Kahula Restaurant

I’m not a picky eater but I do love Asian food. Thai, Chinese (Human, Szechuan, doesn’t matter), Korean, Filipino, Indian, Mongolian — I love it all.
I knew going in that this wasn’t going to be any of those things. This was going to be American Chinese Food — something that happened around World War II when both Asian restaurants serving US sailors and Asian-​US immigrants had to invent dishes like Chop Suey to assuage an american pallet. No, they don’t serve General’s chicken in China. (But there’s a great documentary on Netflix called The Search For General Tso — a seriously great movie about the search for the man who invented General’s Chicken)
So I wasn’t expecting much when I ordered. Kung Pao Chicken, according to wikipedia, is «a staple of westernized Chinese cuisine». Well, someone at Kahula needs to re-​evaluate what goes into that recipe because it exceed my worst mental picture of what central Mass could do to Kung Poa Chicken. There was MAYBE a quarter of a cup of chicken and about 4 cups of celery. Despite having the heat symbol on the menu, it wasn’t hot. In fact, it didn’t really taste like much at all. It was a celery salad. Which is to say: gross.
The rest of the food we order was as expected — garden variety american chinese. The kind of stuff that is eerily identical to any american style chinese restaurant around the US. My advice? If you eat here, don’t stray away from the pu pu platter.

I work in the area and regularly get take out here. The food is always great! Portion sizes are big too. I recommend trying if your looking for good Chinese!

We have been to Kahula the past two Sundays. The quality of food here is AWESOME. The first time we came we tried to sit at the bar. The restaurant opens at 12:30 which is when we arrived. Peter however was late. I have never been treated so badly at a restaurant. He promptly told us he was not ready to serve and it would be at least 10 minutes until he was ready. We were willing to wait the 10 minutes looking at the menu but he told us to leave the bar and wait outside… ooooookkkkk whatever. So we left the bar. I was totally ready to leave the restaurant as well but Stephanie came and apologized for what had happened in the bar and the hostess seated us in the restaurant. We had fantastic food and fantastic service which is why we returned this Sunday. We thought about sitting in the bar and giving Peter a penny tip for his rude service last week but decided to sit with Stephanie again since she was so awesome last time. There are two servers on Sunday last Sunday Setphanie had less customers than the other server (Howard) this Sunday she was slammed while he had hardly any customers at all. Regardless she did a fantastic job. We are happy to take our time, have a few drinks and enjoy the day. And Stephanie let us do exactly that. I cannot say enough about how we appreciate Stephanie and how she treats her customers. We will be back soon and look forward to seeing her again.

We found this Chinese/​Polynesian food fantasy palace on a whim really. We were supposed to eat at another local Chinese restaurant but our first choice turned out to be a buffet — and frankly staying in a hotel after eating bad Chinese buffet can be dangerous to the other occupants… not to mention the toilet.
My daughter did a Siri search and Kahula came up. Of course we checked Unilocal and the reviews were mixed — but overall we found enough positive ones to give this place.
The menu is tremendous, however if you take the time to read the descriptions of the dishes, it’s a manageable menu.
Dishes are humongous — this is a ‘sit and share’ type of place. There’s no way one man can eat two pounds of chicken and broccoli all by himself. But share it with your buddy who’s eating the Chinese Beef and vegetables — what a nice combo. The beef was tender yet still chewy enough to get stuck in my teeth… a sign of a good piece of meat.
The broccoli was nice and hard — crispy and delish, as were the watercress. So yummy. The boneless spare ribs were the best I e ever had. They like everything in this joint were HUMUNGOUS. I mean, they were massive. But so was the flavor. Very juicy. Biggie Smalls would be jealous.
Since I’m staying in a hotel, there was no way I’m taking food back in doggy bags. I’m eating this entire plate of Bok Chow and Beef Tenderloin like I’m a serial killer sitting on death row and this is my last meal. Toilets be damned! Don’t forget the fortune cookies — which were surprisingly small.

