August 26th, 2006
Is food expensive in hawaii?
A question I get a lot is, Is food expensive in hawaii? I heard milk is $8.00 a gallon there???
The answer to that is yes and no. Yes food can be expensive here on the islands depending on where you go, but it doesn’t have to be. And Yes milk is close to that price here in hawaii depending on where you go. You can still get milk for cheaper at costco and yes we do have many costco’s, walmarts, and sams clubs on the islands. The trick to eating cheaper on the islands is go where the locals go. Of course when gas prices rise, food prices rise here because most of our products have to be shipped in to us.
Normally when on vacation you are staying in a hotel. If eating in hotels the food can get pricey. Sometimes when booking a package you can find great deals with breakfast included with your room which can be a good deal sometimes as breakfast can be in the range of $25.00 per person in some hotel restaurants. If getting a condo you can save money by cooking some of your own meals or even making simple things for breakfast and lunch and just going out for dinner. In Oahu eating in waikiki can be pricey. Sometimes restaurants and fast food places you can find elsewhere on the island charge a higher price in waikiki. Although it is nice to have dinner out in waikiki sometimes as they do have some great restaurants only to be found in waikiki.
Places to eat on Oahu from a locals perspective
There are many places to eat on Oahu where the "locals" go. Of course we do have MCdonalds, Burger KIng, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell and all those fast food places also located on just about every corner probably just like where you are from. We even now have an I HOP in waikiki located downstairs in the Ohana Waikiki Malia hotel. Denny’s is located downstairs from the Miramar, Chilis’ downstairs from the Ohana Waikiki West, TGI Fridays downstairs from the Ohana Maile Sky Court, Red Lobster and Outback steakhouse located across the street from the Ilikai. There is also Cheesecake Factory and Planet Hollywood located in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, but where to go outside of Waikiki?
Well for starters there is the local favorite Zippys Restaurants. There are many locations on the island and most are open 24 hours. They have a little bit of everything from burgers,steak dinners, sandwiches, pastas, salads, and sometimes on their specials menu hawaiian food and their Oxtail Soup is great! They also serve breakfast from 11PM-11AM in the restaurants monday thru friday and 11PM-12 noon saturday and sunday. Their prices are reasonable and food is good. The nicest one is in Hawaii Kai about 5 minutes from Hanauma Bay. It is right on the marina, the only one on the water and you can get a table next to the window and watch all the ongoing watersports. You can also do takeout. Popular takeout items are their signature ZIP Pac or Surf Pac which is served Bento style perfect for on the go. They are known for their chili and their "ono" portueguese bean soup.
For the best pancakes Boots and Kimos in kailua is awesome. They have pancakes with a macadamia sauce that is to die for. It is like a mixture of butter and syrup with macadamia and it is floating in it when it comes. You may think to yourself which many first timers do, "why did they put so much syrup on here? I can’t eat this." Trust me by the end of the meal you will be licking the plate for more sauce. A lot of people actually ask for extra. It is a small little restaurant, not many tables so you may incur a wait, but it is well worth it. They do serve lunch also, but go for the pancakes you won’t regret it!
L &L Drive In is another local favorite. They do have burgers and fries and that sort of thing, but their plate lunches are what most people go for. You can get a full plate or mini plate. The plates come with 2 scoops of rice ( full plate) or 1 scoop of rice (mini plate) and macaroni salad and then whatever it is you choose to have with it. Chicken Katsu is great there and so is their beef curry. Some locations also have chinese food there where you can choose different combinations. Plate lunches here are popular in hawaii and usually consist of rice, macaroni salad and whatever your choice of main dish is.
