Every good Foodie’s Guide to Waikiki, Hawaii has, by long and cliched tradition, the same three names on it.
Duke’s, for the mai tai with a side of surf-and-turf. The Cheesecake Factory, because nothing says “Aloha America” quite like a 1200-calorie slice of Oreo cheesecake followed by a trip to Target. And, a BBQ Bacon situation from Cheeseburger in Paradise, doing its level-best to make you feel like you never left the food court back home.
This isn’t intended to shade the Un-Holy Trinity of Carbs/Fats/Sugars. Having tried them all on my first trip to Oahu almost two decades ago – when my metabolism was stronger, and the allure of bottomless fries still left me feeling doe-eyed – I understand the many (delicious, delicious) reasons these places remain regularly packed.
But if you’re a 40-ish-year old traveller who has flown five-plus hours over open ocean, in this instance you might reasonably want your dinner to taste like you’re somewhere other than a suburban shopping centre.
For this reason, this post was originally intended to offer an alternative version – one built entirely around the small, sometimes unglamorous, but always genuinely excellent places in Waikiki. The kind that don’t have a queue stretching past a hostess standing with a clipboard and a two-hour wait quoted in good faith.
*However, a caveat, and some context: this guide exists in its current, hyper-local form largely because a tropical storm parked itself over Oahu two days into my trip and cancelled every ambitious plan I had involving the North Shore, a rental car, and several hours of driving to source authentic poke.
That is to say, none of this was the epicurean itinerary I set out to write. It was assembled, out of necessity, from whatever sat within a defiant, storm-imposed radius of Waikiki. So don’t come at me and grumble that I didn’t taste the “Real Hawaii”. The cyclonic winds of LaLa robbed me of that luxury.
My tips below – suggestions based on options within walking or short-taxi distance of Waikiki – were not tested out of idle laziness but out of real, storm-enforced necessity. In this instance, 75236 kilometres winds guided me, but they might perhaps also suit travellers to Hawaii who don’t have a car/ do have kids/ just get hungry very quickly and don’t want to wander far to find dinner.
So tuck in with these tasty tips on the best places to eat in Waiki . And yes, in the spirit of full disclosure: we still, somehow, found room for cheesecake. More on that shortly. **
DAY 1:
7.49 am: Acai with Haupi at Egghead Cafe
Start as any self-respecting Hawaiian morning should with something fruity – to give your liver a fighting chance of taking on the calorie-loaded feeds to come.
Egghead Cafe is an excellent opener – a place that does the standard acai-bowl fundamentals correctly, with thick, sorbet-set scoopable fruit rather than a melted smoothie.
The truly worthwhile move here however, is asking for the haupia topping. Haupia is Hawaii’s traditional coconut pudding, silky. Only lightly sweet, and spooned over acai it does something a Bondi-Beach-filled granola-and-honey combination simply can’t: it tastes unmistakably aloha.
Get there early. A queue for breakfast when there’s a tropical storm bearing down outside says everything you need to know about this award winning spot.
11.03 am: Spam Musubi at Musubi Cafe Iyasume
If one dish explains Hawaii’s food culture more efficiently than any other, it’s Spam musubi: a slab of canned meat, pressed onto rice then wrapped in nori. And treated with total sincerity rather than as some ironic camp exercise.
It’s not Nobu. But sometimes sashimi needs to know that canned meat has its space.
Musubi Cafe Iyasume, (there’s a few across the island but we stopped for a retail refuel snack while doing damage at Ala Moana shopping centre), makes them to order rather than pre-wrapped and left to go cold under plastic. (No shade ABC). And the difference is immediately obvious.
Get the classic, then get one with egg and cheese for research purposes. At around two dollars each, this is probably the cheapest meal (exchange rate factored it) you will eat all trip. And it travels fairly well if you’re planning to eat it in a hotel stairwell during a power outage. Not that I’d know anything about that…
Honourable Mention: Marugame Udon
If Spam is Hawaii’s answer to “what happens when American convenience food slightly trumps The Land of The Rising Sun in its island incaranton,” Marugame Udon is the other half of that equation. One with the Japanese victorious.
This is fresh, hand-cut Sanuki-style udon, made to order in an open kitchen a few feet from the counter, at prices that make the line down Kuhio Avenue look almost reasonable.
Reviewers consistently flag the same things: noodles that are real-deal fresh rather than reheated, tempura that outclasses what you’d expect from a fast-casual spot, and a queue that moves quicker than it looks. Go early or go late – off-peak is the only way to avoid standing in the Waikiki sun (or tropical storm!) for it.
1.50 pm: Loco Moco at Rainbow Drive-In
A short Uber from Waikiki proper, in Kapahulu, sits a drive-in that’s been serving the exact same unbothered plate lunches since 1961: rice, a hamburger patty, brown gravy, a fried egg on top, all eaten at a picnic table while birds circle hopefully overhead. This is loco moco in its most authentic, unfussy form, and it comes with a good piece of celebrity trivia – a young Barack Obama, growing up not far from here, was a regular. If it was good enough for a future president’s formative teenage years, it is unquestionably good enough for a jet-lagged, storm-delayed lunch.
3.18 pm: Cream Puffs at Liliha Bakery
Befriend a foodie who calls Hawaii home and you’ll get a list of recommendations as long as an Elvis setlist. And, according to one dear local I was blessed to meet – Luis Chavez, currently on a health kick and therefore very selective with his sweet-tooth exceptions – the essential Oahu bakery pilgrimage is Liliha Bakery.
His tip is its famous Coco Puff – a cream-filled choux pastry under a thick, glossy chocolate frosting that has developed something close to a cult following among locals. But the pistachio take (because Dubai chocolate knows no bounadries) is also perfect.