My husband and I went here for dinner last night, we are new to the area and were craving Chinese. The food was decent. We had general gao’s chicken, pork fried rice, crab rangoon, and chicken lo mein. It was a little bland, but still good. Large portions. The cocktails were also good. The prices are reasonable. The service was excellent.
My only complaint was the atmosphere. The building is run down, the booths are worn and you can feel the springs in the cushions as you sit. The wall paper is peeling away from the walls, and there are food stains on the walls as well. There is no central air conditioning, so they had fans and portable cooling units set up. The temperature was comfortable for August, but it gave the appearance further of a run-​down restaurant.
I’ll will try the other Chinese places in this area before going back to Kahula, unless I’m feeling lazy and we get take out. In essence, the food was decent, but the physical setting sucked. Don’t take a date here.

oh my gosh– what a treat. my boyfriend and i stopped here on a whim after a) being in the mood for chinese food and b) driving past what seemed like a veritable institution to the cuisine. sooo glad we did.
we sidled up to the bar, and ordered a scorpion bowl for 2, having discussed this choice on our walk in. i’ve had scorpion bowls before, and don’t remember them being this coconut-​y in flavor, but it was yummy and potent, regardless. it took us the whole meal to sip through it.
we were both overwhelmed by the size of the menu. this is one of the largest menus i’ve seen at a chinese restaurant, and it took us some time to order. my boyfriend ultimately went with the scallion chicken accompanied by a small side of plain white rice. his chicken was moist and juicy, and the sauce had some unknown element (cinnamon? nutmeg?) that made it irresistible. we both kept going back for taste, after taste.
i started with a cup of hot and sour soup. this is a mainstay for me, but the first time i’ve ever had hot and sweet and sour soup. there was a note of sweetness i’ve never encountered before, but it was totally delicious and, again, had me going back for more.
for my entrée i ordered the ma po tofu and roast pork lo mein. i’ve had ma po tofu before, and am used to it being a vegetarian dish. this one had a bit of a curve ball, as the savory and somewhat spicy sauce was actually laden with ground pork. the tofu was soft and delicate, the peppers added heat, and the sauce was plentiful and addictive. the lo mein was hearty in portion, and the flavor was classic and spot on.
needless to say, though we very much enjoyed our meals, we still took home a healthy amount of leftovers (i’m still working on them…). the inside of the restaurant matches the outside. though we sat at the bar, this place is still super old school. each dish was served in its own vessel, with a silver topper to keep the food warm (pretty AND effective). service was efficient and friendly.
i would highly recommend this place for classic and familiar chinese food. we will certainly be back when we’re in this neck of the woods again.

Cheap all day specials and giant scorpion bowls. Not a fancy place but has been here for ever and is very good

This place is huge! As in cafeteria huge. Kinda weird because from the outside it doesn’t look that big but once you’re inside you notice how big the place is especially when it was as slow as it was tonight. With that said the food was pretty good I must say. The beef lomein was delicious. The beef in the lomein WAS delicious. So many times the meat in these dishes are flavorless but this lomein was special. There’s really nothing else to point out except for the quality of the food. There was a few people getting take out and that’s what seemed to be the thing there. So for ambiance it gets a 1 star, but the food gets 4. I gave it 3 stars altogether, but will definitely get take out next time we are in town.

Ate a giant feast here again as soon as I had the chance! My friends and I drove up from Yale to chow down on delicious Asian noms and enjoy a couple of rounds of drinks. Lucky us, we had Howard working at our table – he provided yet another exceptional dining experience! I plan to head back to Kahula the next chance I get.

Kahula is the Mount Olympus of delicious Chinese food. Howard is Zeus among the restaurant gods – be sure to ask for him. This place is so good.

Food and drinks are always good. Must try the suffering Bastard and the Kahula fried rice.

Kahula is our favorite Chinese restaurant. Howard is the best waiter around!

