12th Ave Grill

Overall:

Service: The service was so-so. The waiter took his time taking our orders and wasn’t very knowledgeable about the menu – in fact he even had to come back twice to inform us the items we ordered where no longer available. I mean if you only have 5 desserts and 3 are out how hard is it to remember what you DO have? Its not rocket science!  Also if your not going to put the wine we ordered on the table for us to fill up ourselves than it would be reasonable to think the waiter would frequently check back on our glass status…. unfortunately this was not the case. We give it a big two thumbs down on the service.

Food: ummm where to begin…. about half of the food we ordered was pretty good and half was uneatable and just plan laugh out loud bad. The scallops from the specials menu where undercooked and rubbery. The pecan pie sandwich was burned and actually so unappetizing we sent it back. Another person ordered the Afogado which was believe it or not… pre-made and had freezer burn all over it…. I mean it’s ice cream – does it really need to be pre-glassed? How lazy can you get! Also when the menu noted it should come “drowned” in an expresso shot one would think it would be a warm fresh shot that was poured over the ice cream. Not a little frozen glob of cold espresso stuck to the  bottom of the glass – that’s just GROSS. On the positive note we did have two good entrees including the Opah fresh catch of the day and the BBQ Spare Ribs which just feel right off the bone and where delicious. The sides where few and far between, and over seasoned but it was the best thing we ate that night. The menu does change seasonally and 12th Ave Grill offers a lot of daily specials – however, being a personal chef I can say its better to have less specials and really make sure your core dishes are properly executed than to have new dishes all the time that are missing crucial elements or not cooked properly.
Download 12th Ave Grill Menu in Honolulu

Favorite Dishes: Fresh Fish of the Day, BBQ Maui Cattle Co. Short Ribs, and Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Atmosphere: The 12 Ave Grill is a cute little restaurant. The atmosphere is warm – with light/cheery wood furniture, orange dim lights and small in diameter. The restaurant also has a small unique bar seating area which is charming and nice if you are solo or + 1. The worst thing about this restaurant is the noise factor. It has such bad acoustics that when full its really hard to hear the people at your table without screaming at each other. Not very pleasant and def not recommended for a first date where you want to get to know someone better. (TIP: if you decide to try it out – go early or go late – too avoid a full restaurant so you can at least hear yourself think! or…. and its recommended to go somewhere else!)

Consistency: Consistently the dishes are pretty bad. It’s been 4 years since we have been and I would be lying if I said it would we would return before another 4 passes at least!

Parking: Parking is pretty easy at 12th Ave Grill. The restaurant is located close to the Kamuki shopping center on the side street between Koko Head Ave and 12th Ave. So the best place to park is the maniciple parking lot right next to it which has metered parking. If you can’t find a spot you can go to the other parking lot (where the Big City Diner is located) which has ticketed parking ($1 per hour).

Price Range: Medium-High ($18-$32-Market Price) per Entree
Corkage Fee $15 per Bottle
Reservations Accepted & Recommended
Take Out Available

Address:
1145C 12th Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
Tel: (808) 732-9469
Website: http://www.12thavegrill.com

Hours of Operation:
Open for Dinner:
Mon-Thurs: 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat: 5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sun: Closed

Spare Rib's

Scallops

Fresh Opha