Eva's Hawaiian Cafe
Categories: Barbeque, Hawaiian [Edit]
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond731 Clement St
(between 8th Ave & 9th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118 (415) 221-2087
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: None
106 Reviews for Eva's Hawaiian Cafe
One of Eva's Hawaiian Cafe's Favorite Reviews
It was tough to bring myself to go all the way to San Francisco for food, but I decided to make the trip and was rewarded with this outstanding Hawaiian food. This restaurant smells great, produces great food and in addition, has a fantastic atmosphere to boot. The proprietor of this restaurant, Barbara, should be proud of herself; she has created one of the best restaurants that San Francisco has to offer.
Great Prices.
Delicious Food.
Friendly Service.
No 5 star Hawaiian Food because I've been to Hawaii to many times and had 5 star Hawaiian there. But when you are across the Pacific and craving some good Loco Moco then this place hits the spot.
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I must have been feeling homesick following this thread last week: http://www.yelp.com/to.... That and my instant Sapporo Ichiban tasted like shit for some reason. So I sauntered down to Eva's yesterday in my sweats, seeking a big ol bowl of saimin, aka instant island comfort. My carb kanak attack kicking in, instead I ended up getting the kim chi fried rice topped with an overeasy egg, which was sooooo onolicious I have no words.
I'd been opting for Red A Bakery right down the street lately, since they do charge less for heartier-sized plate lunches. But after scoping out Eva's menu, I'm actually pretty impressed with the range of Hawaiian cuisine available... I mean, WOW LAU LAU, you can even get lau lau! That you cannot find at the Chinese competitor down the street, folks.
They also have a nice little collection of Hawaiian gifts and trinkets for sale now, including "Hawaiian Word Book." You know, the classic Hawaiian coloring book, with a rainbow and bird on the cover? Where my kama'aina at?!? Hooo, from da kine hanabada days, brah!
And that's enough pidgin for tonight.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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07/12/2007
So someone told me that someone told them that this place is only called Eva's because L&L is a… Read more »
First off, the folks here are really, really nice, but the food was not up to L&L par. Tried the Portuguese sausage musubi out of curiosity and was not pleased. The sausage was a paper thin, 2 inch long slice on top of a small wad of rice - over-priced at $2.25! My high hopes for the mochiko chicken were dashed - the marinated kick was not there, but instead you got battered pieces that you dip into a sauce. The mac salad that came on the side was under-mayoed and bland. The teri beef and short ribs were ok, but again, not as good as it could be. I don't want to give up on them just yet - they're the only L&L we have in SF - so next time I'll skip the table service (no need brah) and try something else to go.
Hawaii has the best food. Period. There's something about Hawaii- that you just don't find anywhere else. I miss Hawaii, very very much. However, when I'm around anything Hawaiian, I instantly feel happier, more relaxed. Eva's is a cute place. They even sell LiHing powder, gummy bears with lihing, hawaiian books, etc. It's a casual place, a place you can wear your slippahs and surf shorts (too bad it's always so cold here).
Okay, food. I had the mahi sandwich, which is served with crinkle cut fries, and either a green salad or mac salad. I had the green salad, which is served with a delicious homemade cucumber and daikon dressing. Yum. I really wanted to love my sandwich, but the fish tasted kinda weird. Maybe I was comparing it to the awesome tempura mahi sandwich at Kaka'ako in Honolulu.... My date had the kalua pig, which smelled awesome. The mac salad is pretty darn good. On the menu they had Bubbies mochi ice cream, which was flown in! Love love love that.
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I've been here only twice. Once when they first opened, and then again a year later. This place, definitely not L&L.
The set up was a little weird. Wasn't sure if we were supposed to order first, then sit, or sit and then order. When finally seated, we didn't have any silverware.
But here's the kicker. There's just something about their food going down that doesn't bode well with me, or my friend who was with me when we ate their. Maybe it was the macaroni salad that comes with the meal. But both times we ate there, we ended up with stomach aches shortly thereafter.
All in all, will never frequent there again.
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Yes, this is a glorified L&L with table service. Good, cheap food. I had Spam musubi and the katsu. Comparable food to fast food Hawaiian places. The BEST part about this place is that they carry mochi ice cream from yup, BUBBIES!
The reason why I come here is for the spam musubis... their deeelish! Whenver you come here, order that! great stuff.