You should probably also add an order of malasadas – because it’s up threre alongside Jason Momoa as a cultural icon. And, you’re not a savage.
Either/ or, everything you cram into your gob, or walk away with for later is actually Hawaiian, made a few blocks from where you’re eating it, rather than trucked in from a central commissary somewhere in California.
8:04 pm: Poke at 100 Sails, Prince Waikiki
Come dinner, 100 Sails, the signature restaurant inside Prince Waikiki, is fantastic. I scored my stay there for a steal on Luxury Escapes, but it’s worth the visit even if you’re not a hotel guest.
The a la carte menu is excellent on its own merits – fresh, well-sourced, harbour views thrown in – but the real event is the weekend buffet. There’s prime rib, crab legs in generous supply, a sushi-making chef working the counter in real time, and a poke selection substantial enough to low key make you grateful that a tropical storm has put to bed any opportunity of you donning a skimpy swimsuit anytime soon.
11.00 pm: Sustainable Cocktails at Deck
End your 24 food feast on the rooftop at Queen Kapiolani Hotel regardless of what the sky is doing. On a clear night you’ll get a view od Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach, the works. While, on a night like ours, the covered portion of the rooftop still gets you close enough to hear the rain over the ocean instead of a hotel window, which is its own kind of vibe.
Either way, you can feel good knowking that any Hawaiian craft cocktail your order will be made with a zero-waste approach – with bar staff using every part of its ingredients rather than sending them to the bin.
DAY 2:
8.58 am: Souffle Pancakes at Cream Pot
Should you wake up to the exact same cyclonic conditions, don’t let it discourage you.
If the weather isn’t going to give you a beach day, a Parisian-esque start to the fun can be an almost-as-satisfying Plan B.
Enter left of (rain-drenched) stage, the Cream Pot is full sit-down, French-country-cottage indulgence: chandeliers, antiques, and a menu made for the I-Hop Generation currently struggling with digestion issues.
The souffle pancakes are the reason people queue here before the doors even open, and they’re worth the wait – impossibly light, with whipped cream and berries piled high on top. The Maguro Eggs Benedict is another local curveball worth ordering alongside them: fresh ahi tuna, a poached egg, hollandaise, all balanced on a griddled rice cake instead of an English muffin. It’s not cheap, and there’s a 20% gratuity baked into the bill regardless of party size, but this is the one splurge breakfast on the whole itinerary. And the storm has earned you at least one.
1.15 pm: Shrimp Tacos at Paia Fish Market
Maui’s most famous fish counter recently opened an Oahu outpost under the Laylow Hotel, and the covered seating turns out to be exactly the casual, order-at-the-counter energy you want when the alternative is another sit-down white-tablecloth affair in wet shoes.
The blackened mahi mahi plate is the safe, correct order – hand-cut coleslaw, a choice of Cajun rice or fries, tartare sauce that’s clearly made in-house rather than squeezed from a bottle of Praise.
Otherwise, the shrimp tacos are the better choice if you’re eating one-handed while your other hand is occupied holding an umbrella rather than a shave ice.
Portions run generous and prices stay reasonable, which after a painful $US12.95 coffee at 11am is a small mercy.
6:30 pm: Pasta at Arancino Beachwalk
The longest-running Italian restaurant in Waikiki, open since 1996 – checkered tablecloths, an Italian-only wine list, and pasta that’s actually made in-house rather than defrosted on the counter – is a quietly appropriate way to close out a guide built around unexpected authenticity turning up in unexpected places.
Many of Waikiki’s better Italian kitchens, this one included, are run by Japanese chefs trained in Italy, which is its own small, delicious plot twist and the kind of local detail that never makes it into the glossy hotel brochures.
Order the Spaghetti ai Riccie De Mare (sea urchin pasta in a velvety cream sauce) or the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese made with local beef if you want the closest thing this menu has to a signature dish, and let the rain do whatever it’s going to do outside while you work through a bottle of something relaxing.
This is, by design, an indoor restaurant with real walls and a real roof – which by Day Two of a storm counts as one of its more attractive features.
8.07 pm: Coconut Cream Pie at Earls
Earls Kitchen + Bar landed in Waikiki relatively recently (October 2025, in fact – so happy first birthday!). And, with its all-open-air walls and Kalakaua Avenue people-watching location, it could easily have passed as a “reliable but unremarkable chain.”
Do not make that call before the coconut cream pie arrives. The toasted coconut, graham crust, chantilly cream combo is phenomenal.
9.58pm: (Dessert, Take Two)**
At this point, could one consider their cake quota – quietly- fulfilled? Yes. So technically this itinerary would operate without this inclusion However, did that actually stop us crossing the road for a slice of Peanut Butter at The Cheesecake Factory anyway? The denim shorts now struggling to close their top button suggest not.
Pictures not available. Because if you didn’t snap it, did you really eat it?
10.15pm: Mai Tais at House Without a Key
Save this one for last. Ideally on your final evening. Ideally with the sky finally giving you tangerine sunsets.
House Without a Key, the open-air lounge at the Halekulani Hotel takes its faintly noir name from a 1925 Charlie Chan mystery novel set on these very shores – which is, unprompted, one of the better literary footnotes attached to a hotel bar anywhere.
Arrive before sunset, order the signature mai tai, and settle in under a kiawe tree that’s been standing there for more than a century, while a hula dancer performs against a Diamond Head backdrop that no amount of art direction could improve on. It is, unapologetically, the most classically “Hawaii” thing on this entire list – and after several days of storm-adjacent survival food, thoroughly, deservedly earned.
*
