From its humble beginnings as a ghost kitchen during the COVID-19 pandemic to its current home on busy Walnut Street, Mochiko Hawaiian brings Newton authentic Hawaiian-Japanese fusion food, uplifting music, and easygoing hospitality.
The lighthearted exterior, covered with video-game style representations of food and text that reads “Choose Your Craving,” provides residents with a sense of excitement. Under a large pixelated “Mochiko Hawaiian,” customers quickly realize they’re in for fried chicken and bubble tea.
“It’s always electric,” said Eddy Acuna, a Newton resident and Mochiko Hawaiian recurring customer. “Good music, good videos playing, very welcoming environment.”
Acuna finds himself returning to the restaurant for familiarity and for a dish he knows will taste exquisite each time around.
“I really like the spicy chicken sandwich, it’s always consistent,” Acuna said. “It’s always good. Same with the Nutty Acai Bowl.”
The restaurant offers a wide variety of ways to consume chicken, on top of breakfast, acai bowls, sandwiches, and a plethora of drink options.
Sean Ross and Michael Brunson, restaurant co-owners, emphasized the importance of importing Hawaiian products for their food, giving Newton a taste of what people on the West Coast experience daily.
“As far as imported stuff, you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who pulled more from Hawaii than us on the East Coast, period,” Brunson said. “A big part of the reason we chose to do this is because if you go to LA, there are Hawaiian spots all day, you can eat Hawaiian seven days a week. The big part is bringing a lot of that here.”
The most popular menu items, according to Brunson, are the Mochiko Chix Plate and the Garlic Shrimp Plate. But the dish most representative of the restaurant’s identity is the Loco Moco Plate, which Brunson said is a traditional Hawaiian plate eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
The inside matches the exterior’s playful energy: pictures of pandas, aliens, and baseball iconography line the walls. Near the tables, there’s a TV playing videos. Rubber ducks line the giant store window, and a Mega Mini Claw game is near the entrance.
Brunson emphasizes the experience is not meant to feel like a regular dine-in one—it’s quick but high-quality fast food.
“We have six chairs,” Brunson said. “This ain’t a place you go and make a reservation. This is a come through, grab some clean eats, some good eats, and some fast food vibes with higher quality standards.”
Contributing to the laid-back vibes is the noticeable blasting music. Brunson said a big part of the job is hanging out and enjoying listening to the music, despite the complaints.
“What do I enjoy the most? Hanging out—I like the music,” Brunson said. “The music we play here is just for us—it’s not for the people who come in and eat. We’re here, we’re selling food, we’re having fun, and so I’d say the biggest complaint we get is about our music, but we don’t really care. We’re just blasting music. It’s for us, dude.”
The Mochiko Chix Plate and Garlic Shrimp Plate come in large portions, with about five pieces of shrimp and chicken, served with rice and vegetables. The Mochiko Chix Plate is served with a ball of mac and cheese, and the Garlic Shrimp with half an avocado and honey-ginger dressing.
The chicken is the perfect amount of crunchy, and the sauce complements the chicken without overpowering the taste.
On average, you’ll spend about 10 to 20 dollars on food and have enough to take home and enjoy later.
The restaurant hasn’t always existed in this form. They opened recently, on Aug. 8, 2022, according to Ross.
“We started as a ghost kitchen to help a friend of ours stay open during COVID,” Ross said.
This recent transition from Marlborough, Mass., ghost kitchen to a physical restaurant in Newton isn’t slowing them down, and there may be a new location soon enough.
“There might be a new location in the near future somewhere,” Ross said. “It might be landing somewhere in the Northeast.”
Beyond food, Mochiko Hawaiian is an avid contributor to the Newton community, whether it be donating or providing opportunities. According to Ross, the restaurant participates in Newtonville Village Day, an annual festival in Newtonville, and also works to donate to the local high schools and Hawaiian clubs.
“Also, for about 20 percent of our staff, we exclusively have a position which is only for Newton high school students,” Brunson said. “So every time of year we have between two and three.”
Ross and Brunson emphasized the efficiency and consistency of their establishment. According to Ross, the restaurant could serve a couple of hundred people an hour, and there are never too many people at once.
Mochiko Hawaiian provides exactly what it promises, fulfilling your cravings in an atmosphere like nowhere else in Newton.
Dining and Cooking