Their Poki is the bomb! The staff is nice, and the place is clean. They serve L&L, so basically it's L&L sit-down style. A great place to grab lunch when in the area.
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come hungry!!!!!!!
I had the garlic mahi combo, with mac salad on the side- danm it was good, i couldnt hold myself back and ended up finishing my plate, now am nursing over stuffed belly will take a nap after i finish this.......
the man had the lau lau and kalau pork plate with the salad and was not impressed. the kalau was on the dry side, and usually he finishes his plate, but just could bring him self to work on this one..... what a shame, it looked a little dry and this let them down a star- we'll refer this to the 'jekyll and hyde' plate from now on, as the laulau was GOOOOOOOOD!
service was good and attentive unlike many of the hip colourful young people at front of the house places you get around here (ok we were the only ones there, but there were loads of people ordering to go) food came out fast and water glass never empty. first impression thought I had walked into a hawaiian verson of Quickly, with its bright colours and hip servers, but they were sweet as pie and will want to come back and try the poke!
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My wife and I noticed Eva's on Yelp. We looked up the website and started to salivate when we saw Misoyaki Butterfish on the menu. Sadly, it isn't on the actual menu in the restaurant.
I found Eva's to be solid - over-sized portions, good flavors. But really, it's not different than their parent, L&L. I am a fan of L&L, so don't get me wrong, but other than a few additional appetizers, the biggest difference is the choice of drinks.
The Kalua Pig was very good.
There was no dessert the night we went - it seems the dessert chef was too busy at her other job (?!).
If you like L&L and plate lunches, you'll love this place too.
Really? You guys like this place? REALLY?
Don't get me wrong, the servers were really friendly and nice but the table we sat at was very wobbly, our food was overfried, my chicken was tough, and the smoothie I had was too sweet. Not to mention, the floor was dirt-streaked and napkins everywhere -- oh and we weren't brought silverware. We spotted them sitting in an open basket on a counter in front of the kitchen but we weren't sure whether we were supposed to get them ourselves. After all, the food was brought to our table, our orders were taken at our table, and the basket of silverware was across the restaurant from the to-go order counter. We ended up getting the silverware ourselves. I don't mind that; I just wish it was clear what we were supposed to do. Maybe she forgot. Maybe it's self-service. Who knows. We're certainly not going to know - we don't plan on going back.
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Phoned in a to-go order to this place. I ordered the teriyaki beef w/o the teriyaki sauce which I was told I could order (very picky eater at home) and I ordered the kalua pork w/cabbage for myself. Arrived at the restaurant to pick up the food and was later told that the teriyaki beef couldn't be cooked as requested which was fine, so I decided to order the seafood mix instead. No biggie, totally understood. The waiter later told me that I could keep the teriyaki beef since it was already made which I thought was a nice gesture. I then asked the waiter if there was coconut in the curry as I thought I'd order that the next time I came, and he went to the kitchen to ask the chef. He seem to be having a brief dispute with the chef and he came back indicating that he needed to take the teriyaki beef back. I don't blame the waiter for this as he was very polite and courteous the entire time, but it made my impression of this place just drop a few bars. I mean how cheap can u be? I then brought the food home hoping the food would be good and it was just ok. Nothing to write home about. We won't be ordering from here again. Too bad for them as we order out very often and wanted to add more places to our list of faves.
We were craving for a little flavor of home today. So, we went to Eva's for dinner. The place is so similar with L&L which looks kind of weird. Anyway, the servers were friendly. They didn't mind us ask where they got their "T- leaves" from which you can't really find it outside Hawaii, and it is like the essential part of making Laulau. So, we got the scoop.
We ordered Poi Bowl ($6.75), which has Poi, Lomi Salmon, and Kalua Pork in it. It was good!, we also got Ahi Poke on the side.. which is good as well. My girlfriend got Laulau mini plate ($6.95) which looked very good also and plenty for a mini plate. It wasn't as great as how the food tastes at back in Hawaii, but it satisfied our cravings for Hawaiian food!!.
might as well go to L&L?!?!
when i ate here, there were no desserts available and i guess i expect a sit down hawaiian place in the city to have haupia or some coconut or mango related dessert! how hard is it to make haupia?
the portions were generous but the mac salad was not good; and again, how hard its it to make a good mac salad?
might have given it 3-stars if there had been a good dessert to top off an acceptable meal. sweet + attentive wait staff!
