Reviews of Pounders Restaurant (Restaurant)

Nicole Kane

Food was cold. We got crab cakes and fish tacos. I told the waitress it was cold and she just said it was the sauce. I don't know about you but I think crab cake should be hot. Very disappointed and made me throw up after i ate it. Would not recommend.

Jim Schoneman

The best service and fantastic food

scott smith

Amazingly good food, reasonable prices, friendly service.

Tauma Tek

The food is good and afordable... like to eat there. You guys need to try their Ahi Tataki Salad.

Tonya Goeser

Don't know what made the cheeseburger taste so good, but it was awesome. Nephew had the BBQ chicken pizza and he really like it as well. The wait staff were all really nice.

Chris Doherty

Group of 4 and we all had a great lunch with dessert. The Mahi fish bite appetizers were great. AND the prices were normal...Friendly staff.

Andrew Larson

I had the Loco Moco burger and it was fantastic. Picked up the Coconut Roll from the bakery for breakfast the next day and it was great. Would definitely recommend this place.

Bradford Henschel

Loved the surf and turf. Waitress was great. Server immediately seated us. Prices seemed decent. Casual atmosphere

Chris Sutter

Decent sit down place to eat. Mahi mahi nuggets and the ulu chips with smoked marlin dip are super tasty. Pele's volcano pizza is super good. Surprisingly the chili shrimp with ulu mash is bomb.

Nancy Martinez

Food was delicious and staff were very friendly! Lots of Aloha, for sure!

Andrea Marshall

I enjoy this restaurant quite a bit. It's very cute, the ambience is fun. All of the workers are University Students from across the street. I like that the food is very tasty. Today it didn't leave me feeling filled, but it was a great way to escape the heat, and very yummy!

Jonathan Bateman

Got food poisoning here

Melissa Shipley

The food was just average for the price. The floors were sticky and dirty and it smelled really bad inside of the restaurant. Our waiter was very attentive to what we needed and actually allowed our daughters to go into the back and put their toppings on the pizza which was really awesome; they were super excited about that, but the food unfortunately wasn't something that I would go back for. The shops around the restaurant where a ton of fun and the food outside of the restaurant was great.

Kevin Sheffield

Holy cow pizza was pretty good

Keaton Ross

Worth more than five stars! This service was beyond what I expected. My glass was never empty, the food was amazing and the service was exceptional. Vika did amazing! Super personable but professional at all times. Don't lose her if you can help it. Will make sure I come here each time I visit Hawaii!

Audrey Karford

The staff was great and super friendly we throughly enjoyed our waitress! The food was a little pricy but good. We tried the pizzas and burgers and enjoyed both.

Jordan Gardner

I liked it, it was pretty expensive. Service was very friendly. In my opinion the Taro Rolls from the bakery are the best thing there.

amber friedli

Great service. Fast. Clean. Reasonable priced

Devon Lewis

Food was great! Hospitality was perfect, drinks were always refilled and not bad on price either! I ate the holy cow pizza and it was amazing!

Brandon and Suzette

Amazing! My wife and I ate here at least once each day of our 4 day stay. The food was delicious and the servers very personable, kind and helpful. We highly recommend it!!!

Sarah Casey

The kids menu is only 3 or 4 items. The make your pizza option is really awesome but would like a few traditional kid choices like chicken tenders or mac and cheese. As for adults if seafood or fish is your thing you will love it. The volcano pizza is so good!

Bobby Stef

Decent food with a good amount of options. Service is slow when busy. We were there on a Saturday night were sat down almost immediately to arrive but waiter didn't assist us for 10 min.

Renee C

Incredibly satisfying! Comfort food meets Hawaiian food in a casual and refined environment. Highly recommend!

v garrido

The Sandwiches we had where dry, ham/cheese and Ahi pesto

Andrew Lee

Great ambiance and food. Loved the pan seared chicken.

Shannon Martin

Great food and service!

