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    Pupukea Grill

    4.5 (351 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Pupukea Grill Photos

    PUPUKEA GRILL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Mindy R.

    Came recommended before our trip. Great service. Bowls were fresh and outstanding. Great place to stop. Will come again!!!

    Spicy ahi bowl
    Deandra V.

    Make sure to check their instagram to see if they are open/closed! Quality food. Fresh ingredients. Definitely you get what you pay for. Our go-to are poke bowl, hand rolls, quesadilla plate and açaí bowls. Girls working the truck and friendly, punctual and prompt. Parking is not the greatest but there at tables under a tent to eat.

    Oatmeal raisin cookie
    Rachael H.

    Somehow I've never tried this place but I've only ever heard great things, and it definitely lived up to expectations! The location is convenient being right across from sharks cove, so it's great after a dive/snorkel, and the service is quick. Plenty of vegan/vegetarian items too. It is on the pricier side but again, what isn't these days and the quality is high. The poke was fresh and portioned well, and I like that they offer a salad and quinoa option instead of rice for a healthier choice. The cookies are small but really good.

    Erwin R.

    The vegan and regular banana bread are amazing!! You could order online I had so you don't have to wait for the long lines. Love everything here.

    Menu January 2024
    Jay S.

    I will give this one a four overall. The food was definitely above average, the prices were fair, seating was also adequate and plentiful, the view was amazing! Have not read any other reviews, but my tip to you is that the plates are definitely shareable. We bought too much food... For example, my swordfish tacos had three swordfish steaks and three tortillas plus all of the other fixings to go with it. Once you're finished with your snack, cross the street for a killer view.

    Poke bowl
    Jayne Y.

    After hours of snorkeling at Shark's Cove, my family and I walked across the street to Pupukea Grill for lunch. This is a stationary food truck. They provide shaded outdoor seating - 6 tables and 1 bench. We were famished, so we placed our orders and patiently waited for our food. I had the following: Spicy Tuna Poke bowl - good flavor, but a small portion. I expected more for the price ($16). Also, I didn't enjoy the rice. It was a little undercooked or old (hard texture). Chicken quesadilla - my son ordered this and I took a bite. I don't recommend this; it was bland. The beans and rice lacked seasoning also. Overall: 3.5-stars My family enjoyed their Kalua pork quesadillas and raved about it, so I increased my rating and rounded up.

    Açaí bowl
    KayAnna S.

    One of the best food trucks in North Shore! Always a great place to stop by to get food after being at the beach all day. Ordering is fast and food usually only takes 10-15 minutes, even when busy. My bf loves the Kalua pig quesadilla and I'm always in the mood for their OG açaí bowl. The pork is marinated to perfection and combines well with the generous serving of cheese in the quesadilla. I'm amazed I could even get it a picture before it was devoured. The açaí is a great blend and the banana slices, blueberries and strawberries are always so fresh. Topped with honey and coconut shavings makes it prime. Nothing but great options on the menu.

    fishing stuff
    Danielle M.

    OH MY MY!! 10/10! I can't believe I just found out about this place recently! We have a friend who lives in Waipahu, and we were looking for a place to eat at nearby and we found this place. It's located in a plaza, so parking was not hard to find. They only do take out, no dine-in (so far). I think there's a minimum amount to use a card. Cashier was super friendly! Food took about 15 minutes. No problem at all, as you cannot rush perfection, right? We ordered: * Ahi Katsu -- my favourite!! I got it on a Thursday and got it again the following Thursday. Most of the ahi katsu I've tried it has wasabi mayo sauce and furikake seasoning. But this one was very unique, it was a little sweet and savoury. It came with 2 scoops of rice with furikake seasoning and the best mac salad ever! It was very filling. Delicious! As my brother-in-law would say "chef's kiss!" MUST ORDER * Boneless Korean Garlic Chicken -- this is what my husband ordered and he absolutely loved it! It also came with 2 scoops of rice and the best mac salad ever! * Boneless Fried Chicken -- what our friend ordered. Very crispy! Again, it came with 2 scoops of rice and the best mac salad ever! There's something about the mac salad, words cannot describe it. So you have to go try it for yourself! You won't regret it!

    AMAZING!!! Best food we have had in Hawaii. Authentic and flavorful. 10/10!! Will be returning!

    BBQ Kalua Quesadilla
    Joshua Z.

    Pupukea Grill is a nice Hawaiian food truck right across from Laniakea Beach. They serve various foods like rice bowls, curry, quesadillas, and desserts. I came to try out the BBQ kalua quesadillas and they were amazing. Great first impression for kalua quesadillas -- melted cheese and nice, meaty meats. My only complaint is that out of the 4 quesadilla pieces I had, only 2 of them had avocado and cheese. The other 2 pieces were just meat. Even though the meal was simple, I enjoyed it a lot after a day of strolling at Laniakea. Not bad to check this out if you're hungry and want a quick bite.

    Poke
    Trinae C.

    Fresh delicious and convenient! A local recommended this spot and it was exactly what I needed/wanted. I loved the autographed surf photos that is ohana vibes.. I genuinely just wanted to relax and enjoy some shade after snorkeling for 3 hours. Also the liquid death peach was hitttttting! I even order another one. The banana bread mochi was something I'd never had but was excited to try. I'd highly recommend! Just wish I had more people to share it with since it was decently sized. I could tell the workers/owners take care of this place.

