchy, right outside the airport, but the food is awesome. I got the chicken katsu spicy sweet plate. it was great. I would go back to this spot for sure. my fiancée got the BLT, it looked like a standard sandwich, but what do you expect, cmon! I want to try breakfast, served all day, next time. would be great to visit even if you have a lengthy layover at the airport.

inexpensive, on the way to pretty much anywhere, and for the price — tons of ono food; not to mention that the staff is frendly

I don’t really come through the airport area much so thanks to Unilocal,we were able to discover this great hole-​in-​the-​wall place. Joe’s is a tiny spot with seating for maybe a dozen people and when we were there, it was pretty crowded.
We both got the Country Breakfast which is rice, chicken fried steak, hot links, and 2 eggs for $ 6.75. It’s a pretty hefty breakfast so at this price, it’s a deal. The chicken fried steak was definitely the star as it was nice and crunchy like all deep fried breaded steak should be. Also, the white sauce that covered it tasted nice and rich, this along the runny egg yolk was like heaven soaked into the rice! The 3 pieces of hot links added an extra amount of fatty meat just in case you didn’t think your arteries weren’t clogged up enough… lol.
Joe’s is located in the same parking lot as Chan’s buffet (which I didn’t know was actually still open) on the other side of the parking lot. The items I saw some of the other people eating looked good so I definitely need to come here to try some of the other things.

Greatest recommendation ever!
Delicious, fast and awesome Customer Service! Thanks Alamo Rent A Car for the recommendation!

First of all… I saw the cook dog his hand in the pot of rice and eat it with his hands!!! UNSANITARY.
Then our order of Philly cheese steak came out, the damn fries were old as if they refried them.
And fried rice!!! Rice, oil and shoyu is their recipe. HORRIBLE
People probably give them 5 stars for the price.
But they made it up with a gift card. Not exactly sure if I come again.

Have you ever had a place that you didn’t want to share and keep just for yourself? Well this is how I feel about Joe’s. The service is nice and friendly. The food tastes great and is very affordable. The parking lot is huge so there is almost always parking.
Instead of going on and on about the usually food (hint fried chicken, Joe’s loco moco, etc) i want to talk about their daily specials. The specials are so good that they usually are sold out before dinner time. Whenever there is any available when I go later in the day this is what I get. My advice is to check out their Instagram to see what they have available that day.

I went to this spot a few weeks ago because I read raving reviews about that «Spicy Sweet Chili Chicken Katsu,» and I’ve already been back a second time. For delicious food at reasonable prices, Joe’s can’t be beat … and it certainly doesn’t help that I don’t work too far from here!
My friend and I went here on a rainy Friday evening for dinner, around 6 p.m. The eatery wasn’t extremely crowded, and since there’s a counter and a few tables available, we decided to dine in. The plate lunches are about $ 6.75 each for regular sizes, and you can get combos for $ 7.75 … super reasonable.
The friendly ladies at the counter were more than willing to answer all of my questions, and I sure had a lot of them. Thankfully, they were really patient; they even recommended the «Joe Moco» for our next visit. I called beforehand to make sure the «Spicy Sweet Chili Chicken Katsu» was available that day as well.
Our orders were ready shortly, and the girl behind the counter checked on us to make sure we were satisfied with our meal. Definitely no complaints — the food was delicious, and we went back several times for water refills. This is a hidden gem located close to the airport, and I was just glad that there was a decent-​sized parking lot.
I’ll be back for sure, Joe’s. Here’s what we got:
«Chicken Katsu + Spicy Sweet Chili Chicken Katsu Combo»: I got this combo plate because I was interested to see what the normal katsu tasted like, as well as the spicy sweet chili chicken version. I liked the latter better, but it was good to try both for comparison’s sake. The regular katsu was adequately breaded, but it wasn’t super flavorful. The «Spicy Sweet Chili Chicken Katsu,» however, was
! The sauce made it superb. I loved the light sweetness and tangy aftertaste, and the sauce was spread liberally all over the chicken … it wasn’t lacking in flavor at all! I finished both types of the chicken and I really enjoyed the katsu sauce that came with the regular katsu. I only ate some of the white rice included to mop up that wonderful sauce, but I did enjoy all of the mac salad. My friend tried some of my dish and agreed that the chili chicken katsu was better. Definitely will be back to get this again.
«Sesame Garlic Fried Chicken»: My friend got a plate of this chicken, with white rice and mac salad as well. The garlic flavor wasn’t really strong, but I liked the texture from the sesame seeds. The fried exterior was on point — not too crispy, but sufficiently crunchy. It had lots of flavor and we both enjoyed it immensely.
«Joe Moco Special»: One of the reasons I love Joe’s is because breakfast is served all day … and there’s certainly a lot to choose from! During my second visit, one of the workers recommended the «Joe Moco» so I went with that. I only intended to eat half … but once I started eating, I was absolutely hooked, so I didn’t end up taking home leftovers. This «Joe Moco» differs from other loco mocos because it’s made with corn beef hash, two pieces of bacon, two eggs, fried rice and gravy. I called ahead for my take-​out order, and I asked for my bacon extra crispy (I can’t stand soggy bacon). Good thing I did … my bacon wasn’t super crunchy, but it definitely wasn’t flaccid! This has to be one of my new favorite dishes. Even though I got it as take-​out, I started (and ended up finishing) it right there in the eatery because seating was available. The corn beef has was soft, super moist and tender. The two eggs were over easy and I loved how the oozing yolk simply ran into everything to make it all mushy. Because I prefer fried rice over regular rice, this dish was right up my alley. The fried rice had peas and spam in it, and it was sufficiently flavorful and the texture was just the way I like my fried rice (on the softer, mushier side; not really hard). The friendly lady working said this is the eatery’s best seller, and I can see why!
«Golden Fried Chicken»: The next time I order a plate lunch from this place, I’m interested in trying this fried chicken … I’m sure, based on my experience with the other chickens from Joe’s, this entrée surely won’t disappoint!
«Loco Moco»: If I can bring myself to deviate from that «Joe Moco,» I would want to try the original «Loco Moco» one day. It features hamburger steak, two eggs, two spam and mac salad. Sounds like a promising medley!

