Hawaiʻi
5 Ways to Taste Oʻahu
- States:
- Hawaiʻi
Oʻahu is Hawaiʻi’s island of city and country settings, with culinary diversity to match.
Award-winning chefs create masterpieces with fresh ingredients sourced locally. Restaurants serve fare from traditional Hawaiian foods to ethnic delights reflecting Hawaiʻi’s cultural melting pot. Food trucks, farmers markets and food events create epicurean excitement. Experience a sensory journey on beautiful Oʻahu by following these five suggestions.
1. Traditional Tastes
Share savory lau lau and delicate poi at a traditional, festive lūʻau. Or on your own, discover other Hawaiian classics, such as lomi lomi salmon and squid lūʻau at Highway Inn, Haile's or Ono Hawaiian Foods. Visit an okazuya, a traditional Japanese deli, for furikake chicken. And sample Oʻahu's other melting-pot cuisine such as saimin (Hawaiʻi’s Chinese noodle soup) and manapua (Chinese steamed bun) stuffed with kālua pork.
Taste traditional Hawaiian foods at lūʻaus, delis and local favorite restaurants on Oʻahu.
2. Contemporary Cuisine
Oʻahu embraces contemporary trends as much as traditional dishes. The island is home to James Beard Foundation favorites including Chef Mavro restaurant and Alan Wong’s, and new-generation chefs are taking farm-to-table cooking to new levels. Sample outstanding seasonal menus at Town, The Pig and the Lady and Livestock Tavern. And don’t miss Koko Head Café, with fusion specialties such as Black Sesame Yuzu Muffins, or 12th Ave Grill for smoked ahi spread.
A new generation of restaurants is taking farm-to-table cooking to new levels, including Dusty Grable's Livestock Tavern. (For a late-night snack, try Grable's Lucky Belly for irresistible ramen.)
3. Farm-to-Drink Cocktails
Oʻahu’s creative mixologists infuse the island’s bounty in unique cocktails. Sample the fusion of flavors with The Kitchen Cocktail at Mud Hen Water, created with ingredients from Oʻahu’s local farmers. Enjoy a classic with a twist such as the Liliko'i Mule at Manifest, featuring island grown passion fruit. At the Ko Olina resort area, unwind with Monkeypod Kitchen’s signature Mai Tai, crafted with house-made macadamia nut rosewater.
4. Food Festivals
Every September, master chefs from around Hawaiʻi, the U.S. and the Pacific Rim share their menus at the Hawaiʻi Food & Wine Festival, a multi-day extravaganza that is Hawaiʻi’s premier epicurean event. Enjoy the local food scene at events such as Eat the Street food truck festivals (held near-monthly), the Waikīkī Spam Jam in May, nearly two dozen year-round farmers markets and food tours including Aloha Plate Food Tours and Aloha Food Tours.
The annual Hawaiʻi Food & Wine Festival is Hawaiʻi’s premier epicurean event.
5. Local Snacks
Need to refuel after sightseeing? Grab a quick bite at one of Oʻahu’s many snack shops or bakeries. You might choose:
- Malasada: a Portuguese-style doughnut
- Poke: fresh, raw fish cut into cubes and marinated in a variety of styles
- Loco Moco: plate lunch with rice, hamburger and eggs smothered with gravy
- Coco Puff: pastry puff filled with chocolate and topped with Chantilly
- Haupia: sweet coconut cream custard dessert
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Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
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