According to a little reading, this might have been Barack Obama's favorite Zippy's. I'd never been to one but I hear tell Hawaiians love the place, so I thought we'd drop in. The staff were cheerful and friendly, consistent with what I've seen of Tourist Hawaii in general, and the food was filling and pretty good. I'll admit it-- I'm not sure what's so great about the chili that a can of Nalleys doesn't have, but I like nalleys so no complaints from me. My wife got a Korean fried chicken plate and I thought the chicken was what I'd expect being hot, crunchy, and flavorful with a sufficient amount of some soy sweet sauce. She wasn't ready for the definition of a lunch plate and the accompanying rice and Mac salad, so I definitely had to help her out with that meal. I got chili and saimin which was run of the mill and exactly what I expected. My older son got serviceable chili moco and my younger son got a chicken katsu plate but no sauce for the katsu which I did find puzzling. The wait was a while and I was a little worried I might not hear the lady call our order without a PA system but it worked out okay. I guess it wasn't cool that there was a homeless guy asleep at one of the tables on the side of the restaurant next to the bathroom, with his bike next to him, but maybe they were doing they guy a favor? Another lady sitting at the next table seemed to have a large number of personal possessions with her. Tough situation. I didn't have any expectations and I liked my food, so I'd go back.
Ben H.
Definitely had my hopes up but I was highly disappointed. Nothing special here. Not even the special donuts that I came for. They were out of them, wtf? Oh well, I tried this place once and that will be all. Meh.
Mia D.
Let's be honest, the real reason we order from here is because their food is ok and the service is quick. Whenever we are hungry and we have no idea what we are hungry or hangry for we always end up coming here because there's variety and we don't have to wait super long for our order. There's usually a short line which doesn't phase us, after all, we're from California where there are literally long lines with grumpy people everywhere we go. We usually order anything from the chicken katsu, the Korean chicken, the spaghetti and/or the chili. You can never go wrong with these items. We are usually starving by the time we get here but rather than have our eyes bigger than our stomachs, we order the mini meal. You know...because each of these meals comes with Mac salad and rice. It's literally a filling meal. Every time we've come here, the mini meals are usually just right so we are good until we get hungry for dinner and that could mean many hours or one hour...depends what we do the rest of the day. The service is okay since all you're dealing with is the person you're ordering from and the person you are receiving your meal from. Both are very nice. Occasionally you get someone that's being trained and the service is slow but why are you in such a rush...you're on the island. Be nice and let the person be trained instead of listening to your whining because the person is slow. Sheesh. Anyway, most of the zippy's are located in little strip malls with tons of parking and this one is the same. The people are friendly and the food is good. The dining area is a little bigger than some of the other ones I've been to which is good because they do have lunch rushes. We'll definitely be back since I'd like to try the other items that I haven't ordered since I'm so used to ordering our staples.
Cindy L.
I wouldn't come back but that's because I am not a local and want to spend more time eating at local restaurants. With that being said, we tried Zippy's because we were recommended to try them as they're essentially a local fast food chain. Zippy's reminds me of Hawaiian Nation's (Giant Hamburgers and Great Pies) and their food wasn't anything special. I got their korean chicken salad and the bf got their korean chicken plate. The rice was ok and the mac salad was also just ok. The chicken was also just ok, too much breading and not cripsy enough, but overcooked. The sauce was nice. Dine in was decently clean and they had a lot of pastries for purchase. Overall this experience was very fast food feeling, which don't get me wrong, I love fast food, but I would choose McDonald's over Zippys. Sorry.
Crista P.
My last and 3rd review over the years of this Zippy's..... strictly for the DINE IN SIDE ONLY! If I could give this zippys dine in NO stars I would. What's sad is, my husband and I and our daughter decided to come to zippys around noon, surprisingly it wasn't that busy, but it was still busy enough that there were quite a bit of people there. We got seated within 10 mins of arriving which was alright... As we sat down the waitress gave us our menus and walked away, didn't say one word to us, besides giving me the bathroom code cuz I needed to use the bathroom. I took less then 3 min in the bathroom and when I got back to our seat I already knew what I wanted. We all pretty much knew what we wanted to eat. I made EYE CONTACT, with this waitress, we tried to call her over but she didn't. We noticed she sat 3 more tables down and gave them water and talked to them. But us? No water, we were sitting there with the menus twiddling our thumbs. It's now 25 mins and she hasn't come to our table. After every attempt to get her attention she just ignored us. So we got up and left. Never coming back to this location again.
