Keneke’s Grill

To be honest, if I hadn’t specifically been going here to meet someone I might not have ever stopped in here. It’s true that it doesn’t look like much from out front and it’s easy to drive by without thinking twice, but it’s the place to be if you’re up visiting the Northern side of the island.
Inside has a sort of a diner feel, and out back is some outdoor seating that is super charming with great views of the mountains.
The food is inexpensive, very good and very filling. I really enjoyed my Kalua Pig, mac salad and rice while my friend had pork adobo. She eats there a lot, and says their specials are delicious.
The service was very pleasant, too. The woman who took our orders and served us our food was very nice, considerate and helpful.

Good service, friendly people, good food, and a great local place! Also great views from the outdoor seating.

Stopped in here on the way back from touring the North Shore beaches… It’s definitely a dive… But the food was tasty and plentiful for really great prices! Our family of four were stuffed for 35 bucks– drinks included. Sure beats Waikiki! The coconut shrimp were huge, the pork was tasty, and the BBQ chicken was yummy too. We’d definitely return!

First they gave us the wrong order than food came & eggs not good. Hair in my food. Girl with super long hair pass the back of her knees not wearing hair net
Food was disgusting!

The food was great. Delicious! He has some good options with a local flare. We got the prime rib, garlic shrimp, guava chicken, purple mashed potatoes, and some other things. All was delicious. We got so many compliments about the food. The girls he had working our event were a pleasure. They were helpful and made sure to keep the bridal party fed. The only thing you should be aware of is Keneke is usually really busy and is most responsive via phone.

This place is THE place. Is it a 5-​Star restaurant? No, but it’s 5-​Star DELISH. I’m not one for fancy dining, especially on vacation. If you want to enjoy the local life and the local experience, skip your Honolulu/​Waikiki commercialism, and some closer to the north shore.
Keneke’s is where it’s at! Insane garlic shrimp! And it’s more than plenty of food. The rice is good (and lots of it, too), and the mac salad is tasty. The bite of pork I had was anything BUT bland. It was tender and delicious.
Sure, the place is a «dive,» and that’s what makes it so damn good.
This is aloha life, folks.
The girl taking our order at the window was super sweet, and it seems they do a decent event business. We were only there about 35 – 40 minutes, and they met with two separate parties in that time.
If you want fine china and cloth napkins, go into the city and forgo experiencing all Oahu has to offer. If you want insane food with the aloha charm, come to the north shore, and DEFINITELY make a stop at Keneke’s.

I came here with my sister and her fiancé to do a tasting for their wedding next year. We really didn’t know what to expect, especially after reading the reviews. We got there, they seated us, and met with Keith. He was so sweet and charming! He went over the details of their catering, different options, etc.
After he was done going over the details, plates of food came out… It looked amazing. He left us to try it and we began…
First thing we tried, the coconut shrimp. I’ve never had coconut crusted shrimp that tasted as good as keneke’s! We all had to take a moment of silence to process what we just put in our mouth because it was BOMB! Second thing we tried was the garlic shrimp. Okay… like, wow… that was good. So garlicky and cooked so perfectly! Third thing we tried was the garlic fish. It literally was a fish version of the shrimp, amazing. Fourth thing was the herb crusted fish. I’m going to be honest, it was good, but it belonged to a very traditional catered wedding, good but kinda boring. The next items we tried was the mango chicken along with the guava chicken. These two had so much good flavor. You can really taste the fruit that was marinated on the chicken! Lastly we had the bbq beef and kalua pork. At this point, we were blown away by everything we just tasted. We take bites of the last two meats and think «how the heck are we (more like them, I’m just extra) ever going to choose which meats we want catered!?»
In the beginning my sister’s fiancé wanted to write down which ones they liked. In the end he ended up writing everything because they were all so good! Not only was it all good but Keoth told us all the marinates and veggies are freshly farmed by them. I mean come on!
If you’re ever in Oahu, do yourself a favor and go visit Keneke’s. If you don’t feel comfortable sitting down and eating there, go and take it to go, stop at a scenic point and it in your car or something! You won’t regret coming here! I promise you!

Forget that place in 50 First Dates… they’re probably closed. THIS is THE PLACE for all-​day breakfast for $ 5.99, which includes a drink! $ 7.99 gets you a huge beef steak w/​rice, salad & a drink… like a Royal Flush, can’t beat it!

