Zippy’s Kailua

I know I’m not a local but I LOVE Hawaii and all its people and food options!
Went to ZIPPY’s Kailua and was seated by a very pleasant lady then, every single one of the waitresses ignored our party of 4! It was so obvious that they didn’t want us there that we ended up walking out after 20 min. After watching other people get their orders taken and food delivered all the while not even an offer of water for our table!!!
Luckily other ZIPPY’s on the Island were not like this and we got excellent service and great food! Love my Zip Min!!!
I hope ZIPPY’s Kailua changes there tune or goes out of business!
Not the way to treat your customers!

Went back to Zippy’s today and went back to the dine in side. The planets were back in alignment as we received exactly what we expected when we ordered.
It was early so I had bacon, eggs, and hash browns, while my wife had french toast. My eggs were a perfect over easy, my bacon crispy as ordered, and the hash browns cooked crispy and browned. My wife said she was really happy she got the french toast because it was prepared perfectly. The bread was soaked before being crisped on the edges while remaining moist throughout.
I’m happy to say things we enjoyed our meal much more than we did a few days before on the take out side.

My family and I ate dinner at Zippy’s Kailua tonight (4 Nov 2015). Everything was delicious and our waitress was awesome. All of us left fat and happy. We ordered the chili, fried chicken, and turkey plates, and all three were perfect. Good prices, big portions, and great service! How to get five stars… Add a few more parking spaces, and bring back the nickel toy gumball machine. My daughter was so disappointed when we walked in for the first time since the remodel and the nickel machine was gone. Letting her choose a toy from a basket just does not have the same affect as putting a nickel in, turning the handle, and being surprised by what toy you get!

They need to upgrade the employees. I go to zippys only for the Turkey plate. EVERY TIME I order from any zippys it comes out naturally «turkey plate, mash with gravy all over the mash» pretty simple. I always say mash twice because my order has been messed up before. This particular location messed up my order 6times in the last 2 months. Always one particular girl who works the late shift. When i do decide to drive back there to get my correct order I either get attitude, an eye roll or a «thats not what you ordered» statement. I mean really?! I never order anything else. I love turkey and mash. I say always say mash. i know the customer is not always right but sheesh when something like that happens you dont have to throw attitude. Especially when you see me and know ive come back a few times to get my correct order. Talk crap when I leave at least, your making the employer who pays your bills look bad.
So as im writing this review… I got hungry lol. I didnt want to order anything I just wanted to post my negative review and be done with you because of all the bad experiences. But, the turkey call was strong and I couldnt resist so naturally I called and ordered my usual. Joesette (spelling?) was so sweet and polite when she took my order. I saved this review as a draft, thinking that I might need to add something else if my arch turkey enemy is there tonight and waited. Within a minute I get a call back that they are out of turkey and she sincerely apologized. I didnt even leave a callback number, yes I was bummed but I ended up ordering a chili plate for my other half to eat later because she was so nice.
Josette and the young man that just helped me at the window made all the difference to me. I started this review with 1 star and the only reason its at a 5 now is because of tonight. Theres hope for you zippys, your staff tonight saved this one and should be acknowledged.

Great place to get a bowl of classic saimin… lots of fish cake, excellent flavor. The service was friendly, and the music was actually Hawaiian — not like some places I’ve been here. I would go back!

I am bummed, after the renovations I walk into the bakery section, and it was relocated and reduced to about quarter it’s former size and glory with reduced selections to match (not much). The best bakery left in Kailua is now reduced to second place to Safeway Bakery (still missing the demise of Craigs Bakery). At least I can still get the large Zip-​Min with extra garnishes for a reasonable price. Service varies according to the waitress but usually good.

The service is less than efficient. They left my Mom standing waiting for a table with her cane when most of the restaurant was empty. The waitress walked by us twice & didn’t bother to seat us. There may have only been 2 waitresses but it doesn’t take a minute to seat someone.
I feel for the waitresses. Management needs to take care of their staff better. You can feel the low morale the moment you walk in.

