Hawaiian Restaurant Near Me in Carson: Back Home in Lahaina's Luau Platter

Back Home in Lahaina has served Hawaiian food on the mainland since 1998, and the family behind it still runs the restaurant, a bakery and a catering arm out of one building at 519 E Carson St, Carson, CA 90745. The dining room seats 110, live music plays on Friday and Saturday evenings, and the doors stay shut on Mondays. A loco moco costs $13.99 on the takeout menu. If your search for a Hawaiian restaurant near me lands in the South Bay, this is the sit-down option with the most to see.

The restaurant says its family has served the South Bay for more than 25 years, and local readers have voted it the area's favorite Hawaiian restaurant, caterer and banquet facility. The name points the way: the walls carry murals of iconic Maui destinations, and The Infatuation described giant paintings of humpback whales splashing in the ocean, string lights and street signs that make the room feel like a set.

The Infatuation's guide to Hawaiian food in LA gave the restaurant its award for the most immersive experience, and mentioned faux storefronts with names like Aulani's Gift Kart. A recent Google reviewer praised the hospitality and the small gift shop. The restaurant's homepage also links to the Hawaii Community Foundation's Maui Strong fund, which raises money for Maui after the 2023 wildfires that destroyed much of Lahaina town.

The loco moco is the dish critics keep returning to. The menu describes two seasoned hamburger patties and two eggs on white rice under brown gravy, with macaroni salad or ramen cabbage salad on the side, and you can swap in Portuguese sausage. The Infatuation called it one of its favorite versions in LA. It costs $13.99 on the official takeout menu, which makes it the best value on the board.

For a full tour of the islands, order the Luau Platter at $24.99. It brings lau lau, kalua pork, lomi lomi salmon, chicken long rice and a slice of haupia cheesecake on one plate. Lau lau on its own is slow-cooked pork with a hint of butterfish, wrapped in taro and ti leaves, for $16.99 with chicken long rice or lomi lomi salmon. Kalua cabbage stir-fries the shredded pork with cabbage and green onion.

Lahaina Fried Chicken, the house's Hawaiian-style nuggets, costs $13.99 as a plate or $10.79 as a bowl, and The Infatuation called it sweet, crunchy and flat-out addicting. Bacon fried rice, Chinese chicken salad and the haupia cheesecake are the dishes Google reviewers mention most often, and a Spam musubi is $3.29 if you only want a snack at the counter.

The restaurant calls itself the home of the famous haupia coconut cheesecake, and The Infatuation said a slice at the end of the meal is mandatory. A slice of haupia coconut, chocolate or Jello cheesecake is $5.49. The bakery shelves also hold white chocolate macadamia cookies, guava and pineapple puffs, banana bread loaves with walnuts, furikake snack mix and shortbread cookies named for Mauna Kea and Kahelani.

Those baked goods also show up on the catering menu, along with trays of Hawaiian sweet rolls and assorted cookies. The catering team has handled small weddings of about 30 guests and corporate events of more than 1,000, and it now covers Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Riverside counties. Trays come in four sizes, from a quarter tray that feeds 10 to 15 people to a full tray for up to 65.

Reservations are taken only for parties of more than eight, so smaller groups walk in. Friday and Saturday evenings bring the live music, and Google's review highlights count ten mentions of the Hawaiian bands. If you want conversation rather than a show, come for a weekday lunch when the doors open at 11am. Monday is the one day the restaurant is closed, so plan around it.

Skip the sandwich and burger section. A teriyaki burger at $12.99 costs about the same as the loco moco, and every critic's praise here goes to the island plates instead. If the wait for a Saturday table runs long, drive seven minutes to The Local Place Bakery and Cafe at 18605 S Western Ave in Torrance, King's Hawaiian's counter-service sister cafe, which opens at 7am and stays open until 8pm.

Metro bus line 246 runs from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center to the restaurant in about 20 minutes, with a $1.75 fare, according to Google Maps transit directions. Takeout orders can be placed by phone or through the restaurant's ordering app, which is available for both iOS and Android. Catering orders need more lead time and go through the catering team, which quotes delivery fees by distance, day and time.

Hours run Tuesday to Thursday from 11am to 7:30pm, and Friday to Sunday from 11am to 8pm. The kitchen closes earlier than many sit-down restaurants, so a 7pm arrival on a weeknight is cutting it close. Private parties can book breakfast, lunch or dinner service in the dining room, and smaller groups can reserve a section instead of the whole room.

Dignity Health Sports Park, the 2003 stadium complex at 18400 Avalon Boulevard that is home to the LA Galaxy, is about a seven-minute drive away, which makes the restaurant a natural stop before a match. The complex, owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group, pairs the 27,000-seat soccer stadium with a tennis stadium, a track-and-field facility and the VELO Sports Center velodrome.

Closer still, the city-run Carson Event Center sits at 801 E Carson St, about 0.8 miles east along the same street, and its building also houses the South Bay One-Stop Business and Career Center. If you are heading north afterward, stop at The Local Place on Western Avenue for dessert; Google reviewers there single out the Dole Whip, the Spam musubi and the Paradise cake from the King's Hawaiian bakery line.

Back Home in Lahaina, 519 E Carson St, Carson, CA 90745. Tuesday to Thursday 11am to 7:30pm, Friday to Sunday 11am to 8pm, closed Monday. Loco moco $13.99, Luau Platter $24.99, lau lau plate $16.99, Spam musubi $3.29, cheesecake slice $5.49. Reservations for parties over eight. Live music Friday and Saturday evenings. Dining room seats 110. Catering by email at catering@backhomeinlahaina.com.