Jeremy Jenkins

I have eaten at this establishment twice thus far and I must say that both experiences were very pleasant. The atmosphere is fairly ambient with good levels of lighting and artwork. During both my visits, the staff were very pleasant also. They were informative, kind, and easy going. They also had great recommendations which can sometimes be hard to come by. The inside temperature can get a little cool in the evening so I would recommend bringing a light top just in case it becomes a little cool. I have personally eaten the Hawaiian burger, the Fish & Chips, and have tasted a range of their desserts which include Guava Cheesecake, Banana Cream Pie, Chocolate Chip Cookie and Mango Cheesecake. In fact, there is quite a large selection of desserts on display to choose from so what worked best for our family was to order our meal and after wrapping up, grabbing some desserts to go. There's a lot to see in that area right next to the Polynesian Cultural Center, so we found that browsing through the area whilst nibbling on our desserts was the way to go for us! The portion sizes are very reasonable for the price. The average meal with a drink and side will set you back around $20. The desserts range from $2.50 to about $5 and I felt that there were reasonably priced as well. To give you some perspective, a slice of cheesecake from the Cheese Cake Factory is about $7 for the same portion size and at Pounders, it costs $4.50. Based on my families input, in general we found that the burgers tasted really good. If you like runny eggs, you'll love the Loco and Hawaiian burgers. The meat has a good level of moisture in it and cooked to order. The buns are lightly toasted with a soft flavor. The ingredients in general have great flavor and synergy. Who would think a Loco Moco on a burger would be a thing! I've also had the Fish & Chips with a side of Tartare sauce. They were OK. Not great but OK. My boys had a cheese pizza and also pepperoni pizza. They're mini pizza's so they're a good size for a small child and maybe not enough for a hungry adult. The pizza's were very tasty, nice buttery like crust and good amounts of cheese and pepperoni. Their fries are fine. The desserts are really quite tasty. Of all the desserts I mentioned, I favored the Guava Cheesecake. I found it to have a solid balance of Guava topping vs Cheesecake body. The other desserts were very tasty indeed and very reasonably priced for their portion sizes. Overall, Pounders Restaurant was a great dining experience. If you live local, you can get a Kama'aina discount which is 10% and if you're lucky to come across BOGO fundraisers, they'll make the cost of your dining experience a lot cheaper. Ultimately, you're looking at roughly $20-$25 a head ordering a main, refillable drink and dessert.

Breana Daniel

Food was great! Chili shrimp were amazing, my husband had the poke and hasn't stopped talking about it, and kids enjoyed the make your own pizza!

Phillip A Lammi

Good selection of food and a great space to eat in Laie, as there are few options in town. Can be a little pricey, and tables indoors for large groups are limited; however, they take reservations so getting accommodations is relatively easy.

J C

Decent, but probably wouldn’t go back. Fast friendly service, but nothing blew me away. And it in a dry city so no cocktails here.

Michal Holliday

Good food, but I'm a little bothered by the service and quality. We had lunch on a Saturday and admittedly the North Shore was experiencing a major storm, but the restaurant wasn't packed and we still waited for 35 minutes for lunch to arrive. Why did other tables get offered a discount due to the long wait, but I was left alone in the cold? We saw several tables receive the wrong food and this is where I get concerned. The table next to ours ordered a pizza, received the wrong pizza, informed the waiter, and the pizza was taken away. About 2 minutes later the same waiter brought out the same pizza to another table which caused me concern over where my food had been before it arrived at my table. I had the loco moco, the queen had the moo crazy pizza, and the kids had a burger and tacos. Good food, but not worth a return visit, especially since I don't know who may have had my food before or arrived away my table.

Shinjan Tiwary

Awesome place even for vegetarians!!! Very friendly and amicable treatment to guests. Food can be customized to your taste. Everything was rightly done.

Liane Ha'i

Great menu options! Love the boneless Kalbi with the ulu mashed. Soooo good! Great burger choices and perfect fries! Desserts are on point as well.

Pen Pen

I've been here twice and its a MUST go to place for the best in service and very tasty food. Our experience was excellent service from everyone! The server Melisa is a sweetie and the gentleman that directed us where my 5 yr old son can personally make his topping on his pizza and the pizza cook behind the counter was excellent too! From appetizers (kalua pork quesadilla, mahimahi nuggets) to dinner (boneless shortrib w/kalbi sauce) and desserts (haupia ice cream, vanilla ice cream, mango cheesecake, guava cheesecake and homemade banana cream pie) was so 'ono (delicious)! Thankfully I have pictures to share. We'll definitely be going back to try what we didn't have this night

Rian Clinton

Not great but pretty good. Outside seating is perfect for families. No drink menu as this is a dry city.

