CONTRIBUTED BY JULIE
This Hawaiian Restaurant is one of my favorites. My husband comes here once a week for lunch and it's one of the few places our two-yr- old will sit still because he's too busy shoving food into his mouth to wiggle! The atmosphere leaves something to be desired as it's not fancy. I like it however because they don't mind if your kids run around and they're usually not packed. Also they are super close to the seawall and Kadena Gate 1.
The food is very down to earth, home cooked style food. We usually order either the 2 item plate (550 yen) or 3 item plate (750 yen) special. I find it's important to know what to order here as some dishes are better then others. My favorites are the kahlua and pork, garlic chicken, teriyaki chicken, BBQ ribs, and sho-yu chicken. Their yakitori and soba are pretty good as well. They're very popular on the island with the Americans and lunch tends to be more crowded then dinner. They are open from 10:00am-9:00pm seven days a week.
Here's a link to a translated Japanese site which contains pics and a map
Directions to Ono Kau Kau:
From Gate 1 turn south (left) onto Hwy 58. Turn right at the 2nd light. Make your very next left. Ono Kau Kau will be on your left.
I rarely eat out with my kids because it doesn’t seem fun to PAY to have that kind of stress. HOWEVER, I have eaten here twice with the kids (and husband = extra hands) and it’s been quick and yummy and the staff were very warm and tolerant of the kid factor.
Also right next door to my housing office, Kanae.
Decided to try this place for dinner tonight with a friend and our kids, it’s real close to us and the husbands are gone for the moment, so i’ll let y’all know how it turns out! Thanks for the tip on this place.
Just got back and it was a great little place to eat! I had the teryaki chicken and the teryaki beef, while my kids had the yakitori. My friend had the teryaki chicken and the garlic chicken, and I must say it was so yummy! I tried her garlic chicken and wow, you could really taste the garlic! The only thing they need there are ceiling fans on the porch for the people who eat out there. Was a great place for dinner and I most definately will return. Again, thanks for the tip!
Glad you liked it! I love their garlic chicken. Yum!
We just went the other day. Garlic chicken=yum! We also ordered a maui maui combo plate that my husband loved and some chicken fried rice. Good stuff!
We just went the other day. Garlic chicken=yum! We also ordered a maui maui combo plate that my husband loved and some chicken fried rice. Good stuff!
My wife and i tried this place our 3rd day on the island and instantly feel in love with it. lol we’re trying to find a way to get back to it seeing as how we have no wheels. Guess its time to call the sponsor
Ono Kau Kau is my all time favorite restaurant to eat at on island! I always order the Teriyaki Steak, Gyoza, and get a side order of Kalua pork. And my husband always gets the Mahalo Special. (Sorry not sure how that one is spelt.) And we have 1 child and another on the way. My son loves to eat there too, and the baby in my tummy seems to like the food as well
The staff are extremely friendly and super nice. A wonderful restaurant over all.
A group of friends and I went to Ono Kau Kau around 6pm for a farewell dinner for a friend of ours. And so we are enjoying our dinnder and having a good time, when the owner comes out at 6:30pm and tells us we have until 7pm to leave, because my friend that reserved the table “promised” there was 10 of us eating. We were 5 adults, 2 teenagers,2 kids,a toddler and an infant… so I guess the infant who doesn’t eat solid food counts as 11 people???? So we are asking him why we have to leave if there are 10 of us and he says it’s really a take-out place; but the place is filled of tables, we are eating with real dinner wear, not paper plates or “take-out” boxes.So then I tell him, “it’s fine sir, we’ll leave, but you just lost customers” and he said, “I don’t care about your business, you have until 7!” At 6:53pm he picks out of his little curtain from the kitchen and tells us, “5 minutes or I’m calling the police!” So we finish up and leave. I could see if we were rude and agressive, but we were trying to understand why we were treated this way. I’ve been there once before with my husband and son, so I never expected this kind of treatment as a customer.
Pica O., this is the second time I’ve heard of the owner aggressively kicking out a party. My friend who was also asked to leave this restaurant was told that the establishment was not an on-base restaurant, and therefore had no rights there. He was verbally abusive to her and her party, threatening to call the police, despite the fact that they were the only people in the restaurant. I’m not sure if the owner is anti-American or just anti-fun, but Ono Kau Kau will no longer be enjoying any of my business.
Wow. Every time my family has eaten at Ono Kau Kau we’ve been treated very well. I do know they have signs posted that say if you want to have any kind of a dinner party there, you must have it between 4:30 and 6:30pm. I will definitely be going back to Ono Kau Kau for their yummy food, however, I will be very careful not to linger.
How strange, b/c I’ve sat and talked with the owner; he was stationed here back in the 60s. He’s american married to a local. His son owns the place and he works there after his job on Schwab all day. He was very nice to us (party of 6) and we lingered just fine with not even a hairy eyeball…maybe that commute every day puts him in a crabby mood some days?
There are reservation/times on the table for parties of 10+more. We have always had great service here with great food at very reasonable price.
I love to take my kids to Ono Kau Kau. My kids always gobble the food up, and the staff has always been very kind and patient with us- from the person taking orders, to the sweet older lady who clears the tables.
I will not deny that the food at Ono Kau Kau is delicious. In fact, it has been one of my favorite places to eat since I moved to Okinawa. But no customer who is acting respecfully, and eating in a timely manner should be threatened with police action. Maybe this man is moody from a long commute, but any long-time business owner should know to act more professional than that. My suggestion is take your food to go, and avoid the harrassment!
We were stationed in hawaii twice and i couldn’t pass up an opportunity to have ono grinds.
I got the kalua pork and shoyu chicken with rice and mac salad. YUM. Kids had teriyaki beef and chicken rice bowls that they gobbled up. No crabby service, perfectly pleasant. We will be back.