Best of HONOLULU 2024: Food and Drinks on O‘ahu

SEE ALSO: Best of HONOLULU 2024

• The Best Shopping on O‘ahu
• The Best of Health & Wellness on O‘ahu
• The Best Services on O‘ahu
• The Best Entertainment and Leisure on O‘ahu
• The Best Beauty & Self-Care on O‘ahu
• The Best of HONOLULU Family on O‘ahu

Best Farm-to-Table Café

So what if it opens only four hours a week, there’s nowhere to sit, and the menu has just two or three takeout meals, a dessert and two drinks that change every time? That’s part of the charm of Roots Café, part of the Kōkua Kalihi Valley nonprofit. The amazing thing isn’t the constant creativity (entrées rarely appear twice), it’s the quality of the food. Ingredients for items like Cambodian beef curry with peanuts and lemongrass, fresh mango lemonade and an insanely delicious cardamom butter mochi with ‘inamona-coconut crumble come from O‘ahu growers as far away as Wai‘anae’s Kahumana Organic Farms—home to another worthy farm-to-table café. —MT

Open Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 2229 N. School St., (808) 791-9400, @rootskalihi

Best Restaurant Vibe

The nondescript exterior of Tempura Ichika belies the true experience of Honolulu’s only tempura omakase with a Michelin pedigree. Enter a portal to an intimate corner of Tokyo’s Ebisu neighborhood. Every surface, bathed in raw blond oak, frames your multicourse kaiseki meal of seasonal seafood and vegetables that transcends the idea of fried food. From the nutty aroma of the distinctive blend of oils to the hushed chatter, the vibe only deepens with Ichika’s over-the-top omotenashi, the Japanese-style hospitality that extends far beyond the meal itself. If you’re looking to escape Honolulu for a few hours, this is where to go. —TO

434 Pi‘ikoi St., (808) 888-0000, ichikahawaii.com, @tempura_ichika

Best Noodle Shop

Of all the city’s noodle joints, the one that keeps us coming back the most is the tiniest. Each successive bowl at Wu Wei Chong Qing Cuisine is a different taste adventure. Start with the boiled fish noodles with chiles and preserved cabbage in tangy, umami-rich broth; move on to tender house beef dry noodles, fragrant with five-spice and livened by crunchy cucumber coils; and for comparison, try Wu Wei’s Northern Chinese jajangmyeon—it’s nothing like the Korean noodle dish we know. Get there early because the shop’s four-and-a-half tables hold only 18 diners. —MT

1738 S. King St., #101, (808) 741-2297, @wuweicuisine

SEE ALSO: The Ultimate Guide to Chinese Food

Best Gourmet Shop

With gourmet goods now in pasta stores, coffeehouses, sandwich shops and supermarkets, newcomer Uncle Paul’s Corner Store stands apart because of the breadth of its offerings, which run the gamut from playful to geeky serious. So yes, there are local salts, candied iyokan citrus, Villa Manodori olive oils, jars of sumac and dried natto snacks. And cookbooks, napkins, food- and drink-themed shirts and barware and bar tools. The last two speak to Uncle Paul’s intended identity as a wine shop—but even after it gets its liquor license, we’re told, the fun foodie stuff will stay. —MT

2752 Woodlawn Drive, #5-100, (808) 888-0878

Best Chinese Street Crepes

Bing Mi Hawai‘i, a popular Portland food cart and eatery, now pops up at Fishcake in Kaka‘ako every other Thursday and at farmers markets on the weekends. Partners Mark Kuga and Jessie Nguyen roll their new wave Chinese jianbing crepes with two eggs, spicy bing sauce, scallions, cilantro, and a choice of tofu, char siu barbecue pork or bacon. They add four giant hand-fried wonton crackers and romaine lettuce to each crepe right before serving for maximum crunch. Best eaten on the spot, this handheld snack is full of texture and heat with pockets of meat throughout. —TO

