Hula's Island Grill
$$ ⢠Restaurant
Most Recent Reviews
Many items are marked gluten free on the menu, but they are not all celiac safe - some contain soy sauce or items from shared fryer. However, if you ask the staff is knowledgeable and happy to make alterations. The food is also delicious!
The staff was very knowledgeable, the food was fantastic, and the menu is clearly marked what foods are gluten free. The staff was happy to make accommodations to satisfy allergy needs. Highly recommend!
We found this little gem after feeling a bit defeated trying to find some decent options and WOW, were we so happy we went off the main drag! Hula is a *GEM*!! The food was fantastic and the vibe was so perfectly cute. We had a wonderful dinner with great service. The menu is clearly marked with GF (safe) and cross contact GF foods. The server understood celiac and was knowledgeable. Excellent dinner & drinks!
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More Reviews
Great place! Great atmosphere, friendly and helpful staff. Separate GF page in the main menu so very clear what is GF…and items which may have risk of cross contamination also marked separately. Good choice of GF items. Delicious food, would highly recommend.
Delicious! Cross contaminated items are indicated on the menu as well
Great food and drinks! Fun atmosphere and whole page of GF items included in regular menu. Also a vegetarian page with a few vegan items marked.
good food. had a separate gluten free menu which was easy to find.
GF menu with lots of options. I didn’t inquire about specifics on fired things on the menu like others. Had some tacos and rice/beans. No issues after
Good menu, knowledgeable staff. My meal was great, Pork tacos! Good options for everyone.
Their menu has a gluten free page with many options! I’ve eaten here multiple times and it’s always amazing. The wasabi cream sauce is to die for. Staff is super friendly
I had a pretty good experience here although I was nervous since the staff wasn’t very knowledgeable about celiac or which sauces had gluten. They were also inconsistent- the gf menu listed the wings but the waiter told us separately that the wings wouldn’t be gluten free. I got the burger with salad (fries not safe). I felt okay after, some chance I got small gluten exposure. They have a separate gluten free menu, but take that with a grain of salt since this menu doesn’t mean celiac safe.
A really cute place with friendly and knowledgeable staff. Get there early there’s always a line. Indoor/outdoor seating. GF menu. Would definitely go again.
Despite having a dedicated “Gluten Free” menu, this place is NOT safe to eat. I ordered a to go meal for my family. I informed the girl taking my order that I had celiac and she told me they would let the kitchen know to be cautious. I got home, started eating my fish soup, and thought what unusual Gluten free noodles. After a couple more bites my suspicions told me I should call the place. Sure enough, the soup is only GF when they remove the noodles. I spent the next 30 minutes purging to avoid a reaction. Very disappointing because I love Hawaiian food.
Amazing dinner. They have an entire GF menu section and are happy to ask the chef questions. Super busy place, fun and friendly staff and delicious food and drinks. Had the MahiMahi and loved it. Husband had Jerk Chicken and was super happy with it. We’ll go back for sure
I ordered shrimp tacos and they were good. Our server didn’t know what gluten-free was and mixed it up with vegan, but I trusted the menu.
The gluten free bun tasted good but fell apart. Special sauce was very spicy. Couldn’t eat the fries (no dedicated fryer). Coleslaw was horrible and unlike any coleslaw I’ve ever tried.
I am currently gluten-free and dairy free and this restaurant offers a vast gluten-free menu! I ordered the jerk pork with the jerk sauce on the side. The pulled pork was well flavored, but slightly dry. The coleslaw had a seasoning that I didn't care for two much. The white rice was good. I love plantains, but it only came with two small bites.
The wait for a table was approximately 30 minutes. Service was friendly but a bit slow once seated. We had to go to the front to get the bill and pay since we couldn't find our wait staff.
Street parking was pretty easy and prices are reasonable.
Our waitress was very accommodating and friendly. She was experienced in taking GF orders. The food was good and I had an amazing drink that I make at home now. Going back the next time we are in town.
Great meal here. GF and Vegan seperate menus. They were up front about non-dedicated fryer, and had some safe substitutes. We had fish and shrimp tacos, Kingston curry, and burger w/ GF bun, all were better than average. Would return if we lived in area but we only visiting.
We went to Hulas tonight for the first time. I had been wanting to go there for over a year as in the local Monterey newspaper it is ranked #1 for gluten free. We tried to go there before tonight but it was always too crowded to get in.
