Eat your way through Honolulu, from poke to shave ice | Field Trip

As a chef from Hawai’i who has lived in Philadelphia for well over a decade, I saw firsthand the connection between both places. For years, through Poi Dog, I fed homesick Hawai’i people and those who had celebrated weddings, honeymoons, and holidays in my home state, then came back to the mainland searching for a taste of the islands. These days, the question I get most often is simple: Where should I eat in Honolulu?

This is a special edition of our Field Trip series — not a typical three-day drive, but a culinary escape meant for when you’re bundled up at home, staring down winter, and dreaming of somewhere warmer. Think of it as planning your next trip while the heater’s on: balmy breezes, sun-warmed beaches, and unlimited fresh poke, all waiting when you’re ready to go.

What follows is a starting point for eating your way through Honolulu, whose excellent, deeply multicultural food scene is built on Native Hawaiian traditions and shaped by waves of immigrants who came to work the sugarcane and pineapple plantations — and now, the tourism industry. I urge you to explore far beyond this list, to leave Honolulu when you can, see the rest of Oʻahu, and visit its neighboring islands. But if you’re beginning with the city, this is where to start.

Honolulu is sprawling and encompasses a downtown business district, touristy Waikiki, Kaimuki with its many hip restaurants, Chinatown (which also has hip restaurants), and many suburbs. In the former three categories, we say they’re “in town,” though the limits of “town” are as heavily debated as the boundaries of Philly’s neighborhoods.

Chances are you’re staying in Waikiki, and all of the following are in the most touristed district or are a quick, cheap Uber ride from Waikiki (unless of course, it’s rush hour, in which case, I can’t help you).

If you’re going to Honolulu, the first order of business is getting real Hawaiian food. This means poi, or pounded taro root, the staple starch of the Hawaiians before laborers on Hawai’i’s sugarcane plantations from East Asia shifted the dominant starch of the islands to rice; smoky, tender kalua pig (preferably cooked in an imu, or underground oven); lu’au (a stew made from taro leaves, coconut milk, and usually with chicken or squid); and delicacies like ‘opihi, small limpets that are somewhat similar in taste to abalone, and are notoriously challenging to collect, requiring one to pry the barnacles from slippery rocks while being pounded by surf.

Hawaiian food is a distinctly different cuisine from Hawaiian BBQ, which falls under the category of “local food” in Hawai’i – a confusing term for outsiders because “local food” encompasses food that was introduced to Hawai’i by its waves of immigrants. Native Hawaiian food does have immigrant influences and does incorporate ingredients not native to Hawai’i, but in ways that predated its sugar plantation era.

Helena’s is the reigning queen of Hawaiian food and this is the ideal place for you to try all of the above Hawaiian specialties, including ‘opihi. Their pipikaula, or Hawaiian-style beef jerky, is less jerky and more of a soy-marinated and dried short rib that manages to retain remarkable tenderness, concentrating sublime beefiness into tiny squares of meat. Cleanse your palate with a square of their haupia and a nibble on fresh, raw sweet onion dipped into red alaea salt, fixings that come with every set meal. Be mindful that Helena’s is only open 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and it is closed on weekends.

📍 1240 N. School St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96817, 📞 808-845-8044, 🌐 helenashawaiianfood.com

If you can’t make it past the throngs of people trying to get into Helena’s, Highway Inn also serves great Hawaiian food in town. (Its original location is in Waipahu. They also just opened an outpost at the Bishop Museum.) It’s open every day and in addition to Hawaiian stalwarts like kalua pig, chicken long rice, and squid lu’au, they also serve a large menu of riffs on these, like kalua pig nachos, with sides of lomi lomi salmon, a dish that is made entirely of introduced ingredients, but has been around so long that it has been accepted into the canon of Hawaiian food.

📍 680 Ala Moana Blvd. #105, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, 📞 808-954-4955, 🌐 myhighwayinn.com

Some of Honolulu’s best Hawaiian BBQ intersects with Korean BBQ, and there are Korean dishes in Hawai’i that are found nowhere else, not even Korea. Kyung’s Seafood makes one of the very best versions of meat jun, one such Korean dish that exists in isolation, which consists of thinly sliced meat battered in scrambled eggs and served with a light soy dipping sauce. Marry their meat jun with rice and mac salad, and some of Kyung’s excellent banchans or precisely arranged sashimi platters.

