Hawaiian Time

I LOVE Hawaiian food and was so excited to try Hawaiian Time when I found out about it after moving down to Keizer from Portland. I wanted to like it so much, but it just wasn’t that great. Meat was tough, not very flavorful, rice was dry, mac salad was disappointing as well… Can’t compare to Roxy’s in Beaverton or Local Boyz in Corvallis.

Was looking forward to trying some good Hawaiian food and unfortunately I still am. I eat a lot of terriaki chicken so I went for the beef. It had decent flavor but dear lord it was so tough. Used three sauces to choke it down. Rice was s solid ball at 6:30 pm Mac was good. All in all it was just food. Disappointing.

Very kind staff but the food I got was just not good. Mauna Loa chicken was drowned in the sauce which was overly shoyu-​y and spiced. Just overall not good. Mac salad was ok, had a lot of pepper or something and the rice was normal. Where is an L&L when you need one?!

Yum yum yum. The mac salad is so good. I always substitute the extra rice for another scoop of mac salad. The meat is always flavorful.

The food here is Good. The people and the service are top notch. And the environment is Very clean. Try the Korean BBQ.

The food was good but the cleanliness and service were terrible. I have been to other Hawaiian Times in Eugene and they are better cared for than this one. I would not come to the one again.

Kinda spendy, but an easy healthier choice to other fast food places. Love the Mac salad

Hawaiian Time is a great place to go for a quick bite of something different.
The menu has several different options for meat and favors, and you can even do a combo plate! The prices are a little spendier than typical fast food, but they do offer quite a bit for the buck. My favorites are the Mauna Loa chicken and the pulled pork! Comes with heaps of rice as well as a good Mac salad (or ask for extra rice if you don’t like the Mac salad)
The staff has always been friendly, and only once in the several times I have eaten there was there ever a mistake. When I brought it to their attention they were quick to make it right and then some!
The restaurant area is smaller than their flagship location on mission but they have a convenient drive thru! Word of caution, the location used to be a service station so in the winter it can be cold in there since they kept the garage doors as part of the look.

We love this place. My daughter and I can share one large plate of food and it’s more then enough. It’s always so clean and the food is very good. We prefer this one over the mission street HT. The food is far more consistent at the west Salem store.

I live in west Salem area so I’ve driven by this place a ton of times and never gone in. Well today I finally stopped in and the food is tasty! The macaroni is AMAZING! I ordered the #5 so definitely will be going back to try other things off the menu :) told the cashier I was a newbie so she was awesome to explain the different foods, sizes :)

We really like this place! Good food, fairly fast. Not your usual. Especially love the Honolulu beef and the macaroni salad! Try the seaweed on your rice!

Really enjoyed the food here. Enough so that I came two days in a row. Both times I got the mixed plate with Mauna Loa chicken with Thai chili sauce and beef with Korean marinade. That chili sauce was spicy and kicked my taste buds in the best way. I really enjoyed the beef with the marinade too, that had hints of soy sauce, garlic and sweet flavors.
The meats are served on top of white rice and the sauce covers the rice, which is awesome deliciousness. The meal is also served with a great black peppery macaroni salad, which helps time down some of the spiciness.
The smallest meal was around $ 11 and ready in about five minutes. There are tables in the front (which I interpreted as dog-​friendly) with plenty of parking in the lot and in the same strip mall as a Carl’s Jr. and beer shop.

Yum! The portion is absolutely huge on the combo plate. Food was ready super fast and the service was very friendly. ^^
They food seems to be a similar quality as fast food but tastes a bit better. Things were super salty though…

Closest thing to authentic Hawaiian food that I can find here. After visiting Hawaii I always get a craving for kahula pig! Theirs is pretty tasty. And I was very happy that they give you Mac salad here too!

I’m a kama’aina … I grew up in Hawaii. So plate lunch takes me to a happy place. Yet I have to admit, they give me more food than I need! But so tasty. My total fallback is the Kalua pig. Smoky, salty, moist … so wonderful with the rice. If it gets cold on my way home it’s easy to heat up again. The teriyaki chicken is really great too. I get the combo sometimes … how can you beat pig, chicken and rice? Well … you can add grilled veggies! I nix the macaroni salad, which is not as great as the rest, and replace with veggies. Then add a real Hawaiian Sun Guava Nectar (all natural) … takes me back to the mudslides and picking plumerias. Thank goodness it’s on the way home from Salem!

Great teriyaki plate lunch. They say all their sauces are gluten free. My husband had the Kalua pork and he said it was Ono!

