Seriously an underrated place. Great atmosphere, nice home town bar but no one is there. Bartenders are amazing, great drinks, good bar food. Check this place out and give the employees some love bc they actually care compared to other places here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jasmine K.
My family and I stopped by boardriders a few days ago for lunch and never again will we come here! The service was SUPER SLOW and we were the third family in the place. The bartender/waitress was super friendly but just very slow. The food was HORRIBLE and OVER PRICED. We bought 4 soda's, 18 piece wings, a salad, 2 basket of fries and two orders of 5 piece birria tacos for $160!! Food was edible but over priced, definitely not worth the price. Tacos had no flavor, salad tasted more like garlic powder and all the wings tasted the same. The fries were decent but you could tell the cook hasn't changed his oil in a few hours. Wouldn't recommend this place!
Mychel E.
Drinks are reasonably priced. For a Saturday afternoon this place was empty. If I had a big group trying to sit at the bar this place would be good. EXCEPT the bartender didn't look too happy to help us. Blonde hair, blue eyes and made a terrible margarita. Sorry, I don't like soda in my margarita. She mixed another and looked annoyed about it. Ordered the kalbi fries which sucked. Maybe if wasn't sitting on the counter waiting for the bartender to grab them it wouldn't have been cold and a waste of money. I'll try this place again when there's live music and a different bartender.
Bethanie C.
Food was decent. Eastside kitchen. Open mic is on 1st & 3rd Thursdays btw. Went for that but wrong day. Lol. App ordering was available. Ok. Prices seem comparable to other places....
Scarlet M.
Meh. We ordered the Kalbi fries and the meat was cold and fries were hard. 5/10 . Buffalo BBQ were decent. 7/10. Weird vibes. Bartenders were nice. Idk
TimeTraveler
East Side Kitchen is located inside this bar. DON’T order food from the bar. Walk up to the small counter in front of the kitchen and order and pay. Waited 45 minutes for food ordering from the bar. Watched people get food who came in later then us before we did. Then bartender comes over and says kitchen didn’t get order and immediately asks if we want to cancel. Trying to rush the tourists off? Finally got tacos that were good. Street corn tasted like it literally just came out of the fridge (cold) Said fries were almost done. Finally bring the fries and we’re over done! There was only 2 four tops and maybe 2 people at the bar when we arrived. Will gladly take my $70 elsewhere it will be appreciated….. Do Better!
Sean Chun
I don’t understand why this place charges $7.33 for a small Red Bull, and why the bartender would pour it without telling me how expense it is. Word to the wise ask how much the drinks are here before they start pouring it for you and forcing an overpriced sale upon you. The Red Bull costs more than an actual beer ?
Kim K.
Don't bother. This place was noisy, the food was meh and over priced. Three small tacos for $18! And they charged $2 for 2 Tablespoons of sour cream?! Ridiculous that the price of the tacos didn't include even a single sauce. The menu is online and they don't even have pictures for 1/2 of the menu items. You order through an app and pic up your food at the counter. Drinks have to be ordered separately at the bar. Better food can be found at a food truck.
Shannon Jane
Want to start this review with the fact that our bartender was very sweet and attentive.We came in and ordered two orders of tacos and elotes at 7:20. By 8:30 we still didn’t have our order despite being one of the only groups in the establishment when we first made our order. By 8:45 she told us that the kitchen only had one guy working and that he had just finished a table of 5 before us. The only other group ordering food before us and that even after us waiting almost an hour and a half that the tacos would take another 15 minutes. They didn’t discount or even have the cook come out to say something putting the heat entirely on the bartender. We wound up canceling our order and leaving to get food somewhere else. It’s a shame because the drinks and atmosphere were great.
Devon M.
