Big Island Hawaiian BBQ in Torrance, California: Restaurant Review

I just came back from having lunch at Big Island Hawaiian BBQ in Torrance, California. I've been to other Hawaiian BBQ restaurants before, so it wasn't a total surprise. I will admit, however, that it was better than I expected...and as we all know in business, it's always good to exceed the expectations of your customer! If you haven't had Hawaiian BBQ...where have you been?! Here's a typical description...HUGE PORTIONS. Hawaiian BBQ places typically serve what is called a "plate lunch" (among various other items). A plate lunch is a local favorite in Hawaii, in which a large portion of a meat entrée of your choice is served along with scoops of rice and macaroni salad.

At Big Island Hawaiian BBQ, you can get your choice of a variety of meat entrees. Here are just a few:

Hawaiian BBQ chicken

Chicken Katsu

Spicy Huli Chicken

Hawaiian BBQ Beef

Korean BBQ short ribs

Shrimp Katsu

Garlic shrimp

Grilled Salmon

BBQ Pork chops

And the list goes on...

Not only do you get a huge portion (which you sort of expect at Hawaiian BBQ restaurants), but the food at Big Island BBQ is actually quite good. I've been to other places where they give you a large amount of food, but the quality isn't that great. Sure, that was fine when I was in college and thought the best restaurants charged for food by the pound. But now I've grown up a bit and I want good quality meat...and I still want the huge portions!

I went there with two of my friends, and we of course all sampled each other's food. I had the Spicy Huli Chicken, which was really good. It wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be, but that's ok...because they had hot wasabi mustard as well as spicy chili sauce for dipping. One of the other guys had the Korean BBQ short ribs. This was also good, but not quite the quality of the Korean BBQ places I've been too. But then again, it was at least half the price so not much to complain about there. Our third companion had the Loco Moco with eggs. I had never seen this dish before in any of the other Hawaiian BBQ places I've been too. Basically, it is a hamburger patty with gravy on it. Then they put a fried egg on top of it. They must marinate the hamburger patty with something because it had a really good sweet taste to it. And you can't go wrong with gravy and a fried egg, right?

If you're a health nut, you can get something from the "lighter" side of the menu. For instance you can substitute the macaroni salad with steamed vegetables. You can also substitute the white rice with brown rice. Ok, ok...who are we kidding? If you're a health nut, don't even bother with Hawaiian BBQ! It's not meant to be healthy, it's meant to be enjoyed!

So let's get down to the nitty-gritty...what about price? Well they hit the mark in that department too. The regular plate meals are $6.50 - $7.50 with most of the meals coming in at under $7.00! You just can't go wrong with that. And if you don't feel like eating you entire day's worth of food in one sitting, you can order their "Mini" meals. But let me just warn you...the "Mini" is not all that mini. I ordered the mini for lunch and felt quite satisfied and still had a little bit of macaroni salad left.

I'm not saying this is the best food I ever had or anything. But when you add up the tastiness, the quality, the quantity, and the price...you've got a winning "Combo" plate!