Hawaiian Restaurant Near Me in the Excelsior: Hawaiian Drive Inn's Cash-Only Katsu

Hawaiian Drive Inn does not take cards, so the first rule of a visit is to bring cash. The takeout counter sits at 4827 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94112, in the Excelsior, right next door to Ty Sandwich at 4829 and a few doors from Taqueria El Farolito at 4817. Despite the name, it is not a drive-in. If you typed Hawaiian restaurant near me anywhere south of Bernal Heights, this is the counter whose review headline at The Infatuation reads: we trust it for all our katsu and musubi needs.

The San Francisco Standard reported in July 2023 that Hawaiian Drive Inn had been serving the Excelsior for nearly 30 years, and that it is one of two San Francisco restaurants using the name. The other sits at 2600 San Bruno Avenue in the Portola, whose website credits a chef named Alan, who moved from Hawaii, and his wife Maggie with opening the first Hawaiian Drive Inn in the city in 1997.

That website also invites people to own and operate their own Hawaiian Drive Inn, and The Infatuation now calls the name a mini-chain, with an outpost in Daly City reviewed in May 2026. The Mission Street counter has its own phone line and its own following. In September 2026 The Infatuation kept it on its list of the best restaurants in the Excelsior, rated 8.0, praising consistently good Hawaiian food in giant portions.

Chicken katsu is the order. The Infatuation's review describes hefty piles of katsu fried until audibly crunchy, and says the tangy dipping sauce is the part they love even more, worth asking for an extra cup to finish the leftover rice. Plates follow the island formula of rice and macaroni salad, and Google describes the shop as a compact restaurant serving Hawaiian plate lunches, saimin and burgers in takeout containers.

The loco moco is solid all around, according to the same review, with juicy, tender beef patties and a runny over-easy egg, though the gravy runs a little sweet. Spam musubi comes so generously packed that the seaweed struggles to hold it together, which makes one a meal on its own if you are not hungry enough for a full plate. Saimin, the Hawaiian noodle soup, is the cold-day option.

Then there is the cheeseburger, the reason The Standard wrote about the place at all. Its reporter called it possibly the cheapest real burger in San Francisco: no lettuce, onion or tomato, just a patty that came out surprisingly thick, crispy, juicy and well seasoned, with waxy cheese and sweet, tangy ketchup. Order it alongside a katsu plate if you are feeding two people with different cravings.

The sides are the weak point, and both of The Infatuation's write-ups say so. The macaroni salad at this location was judged bland and overcooked, and the rice tended to arrive slightly mushy. The reviewers' fix at the Daly City outpost was to ask for an extra scoop of rice instead of the mac salad. Skip the mac salad and put your appetite into the katsu and the extra sauce instead.

The Spam musubi also draws the same criticism in every review: the rice brick overwhelms the Spam. It is still a fine snack for the bus, but if you want a musubi with a better ratio, save it for a plate lunch counter elsewhere in the city. Think of the musubi here as filler and the katsu plate as the main event.

The Infatuation's advice for the whole Hawaiian Drive Inn mini-chain is to focus on the Plates section of the menu, and at Mission Street that advice holds: the fried and griddled mains are what earn the 8.0 rating, while the starches and sides only fill the box. Order one plate per person and share a burger rather than doubling up on sides.

Google shows no website for this location, and the counter takes no cards, so the routine is simple: walk up, order, pay in cash and wait for the containers. Google lists Monday hours of 10:30am to 9pm, long enough to cover both an early lunch and a late dinner on the way home along Mission Street.

The Infatuation describes it as a great choice for a quick to-go meal, and the review calls it a takeout counter, so think of your kitchen table, the bus ride or a nearby bench as the dining room. Leftovers are likely; the 2026 Excelsior guide singles out the giant portions as part of the appeal.

The 14 Mission and 14R Mission Rapid run along Mission Street, and SFMTA lists stops at Mission and Russia Avenue and Mission and Persia Avenue, both a short walk from the counter. The 14 runs 24 hours a day, with buses every eight to ten minutes through the daytime. Drivers will need to find street parking along Mission or the side avenues, since The Infatuation notes the shop has no dedicated parking of its own.

If the counter is closed or you are out of cash, Super Star Restaurant at 4919 Mission Street is the plan B, a Filipino and Chinese takeout counter that The Infatuation says has barely changed its prices since it opened in the 1990s. Order the pork chop or longsilog plates with a side of one-bite lumpia, but bring cash here too, since Super Star is also cash-only.

For a longer walk, Ty Sandwich next door at 4829 Mission makes forearm-sized banh mi stuffed with grilled pork or lemongrass chicken, and Taqueria El Farolito at 4817 Mission is the Excelsior outpost of the famous Mission District taqueria, known for al pastor super burritos and a quesadilla suiza. With all three within a few doors of each other, one cash-filled walk covers Hawaiian, Vietnamese and Mexican takeout.

Hawaiian Drive Inn, 4827 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94112, Excelsior. Google lists Monday hours of 10:30am to 9pm. Cash only. Takeout counter with no dedicated parking. Order the chicken katsu plate with extra dipping sauce or the loco moco; skip the mac salad. Muni 14 Mission and 14R stop at Russia and Persia Avenues.