Richie’s Drive Inn

I saw Richies on the news the other week and Richies was mentioned. I had to try the boneless chicken as advertised. When I got there I was super hungry so I got a chili and chicken mixed plate. It only costed only $ 8 and it was a lot of food. It tasted pretty good and I wish I had cheese and onions in my chili. I saved half of it for later.

I had the fried chicken plate lunch, it came with rice and a scoop of mac salad, for $ 6 – 7. this was the cheapest and most filling meal we had while on the island. I like having a mix of high end and dive food and this was some good, cheap eats. Service was really fast, you get what you pay for at Richie’s.

Recently, I asked my dad to pick me up a plate of the famous boneless chicken from Richie’s. The drive-​inn isn’t too far from his workplace, so he was able to stop by on the way home.
For value – and portion size – Richie’s can’t be beat. You definitely get your money’s worth, whatever plate you decide to order.
Since I heard the boneless chicken here rivals that of Rainbow’s, I wanted to give it a try. I definitely wasn’t disappointed! In fact, I thought Richie’s version was slightly better than the Rainbow’s original because it contained more gravy.
While I probably wouldn’t dine in here – it’s not the cleanest place around – I would opt for take-​out from Richie’s again.
Here’s my take on that chicken plate:
«Boneless Chicken»: The regular plate cost $ 6.99, which comes out to $ 7.32 with tax, and that may have been the best $ 6.99 that I ever spent on a plate lunch. The entrée comes with two huge slabs of boneless chicken, two scoops of rice and one scoop of mac salad. While the two scoops of rice were smaller than average, the amount of chicken you get with this entrée more than makes up for it. Plus, everything was swimming with gravy. I have a love-​hate relationship with gravy and tend to not like a lot of it, but Richie’s had to be the exception. The gravy was thick and flavorful, and I actually didn’t mind it covering almost everything on my plate. The mac salad sported the perfect consistency — it wasn’t too mayo-​ish or watery, so I readily enjoyed it. Plus, I found even more mac salad under one of the slabs of chicken. This regular plate could easily be two meals (I only ate half in one sitting) and you get the most for your moolah with this one.
«Loco Moco»: If I ever returned to Richie’s, I would want to try this loco moco entrée. I was so pleased with the boneless chicken that I can’t wait to see what the loco moco tastes like. Plus, the entire entrée is only $ 7.50 … what a deal.
«Breakfast Combo Three»: If I ever am in the area and craving a good, cheap breakfast, this is the combo I would go for. It features two eggs any style and your choice of rice, toast or hash brown. This particular combo comes with corned beef hash and Portuguese sausage, two of my favorite breakfast meats. I would probably get my eggs over easy and go with hash browns for my starch. All this for just $ 6.75 … what a deal!

The former Church’s chicken turned into a local drive in diner. Great place eat fast local food. Has a drive-​thru as well.

BRAH! Now THAT’s an old school plate lunch!
Recommended by a friend who always buys lunch for his employees at least once a month, my wife and I tried this place tonight after cleaning in and around the house. Yeah we didn’t want to cook.
I had the boneless chicken and beef stew combo and she had the pork cutlet. I phoned in my order and went to pick it up. THE BUGGAH WAS HEAVY! So I knew there was plenty and it was gonna be good! And I must admit, after reading all the reviews here, I have to say that it gave Rainbow Drive in, Diners, and the original L&L drive in a run for their money. The food was sooooo good! My wife could not finish hers, but I know she’ll be up later for a night time snack.
And it only cost us $ 16 and change. Very nice for the price! Truly impressive.
Now if you’ll excuse me I’m gonna comatose on my reclining chair and figure out when the next food run is going to be!

Their food is very reminiscent of Rainbows… well… its gotta be especially since «Richie» was a former Rainbows owner… rite!!! So you know and expect the same quality and taste of foods on the menu… which IS very good… BUT… and it is a VERY BIG BUT… Their customer service is LESS THAN DESIRABLE… therefore the 2 star rating! Someone shoud remind them that they are in the CUSTOMER SERVICE field… NOT ATTITUDE service… maybe the staff needs 2 rethink their job choice!!! The day shift staff is only a LITTLE better.