Where do I begin with this absolute local TREASURE that is Boardriders?!?! Let's start with the owners, because it was true hospitality and love! Kelli Jo and Jim- we will always and forever come back and visit when in Kailua and having a Lanikai beach day! The friendship (and comedy) between you two (of 25+ years together) is enough to make anyone want to be your friend. Trading stories back and forth with you on an overcast afternoon made a couple hours at the bar feel like 5 minutes- so sad that we can't see you all the time!! 5/5 Ambiance- is it fancy? No. Is it supposed to be? NO! Clean, welcoming, fun old school decor, great bar, spacious, high ceilings, what looks to be a competitive pool table, and a fun little stage (where I heard amazing local musicians have come to play, like J. Boog and Kimié Miner to name a couple...). We are so sad we won't be here this Saturday when there will be live tunes! 5/5 Food- Holy taco loving heaven. Apparently they just started a business relationship during Covid with a crazy good taco person and their tacos are seriously melt in your mouth delicious- kind of a combo of a pan fried quesadilla in a corn taco- can choose between shredded pork, chicken or beef with melty, hot mozzarella in the middle and garnished with fresh cilantro and red onion and lots of sauce options to dip into. We had already eaten lunch (and probably didn't need another meal) but so glad we made room....don't miss them either! Fries were perfectly salted and somewhere in between a shoestring and a steak fry size- good to note that the fry oil was also clean and delicious- underrated thing to report but super important and such a easy thing to mess up in this business. Great work!! 5/5 Service- all Kelli Jo (please read above remarks about how much we loved her) and 5 stars all the way! And yes we took pictures and yes all my friends on social media will be seeing a happy me and Kelli Jo with big smiles! If you like to support locally owned businesses who support other local businesses, go here! If you want a friendly bar to drink a couple cold Big Waves and munch on amazing tacos, go here! And if you love sharing the Yelp love like we do, please go here and do the same and keep it going
Awesome place. Will definitely be back. The tacos were to die for...be sure to get the dipping sauce. Would give them 6 stars if I could.
Wesley Holmes
If you gotta pick a place to eat, eat here! Amazing food and nice staff!!
Dominic williams
Stopped in here and man was the bartender killer! I think her name was Maggie or Mikey but made the place way better, deff my go to for Kailua bar
Jacob C.
First time in and the service was friendly with a welcoming atmosphere. Nice music and who doesn't love to play pool??! The tacos are a must have!! Can't wait to come back!
Lala C.
First time here. Loud music in a large open area filled with tables plus a stage for live music. Music playlists varies throughout the night between country and hard rock. It was extremely loud for a social bar so communication was difficult. For such a large area, we didn't see any servers. All drinks orders had to be made at the bar. Had a Moscow Mule with Malibu rum, yummy. Best part was the pool table. That was fun. The regular pros were super nice and gracious since we weren't great pool players. Loved them for that. So we closed the bar playing pool. Otherwise, not much to my taste but great hangout for members of the Marine Core nearby. Definitely a lot of flirting goin' on. Imagine that!
Seriously an underrated place. Great atmosphere, nice home town bar but no one is there. Bartenders are amazing, great drinks, good bar food. Check this place out and give the employees some love bc they actually care compared to other places here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My family and I stopped by boardriders a few days ago for lunch and never again will we come here! The service was SUPER SLOW and we were the third family in the place. The bartender/waitress was super friendly but just very slow. The food was HORRIBLE and OVER PRICED. We bought 4 soda's, 18 piece wings, a salad, 2 basket of fries and two orders of 5 piece birria tacos for $160!! Food was edible but over priced, definitely not worth the price. Tacos had no flavor, salad tasted more like garlic powder and all the wings tasted the same. The fries were decent but you could tell the cook hasn't changed his oil in a few hours. Wouldn't recommend this place!
Drinks are reasonably priced. For a Saturday afternoon this place was empty. If I had a big group trying to sit at the bar this place would be good. EXCEPT the bartender didn't look too happy to help us. Blonde hair, blue eyes and made a terrible margarita. Sorry, I don't like soda in my margarita. She mixed another and looked annoyed about it. Ordered the kalbi fries which sucked. Maybe if wasn't sitting on the counter waiting for the bartender to grab them it wouldn't have been cold and a waste of money. I'll try this place again when there's live music and a different bartender.
Food was decent. Eastside kitchen. Open mic is on 1st & 3rd Thursdays btw. Went for that but wrong day. Lol. App ordering was available. Ok. Prices seem comparable to other places....
Meh. We ordered the Kalbi fries and the meat was cold and fries were hard. 5/10 . Buffalo BBQ were decent. 7/10. Weird vibes. Bartenders were nice. Idk
East Side Kitchen is located inside this bar. DON’T order food from the bar. Walk up to the small counter in front of the kitchen and order and pay. Waited 45 minutes for food ordering from the bar. Watched people get food who came in later then us before we did. Then bartender comes over and says kitchen didn’t get order and immediately asks if we want to cancel. Trying to rush the tourists off? Finally got tacos that were good. Street corn tasted like it literally just came out of the fridge (cold) Said fries were almost done. Finally bring the fries and we’re over done! There was only 2 four tops and maybe 2 people at the bar when we arrived. Will gladly take my $70 elsewhere it will be appreciated….. Do Better!