A small road side hole in the wall along highway 83. Doesn’t appear to be much from the outside, but wow oh wow. Both the food a day service from the staff was far beyond my expectations. I ordered the best coconut shrimp and mac salad I’ve ever had. The staff was really friendly with warm smiles. They have an outdoor seating area in the backyard with an amazing view of the mountains. I highly recommend this on your next road trip.

Keith catered my reception dinner and wedding. He created 2 different menus that were affordable. Unlike other vendors he cooked everything on site and let us take the food home too! My guests looooved the food! Would definitely recommend.

Thank you Keith and Keneke’s for everything! We had the traditional Hawaiian catering package for our wedding in Laie, HI. Everyone LOVED the food. Keith was very accommodating of different tastes and made sure to talk with us about switching out certain items to make sure our guests from Texas would be able to palate all of the dishes that would would be served. The staff was very professional and attentive. I didn’t have a single thing to worry about the night of the wedding. They served the guests seamlessly from the odd location I requested the buffet to be set up at. They had plates ready for my husband and I before we settled down at our table.
We also included shaved ice service and bar service from Keneke’s which made the reception so much easier to plan and coordinate.
Keith was very responsive through emails and believe me I had a lot of questions since I was planning from Texas. We were fortunate enough to come out to Oahu to visit vendors. When we met Keith we knew Keneke’s was the perfect choice. He is the Hawaiian Santa Claus with goats as reindeer after all! He was very chill and funny, and obviously experienced in what he does. I had no concerns after we had our meeting.
Everything was perfect!
Mahalo!

Keith was highly recommended to cater our casual wedding for a party of 30 and we had such a great time. He has lots of experience catering weddings and walked us through the best way to direct the flow of people and how to do the «cake slice» photo op. We picked one of his vast wedding menu packages and a bunch of pies from Liliha bakery. Everything turned out exactly as I wanted it to.

Keith and his team catered our wedding. All of our guests said that they absolutely loved the food. Keith was accommodating with everything we wanted and you can also schedule a free tasting if you plan on using Ben for catering. Don’t let the looks of this place fool you. Their food and service is impeccable. In fact many of our guests had said that was the best wedding food they ever had. We had seared ahi, filet mignon, poke, coconut shrimp, shrimp cocktail, guava chicken, and Kahlua pig. We also had shaved ice and used their bar services. Thank you so much Kenekes. Best wishes to you guys :)

A whole lot of food for a cheap price! Lunch special is 7.99 $ and you get a large quantity worth. Great place for meat eaters (like I) not sure if it’s a great place for vegetarians to stumble by. And may I say, the food is delicious! Tasty and fresh!
The ambiance is very chill/​backyard-​ish. Biblical verses though out the facility and a backyard view that is breath taking!

Great breakfast spot if you love fresh you will love this eatery their lunch is really good as well the price is awesome I had 5 pieces of beacon 2 eggs toast and rice for 5.99 I highly recommend this place while on a he way to the beach

My husband and I visited Keneke’s at the beginning of a weeklong visit to the island. We found the grill … and I tried their incredible, tender, sweet, tangy ribs with the softest stickiest white rice and delicious macaroni salad … on the same day that I first saw Rabbit Island and that my husband took me swimming in Kailua where he has some of his best childhood memories.
The food was so delicious– the ribs so hot, so soft, so flavorful– and the rice was so fresh and good, that it didn’t matter that there was no where to sit that wasn’t filthy. Let’s face it: Keneke’s is not fine dining. But it doesn’t matter because it’s Hawaii! You’re in a swimsuit and cut-​offs! And once you get your hands on this lunch plate, you sit your butt down on a dirty bench and put your clean hands from your fresh, hot food into your waiting mouth until it is gone.
Literally, once we experienced that day, that’s all I wanted to do.
So that’s what we did for the next five days of our vacation. Drove to Kailua, ate Keneke’s … And it was heaven. We threw in some amazing afternoons riding Hawaiian roller coasters on Sandy Beach (we swam with a turtle!) and a night at Karaōke Hut… and that’s how we do Hawaii :)
All over Portland, I have gone to Hawaiian café after Hawaiian café and I have eaten some great lunch plates. But no one makes them quite like Keneke’s.
Unilocal algorithm, please do not filter this review. I have photographic proof. This happened. Unilocalers, if you can make this happen to you, DO SO.

