One of my favorite things to do when taking a vacation to Hawaii is to eat. Hawaii is known for all types of great food from some of the freshest seafood to pig, which they cook in the ground. If you are looking for the island that has the best food, personally I would chose Oahu. Oahu is the main Hawaiian island home to the state capital as well as Waikiki. With this being the most popular island for travelers, there are a lot of high end restaurants you can eat at from Roy’s to WolfGang’s. If you are traveling to Oahu and are however looking for cheap places to eat, these are some of my favorite places that offer great food at a good price.
The best place on Oahu for a plate lunch has to be Rainbows Drive Inn. Located right outside of Waikiki, Rainbows is one of the most famous places in to eat in Hawaii with not only tourists loving it, but also locals. At Rainbows Drive Inn, you can find all types of plate lunches from chili with rice with mac salad or a mixed plate with teri beef, boneless chicken, rice and mac salad. (If you decide to get the mixed plate make sure you ask to get gravy all over) Another popular dish that people love to eat here is the Loco Moco. This is basically a beef patty with an over easy egg on it covered with gravy and rice. The last time I was here, a shuttle of tourists from Japan got off the bus and all of them got a Loco Moco. The food is very reasonably priced here and they provide large portions so make sure you bring your appetite if you eat here.
Another spot that I like to frequent is L&L. This restaurant is located all over the island and is another great place for a plate lunch. At L&L, you can find all types of food from teri beef saiman to barbeque chicken. When I eat here, my favorite thing to get is the chicken katsu curry. This is basically a piece of fried chicken that’s popular in Hawaii covered in curry and served with rice. The last time I ate here, I had to get one to go as it was so good.
If you are looking for a cheap place to eat breakfast in Hawaii, I highly recommend Cafe Kaila. Located about 5 to 10 minutes outside of Waikiki, this restaurant is very famous with locals as well as tourists. When we first got there, there was already a line to get in. Make sure that when you get to Cafe Kaila, you head to the stand that’s in front of the door and put down your name. When we eat there, we had to wait around 25 minutes for a table but it was well worth it. Most people, at least those that were sitting around me, order the Belgian waffle with fruits on top of it. This is what I ordered as well and it was really good. Prices here are pretty cheap and is very affordable for a large family.
A fourth spot that I frequent in Hawaii for some cheap eats is Zippy’s. This is one of the bigger restaurant chains in Hawaii with locations all over Oahu. Zippy’s is another popular place for local food where you can order up almost anything from spaghetti to chili frank plates. The food here is pretty good and the prices aren’t to bad. One thing that I liked about Zippy’s was the fact that they served breakfast all day so I was able to get aĀ portuguese sausage, eggs and rice for dinner.
These are just some spots to checkout in Hawaii for some cheap but really good food. When you get to Hawaii though, one thing that you will not need to worry about is finding some place good to eat as there are so many options to tryout.