We got a chance to try Ono Hawaiian BBQ during the pre-opening of its new Fresno location, and this place made a great first impression.
As soon as we walked through the door, we were greeted with a big “Aloha!”
While Wife looked over the menu, I checked out the restaurant. Everything was new, clean and modern, but it still had a boathouse feel that fit the Hawaiian theme.
REVIEW AT A GLANCE
Location: California
City: Fresno
Craving: Hawaiian BBQ
Wife Had to Pick My Food
There were so many things on the menu that I couldn’t decide what I wanted.
So Wife stepped in.
Jen ordered the Lemon Pepper Chicken, which came with rice, macaroni salad and vegetables.
Then she picked my meal too, a combo with Teriyaki Chicken, Fried Shrimp and Fried Fish, along with rice, macaroni salad and vegetables.
Decision made.
We paid, found a table and waited for our feast to arrive.
A Little Hawaiian Atmosphere
While we waited, I had more time to look around the restaurant.
One detail that caught my attention was the lighting. They used large boat rope to hide the electrical wires.
That’s a new one to me.
I thought it was a pretty clever way to keep the boathouse look going throughout the restaurant.
There was also a condiment station where you could get teriyaki and katsu sauces, along with soy sauce, hot mustard, spicy sauce, salt, pepper and lemon.
Then the food arrived.
First, Wife Has to Take the Pictures
Everything looked and smelled so good.
But I couldn’t eat yet.
Wife needed to take pictures.
I let her go first, and she even held up the big ball of rice so she could get a fun photo.
Then it was my turn.
I tried to wait.
I really did.
But before she could get a picture with her fancy camera, one of those fried shrimp disappeared into the depths of my mouth.
What can I say? I was hungry.
I finally let her get her picture, and then we could eat without any more interruptions.
That Macaroni Salad
I continued attacking the shrimp before moving on to the macaroni salad.
I’m pretty picky about these kinds of salads because I’m used to homemade, but this one surprised me.
It was one of the best macaroni salads I’d had from a restaurant.
I liked it so much that I took about half of Wife’s serving too.
The teriyaki chicken was great as well.
At some point, I looked up from my plate and realized Jen had already finished the last piece of her Lemon Pepper Chicken.
I didn’t even get a chance to ask for a bite.
That’s okay.
I hadn’t given her any of mine either.
We Were Already Planning Our Next Visit
We really enjoyed our first meal at Ono Hawaiian BBQ.
The restaurant looked great, the food delivered, and apparently neither one of us was interested in sharing.
At the time of this review, we were visiting during the restaurant’s pre-opening, with its official grand opening coming up shortly afterward. I was already planning to come back.
And after that macaroni salad, I didn’t need much convincing.
Mike
Mike is one half of Couples Dining Out. He’s all about seafood, Chinese food, and BBQ, although ribs don’t make the cut very often because his goatee usually pays the price. Give him a cold blonde beer to wash it all down and he’s happy. And dessert? Unless there’s pie involved, he’ll probably pass.