If you are going to eat just one meal on the island let it be at Helena's…read more Do not mind the wait or parking situation. Or get here early. Do not miss out on the short ribs. Kalua cabbage. Lomi. LauLau. Poi. Chicken long rice. Mac salad. Haupia. Even the raw onions and salt hit the spot damn. Everyone is kind. Service is understandably quick and efficient. Open Tues-Fri 10am-7:30pm

Yummy comfort food!…read more We got the kalua pork, macaroni salad, lomi salmon, and laulau. If you order similarly, I would 100% recommend some version of lomi. It provided a nice freshness and acidity to the meal which was very much needed. The pork is very simply cooked but also flavorful. The macaroni salad was okay but nothing spectacular. I thought the laulau was just veggies, so I was surprised there was meat O_O. Still very delicious! This was a good portion for two people. We arrived 10-15 minutes prior to opening and the parking lot was empty. It filled up halfwayish by the time we were able to go in. Service was quick! It was a very casual restaurant.

My local friend suggested that we meet here for lunch claiming "da bes" Hawaiian food. They don't…read moretake reservations so there's often a wait. We put our names on the list and there were a handful of parties before us. Fortunately, we only waited about 20 minutes to get seated on a Saturday. The place is like a spacious diner with a bar counter, booths and lots of tables. Look for the beautiful, long bench table that's carved from a tree. Our server, Jason, greeted us with a warm smile and took our drink and food orders. We got a few items that we don't usually see at Hawaiian restaurants back home. Hawaiian Moco: opted for the lau lau as suggested with lomi salmon and macaroni salad. For $24.99, it was huge, succulent, flavorful and worth the price point! Smoked Moco: the Kiawe-smoked meat was tender, sautéed with bell peppers and onions and topped with a yummy smoked aioli and local egg. The mini for $16.99 was the perfect portion for me. Fish Tacos: the fish was fresh, cooked perfectly on taro tortillas with chili aioli, avocado mousse, shredded lettuce and lomi salmon. The fries were thick and crispy too. Squid Lū'au Combo: with lomi salmon and poi, sweet potato and haupia (a coconut dessert) the squid was cooked in a starchy broth. It was like nothing I've had before. Not too salty but not strong in flavor either. This was my friend's choice and she loves it. We enjoyed everything we had and were so stuffed! They validate parking for the structure.

Very impressed on improvements. I love highway inn always,…read morebut I had been having a hard time loving the kakaako one when it first opened. Portions were small for how expensive it was. It is always crowded, so I understand tables and everything get busy. But service used to always be slow. Today, went for a late lunch. Only two other tables were sat, so had most of the restaurant to ourselves. Aunty when help us right away. As soon as we ordered food, probably out within 5-10 min. The lau lau was huge. Stacked the butterfish collars on my plate. I couldn't believe. Everything was Ono. Had to order more salt and onion cause everything got eaten!

I really love Rainbow Drive-In, such an Iconic Spot since 1961, I remember during my daughter's…read morecollege day, when she is back for visit and before she leaves, this spot was one of her special request. Of course when she is back to visit every year, she still request to stop at Rainbow! Her favorites is the breakfast plates, mixed plate especially BBQ beef and boneless chicken with gravy & for me I LOVE the boneless chicken, gravy all over but I need mines on the side along with the mac salad and a slushie float. I used to work at the district office and we were housed at Hawaii School for Deaf & Blind, so close to Rainbow, when I would visit once a month, a treat to myself, such comfort food! I sure miss those Rainbow Drive-In days with my daughter and for my lunch break! Lets talk about the breakfast fried rice special, lately I've been stopping here every weekend to pick up a plate of fried rice ( available til sold out) & from experience-they do sell out, the fried rice plate is only $9.95. This is the best fried rice ever, my opinion and always enough for me and hubby! The fried rice comes Portuguese sausage, chopped veggies ( celery & carrots) and flavored nicely with choice of 2 eggs that covers the rice completely. I always get soft scrambled. I love the finishing touches of the green onions. yums! The rice is perfect hits every time & rice is not watery. Chef's kiss to the staff who made this fried rice. The line and parking lot can get crazy but the staff works hard to get the line moving fast, * there's a separate window for phone and on-line orders. I am so glad I live close by to this Gem. My go to for breakfast and plate lunches!! I think it is time for a boneless chicken plate lunch fix. I also like the lunch box that your plates comes in, paper plate and in a box, nostalgic & better than the flimsy paper take out boxes!

