Malama Pono Restaurant

“Had another great dinner with the team over at Malama Pono - spam crispy rice, crispy chicken wings, shrimp & grits. So good. They are also serving tasty cocktails now! Proud to have this spot in the neighborhood.”

“I was never really a big fan of Hawaiian food like loco moco, and I hadn’t eaten it very often. But this was the first place where I truly enjoyed Hawaiian food! Our server was absolutely lovely, and we ended the night with a toast of iichiko ❤️ We’ll definitely be back — thank you!”

“Had this on our to-try list for a while and finally got the chance! The food is quite creative, pleasantly presented, and most importantly taste good! Like the small cozy setting as well. The only thing is the patio is right by the street on Ventura.”

“Absolutely loved this place, such a hidden gem in an area where it might get overlooked. The service and atmosphere was so welcoming it made you feel like they had known you for years. And the food definitely lived up to the hype! I’ve been to Hawaii twice and rarely find a place that actually does elevated Hawaiian fusion right. You can tell the ingredients are super fresh and the presentation shows there was craft and thought on each dish. The taste of everything we got was so good that we kept ordering more plates as the dinner went on. The portions are great and super filling. We did end up taking some food back home. I don’t do a ton of restaurant reviews because I’m often underwhelmed, but this place deserved a shout out!”

“Ugh, I hate to do this guys but we've had this place on our list for while and finally made it. Mind you, I'm from Hawaii and lots of good local style cooking, so high bar expectations here. First the good. The ambiance and service are great, no question. My girl had the ricotta dumplings and enjoyed them but gives it only 3/5. It was interesting but not mind blowing. She enjoyed the atmosphere more than the food. I wanted a first time taste of as much as possible so ordered the Mix Plate which came with steak, fish, mochiko chicken, spam, rice and Mac salad. Tremendously disappointing. The steak and fish cubed bites was completely flavorless - like not even a hint of salt or anything. I told my girl the meat and fish were like eating water. When a piece of fried spam out does your filet mignon for flavor then oof. I used the small portion of Daikon and carrots on the plate to season each bite but couldn't overcome. For the size pieces neither the steak or fish were tender. But the lack of any flavor was a big let down. The Mochiko was probably the best meat. Nice and crispy on the outside and not greasy. One scoop rice with furikake - that's like fail proof. The Mac salad is a tough one - I have a lifetime of the best family recipes/ tastes to reference but my girl and I both agreed the flavor was "off" with something odd. I did not eat the portion. We looked but did not go for any of the desserts which on paper looked fab. Might give this place one more try for other items but we're kinda meh about the food/price value let down.”