I just had a great experience here. Great food and a great atmosphere (nestled in the neighborhood of agritopia). The restaurant is the home where Joe grew up. Joe is the owner. I had the Salmon dazzler plate. As I was leaving there were four people ‘on their knees’ bowing toward the North. I said to myself — that’s not something you see everyday.

I’ve catered from here a couple of times already and I just can’t say enough about it. Today we had sesame garlic chicken and ono with buerre blanc sauce and roasted potatoes — about $ 65 for 10 people. What is not to like?! The food was delicious, the customer service was bomb, and there is free parking. And it was $ 65!!! We’ll be back — but then we always are! :)

Wow! Cheap Eats did a great job. went there at 8:30amish…no line but people there. Ordered the Pork Adobo Fried Rice Omolet, side order Corn beef hash. My daughter had the Joe Moco Loco. The adobo was in chunks but was so soft. The corn beef hash was real and crispy… per my daughter the Joe Moco Loco was ono and so much… she going save it for lunch.
Quality was super good and quantity filled me up.
Our total bill (with a drink) waz less than $ 20. unreal.
Would highly recommend eating there!
Eh Guy Hagi you should stick to food reviews instead of weather forecaster… nah jk… aloha

Located just outside the airport in an industrial-​looking part of the area, this hole-​in-​the-​wall packs some pretty ono grinds! (I’ve been trying to add more local slang to my vocabulary hehe)
I came around 2pm and the lot had plenty of parking and there was no wait to order food. After reading ravings about their breakfast menu, I decided on the Joe’s Moco Special (extra egg) and a mini portion of the Chicken Katsu Curry. My total came out to $ 13 — great price! I enjoyed sitting in the restaurant waiting for my food while watching the cooks prepare my order. The Moco Special consists of 2 eggs, corn beef hash, fried rice, and 2 strips of bacon. Although a fellow Unilocaler mentioned that the portions are large, I thought it was just average. Keep that in mind because you may not want to share your food once you’ve dug in! The Katsu curry was simple and delicious, with a scoop of rice and Mac salad.
Highly recommended for tourists who are just leaving the airport, hungry, and want to support local! Prices are extremely fair and food is simple and fresh!

I work near the airport and I was really craving some bacon and thought to myself, where can I go for some bacon in the middle of the day without driving outside the border of the H1/​Nimitz overpass (the border of my WORLD).
Then I remembered Joe’s Grill and after a short drive down to their location off Nimitz and a pleasantly brief wait for them to cook my food, I had BACON!!!
I ordered a Bacon Lover’s Omelet, which comes with bacon fried rice, and I ordered SIDE BACON which they generously gave me like 10 strips of. I was in fried piggy heaven! The omelet was delicious and even though I wasn’t super hungry to begin with (my plan was to eat half and save it for later), I ended up scarfing the whole thing down. I took my bacon back to work, and because everyone loves bacon and I am such a giving fellow, I shared strips of my bacon with coworkers much to their delight!
Thanks to Joe’s, myself and a few coworkers had a BACON GOOD DAY!

