Ono's Cafe

**** Ono's Cafe has closed

Waaay back in May of 2006, I had the "malasadas" At Ono's Café. I'm always meant to return someday, especially after reading CC's post back in 2008. Now, I'm not much of a "rolls" kind of guy, but some of the other items on the menu were just the kind of "grindz" I enjoy.

Man, they've really spruced up the place since I'd last been here. When I visited the place did mainly snacks and smoothies. Now it's a proper restaurant......

Let me first say that the folks here are wonderful. I had really nice Servers on all my visits, very friendly, efficient, just great kids.

An acquaintance of mine recommended the Kalua Pork, something I grew up eating, and of course I make a version for parties and friends. And so, I ordered it.

So let's start with the good....the rice was nice. The salad with the Maguro was a nice touch, even though it was "saku" fish and the whole salad was quite large, larger than the portion of pork. The dressing was way too mild.

I didn't care for the kalua pork prep. That teriyaki sauce was cloyingly sweet and just masked any flavor from the pork. I did taste the pork and felt it was under seasoned and a bit too greasy.

Still, the folks were so very nice that I decided to come back during happy hour.

Looking over the happy hour menu; one item was a no-brainer....the Spam Musubi, which was actually some kind of Spam Roll.

Much like the kalua pork, this was a bit too much. I would have been fine without the sauce which kind of blurred the entire dish. I thought the spam could have been seared a bit, which would have added that nice crisp texture. The rice was a bit too mushy for my tastes.

Sadly, the Chicken Karaage was even worse. Just look at the color!

The temp of the oil obviously wasn't hot enough; the batter was gummy and this wasn't very pleasant to eat. Unlike the other items I had, this was also very mild in flavor. Not good eats.

And yet, the service was so very nice....so I decided to give them another try. This time I ordered a favorite of mine; Chicken Katsu.

This came with some miso soup, which didn't have enough miso in it. It was quite weak and watery.

When the chicken katsu arrived, I noticed a problem right off. A pet peeve of mine....the breading was peeling off.

And while this can happen to the best of them, there really is no excuse for it. Also, I quickly noticed how thin the chicken had been pounded. Too bad because the breading was nice and crunchy, the Asian slaw went well with the dish, and the rice was cooked nicely.

So, what to say....I love the folks who work here, but the food? Well, call me picky, but each dish on my visits seemed to have one, or more issues. Too bad, because I really like the staff and the vibe of the place.

Ono’s Cafe
4154 Bonita Rd
Bonita, CA 91902

 

Comments

[Kat]

too bad about the food

[Kirk]

I know Kat....kind of a bummer.

[Alan]

I always wonder why food deficiencies like what you described happen. Where is management in these issues? Can't they taste the lack of miso in the misoshiru? Can't they see the off putting color with the chicken katsu? Who the heck puts teriyaki sauce on kalua pig? WTH??

[Soo @ hungryones]

Doh! That and the kalbi are the only dishes I'd order... Strange color on the karaage. Where do you like to go to kalua pork? I usually go to Homestyle H.

[caninecologne]

They've changed their menu a lot over the years. I've gone back periodically but haven't had the same items you've had. That karaage looked pretty bad.

[nhbilly]

Oh no that was disappointing. No loco moco?

[janfrederick]

I always know something afoot when one of your posts starts with: "Let me first say that the folks here are wonderful."
That karaage looks like popcorn. And I've never seen teriyaki sauce on kalua pork. Have you seen that elsewhere?

[Kirk]

Hi Alan - To answer your questions...I dunno. It seems like they just come up with a bunch of ideas and go for it......

Hi Soo - In the end....I make my own kalua pork. Homestyle Hawaiian does a passable version....

Hi CC - That karaage was rather disturbing. Too bad, I like the people here.

No Loco Moco on the menu Billy!

You totally got my MO Jan......though the folks here are really nice and I want to make sure folks know that. And no.....to teriyaki sauce on kalua pork....just no.... I'm thinking they thought it was like pulled pork...I guess.

[Kyle]

You should have an acronym for these places just like your ABC Chinese restaurants. There's a place in our local mall that does Hawaiian style bbq but I think its more of an interpretation. I got a spam musubi. Instead of plain rice they used sushi seasoned rice.

[Kirk]

That's a hard one Kyle.....I have to think about it!