My head is spinning!! Restaurants

[PattiPB]

Prior to our Aulani week, we are spending three nights in Waikiki. I'm looking for suggestions for eating at local places that won't break the budget.

During our Aulani week, we will be driving up to the North Shore area and Kualoa Ranch on different days. I'm looking for suggestions for restaurants in those vicinities, too.

Trip Advisor (and of course the DIS) has an unbelievable amount of information, especially about dining! I'm looking for some specific suggestions of places you like, especially in Waikiki. If possible, please give cross streets or what hotel it is located in.

TIA! Less than a month for us!

 

[SylviaL]

Marukame (2310 Kuhio) in Waikiki is great for Japanese noodles. There is usually a line, but it moves fast. It's cafeteria style. If you have adventurous eaters, my family loves Musubi Cafe Iyasume (2427 Kuhio). They make rice balls with different toppings like egg, avocado, spam, salmon, etc. Great to take on the go.

 

[PattiPB]

Thank you, especially for the addresses!!! It's just me and my husband, so we're ok with adventurous.

 

[happymommy]

If you like Korean Chinese food (yes, it's a thing - my husband is Korean and we lived in Kailua for 3 years), in Honolulu we like the chajangmyun at On Dong on King St. They also make good chicken fried rice (my daughter likes that). Chajangmyun is a noodle in black bean sauce! The place is kind of a hole in the wall.

If you go to Kailua, we love Willow Tree by Safeway. The owners are so sweet (been there for 25 years). Their Korean food is very good (and Korean food in Hawaii is a bit different than in Korea or we get here in Maryland but it's good!).

Ala Moana mall has the new food court at the Japanese department store. Lots of fun things to try!

By Aulani, Sushi Bay is the best. There will be a wait, so we tend to go early (I think they open at 10am, and with the time difference of 6 hours, we have gone that early, or we'll go at like 4pm for dinner, or do carry out). It's by Long Drugs in Kapolei.

There is a Korean place in Pearl City on Kam Hwy - I think Jin Joo? Another local spot with delicious Korean beef!

If you enjoy teppanyaki, we always loved Tanaka of Tokyo. We probably went there a half dozen times. It's fun to do at least once! The food used to be very good, but I haven't been in several years. They used to have 2 locations in Waikiki.

 

[nkereina]

We also stayed 3 nights in Waikiki. We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki Beach and across the street inside the Aston Waikiki was a Wolfgang Puck Express. Just like the one at Disney Springs. We went there for a quick dinner one night and a quick breakfast one morning. Very inexpensive and just as good as the one at WDW. We ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise which is right on the main drag and is open air. Very casual and relatively affordable. We also ate at Duke's at Outrigger which was the same type of thing. House Without a Key at the Halekulani is another one that is often recommended for something a touch nicer than a bar & grill, but that won't break the bank. And Mac 24/7 inside the Hilton on Kuhio is just one block up from the main strip, and was an upscale 24 hour diner. Awesome pancakes! There's also chain restaurants like PF Changs and Cheesecake Factory where you know what to expect in terms of food and price.

In the North Shore, we loved Kono's! One of our favorite cheap and easy meals from the trip. I believe they just opened a location in Kailua as well. We also ate at Anna Miller's which is near Pearl Harbor, but was on the way back from Kualoa Ranch. It's another 24 hour type diner place but our bill was $19, and we got dessert too. So the prices were awesome. The Dis Unplugged podcast always recommends Anna Miller's during their Aulani episodes.

Highly recommend eating at Kualoa Ranch if you're there for lunch. The lunch buffet was delicious and a great value. All of the meat is from cattle and pigs raised right at the ranch, all natural. So good.

 

[JCornell]

Rainbow Drive-In (3308 Kanaina Ave) - famous local dive worth checking out
Side Street Inn (1225 Hopaka St) - Korean/asian inspired dishes served family style
If you like beer there are a few breweries that also serve decent food:
Waikiki Brewing Co (1945 Kalakaua Ave)
Honolulu Beer Works (328 Cooke St)
Maui Brewing Co. (2300 Kalakaua Ave)
and, a bit more of a drive
Kona Brewing Company (Koko Marina Shopping Center, I, 7192 Kalanianaole Hwy)

 

[longboard55]

Shorebird is right on the water and pretty cheap. Maui brewing company is super popular with the younger crowd. At the back of the new international marketplace there is an area called the street with trendy take out. Waikiki is a cheap place to eat.

 

[Aviator621]

For your windward and North Shore drive, I always recommend Haleiwa Joe's; two locations---one in Haleiwa town, and one near Kailua, which is our favorite (and has incredible views.) https://haleiwajoes.com

 

[PattiPB]

Thanks for the suggestions! Writing these all down. Particularly the brewery ones!

How is Dukes buffet for lunch? Is it worth the $20?

 

[pepperandchips]

We loved Kona Brewing and Haleiwa Joe's as mentioned above. The Haleiwa Joe's at Haiku has a $26 brunch (at least on Sunday) that was heavenly and worth the price. Unbeatable views! We also loved The Beach House in Haleiwa which we did on our North Shore day. So tasty!!!

 

[mouseclick1]

We spent 6 nights at Aulani in April. Haleiwa Joe's at Haiku (near Kailua) was by far our favorite meal of the trip. We also enjoyed our dinner at Monkeypod and thought the prices were reasonable.

 

[Boris555]

We had an amazing dinner at the Outrigger Hotel before our Aulani visit. I think the Waikiki is often overlooked as too touristy but I really liked it. There's a fantastic mall there as well called the Moana (? it's been a while) that I enjoyed. Great selection in all the stores (Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus) and the prices were the same as on the mainland.

 

[mfleeting]

Some of our favorite meals near Waikiki were Rainbow Drive Inn, Eggs N Things, Duke's, and Leonard's. We also tried Lulu's Surf club which was good but one of our least memorable meals (probably because we were exhausted from the flight in). We wanted to try Steak Shack in Waikiki (but never got to it) but they have good ratings. Teddy's Better Burgers are all over and pretty good. On the North Shore we also tried Kono's which was very good.

 

[Mommyof3inVA]

I loved Duke's! We actually ended up there almost every night to sit oceanside and listen to live music with a few cocktails

 

[mfleeting]

Thanks for the suggestions! Writing these all down. Particularly the brewery ones!

How is Dukes buffet for lunch? Is it worth the $20?

We did not eat the buffet at Dukes just ordered off the menu. However, the buffet did look good with quite a few choices.