There is no official Ono Hawaiian BBQ secret menu — no roster of named off-menu plates that staff recognize. What there is instead is a menu with a build-your-own tier hiding in plain sight, and a set of swaps the kitchen makes without blinking. Those are worth more than any invented item name.
The Aloha Plate loophole
This is the one genuinely underused thing on the board. The Pick 2 Aloha Plate is $12.49 and lets you choose any two proteins. The Island Favorites combos are $13.99 and give you two proteins in a fixed pairing. Same format, same two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad, $1.50 apart — in favor of the one you choose yourself.
The named combos exist because they are quicker to order and quicker to ring up, not because they are better value. If you want Kalua Pork with Cabbage next to Chicken Katsu and no listed combo pairs them, the Pick 2 gets you there for less than the pairings that are listed. Availability of individual proteins in that tier can vary by location, so ask rather than assume.
The same logic runs down a level: Pick 1 Aloha Plate at $11.99 is fifty cents cheaper than any of the five standard chicken plates at $12.49, for what is functionally the same plate.
Swaps the counter will make
- One scoop of rice instead of two. No price change, about 200 calories saved, and nobody argues. The most useful request on this list.
- Double mac, no rice — or the reverse. Both halves of the base are portioned by hand, so the ratio is negotiable in a way the protein is not.
- Sauce on the side. Standard for takeout, and it is what makes Chicken Katsu ($12.49) the best cold leftover on the menu.
- Extra glaze. Usually free in a small cup, and it turns a Grilled Chicken Breast ($12.49) into something closer to the BBQ chicken without the sugar being cooked on.
- Salad in place of the macaroni salad. The Fresh Mix Salad ($4.49) substitution is common but not universal, and some stores charge for it.
Off-menu builds worth ordering
The musubi upgrade
Order any plate and add a BBQ Chicken Musubi ($6.49) instead of a drink. It costs about the same, travels infinitely better, and turns one lunch into two meals. Regulars who take food back to a desk do this by default.
The kalbi workaround
Kalbi Short Ribs ($16.49) is the most expensive plate on the menu. The Hawaiian BBQ Mix at $14.99 includes kalbi alongside BBQ chicken and BBQ beef — three proteins for two dollars less than kalbi alone. If you want kalbi and are not specifically after a full portion of it, the mix is strictly better arithmetic.
The low-carb plate
Ask for Kalua Pork with Cabbage ($12.99) with no rice and double cabbage. You are paying full plate price for less food, which is a bad deal in dollars and a good one if you are avoiding starch — the trade-off our allergens and diet guide spells out in more detail.
The child-splitting plate
One Chicken Katsu ($12.49) plus one Steamed Rice ($2.99) feeds two small children for $15.48, against $10.98 for two Keiki Meals ($5.49) — more food for less than two full plates, and katsu is the item children reliably finish.
What does not work
Be realistic about the limits. There is no secret sauce kept behind the counter, no unlisted protein, and no discount code the staff can apply on request. Substituting a protein inside a named combo is inconsistent — some stores allow it, most direct you to the Aloha Plate tier instead. And with roughly 90 restaurants, nearly all of them in California, franchise practice varies enough that a swap granted at one store may be declined a few miles away.
The reliable rule: anything involving the rice and macaroni salad ratio is easy, anything involving the proteins costs money, and the Ono Hawaiian BBQ menu prices are the ceiling on what any trick can save you. For genuine discounts, look at the current specials and promotions instead.