Where Pineapple Meets Meat – Oceanside Hawaiian BBQ Review

Located in the confines of the Fly In The Loaf on Hardman Street, Oceanside Hawaiian BBQ is arguably camouflaged to meet the eye, the only indication that such a place exists are two large stickers on the outside of the pub.

Currently it is completely a blink of an eye and you would miss it scenario.

With a simple menu, the restaurant offers a small barbecue bowl and a large barbecue plate, versions of its signature dishes that combine a variety of meats with rice and macaroni salad, from marinated beef and chicken with pineapple teriyaki to fried mushrooms or grilled shrimp. The same meats are also offered in burger form and loaded on top of fries. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, they even serve the same meats, with the addition of spam, like musubi, a Hawaiian classic consisting of rice and meat wrapped in seaweed.

Despite being the only ones in the pub on a quiet Tuesday night, service was slow, but perhaps this was due to the influx of delivery drivers we saw outside, as the restaurant also operates takeaways.

After a thirty minute wait, the four dishes we ordered arrived at the table in quick succession. Presentation wise there was a lot to be desired as while it can work as a takeaway we didn’t expect to be given plastic forks and compostable food containers while eating. So if you are looking for a night of good food, perhaps this would not be the place to go.

Although the presentation was not what we were looking for; the colorful array of food placed before us more than made up for what the ‘crockery’ appearance lacked. The first meal of the night consisted of 16 Hawaiian wings (£11), which may seem like a lot for one person, but between three? They were nearly demolished in a frenzy over the delicious mix of flavors of pineapple juice, siracha, garlic and ginger and more (although I’d love to share all the ingredients, I think it always adds a bit of mystery to a dish).

Next up was the Huli Huli Beef BBQ Bowl (£7.50), which, although advertised as a smaller portion, was still too big for me to finish, and a bowl that gave more for your money. You really can’t go wrong with grilled teriyaki ribeye, and with the added sweetness of the Huli Huli sauce, it makes for quite the cloying meal. Complementing the meat part of the dish is plain white rice and ‘macaroni salad’, which allowed for a variety of flavors once mixed together.

I personally was not a fan of the macaroni salad due to the egg in it, my dining companions seemed to enjoy it.

The two dishes that followed were Mochiko Loaded Fries (£10) and the Huli Huli Mixed BBQ Plate (£14) which shared the table. The fries were spot on and quite frankly some of the best loaded fries I’ve had in a long time. One of the biggest meals to hit the table, the fries came in a large box, which was filled to the brim with toppings including Korean fried chicken, cheese, and gochujang sauce.

The mixture of sauces created a creamy texture that worked well against the crunch of the chicken and fries, and the heat of the gochujang gave it a slight spicy kick. If I were to order takeout, I think it would be my favorite dish and I would happily devour a full serving myself.

After eating alone, I looked at my companions to see how they were feeling about their Huli Huli Mixed BBQ platter and got the following comments: “There could have been more meat as most of the plate was filled with rice and salad.” , but for the price you would expect there to be equal parts meat as well. Aside from being a bit small meat-wise, the beef was tender and the chicken katsu was ‘meh’.” (literal)

We may have had different thoughts about our individual dishes, but we were all in great agreement that the fries were the best part of the night.

One might think that the restaurant also needs to up its advertising game to attract more customers, for the sheer fact that the only reason we knew he was a resident of Fly In The Loaf was because of the stickers on the windows and nothing else: in today is completely a blink of an eye and you would miss it scenario.

While the food was nice, Oceanside Hawaiian BBQ might not be a place I would choose to eat at again, but would rather order as takeout.