Windward Poi Bowl

Good place for Hawaiian food, I always order «Brian’s Special». Quick service. Mahalo Brian!

loooong time since we last went here. had da BEST food. they made some special laulau for my father who had to have low salt diet. i miss the pickle maui onion. oh, man, broke da mout. yah, lousy parking, but worth it. too bad we now live in texas.

A staple of my childhood that never fails to satisfy!
Brian is the best he stayed open a little later to feed my family and I on a rainy Thursday night and I greatly appreciated it.
The Brian’s special can’t be beat it is my favorite to get.
I’ve tried the squid luau from a few different places and his is the best no matter what.
Kaneohe is lucky to have such an amazing place to get Hawaiian food!!!

Lau Lau plate for Kawehi and the Brian’s Combo for me. Sharing a side of squid luau.
We are the only ones in here… Good sign? Let’s hope so!
Not bad! Chicken long rice, Lau Lau, poi, Kalua pig, lomi salmon, and squid luau all pretty good!

Our food was microwaved. I couldn’t even finished my Kalua Pig it was so bad and it left a nasty after taste.

First off, if this rating was based on service and friendliness they would get a 5 star rating. However their food didn’t impress me. The lady who was taking orders was super nice and helpful, and the food didn’t take too long so my tummy was grateful for that. Lol
I ordered the Brian’s Special which had;
— Lau Lau
— Kalua Pig
–Lomi Salmon
–Rice OR Poi
–Chicken Long Rice
–Pipikaula

And I ordered Squid Luau and Poi on the side. (It was my first time here so I wanted to try everything lol)
Anyways, my favorite has got to be the Squid Luau and the Lau Lau! The Pipikaula was dry and not very good, Chicken long rice was bland and had no taste, the Lomi salmon had little to no salmon and was majority tomatoes, Kalua pig was alright and nothing to rage over.
For the price I guess it was alright. 2 stars for food. 1 xtra star for the service.

Only one person taking orders, ringing up, and getting the food ready. The laulau and kalua pork was salty to me, but my husband and mother enjoyed them both because they were so flavorful. The portions were filling and the sides were good. The chicken long rice had a good broth and the chicken was soft. When we went, it was about 45 minutes before their new closing time of 6:30 and they had run out of poi so we didn’t get to try theirs but he gave us Mac salad instead. The haupia we got were huge pieces, too.

I have attempted to eat here 3 times during opening hours and each time they were closed. I was looking forward to trying their squid lu’au but have been disappointed each time

Cute little mom and pop. Got takeout and the the owner was kind. I was the only one in the restaurant when I entered and waited before being helped for quite some time. Once I ordered, the food came relatively quickly. The food was good although I wish they had some poke to add to the kalua plate. Overall, good food and definitely coming back for lunch.

Food was okay. Not great but not bad. The inside needs a little make over. It looks run down and old. The customer service was ok. I asked some questions and got some blank looks and some answers. I wonder if we had ordered other items if it would have been better. I got the Kailua Pork and y friend had Brians special. My friend really liked the macaroni salad. I wish there was some sauce or something for the pork. I may get it again and turn it into something else, but we shall see.

Yummy yummy yummy I’m full. That’s a quality Brian’s Combo. I wish I got some to go. But wer staying in North Shore. 4 n half stars.

Hidden Gems of Kaneohe. Traditional Hawaiian food, very subtle and satisfying. Something about this place brings it back home, a sense of warmth.
No come if you’re looking for fancy service. This Kaneohe, not Honolulu.
Relax and enjoy. Come over and support local businesses.
Aloha!

I’ve been to a number of places that sell and cater Hawaiian food. This place is not your typical restaurant. You will have to purchase everything except the plastics and plates. You will have to buy water if you would like one.
Here is my observation of the restaurant itself and the food:
Negatives
1. You will pay for water of juice
2. No menu, you will order at the counter and pickup food at the counter.
3. You will have to ask what is included in each plate.
4. Small seating area
5. Small parking lot
6. Public bathroom is far from restaurant and dirty
7. Watery chicken long rice and no taste
8. NO POKE!!!
Positives
1. Good Laulau and kailua pork
2. Good location
3. Ono poi

Great local grindz.

The best homemade Hawaiian food with authentic imu style kalua pig and the tastiest lau lau! I get out to windward poi bowl at least once a month to get my hawaiian food fix. I like the homey décor and the hawaiian music station playing in the background always sets the mood… Aloha to windward poi bowl!

My family loves kalua pig plate! Totally worth it!

The laulau plate is tops! Never had a bad dish yet! The customer service has little to be desired but the food and price makes up for it!