@bing.mi808

Best Sprinkle Cookie

Step aside Funfetti, it’s time for your cocoa brown cousin to shine. This soft cookie with a crispy soul stole my heart at Morning Glass Coffee + Café in Mānoa. Each toothsome bite is rewarded with the crunch of rainbow nonpareil sprinkles and a slight chew with a healthy dose of brownie cocoa. It’s elusive, but so perfectly balanced with sweetness, texture and “cookiness” that chasing it never gets old. Good luck buying just one. —TO

2955 E. Mānoa Road, (808) 673-0065, morningglasscoffee.com, @morningglasscoffee

Best Diner

Reader Pick

Rainbow Drive-In is that towering living legend that defies pigeonholing. Is it the gravy-all-over thing? The Slush Floats? The still-affordable prices? Whatever the reason, Rainbows—which opened in 1961 without the walls that help define a diner—was voted by HONOLULU readers as Best Diner in the city. The largely unchanged menu of mix plates, boneless chicken and chili dogs, plus breakfast choices that include fried rice and mahi mahi, qualify as hallowed local-style diner fare. And newer franchise locations offer seating within walls, which makes them more like real diners if we’re getting technical. But who needs to get technical? We’re talking about Rainbows. —MT

Multiple locations, rainbowdrivein.com, @rainbowdrivein

Best Hand Rolls

The unlikeliest place to find sushi hand rolls is in an edgy Chinatown bar known for its graffiti art and cocktails. Obake’s sushi is itself full of surprises—good-size rolls with fillings that go beyond the usual seafood occasionally dressed with mayo or a touch of yuzu. Like the Summer Toro roll, which dresses up negi toro with limu, sesame and the surprise of fresh strawberry (it works). Or the Ho Hayn, whose kampachi poke with limu and ‘inamona comes with chile pepper water for dipping. Bonus surprise: a yakitori cart in Chinatown’s prettiest courtyard three nights a week. —MT

1112 Smith St., (808) 583-3092, obakehonolulu.com, @obakehonolulu

Best Hotel Bar

There’s something sexy about a great hotel bar, a place that transcends space and time as people from all walks of life come together. Whether you’re a weary traveler sitting down for a nightcap, a wide-eyed wanderer looking for an adventure or a local aching for an escape, you’d be hard pressed to find a swankier locale than Lewers Lounge. Halekūlani’s jazz bar offers live music, a jazz-inspired menu of cocktails and light pūpū nightly. The dim lighting, upscale dress code and plush seating lend themselves to a vibe of mystique. When you emerge from your evening of hushed whispers and mysterious characters, it all feels like a dream. —KV

Halekūlani Hotel, 2199 Kālia Road, (808) 923-2311, halekulani.com/dining/lewers-lounge, @halekulanihotel

Best Budget Splurge

It’s a tough choice between Honolulu’s two sumptuous Korean lunch sets, but we’re giving the nod to Hangang Korean Grill House. Both Hangang and Korea Garden offer mixed rice cooked in stone pots, deeply flavored chiges, similar entrée choices and eight or nine well-made banchan dishes at nearly identical prices in the mid-$20 range. What tips the scales is Hangang’s touch of luxe: Despite smaller portion sizes, kalbi and other meats are premium quality, and banchan choices often contain a surprise beyond the usual kim chee, oden and bean sprouts, like jangjorim soy-braised beef with garlic cloves and springy ali‘i mushrooms. —MT

1236 Waimanu St., 1F, (808) 200-1114, @hanganghi

Best Local Snack Company

Reader Pick

We need our dried fish snacks. We need our Betty’s Best Cookies, our white chocolate-covered gummy bears, our Fusen character bubblegums (with tattoos!), our candy lei and our li hing everything. Our need for the entire cosmos of packaged local snacks is such that Wholesale Unlimited has six Express locations on O‘ahu in addition to its Waipahu store and warehouse. There are nearly 450 items in all, including cookies made with founder Betty Nagamoto Honma’s recipes (23 kinds). With a name that hints at infinity, who wants to bet there’s more coming? —MT

