Hawaiian Drive Inn

I come here at least once a month, and I’ve only gotten their lunch special #2. They give a generous portion of the katsu. Their customer service is friendly. I love their macaroni salad. It’s something ’bout it that makes me crave it.

I ordered a chicken katsu lunch special and having been to other Hawaiian Drive In locations I feel that I was shorted on my food based on portion size

I keep coming back here for the low prices and pretty decent Hawaiian food. The lunch specials are excellent and filling. I usually do the BBQ chicken and chicken katsu which they give big portions for. All this for roughly $ 6 – 7 is a steal considering how other places would charge a higher price for the same thing.
Over the years the service here has gotten so much better. When I first came to SJ it was a rude lady who cashiered, but now whoever is in the front has been so nice and considerate. They always make sure you have everything and ask if you need anything which is much appreciated!

Hawaiian Drive Inn is conveniently located within the walking distance of SJSU campus. It’s a great lunch spot for a big portion at a good price. There are also lunch specials which are at a even lower price. The regular combos are already pretty decently priced at $ 7 to $ 8, and the lunch specials are at about $ 6 to $ 7. The lady here is always so nice and friendly.
I usually get the Chicken Katsu because it’s pretty much the only thing I crave whenever I want Hawaiian food (haha). It comes in a big box of chicken, two scoops of white rice and one scoop of macaroni salad. The portion is so big that sometimes it’s hard to close the box. The chicken katsu are always popping out. Such generous portions!
Overall, this is a great place if you’re craving Hawaiian food and don’t want to spend a lot! Food here is bomb. Portion is great. Price is right. I’ll definitely be back!

The food was amazing. Although they should consider giving some gravy as it becomes a bit sluggish later on.

Easily five stars! Super close to campus. Staff very friendly. The portions are very generous. I ate the chicken katsu it was so much food. Definitely competes with l&l and is cheaper! The place is small. A great mom and pop shop.

If you’re tired of the overpriced SU food on campus? This is but a 5 min walk away. Good food for decent prices. (lunch specials)

This is a little hole in the wall place with excellent food. The place is kind of small but there’s a decent amount of tables and chairs. They are located a block away from SJSU which is very convenient for students. Their prices are really cheap and the food is amazing. The wait time for food though can take a little while as there are many orders around lunch time but the lady at the cashier (maybe the owner) is very sweet and gives the best service possible. Definitely come here if you are in the downtown San Jose area and want Hawaiian barbecue!

Went to eat here on my lunch break this week and wasn’t very impressed with the food or the service. I’ll start with the good: the prices are very reasonable here. I ordered the lemon chicken with a side of pot stickers all for about $ 8.50 and the portions were a pretty good size. The food was just okay; the lemon chicken was way too sweet for me and a little dry. The pot stickers were actually really delicious though. My main gripe with this place is the service or lack there of. I called in to place my order well before I went to pick it up, but when I got there she told me my order wasn’t ready and they still had to make it. This upset me a little as I was already pressing for time (I have a short lunch break) and she didn’t seem to care at all about it. For me it’s a 2.5÷5.

I want to give this place 2.5 stars, but here’s 3 stars. This place is walking distance from SJSU and good for lunch. I come here every few months when I’m craving katsu chicken or spam masubi and just want something besides the campus food. The food here isn’t that great, but it’s filling and affordable, I think it’s somewhat cheaper than L&L. I usually order a small chicken katsu and it comes with a scoop of rice & a side of macaroni salad! I love their mac salad, but you can substitute it for veggies, fries, or something else if you’re not a fan of mac salad. The chicken katsu is okay — it’s more of the bread crumbs than meat. Sometimes I wonder if there’s any meat at all. Overall, this place is small and gets busy during lunch hours, but the lady at the counter is very nice :)

Lunch was great this afternoon. Service was absolutely great, fast and so welcoming here. My steak was so yummy very flavorful. Keeping this diamond in the rough one of my favorites for sure!

You wouldn’t expect it from the outside but this place has great food and personality from the family that owns it. She makes you feel as if your with your own mom.
The décor is a bit off putting however the area was clean and well taken care of. You get a ton of food which is all great but the price is even better. AS a college student with two jobs to make ends meet it’s a great place and just a short walk away.