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Got a coupon because I live close. We decide to give it a shot and get there 15m before closing on a Friday night. A couple of people are picking up their to-go orders and they are mopping up the floor. With bleach.
Isn't that something you do after you're closed?
Must be my fault for showing up before closing. I thought they were trying to attract more business though.
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I've been here twice for work parties. They've shut down the restaurant for us (yes, we are those people who keep you from getting your Eva's). Both times, I've been really pleased.
The food is good- not great- but the stars are for the service and how they've accommodated my employees. Nice work Eva!
Went here today for lunch
Quality and size of food at Honu's is better
But, prices are a lot cheaper here
And service is better
They are very friendly and nice here,
Always asking if I need anything else
The waiter even offered his hand to help me down from one of the high barstool chairs
(I'm a shorty)
Will gladly eat here again!
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I live dangerously close to way too many places that could easily make me fat.
I'm the whitiest white boy there is and I love me some Hawaiian food.
I've been to L&L before and hey, I dig it. I got a coupon for a free appetizer in the mail and it expired on the 15th so I thought I better go!
Man, I got the Musubi Trio and that alone was enough to fill me up. BBQ chicken, Katsu and SPAM. They were all good but just give me SPAM musubi, that's all I need.
I had the Kalua Pork and Cabbage. Yum! Not too salty. I seriously could eat myself to death on that stuff.
Oh and they have Mochi ice cream there. Served on a plate with a fork! You can put that clean fork back in the drawer because I eat mochi with my fingers.
I'll be back. I need to see how their Loco Moco stacks up.
I would have given you 5 stars Eva's but you only gave me one scoop of macaroni salad to my two scoops of rice!!!. It's one-for-one!!! If you want 5 stars, cough up that extra scoop!
Wait. This is an L&L BBQ? TRICKSTERS!
I swore I would never go to another L&L again, after eating something that did not resemble chicken in the slightest at the last chain store I tried. Eva, you clever girl!
I must say, I enjoyed the lau lau and the kalua pork more than any other Hawaiian joint in the city so far. It was tender, salted just-so, and came in a generous heap that was enough to share with two people.
The kim-chee fried rice was another story. Although tasty, it was packed with fried spam...and very little kim-chee. Considering the name is "kim-chee fried rice," I assumed it would be the main ingredient. And the spam could have done with some more time on the stove. Frankly, anything remotely spam-like should be cooked to the point of charring, IMHO.
The passion-fruit guava smoothie was dairy free and perfect for a warm San Francisco day. All in all, a very enjoyable meal at a price comparable to every Hawaiian restaurant I've been on the Mainland. Perhaps even a smidge less expensive than most.
But one star off for the Tom-foolery.
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Coming from hawaii, I'm always excited to try new hawaiian food places in the bay. i heard about ewa's from the bargain bites section in the sfgate. If it's worth a note there, I figured it was worth my time to try it out.
I too felt tricked that this as just another l&l's. Now the hawaii people know, this isn't worth taking a trip out to richmond for. I didn't realize this until after I ordered and I always like to try the katsu at hawaiian places so I foolishly ordered it. Had I known this, I wouldn't have gotten it. Oh well. I also got the poke (can't ever turn that down).
I noticed that they have chili fries on the menu and asked it the chili was from Zippy's (a famous Hawaiian establishment that ships out it's ono chili). He looked at me and said, yes it is a bit spicy. I asked again, and he said, yeah, we get it to you quickly. After those two attempts, I figured it wasn't from zippy's.
The portuguese sausage on the musubi's from redondo's so I had to get that too.
Musubi and poke made the trip worth it. Katsu was just katsu, but the chicken was thicker than the normal l&l katsu (panko breaded nothing). Same sauce too so that's good.
FYI for the hawaii folks, they sell every "pidgen to da max" books you could ever imagine. there's even pidgen magnets with the little words that you can make funky sentences from. Funny. Made the wait for my food feel like seconds rather than minutes.
worth the ride to richmond rather than going to fin district for l&l's.
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Better than your average L&L. A generous number of tables, condiments, Hawaiian candies and smoothies. Friendly service! The half sized portions are graciously big enough for one person and a half. The Kahlua pork and cabbage was not too salty. I will return for more! I do wish they had shoyu chicken on their menu!
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Why I go here:
Hawaiian Lau Lau & Kalua Pork Plate
"A old Hawaiian tradition. Hefty pork chuck wrapped with taro leaf, steamed to perfection, and served with savory, smoke-flavored Kalua pork."