Multiple locations, wholesaleunlimitedhi.com, @wholesaleunlimitedhi 

Best Loaded Fries

By loaded, I mean loaded, with multiple toppings and sauce, not just minced garlic or a sprinkling of bacon bits. I found the fries that ticked all the boxes at Pit Stop Hawai‘i. These hand-cut fries ($16), smothered in guava barbecue sauce, cheese and kālua pork, are on the browner side of golden, resulting from a longer frying process. They’re also crisp on the outside while still fluffy inside. It’s a whole meal and then some, and amazingly, the fries were still crispy hours later when I polished them off as leftovers. —AL

2411 Kūhiō Ave., (808) 765-1921, pitstophawaii.com, @pitstophawaii

Best New Pop-Up Bakery

Of all the baked goods introduced this past year in the city, Anh Chị Em Bakery’s offerings are the most enticing. Baking since last November and now regularly popping up on Saturdays at Fishcake, Diana Hai Hoa Pham offers an assortment of traditional and fusion Vietnamese pastries and cakes that have gained a following. Her mother, Elizabeth Thu Hai Pham, is an added draw, standing outside Fishcake wearing a “Hang Loose” mitt and waving at people to come try her daughter’s treats. Favorites include the flaky, buttery patê sô (pork and vegetable puff pastry pie) and incredibly moist, not-too-sweet jasmine tea cake. —AL

307c Kamani St., @anhchiembakery

Best Chicken Tacos

Not dry and stringy, not shredded and slathered in salsa or mole: Chicken tacos at Taqueria el Azul are a revelation. The chicken is good enough to stand alone, chunky and juicy and flavored by the grill. Along with birria and al pastor with fresh pineapple, it’s one of three options for your tacos, burritos and bowls. Details like this at a hole-in-the-wall three-quarters of a mile into Pālolo Valley may come as a surprise. El Azul, open only in the evenings, is the sister restaurant to Castro’s, Waikīkī’s thriving Cuban breakfast and lunch spot. —MT

1827 Pālolo Ave., (808) 330-0292, taqueriaelazulhawaii.com, @elazulpalolo

Best Smoothie Bowl

Reader Pick

Açaí bowls have been popular for years, but there are so many other healthy or deluxe smoothie bowls to try. At Lanikai Juice locations across the island, bowl bases can be mixed-berry blends, greens-heavy or protein-packed, topped with fresh fruit, coconut chips, organic cacao nibs, chia seeds and more. We like the Mana Green, which gets its hue (and boost of antioxidants) from spinach and local spirulina without tasting too healthy, thanks to sweet chunks of mango. Of course, you can also have your pick of açaí bowls, some of which come in keiki to large bowl sizes, and all of which use organic açaí. —KV

Multiple locations, lanikaijuice.com, @lanikaijuice

Best Cheese Shop

Ah, oui! With French music playing in the background, cheese shopping at Bubbly & Bleu feels almost like browsing a Parisian fromagerie. The shop’s owners, Fred and Cheryl DeAngelo, hunt for premium cheeses during trips to Europe and California, and unique varieties are shipped monthly, like the lavender pesto gouda recently spotted in the refrigerated section. The rotating selection can be purchased by weight or included in make-your-own charcuterie boards, where you pick three cheeses, three meats and three toppings, which the staff artfully assembles. Bubbly & Bleu also sells pre-ordered charcuterie boxes or platters and holds monthly charcuterie-making classes. —DS

1142 Koko Head Ave., (808) 888-5555, bubblyandbleu.com, @bubblyandbleu

Best Way to Drink Your Nutrients

Sunrise Shack’s Blue Dream is the color it suggests, shaded by Blue Majik, an extract of nutrient-dense spirulina. The freshwater algae is touted for boosting energy, improving digestion and reducing inflammation. Blended with banana, mango, coconut cream, almond milk, honey and salt, the healthy-ish smoothie is topped with coconut flakes. It’s a creamy, fruity and refreshing offering from the Instagram-famous Smith brothers (Alex, Travis and Koa) and friend Koa Rothman, surfer-entrepreneurs who now have five Sunrise Shack locations on O‘ahu. —DS

Multiple locations, sunriseshackhawaii.com, @sunriseshack