📍 1269 S. King St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, 📞 808-589-1144, 📷 @kyungsseafood

If you’re celebrating something special, whether it’s an anniversary or a Tuesday, Miro in Kaimuki is the finest of dining on this list. It’s a special occasion restaurant that doesn’t feel the least bit stuffy, with beautifully balanced cocktails and wine pairings. Meals are prix fixe, with many possibilities of add-ons like flank washugyu, toasted brioche topped with curls of uni, and vanilla macarons filled with caviar. Miro also happens to be the self-declared Philadelphia Embassy in Hawai’i, as many of its current and former staffers either hail from Philly or have spent time in the city (Zahav pops up on numerous Miro cooks’ resumés).

📍 3446 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96816, 📞 808-379-0124, 🌐 mirokaimuki.com

Speaking of sashimi, Hawai’i is really close to Japan, so not only do we get a wealth of fish pulled from surrounding waters, but we have an abundance of Japanese seafood flown in regularly. This makes for fantastic (and countless) omakase options, most of which hew to classic Japanese experiences. For a relaxed, island-style omakase or a la carte sushi and izakaya dinner, head to Sushi Izakaya Gaku. Gaku has the softest, silkiest, and lightest tamago, the homemade sweet egg omelet, and all the standard izakaya fare, but also some wild, more unusual specials, like seared sting ray, raw octopus, and thinly sliced beef tongue served over shaved onion with a big squeeze of lemon.

📍 1329 S. King St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, 📞 808-589-1329

Located right on the pier, where fishing boats dock and unload their ahi for the Honolulu Fish Auction, Mitch’s Fish Market and Sushi Bar is an unbelievable option for generous cuts of sashimi, hefty chirashi bowls piled with shrimp, ahi, yellowtail, and tamago. It’s small (make a reservation), casual, and perpetually proud of their most famous patron, President Barack Obama.

📍 524 Ohohia St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96819, 📞 808-837-7774, 🌐 mitchssushi.com

In addition to ready access to Japanese ingredients, we have practically all the hot Japanese chain restaurants. like Marugame Udon, Han No Daidokoro (which specializes in fresh wagyu — usually, when wagyu is exported, it’s frozen), and many others packed into Stix Asia, a Japanese food hall. Two of my favorites inside Stix Asia are Tempura Kiki for its avocado tempura and bowls of udon (no relation but they did offer me a discount because of my name), and Nanamusubi, which churns out omusubi made with specialty, heritage Japanese grains, and stuffed with an array of fish salads and pickled seaweeds.

📍 2250 Kalākaua Ave., Lower Level 100, Honolulu, Hawaii 96815, 📞 808-744-2445, 🌐 stixasia.com

New York transplant and Top Chef competitor Lee Anne Wong pretty much single-handedly made brunch a craze in Honolulu a decade ago. Her Koko Head Cafe has since become a classic for eggs scrambled with local ingredients and enormous, indulgent bowls of congee topped with croutons. Hawai’i and Japan also seem to have a restaurant exchange system; the cafe has also opened locations in Japan. Don’t miss their poke omelets, and my favorite breakfast item, rusk spread with yogurt and fresh local fruit.

📍 1120 12th Ave. #100, Honolulu, Hawaii 96816, 📞 808-732-8920, 🌐 kokoheadcafe.com

The Pig and the Lady is one of those chef-driven destination restaurants that appear on many a national list. It has gone through a couple iterations, and just opened a new location in Kaimuki that will more than scratch your itch for excellent Vietnamese food, if you can’t live without your Gabriella’s Vietnam fix. But there are unmistakable Hawaiian touches like chile pepper water-doused oysters, country ham served with persimmons, and banh xeo made with pa’i’ai or pounded taro. Vietnamese food like this exists nowhere else on the planet.

📍 3650 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96816, 📞 808-585-8255, 🌐 thepigandthelady.com

The Pig and the Lady also sets up a stand at the Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 to 11 a.m., serving pho French dips, lemongrass chicken banh mis, bun bowls with a vermicelli base, and curry rice plates. The rest of KCC Farmers Market will knock your socks off with its array of prepared foods, fresh fruit juices, coffee stands, vendors hacking into fresh coconuts with machetes, and abundance of tropical produce, from papayas to ‘ulu or breadfruit. If you’re walking up to the Diamond Head trail from Waikiki, you’ll pass it near the trailhead, but build in time to stop for a siphon coffee at Ars Cafe for a cup that rivals one from Ray’s Cafe and Tea House in Philly.

