In March the hubs and I took a wonderful trip to Oahu for our babymoon. At the time I was 20 weeks pregnant, and Hawaii seemed like the perfect escape. I figured during my early 2nd trimester I would be mobile enough to fit in a few hikes as well as tour the island. It turned out I was correct, and we were able to do quite a bit of sightseeing on Oahu as well as A LOT of feasting! I had no idea how colorful, and vast the Oahu food scene is. Between the influence of Asian, American (mainland), and Pacific Islander cultures, there is a multitude of dining experiences to delight your taste buds.
This post is broken into my top 5 places to eat in Waikiki and a list of my other favorite places to eat around Honolulu. In case you are planning your own trip to Oahu, I have also included a Google Maps link at the bottom with all of these places bookmarked, as well as some of the tourist attractions we enjoyed on the island of Oahu. For anyone who is considering Honolulu for their babymoon, the hikes and viewpoints were totally doable for me, a soon to be mama in her 2nd trimester, who is not super athletic.
My favorite places to eat in Waikiki
On our first day after checking into our hotel, Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki, we decided to explore the area and get to know our new neighborhood for the week. While walking the Waikiki strip, we found the most amazing Japanese food hall, Waikiki Yokocho inside the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.
We decided to browse the stalls and grabbed a couple snacks as it was still a bit early for us to have dinner.
I had the Matcha Soft Cream with Shiratama Azuki, $5.50 at Nana’s Green Tea. It was the perfect Matcha flavor! The hints of seaweed were not too strong, and it was moderately sweet. The azuki bean and mochi were excellent toppings that complemented the flavor of the soft cream. I also tried a Hijiki Onigiri (rice ball), $2.30 from Shichimusubi. Which was equally delicious. The rice was seasoned well and was slightly moist without being too sticky.
I found Waikiki Yokocho to be a bit more upscale than the neighboring Japanese food hall in Ala Moana Center (I’ll get to that later). There are many choices from shabu shabu, katsu, sushi and even a Japanese whiskey bar. If you are looking for a nice meal with delicious Japanese food that is very authentic in flavor, I would highly recommend stopping here.
For dinner that evening we headed over to a cute little food truck courtyard called Pau Hana Market. It had such a fun beachy vibe, and I liked that they offered a variety of food. I will say, though, there are a lot of great restaurants in the area, so if you know exactly what you are in the mood for you may be better off going to a restaurant that specializes in that particular cuisine. However, if you aren’t sure what you would like to eat or maybe you and your companion are both craving different things, this is a great spot to get a decently priced meal in a very relaxed environment.
Marukame Udon was high on my list of Japanese restaurants to eat at in Waikiki. They hand make their udon noodles throughout the day and take great pride in the quality of their ingredients.
We both ordered the Niku Udon- light fish & seaweed broth with sweet beef and caramelized onion, $5.75. Toppings cost extra, but most are between $1.50 – $2.50. I think both of our meals came to a little over $20. Which is such a great deal for fresh, authentic tasting Japanese udon in Honolulu. 4. Aloha Kitchen, Waikiki
I had the Coconut Macadamia Nut Souffle Pancake – macadamia nuts, coconut cream and whipped cream, $15. Adam had the Eggs Benedict with Portuguese Sausage – roasted potatoes and salad, $14. Both brunch dishes were delicious. My pancakes were so light, when I cut into them, I could see a little bit of the spongy texture, and I also noticed they used a meringue base in place of baking powder. I knew this because I could see a small swirl of the white from the meringue batter.
Doraku Sushi is a great option for fresh seafood and Japanese cuisine in the touristy area of Waikiki. On recommendation from IG’er @Maitai88, we stopped in here late one afternoon to grab a quick snack and to give our tired feet a little respite.
The hubs ordered the Ahi Zuki Don, $13.95 and I nommed on the Volcano Roll – California roll topped with baked scallops, $12.95. While I didn’t get to try the tuna myself, Adam said it was some of the freshest, sweetest tuna he’s had in a long time. My Volcano Roll hit the spot as well.