Jonn K.
What is my favorite food?? Free food, of course. I do not know the correlation between Zippy's and this conference I had attended, but a $25 gift certificate was included as part of the welcome package. This certificate has been sitting on a shelf begging to be traded, and today I chose to trade its virtual value with real sustenance. What does $25 get you? It turns out plenty of food for one person. I got a Korean fried chicken plate, a large of bowl of chili, and a musubi, for less than 25 but greater than 24, before tax. * Korean fried chicken plate - the batter and the frying technique were pretty good, surprisingly good, in fact, especially for a fast food restaurant. On the down side, the majority of the dish was thick batter not the the meat. However, it was fried properly; it was crispy, crunch without being oily. It seems this technique is not so easy as Vons in Hawaii have not mastered this at this point. This plate comes with macaroni salad and two balls of rice as a proper Hawaiian plate should (but this is not korean). Rice was below average. Macaroni good. * chili - dense and chunky. Lots of meat-like substance (I heard it is vegetarian!!) Not much flavor but hearty and good. * musubi - one can't go wrong with musabi especially when it is free. Zippy's found a way, however, to make it bad... the spam was bikini skinny. Bikini skinny is good on a hot girl, but not on a musubi. Shame. I'm willing to overlook this time. Overall, there is good value in the Korean chicken plate:rice, chicken, macaroni, for about $13. For fast food with diversity and hefty servings for one's tummy, Zippy is a snappy option for a hippy snoopy who is feeling nappy.
Mari T.
Came here to celebrate my dad's birthday since Gyotaku across the street had a long wait for lunch on a Sunday. Guess who also had a long wait for lunch on a Sunday! This Zippy's! Not to mention the dine in side was closed due to call ins so the take out side was packed! I downloaded the app and used it in order to get our order in and it helped since I was also able to get the discounted napple and drink with the purchase of a meal (dad got chili frank plate, had to go with the white rice and mac salad to "go for the gusto"! Taylor got Portuguese bean soup and spaghetti with lilikoi drink). The best part was that the app has a free zip pac after your first purchase, but unfortunately it wasn't working when I tried to add it to the order. I will just have to redeem it next time since the line was so long!
Lizeth S.
Island staple with local favorites and great service. This was the impression I walked away with after our first experience. It has a very "Dennys" feel to it but with better tasting food. It seems to have an Asian, Chinese and Hawaiian fusion style to its Comfort food menu. The Fried chicken and chili is a must try. Chili with rice mixed was a first for me but definitely not a last. I even noticed they sell it by the tub... wish I didn't have a 12 hour flight back home lol or I just might. I will say that the Mac salad is probably the best on the island, and we tried a lot of Mac salad on our Oahu food tour trip. My husband said his Korean fried chicken had really good taste, with a crispy outing and flavorful center. We plan on visiting again on our next trip to try a few other local favorites.
IGD4TRAVEL
Our hotel staff had recommended Zippy's for breakfast. Glad that we went. Plenty of food at a very good value!
Leland S.
I remember my first Zippy's experience was a tub of chili my cousin brought to the mainland. Since then I've been hooked. Now to visit the OG location, what a treat! AMBIANCE: Parking: Plaza parking and street parking. You shouldn't have any issues unless someone is hosting an event. Seating: Inside seating for groups from individuals, pairs, or a tourist group of 6. Feels: You're a hop, skip, jump away from Waikiki and the Ala Moana mall but still relatively distant from the touristy side. The place is pretty spacious and generally maintained. I dig the local music playing and looking at their lengthy menu of ono grindz. Nothing too flashy, just your usual restaurant that's a great place for a grab-and-go or if you want to sit in before the next adventure. FOOD: Zippy's Chili Cheese Fries (Recommend) Fries are good BUT with Zippy's chili? Oh my goodness. Fries are generally great by themselves with a good savory crunch. The cheese was semi-melted which provided a nice supplementary gooey kick to it. However when you add Zippy's Chili, the creamy texture and multiple savory flavors are mixed in the ground beef and beans. Yummm! CUSTOMER SERVICE: Great! Friendly and quick. TL; DR OVERALL: 5 Stars. No complaints here. I know there are great individual places but this is a great local franchise. They have everything from your to-go meals to the family. Most Zippy's collaborate with Napoleon Bakery for some other sweet goods. This is a great stop-and-go if you're trying to go around the island or just experience a pleasant taste of Hawaii. TIPS: * OG location * Random fact: the name Zippy's was inspired by the birth of Zip Codes and its' mailing efficiency.