I ate at Windward Poi Bowl yesterday for the first time in a couple of years, and it reminded me of why I stopped eating there in the first place.
I live in Kaneohe, and there is only one other place that serves Hawaiian food, and it tops this place for sure. I ordered a lau lau plate served with lomi salmon, pipi kaula, and poi; however, I didn’t get too much poi– mostly water. I couldn’t even eat the poi with a spoon; I had to pick up the bowl and drink it like soup!
The lomi salmon was pretty much the same quality; the tomatoes were very soft and kind of mushy. There was a lot of liquid in the container, and it just lacked flavor overall.
The lau lau was decent, but lacked that nice chunk was melting fat, so some pieces of meat were a little dried out. The luau leaves were cooked well however.
I was still hungry after this meal (probably from watered down poi) and didn’t feel like I got my money’s worth. I don’t recommend even giving this place a chance. Stick with the great Hawaiian food places you already know.

This is like one of the only places on the windward side that specializes in Hawaiian food on an everyday basis not just on fridays. I went there a few weeks ago to pick up lunch for the bf and myself and the food was pretty good. The parking lot is not the greatest and most of the time it’s packed but luckily i found a spot a few stalls down from the restaurant.
I walked up to the front door and the place was pretty much vacant besides one customer sitting at a table near the back. The restaurant itself is on the smaller size but it’s very clean and cozy. My Aunty had pre ordered Laulau plates for us so i was just there to pick em up. I did however check out the menu and they had some good selections to choose from. The owner is very nice. He reminds me of my grandpa but way nicer lol. He brought out our laulau plates all packaged up and ready to go.
The plates consisted of a laulau, rice (you can choose poi if you prefer) lomi salmon and pipikaula. The laulau was good, I’ve had better but the laulau here was definitely enjoyable. The lomi salmon was ok, better than store bought thats for sure. And the pipikaula was yummy :)
All in all the food is better than decent and for the price you cant go wrong. $ 7.95 for a laulau plate is a pretty good deal.

Visited Windward Poi Bowl for the first time this past Wednesday. Since this was St. Paddy’s Day and I already had Corned ‘n Cabbage on the menu for dinner, decided to go Hawaiian for lunch!
Tried ‘Brian’s Combo’, which is described as «The Works», including Laulau, Kalua Pork, Pipikaula, Lomi Salmon AND choice of Chicken Long Rice or Chicken Luau and Rice or Poi. $ 10.95
I upgraded from Chicken Luau to Squid Luau for just a $ 1 more. Chose the Poi (vs. Rice) of course!
Their Laulau doesn’t include Butterfish, but there’s a good amount of super moist ‘n tender, perfectly salted pork meat and pork fat, so da’ flavah really pops when you get to the middle because of that. The Laulau is also very generously wrapped in layer-​upon-​layer of super-​moist, perfectly Hawaiian Salt-​seasoned Luau leaves. Overall an excellent house-​made Laulau at Windward Poi Bowl. The only thing that could improve it is having it served still in the Ti Leaf «purse» it was steamed in, and if it had butterfish. Otherwise, winnahz!
The Lomi Salmon includes generous chunks of salt salmon, yet it’s not TOO Salty, but juss’ right. Plus the white onion, green onion and diced tomatoes are all super fresh. Their Lomi Salmon is PERFECT.
The Kalua Pig is excellent as well. Perfectly Hawaiian Salt-​seasoned, very moist and pull-​apart tender, with just the right level of natural «Imu» smoke flavoring to it. The only thing I’d ask for is a little more fat and/​or skin in it for extra flavor.
The Squid Luau is intensely-​flavored with UNSWEETENED (VERY important!) Coconut Milk, which I personally really like, but if that’s not your thing, you might wanna’ skip this. Again, perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of salt and a good amount of cut pieces of soft and tender Tako (not squid!) in it. My only complaint with this dish is it was way too thin and soupy.
Owner and Cook Brian Hayasaka needs to take some of them Luau leaves he’s generously wrapping the Laulau with and throw some in da’ pot wit’ da’ Squid Luau! Otherwise, winnah, winnah Squid Luau Dinnah!
The Pipikaula? Meh. Bland and dry if you ask me. I’ll take Big Island Smoked Meat (pork) over this.
‘Brian’s Combo’ also comes with a very tasty and SWEET raw Maui onion, a dash of Hawaiian Salt and of course the (very fresh Taro brand) Poi to chase all that salted ‘n savory Hawaiian grindz with!
See the photos section to check out the plate I described above and a look at the place.
Business hours at Windward Poi Bowl are (current as of March 2010):
Monday — Friday: 11am to 2pm/​5pm to 8pm
Saturday: 11am to 8pm
Sunday: closed
Note: Windward Poi Bowl has no affiliation with Ala Moana Poi Bowl.
Whether or not you’ve already been to Helena’s, Ono’s, Young’s, Kapahulu Poi Shop, Highway Inn, Haili’s and/​or People’s Café, if you’re in search of that «perfect Hawaiian food spread», I think Windward Poi Bowl is worth the trek over the Koolau’s to further satisfy that quest.
I’m very impressed! Maika’i!