Drive thru plate lunch!
Shoyu Chix — good!
Bugogi — good!
Chefs are from Rainbows… Rainbows going downhill…

I got a boneless chicken plate and half way done with the plate I find a piece of steel wool in the chicken… Seriously?!
Used to love this place but not anymore

Not impressive but well worth the price.
This place is pretty sketchy. There’s a glass wall separating the employees from the customers and in this part of town, I guess it’s no surprise.

We always order the chilli dog plate. It’s got two hot dogs in it, not full of beans like other places and has the right amount of seasonings, not spicy or weak. I add Tabasco or chilli peppers, husband doesn’t. This plate comes with a small drink. The service is quick whether you walk in or drive thru. The drive thru is a big plus.
The ladies are friendly and efficient. The neighborhood may not be the best but the food is good. Also tried their bbq and boneless chicken, both are good.

Looks like the mom and pop stores that I enjoy patronizing, but unfortunately they don’t take cards, so I probably will not be coming here again. Who carries cash now days??? I took a star off for that. What kind of business doesn’t care for the comfort of the customer because they want to save the 1.5% of processing fee? So, it is better to charge the customer the 2.5% of ATM fees at the conveniently located ATM? Since my card was hacked into I am really hesitant to stick it into mom and pop ATMs. I really wish that I could come here more often, but I hate having cash.

Boneless chicken tasted something similar to rainbow drive inn… Not too bad, I didn’t know what I wanted and the lady was super patient and got everyone else’s food in my party ready. Which was great because we have kids. Only thing is CASH ONLY! And they have a drive thru! For their price and amount of food not too bad :) bacon was OK, didn’t even ask for crispy but it was! Love that it wasn’t under cooked and floppy!

My all time favorite plate from Richie’s?
The Boneless Chicken plate! For the price, I feel that they give alot. With gravy all over! I feel that the Boneless Chicken plate is like Jello… there’s ALWAYS room for Jello!

Richie’s has been at the top of my list and one of my go-​to establishments for well over a decade when I want a real, old school plate lunch… when I don’t want to fool around with a «gourmet plate lunch», trendy lunch wagons, overpriced farmers markets or $ 15 Hawaiian plates.
Plate lunches should be for the people and I appreciate that Richie’s has kept their prices down. Not too long ago their plates were $ 5. Prices have gone up over the years but I guess that’s just a sign of the times. Richie’s is still very affordable. My beef cutlet and large drink were still under $ 10.
I’m partial to the beef cutlet and pork cutlet — I use Richie’s as the benchmark for other establishments… hard to beat. The many other menu options are solid and there are also daily specials. Other dudes I know go for the bento or the various sandwiches. There is a breakfast menu too which I have yet to try out.
Sometimes change is not a good thing and I like that Richie’s has kept what makes it Richie’s.
–The same nanas are there to take your order at the counter or drive through window and they might not have the most friendly dispositions, but they always get my order right.
–The dining area does not have air conditioning and overlooks North King Street and Kalihi, yet it’s still somehow cool and comfortable.
–The parking lot is crappy, rough with plenty of potholes, but there is a lot of parking.
–Most importantly, Richie’s serves the same good food at an affordable price.

I remember Richie’s from when I was a little kid. I recent had the option to stop in for lunch. To my surprise, I think its the same waitress as when I was a kid. The look is the same and surprising the food taste the same too.
The plates are reasonably priced. You can get a plate lunch for about $ 8 which includes 2 scoops of rice and 1 stop of mac salad. Yes this is Hawaii so what do you expect.
The boneless chicken with gravy all is what I’m known to order. The chicken is soft and you honestly don’t need a knife to cut it. Im not sure if its pre-​made since they can fulfill your order so quickly, but its delicious.
Are you in a rush? They have a drive thru so you don’t have to get out of the car. Keep this in mind while you driving down King Street.

