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✔️Breakfast ✔️Brunch ✔️Lunch ✔️Dinner ✔️Dine in ✔️Take out ✔️Delivery
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Hours
| Friday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–8 PM |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11 AM–8 PM |
| Wednesday | 11 AM–8 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–8 PM |
Address and Contact Information
Address: 283 E 17th St Suite A, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Phone: (949) 402-6877
Website: https://aiponocafecostamesa.com/
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Order: Order online
Photo Gallery
Related Web Results
‘Ai Pono Cafe – Order Online
‘Ai Pono Cafe is not accepting online orders right now. restaurant profile. ‘Ai Pono Cafe. 283 E 17th Street, Costa Mesa, CA. Closed Now • Opens 11 AM Thu.
‘Ai Pono Cafe (@aiponocafe) · Costa Mesa, CA – Instagram
The creators of Hawaii street food. The modern mix plate. No seed oils. Tues, Wed, Thurs & Sun: 11A- 8P Fri-Sat: 11A-4P & 6P- 9P *CLOSED MON*
Menu – aiponocafe
Costa Mesa · Durango · Careers · Log in. Country/region. Afghanistan (USD $), Åland … ‘AI PONO CAFE MENU. VIEW OUR FULL MENU · Facebook · Instagram. Payment …
Reviews
Ra Chag (Crwadads Cuisine)
Wow!! 2nd time here in California in a year and this spot is on point!!!!
lollipop shrimp with sweet chiki sauce..
spam musubi, Korea chicken musubi, short Rib plate , all Krack krazy good Grinds,
Super friendly Staff coupled with Aloha Vibes make this joint a must!!!
Ineed this kinda Love on the East Coast
Mahalo!!
… morelollipop shrimp with sweet chiki sauce..
spam musubi, Korea chicken musubi, short Rib plate , all Krack krazy good Grinds,
Super friendly Staff coupled with Aloha Vibes make this joint a must!!!
Ineed this kinda Love on the East Coast
Mahalo!!
Giulia
this place is superb!!! we’ve tried the ahi poke, OG beef, katsu, and the garlic butter mahi mahi. they were all soooo delicious. I love the sides of macaroni salad and slaw. highly recommend!
… moreAnthony Gomez
Came in and place was very nice and I Got a side of the guava chili chicken and the dirty lickin Korean chicken in a plate and everything was Ono! Came with rice slaw and Mac salad and The slaw was top notch, Mac was really good and so was the rice but the chicken was really tender and had so much flavor, and I got a couple of sauces on the side and I forgot the names but the white one was the best!
Also added a POG and a Rice Krispie treat as well, so much good stuff they got here, definitely worth it and I’ll be back to try more items on the menu
… moreAlso added a POG and a Rice Krispie treat as well, so much good stuff they got here, definitely worth it and I’ll be back to try more items on the menu
Elliott Miller
Great find before I needed to head to SNA airport. Very friendly staff, great food and atmosphere. Next time I’m in town I will definitely visit again. Thank you!
… moreChef Ogasawara
Food:
As a chef 9/10
As a non chef 10/10
Shrimp Special 8/10
Crispy Shrimp, Garlic Rice, Mac Salad, Cole Slaw – Great flavors, fresh shrimp, good acid, girlfriend loves it.
Crackhead Chicken 10/10
Chicken, Rice, Cole Slaw, Mac Salad – Chicken was cherry. Crispy, good flavor, love the Mac Salad, solid flavors all around.
Ube / Regular Rice Crispies 9/10
Can’t complain…
Service:10/10
Aloha all around. Engaging knowledgeable staff. Auntie made me feel like I was at home. Never felt uncomfortable, always attended to.
Ambiance: 9/10
Love the local art, colors, design and decor.
Cleanliness: 8/10
Restaurant was clean.
Bathrooms were a little dirty.
Price: 9/10
Summary:
Should you go? Absolutely. I would drive back to OC just to eat some more ono kine grindz. Reminds me of being back on the big island. Big hype, but big flavors to back it up. Mahalo!
… moreAs a chef 9/10
As a non chef 10/10
Shrimp Special 8/10
Crispy Shrimp, Garlic Rice, Mac Salad, Cole Slaw – Great flavors, fresh shrimp, good acid, girlfriend loves it.
Crackhead Chicken 10/10
Chicken, Rice, Cole Slaw, Mac Salad – Chicken was cherry. Crispy, good flavor, love the Mac Salad, solid flavors all around.
Ube / Regular Rice Crispies 9/10
Can’t complain…
Service:10/10
Aloha all around. Engaging knowledgeable staff. Auntie made me feel like I was at home. Never felt uncomfortable, always attended to.
Ambiance: 9/10
Love the local art, colors, design and decor.
Cleanliness: 8/10
Restaurant was clean.
Bathrooms were a little dirty.
Price: 9/10
Summary:
Should you go? Absolutely. I would drive back to OC just to eat some more ono kine grindz. Reminds me of being back on the big island. Big hype, but big flavors to back it up. Mahalo!
