Sponsored by Hawaii Gas
If you’re looking for some ono local comfort food, you’ll be happy to hear that now you can also find Kuhio Grille in Kaimuki on Oahu! The restaurant, originally from Hilo, is famous for its one pound laulau, and HI Now host Kanoe Gibson went to get the scoop on the kanak attack plates.
In 1995, Kuhio Grille was established by Sam and Nelline Araki at its original location in the Prince Kuhio Plaza. Using grandma’s recipe, all of the one-pounders are wrapped and steamed in the restaurant’s kitchen. These delicious laulau have garnered numerous awards and are especially featured in the “Kanak Attack” plate – a one pound laulau, kalua pig, lomi salmon, pickled onions, poi, and rice. Along with the laulau, Kuhio Grille has also developed the original Fried Rice Loco – a mound of their freshly made to order fried rice, a juicy homestyle hamburger patty, and an egg topped with their homemade brown gravy.
In 2019, Lauren Araki and her sisters opened up the restaurant’s first Oahu location in Kaimuki.
“We are grateful to be able to share some of our Hilo grinds in Honolulu,” she says.
The restaurant’s Hilo location is actually moving from Prince Kuhio Plaza to a new home at 80 Puahi Street. This new location will allow the restaurant to have a large, open dining area, a private room, a bar and lounge area, and outside lanai seating — all while overlooking the Bayfront area!
“We like to serve homemade comfort foods. Along with our Hawaiian food, we serve plate lunches, stir fry and homemade desserts,” Araki says.
Araki says most of the restaurant’s food is made in-house. She says her family was raised to cook a lot of their own meals, and that’s the way they continue to run the restaurant.
“Our Yakitori Chicken it’s deboned in house and soaked in our own teriyaki sauce. Even our hamburger patties are homemade,” she explains. “Grandma just taught us that homemade taste the best and it kind of stuck with us.”
Kuhio Grille in Kaimuki is located on the corner of Waialae Avenue and Saint Louis Heights Drive just below City Mill. If you’re ready for a kanak attack, be sure to drop by and try out its famous one pound laulau!
For more information: KuhioGrille.com, or on Facebook and Instagram: @KuhioGrille