Food Courts. There are many food courts to be found in hawaii. If in Waikiki not far away is the food court in Ala Moana Shopping Center (That big mall located right outside of waikiki) Food courts are always great as you can find something for everyone, all sit together and eat whatever it is you feel like eating for the day so no long discussions about " where should we go to eat?" The kids always want burgers and fries while the adults want to try something different. This is a great way to do so without breaking the bank. There is also a food court in Windward Mall and Pearl highlands mall in Pearl city. Also not a lot of people know that if visiting pearl harbor and you get hungry, you can go to the navy exchange located right up the street. They have a food court in there that is open to the public. Their navy exchange is not located on a military installation so you can get to it and park without a military id and go upstairs to the food court for lunch. Mind you, you can only go into the lobby area and food court upstairs, but not in to the actual navy exchange store without a military ID, but the food court is good. There is a mcdonalds and taco bell of course, subway, pizza, sandwich stand, and also chinese food and yummy’s korean bbq. Not far from there is the Salt Lake Shopping Center where there is another great korean bbq place called Soons korean bbq where you can get a good helping of korean bbq for a reasonable price. Their kalbi plates are good and they are very quick with their service.
Wailana Coffee House. This restaurant is actually located in waikiki across from the Hilton Hawaiian Village. They serve a little bit of everything and probably one of the more reasonable priced places to eat in waikiki especially if you have children as their children’s menu is very low priced.
Sam choy’s breakfast lunch and crab. This restaurant is located on nimitz right up the street from Aloha Tower Marketplace. If you didn’t know Sam Choy is a famous chef from hawaii. You may have seen him on the Food network and his motto is "Never trust a skinny chef" You can get great local style dishes here and the price is not so bad. Once in a blue moon you may even catch sam himself in there. He is a very nice man and was actually going around the tables talking to the diners.
Getting a little pricier for that nice dinner out, try these places.
Kobe’s Steak house. Kobe’s steak house is located right around the corner from the Hilton Hawaiian Village. This is a great yakiniku style restaurant. You order your food, they bring it to the table and cook it right there on the grill. The chefs are always entertaining and your food is always guaranteed to be hot (how could it not be right?) If you go during pro bowl time in february you have a good chance of catching some NFL players in there as we went about that time and it was packed with Pro Bowlers.
Roys. Another famous chef from hawaii. Roy Yamaguchi. This is a higher end restaurant located in Hawaii Kai right next to Outback steak house right off the main highway called …here we go…say it with me…kalanianaole highway…no one can ever say that one. Which brings me to a brief side step. When asking directions from a local, don’t refer to the number of the highway or the exit number, always refer to it by name or most people will have no clue what you are talking about. If in doubt, spell it out, they will normally get the drift. If you like seafood, they do great with fish, shrimp and pretty much anything that swims in the ocean. Their shortribs are great too. Very tender, no knife needed for those ribs.
Gordon Biersch. This restaurant is located in Aloha Tower Marketplace. They have all sorts of dishes. My husband says their jambalaya is great and he is from Louisiana so I would take his word for it. They do have burgers and pastas and are located right next to the water. You can wash it all down with a nice cold beer too!
Ala Moana Shopping Center. I know I mentioned the food court in Ala Moana, but oh no that is not all the food in that big boy. Up on the top level, it’s food galore there too. They have restaurants such as Jackie Chans (yes the actor), California pizza kitchen, Ruby Tuesdays, Macaroni Grill, and Bubba Gumps (The one in Maui in Lahaina on front street is awesome!) After dinner or before or during , whatever, don’t foget about the Mai Tai Bar. IT is located kind of right in the middle of these restaurants, with music and drinks, drinks, drinks. It is an open bar, meant for relaxing with couches instead of hard bar stools and a fun time to mingle and listen to the sounds. There is also a Morton’s Steakhouse and Mariposa in Neiman Marcus.
Dukes. This restaurant/bar is located in the lobby of the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. If going here be sure to get there early. They are always packed. It’s always fun times though. You can have dinner and then there is an outside area right next to waikiki beach!! You can take a drink out there and see the ocean. NO drinks on the beach. Sundays there is great music with Kapono from Cecilio and Kapono and of course you can watch everyone dancing (some have had a few, but it’s good times ) or you can join in, especially if you have had a few too.
I hope this has helped with your oahu dining experience. Enjoy and Go Grind!