Meh. The teriyaki chicken tasted like burnt soy sauce for some reason and the Kahlua pork tasted like they used too much bottled smoke.

It’s like the McDonald’s of Hawaiian food. I’ve had awesome food in Hawaii and on the mainland, at fancy restaurants, hole in the wall joints, shanty’s and around a family dinner table and this is the worst I have ever had! The Mac salad has way too much pepper and mayo and the meat was bland and cold. No Katsu chicken either :(

I braced myself as I entered, expecting the worst. Reading previous reviews had made me terribly leery about whether to even give Hawaiian Time the benefit of a doubt, but I’m sure glad I did!
It is true, the initial layout is awkward. Just a few steps inside the door and straight ahead is the counter. I can see how a line would make things bad very fast. Fortunately, I arrived just minutes after they opened on a long lunch break from work. There was no one else present save myself.
I tentatively approached the young lady behind the computer screen and greeted her with a friendly «I’ve been to a Hawaiian Time in Cali, and loved it, but have not been to either Salem location yet — I am sure you guys are really good too!» She brightened right up and made small talk about how the new location is really great and if I’d like a sample of any of the meats. I declined and ordered the Medium sized Pork meal. And a soda.
As she happily placed my food order I moseyed over to the self serve soda fountain to fill up with Pepsi. This turned out to be a messy situation. The Pepsi tab was over carbonated and bubbled right up over my cup, and my glass had only been half filled! This was easily cleaned and I waited till the bubbles had subsided before filling a bit more.
I was expecting a long wait, but before I had even used a napkin to wipe down the side of my now filled soda, I was hollered at that my order was ready. This was a nice surprise. As I grabbed my lunch, the lady asked if I would like some BBQ sauce. At first I said no, but at her insistence that it was the best BBQ sauce ever, I took a couple.
Next was on the a nice shady spot at Wallace Marine Park to enjoy my meal.
There was plenty of rice, but not overly so in my opinion — but then, I do love rice. It was perhaps a little softer than the way I prepare my own, but it was alright. The macaroni salad was good in it’s own unique way. It seemed to be a very simple recipe, but it worked and I ate every bite. The highlight of the meal was the pork, hands down. I must say that this is only after a generous helping of the BBQ sauces though. Alone, the pork was only so-​so. With the tasty sauce, it was fantastic! I recommend getting at least a couple little cups of it.
I didn’t think the prices were unreasonable, I just figure everything in this economy is going up a bit. For the cost, I was very pleased with my meal, and service. Will likely return to the other location though just for convenience.

I have been relatively happy with my experiences at both Hawaiian Time locations in Salem. I found that the one on Mission St was a little better, but I am not as low on this place as other reviewers have been. Some notes:
— The entry location was not designed very well. There is a very small distance between the doors and the order counter. When even a small line gets started, it becomes an awkward curl to one of the sides and makes for a jumble, especially when people on one side are going to refill drinks on the other side.
— We personally enjoy the limited menu. I’d rather have something that I know the cooks (should) know how to make properly, as opposed to a ton of choices. We also don’t mind the large amounts of rice. However, we (as opposed to others) have been very pleased with the amount of meat/​chicken/​veggies we have gotten on top of the rice. We may just be getting lucky, or do not require more meat, as I’m not sure my wife or I could have eaten more with our meal. We also LOVE the macaroni salad they make.
That being said, it’s not a good sign when there is a fancy sign on the counter that says, «Sorry, we are out of pork». If there is a need for a pre-​made sign, maybe its time to get more pork. The young girl behind the counter was very apologetic and said that she thinks that they only cook 2 «pigs» a day at the current moment. Maybe they are just trying to figure how many they make to accommodate the need.
So without pork this go around, I got their beef special. I was not as thrilled about it as I was the pork at the Mission St location. It seemed a bit chewy/​vainy and for it being the location «special» it felt a little on the bland side for me. However, my wife tasted it and said she really liked the taste, so who knows. She had the Veggie plate and was pleased with both the amount and taste.
— Service was fine. As I mentioned on my Mission Street review, it is just order taking so it’s not really imperative for me to have high-​level service. The young girl appeared green in her job, but was very friendly. About halfway through our meal, my daughter decided she wanted some lemonade. At that time, we got back in line, which had gotten a little long (and fell into that the awkward curve shape). A cook from the back came up to help and when he found out we just wanted a drink, grabbed a cup and said not to worry about paying. That was a nice gesture that he did not have to do.
All in all, I still think (hope) that over time Hawaiian times will improve. I’m not sure why we have had more positive experiences than others, but I would suggest giving it a try and not completely writing it off.