Don’t even bother going through drive through/​phone order after 10pm, I tried to call and make a phone order multiple times. Drove a 15 min drive there still on hold. Walked into Zippys, 2 employees standing there no customers. I think they don’t want to answer the phone because it’s 20 minutes till closing. Which is rude, why make your close time at 12 but stop taking orders. The lady said that they are short staff after 10pm.
Tried to order chili no beans, she said they ran out. Which I think is BS. They have frozen chili stashed away for the next day, they just don’t want to make anymore for you. I thought for sure after the renovation the staff would be more on it, but it’s still the same.
Maybe I’ll drive to Kaneohe Zippys next time, they might want to take my business instead of not answer phone orders.

My wife and I have come here to eat for years. It’s not extremely great food but comfort food that will fill you up. The waitresses that serve you in the dining area are extremely friendly and personable. The phone order drive thru has vastly improved. Special Mahalo for staff member Annie. She was extremely nice and courteous with us.

Four stars just for their customer service. I have not returned here since my last review, but I was contacted by one of the managers through Unilocal.
I further contacted them via e-​mail (as they told me to) and they were very apologetic for the bad experiences I have had. In our conversation (e-​mail), they didn’t treat me like I was accusing them of something. They listened to my perspective and didn’t interrogate me.
As a result, they mailed me some vouchers/​promotion coupons that valued way past my expectations. I got these within 3 days of contacting them via e-​mail. Along with this, they also sent a letter apologizing for the bad service I have received and that they will be talking to the manager at the location I had problems at.
I will return to this location with the coupons and hope their service has improved. I have no fear in returning because I know their excellent customer service at corporate will always take care of us customers.

Date of visit: 8÷4÷2015
After hiking to the two pillboxes, we decided to stop by Zippy’s for a quick lunch. Uncle Danny used to work here when he was a teen and my family used to go here when we visited, so it’s more of a formality that my family go here. The last time I went to Zippy’s was over 10 years ago. I only remembered the saimin, so I opted to get a small order of that with my mini plate to see if my memory held up.
You have to order at the counter before you receive your food. At 3pm on a Tuesday, there was ample seating, so our party of 10 had no issues finding seats, although they were at separate tables.
Teri Beef Mini Plate. I opted to get my plate with the loose leaf salad instead of the mac salad since I’m not a fan of mayo. The sesame dressing that came with the salad was pretty good, and my scoop of rice was good enough for me. I didn’t really like the beef as it was too oily and part of it wasn’t cooked through (see picture). The parts that were cooked properly were marinated well enough for me. This isn’t the best teri beef I’ve had, but it more or less satiated my hunger.
Saimin. The saimin was also okay. It’s a saltier version of ramen without the amazing soup broth or toppings you get at a ramen place. It comes with a couple of pieces of BBQ pork and a piece of fish cake. The broth was subpar compared to ramen — more like the instant ramen broth you get from a packet.
Spam Musibi. I decided to get a spam musubi since I didn’t finish all of my teri beef plate and saimin. It was piping hot when I received it and quite good. There was a bit too much rice for me, but I just discarded the extra rice.
Hamburger & Chili Cheese Fries. Cam got these two dishes as his meal. He said that the hamburger was just okay, but the chili cheese fries were awesome. I tried some of Cam’s fries and agreed with his statement. The chili was actually really good. I kind of wished that I had gotten some chili instead of the teri plate.
Overall, I was a little disappointed about my lunch, but it was good to check it out. If we ever go back, I’m definitely getting myself some chili.
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Napoleon’s Bakery
I think Napoleon’s is a chain bakery throughout Hawaii as there are a lot of business pages for Napoleon’s. Since this Napoleon’s is inside Zippy’s, I’ll include my review of their desserts here, unless I can find the actual page.
With the pastry trays staring at you in the face, it’s hard not to want to order a dessert after lunch. I decided to get a small pastry to eat after lunch and a small cake to share with my family later.
Apple Napples. Yum! This is what an apple turnover is supposed to taste like! The pastry was light and flaky while the inside was sweet with soft apple chunks. I’m sure this would have been much better warm, but it was still great at room temperature.
Chantilly Cream Cake. Hawaii is the only place I really see Chantilly cream used in a lot of desserts (see review on cocoa puffs from Liliha Bakery). I was curious to see how this cake tasted so I got a 6 inch for dessert after dinner (we cooked a majority of our meals here). This was actually a really great cake. It was extremely moist and very light despite the cream.
Anthony (who hates dessert) absolutely loved this cake — enough to even eat it for breakfast. My Dad also bought some vanilla ice cream, which was a great pairing with this cake. I definitely recommend getting this cake. It was so good that I couldn’t even get a picture before it was eaten.
Overall, this is definitely worth a try for at least the Napples or Chantilly Cream Cake.

