Kua 'Aina

A classic no frills burger joint located in London near Carnaby street. It was easy in and out with a simplistic menu. If your looking for a cheap eat this spot will work.

Sometimes you stumble upon places based on sheer starvation and not wanting to take another step. That was me today. Given all of the places I have bookmarked on Yelp I normally wouldn't just wander into the unknown but when you've been shopping and sight seeing until your feet can't go anymore, you'll end up like me just choosing the first place that looks good.

This burger joint was inviting, was able to be seated right away, and staff were quick.

The pros about this place are that staff are very friendly and on top of service. Was nice to dine quickly despite how busy this area can get during tourist season.

As far as the restaurants theme it was a little funny the Hawaiian vibe and name. I didn't really see it aside from the decor, putting pineapple on a burger doesn't make a restaurant Hawaiian but I'll give them points for being creative with a theme that you normally wouldn't see in the UK.

Once I got over the menu being more traditional fare and less "Hawaiian" it was easy to go with the traditional cheeseburger.

The burger was slightly above average in terms of flavor (patty needed more seasoning) BUT I was impressed with the grilled onions and how fresh the lettuce and tomato looked. Plus I'm a sucker for Mayo and they put Mayo as a primary ingredient so I was happy.

I'd say service and pricing were 5 stars and food a solid 3.5

If you want a easy and casual meal that won't break the bank this spot totally works.

Service is terrible. You can't order two appetizers and drinks. They require you to order a one main per person. Avoid unless you want to be taken advantage of.

Hawaiian.... ish... the have halloumi fries. Never saw that in Hawaii. They don't have loco moco. Their idea to make a burger or sandwich Hawaiian is to add pineapple. Pretty funny. But the food tasted alright. Just Hawaiianish.

Really enjoy the restaurant every time we visit. Known for their burgers and they don't disappoint. Fries are tasty and served in little cups. Chili cheese fries are amazing.
However, as a breakfast fan I tend to order the pancakes when possible. Plus it comes with free coffee!!

I was about to head home after an event when a particularly lovely bunch of yelpers said they were going to try and get a late food stop here. I've been meaning to try it for a while so FOMO struck and I decided to tag along!

It's a fun place for a burger stop - bright and colourful, in decor and staff uniforms. I was chuffed to spot the Pineapple Burger on the menu as I have a lot of love for this humble fruit - in curries, as fritters, on pizza, you name it! The only unforeseen issue was that the extra centimetre thickness of pineapple in the burger made it juuuust too tall to fit in my mouth. I ended up taking it out and munching it separately between bites of the burger. I don't regret the choice though - the patty had a lovely medium pink tinge and I liked the taste the grilled onion added. Crucially for me though the burger held its structure as I ate without turning into a wet sloppy mess - an underrated but oh-so-important quality!

It was already later than usual when we arrived so I wasn't quite as hungry as I might've been - luckily I had two willing volunteers to share my favourite side - sweet potato fries of course - which were delicious as expected. I also quite wanted to try a hard shake but couldn't manage a whole one - so we shared a choc and bourbon shake too! We couldn't taste the booze in it at first (clearly hardened drinkers that we are) but it got stronger about halfway through. I think others at the table seemed to be enjoying their avo burgers and salads too.

The food and drink then were as tasty as I'd been led to believe - but there were a few let-downs that kept this out of 5-star territory for me. The servers were v friendly but had a fail at the very start, as a miscommunication meant another group were seated in the downstairs alcove that another waiter had earmarked for us. Instead we found ourselves a little squished around a smaller table, which I didn't mind were it not for the guy sat at the next table who backed his chair out into my ribs a couple of times because I was sitting right at the end of the bench. The cutlery that was plonked in the middle of the table also wasn't very clean, though I think people got involved with fingers anyway.

I do like the vibe here though and the food was tasty, so peer pressure turned out to be a good thing for me! I'd visit again, probably in a smaller group next time - it's pretty good value for money for the area too.

I love kua'aina!!! It's like Hawaiian thing awesomeness! I went to this branch recently for pancakes and I'm not gonna lie I wasn't sure how they would be!! Well, let me assure they were fantastic! The blueberries and banana were baked inside the pancakes, so were pretty cool to look at and tasted amazing!

Service is really good and the staff are so friendly! Can't really recommend visiting enough! Have to say, if you come for lunch/ dinner et the sweet potato fries, no matter what else you order. They are simply phenomenal!!

A little hole in the wall. Amazing burgers and milkshakes. Fast service and friendly staff. Highly recommended!

Natsukashiii!

This used to be my favourite burger joint in Namba, Osaka...so I was chuffed to see it come to London, but didn't really expect it to be as good. It's more like a cheap, happy fast food stall than a restaurant...but that is the kind of atmosphere I like with burgers. Yay!

The burger itself was juicy, a little pink in the middle and gorgeous. I looved the huge onion, juicy tomato and perfectly squishy avocado that came with it, but I couldn't quite get my mouth around everything!! This burger requires some epic mouth exercise to work your way into the first bite!

...and then I tried the sweet potato fries. I really, really like sweet potato fries! These ones were crunchy on the outside, squishy in the middle and just perfect! Omnomnom they take the whole kua 'aina experience to burger heaven.

This particular visit on a Thursday night was really disappointing. They were clearly understaffed and unorganised. We sat downstairs and there was just one waitress serving. She looked harassed, miserable and needed help.

Add to that there was zero ambience (why was there no music?), terrible stock issues and long delays. When after a 20 minute wait we were finally asked if we wanted to drinks, we couldn't order the ones we wanted because they ran out of rum...what the...???

Then after another long wait our food orders were taken. However 15 minutes later a staff member came by to let me know that they have ran out of tuna steak and to order something else (thanks for letting me know so quickly!).

So I did order something else. But when the food arrived, I was surprised to see tuna after all. It was enjoyable to but I was all geared up for chicken now. I like to know what I am expecting when I order. And there was no explanation why it was back on my plate.

I hope it was a glitch, as I had a previous more successful visit to the Charlotte Street branch of Kua'Aina, but this trip has put me off the whole chain for now.

Being from Hawaii, I had high expectations for this location, especially because we were home sick. Unfortunately, we were greeted quite rudely and the service wasn't the best. However, the food was excellent. Not like Hawaii, but pretty good. Love the salt.