Tricia Olmstead

Amazing service! Excellent food! I would definitely return.

A Brown

Fish and Chips good except to much batter fish was good.

Hannah Palmer

Food is really great! I love the island twist with great food! Their meat dishes, volcano pizza and spicy shrimp are amazing! Very clean and great workers!

Lesley Salmonson

Had a nice lunch with family. Shrimp tacos were delicious! Pineapple cheesecake and pumpkin crunch dessert were so good. Their bakery was fantastic and we took home some coconut rolls for breakfast, which were also delicious. Service was great and all the staff was friendly and helpful.

Chris Mack

The crab cakes were good. The ribs were a tad dry but spicy. They have a good selection. Prices are ok, $$.

Zoia Adam

Love their pizzas

James Gaul

Curry. Skimpy serving. Asked for a slice of bread, 50 cents more. Chintzy.

Melodie Delgado

I had a great dinner with friends. We even had a coupon from a travel brochure which they took! I ordered the new surf n' turf bowl which was delicious! The ahi was amazing and left me wanting more! The serving size was really big and I think it was worth the price. This place was nice and cool and gave us a good break from walking all over the PCC all day. I even got to leave with a slice of cheesecake (; (P.S. the fries were SUPER yummy. Don't know what makes them special but I was impressed)

Randy Moore

Good fish tacos! Took a while to get our food

Alex Y. Moreno

I went around 3pm when there was no people. The service was so fast it was unreal! The food was really good. I got the fresh poke It melted in my mouth. One of my favorite restaurants.

Colin C

No booze. No thanks.

George Nguyen

Great foods and live music

Tyson Terry

Man! The best fish tacos I've ever had! I like fish tacos, and am often let down by fancier restaurants when compared to a simple Rubio's fish taco. This blew the competition away. This is the new standard for fish tacos. (I did have the waitress sub one taco for a shrimp one, which was also good. The rest of the family had pizza, which was excellent and I believe wood fired.

Eddie Lamm

Some of the best food we have had on the Island!!!

Benjamin Thomas

Super good. Friendliest staff we have met on the island and that is saying something since so many people are so kind here. The food was great portions and really tasty. Definitely worth the time.

Morgan Jackson

Fish sandwich was honestly disgusting so was the bbq sandwich. Being from Florida I love mahi it’s one of my favorite fish to eat. The mahi sandwich was CLEARLY frozen fish which was shocking. We were expecting the “cultural” center to have authentic fresh food especially considering the prices. Completely turned us off of the cultural center. We left directly after trying the food. We didn’t even eat it. Don’t even get me started on the luke warm server who was barely around to fill our water. Truly disgusted that you’d try to pass this area off as authentic Hawai’i.

Warren

Went in for a quick meal before the show. Service was very fast. We had a Hawaiian pizza and grandkids had burgers - all excellent.

Thomas Uata

Great place to eat

Gregory Stryker

The mushroom swiss burger was amazing! Highly recommended!

Loretta Harrison

Service was pleasant and sweet. The food was absolutely great. Enjoy people

Mary Bennett

The crab cakes were amazing. I have had many crab cakes from other restaurants but Pounders are by far the very best I have ever enjoyed.

Leonor Araujo

Horrible experience. Bakery was highly recommended by PCC staff. When we got there the bakery mngr (asian lady with false eyelashes mid 30s) tells super annoyed “ Are you here for the free cookies?” When we gave her the 6 coupons she got super annoyed. We told her that we also wanted to purchase things. She changed her attitude a bit but had the same horrible attitude with the next guests. Bakery goods were dry and not fresh. Avoid this place. Even the free cookies were bad!!!!

Kendell Mccook

Food was good, poke was spectacular and service was great.

Julie Mckanry

The staff is exceptional and the food is great with the exception of the rib eye steak. It’s expensive and hardly edible.

Bailey Chitwood

OMG the food here is so good. There was nothing that my family of 4 got that wasn't amazing. I would definitly put it on our north shore hit list

Jennifer Klaas

Food was fine. Like an upscale Perkins. Nothing to write home about.

Enrique H.

So good and awesome promises!

Mayra Finale

Good food. Great service. Monique was helpful and friendly. We really enjoyed the ahi tuna salad.

ryan steel

Great food and you are supporting college students.