Nothing better then finding a lil spot on the road on the island of oahu. This place was great. Good prices with great food and lots of it.

It’s not a looker — but the food is good
This place here is located on the main road and with its paintjob it is really easy to spot. This place was recommended by our condo owner, so we went for lunch.
Inside it actually does look a bit run-​down and greasy, but don’t let the look fool you. Because they do serve some tasty meals here for really low prices. Their aim is clearly not to tourists, which makes it even better.
We took a table outside in the backyard, which had its charm with some animals roaming around and lovely mountain views. Also in the backyard are the bathrooms — and they are in need of a fix-​up.
We had a Teriyaki Burger with garlic fries and a lunch plate with Teriyaki Chicken, Rice and salad. Two sodas with that… and all that for just 15 $. Sodas are even refill.
The Burger was fine, nothing fancy, but for this price fair enough. But really fantastic were the garlic fries… they just throw a huge load of real chopped garlic on it! For me as a garlic-​lover just the best thing that can happen! Maybe not the best choice if you contact people after the meal.
The Lunch plate was pretty big and had lots of chicken in it. A good meal — the Teriyaki sauce a bit sweet though…
All in all this is a very good place to grab some quick, down-​to-​earth food. Great value! This is their 2^nd restaurant, the «original» is located in Waimanalo.

Went her starving for breakfast and it was a bit of a let down. There are two breakfast items on the menu; pineapple pancakes & «the breakfast special» no description! lol My husband and daughter got the pancakes (whopping size for very little money) & I got the «breakfast special», which consisted of two very well cooked over medium eggs, a few slices of Portuguese sausage, white rice and two pieces of over cooked dry toast. Three small containers of butter came along with our items, but the butter was near frozen making it hard to have buttered toast, it was more like crumbled toast with shards of frozen butter! lol
The pancake plate was HUGE & only cost $ 3, but the flavor wasn’t there-​it was almost kinda of bland.
The breakfast special had good eggs (they know how to cook eggs here) and the Portuguese sausage was okay, but the meal really wasn’t anything I’d want to eat again.
I’d give them 2.5 stars for the food, but due to the state of the place I wanted to give them only one star. I have to honest and say that the place is quite dirty. The walls are sticky, the tables are sticky, the floor is sticky, it was hot and sweaty in there at like 8:30am and the bathroom… ugh don’t even get me started, gross.
All in all it was a big disappointment for us since I wanted to like the place and the woman who took our order was so, so nice, but the food and the cleanliness factor killed it.

I have to be completely honest, I’m not a huge fan of Keneke’s Grill as a restaurant, so when my wedding coordinator suggested we check them out as a caterer for my upcoming wedding, I was skeptical. However, their great prices made me think that we really couldn’t go wrong just to check them out. We were blown away by how delicious it was at the taste test! We also tried some much higher priced caterers with «fancier» food and at the end of the day without even needing to take price into consideration, we chose Keneke’s. We chose the following amazing menu:
Passed Appetizers
— Island Fruit
— Shoyu Poke
— Garlic Shrimp Skewers
— Guava Chicken Skewers
Salad
— Punalu’u Green Salad with Papaya Seed Dressing
Entrees
— Filet Mignon
— Teriyaki Chicken
— Blackened Ahi Carving Station
Sides
— Garlic Red Potatoes
— Hawaiian Sweet Bread
— Grilled Asparagus & Butter Nut Squash
We also added a custom sushi station from another vendor although I have heard that Keneke’s does sushi as well. Everything was just perfect. Keneke’s didn’t constantly nickle & dime us throughout the process and were accommodating about serving a sparkling cider toast, cake, and coffee after the meal. They happily brought plated food to the head table as we requested and checked in frequently to see if we needed any drinks or more food. We definitely saved money using their glass dishware instead of renting. There was so much food that my parents took some home and are probably STILL enjoying it! I did have a wedding coordinator organizing everything, but as far as I could tell, they arrived on time, looked professional, and served everything promptly. We got rave reviews from the guests as far as the food. Definitely recommend using them as caterers!