Malama Pono

Sherman Oaks

Malama Pono in Sherman Oaks.

Yuzu aguachilie.

Eaten with tortilla chips. Pretty good. Like ceviche but not.

Oysters. Yum. Mild in flavor but not too mild,

Patatas bravas were excellent, just the right mix of soft and crispy.

Braised octopus was okay but by far the most forgetable dish.

Sangria was so good, Nick ordered a second.

Pono mix plate was a fancy Hawaiian mixed grill plate, but the filet mignon was not seasoned well and the mochiko chicken was too salty.

Inside. High top in the middle made interior photos tough.

Warm french toast: plantain bread, coconut caramel, coca nibs, vanilla ice cream.

Not really sure what was french toast about the banana bread, but the cocoa nibs gave a nice crunch. Pretty good.

Hawaiian fusion with Dr. Bauch in Sherman Oaks. They do a great job on some things, particularly the patatas bravas, with the yuzu aguachilie (basically seafood and tortilla chips) being a close second. Sangria was so good that Nick had to order a second. Oysters are solid but not memorable, although to be fair it's hard to really excel there. Braised octopus was, if not a miss, then completely forgettable by comparison, and the pono mix plate, while good overall, had some misses. Filet mignon was tender but no real flavor, and the mochiko chicken was too salty.

Still nice to see their creative effort, even if not everything in the pono mixed plate succeed. The plantain bread for the warm french toast seemed like a misnomer (was it really french toast at all? Didn't seem like it), but the mix of banana bread, ice cream, and cocoa nibs was a good harmony.

Verdict: pretty good, but marred by a difficult parking situation.