The service in the restaurant is so slow. We waited more than 10 minutes to get seated, then another 7 minutes before someone came to get our order. It was so long before our food came too.

I wanted to see what the dining room looked like after the renovation so decided that breakfast is the time to check it out.
The dining area has a clean look, well out together. The seating arrangements hasn’t changed much though they did loose the counter seating. Also, the station at the front of the dining area was removed.
I ordered an omelette, and though it was good it wasn’t how I remember it being. It was flat and looked rushed. It looks like they no longer use the egg as a wrapper for their omelette. Instead everything is cooked together folded in thirds and plated. The presentation wasn’t the same and it wasn’t as light as I remember it. Perhaps it has been this way for a while and I didn’t notice? I like to think that it is a new staff in a new kitchen.
Regardless, the reason for going to Zippy’s is to eat the foods you remember and spend some time with friends. The dining room is still a good place for doing that.

Beyond disappointed!!! Our family was anticipating the reopening of the Kailua Zippy’s, on Friday we decided to open take out. I called in my order at 6pm and was told it would be ready at 6:30. I decided to go about 6:45 just to give them extra time. Of course the pick-​up window was busy so it took about 10 – 15 minutes just to get there.
When I arrived, I was informed that we ordered something that could only be made at breakfast. So while calling my family to change the order the staff member asked the manager. When she returned she said the manager approved the order… this was good but why wait til I come to pick it up to ask? Or why didn’t they call me? Content with the way the situation was resolved I paid and pulled forward to wait for my order.
My kids and I waited patiently, after 15 minutes a staff member comes to the other takeout window and asks if we got our food. I replied that we did not. She then asks what we were waiting for. I repeated my order and she disappears. When she emerges, she tells me that they are very sorry but they gave my order away to someone else. And if I could give my order again, they would make it quickly. What!!! Seriously???
At this point we were hungry and I had family at home waiting for dinner. So I placed the order again Andy changed the item that was so special that it delayed everything the first time. The girl did offer drinks, but considering I didn’t order any in the first place it wasn’t wanted. I decline politely and waited again. By now we were pushing 7:30. Not once did a manager come to the window and apologize or check on me. When I received my food, the girl gave me 2 drinks that again I didn’t ask for. She said it was the least they could do since we waited so long. So majorly disappointed at how the staff and management handled this situation. Sadly, we will NOT be going to this Zippy’s again unless it’s Dine-​In. Then they can’t hide when they screw up!

Came at 10:15am to be first in line. I LOVE MY ZIPPYS THO. My hubby and I ordered a chili spaghetti. I love their food. Being born and raised on the island, I always can go for zippys. It never lets down. But the new place is pretty much the same. Just cleaner and slightly bigger. I’ve only been to the fast food side.

Waited 30 minutes at 11:55 pm for a disappointing hamburger with no condiments on it. Should have gone in the sit down restaurant, might have bee

Everytime I come back to the islands I have to go to Zippys at least once and take home several surf pac’s. The food is 3 star but the service is 4 star. I will need to find another one to go to since the one in Kailua will be closed for about 6 months for renovations.