So 4 of us go to sit in bar area and have drinks/​food. Not busy in there (at 7:00pm on a Saturday…). One bartender and older Asian man as waiter. After 15 minutes I decide to go to bar and get our drinks, bartender says «sit down, he will be right with you». I go back to table and if it wasn’t for the others, I would have walked out. Waiter arrives 10 minutes later… Food was average, drinks ok. Place needs a serious facelift. Too many other great options in the Sturbridge area. (Enrico’s, Teddy G’s, Cedar Street Grille)…after 20 years of trying Kahula, I’m done…

Large dining rooms suggest that they cater to tourist coming from Old Sturbridge Village. The food was delivered fast and hot, but the quality was only so so. The quantity was large. Got three meals for two adults and two kids and there was plenty left over. Large selection of menu items. Found numbers of things interesting on menu but again only so so when served. Just visiting town for a coUple days, but I would likely try another Asian place out before I came back here a second time.

Easily one of the worst meals I’ve ever eaten. Not remotely «Polynesian» and has all the charm of a strip mall take out joint.

Absolutely LOVE this restaurant!!! There just aren’t enough good things to say. The food is amazing and the staff is always polite and smiling. From what I hear the nightlife is pretty cool although I haven’t had the chance to find out for myself yet. This place is def a must for everyone!

Very good food, very nice folks, and quick service! I have to drive from Charlton because it is worth it and anything closer is not cutting it.
The robotic Chinese Santa Clause is AWESOME too!
You will enjoy.

The staff is friendly, the service is quick, and the food is great! We love eating «family style» here.

I have been meaning to stop here for a while now and finally did the other day. I chose take out for this visit and they may have been the downfall of this visit.
We got there around three thirty in the afternoon so there were no large crowds to contend with. The entry area was spacious with a little pond inside.
I ordered boneless spare ribs and a chicken and broccoli combination plate to share with my five year old, figuring there would be plenty as she eats like a little bird. We walked outside so she could go burn off some energy, but that was short lived. The lady who had taken our order brought our food out to us in like five minutes.
We got home and dug in and I was a bit disappointed. The food tasted great, probably the best in the area. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a whole lot there to enjoy. Our combo plate was mostly rice. For the sixteen dollars I shelled out, I expected a lot more food then I got. Judging by all of the previous reviews here, I have to give them the benefit of the doubt, and hope my plate would have been overloaded with food as others have enjoyed when they ate in, in a future visit.

Growing up in the area, our family stopped going here years ago but I couldn’t quite remember why [other than us finding a place we really liked (R.I.P. Peking Chef)]. Though I moved away, I had the opportunity to try it again when a former classmate tried to organize an informal get-​together and make reservations.
While I believe the concerns as a kid were food related, the horrible experience as an adult was strictly due to managerial service. The 6 or so people already there were seated in a corner off the lounge with no lights on (I forget why they were relegated to this area as I arrived after them). After 30+ minutes with no table service, I asked the bartender if we could get food. We were then allowed to move to the lounge proper (where the latecomers soon joined us, making our party a full dozen), but despite what the bartender told us, they still refused to serve us the full menu.
After we politely questioned what was going on, the manager (I believe) came by and instead of addressing the issue proceeded to brusquely ask for our IDs; after looking at a few and seeing we were all in our 30s, she then claimed they were told that we were IN high school (and not having a high school reunion)… What?!? Besides being ridiculous (if you ever meet a 17-​year old with a bald spot like mine, weep for him), it’s also incredibly troubling; if they truly thought we were teens, why did they seat us in the lounge and serve us drinks for the last hour?
Even after realizing her mistake, she failed to apologize or use it as a chance to lighten the mood and smooth things over with us. Instead, she amazingly conjured up yet more attitude saying (as best I recall), «You know, you can’t just show up in a group this big and expect to be served!» Blown away by the utter lack of professionalism or courtesy (or connection to reality), my wife and I gave up on the diplomatic/​conciliatory approach and responded that:
1. The exchange of money for drink and food by people who come in was generally how the industry worked;
2. Our group of 12 was NOT that big;
3. We didn’t suddenly «show up» as we had already been made to wait for over an hour;
4. Most of all, due to the phone calls by our organizer over the preceding weeks, THEY KNEW WE WERE COMING!
We were then moved BACK to the corner where we sat originally (the lights now being turned on) and finally appointed a waitress. Whatever impression I had of the meal that followed was obliterated by the worst treatment I’ve ever had by a restaurant.