Darn it! :(
That’s what cha’ get, when you don’t do your homework before checking out a new joint!
Yesterday I decided to take my coworkers to a new place for lunch, and the place was called «Joe’s Grill Express»…it’s on Nimitz Hwy., in the same complex as the famous Chan’s Chinese Buffet.
Joe’s Grill is a very small restaurant… I wanna say it’s kinda like a little cafeteria. The set up of the this place is mostly — «grab & go», but there are few tables inside the restaurant (like 3 little tables) & two long «bar type» tables.
It is apparent that Joe’s Grill has a very strong following, as I saw a TON of people go in/​out of this place, while we where eating lunch yesterday.
They serve breakfast all day long, as well as a few Filipino items, Hawaiian Food, and mostly local style grindz!
The biggest mistake I made yesterday was not reading all my Unilocal buddies reviews before heading out to the place. And yesterday when my Unilocal buddy — Bruddah Eric Robert R. told me — «dude, you gotta do da breakfast items!»
Darn it! I knew he was right! As bruddah Eric is always spot on wid’ da GRINDZ! He know’s his grindages… and best bet, if he says so… it’s gold!
Anyways, when we walked in, of course we were pretty overwhelmed by the extensive menu! First thing I looked at was the daily specials… and right off the bat, I see this — Spaghetti & Fried Chicken special for $ 7.00 bucks!
Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing! Fried Chicken…“YES I AM! Please command me!“
Well, needless to say… you probably know what I ordered then! One of my coworkers also ordered the same dish as me… and my other coworker ordered the Shoyu Chicken with white rice, & tossed salad.
What can I say about the grub?
When I ordered my meal, right off the bat I was thinking of the — «school kine spaghetti» — you know… the type of baked spaghetti we use to eat when we went to public school, or the same type of baked spaghetti that Karen’s Kitchen serves (see my review about that).
When I saw — «fried chicken», I was thinking of 2 pieces of fried chicken with the spaghetti.
And guess what? I didn’t get either! Buwhahahahaha! Oh well! :(Shucks!
The spaghetti sauce was on the sweet tasting side… kinda reminded me of the spaghetti I ate at — «Max of Manila», minus the cut hotdogs.
But the bad part of the spaghetti dish was… as I was eating it, when I got to the bottom of the dish… you can see a puddle of oil! (see pic) YUCK!
Did I just put all that oily food in me??? When I saw all that oil… I was totally turned off, and stopped eating, so I did not finish all of my spaghetti.
The Fried Chicken was good, nothing to complain about, but you only get one small piece of fried chicken. :(Bummers!
Funny as I was eating… I started talking to my coworker (who also ordered the same thing as me)…and we started to laugh because we were thinking exactly the same thing about our meals — school kine baked spaghetti, & 2 piece fried chicken! Lol! (Das why he my homie!).
My other coworker who ate the Shoyu Chicken… his plate looked delicious, but he told me that the shoyu sauce did not soak through all the way into the chicken meat, so when he bit into it, not all the chicken was marinaded… but still, his lunch looked better than ours. Lol!
Oh well, next time I come here… I’m a gonna take bruddah Eric Robert R.‘s advice and just do breakfast!

Wow! Great made to order breakfast burritos that taste great and inexpensive!
Close proximity to airport off the Nimitz.
This could turn into my breakfast habit on my way to work!
Stopped back in to try Joes Big Breakfast 3-​eggs over easy with corn beef hash! So ONO!
I will be back to try more of their more of their menu items but, most definitely another order of that corn beef hash!

OK, this place… hmmm what can I say? The reviews are right! I went in knowing that it was a greasy spoon place. All the reviews were correct in their description! Small, counters with stools, just a few tables at most… A glass counter where you can see a stove, minimal, like something in a movie. I ordered the Joe Moco at 6pm and was told no fried rice — OK, starting off things not at full power. The price was so reasonable, I got a steak and mushroom mini plate on the side just in case I didn’t like the moco.
Minutes after ordering, the power goes out for the entire building and the building besides it. We jokingly said «no dinner»! Somehow the cook got the job done anyway. Right as I was wondering if the food would really be completed, the power came on.
I took the food home and opened it up to find 2 perfectly cooked eggs. The corned beef hash was great — not typical canned type. Almost like Zippy’s hash but arguably better. The gravy was good and the rice was cooked fine. The bacon was cooked perfectly but salty. Not sure if I am just not used to real bacon — but it was salty. What I did like about the bacon was that there was not a lot of fat on the bacon; mostly meat!
Steak? Exactly as you would expect — and more than you would expect for a mini plate. I can only imagine what the loco would have tasted like with fried rice.
This meal made me brew a hot coffee to reduce the food comatose feeling that comes from eating this type of food.
So is this place good? Yep, as good as it gets for this type of place.