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    3 years ago

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    7 months ago

    Great choices right on the north beaches of Oahu. At the beach in 5 minutes for a picnic. Eclectic menu including vegan and meat choices.

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    2 years ago

    This is a popular spot where you should expect a long wait but totally worth it. The BBQ Kalua Quesadilla and acai bowl were both great!

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    3 years ago

    Wow! Everything here taste good, looks good, and is good for you! Such a diamond in the rough. Love this place!

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    Page 1 of 9

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    Giovanni's Shrimp Truck

    Giovanni's Shrimp Truck

    3.9
    (5.5k reviews)
    7.5 mi
    $$

    Literally the best shrimp I ever had. Absolutely delicious!!…read more I don't say that lightly either. It was otherworldly!! The staff was great too!!!! I'll be back!

    Giovanni's is one of those places where memory does a remarkable amount of the seasoning. I've been…read moreeating here across decades. Enough visits that this is no longer about catching them on a bad afternoon, ordering the wrong thing or failing to understand what the place is supposed to be. I've tried the different shrimp, stood in the lines, eaten at the tables, navigated the parking, brought people here and returned because, for a very long time, Giovanni's was simply one of those places you went when you were on this side of the island. At some point, repetition becomes evidence. The truck itself has become an artifact. Covered in signatures, battered by time, photographed millions of times. There was probably a period when all of that felt charming. Now it mostly feels tired. There is a difference between patina and neglect and the surrounding experience has increasingly crossed that line for me. Flies, crowded tables, overflowing activity, rough parking, heat, trash nearby. You can romanticize rustic only so far before rustic starts asking for a pressure washer. Then there is the service, which has consistently been the hardest part for me to understand. I don't need anyone performing hospitality like they're auditioning for a resort commercial, but basic warmth costs nothing. Too often the interaction here feels impatient and transactional, as though the customer is somehow inconveniencing the operation by showing up to buy the food. After enough visits, you stop calling that an off day. And then there is the plate. The shrimp itself is actually the least offensive part. It is generally cooked reasonably well. Tender enough, rarely destroyed and when you get a good batch you can understand why this formula became so popular. Everything around it drags it down. The rice has repeatedly been soft, clumped and bordering on mushy. I am annoyingly particular about rice, but rice is not some decorative substance placed beneath the main event. It matters. When half the plate is rice, screwing it up is not a minor detail. The garlic is abundant, certainly, but abundance and care are different things. It often arrives more like a wet mass of processed garlic than the fragrance and texture you get from properly chopped fresh cloves. Add the butter and oil and you certainly get intensity, but after several bites the whole thing becomes heavy rather than interesting. The little salad on the side generally feels like an afterthought that has been waiting for someone to remember it. And that is ultimately my problem with Giovanni's. The entire experience feels as though its reputation arrived at the destination years before the restaurant did and everyone decided there was no longer much reason to keep improving. People will continue coming. Of course they will. The name is famous, the truck is recognizable, the photographs are practically mandatory and nostalgia is one hell of a business model. I understand it because it worked on me for years. But strip away the mythology and ask a brutally simple question: If this exact plate came from an unknown truck with no history, no signatures and no reputation, would you still wait in line for it? I wouldn't. Two stars. The shrimp can still be decent and I have too many memories here to pretend the place means nothing to me. But nostalgia should bring you back to a restaurant. It shouldn't be responsible for making the food taste better. I kept returning because tradition can turn habit into taste. I'm done confusing the two.

    Photos
    Giovanni's Shrimp Truck order wait line
    Giovanni's Shrimp Truck order wait line
    Garlic Shrimp Scampi
    Garlic Shrimp Scampi
    Shrimp Scampi

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    Shrimp Scampi
    North Shore Shrimp Truck

    North Shore Shrimp Truck

    3.6
    (534 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    We tried the lemon butter shrimp, poke combination and shave ice. The poke was very flavorful,…read moreserved with katsu pork and chicken. My sons got the rainbow and melona flavors for the shave ice. The shrimp was flavorful and crunchy likely because they deep fried the shrimp. The shell was crisp and you could easily eat the shrimp with the shells on. My wife and I love the Mac salad and thought it was one of the best of the many places that we tried during this trip. Our only mistake here was not getting the garlic shrimp, something for us to try next time. They were very laid back and even gave us a couple of free drinks.

    North Shore shrimp trucks have been our go-to ever since we started doing our yearly visits to…read moreOahu, and they still have the best shrimp plates for us. It's so good that we always order a plate to eat the same day, plus extra for the next day. There's just something about having it again the next day--it hits just as good, if not better. This trip, we took our extra plate to Kailua Beach and enjoyed it there. Eating it by the beach just made the whole experience even better. We've also tried their shave ice, which is always a perfect treat after snorkeling at Shark's Cove. It's refreshing and pairs so well after a long day in the water--just like their shrimp plates. Fresh, flavorful, and always consistent--definitely a must for us every trip.

    Photos
    Order and pickup
    Order and pickup
    Erin makes an awesome shaved ice!!  Highly recommended
    Erin makes an awesome shaved ice!! Highly recommended
    View from the truck

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    View from the truck

    Pupukea Grill - hawaiian - Updated August 2026

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