Best Foods in Oahu- Top 30 Recommendations

My best foods in Oahu blog is divided between breakfast and lunch/dinner must eats! No matter what time of day it is, there is always a place to eat on Oahu! Chow down and get your grind on at these awesome breakfast and lunch/dinner spots! Enjoy reading my best foods in Oahu recommendations! Be sure to check out my Must Eat Desserts on Oahu and Cheap Eats on Oahu blog!

Best Foods in Oahu: Breakfast

Koa Pancake House

Traveling to Oahu, you must try a typical local breakfast in Hawaii, and Koa Pancake House is one of the cheapest and tastiest places to have breakfast! Eat local breakfast favorites and order their Spam, Portuguese Sausage, Corn Been Hash or Grilled Mahi Mahi breakfast plates. Besides these yummy dishes, I love to order their breakfast burrito!

Pancakes and Waffles

Pancakes and Waffles is a great breakfast and brunch spot! The restaurant’s most popular dish is the honey butter fried chicken and waffles! Nothing wrong with eating fried chicken in the morning! Growing up in Los Angeles, I am reminded of Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles back in Southern California! So I love how this place is a reminder of my foodie memories back in Los Angeles! Besides their chicken and waffles, they also serve pancakes, omelettes, French toast, crepes and Eggs Benedict.

Arvo Cafe

Want a light and simple breakfast? I recommend Arvo Café. The café is cute and trendy! The ambiance of the place enhances your breakfast experience. Order their popular avocado toast and lattes! Other toast options include egg salad, salmon and veggie. Seating is limited with a few outdoor benches. Don’t forget to take photos because this is a great place to get your Instagram on! 

Scratch Kitchen and Meatery

Want something a little creative for breakfast, try their milk and cereal pancakes! It is a stack of fluffy pancakes drizzled with milk syrup, sprinkled with frosted flakes, banana and berries. You’re getting pancakes and cereal in one! So delish!  It’s a large portion so you definitely want to share some with a friend.

Morning Brew

Morning Brew has 2 locations on Oahu: Kailua and Honolulu. They provide healthy breakfast options and serve the freshest organic coffee. Morning Brew offers a wide range of breakfast options like pancakes, bagels, waffles, and eggs. It also has delicious sandwich options! I ordered the Belgian Style Waffle and Fresh Fruit; it was amazing! The food is great, and I love the seating area, especially the mezzanine! It is a wonderful eatery to lounge around and have breakfast!

Orchids at Halekulani Hotel

Want to have a relaxing breakfast by the ocean, visit Orchids at the Halekulani Hotel. The sounds of the ocean waves provide the ultimate tranquility! You’ll find traditional American and Japanese breakfast options. Not sure what to order? I recommend an omlette! I ordered the three-egg omelet, and it was very delicious! Dress code is resort casual. And don’t forget to valid your ticket for free parking.

Morning Glass Coffee and Café

I recommend their pastries, which are amazingly awesome! Some of their pastries include blueberry scones, strawberry and chocolate glaze scones, apple honey scones, carrot cake, coffee cake, and more! Their other breakfast options are mac and cheese pancakes, oatmeal brûlée, English muffin with egg and a breakfast burrito. Morning Glass Coffee and Café is a hidden gem that is worth a visit.

Cinnamon’s

Cinnamon’s is an extremely popular breakfast in Oahu! There is a location in Kailua and Waikiki. It’s always busy especially on the weekends so plan ahead and go early! Order the signature Guava Chiffon Pancakes; it is ranked as one of best pancakes in America. It’s soft, fluffy, sweet and tart!! No wonder the lines at Cinnamon’s are so long!

Cafe Kaila

Café Kaila won many awards for Best Breakfast for Honolulu Magazine’s Hale ‘Aina awards, hence, making it at renowned breakfast spot. My favorites are the Eggs Benedict and French toast. I recommend ordering the Eggs Benedict if this will be your first visit!  This place gets really crowded too so plan accordingly!

Koko Head Cafe

Koko Head Café’s Asian fusion breakfast menu is a winner! If you want to venture off into a different breakfast experience, this is a great place to visit. They are known for their iron skillet breakfast options, and the most popular ones are the Breakfast Bibimap and the Koko Moco! I just love their Asian inspired breakfast dishes!

Boots and Kimo’s Homestyle Kitchen

If you come to Boot’s and Kimo’s, you have to eat the Macadamia Nut Pancakes! And of course I came here for the macadamia nut pancakes. They were perfect, and the macadamia nut sauce was not too sweet!  Super yay! Pancakes make me full so fast, but I ate every bite of my pancakes and wanted more!  Boot’s and Kimo has awesome pancakes and service! I’m daydreaming of the macadamia nut pancakes as I’m writing!!