Joe’s? Where have you been all my life? I lived in the ‘hood for one whole year before discovering this place. Sad face! — because I could have been enjoying cheap eats this whole time :(
Ambiance: Don’t be fooled by the semi-​generic black and white sign upfront in this semi-​run down strip mall. The food is just as good as $$$ plate lunches further in town. It’s fo’ sho’ casual, but you would not come here for a fancy date. You’d come here to fill your belly! Only about 3 tables with seats and one long counter with stools, but you can also take your food to-​go and enjoy it at the beach!
Feel: Mom-​and-​pop, diner-​ish. Parking is free and ample, but parking lot can get busy as the strip mall is full of popular joints. Food: Rice plates are excellent and so affordable at $ 5 – 6 for A TON of food! Fried rice is da bomb (taste just like my mama makes it)! I’d recommend the Joe’s Moco: Corned beef hash, 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon, hecka fried rice, and gravy :) I substituted the hash for 2 fried chicken thighs, which were crispy perfection! Waffles were not the greatest (perhaps frozen, not out of a waffle iron) but they did the trick to fix my sweet craving. Free coffee (not Starbucks) but hey, it’s gratis.
The service was friendly and attentive (imagine your auntie and cousin working the cash register).
Overall: I’d give it 4.5 stars if I could.
Tips: Come hungry and excited to try a local dive.

Just around the corner from the Alamo rental by HNL. They serve up big portions of hawaiian food at reasonable prices. There are a few tables inside of you want to dine in but it seems like most people just get their food to go. Their chicken special was good.

There’s something special about omelets, eggs, pancakes sandwiches and salads prepared by someone other than yourself that makes them taste a million times better than anything you could ever make on your own. Finding a place that can do all of these things without costing an arm and a leg is like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
After seeing multiple positive reviews from Yeeps in the know, I decided to meander over to Joe’s Grill Express a few months ago to try out their breakfast. Although I was most tempted by their Joe Moco and Darrel P.‘s photos of the Big Scramble, I decided to try to be good and got the Denver omelet with taters and it was HUGE and delicious. This weekend, I was able to get my husband over here and he is now a huge fan as well of their GIANT portions and unbelievably fair prices. We had the Western omelet and the Bacon and Steak omelet this weekend. The fried rice here too has converted me to now love rice with my eggs.
Everything about this place is spot on, the staff is friendly, the portions are HUGE and the prices are insanely reasonable. If you haven’t tried this place yet, go. If you’re sick of paying inflated prices for mediocre food, then head over here to pay great prices for good food made by good people. I for one will be back again and again since I can’t cook eggs for some reason, and their lunch and dinner specials look delicious too.

Huge portions, Great Value, and a Menu that’ll make your head spin is what Joe’s Grill Express is all about. Located on 3131 N. Nimitz Hwy, near Chan’s Chinese Buffet and across Christine’s Diner, the Daily Specials and stellar food on the cheap is what keeps me coming back for more.
They have very ample parking here, but for some of you townies out there, it may be a stretch, but it’s definitely worth coming here because you are definitely getting great value for the price you pay, especially if you are a breakfast person like me who loves big portions and knowing that the owners are Filipino’s, I can get my Longanisa or Pork Adobo fix if need be.
They also have daily specials like pan seared Opah and other types of fish that are of restaurant quality and you are paying a fraction of the price for this type of fare. There was one catch of the day that was served with a Lobster Cream Sauce and another day it was served with a Kaffir Lime Curry Sauce.
And for those Filipino’s out there looking for some Pinakbet or some Shortrib Soup, it’s available on special on any day of the week. Just call them and ask what the specials are.
What I like about this place is that they have a Television Set which is not on the Filipino Channel thank god, and there are a couple of tables and seats along the window if you choose to eat your food there.
The service here is very friendly when I came here more than a few times and I can say they do get very busy during the lunch hours because it’s located in an industrial area and there a people that come here in suits, work uniforms, and the people that come here must be regulars because the cashier is calling them by their first names and it kind of reminds me of Ray’s Café in Kalihi.
I have never had a disappointing meal as of yet and I have to say they don’t skimp on portions here and the food really hits the spot for me without taking a big bite out of your wallet. The prices here are more than just fair, it’s downright cheap if you ask me and that’s what make Joe’s Grill Express one of my go to places if I’m craving awesome local and filipino fare.
And for those of you tourists who are heading out to the aiport and don’t want to eat that crappy food on the plane, stop by this hole in wall place and get your local food fix one last time and leave a happy camper. You won’t be disappointed I can tell you that.

Great place for breakfast in the airport area.
They make their own corned beef hash and also country gravy. Their prices are super reasonable and it is frequented by a lot of workers in this mainly industrial area of Honolulu. Seating is very limited and your order will arrive in take-​out form even if you are eating in.
The staff is very friendly and the service is prompt. Not necessarily a destination for a special breakfast but definitely a must if you are in the Nimitz/​Airport area and want a good breakfast.