One of the worst Zippy’s I’ve been to.
1: It takes FOREVER to get your food. Forever! Foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
2: If it takes that long to get your food, it better be delicious, right?! Nope. Mahi Mahi was particularly dry, mac salad was very mayo-​y (VERY mayo-​y). it was like someone put in the right amount of mayo into the mix and walked away, and then you approach the pot and you’re not sure if the mayo was mixed in yet so you go ahead and add more mayo into the mix. Did I mention Mahi was dry? It broke my fork. My FORK! I got it as a take-​out and I didn’t grab a spare! Argggggh. I had to pick it up with my hands and bite it like an animal.
3: An animal!

Pros: Drive thru take out, Ono chili and fried chicken, Clean and kid friendly dine in restaurant
Cons: Drive thru messes up almost every time, unfriendly/​rude order taking over the phone
**This review/​warning is for the drive thru take out side of Zippys. If you only dine in then you can skip the following.**
Don’t get me wrong, my family and I love Zippy’s. We love their Zip Pacs, Burritos with Chili, Bacon Prime cheeseburger deluxes, Chili/​Chicken mixed plates, Saimin, and Apple Napples. Almost every food item they make is delicious. This review is more of a warning to potential drive thru take out Unilocalers than an actual food review. Pretty much everyone in Hawaii knows Zippy’s.
My family and I have been going to this Zippy’s in Kailua for years now. Dining in we have no problems and eating in the take out area we have no problems. It’s when we call in take out orders and pick up our food via their drive thru is where we almost always have problems. Unfortunately for us we do this a lot! Glutton for punishment or addicted to Chili burritos & Bacon prime cheeseburgers?
The agony begins from the very first moment I call in the take out order. Pretty much 80% of the time I get the grouchy, rough older female cashier taking my order or some young girl with attitude telling me «You got a name?». Wut duh? What happened to phone etiquette and customer appreciation? But knowing not to piss them off so I don’t get spit in my food, I don’t grumble but talk nicely to them and make my order.
Picking up my order, I always try to check it thoroughly because I know they always screw up. But I don’t open up my packaged food so I always get burned. Here is my most recent take out order screw up. I ordered 2 bacon prime cheeseburger deluxes and a zip pac. I checked my bag for 3 items and left. When I got home, the burgers had NO cheese and NO sauce! The burger was dry and the bacon almost raw. Food for my dogs! And my Zip Pac had no tartar sauce. Just great.
Here are other warnings to you that previously happened to my family and I. They mess up on prime burger orders, especially deluxes. So don’t be surprised if you get no veges in your burger or veges when you don’t want it. Complete meals vs. just the chili burrito or burger. Again, don’t be surprised if you are paying more because you may get a complete plate lunch or burger with fries when you didn’t order it. If you order your saimin or chili burrito seperate make sure you have both halves. Any special requests for take outs will probably be overlooked. Heads up!
Overall, I still love to eat at Zippy’s and I just spoke to the manager today to see how we both can help make their drive thru better. He said to get the name of the person taking the order and let him know if there are any problems in the future. He is working on communicating with the other managers their drive thru problems as well as training new take out staff. His name is Joey and he was very helpful and professional on the phone. I plan on making future drive thru take out orders and hopefully they can improve their service and 2 stars! Update to follow.

There is one zippys in Kailua. When foodland is out of poke for the night and Safeway doesn’t have any good eats, we default to zippys of course. The parking lot can get surprisingly full. It seems like there is a magical force that draws what seems like the whole town to zippys at random hours of the night. We were there at 10:30pm and the place was relatively packed.
We placed our order and then waited for 30 – 40 minutes for our food! It was crazy! I’ve never waited this long for zippys take out in my life. It seemed disorganized and when I went up to the pick up counter to check on the status of my order, I was snapped at. The lady apologized after, when she gave me the food, and I understand that they were having a rough time with the odd increase in customers at such a late hour.
Zippys serves consistent food at a decent price. I like the spaghetti, chili, fried chicken and orange bang. This location didn’t impress me due to the long wait time and snappy counter staff. It is a great place to people watch though for sure!