Great HI style atmosphere. Excellent Happy Hour. Great music. Nice outdoor patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Coconut Shrimp Plate
ryan emery
Very friendly and welcoming staff. Felt like we received good portions for the price and they are very dog friendly both indoor and outdoor.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
JM Wu
First time eating here~Clicked:1. Pono BBQ Combo:The chicken is delicious!The barbecue is also good~ but the sauce is a bit too strong~It would be just right if you use dipping instead!2. Pono Seafood Combo - Pono Seafood Combo:It’s not bad to be able to eat barbecue and fried seafood at one time~Both of the above can make you quite full!There is a self-service recycling area next to you after eating!The clerk will also care about the food from time to time~The special place here is the bar! With outdoor venues ~It would be nice to come here for dinner and drinks in the evening!PS: If you like my comments, you can follow them~I will take photos of the appearance and color of the food I saw on site and present it to everyone. I will go to various places to discover delicious food and unique places! !I wish everyone’s wishes come true!
Went to lunch here today and it was delicious! We got the teriyaki beef, chicken wings and poke. The menu seems very authentic with all the different spam dishes, and macaroni salad. Everything was very tasty!Service was quick and friendly! The place was much larger than I expected coming in I thought it would be small it was pretty large with an outside patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mac Salad, Pono Wings
James Moller
First time here after recommendation for my kid. Food was great and fresh! I got the Kalua pork which was nice and tender! Definitely will go again. No pictures as food was to good and didn't last.
Love gathering with friends at Pono Grill – our go-to spot for celebrating special moments! Santa Cruz truly spoils us with its Amazing food, and vibrant atmosphere and live music every week. Can't wait for our next visit! ?? #PonoGrill #
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pono BBQ Combo, Spam Musubi, Kalua Pork Plate, Coconut Shrimp Plate, Salad, Braddah Timmy Ahi Bowl, Hawaiian Fish & Chips, BT's Loco Moco Burrito, Mac Salad, Pono Wings, Coconut, Chicken Lau Lau, Teriyaki Chicken
dominique L
Parking: paid street parking. I believe they have a small parking lot in the rear.Seating: When I came, they let you sit anywhere available. There is indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating does have heaters around. Bar seating is also here.Food: I ordered the chicken katsu and it came with rice and another side. It was good, especially with their pineapple BB sauce. I also tried the coconut shrimp which was really crispy and good.Service: you might have to wait for seating, but everyone I interacted with is friendly and helpful. The people at the takeout, the bartenders, and the servers. They have TVs all around the place showing premier sports like March Madness games.Drinks: They are really great for the price. You will have a great timeParking: Back of restaurant building and very small. Better off looking at paid street parking
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Reed Santee
So ono! Had takeout and the portions were generous and poke was super fresh like always…stoked!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Braddah Timmy Ahi Bowl
Kim Toti Petersen
Tried the poke bowl and coconut shrimp and both were very good.
Recommended dishes: Pono BBQ Combo, Spam Musubi, Fish and Chips, Teriyaki Chicken
Maddy
Fun place to chill with friends and good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Katsu
Dave Willis
It was a good time and singing at karaoke and good vibes humans! D 2 9 24
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Red Herzog
We love Pono and so glad it is back. Seating can be very difficult to find so be prepared for that ahead of time. First come first serve. Service has changed a bit and there is less friendly interaction than in the past. I believe it's just the new setup that has changed that factor. The food is as classic as ever and we appreciate that very much.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Tuong Van Nguyen
Generous portion of poke bowl with delicious ingredients! I only wish they had more staff because at some point I had to wait about 10 mins at the counter to order a side since the only waitress was busy running around, but she was super nice and helpful. Comfortable and cozy to sit in the outside space with chill music. Would come by again if I am in the areaVegetarian options: I had vegan poke bowl, which had super delicious tofu skin in teriyaki (?) sauce and sesame seeds, edamame beans, kimchi which is neither too sour nor too spicy, and delicious pickled ginger!