I haven’t been to Richie’s in quite a long time. Years actually. What led me back was the fact they have a drive thru! How cool is that? I’m surprised there isn’t more plate lunch places trying this strategy. The convenience factor is a big plus for me when I go out to eat somewhere.
I ended up ordering the mixed plate in the drive thru. Pretty good! I’ll be back to get the bbq chicken when I’m in the area again. Make sure you pay with cash, they don’t take credit cards.

Been eating here since I was literally a baby, and it’s nice to be back home and be able to enjoy this small spot, and their awesome plate lunches. Came here hungry, and left satisfied.
This place is a cash only establishment, and they have an atm inside that charges $ 2.50 to withdraw if you don’t have any cash on hand. When I come here I always go for one of two things, the bento, or the chicken cutlet, always a bomb choice.
This time I got the bento, which comes with luncheon meat, spam, saba (fish), teriyaki beef, bbq chicken, rice and furikake. Always good, always satisfying!

Love coming to Richie’s! Rainbows is overrated.
If you are in Kalihi looking for lunch here is where to go. f.y.I old Filipino nanas working so expect strong accent! But they are very hard working and efficient!

Had to try it. Now I can move on with my life. Had boneless chicken. Several times biting into it I had to pull stuff out my mouth. It was as advertised boneless no doubt but cartilage or as I like to call plastic stuff was in the meat. Chicken was breaded had skin and covered in gravy. Talk about cheat day. Huge portion but overdone cuz I didn’t want to finish unfortunately. I have an inkling that my plate was microwaved since parts of my meal were super hot and other parts lukewarm to cold. Not happy when I realized that.
One star for portions.
One more star cuz it tasted ok… like a TV dinner tastes ok… but I’m also a nice guy.
Overall. Meh… keep it moving.

I ordered the shoyu chicken and wow, for a 5.99 mini you get two large pieces of chicken. The taste was good also and the mac salad had a good flavor to it. I consider this type of restaurant a «value» place. Good food for an excellent price!
They also just added Green River, Orange Bang, and slush drinks. I like it when local establishments carry local products!

For a legit plate lunch and «ono» local grinds, Richie’s is «da» spot.
Boneless Chicken — with gravy all over, of course. Soft, tender, and BONELESS. I think this is probably one of their more popular local plate lunches. And it’s probably because it’s pretty darned tasty! It’s a pretty basic cut of breaded chicken, covered in their sinful brown gravy! Simple, local, delish. A solid and straight-​up plate lunch.
*Don’t forget to ask for «gravy all ovah.»
Seriously, bc gravy-​rice is the shiz. And this gravy is bomb.
#bonelesschicken #gravyallover #betterthanrainbows #ohhisaidit #sorryboutit
Shoyu Chicken — this is a staple for local plate lunch joints. Richie’s shoyu chicken is good, but I still lean more towards Rainbow’s. Don’t get me wrong though — Richie’s shoyu chicken is good. Always soft and tender; and, the sauce isn’t overly sweet.
#datskindoe YUM. I love that skin!
#rainbowsVSrichies
Not that there’s any sort of rivalry, but these two plate lunch joints have been compared quite a bit. The parallel menus and fare pave the way for such comparison! #justsaying
VERDICT
I was torn between 3 – 4 stars, so I’m going with 3.5.
This place is a great place for local-​style plate lunches, specifically the boneless chicken!!! And even though Richie’s is similar to Rainbow’s, it’s definitely much more low key — without the fuss of Waikiki (outskirts). And without the awful Waikiki prices!

A few weeks back, I met my co-​worker for lunch in the Kalihi area. We decided our grind destination would be one of our hole in the wall diners — Richie’s.
I ended up taking one of the daily specials (Monday) — Boneless Chicken & Curry.
Well, what can I say… the Boneless Chicken was GREAT! Just as good, if not better than Rainbow Drive Inn’s Boneless Chicken.
But the downfall of this plate lunch began with the Curry… it was just totally too salty! I had to choke it down by mixing it with the rice… but I know this for sure… I will not be ordering any Curry dishes from Richie’s anytime soon!
I will stick to what I know… you know, the Mix Plate with Chili on the rice, or the Richie’s special where you get the Chili Hotdog plate.