I couldn’t give this place three stars because ¾ of my meal was amazing and the sweet old lady who works there was so friendly and gave us great customer service. The rice, macaroni salad, beef, and spam musubi were all very delicious. The beef was actually cooked so well, I wish I had ordered just beef alone to fill up on.
I couldn’t give this place five stars for two reasons: one, their chicken was really dry and bland (though I’m not sure if that’s how the chicken is supposed to taste); and two, it was a little dirty in there, and my friend and I didn’t see a health rating or whatever anywhere. The soda machine looked like it hadn’t been wiped down in a while, nor did the tables, and there were also little gnats or something flying around in the corner. I’ll come back, but not to eat inside.

Ehhh. This place is only good for its location. Tbh, this place is dry… like its food. I usually get the chicken katsu, but the meat is mostly bread. There’s barely any meat and so it becomes crispy. Their masubis are alright. Wayyyyy more rice than what you need for the spam. Their seaweed kind of tastes old too =|
The only thing I can think of that is a plus is that they have lunch specials served all day! Woohoo! Those comprise of a two-​item combo ranging from fried shrimp, hockey katsu, and bbq chicken, with rice and Mac salad.
I come here when I’m desperate, but there are more things around the area.

(: Boba-​Foodholic Says :)
So I went to this place to try out how it is. This place is located right in front of Bobo Drink and right beside the Grocery Outlet. Also, it is very small place, I guess a family-​owned business. I don’t know how Thai owners own this Hawaiian restaurant. Anyway, when we first went in here, no one was welcoming. Also, the place was really unclean by means the tables are not clean, the sauces were not refilled and dirty to nasty. Furthermore, I hate to disrespect the elders but the cashier was an elder, who can’t speak english very well and doesn’t know how to use technology, which I should have get a free drink for the first punch pie.
Let’s talk about the food. We ordered Lunch Special #2 and Loco Moco. First, lunch special #2 is really good, especially the fried pork. However, compare to L & L Hawaii, the macaronis are not good, so bad. Also, people who don’t know what Loco Moco is it is a just a hamburger patties with grave sauce with fried egg. I don’t recommend the food nor the restaurant.

I am all about supporting small chain and mom-​pop shops. They provide good food and decent pricing. My low ranking is not for their food but level of services. This is not to ding the place but rather a recommendation for the owner. I understand that the business gets busy at lunch. Hence, I make a phone order to reduce my wait time. I arrived after my time estimate and stand in line to pay. Now I would believe my ready would be order, so I pay and informed the person that I ordered on the phone. They took my order without double checking, so I kindly reminded them that I had ordered in advance. 15 minutes later, hence about 40 minutes after I made my phone order, my order was ready. Guess what, it was right after the person who ordered in line of me picked up their order.
What is the point of making a phone order if I ended up getting my food the same time as if I order in person. When I asked for an explanation, the person just ignored me. I do not believe I was rude at all, and rather patient, but at least an apology or acknowledgement that a mistake was made. Ridiculous.

This place is AWESOME.
I come here at least once a month, but I try once every two weeks.
The portions are big, the price is low, what’s not to like?
Complaints would be that because its a bit small, you’ll most likely won’t be eating there if you go during lunch time.
I would reccomend the mini for the average eater. The «regular» is HUGE. It may leave many feeling a bit bloated.
My favorite to order is the chicken Katsu. They’re macaroni salad is pretty bomb too.

My go to place to get my Hawaiian fix
Pro’s
Huge portions, even the mini is pretty large, regular can feed 2
Tasty Hawaiian food, I love the kahula pork and garlic shrimp
Great service, pretty fast and always sweet
Inexpensive (they even accept
vouchers)
Con’s
Parking can be bad depending on what time you go there
I will be a returning customer for sure!

Fast cheap option for lunch for any SJSU students. I’m starting to venture out off campus for lunch now that the SU has crazy expensive food.
Anyways, I usually get the mini Loco Moco for about $ 6. It comes with more than enough rice, a beef patty, gravy, a sunny side up egg, and macaroni salad. They also have special deals. You get a lot of food for pretty cheap.
It gets pretty crowded and stuffy here, so I always bring my food back to campus to eat. It’s very small and gets crowded quick. Expect to wait a little bit to get your food during the lunch rush.

As a broke college student, this is one of those hidden treasures around campus that really exemplify the best bang for your buck. The 3 lunch specials are so cheap and you get a lot of food. Granted, it is just 2 chicken option, but still great nonetheless.
Don’t be put off by the exterior. Honestly, if my friends didn’t show me the place, i probably would have just walked right passed it and not noticed it at all. It is a little dingy inside, but the amount of food you get, makes up for it. Also the people that work there are so nice. Overall, I come here at lest once a week and I’ve never had any problems with it.