Heidi Mabunga

Great service. Really cool selection of food. The quality of food was awesome. Nice atmosphere. I got the mango pizza and it was great!!!my husband got the loco Moco which was also awesome.

Ann Holl

The food was absolutely amazing!! I’d recommend to everyone! The best restaurant I’ve ever been too! And the kindest stuff. The whole experience was wonderful and will come back again!

Philippe Leblanc

The only reason you’ll go there is because there’s no other non-fastfood restaurant in the vicinity. Food is average. No alcoholic beverages. On the plus side, kids menu is good and the make your own pizza bar for kids is awesome.

Brynn Barleen

Really good food and service, nice place to eat

Myhriah Young

I appreciated the atmosphere of Pounders, the bakery was cute, and staff was friendly. I really like reading about their mission to help young chefs, so they had a featured burger from one of their upcoming chefs, which is what I ordered. The food looked good when it came out. However, with that being said, I was a bit disappointed in a few things: -our waitress, while friendly only came to our table once-it wasn’t that busy and there were a lot of staff. Our drinks never got refilled and we were quite thirsty from a busy day. -Our crab cakes were cold in the middle (they did have good flavor though); we didn’t attempt to send them back, so that was on us. -The food was good, but nothing stood out as amazing, especially for the price. The flavoring was ok on some things, but not on others. If you’re looking to have a consistent dining experience, and want good food, I would throw Pounders out as an option. I do appreciate what they’re doing, and I can get behind that, so if someone was going to be in the area, I would let them know to check it out.

Chad D

Decent bar food and the bakery is good. Somewhat on heavier side, but overall ok.

Thomas Chan

Unexpectedly good. Eat at lunch time after arriving at PCC. Lots of choices in the menu, and the food is very tasty . You will need to pay double the price for the same menu in Waikiki, but not even receive the same quality. Highly recommended.

Mary Griffith

Great place to eat. Good food & friendly staff.

Tommey McIntyre

Great food, try to beat the crowd and tours, otherwise crowded

Trish Hamrick

Pizza was awesome!

Chris Heitmann

We really wantes to eat here. We waited at the desk to be seated. Then a rour bus came in and we asked to step aside so they could seat an entire bus! The restaurant wasnt busy but we were told it would be at least 30 minutes before we would be seated!

Hannah Plowman

Absolutely amazing food. Got the burger which was such good quality meat. Staff were all very friendly and the place was very clean. Prices were fair and it was located in a great area!

Jackie Bell

The Mahi Mahi nuggets appetizer is great! The Ahi Burger, which is a special and does not seem to appear on the online menu, is out of this world awesome (if you like mushrooms).

Jordan Hodges

Terrible service. Mediocre food.

Dakota

Over priced for the quality that it is.

Tamika Pomeroy

Out of this world and at affordable prices. Super fresh, not greasy, creative ideas. We ordered the shrimp pizza and ahi salad, highly recommend

Klammath TV

I stopped in for an early dinner (4:30pm) as a solo. Was immediately seated and given a menu. I watch 3 other groups get seated shortly after I did. I noticed the waitress immediately took their drink orders, but I had yet to be asked. Thinking it was odd, I didn't think much of it. 10 minutes later (15 minutes after being seated), I had yet to have a waitress come to my table, though a couple walked passed. I decided to get up and wash my hands, and in the time it took for me to walk to the restroom, wash my hands, and walk back, someone had come by, removed the menu, and re-set the table. Baffled, I walked out. The hostess was nice and courteous, but everything past that point was awful service. This wasn't a busy time, the restaurant was not overwhelmed in the least; I was purely ignored and then forgotten about. I will not return.

Joan Eckart

Have been to Pounders several times and it never disappoints. We had the most lovely food server the last two times. Absolutely great food and tremendous wait staff.

Lawan Mckie

The service was good The food was alright in taste large portions. Family friendly atmosphere

Roy Oliver

Our shrimp was fresh in the coconut curry and boneless beef ribs were local grass fed.

Skyler Parker

The Shrimp Tacos are so freaking good. Definitely didn't disappoint. Also, the Guava Cheesecake is the best cheesecake I have ever had...and I've had a lot.

Valdir Vargas

Nice place

Chroma Color

Amazing food, a real restaurant at shrimp truck prices. Highly recommend any fish dish!!!!!