This is a meaty dish, with two scoops of rice and choice of either leafy salad or macaroni salad as a side. Usually I prefer the fatty mayo-mac-salad but I thought I'd save myself an early heart attack and try the standard salad... Mistake! The dressing was fatty ranch/Caesar type with wilted colored greens. BUT the pork was great, probably the best lau lau and kalua pork plate, but you do pay for it, it was 10 something after tax. Not cheap, even considering it is a large amount of food. Nevertheless I'd go back and try them again, this time avoiding the green salad!
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Totally solid, well-executed, reasonable and generous.
My boyfriend got the seafood/meat combo and his plate was insanely piled up with what he reported to be "really good" short rips, fried mahi mahi ["nice and flaky"] and fried shrimpz.
There is one veggie option - teriyaki tofu - but it is awesome. They marinate the tofu so that it is insanely flavorful and falling apart. PLUS! I hate when places skimp on the vegetarian option - I mean it's TOFU. You honestly can't spare more than a couple hunks? And you're still charging me the same as the meat option?! But at Eva's they gave me three ginormous squares of tofu with yummy sauteed veggies, plus the rice and salad. Like, I couldn't even finish it all, which was weird, but awesome.
We payed about $20 for the two of us, and considering how generous the portions are, I think that's downright cheap. Plus, for such a hole-in-the-wall type place, the service was out of sight - really attentive and friendly. My water cup was never empty!
If you're in the neighborhood and maybe feel like something other than dim sum for a change, definitely give Eva's a try.
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I did a take-out with the roast pork. The portion seemed to be on the smallish side, and a bit salty. I was expecting "L&L", since this place is an offshoot that is being run by the same family.
I think I know my grindz and it didn't impress me this time. I'll try it again.
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Very good size portions here. Been wanting to try their sweet and sour spareribs for awhile and finally got the chance yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised. It was nice and simple.....and good. I had enough for two meals. The Mochiko Chicken is also very good.
The restaurant is clean and the people are nice. If you are in the mood for Hawaiian Food, I definitely would recommend that you give this place a try.
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At first I thought this was an L&L. There's even a poster with two girls walking on the beach, with a super hot bikini clad one holding an L&L drink. But alas, it's called Eva's. Maybe it's the franchise limitations in SF? I digress, onto the food.
The food selection is typical Hawaiian fare, with some special extras, such as the french fries with spicy aioli sauce. The spam musubi was good, not great, but the health serving portion sizes more than made up for it.
These guys don't skimp on meat, and lay it on some shredded cabbage to help soak up the grease. Therefore, the cabbage becomes one of the best things to eat. :)
The kalua pork was eye pleasing because it was on a banana or taro leaf, shredded nicely and boy it smelled delicious. It didn't taste quite as good as it smelled, but I was simply forking it off my friend's plate. I ordered the combo plate with beef and chicken. I really enjoyed the soft chicken more than the beef as it was grilled nicely, while the beef was slightly tough and dry. It was still pretty good.
If I am ever craving Hawaiian on Clement, which isn't very often, this would be my first stop. Service is quick and nice, food portions are great, and it quenches the grease cravings.
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Heaven on earth. Their lau lau, kalua pork combination is the best deal in town. I always end up taking half of it home for lunch the next day. If you want the meal of your lifetime, get the combination along with a spam musubi and a tropical delight smoothie. Then go to genki down the street and get a crepe for dessert.
wow very disappointing. low quality meats the barbecue just basically tasted like soy sauce. Kahlua pork was uneventful and made me a little nauseous. this is the kind of place that reminds me of why i don't like Hawaiian barbecue. I'm not going to be eating here again.
+1 star because the macaroni salad was good
+1 star because it was dirt cheap
there are much better eateries in the vicinity, so unless you really dig Hawaiian barbecue and are willing to put up with it in it's mediocre form there really isn't a reason to eat here. i saw a lot of high school kids and people with their kids so maybe it would be good for that. i am really surprised that it has received so much acclaim. very rarely does yelp let me down. but yelp let me down.
The Luau pork was awesome, and the service phenomenal. My only dig? the price. *ouch*
I'm on atkins, so I ordered the luau pork, and a diet soda....I think it ended up being 11 bucks, Sure, it was a great amount....would I have been happy with a bit less and paying 8 bucks? you betcha.
