Restaurants

Dining on Oahu

Oahu has some serious eats. This island boasts the widest range of restaurants than any other island. In one day, you can have a five-star experience at a place like Roy's Waikiki, sample many different ethnic foods mainly from Asia and the Pacific Rim, and dine on the best Japanese food outside of Japan.

Try a plate lunch from Rainbow Drive Inn and the local fast food chain, Zippy's, a malasada, or Portuguese doughnut, from Leonard's, or shave ice from Matsumoto's after a beach trip to the North Shore. Coco puffs from Liliha Bakery are a local favorite and are great with that first cup of coffee in the morning. Don't miss the shrimp trucks that can be found throughout the North Shore area. No matter what you're seeking, you can pretty much find it here!

Don’t leave Maui without savoring some of the island’s harvests and popular delicacies. Even locals fervently await the summer season when the clusters of green mangoes on the neighborhood trees ripen to a reddish yellow hue. Check out our farmers’ market guide and pick up fresh lilikoi or passion fruit, dragon fruit, and papaya directly from their growers. Other must-try foods include ahi tuna poke, musubi and shave ice. Local restaurant chefs are also leading Maui’s dynamic culinary movement to showcase homegrown ingredients and sustainable practices.

Maui is the place to visit if you have a sweet tooth. All visitors must make a stop at Tasaka Guri-guri for Maui's most popular treat: the famous guri-guri. It is a cross between ice cream and sherbet, in either strawberry or pineapple flavors. It is still served the way it has been for the last century: in a paper cup with a wooden spoon.

Don't miss Home Maid Bakery's manju, a baked sweet Japanese pastry filled with azuki bean paste or fruit fillings. Locals from the neighboring islands visit Maui and stop here specifically to take the delicious manju home with them. T. Komoda Store & Bakery in Makawao is another must-visit Maui landmark that has been cranking out some of the best doughnuts in the islands for almost a century. Try their stick donuts, cream puffs, and guava malasadas. Be aware though, they close up shop for the day once they run out of food. Of course Maui has plenty of plate lunch restaurants and the highly-rated A Saigon Cafe, but it is a dream come true for those with major sugar cravings.

Dining on Maui

Dining on Kauai

No matter what part of the island you’ve chosen to stay during your tropical vacation, there are a variety of dining options from food trucks with International fare to local establishments that have been serving traditional grinds for decades.

Authentic island-style meals consist of a pan-Asian influence. Almost any order you make in this genre will come with a large portion of white rice like the loco moco where the starch is layered with a hamburger patty, fried eggs and gravy. This meal is what kama‘aina (Hawai‘i residents) like to have for breakfast and popular spots to try this are the no frills Tip Top Café and Bakery in Lihu‘e or Wake Up Café in Hanalei. If you’re looking for something to fill you up a little later in the day, then other local plate lunch options might be right up your alley. These dishes consists of another whopping portion of white rice topped with your choice of meat like Kalua Pig or Chicken Katsu and typically come with a side of potato salad. Pono Market in Kapa‘a and Mark’s Place in Lihu‘e are almost always bursting at the seams with customers and are excellent choices for local cuisine.

Perhaps you’re looking for something a little lighter and healthier. There is an array of fruit and smoothie stands around the island, especially on the North Shore where the majority of produce is grown, that also have grab-and-go fresh meals like Banana Joe’s and the Moloa‘a Sunrise Juice Bar. On the other hand, if you want to stick with tradition, try Hamura Saimin in Lihu‘e which provides a host of their famously flavorful noodles and broth.There are also plenty of full service Kauai restaurants that have menus with an assortment of dietary options for its patrons like KP Lihu‘e, a contemporary Italian eatery and bar that offers gluten-free pasta as well as an abundance of vegetarian selections. The Shops at Kukui‘ula in Po‘ipu is also a great place if you’re seeking something specific as it has plenty of modern restaurants with unique flair like Josselin’s Tapas Bar and Grill. And you can’t go wrong at Merriman’s Fish House if you’re looking for fresh, locally-caught fish.

Food trucks are another dining option that is gaining popularity on Kaua‘i, particularly in Kapa‘a where you will discover a number of these meals on wheels. For the best eclectic experience, check out Kaua‘i Beer Company on Thursday evenings for its crowd-pleasing Truck Stop Thursday where at least two food trucks park in front of the local brewery on Rice Street in Lihu‘e every week. You can imbibe in local beer while feasting on food truck specialties – a winning combination.

Dining on Lanai

With the exception of the restaurants at Four Seasons Manele Bay, every restaurant on the island of Lanai is within walking distance of the other. By simply taking a stroll around Dole Park, which forms the symmetrical, pine-tree-lined center of historic Lanai City, visitors can choose from cuisine that ranges from bowls of ahi poke, to burgers, bistros, baristas, bentos, or ice cold beer on tap.

In terms of fine dining, Lanai City Grille inside Hotel Lanai has dinner from Wednesday-Sunday, and features fresh fish, a comprehensive wine list, and the city’s freshest cuisine. The setting is nothing short of romantic in the plantation home interior, and with a background of live music that’s occasionally punctuated by the high-pitched clinking of glasses, it’s a night on the town that ranks as some of the best dining on Lanai.