My favorite places to eat in Honolulu
There were so many delicious things to eat here but we ended up trying two different ramen stalls. What can I say, we love our noodles. From left to right (top): Manichi Ifu Do Do Manichi Special Tonkatsu Ramen with Egg, $12.50 add Gyoza, $3; Okonomiyaki Hiroshima Style with Pork (I didn’t get the name of the vendor). From Left to right (bottom): Hikotaro Kyoto Sweets Kakigori (shaved ice) with sweet edamame sauce, sweet cream and vanilla ice cream in the center; Gashoken Ramen Shiro Ramen – tonkatsu broth, green onion, sliced roast pork, cloud ear mushroom, $13 and Aka Ramen – chili flavor tonkatsu broth, green onion, sliced roast pork, cloud ear mushroom, $15. I enjoyed the ramen at both stalls. The Manichi ramen had more of a robust garlic flavor, and the Gashoken ramen had a richer pork base. The Hiroshima style okonomiyaki was something I’ve never tried before. I like that it was lighter than the doughy pancake style of okonomiyaki I have previously tried. Also, the sauce on top was not too sweet which I liked. Of course, the kakigori was delicious. The ice was soft as freshly fallen snow and I didn’t know there would be vanilla ice cream in the middle when I ordered it, so that was a sweet surprise. 3. Koko Head Cafe, HonoluluKoko Head Cafe is a great option for brunch on Honolulu, they serve it 7 days a week! Most of their dishes are a fusion of Asian, Hawaiian and more traditional American fare. 
Honestly, I don’t think you could go wrong with ordering any of the items on the menu but we asked our server what their most popular dishes were and he suggested the Don Buri Chen – Miso smoked pork, five spice pork belly, French-style scrambled eggs, house-made pickles, chicharron, sushi rice, $16 and the Koko Moco – Maui Cattle Co. beef patty, garlic rice, mushroom gravy, sunny up egg, tempura kimchi, $15.Both plates were extremely enjoyable and hearty. The smoked pork in the donburi was definitely the star of that dish, and the tempura kimchi was quite addictive in their version of loco moco. 4. Waiola Shave Ice, HonoluluNo visit to Hawaii would be complete without indulging in a shaved ice or two. We decided to pay a visit to the Honolulu institute Waiola Shave Ice, and it did not disappoint! Having served the community for over 20 years, they pride themselves on high-quality ingredients. They make all of their syrups in house with fresh cane sugar as well as their azuki beans, custards, and mochi. 
After some reeealllly tough decision making, I ordered the Sundae Shave Ice with strawberry, vanilla, and banana, topped with sweet cream and chocolate sauce, $5. I think the photos speak for themselves. The ice was finely crushed, the syrup soaked through the entire serving and it was so refreshing to nibble on in the 90-degree heat. 5. Hawaiian Crown Plantation, HonoluluOn the search for a delicious Acai Bowl in Honolulu we came across Hawaiian Crown Plantation. They are a small cafe that partners with local farmers to offer their patrons the freshest pineapples and fruits. You can even purchase a case of pineapples to take back home with you. 
This acai bowl was so good! There were so many textures and flavors including granola, cocoa nibs, crushed macadamia nuts, pineapple, blueberry, strawberry, and banana. It was $8 for a small and totally worth it. The shop is pretty small, but there is enough space to pull up a stool and enjoy your acai bowl or fresh squeezed pineapple juice at the bar counter. 6. Leonard’s Bakery, HonoluluWe couldn’t plan a trip to Oahu without visiting the infamous Leonard’s Bakery and eating their freshly made malasadas to our heart’s content! 
We ordered a half dozen, which contained Custard, Haupia, and Banana Cream. All I can say is they 100% lived up to the hype. The malasadas at Leonard’s Bakery are made fresh to order, so they are piping hot when you get them. I would highly recommend eating these right away. While they are still delicious later, they do lose some of the crispiness if they sit for too long. Watch the video below for a little #foodporn action.
This meal was just what the doctor ordered! The Blueberry Cream Cheese Scone, $3.95 was so good. What was very surprising was the cream cheese being savory and not sweet. For some reason, I got it in my head that it would be more like a cheesecake flavor but nope, I was completely wrong. It was chunks of delicious savory cream cheese, that balanced perfectly with the cakey blueberry scone. I would eat this for breakfast every day if I could. The Mixed Plate – House made hamburger, caramelized onions, gravy, Char Siu pork, Teriyaki chicken, $12 was incredibly delicious. Like… fast food should not taste this good, don’t they know that’s dangerous (for my waist line). Seriously, hats off to the chef, the teriyaki sauce was so vibrant and not sugary sweet, and the meat was perfectly grilled with a subtle char flavor that made each bite even more delicious. The mac salad was lip smacking good, I still have regrets for not ordering more.Alright wonderful reader’s, that’s a wrap! If you are still with me, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read my round-up of great places to eat in Waikiki and around Honolulu! As promised here is a Google Map that has all of the restaurants mentioned as well as some fun tourist attractions in Oahu Seattle Bites Food & Attractions Guide to Oahu. As always, I’d love to hear what you guys thought of the post in the comments below! Have you been to Oahu? Did I miss out on some awesome eats?
