This past week, I spent my spring break in Waikiki, Hawaii. I ate a lot of good food, in fact I ate so much good food that finding the motivation and energy to get through a workout this afternoon was incredibly difficult. When you travel, it can be tough to decide where to eat, and let's face it - when a meal out isn't good, it just feels like a total waste. So I put together this list of spots we tried and enjoyed in Waikiki Beach, there's a large variety of cuisines and vibes here that won't break the bank.
1. Tikis Grill & Bar for Happy Hour
We stopped by the Tikis Grill & Bar for happy hour after arriving in Waikiki, I ordered a Sex on the Beach ($4.75) pictured below. My friends and I shared the Truffled Garlic Edamame ($5) and the Furikake Sidewinder Fries which come with Miso Chili Aioli ($5). Their happy hour is everyday 2pm - 5pm, I highly recommend stopping by. You get a great view of the beach/beach walk plus the appetizers we had were outstanding.
2. Island Vintage Coffee (BREAKFAST & LUNCH !!!!)
We ate here a total of three times during our 6 day trip and could have eaten here a million times more. The menu is broad, so everyone can find something they like and there are plenty of gluten free and vegetarian options, but the best thing I had here was probably my açaí bowl. My only complaint would be that my black coffee was a bit weak :(
On the far left is the Wailua Moana Acai Bowl which comes with a delicious coconut peanut butter. The sandwich in the center is the Lox of Bagel Sandwich on gluten free bread and the remaining sandwich is the Ham and Egg Croissant Sandwich.
The next meal we had from Island Vintage was lunch in the form of Poke Bowls! I got the Shoyu Ahi Bowl pictured below and one of my friends got the Shoyu Spicy Salmon which was delicious as well! We got our Poke bowls to go and enjoyed them at the beach.
On our last visit to Island Vintage Coffee we all got açaí bowls; I would classify mine as the best açaí bowl I've had in a long long time. I also ordered a side of extra crispy bacon which was amazing!
Pictured is the Wailua Moana Bowl - the base of this bowl is a blend of açaí, tropical fruit, banana, cold pressed apple juice, and almond milk. The toppings include Wailua dark chocolate, cacao nibs, coconut peanut butter, banana, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, raw white honey, and gluten free granola.
3. Momosan Waikiki Ramen & Saki Bar
There is heavy Japanese influence throughout Hawaii and especially on Oahu island. So as lovers of Japanese cuisine we had to have some ramen while in Waikiki. We settled on Momosan in Waikiki where I got the Tantan Ramen which is served in a spicy coconut curry broth. It's quite different than ramen I've had in the past and was sweeter but still yummy. It's served with pork chashu which I passed on, but the red miso ground pork was delicious as was the ramen egg (if I went back I would probably try and sub the chashu with the ground pork). My disclaimer for this spot is that it unfortunately does not offer gluten free ramen noodles, so depending on how severe your your intolerance or allergy is this may not be the best spot for you.
This is a MUST try! Leonard's is very well known for their Masaladas or Portugese donuts. They are seriously incredible!!! You can purchase a single Masalada or a box. They offer an array of these holeless donuts with and without yummy fillings. We went for the box of six so we could try a couple flavors.
Our box included: one original, two cinnamon sugar, one macadamia nut, one coconut, and one chocolate. The coconut was probably my favorite!
A cute and casual little sushi spot on the Waikiki beach walk with amazing specialty rolls. The fish and rolls are high in quality and reasonably pice. The three of us shared three specialty rolls and some edamame to start and were STUFFED. This meal ended up costing about $25 each with tax and tip. The people working at the restaurant were lovely and at the end of the meal brought each of us some green tea to enjoy.
This was definitely my favorite roll, it was freaking delicious. It's called the Diamond Head Roll and includes four pieces of spicy tuna topped with salmon & avocado and four pieces of spicy yellowtail topped with yellowtail and avocado. It's then topped off with a spicy mayo and teriyaki sauce drizzle.
This next roll is the Flying Dragon Roll which also happens to be super tasty. It includes shrimp tempura, spicy mayo, and avocado. It's then topped with eel, avocado, and tobiko and is then finished off with a teriyaki drizzle.
Our final roll was the Omega Roll which is the roll that first caught my eye. I'd say it was probably my second favorite but all were delicious. This roll consists of salmon and avocado and is then topped with seared salmon and avocado and finished with a spicy mayo drizzle.
6. POKE POKE POKE (this isn't a restaurant)
After talking too many Uber drivers and sorting through countless blog posts we quickly learned that grocery stores are some of the most popular spots on the island for poke. We tried our luck at Safeway the first night but upon our arrival their poke bar was closed, we were so disappointed. We ended up getting poke on our final night at Foodland which is a Hawaiian grocery chain that people claim has the best poke; let's just say we were not disappointed at all. There were tons of options to choose from, the best part being the option to sample the poke before you buy it. Unfortunately, I was having some stomach problems and couldn't eat much but enjoyed every bite I could eat.
7. The Street Social House For Fun & Festive Cocktails and all kinds of snacks
There are many different spots in this upscale food market. We discovered this spot on our last night in Waikiki but wish we had known about it from the start. First of all, Myna Bird makes the cutest cocktails which come in everything from SPAM containers to Chinese takeout cartoons. We went for drinks and stayed through their late happy hour.
Frozen Pina Colada & Myna Bird Cocktail which includes: kohana kea hawaiian agricole rum, aperol, yellow chartreuse, cruzan black strap, pineapple, lime, guava
Queen's Park Swizzle: kuleana nanea hawaiian rum, lime juice, mint-demerara,
angostura-peychaud’s bitters
While enjoying our drinks we snacked on some chips and guac from Mi Almita Taqueria and I also bought Elote which was delicious!
There are so many cool spots at this market, it's definitely a must if you find yourself in Waikiki.
I hope you find this post enjoyable, if you've been to Waikiki and have tried any of these spots I would love to hear about your experiences. Or if you have other recommendations for people feel free to share them below!
XX
Delaney
