Da Spot, UH West Oahu

This is the only eatery place at UH West Oahu, it’s actually the first building you see after you park so it’s not that hard to find.
When I first went here today, I was amazed at how big the eating area was and it looked like a cafeteria with clean and comfortable seating. There was a plate lunch and smoothie/​acai area too along with fridges stocked with sodas and beverages.
I went to the acai/​Smoothie stand area which had a substantial menu. Their plate lunch menu looked good too with options like pizza, chicken katsu curry, and BBQ chicken, but I couldn’t eat there since I got fillings recently and my teeth still hurt.
The Smoothie menu was substantial with over 20 different flavors and freshly cut fruits. The sizes for the smoothies are Small ($ 1-​$ 2), Medium ($ 3), and Large ($ 5). I got the Strawberry Potion in a medium size which costed $ 3. The drink contained haupia sorbet, soymilk, and strawberries. I could faintly taste the coconut and strawberry, but it was overall a pretty decent drink. My only complaint is their straw sucks since it’s your average soft beverage straw and it’s not meant to be used for smoothies that need a more thicker straw.
I would definitely come back again because I was satisfied with my smoothie and their prices are very affordable. Customer service was excellent too, and there were many different flavors I wanted to try.

Went in, with the intent to donate to a charity item on their menu. Didn’t have it, wouldn’t make it, nor acknowledge it. Maybe they were busy?
Went to order something else, person behind the counter said if I ordered a combo plate of the items I wanted, I would be charged for cost of 2 plates. Clearly it said a price for a combo plate below said items.
Asked what else they had and they pointed me to the ala carte line. Then, instead of helping me, they helped the next person in line. Had it, and left.
Other than that. the $ 3 french fries are pretty good. Would only come here because its the only place serving hot food. Any other day, the vending machines are pretty affordable.

If I could give it a ZERO, I would.
I attend the University and I wish our school got better food, or at least kept up with how this place runs. I have been eating here time and time again because there is nothing else on campus, but I keep finding more reasons not to.
Encounter 1.
The lady behind the counter is RUDE. I walked up to order and instead of being welcoming she says «what do you want?» STRIKE #1. I proceeded to order the acai bowl and she rolled her eyes and sighed under her breath. STRIKE #2. I like to add extras to my acai bowl so I asked for honey and granola and she says «it already comes with that» and rolled her eyes once more STRIKE #3. She took her sweet time stomping around, slamming things down, and breathing madly while making my acai bowl, maybe 10 – 15 minutes. I’M ALL OUT OF STRIKES! By the time I got my bowl it was like cereal, melted and she only put one strawberry on i, where in the past they would put 5 – 8 strawberries. She didn’t add the extra honey or granola. When I went to finally pay she took my card out of my hand swiped it and then gave me my receipt and left the register. Not one word came out of her mouth.
This time I was irritated but I figured everyone had bad days so I let it go.
Encounter 2.
It is international culture week and lunch hour is completely packed. Same girl as the last time, again being so slow and extremely rude. Not a smile. Rolling her eyes at every customer. Told another customer rudely that they didn’t have what they wanted. When I got to the register to pay for what I had ordered, the girl on the register was watching other customers and she talked bad about them to me. Got to my table to eat, there was hair in my salad, all the salad leaves were wilted the Yakisoba looked like it was cooked yesterday.
What else could I possibly complain about?
It’s really sad because this place was really on it when they first opened. They were well staffed and got the rushes handled decently. They were always nice and greeted you. The food was good and fresh. Now on the other hand, it’s a complete disaster. I sit in the café and hear people complain about the same things I complain about, especially the rude worker, but nothing seems to change. In fact, I think they get worse every time I buy something. It’s like all the workers hate their jobs, don’t want to be here, and it reflects in their customer service. Bad customer service makes the food taste worse than it already does.

Regardless of people saying that there are roaches and flies in the the cafeteria it is the School’s responsibility to help maintain the health regulation and cleanliness of the café. However, if I could rate this establishment it would be an exceptional ⁵⁄₅. Food on the line are the same old same old, Teri miso chicken, butter garlic chicken, Snapper, either red Thai curry or Japanese curry and occasionally Malaysian chicken curry. Although it is the same things everyday, the taste is always great. On my honest opinion, portions are great and it is affordable because it fills you up through out the day. Besides all the things on the line there are also the made to order menu options to consider like the sirloin steak, Katsu, and great wrap sandwiches (almost the size of a small child), but what makes my day the best are their cheese burger combos. It is big (patty weighing about half a pound), with the bun perfectly crisp with a choice of dressing or mayo mustard and ketchup as a condiment, accompanied with fries and a small drink. It is a little pricy (about $ 10.47) but it is worth it. Only people who say that the food is mediocre are those expecting more like a monkey pod dining experience, but sadly it is an eatery located on a college campus that also have broke ass college students, so sorry they couldn’t provide that to those who want more, but that’s why you go to college right? Anyway, onto my review about the smoothies. The smoothies are absolutely perfect, made with all fruit and some smoothies containing homemade sorbets and having the choice to make your own smoothie! Possibilities are endless! Besides the smoothies my all time favorites are the Zabadi and Acai bowls, I absolutely love it when the zabadi and acai bowls are thick, covered in granola, sliced strawberries, bananas, and kiwi then drenched with honey. If you’re not much of a sweet tooth you can kindly ask to not to drown the acai bowl in honey. If you are squimish about bugs, remember, there’s bacteria everywhere and you’ll die eventually. Oh, and the female coworkers are hot and very very nice.

This review should be broken into 2 parts, one for the food and one for the smoothies.
FOOD:
1 star.
Most of their pre-​made entrees are sitting cold and covered in grease. Really unappetizing and expensive at $ 10/​plate. I’ve eaten just about all their entrees multiple times and the taste is average at best. The curries lack enough curry powder so they are bland. Plus all that unnecessary oil gives you a stomach ache.
They used to sell a wide variety of pita sandwiches, but now they took that down and only sell a few options. If it wasn’t for the Tokai College students that eat here, this place would be out of business.
TL;DR: Don’t waste your money. Go to Kapolei and get much better food at much better prices.
SMOOTHIES/​ACAI BOWL:
5 stars.
They have an extensive variety of smoothies (36 of them!) and the prices are excellent. A medium smoothie, made with real fruits (albeit frozen) for $ 3.50 is a fantastic deal. The smoothies are thick and not full of sugar like Jamba Juice.
The Acai Bowl is HUGE!!! If you like Acai Bowls then you will love the one here. And at $ 6, the price is unbeatable. I could eat these everyday.
TL;DR: Definitely come here for the smoothies. There’s a reason why the line for smoothies is long and the line for food is non-​existent. Whenever I’m on campus, I like to stop in and get a Purple Rain. Good taste and good value.

Came again to University of Hawaii West Oahu, but this time on a Friday. It seems Fridays are slower and the number of dishes available were limited. Also, the selection appeared to be similar dishes from the previous day. Food was still good, but recommend to dine on other days for a better selection.

Generally I enjoy Da Spot! I’ve had a few TERRIBLE customer service experiences, but I can never complain about the food and the other employees, who are more than happy to help out a picky eater figure out what she wants.
It’s not the cheapest but it’s the students’ only option if we want to stay on campus and keep our parking spot.