My husband and I came here while on vacation and we were excited since it is a local chain. When we walked in only one person was working at the pick up order line, we (along with others) waited in the order food line assuming someone would come take our order. No one did. Then the lady in front of us asked where to order and the girl working the register told her we could go to the pick up order line, which confused others behind us who were picking up. Everyone at the restaurant just seemed confused. After 20 minutes of waiting for two plates of food, we finally got our food. It was okay. Not worth the money or the wait. Definitely disappointed.
Rico D.
Menu was totally different that what was posted on line. Made me turn around a walk out. Huge bummer.
Charlene S.
Standard Zippy's food, and a must-have every time I'm here. Vegetarian review: The vegetarian chili is great. The bowl with rice- yum. Macaroni salad- also very good. Not too salty, but well flavored. Corn bread- toast it, and it's fantastic. Crisp and sweet, soft and crumbly- great texture and flavor. Tofu burger- awful. Seriously, do not get it. Soggy, bland, and gross. I added cheese, but I doubt very much that anything would make it edible. Parking- easy, even though the parking lot is small.
Boj o.
As my first time visitor, I give this chain a good five star. The staff were nice. The place was clean. The food were delicious!!! I think when in doubt; go to Zippy's. Basic but it hits the spot every time. Our go-to fast food chain in Hawai'i!!!
Enrique P. C.
Zippy's McCully one of the best local restaurant with delicious food reasonable prices customer service superb clean atmosphere always recommend zippys to everyone
According to a little reading, this might have been Barack Obama's favorite Zippy's. I'd never been to one but I hear tell Hawaiians love the place, so I thought we'd drop in. The staff were cheerful and friendly, consistent with what I've seen of Tourist Hawaii in general, and the food was filling and pretty good. I'll admit it-- I'm not sure what's so great about the chili that a can of Nalleys doesn't have, but I like nalleys so no complaints from me. My wife got a Korean fried chicken plate and I thought the chicken was what I'd expect being hot, crunchy, and flavorful with a sufficient amount of some soy sweet sauce. She wasn't ready for the definition of a lunch plate and the accompanying rice and Mac salad, so I definitely had to help her out with that meal. I got chili and saimin which was run of the mill and exactly what I expected. My older son got serviceable chili moco and my younger son got a chicken katsu plate but no sauce for the katsu which I did find puzzling. The wait was a while and I was a little worried I might not hear the lady call our order without a PA system but it worked out okay. I guess it wasn't cool that there was a homeless guy asleep at one of the tables on the side of the restaurant next to the bathroom, with his bike next to him, but maybe they were doing they guy a favor? Another lady sitting at the next table seemed to have a large number of personal possessions with her. Tough situation. I didn't have any expectations and I liked my food, so I'd go back.
Definitely had my hopes up but I was highly disappointed. Nothing special here. Not even the special donuts that I came for. They were out of them, wtf? Oh well, I tried this place once and that will be all. Meh.
