Eating and Drinking on Oahu

Oahu has the best food scene in Hawaii, a blend of Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Portuguese and mainland influences that come together in a cuisine you cannot find anywhere else. You can eat very well here without a reservation or a big budget, if you know what to order.\n\nPlate lunch is the local staple. A plate lunch is two scoops of white rice, a scoop of macaroni salad and a main such as kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, katsu or loco moco, which tops a hamburger patty and rice with a fried egg and brown gravy. It is cheap, filling and found at drive-ins and small restaurants across the island. Rainbow Drive-In near Diamond Head is a long-running local favorite for this style of meal. Order a mixed plate if you want to sample several mains.\n\nPoke, the real version. Poke is cubed raw fish, usually ahi tuna, seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, onion and seaweed, and served by the pound in supermarkets and specialty counters. The best poke is fresh and simple. Grocery stores like Foodland and Don Quijote sell excellent poke at fair prices, and a counter such as Ono Seafood in Kapahulu is known among locals. Eat it with rice, on the beach, for the classic experience.\n\nHawaiian food worth seeking out. Traditional dishes include kalua pig, cooked in an underground oven, laulau, which is pork or fish steamed in taro leaves, poi, lomi salmon and haupia, a coconut dessert. A luau is the easiest way to try them together, but a casual Hawaiian restaurant in Honolulu is a good alternative. Look for Helena's Hawaiian Food, a longtime Honolulu institution, and other family-run spots away from Waikiki.\n\nSweet things. Malasadas are Portuguese-style fried doughnuts rolled in sugar, and Leonard's Bakery in Kapahulu has been the standard bearer for decades. Liliha Bakery is famous for its coco puffs. Shave ice, the island's signature cold treat, is finely shaved ice drenched in fruit syrups and often layered over ice cream or sweet azuki beans. Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa is the best-known stop on the North Shore. Check hours at any of these before you go, since lines and schedules change.\n\nThe North Shore shrimp trucks. Garlic shrimp, served with rice, is a North Shore tradition. Trucks around Kahuku and Haleiwa sell plates of shrimp in buttery garlic sauce, and the quality is high. Eat at the picnic tables, expect a mess and bring napkins. Combine a shrimp lunch with a day at the beach or the Dole Plantation.\n\nChinatown and downtown. Honolulu's Chinatown has markets, noodle shops, dim sum and bakeries, and a guided food tour is a great way to learn the neighborhood. Pho and saimin, the local noodle soup, show up in unpretentious restaurants across the city. Saimin is worth a try for the nostalgia: a bowl of broth, noodles, and toppings such as green onion, fish cake and egg.\n\nDrinks. Mai tais and Blue Hawaiis are everywhere in Waikiki, but good bars also serve local beer from island breweries and cocktails with tropical ingredients. Hawaiian coffee, especially from the Waialua estate on the North Shore, is excellent. At sunset, a beachfront bar like Duke's Waikiki or the House Without a Key at the Halekulani is a classic way to end the day.\n\nA sample food day. Start with a malasada or a coconut-topped pastry and a cup of Hawaiian coffee, spend the morning at the beach, and grab poke from a grocery counter for a picnic lunch. In the afternoon, cool off with shave ice, then book a table or a food-truck stop for dinner. Save one evening for a luau, where the buffet, the music and the hula create a complete introduction to Hawaiian flavors. If you are staying in a unit with a kitchen, a morning stop at a farmers' market for fresh papaya, apple bananas and local honey makes breakfast cheaper and tastier. Ask your server what is in season, because island menus change with the catch and the harvest.\n\nPractical tips. Waikiki restaurants are convenient but pricey; walk a few blocks or take a short ride for better value. Many places do not take reservations, so go early. Tipping is standard. Budget for luau prices, which are high but include a full dinner and show. Grocery runs, especially for poke, fruit and snacks, save money and provide some of the island's best meals. Be adventurous with the small places, and ask locals for their favorite plate lunch spot.