Where to Find the Best Hawaiian Food in Mesa

Mesa may sit in the Sonoran Desert, but its dining scene carries plenty of island spirit. Across the city, Hawaiian restaurants serve plate lunches stacked with rice and macaroni salad, fresh poke, smoky kalua pork, crispy chicken katsu, saimin and warm malasadas rolled in sugar. If I were planning a Hawaiian food tour through Mesa, I would start with Pacific Rim & Bento, Moku Hawaiian Grill, Hapa Food Co., Moki’s Hawaiian Grill and Aloha Kitchen. Each restaurant brings something different to the table, including family recipes, customizable mixed plates, sushi, island-style noodles and freshly fried desserts. Hawaiian cuisine cannot be reduced to one plate or cooking style. Its story reflects Native Hawaiian traditions alongside generations of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino and Portuguese influence. In Mesa, those connections appear through food that feels generous, comforting and meant to be shared.

Pacific Rim & Bento

I would start at Pacific Rim & Bento because its menu offers one of the broadest introductions to Hawaiian and Pacific flavors in Mesa.

The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander-owned restaurant was founded by a husband-and-wife team who were born and raised in Hawaii. Their experience includes Japanese sushi training, French culinary training and more than 35 years in the food industry.

You can keep things classic with a Hawaiian plate lunch or head toward the seafood side of the menu with poke, sushi or fresh fish. Bento boxes offer another route, bringing several flavors together in one tidy package. It is essentially a delicious organizational system.

If this is your first visit, order a Hawaiian plate or ask what poke is available that day.

What I’d order: Hawaiian plate lunch, poke or a bento box
Address: 1720 W. Southern Ave., Suite C3, Mesa

Moku Hawaiian Grill at Cannon Beach

Moku Hawaiian Grill makes ordering refreshingly simple. Choose the size of your plate, select your meats and add rice and sides.

The difficult part is narrowing down the protein. Options include mochiko chicken, chicken katsu, teriyaki chicken, pulehu chicken, kalua pork, teriyaki steak and pulehu steak.

I would build a mixed plate with mochiko chicken and kalua pork. The fried chicken brings crisp texture and a subtle sweetness, while the pork adds smoky, slow-roasted flavor. Add macaroni salad for the classic plate-lunch experience or try kimchi slaw for something brighter.

Poke and pineapple Dole soft serve round out the menu. Moku is also located just outside Cannon Beach, making it an easy meal before or after a visit to Revel Surf.

What I’d order: Mochiko chicken and kalua pork mixed plate
Address: 4425 S. Power Road, Suite A105, Mesa

Hapa Food Co.

Hapa Food Co. is where I would go when the craving calls for something crispy, garlicky and unapologetically comforting.

The menu includes Hawaiian plate lunches with garlic chicken, kalbi, kalua pig, chicken katsu and poke. A combination plate is the smart move because it lets you try two proteins without making an impossible choice at the counter.

Pair the garlic chicken with kalua pig, then add rice and macaroni salad. It is rich, satisfying and unlikely to leave you wondering whether you ordered enough food.

Whatever you order, save room for a malasada. Portuguese immigrants introduced these fried pastries to Hawaii, where they became part of the islands’ food culture. Hapa serves freshly fried versions with fillings that can include vanilla custard or purple ube cream.

Eat yours while it is warm. The drive home is no place for pastry restraint.

What I’d order: Garlic chicken, kalua pig and a filled malasada
Address: 5235 E. Southern Ave., Mesa

Moki's Hawaiian Grill

Moki’s Hawaiian Grill brings a family-recipe perspective to Mesa’s island dining scene. The restaurant has served Hawaiian food since the early 2000s, using recipes developed by “Mama Tuk.”

You can build a familiar plate around kalua pork, chicken katsu or teriyaki meat, but I would also add one of the smaller island specialties.

Spam musubi combines grilled Spam and rice wrapped in nori. Manapua is Hawaii’s version of a Chinese char siu bao, typically filled with seasoned pork. Laulau traditionally wraps pork or fish in taro leaves before slow cooking.

Those dishes help tell the broader story of Hawaii’s food culture. They show how recipes traveled with families, adapted to island life and became local favorites in their own right.

Start with a kalua pork plate, then add Spam musubi or manapua for the table. Whether it actually reaches the table is between you and the musubi.

What I’d order: Kalua pork plate with Spam musubi
Address: 3614 E. Southern Ave., Mesa

Aloha Kitchen

Aloha Kitchen is one of Mesa’s longstanding Hawaiian restaurants and a great place to explore the many cultural influences that shape Hawaii’s local food.

Teriyaki chicken, chicken katsu, bulgogi and kalbi provide familiar starting points. If you want to try something more closely tied to everyday food in Hawaii, order the saimin.

Saimin is a Hawaiian noodle soup shaped by the Japanese, Chinese and Filipino communities that worked on the islands’ sugar plantations. Aloha Kitchen serves several versions, including fried saimin and noodle soups with ingredients such as char siu pork, fish cake and wontons.

The restaurant also offers Spam musubi, manapua and rotating Hawaiian specials. Depending on the day, you may find combinations featuring kalua pig, lomi salmon, chicken long rice or laulau.

Specials can sell out, so I would check the current menu before planning the visit. Aloha Kitchen has also appeared on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

What I’d order: Fried saimin or the Hawaiian plate special
Address: 2950 S. Alma School Road, Mesa

FAQs

Where can I find the best Hawaiian food in Mesa?
Popular Hawaiian restaurants in Mesa include Pacific Rim & Bento, Moku Hawaiian Grill, Hapa Food Co., Moki’s Hawaiian Grill and Aloha Kitchen. Their menus feature plate lunches, poke, kalua pork, chicken katsu, saimin, Spam musubi and other island specialties.
What Hawaiian dish should I try first?
A mixed plate is an approachable first order. Choose two proteins such as kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, mochiko chicken or chicken katsu, then add rice and macaroni salad.
Where can I find a Hawaiian plate lunch in Mesa?
Hawaiian plate lunches are available at Pacific Rim & Bento, Moku Hawaiian Grill, Hapa Food Co., Moki’s Hawaiian Grill and Aloha Kitchen. Available proteins, portion sizes and side dishes vary by restaurant.
Where can I find poke in Mesa?
Pacific Rim & Bento and Moku Hawaiian Grill serve poke. Hapa Food Co. and Moki’s Hawaiian Grill have also featured poke, though availability may change.
Where can I find malasadas in Mesa?
Hapa Food Co. serves freshly fried malasadas. Available fillings may include vanilla custard, ube cream or other rotating flavors.
Where can I find saimin in Mesa?
Aloha Kitchen serves saimin, a Hawaiian noodle dish influenced by Japanese, Chinese and Filipino culinary traditions. The restaurant offers soup-based and fried preparations.
What is the difference between Moku Hawaiian Grill and Moki’s Hawaiian Grill?
Moku Hawaiian Grill is located on Power Road near Cannon Beach and specializes in customizable Hawaiian plates. Moki’s Hawaiian Grill is a separate restaurant on Southern Avenue with family recipes developed by “Mama Tuk.”
What is a Hawaiian plate lunch?
A Hawaiian plate lunch typically includes one or more proteins served with rice and macaroni salad. Common proteins include kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, chicken katsu, mochiko chicken, kalbi and fried fish.
Are there Hawaiian desserts in Mesa?
Yes. Hapa Food Co. serves malasadas, Portuguese-style fried pastries that became a beloved part of Hawaii’s food culture. Moku Hawaiian Grill also offers pineapple Dole soft serve.

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