I ended up getting the mix plate with gravy. Bbq beef had good flavors however, I had to ask if the…read morechicken was supposed to be pink and I was told it was. So I went back and tried to eat it but I just couldn't eat it. The chicken had the smell of raw chicken and when I tasted it, definitely undercooked. So I just decided not to finish and try to eat the rest but when I got to eating the rest of the Mac salad and lettuce, I found a piece of plastic. So I just tossed the rest of my food. Been here before and had good foods, I should have just stuck with my usual loco moco and bbq beef. The team members were nice tho and the place wasn't busy so I sat right away.

We were surprised to see Side Street Inn closed on Kapahulu, and then immediately excited that they…read morere-opened in Waikiki! Local kine grindz in tourist town! I called to make reservations after work at 5:30 PM and the host was great, she let me know that parking is free for 2-hours at the Bank of Hawaii building with validation, and that they are still working on their liquor license so its BYOB with a $10 corkage fee per person drinking in the party. From the street front, its kind of hard to tell where the restaurant is. I didn't notice the sign until standing literally right in front of it. (on Beachwalk, makai of Hard Rock) When you enter, theres a sign to meet the host upstairs. We asked to sit on the patio because it was such a nice evening. At the time, there were lots of available table. But once the sun went down it became pretty lively in the main dining room. Pila was our sever, he was fantastic! Give him a raise! Between the 4 of us, we ordered 2 mains, the OG fried rice that you can never go without, and a salad because we are so well balanced. OMG SO MUCH FOOD! We did end up needing take out boxes for the rice and chicken. Honestly, I probably could have finished it off if i wasn't drinking, because it was DELCIOUS AF *drool*. Pro tip: ask for extra garlic sauce to go with the chicken. Ugh, I'm craving more kalbi as I write this review. 10/10 recommend our exact order, server and seating.

house fried rice - so good with great texture Kim chee -…read moregood pork chops - ok huge portions here - 2 dishes will feed about 3-4 people

We had a family event in the area and decided to make a quick stop at Waiahole Poi Factory…read moreafterwards to grab a Sweet Lady of Waiahole! The Sweet Lady of Waiahole is definitely a treat! The warm kulolo paired with the haupia ice cream is such a delicious combination. Also you gotta get it with a double scoop of ice cream! I remember when my boyfriend first introduced me to this dessert, and I was instantly hooked! It's such a unique and satisfying local treat. Definitely a must stop if you're in the area!

I heard about this spot from multiple people and was excited to see that it fit our itinerary…read moreperfectly! + my boyfriend really wanted to try Poi while we were visiting the Island. There is a really small parking lot available, but we just found parking on side of the street and walked over. There are tables outside for people to enjoy their foods. It can be filled up quickly since lots of people visit this spot. Many people are willing to share space. Single restroom stall available around the building. Staff is super friendly We ordered a plate with Squid Luau, Laulau, and Poi and a single plate with kalua pig. Both plate comes with some sort of coconut pudding? and a very delicious side of lomi with salmon bits in it. The food was so good! Portion was so good and super filling! One note is that we wish there were more squid bits. Overall, a 10/10 would recommend!

Poke nachos were amazing and the service was incredible. They really packed the plate and were very…read moregenerous with the sauce . Everything 10/10, would gladly come back again!

First time trying kehau's kitchen. The Da Púa Poke and Mexican style pork nachos were amazing!…read moreHighly recommend!

Wow wow wow! We visited this little hole in the wall place twice while on vacation. Strictly take…read moreout... The selection is massive and they're a well oiled machine. Fast service...but not rushed. Everything is handmade...you can sort of sneak a peek in the back from the register. After trying this place, we're all obsessed with musubi! Try it out. You won't be disappointed!

Musubi Cafe is such a fun, local gem, but be ready for a wait. We went early, midday timing, and…read morethe line was already about 15 people with roughly a 30 minute wait. It moves steadily though, and it is worth it. Inside is tiny, just one small table, so this is really an order and go kind of place rather than somewhere to sit and eat. They have every musubi combination you could think of, unagi, avocado, cucumber, egg, bacon, ume, tofu skin, shrimp, you name it. I got the tuna mayo onigiri and wished they had packed in a little more tuna filling, but it was still tasty. I also tried the cucumber spam musubi, which was really good too. We came as a group of seven and everyone ordered something different, and everyone loved every bite. My tip: get at least two musubis per person. A few people in our group got four each and had zero regrets. One thing to know ahead of time is parking. It is street parking only and pretty limited, so plan for that if you are driving. Overall such an easy, yummy stop and a great local experience in Waikiki.