They do have a gf menu that includes French fries and other fried gf food but when I asked the server if it is a dedicated fryer the server said no - “sometimes they fry other items in that fryer”. She basically said it wasn’t safe for people with allergies. So of course she recommended a salad side instead.
As far as I am concerned this is dangerous for people with serious allergies and false advertising. Should be fine for the “I want to eat gf” crowd. It may be that the server was misinformed but I didn’t get that impression. Be careful.
They do have a house made gf bun for burgers etc. kudos to them for that. I ordered it and it was very dense and heavy.
Again the Monterey newspaper lists this as the number 1 gf eating destination so maybe I had a bad experience. But I don’t think so - if you are gf intolerant and celiac ask lots of questions.
One of my local favorites! The food is always delicious, they have a gluten free menu, and it is a fun atmosphere with very friendly staff!
Such amazing food! Grilled spicy edamame was a hit, as were the lightly curried chicken wings. Fish was very yummy too! Gluten free menu made things really easy. Service was excellent, friendly.
Gluten free menu but pretty limited once they tell you they no longer have the GF buns listed. Fish tacos were tasty as was the rib eye sandwich from regular menu. Service very good.
High quality food with great service in a surfer / tiki bar setting. Special GF menu. Poke, shishito peppers, and wings are great. Fish tacos are solid too. If I lived in Monterey this would be my spot!
they have a gluten free menu. it says that fryers and cooking space may share space with gluten and to talk to your server for more information, so may not be very celiac friendly but for me it was sufficient. their food is really yummy.
NO LONGER GLUTEN FREE!!! And they are rude about it!
Have to be careful and ask a lot of questions. I had the fish tacos and they were tasty. As previously stated no designated fryer. I woke up feeling fine so had no cross contamination.
Not for someone very sensitive. The food was tasty, but no separate fryer. I got pulled pork with jerk sauce, rice, mango salsa. It was really good. Rainbow sorbet for dessert was tasty. Lots of rum drinks. I wasn't cross contaminated as I stayed away from the fried food.
Have gluten free menu, but more for the by-choice gluten free people. They use the same fryers and prep spaces!! Cross contamination
Lots of choices on the gluten free menu and the staff was so helpful and knowledgeable. I had delicious Cuban tacos and the tortillas were excellent. Would definitely go back!
Service at Hula's has always been attentive and friendly, but in the past I was not that impressed with the food. I recently tried it again (Dec 2013) and found the menu quality much improved. There are not a lot of GF options, but what they have is tasty and well prepared. I had fish tacos which were surprisingly good.
There's a gluten free menu. Good selection. I had gluten free fish tacos. They were stellar. I had plantains as an appetizer. This entire meal was delicious. I will be back
Nice selection from gluten free menu but disclaimer at the bottom says those with sever allergies ask your server. Sever said should not get anything fried or grilled. So got habanero chicken tacos and she said that was good. It tasted good (spicy hot) beans were delicious. But... I had a stomach ache all night and the next day.
Fun place with a good atmosphere and drinks! Gluten free menu just comes with all the other menus when you're sat, so you don't have to ask for it. They also have a vegetarian menu and take part in Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program, so you can feel pretty good about the fish options.
The only thing I would say is that most of the gluten free options are just the normal menu items without whatever was gluten-y in it. So for example, a burger without a bun, as opposed to substituting a gluten free bun. It's not a big deal though, as they have lots of choices!
We didn't even have to ask for the GF menu, as they brought it to the table with the regular menu. The selection was fantastic. I had to fish tacos and I devoured them. So good.
A little on the pricer side for serving size, yet the serving was the right size, service was nice and food came out fast!
Gluten -free menu with many items to choose from. Frier isn't dedicated gluten-free, but still lots of good food to choose from.
Reviews of this Chain
Came here and had a wonderful experience. I got the fish tacos and the waitress was very accommodating.
There are gluten free options but all grilled on or in shared gluten fryers and grills
Still eating my meal and am really happy with my experience so far. Came here with a huge group and the waitress was really accommodating and seemed very aware of what was and wasn't ok with celiac.
The gluten free options are abysmal
Well, props to them for at least having a GF menu. However, it's really just regular menu items without the sauces. I did have the fish tacos, they were disgusting, the fish was obviously frozen cod pieces and so not worth the expense. I've been here a couple times, but this was the last, I won't be back.