Don't get me wrong, I WILL be back.. *yummers!*
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The people working there are always nice. I've only gone there when it wasn't busy so our service was good. I like their hawaiian bbq, it's something new on clement so I give it 5 stars.
The Hawaiian Lau Lau & Kalua Pork Plate is a pretty good deal.
Everytime I pass by Eva's, it's on my journey from the gym. My knees go week. My usually strong will breaks. And I am forced to take a slight detour into the disguised L&L Drive Inn. Two hours of work at the gym gone down the drain. All for a delicious spam musubi, mini plate, or Hawaiian Sun can drink. Is it worth it? I will shamefully say 'yes!' For those of you who have been exposed to the culture in Hawaii, Eva's serves hearty, local cuisine that is just as comforting as it is fattening. Classic favorites such as katsu and loco mocos are served fresh and piping hot by their friendly staff. The ambiance isn't fancy enough for a date, but perfect to pretend that you and your friends just came from the beach. If only it was warm enough to walk in with shorts and slippers...
I've tried a few plates at Eva's and enjoyed all of it. The mini size is filling enough for one and a half people.
Padmae approved:
-Spam musubi
-Spam katsu musubi
-Island Loco moco
-Chicken Katsu
-Mochiko Chicken
-S&S Saimin (can't go wrong with this one)
-Mac Salad.
Considering the size of the plates, the prices are fair. Check your calorie counting at the door to sample a decadent taste of Hawaii. Whether or not it fits your taste, it's certainly worth a try. And for those who have a hankering for L&L cuisine, the food will bring back fond memories.
*Eva's supposedly custom orders Hurricane Popcorn for people requesting it. They also sell treats like li hing powder, li hing gummy candy, and macademia nuts.
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Not impressed at all. I admit I've never had much hawaiian bbq but there was no unique taste to it.
I left the islands ten years ago but one of the things I miss most about Hawaii is the food! Finally there's a local-kine grinds place within walking distance of my house...heaven! Even though its just a casual place, it still gets 5-stars because Hawaii is casual - everyone eats out in aloha shirts and slippers...
Eva's menu reminds me of Zippy's and decor is very similar to those L&L / Hawaiian Drive Inns. I like to grab the musubi trio (when I'm too lazy to make my own) but they have all the favorites here like mochiko chicken & kalua pig, and especially Hawaiian Sun drinks. It definitely brings a little bit of that sunshine & tradewinds to my day when I eat at Eva's in foggy SF.
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Mochiko chicken. Better than Grace's. That is all.
P.S. Great BBQ too.
This place makes my wife feel like she's back home in Hawaii.
Cool Hawaiian music playing, could use more island motifs instead of the cut-out Hula boy & girl and the ubiquitous island posters of beach scenes and surfers. If you come here by yourself and order a lunch plate, definitely get the mini cuz the reg is large enough to feed two, They should name the regular the "Yokozuna Akebono Special".
My Mochiko chicken came with a heaping mound of mouth watering deliciously tender chicken, 2 scoops of rice, 1 scoop macaroni (salad optional) and a soy ginger dipping sauce. Sorry.....Needless to say, I had no room for dessert.
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Totally only ended up here because we had to go to the bathroom, so I ended up spending five bucks on a sandwich that was GIANT and came with fries and macaroni salad and was totally worth it. Not my first choice of all the food on Clement, but definitely not the worst either.
I do love Hawaiian food, my favorite here is their Lau Lau and I'm always happy to come here whenever I get a huge craving for it. I did, however, ask how much they would charge if I just wanted to buy the Lau Lau ala carte or get a large number of them for a party, it's close to $6 each. Wow, that's pretty expensive. Guess I won't be ordering any for a party like I wanted to. I also like their spam musubi when I'm too lazy to make it at home.
The restaurant is clean and the deco is, well, bright. But I guess that's how it should be, happy colors equals happy eating right? The service is super friendly and they are eager to please. Better for you to go here if you're on Clement than get wanna be Hawaiian BBQ at that Red A Bakery across the street.
We shared the large (regular) pork in leaves + Luau pig dish ($10). That was my pork loading for the month. The pork in the leaves was quite fatty so beware.
In addition, we also shared the ahi poke appetizer which was quite tasty for only $5.25. I'd definitely recommend sharing a regular plate or only have a mini by yourself. Very attentive staff.
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