📍 Parking Lot B, 4303 Diamond Head Rd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96816, 🌐 hfbf.org/farmers-markets/kcc

Many of Waikiki’s 24-hour diner grand dames have closed at this point, but thankfully, my favorite breakfast in Waikiki doesn’t involve sitting down. Musubi Iyasume has multiple locations, serving classic Spam musubis, as well as ones that pair avocado, eel, and tamago with Spam and rice. They have seven locations, but I love the one at Waikiki Beach Walk the most because it has the longest opening hours and can scratch your musubi cravings from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.

📍 227 Lewers St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96815, 📞 808-383-3442, 🌐 iyasumehawaii.com

Wash down your breakfast musubi with one of the best deals in Waikiki: a sugarcane juice from the stationary food truck Aloha Sugarcane Juices, which you can get spiked with juicy, local calamansi, or blended with mangoes and papayas.

📍 138 Uluniu Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96815

Head over to one of many locations of Zippy’s (a fast food diner chain that we love as dearly as Philadelphians love Wawa) to get some of the best of the island’s fried chicken or to pick up a bento box to bring on one of Oahu’s legendary hikes. Zippy’s is also famous for their chili, which will require you to pick a stance when you order: pro-kidney beans or no-kidney beans. While Zippy’s locations are scattered throughout Oahu (and also Las Vegas, considered Hawai’i’s ninth island), I implore you to go to the one in Kapahulu, so you will be within walking distance of the legendary Leonard’s Malasadas.

📍 601 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96815, 📞 808-733-3725, 🌐 zippys.com

Delis in Hawai’i don’t resemble anything that might be called a deli in Philadelphia. Cold cases are filled with vats of fresh fish poke as opposed to deli meats, and Alicia’s Market mixes up some of Hawai’i’s best pokes (though honestly, unless you’re going to one of those newfangled build-a-bear style poke joints, it’s hard to go wrong).

📍 267 Mokauea St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96819, 📞 808-841-1921, 🌐 aliciasmarket.com

If you’re committed to staying near Waikiki, Ala Moana Shopping Center is a short walk and pretty unavoidable if you’re a tourist. Thankfully, Foodland Farms opened adjacent to the mall eight years ago, and it has only gotten better over the years. It’s far more than just a grocery store, but a one-stop shop for great poke, edible island souvenirs (there’s a huge selection of Hawaiian chocolate, sweets, and coffee), and bento boxes to take with you on hikes. There’s also a wine bar.

📍 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, 📞 808-949-5044, 🌐 shop.foodland.com

If you think Philly’s water ice is good, wait till you taste shave ice. Forget about tiny little paper cups of flavored ice, in Hawai’i, our shave ice (no “d” in “shave”) is a fluffy, lightly compacted pile of snow that will be quite a bit larger than your head.

Shimazu has been shaving ice for over 70 years and decorating the globes with stripes of tamarind, strawberry, passionfruit, mango, li hing mui (salty preserved plum), and many other syrups. Most shave ice shops will insist upon you consuming their shave ice outside.

📍 3111 Castle St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96815, 📞 808-782-2369, 🌐 shimazushaveicekapahulu.com

For something more akin to water ice, Asato Family Shop painstakingly makes small batches of sherbet inspired by the nostalgic flavors of crack seed stores, Hawai’i’s throwback snack shops filled with jars of pickled mango, dried seeds, and raisin-like apricots.

📍 1306 Pali Hwy., Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, 🌐 asatofamilyshop.com

Need a doughnut? Malasadas, which are yeasty, pillowy Portuguese doughnuts without holes and tossed in sugar, are far superior to any doughnut. Don’t be fooled by “bakery” being in Leonard’s name. These malasadas are fried. Go get one at Leonard’s original location (they also have trucks scattered throughout Oahu), and start with their original malasada, with no filling and a sugar coating, then move on to ones stuffed with haupia, or coconut pudding.

📍 933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96816, 📞 808-737-5591, 🌐 leonardshawaii.com

Now that you’ve made it to this point in the guide, you’ve likely consumed a lot of rice and hopefully, poi. If you need your fresh baked bread fix, Local General Store has been garnering a lot of recent attention. It’s on par with Philly’s Lost Bread and Mighty Bread, but is a combination bakery and butcher shop, so you can stop by for a pastry and a porchetta, and perhaps, a slice of their housemade Spam.

