Kālua Pork Sandwich
Beach House Social

Beach House Social

1501 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, United States

Fish • Drinks • Seafood • Hawaiian


"My first time at Mahalo wasn't bad, but the food was nothing to write home about. My 2nd time at Mahalo was definitely worse. For starters, they don't use air conditioning. I made the mistake of going on a hot, humid day, and their ceiling fans and open windows did nothing to remedy the utter discomfort of breathing in steamy air while your body sticks to the table and chairs. All we could think about was how to hurry up and get out of there so we could go eat ice cream at Jeni's next door just to cool off. Their rationale is they're trying to give you an island experience, but it doesn't make sense for business because who wants to eat a big meal while sitting in a sauna??? Also, it's extremely unappealing to see the chefs and wait staff constantly wiping sweat off their faces. They just rebranded themselves under a new restaurant called Beach House Social, so hopefully the new place is more prepared to handle the plentiful hot weather of a Chicago summer. Now, let's talk about the food. The veggie poke is unlike any veggie poke I've ever had, and that's not a good thing. I didn't taste a single traditional poke flavor. It was basically some bland vegetables drizzled with a tangy red sauce, and a side of bug. Yes, that's right there was a dead bug stuck to my dish. It wasn't a live bug that flew in through the open windows because it was very much dead and stuck to my plate. (Thankfully, they didn't end up charging me for this dish. My cousin ordered a seafood omelette, which contained a shrimp shell, and my other cousin ordered fish poke, which contained a bone."