To start the day in Lanai City, Coffee Works opens at 7am and is the only coffee shop in town, which serves bagels, egg sandwiches, and a full selection of your favorite caffeinated drinks. Just down the street is famous Blue Ginger—a Lanai dining staple with a cult following for the secret recipe of their burgers. If you don’t get a burger, order a plate lunch of chicken katsu or filling hamburger steak, and sit outside on the small patio that faces out towards the park. Next door to Blue Ginger is humble Canoes—a family-run restaurant with burgers, plate lunch, waffles, and excellent breakfast, that also serves a family-special burger and offers breakfast until they close.

All the way across town—on the other side of the park—Pele’s Other Garden is a sophisticated bistro with pizzas, sandwiches, and salads, and is the only place in Lanai City you can order a beer on tap. Café 565 is just up the street and has sandwiches and filling plate lunches, although if you feel like flavorful, cubed up fish that’s served on a bed of white rice, head to the Lanai Ohana Poke Market just one block back from Dole Park. Here you’ll find a selection of poke that’s served in a dozen different flavors, from Furikake and Ahi Shoyu to the popular spicy poke. Because the take-out is so popular, however, the fish can quickly sell out, so be sure to get there before 11:30am to ensure you still get some fish!

Aside the from the collection of Lanai City restaurants, there’s another cluster of restaurants on Lanai inside of the Four Seasons resort, from the succulent Nobu with its famous brand of sushi and spectacular assortment of fish, to Views by the golf clubhouse that overlooks Hulopo‘e Bay. From here, whether you’ve recently finished a round of golf or are simply visiting for the day, kick back with a beer and sandwich and watch dolphins splash down below, or watch the surf as it detonates on shore during the largest swells of summer.

Though the dining on Lanai is essentially relegated to two small parts of the island, it’s possible to find everything from mom and pop menus to world-class sushi and fish, or basic plate lunch to catch of the day—depending on the price and your mood.

Dining on Molokai

There was once a time when Molokai dining meant “two scoops rice and plate lunch,” but lately Molokai has begun to mature with its selection of culinary offerings.

At Hale Kealoha, inside Hotel Molokai, grab a seat at the only oceanfront restaurant tables in town, and order from a menu of succulent cuisine that’s heavy on local produce. While the menu can rotate around what’s in season, dinner selections could be shrimp scampi with shrimp raised right here on island, or fresh mahimahi, ono, or ahi, all caught by local fishermen. For lunch, order a turkey ulu burger with locally grown ulu, or breadfruit, and there’s also a breakfast menu of omelets all named for Molokai towns.

Closer to the center of Kaunakakai, Paddler’s Inn is a local institution and longtime Molokai favorite, where the heaping chicken katsu plate can compete with the best in the islands, and the fish and chips and mahi burgers use fresh, locally-caught fish. Aside from the hefty, filling portions that are cheaper than Hale Kealoha, Paddler’s is also the closest thing that Molokai has to a sports bar, with cold beer on draft, sports on TV, and even a weekly “Ladies Night” at the island’s most happening “nightclub.”

For a casual dinner of pizza or pasta, Molokai Pizza Café has been a local classic since 1992, and their selection of games for younger children has made it a welcoming family spot that’s popular with visitors and locals. It’s also another Molokai venue that doesn’t offer plate lunch, and like many of its fellow Molokai restaurants, it’s a cash-only establishment.

For healthier options than teriyaki beef—or even a slice of pizza—The Store House counter in Kaunakakai has a wide range of natural foods, including kale smoothies and tropical bowls topped with almonds, granola, and honey. Pick up a salad or sandwich for the road, or maybe a cup of kombucha, and it’s a great place to grab a picnic lunch when planning a beach day out west.

Even with the growing diversity of options that are popping up on Molokai, Hawaiian plate lunch is still a staple of nearly all Molokai’s restaurants. At Kanemitsu Bakery in Kaunakakai, sit down to a breakfast of loco moco, smothered in gooey brown gravy, or feast on a plate of teriyaki chicken for a filling midday lunch. There, of course, are also baked goods with breakfast, but the most popular baked goods from Kanemitsu Bakery are actually served at night, when the back alley window of “Hot Bread Lane” opens up at 8pm. Set down a dark, narrow side alley that leads behind the bakery, the take out window has loaves of sweet bread that are literally the size of your head, and drizzled in strawberry, hot butter, cinnamon, and flavors to tackle your sweet tooth.

Also in town for plate lunch or burgers is aptly named Molokai Burger, as well as popular Maka’s Corner with their heaping bowls of saimin.

For all the restaurants you’ll find in a town of 3,500 people, the options for dining on Molokai are slim once you venture outside of Kauanakakai. The most popular restaurant outside of town—and arguably the entire island—is old school Kualapu’u Cookhouse in down home Kualapu‘u. A swinging screen door announces your arrival and the atmosphere is welcomingly casual, and you’ll get your food whenever it’s ready—so settle in and get comfortable. On the east end of the island, heading out towards Halawa, the take out window of Manae Goodz and Grindz has exceptional banana pancakes, and local classics like chicken katsu you can take to the beach in Puko‘o.

Sure, if you stay on Molokai for a week you’ll eventually eat someplace twice, but dining on Molokai has come a long way from the days of choosing the meat you want to accompany macaroni salad and rice.