📍 3458 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96816, 📞 808-777-2431, 🌐 thelocalgeneralstorehi.com

Yes, it’s hard to get around Honolulu without encountering a mai tai, but if you’re a fan of kitsch and want to visit one of Oahu’s last remaining old school tiki bars, La Mariana Sailing Club leans hard into the theme. They have the vintage tiki mugs, the glass buoys hanging from the ceiling, the dangerously strong drinks. La Mariana is also near the airport if you need one last hurrah before passing out on the plane home.

📍 50 Sand Island Access Rd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96819, 📞 808-848-2800, 🌐 la-mariana-sailing.club

But if you’re looking for refined fancy cocktails, you’ll find them at Podmore in Chinatown, which is fond of touches like yogurt-washed gin, heady spices, and a very good dry martini shaken with yuzu kosho.

📍 202 Merchant St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, 📞 808-521-7367, 🌐 barpodmore.com

For artful, Asian-inflected cocktails and vegan bar snacks, head to the Wild Orange speakeasy, hidden inside Hawaiian Brian’s and accessed by opening up the door to an Aloha Maid juice vending machine.

📍 1680 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, 📞 808-892-6966, 🌐 wildorangehi.com

If you want to get out of Waikiki, you need to rent a car. The restaurants in this portion of the list are technically outside of Honolulu, but easily accessible with a car if you’re staying in Honolulu. For context, Haleiwa is the farthest point from Waikiki and is 33 miles across Oahu, which is basically like driving to Bucks County from Center City.

Masa and Joyce in Kaneohe is an old school okazuya, or casual Japanese lunch counter, that makes one of Oahu’s best versions of squid lu’au as well as spectacular hand rolls. It is usually my first stop after getting off the plane, their squid lu’au is so savory and mesmerizing.

📍 45-582 Kamehameha Hwy., Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744, 📞 808-235-6129, 🌐 masaandjoyce.com

Waiahole Poi Factory is also in Kaneohe, but on your way to the North Shore if you’re taking the scenic route around the eastern side of the island. In this factory that has been operating over a century, you can pick up poi that’s both scaled up for larger production (steamed taro root passed through a grinder until it reaches a smooth consistency) and hand-pounded, but more importantly, dig into some of Oahu’s best Hawaiian food, like lau lau (ti leaf wrapped bundles of pork and butter fish) and a gingery beef lu’au.

📍 48-140 Kamehameha Hwy., Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744, 📞 808-239-2222, 🌐 waiaholepoifactory.com

Ramen is great and all (and you’ll find a wealth of ramen shops in Honolulu) but in Hawai’i, the classic noodle soup dish is saimin, with a lighter broth than most ramens, developed by both Chinese and Japanese laborers over the years. Shiro’s Saimin Haven is a classic saimin spot that serves vast bowls of fresh noodles sunk into a mild, lightly salted dashi that you can dress up with dozens of options for sides, from Filipino-style pork adobo to lau lau to Spam to roast duck. Everything here is good. There are two locations, in Aiea and Ewa Beach, but the Aiea one is the one that I’ve been going to for years.

📍 98-020 Kamehameha Hwy. #109, Aiea, Hawaii 96701, 📞 808-488-4834, 🌐 shiros-saimin.com

But if you’re heading in the direction of Ewa Beach, stop in Waipahu and pick up poke, a pupu or sashimi platter, and or a mochiko chicken bento from longtime neighborhood seafood spot Tanioka’s. This is a go-to takeout spot if you need to feed a lot of people at parties or if you want to grab a bento to eat after surfing.

📍 94-903 Farrington Hwy., Waipahu, Hawaii 96797, 📞 808-671-3779, 🌐 taniokas.com

The closest food rivalry in Hawai’i, akin to that between Pat’s and Geno’s, is between the shrimp trucks up at North Shore, which are parked close to the shrimp farms they source from. Giovanni’s, a white truck covered in the signatures of many happy visitors, even has a connection to our parts, as its owner Troy Nitsche is a Pennsylvania native. Don’t leave Oahu without digging into a plate of Giovanni’s super garlicky and buttery shrimp scampi, sucking the shells dry, along the essential sides of rice and macaroni salad. Near Giovanni’s, in Haleiwa, stop in to Matsumoto Shave Ice to complete your North Shore experience.

📍 56-505 Kamehameha Hwy., Kahuku, Hawaii 96731, 📞 808-293-1839, 🌐 giovannisshrimptruck.com