Alakai Manu

I'm a local from the area and last night we had a wonderful family dinner. Our passionate server Edz was very efficient, professional and his customer service was impeccable. He made sure our seating ran very smoothly and made my family feel comfortable and at home. Edz is a huge asset to your restaurant a deserves much kudos. We will definitely be back soon! Note to Edz: Keep Smiling you beautiful soul

Daryl Royal

Great service and convenient location. The burgers are pretty great as well

MARIE GUARASCIO

I had to get up to checkout what happened to our order. Server had manager bring food out. Poor service and less than great. Won’t be going here again.

Todd_Stacie DeCapite

The food was very good and huge portions. The only problem we had was that we didn't know what a lot of the menu items were but our waiter, Kim, was very helpful and informative. And the prices were not to bad either. And now, I don't know if I will ever eat a burger without pineapple! Mahalo!

Nathan Barleen

Delicious food, reasonable prices and wonderful service. One of our favorite places to eat.

Oracio Rojas

Caesar salad lacked croutons and dressing.

Hamilton G.

Pounders was a nice dining experience at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The place was clean and well organized, with plenty of seating available. Their menu had lots of options, but I simply stuck with a salad and some desserts. The tropical salad comes with avocado and papaya served on a bed of Pūpūkea Gardens mixed greens from Oahu’s north shore, mixed with Ho Farms tomatoes & parmesan cheese. It was quite light and refreshing. If I were to come back, I would like to try their kalua pork sandwich! Next time hopefully. On the sweet side, I had their mango cheesecake slice, the white chocolate coconut cookie, and their 7 layer village bar. All of them were great, but the mango cheesecake was fabulous! Rich, creamy, and soft textures, and the mango flavoring was on point! Definitely a must do if you plan a visit! I do recommend this place, enjoy!

Chris Hess

The best meal on the North Shore.

Lokelani Kaiahua

Awesome customer service and the food was onolicious!

Thomas E. Lisofsky

One of best burgers I've ever had.

Nan A

The service is always fast and friendly. I've been here only for dinner, and I always get the surf and turf bowl. It's really tasty and filling. I also have tried the lilikoi and pineapple rolls for dessert.

M Wessman

We all loved our food and the server was great. Very accommodating and responsive. The house salad dressing is really good!

Matthew Roche

Ordered the Candied Bacon Burger and the Mahi Mahi sandwich, both were cooked flawlessly and tasted delicious. Service was also above n beyond, we told our server we were in a rush and he was running to get our bill. If i visit hawaii in the future ill make this a destination to eat.

Myra Barber

Great food in an excellent atmosphere. For us not used to tipping was excellent because they put how much to tip on your receipt (3 options). Pudding was from the front cabinet and was a little inconsistent but huge enough for both of us to share.

nikoel quarles

Have to try the mahi nuggets, serves with the lilokai dressing, absolutely amazing. Service was friendly!

Debbie King

Everything was completely delicious and great service!!

Matt Lacey

Do not eat here unless you want food poisoning. My wife and I ate here on our vacation. She had the Mahi-Mahi and I had the Chili Shrimp. We shared the Pounders Fresh Poke. None of the plates showed up looking like the pictures. Everything looked like it was thrown together very fast as if we were at a fast food restaurant. The “fresh poke” did not look fresh at all and I even commented to my wife about the way it looked considering we had poke twice before at other restaurants in the days before. The poke was so marinated that it didn’t even taste like fish, it only tasted like some marinade. After some terrible service, my wife and I went back to our hotel and to bed. In the early morning we were both woken up by the pain in our belly’s. My wife started throwing up and I had diarrhea. Needless to say, the rest of our vacation was ruined.

Jason Lay Yee

Food was average. Pork sandwich was dry. Fish burger had a bone in it. The service was decent though

Rebecca Ross

Nice atmosphere. Good food

Chales

The food was alright. I enjoyed the surf and turf bowl, but the meat tasted like it was a reheated leftover. The poke tuna was not as fresh as expected either. The service was friendly albeit subpar. My father ordered mashed potatoes with his surf and turf bowl and got rice, when we asked the waitress she said that the chef wouldn’t make it with mashed potatoes(she did not tell us this before bringing it out). It was not expensive and overall not a bad experience.

Denise Rios

Our food took a very long time to arrive and my son was turned away from making his personalized kids pizza from the pizza counter employees. We do not anticipate on returning due to the poor service we received that day.