Billy Merck
Went here to check the hype I had heard about the food. So I Just got into California from texas. Texas has a few spots claiming to be Hawaiian food yet are actually far from hitting the mark. So being from Hawaii and local food addict I had to stop and try Ai pono in high hopes. The staff was great the pictures of the food looked great. I ordered the zombie plate because it had some of my hawaii favorites all in one. Meat Jun, Kalbi short ribs & Chicken. Presentation was nice but the plate over all lacked what I expected as hawaiian plate lunch flair & flavors. The meat jun was as if it was a lightly breaded price of meat, slightly tough to chew no egg batter consistency really no flavor and no type of sauce for it, fyi meat jun needs a sauce. The short ribs and chicken was okay but not really hawaiian food, maybe more a fusion and seemed as if both had the same taste. The most shocking part was missing Mac salad, it did not come with my plate! No hawaii plate lunch would dare leave Mac salad as something you pay extra on the side for. I purchased a side of the salad found that the mac salad was okay, but again not the Hawaii flavor I went there expecting. I was taken back that just two plate lunches and two Hawaiian sun drinks cost over $60. I realize its California but think for what you get, its slightly over priced.. Over all experience, the food had a good flavor and was cooked well. It just didn’t give me that back home Hawaii flavor or satisfaction I went looking for. Ive read the other reviews, it seems like those that left a review commenting that this was the perfect Hawaiian food, may need to actually taste some real Hawaiian food so n they can make an informed decision. This was not really Hawaii food lol. My mainland search for Hawaii plate lunch food continues. I have been all over the 49 states and have ate at many spots serving Hawaii favorites. I found its few & far between spots that actually take me home with the food they claim as being Hawaii inspired.. I probably won’t return to this place. l had ate at a couple other Hawaii food places in LA, that I won’t mention here that did alot better with doing Hawaii food justice. Honestly my ventures with hawaiian food here on the mainland US have been more disappointments then satisfaction. I will keep searching for that one, Ai pono just didn’t hit the mark.
… moreMarie D. H.
Food was super yummy, I liked all the combo plate options so that you can try a bunch of things as one meal. We ordered the chef special and daily special (one star I think is what it was called?) and the crack chicken and Mac salad were my favorites! The poke was also great and so were the spare ribs and fish. Hefty portions, we were all full and most of us did not finish our meal at the restaurant. Music inside was quite loud and made it difficult to hear each other talking.
… moreMellow Dee
Ai Pono Cafe – Costa Mesa, CA
This spot’s been long overdue. I’ve bounced in and out of OC for years—Costa Mesa, HB, all of it—and somehow Ai Pono still feels like the low-key gem. No hype, no fake aloha vibes, just real-deal Hawaiian grinds cooked with soul and serious umami.
The menu? Creative and tight. Everything feels like it’s made by someone who actually cares. I’m obsessed with their mac salad—only complaint is I wish the portion was bigger. I get it, prices and hustle and all that, but damn I could eat a tub of that stuff.
Seating’s limited—think school lunch tables, maybe a couple open spots if you’re lucky. But honestly, it’s worth the elbow bump. Met the owner briefly, kitchen’s always on point, condiments are self-serve, even got some cool stickers if that’s your thing.
This place deserves more love, but yeah—I’ve been gatekeeping it hard. Now you know.
… moreThis spot’s been long overdue. I’ve bounced in and out of OC for years—Costa Mesa, HB, all of it—and somehow Ai Pono still feels like the low-key gem. No hype, no fake aloha vibes, just real-deal Hawaiian grinds cooked with soul and serious umami.
The menu? Creative and tight. Everything feels like it’s made by someone who actually cares. I’m obsessed with their mac salad—only complaint is I wish the portion was bigger. I get it, prices and hustle and all that, but damn I could eat a tub of that stuff.
Seating’s limited—think school lunch tables, maybe a couple open spots if you’re lucky. But honestly, it’s worth the elbow bump. Met the owner briefly, kitchen’s always on point, condiments are self-serve, even got some cool stickers if that’s your thing.
This place deserves more love, but yeah—I’ve been gatekeeping it hard. Now you know.
Richard Hernandez
My son took us there for dinner as he found out and it’s an amazing place for Hawaiian food. Very authentic. The chicken bowls to die for. It’s fantastic large portions fulfilling. I recommend it
… moreAngie Nguyen
A friend had recommended this place and we’d been wanting to try it out for awhile now. We had a beach day today and since we were in the area decided to stop by for a quick bite. The food came out really quickly. Good flow of foot traffic. Super friendly service. The food was nicely seasoned. Is it odd to say the know how to cook the skin of the meat? Cuz they do. The Thai Shrimp is more sweet chili than garlic shrimp so if you’re looking for Hawaiian garlic shrimp, it’s not exactly that. Delicious though. We’ll probably come back to try some other stuff next time:)
… more