Let's be honest, the real reason we order from here is because their food is ok and the service is quick. Whenever we are hungry and we have no idea what we are hungry or hangry for we always end up coming here because there's variety and we don't have to wait super long for our order. There's usually a short line which doesn't phase us, after all, we're from California where there are literally long lines with grumpy people everywhere we go. We usually order anything from the chicken katsu, the Korean chicken, the spaghetti and/or the chili. You can never go wrong with these items. We are usually starving by the time we get here but rather than have our eyes bigger than our stomachs, we order the mini meal. You know...because each of these meals comes with Mac salad and rice. It's literally a filling meal. Every time we've come here, the mini meals are usually just right so we are good until we get hungry for dinner and that could mean many hours or one hour...depends what we do the rest of the day. The service is okay since all you're dealing with is the person you're ordering from and the person you are receiving your meal from. Both are very nice. Occasionally you get someone that's being trained and the service is slow but why are you in such a rush...you're on the island. Be nice and let the person be trained instead of listening to your whining because the person is slow. Sheesh. Anyway, most of the zippy's are located in little strip malls with tons of parking and this one is the same. The people are friendly and the food is good. The dining area is a little bigger than some of the other ones I've been to which is good because they do have lunch rushes. We'll definitely be back since I'd like to try the other items that I haven't ordered since I'm so used to ordering our staples.
I wouldn't come back but that's because I am not a local and want to spend more time eating at local restaurants. With that being said, we tried Zippy's because we were recommended to try them as they're essentially a local fast food chain. Zippy's reminds me of Hawaiian Nation's (Giant Hamburgers and Great Pies) and their food wasn't anything special. I got their korean chicken salad and the bf got their korean chicken plate. The rice was ok and the mac salad was also just ok. The chicken was also just ok, too much breading and not cripsy enough, but overcooked. The sauce was nice. Dine in was decently clean and they had a lot of pastries for purchase. Overall this experience was very fast food feeling, which don't get me wrong, I love fast food, but I would choose McDonald's over Zippys. Sorry.
My last and 3rd review over the years of this Zippy's..... strictly for the DINE IN SIDE ONLY! If I could give this zippys dine in NO stars I would. What's sad is, my husband and I and our daughter decided to come to zippys around noon, surprisingly it wasn't that busy, but it was still busy enough that there were quite a bit of people there. We got seated within 10 mins of arriving which was alright... As we sat down the waitress gave us our menus and walked away, didn't say one word to us, besides giving me the bathroom code cuz I needed to use the bathroom. I took less then 3 min in the bathroom and when I got back to our seat I already knew what I wanted. We all pretty much knew what we wanted to eat. I made EYE CONTACT, with this waitress, we tried to call her over but she didn't. We noticed she sat 3 more tables down and gave them water and talked to them. But us? No water, we were sitting there with the menus twiddling our thumbs. It's now 25 mins and she hasn't come to our table. After every attempt to get her attention she just ignored us. So we got up and left. Never coming back to this location again.
What is my favorite food?? Free food, of course. I do not know the correlation between Zippy's and this conference I had attended, but a $25 gift certificate was included as part of the welcome package. This certificate has been sitting on a shelf begging to be traded, and today I chose to trade its virtual value with real sustenance. What does $25 get you? It turns out plenty of food for one person. I got a Korean fried chicken plate, a large of bowl of chili, and a musubi, for less than 25 but greater than 24, before tax. * Korean fried chicken plate - the batter and the frying technique were pretty good, surprisingly good, in fact, especially for a fast food restaurant. On the down side, the majority of the dish was thick batter not the the meat. However, it was fried properly; it was crispy, crunch without being oily. It seems this technique is not so easy as Vons in Hawaii have not mastered this at this point. This plate comes with macaroni salad and two balls of rice as a proper Hawaiian plate should (but this is not korean). Rice was below average. Macaroni good. * chili - dense and chunky. Lots of meat-like substance (I heard it is vegetarian!!) Not much flavor but hearty and good. * musubi - one can't go wrong with musabi especially when it is free. Zippy's found a way, however, to make it bad... the spam was bikini skinny. Bikini skinny is good on a hot girl, but not on a musubi. Shame. I'm willing to overlook this time. Overall, there is good value in the Korean chicken plate:rice, chicken, macaroni, for about $13. For fast food with diversity and hefty servings for one's tummy, Zippy is a snappy option for a hippy snoopy who is feeling nappy.
