MATIKI ISLAND BARBEQUE

I work in the west Garden Grove area of Orange County, which borders the cities of Cypress, Stanton, Westminster and Anaheim by just a few blocks in each direction.

As you may have heard on the news, there has been heavy rains in Southern CA. Not that heavy, I mean, I'm used to how it rains in Hawaii so it wasn't really that bad for me. But it don't rain like that here so it's kind of a trip for the people who aren't used to it.


I was desperate for local style plate lunch on this rainy day. Like something GOOD though, not L&L. I've searched online and had found nothing I haven't tried, but I tried yelp.com again and surprisingly came across something I hadn't seen listed before. Matiki Island Barbecue? What?

I read all the reviews with a grain of salt. Can't trust everything you read online, especially reviews of local style Hawaiian food in California written by people that, well, never been to Hawaii or haven't eaten the real deal before. I was hesitant but desperate. I had to have plate lunch from a new spot.
I found the spot and it was only 3 miles away on Lincoln, between Beach Blvd. and Western Ave. Menu was really basic, meaning it was going to be really good because they specialize in whatever they make OR they don't know how to make many things so it might suck.
Only 3 others were in there and it was 1:30PM. Was it the big down pour that kept people away that day? Or is it going to suck? Took a chance and ordered the #2, whic is the Short Rib - Kalbi plate.
I found out the family running this place is half Samoan/half Hawaiian from Kauai. So chances of the food being good increased drastically.
And well... the short rib plate was solid. On the expensive side for plate lunch but totally worth it. They cook everything to order, so you gotta wait 10 or 15 minutes but just sit tight. From the taste of it they grill the ribs with Huli Huli Sauce or something really close to it that they made up, which is totally fine. We use that sauce at home sometimes too. You can get extra sauce on the side too, which is right on the counter.

Check it out. I going back, garans.

Matiki Island Barbeque

3070 W Lincoln Ave
Ste Q
Anaheim, CA 92801

(714) 821-5228