Absolutely Everything is amazing, the people, how quick the food came out, and the flavor of each…read moremeat and dish was perfect. And the price is well worth it! My family and I were literally fighting over who gets the last bite of the last guava bar

We found this place by accident when we were in Oahu during spring break. We had a little while…read morebefore our Airbnb was ready, and we were starving. This happened to be on the way to our destination. All of us got the smoked pork plate, with rice and mac salad. Yummy!! It's one of their most popular dishes/plates, and I can taste why. Service was quick and friendly. Seating was great too, as you could look out over the street, ask the windows are open to let in the nice breeze. It was hard to find at first (based on our map), but found that the entrance is at the back of the building, and it's located on the second floor. Definitely recommend this place if you're near Waikiki

Last time I visited this place was 20 years ago (visiting from SoCal) . The menu changed since…read morethere are new owners and they've added Korean fusion elements but the food is still outstanding and the ambience is exactly the same. Highly recommend going. I'm going to have to revisit the next time I'm in Oahu, which is hopefully soon than 20 years.

Good local Hawaiian food restaurant. Street parking only. Small restaurant I believe it was Ono…read moreHawaii on Kapahulu before. Now it is named the Da Ono Hawaiian Foods. Either the owner or the manager seemed like a one man show. He was the server, bus boy, and chef. Husband got the pipikalua short ribs/he enjoyed. Sisters got the pork lau lau which came with sweet potato, rice or poi, lomi lomi salmon (more onion and tomato than salmon). i got the chicken lau lau, again stuffed with chicken, not enough taro leaves. The Haupia was smoky, so either burnt or something- inedible! Only six tables in the entire restaurant. The gentleman that was serving us I believe was also the bus boy, cook, server and cashier! Place is a hole in the wall with missing ceiling tiles and exposed panels above our table (gross!!). Sis loves this dive so we keep coming back!

I like supporting local and visiting Oahu Grill when I get a chance, been here many times for take…read moreout, with family, a friend visiting from Cali who misses local food and after vacation when I am missing the local foods too! During a visit here with my friends who was visiting from out of town, they both enjoyed their entree with a beer, love the atmosphere- we got to chat and ended up staying until restaurant's closing time. The waitress that day was super friendly, full of Aloha! I love the local foods, everything I tried was very tasty, When dining in I usually go with the 2 item plates, picking all different items ( Lau, Kalua Pork, pork belly, chicekn long rice and sharing family style with extra rice. The food was broke da mouth! During one of my dining visits, I was on my no carb lifesytle and got the Island cobb salad with Kalua Pork ( available in 2 sizes $9./$17.) Lettuce, cucumber, corn, tomato, avocado with Kalua Pig, and sweet onion dressing. Wow, I am glad they have this option for salads. I hope they don't discontinue the Cobb salad as it was so good! During this recent stop I picked up the Pork Belly and Pipikaula plate in short ribs style. This was such a great choice as my family enoyed it . Beer and Pork Belly for pupus and pipikaua ribs for dinner. They have daily specials (beef stew, beef tomato, chicken hekka, sweet sour spare ribs, beef stew, grilled fish, shoyu chicken, garlic shrimp) which sounds good too. You can pick plates in mini or regular, two or three item combo, but few dollars more for crispy pork, smoked meat Pipikaula. Please check out Oahu Grill in the Kaimuki area, opens daily from 11-9 pm.

This place use to be unreal 5 stars in my books they fell off my radar from 5 stars to 2 stars. The…read moreother day I had lunch there and i ordered their Lau Lau and squid luau combo. It was very tasty and the squid luau had a mouth full of squid. The downside is look at the rice . The rice was very hard I guaranteed it was left overs sitting in the rice warmer and they served us the hard rice . Also the service was very slow only 1 worker but we were the only customer in there . I recommend this Hawaiian food place over others but maybe ill stop from know on . It. could be new owners I'm not sure .