Sweet E’s Cafe

Sweet E’s Café has a warm and welcoming atmosphere! Breakfast is served all day from opening to close. Their most famous items are the French toast stuffed with blueberries and cream cheese and Kalua Pork Eggs Benedict. And their fried rice is so good too! I want to try their corn beef hash eggs benedict on a next visit! They offer other breakfast options including omelets, pancakes and breakfast sandwiches!

Moena Café

Moena Café is a charming breakfast spot in the Koko Marina Shopping Center, Hawaii Kai. This place is really popular and gets busy on the weekends. I ordered the MC Fruity Waffle. I enjoyed it very much; the fruits were fresh and the waffle was so yummy! Their food presentation is beautiful and Instagram worthy! 

Over Easy

Over easy in located in Kailua, Oahu. Their breakfast creations are transformative and unique. For instance, their pancakes are filled with blueberry and cream cheese and their French toast is crusted with Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal; it taste almost like bread pudding! I admire the creativity the chefs put into their breakfast dishes! Over easy really sets the bar for outstanding breakfast spots on Oahu!

Best Foods in Oahu: Lunch/Dinner

Zippy’s

There are numerous Zippy’s restaurant locations on Oahu. Zippy’s offers an array of food that reflects the cultural diversity and melting pot of Hawaii. They serve Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Hawaiian, Chinese and Portuguese foods with a local twist. I recommend ordering the Korean Fried Chicken, Chili Loco Moco and Chili Spaghetti. Their Chili is so yummy, I love to buy it to make homemade tacos and burritos. A wonderful thing about Zippy’s is that every location has a bakery. So If you have room for dessert, try a slice of Chantilly Cake. Chantilly Cake is a local and unique Hawaii delicacy.

Roy’s Hawaii

What I love about Roy’s Hawaii is their service; I always feel like a special guest at Roy’s. Roy’s cuisine is a blend of different flavors from around the Pacific, Europe and Asia. I recommend ordering their seafood dishes because it’s so fresh! Start off with their fried calamari, which is served with a wonderful garlic aioli sauce. My favorite item on the menu is the seared misoyaki butterfish; it sits on a bed of forbidden rice and a sweet ginger wasabi butter. I also recommend the honey mustard beef short ribs. Finish off your meal with Roy’s melting hot chocolate soufflé. The dishes are so flavorful and decadent. I can’t begin to describe in words how delicious the food is. You have to experience it for yourself. Roy’s is truly exceptional! 

Teddy’s Bigger Burger

Teddy’s uses fresh and high quality beef, and each burger is made to order. The Teddy’s Original Bigger Burger comes in 1/3 pound (big), 1/2 pound (bigger) or 1-pound patties (biggest). What’s so special about Teddy’s? Well they have an amazing special sauce, a yellow sauce that’s drizzled inside the burger. The sauce is really special because the ingredients are top secret. I don’t know what’s in it, but it taste like a combination of mustard, barbecue sauce and Worcestershire sauce. I guess it doesn’t matter what’s inside it because the special sauce makes the burger super yummy! Anyway, if you decide to get a combo, I recommend getting the Original Big Burger with the garlic-seasoned fries. Other items I recommend are the chicken sandwich, veggie burger, salmon burger or lettuce wrap!

Marukame Udon

Marukame is located in Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu. Marukame serves Japanese udon and tempura. If you’re staying in Waikiki, you can probably walk to the restaurant. It’s one of the cheapest restaurants in Waikiki. This place gets crowded during lunch and dinner so make sure to get there before the rush. Even if there is a long line, the wait isn’t too long. Everything is under $10.00. Cheap, right? I personally don’t like udon, but after eating here, this place is an exception. The udon noodles are soft and delicious. Honestly, one of the best udon places on Oahu. My favorite dish from Marukame is the Curry Udon.

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

When you come to Hawaii, you need to eat Garlic Shrimp! The most popular Garlic Shrimp Truck is Giovanni’s, which is located in the North Shore of Oahu. When you arrive at the location, you will see Giovanni’s Iconic Shrimp Truck, which is covered with messages and drawings from locals and tourists who frequent the location.  There is a canopied outdoor seating area where you can enjoy your delicious and scrumptious Garlic Shrimp, and there are three flavors you can choose from: Shrimp Scampi, Hot and Spicy and Lemon Butter.  The shrimp plate comes with a dozen jumbo shrimps and 2 scoops of rice. Don’t miss out on the garlicky goodness of Giovanni’s Famous Shrimp during your visit to Oahu.

Menya Le Nood

There are so many ramen places on Oahu so you must stop at a ramen shop. My favorite ramen shop is Menya Le Nood. Menya Le Nood is so underrated and deserves more recognition.  They offer three broth flavors: shoyu, black tonkotsu, tonkotsu and goma. My favorite is the goma broth. The first time I took a sip of the broth, I was just blown away; the taste was so bold and rich.  If you want to be adventurous, you can make it spicy! Choose from mild to hot. Also, check out their happy hour specials too! I usually visit during dinner, and from 5:00 pm to 7:00pm, the gyoza and chicken karaage are $3.50. What a deal!