I don’t understand why this place charges $7.33 for a small Red Bull, and why the bartender would pour it without telling me how expense it is. Word to the wise ask how much the drinks are here before they start pouring it for you and forcing an overpriced sale upon you. The Red Bull costs more than an actual beer ?
Don't bother. This place was noisy, the food was meh and over priced. Three small tacos for $18! And they charged $2 for 2 Tablespoons of sour cream?! Ridiculous that the price of the tacos didn't include even a single sauce. The menu is online and they don't even have pictures for 1/2 of the menu items. You order through an app and pic up your food at the counter. Drinks have to be ordered separately at the bar. Better food can be found at a food truck.
Want to start this review with the fact that our bartender was very sweet and attentive.We came in and ordered two orders of tacos and elotes at 7:20. By 8:30 we still didn’t have our order despite being one of the only groups in the establishment when we first made our order. By 8:45 she told us that the kitchen only had one guy working and that he had just finished a table of 5 before us. The only other group ordering food before us and that even after us waiting almost an hour and a half that the tacos would take another 15 minutes. They didn’t discount or even have the cook come out to say something putting the heat entirely on the bartender. We wound up canceling our order and leaving to get food somewhere else. It’s a shame because the drinks and atmosphere were great.
Where do I begin with this absolute local TREASURE that is Boardriders?!?! Let's start with the owners, because it was true hospitality and love! Kelli Jo and Jim- we will always and forever come back and visit when in Kailua and having a Lanikai beach day! The friendship (and comedy) between you two (of 25+ years together) is enough to make anyone want to be your friend. Trading stories back and forth with you on an overcast afternoon made a couple hours at the bar feel like 5 minutes- so sad that we can't see you all the time!! 5/5 Ambiance- is it fancy? No. Is it supposed to be? NO! Clean, welcoming, fun old school decor, great bar, spacious, high ceilings, what looks to be a competitive pool table, and a fun little stage (where I heard amazing local musicians have come to play, like J. Boog and Kimié Miner to name a couple...). We are so sad we won't be here this Saturday when there will be live tunes! 5/5 Food- Holy taco loving heaven. Apparently they just started a business relationship during Covid with a crazy good taco person and their tacos are seriously melt in your mouth delicious- kind of a combo of a pan fried quesadilla in a corn taco- can choose between shredded pork, chicken or beef with melty, hot mozzarella in the middle and garnished with fresh cilantro and red onion and lots of sauce options to dip into. We had already eaten lunch (and probably didn't need another meal) but so glad we made room....don't miss them either! Fries were perfectly salted and somewhere in between a shoestring and a steak fry size- good to note that the fry oil was also clean and delicious- underrated thing to report but super important and such a easy thing to mess up in this business. Great work!! 5/5 Service- all Kelli Jo (please read above remarks about how much we loved her) and 5 stars all the way! And yes we took pictures and yes all my friends on social media will be seeing a happy me and Kelli Jo with big smiles! If you like to support locally owned businesses who support other local businesses, go here! If you want a friendly bar to drink a couple cold Big Waves and munch on amazing tacos, go here! And if you love sharing the Yelp love like we do, please go here and do the same and keep it going
Restaurantji Recommends
Awesome place. Will definitely be back. The tacos were to die for...be sure to get the dipping sauce. Would give them 6 stars if I could.
If you gotta pick a place to eat, eat here! Amazing food and nice staff!!
Stopped in here and man was the bartender killer! I think her name was Maggie or Mikey but made the place way better, deff my go to for Kailua bar
First time in and the service was friendly with a welcoming atmosphere. Nice music and who doesn't love to play pool??! The tacos are a must have!! Can't wait to come back!
First time here. Loud music in a large open area filled with tables plus a stage for live music. Music playlists varies throughout the night between country and hard rock. It was extremely loud for a social bar so communication was difficult. For such a large area, we didn't see any servers. All drinks orders had to be made at the bar. Had a Moscow Mule with Malibu rum, yummy. Best part was the pool table. That was fun. The regular pros were super nice and gracious since we weren't great pool players. Loved them for that. So we closed the bar playing pool. Otherwise, not much to my taste but great hangout for members of the Marine Core nearby. Definitely a lot of flirting goin' on. Imagine that!