Great HI style atmosphere. Excellent Happy Hour. Great music. Nice outdoor patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Coconut Shrimp Plate
Very friendly and welcoming staff. Felt like we received good portions for the price and they are very dog friendly both indoor and outdoor.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First time eating here~Clicked:1. Pono BBQ Combo:The chicken is delicious!The barbecue is also good~ but the sauce is a bit too strong~It would be just right if you use dipping instead!2. Pono Seafood Combo - Pono Seafood Combo:It’s not bad to be able to eat barbecue and fried seafood at one time~Both of the above can make you quite full!There is a self-service recycling area next to you after eating!The clerk will also care about the food from time to time~The special place here is the bar! With outdoor venues ~It would be nice to come here for dinner and drinks in the evening!PS: If you like my comments, you can follow them~I will take photos of the appearance and color of the food I saw on site and present it to everyone. I will go to various places to discover delicious food and unique places! !I wish everyone’s wishes come true!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Very good food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Katsu, Braddah Timmy Ahi Bowl
Went to lunch here today and it was delicious! We got the teriyaki beef, chicken wings and poke. The menu seems very authentic with all the different spam dishes, and macaroni salad. Everything was very tasty!Service was quick and friendly! The place was much larger than I expected coming in I thought it would be small it was pretty large with an outside patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mac Salad, Pono Wings
First time here after recommendation for my kid. Food was great and fresh! I got the Kalua pork which was nice and tender! Definitely will go again. No pictures as food was to good and didn't last.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Macaroni Salad, Kalua Pork Plate, Teriyaki Chicken
Love gathering with friends at Pono Grill – our go-to spot for celebrating special moments! Santa Cruz truly spoils us with its Amazing food, and vibrant atmosphere and live music every week. Can't wait for our next visit! ?? #PonoGrill #
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pono BBQ Combo, Spam Musubi, Kalua Pork Plate, Coconut Shrimp Plate, Salad, Braddah Timmy Ahi Bowl, Hawaiian Fish & Chips, BT's Loco Moco Burrito, Mac Salad, Pono Wings, Coconut, Chicken Lau Lau, Teriyaki Chicken
Parking: paid street parking. I believe they have a small parking lot in the rear.Seating: When I came, they let you sit anywhere available. There is indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating does have heaters around. Bar seating is also here.Food: I ordered the chicken katsu and it came with rice and another side. It was good, especially with their pineapple BB sauce. I also tried the coconut shrimp which was really crispy and good.Service: you might have to wait for seating, but everyone I interacted with is friendly and helpful. The people at the takeout, the bartenders, and the servers. They have TVs all around the place showing premier sports like March Madness games.Drinks: They are really great for the price. You will have a great timeParking: Back of restaurant building and very small. Better off looking at paid street parking
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So ono! Had takeout and the portions were generous and poke was super fresh like always…stoked!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Braddah Timmy Ahi Bowl
Tried the poke bowl and coconut shrimp and both were very good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Coconut Shrimp Plate
Restaurantji Recommends
Great local Hawaiian food. Aloha Friday music is
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pono BBQ Combo, Spam Musubi, Fish and Chips, Teriyaki Chicken
Fun place to chill with friends and good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Katsu
It was a good time and singing at karaoke and good vibes humans! D 2 9 24
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
We love Pono and so glad it is back. Seating can be very difficult to find so be prepared for that ahead of time. First come first serve. Service has changed a bit and there is less friendly interaction than in the past. I believe it's just the new setup that has changed that factor. The food is as classic as ever and we appreciate that very much.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Generous portion of poke bowl with delicious ingredients! I only wish they had more staff because at some point I had to wait about 10 mins at the counter to order a side since the only waitress was busy running around, but she was super nice and helpful. Comfortable and cozy to sit in the outside space with chill music. Would come by again if I am in the areaVegetarian options: I had vegan poke bowl, which had super delicious tofu skin in teriyaki (?) sauce and sesame seeds, edamame beans, kimchi which is neither too sour nor too spicy, and delicious pickled ginger!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5