Came here to celebrate my dad's birthday since Gyotaku across the street had a long wait for lunch on a Sunday. Guess who also had a long wait for lunch on a Sunday! This Zippy's! Not to mention the dine in side was closed due to call ins so the take out side was packed! I downloaded the app and used it in order to get our order in and it helped since I was also able to get the discounted napple and drink with the purchase of a meal (dad got chili frank plate, had to go with the white rice and mac salad to "go for the gusto"! Taylor got Portuguese bean soup and spaghetti with lilikoi drink). The best part was that the app has a free zip pac after your first purchase, but unfortunately it wasn't working when I tried to add it to the order. I will just have to redeem it next time since the line was so long!
Island staple with local favorites and great service. This was the impression I walked away with after our first experience. It has a very "Dennys" feel to it but with better tasting food. It seems to have an Asian, Chinese and Hawaiian fusion style to its Comfort food menu. The Fried chicken and chili is a must try. Chili with rice mixed was a first for me but definitely not a last. I even noticed they sell it by the tub... wish I didn't have a 12 hour flight back home lol or I just might. I will say that the Mac salad is probably the best on the island, and we tried a lot of Mac salad on our Oahu food tour trip. My husband said his Korean fried chicken had really good taste, with a crispy outing and flavorful center. We plan on visiting again on our next trip to try a few other local favorites.
Our hotel staff had recommended Zippy's for breakfast. Glad that we went. Plenty of food at a very good value!
I remember my first Zippy's experience was a tub of chili my cousin brought to the mainland. Since then I've been hooked. Now to visit the OG location, what a treat! AMBIANCE: Parking: Plaza parking and street parking. You shouldn't have any issues unless someone is hosting an event. Seating: Inside seating for groups from individuals, pairs, or a tourist group of 6. Feels: You're a hop, skip, jump away from Waikiki and the Ala Moana mall but still relatively distant from the touristy side. The place is pretty spacious and generally maintained. I dig the local music playing and looking at their lengthy menu of ono grindz. Nothing too flashy, just your usual restaurant that's a great place for a grab-and-go or if you want to sit in before the next adventure. FOOD: Zippy's Chili Cheese Fries (Recommend) Fries are good BUT with Zippy's chili? Oh my goodness. Fries are generally great by themselves with a good savory crunch. The cheese was semi-melted which provided a nice supplementary gooey kick to it. However when you add Zippy's Chili, the creamy texture and multiple savory flavors are mixed in the ground beef and beans. Yummm! CUSTOMER SERVICE: Great! Friendly and quick. TL; DR OVERALL: 5 Stars. No complaints here. I know there are great individual places but this is a great local franchise. They have everything from your to-go meals to the family. Most Zippy's collaborate with Napoleon Bakery for some other sweet goods. This is a great stop-and-go if you're trying to go around the island or just experience a pleasant taste of Hawaii. TIPS: * OG location * Random fact: the name Zippy's was inspired by the birth of Zip Codes and its' mailing efficiency.
Restaurantji Recommends
My husband and I came here while on vacation and we were excited since it is a local chain. When we walked in only one person was working at the pick up order line, we (along with others) waited in the order food line assuming someone would come take our order. No one did. Then the lady in front of us asked where to order and the girl working the register told her we could go to the pick up order line, which confused others behind us who were picking up. Everyone at the restaurant just seemed confused. After 20 minutes of waiting for two plates of food, we finally got our food. It was okay. Not worth the money or the wait. Definitely disappointed.
Menu was totally different that what was posted on line. Made me turn around a walk out. Huge bummer.
Standard Zippy's food, and a must-have every time I'm here. Vegetarian review: The vegetarian chili is great. The bowl with rice- yum. Macaroni salad- also very good. Not too salty, but well flavored. Corn bread- toast it, and it's fantastic. Crisp and sweet, soft and crumbly- great texture and flavor. Tofu burger- awful. Seriously, do not get it. Soggy, bland, and gross. I added cheese, but I doubt very much that anything would make it edible. Parking- easy, even though the parking lot is small.
As my first time visitor, I give this chain a good five star. The staff were nice. The place was clean. The food were delicious!!! I think when in doubt; go to Zippy's. Basic but it hits the spot every time. Our go-to fast food chain in Hawai'i!!!
Zippy's McCully one of the best local restaurant with delicious food reasonable prices customer service superb clean atmosphere always recommend zippys to everyone