Pinky's-Kailua

Never a good sign when the place is pretty much empty on a Saturday during lunch...

Where to start? We just spent a day boating out in K-Bay, came out the back gate, and saw Pinky's. I immediately grabbed my iPhone, launched the Yelp app and looked up the reviews. Pretty much all BAD. 2 of 5 stars. My first instinct was to get out of there, and find some place else to eat. Of the four of us in the car, one guy wanted to get out and at least see the menu. The rest of us sat in the car, and read other reviews, and thought to go somewhere else. When he got back to the car, he wanted to try it out. Although hesitant, we walked in.
"Sit wherever you want!" was the first thing we heard when walking in..., not "hi welcome to Pinky's" even a generic "aloha." We took a seat near the glass, so we could watch the ducks. We were able to order from the breakfast, lunch, and pupu menu. It took 5+ minutes from us sitting to someone bringing the menus. After getting our drinks (water and iced tea) it took another 4-5 minutes to come and ask if we are ready, then when we were still deciding, another 5 mins. After the food was ordered, the crab dip came out first (about 10min) after we ordered it, and the food took a good 20+ minutes. Good thing there were ducks outside on the canal to keep us entertained.
Prices seemed a bit high, but something we expected from Kailua. One guy ordered, the Pinky's Signature omelet($9.00), with kalua pig, onions and cheese, which came with breakfast potatoes, and toast. He also ordered french toast. One got the kalua pig plate (11.95) and a pupu of onion rings ($8.95) Good batter, big onions, sweet tasting rings, not for the price. Very expensive. A buddy ordered the avocado club sandwhich with fries and I got the french dip with fries. We both added cheese and garlic to our fries, which made them a couple bucks more. For a started we had the Crab-artichoke dip. It was ok, but a bit bland.
Everyone liked their food, I thought the french dip was good, but needed the au-jus to make it work. Without the dip, it was very plain, and the dip was salty, but not too bad. Our bill came to $75 without tip, and only 2 of us had iced tea.
The question is, will I go back? Hmmm, maybe. My wife is Vegan-pretty much "raw" and there was nothing on the menu she could eat. Good thing I was with friends. Over all the food was better than the reviews gave, but the service was bad. Gonna give it 3 1/2 stars due to the bad service and wait time for the food.
The bar had some nice tvs with the games on, so if you don't mind waiting for food, and want to catch a game, drop by Pinky's.

Prime rib french dip with cheese and garlic fries.

970 North Kalaheo Avenue
Kailua, HI 96734-1866
(808) 254-6255
Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sat-Sun 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.