Kona Brewing Company

Kona brewing company is a brewery that serves handcrafted Hawaiian ales and lagers, and makes one of the best beers in Hawaii.  Take advantage of their beer selections because they serve certain styles of beers that can only be found at the restaurant. Aside from their amazing beers, order their pizzas because they are the bomb! 

DB Grill

DB Grill stands for “Duck Butt” Grill, and it is an offshoot of the Café Duck Butt Karaoke bar located in Kakaako, Honolulu. It offers an inviting atmosphere with its high ceilings, large windows and beautifully decorated walls.   DB Grill serves Korean inspired dishes including Korean tacos, kimchi pancakes, kimchi fries, kalbi, rib eye steak with kimchi butter and more! I really love the modern and local twists on the Korean dishes. My favorite has to be the Korean tacos. The tacos consists of jalapeno, onion relish, pickled onions, lettuce and gochujang and your choice of meat.

Genki Sushi

Genki sushi is so fun because they have a revolving sushi line! Depending on the location, you can order on a touch screen computer, select your item from the revolving sushi line or do both. If a computer screen is not provided, you can order directly with the servers. Each plate has a different color, which indicates the price of the plate. My favorite items on the menu are the seared spicy ebi, spicy imitation crab, unagi, spicy tuna ebi fry roll, agedashi tofu and California roll.

Musubi Cafe Iyasume

One of the cheapest snack and lunch foods you can grab in Oahu is a musubi, which is composed of rice and spam wrapped in seaweed. And the most popular place to grab a spam musubi is at Musubi Cafe Iyasume. They offer many variations of the spam musubi! There is tamago spam musubi, teriyaki spam musubi, bacon egg musubi, avocado bacon spam musubi, and more. The musubis range from $2.00 to $3.00, which is super cheap! There are so many locations in Honolulu that you will have no trouble finding one!

Da Spot

I really enjoy eating at Da Spot because it offers a variety of healthy and affordable food choices. Just because you are on vacation doesn’t mean you can’t eat healthy, and Da Spot gives you that option to eat well while you’re vacationing in Hawaii. The food selection is also quite diverse because it serves a wide array of ethnic cuisines from around the world. Enjoy foods from around the globe including Egyptian, Greek, French, Italian, Indian, Thai, Malaysian, Ethiopian, American, Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Pacific cuisine as well as other fusion dishes. Depending on your appetite, you have the choice to choose between a mini or a regular plate. Aside from entrée plates, there are sandwiches, smoothies and desserts.

Shirokiya

Shirokiya transports you to a different country, and you feel like you are in Japan! It is a Japanese food court with a variety of food options. You can eat curry, katsu, noodles, ramen, Japanese desserts, Japanese appetizers, ice cream, and more. It’s endless! My two favorite food vendors are Gourmet Plaza Japan and Udon Gamadashi. At Gourmet Plaza, most of their meal sets are $12.00. The meal sets are a good size and worth the price! Udon Gamadashi is reasonably priced and similar to Marukame Udon in terms of food items.   

Curry House

The name of the restaurant says it all. Curry house is a Japanese restaurant chain that serves Japanese style rice curry.  You can customize your curry dish by toppings, rice portion and spicy level! The most popular item on the menu is the chicken cutlet curry with cheese. Cheese always makes everything yummy!

Moku Kitchen

I recommend going to Moku Kitchen during their happy hour! They offer discounts on small plates and entrees.  Early happy hour is 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm, and late-night happy hour is 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Appetizers are 50% off and pizzas are $10.00. Happy hour appetizers include pork pot stickers, roasted squash ravioli, truffle fries, ahi poke and more. There is also live music in the evening from Friday through Sunday. When I visited during happy hour, I ordered the Kalua pork pizza and a few small plates! It was enough to fill me up! It’s a great dining atmosphere!

Tanioka’s

Taniokas is an iconic poke shop located in Waipahu, Hawaii.  They specialize in poke, sashimi and seafood. Chow down on their popular items including spicy ahi poke, fried chicken, fish patty or the fish patty musbi, Goteborg musubi, and shiso musubi!

Kono’s

Konos has three locations: North Shore, Kailua and Honolulu. Konos is known for their incredible kalua pulled pork, which is slow roasted for 12 hours. Order their signature kalua pork bombers (burritos), sliders, sandwiches and plates. The names from the menu are pork plate lunch, triple crown, kalua sliders, and BBQ Pork Bomber. The guava barbecue sauce served with these kalua pork menu items is so yummy!!! My BBQ pork bomber came with a side of chips! Absolutely fantastic!