Hawaiian Restaurants near Waimanalo, HI

“5 Stars – Delicious Local Comfort Food & A Hidden Gem That Was Worth the Turnaround!

After a long day at the beach, my family was starving and we were lucky to find L&L Hawaiian Barbecue just 10 minutes away. At first, it looked like it might be closed—but then I spotted the OPEN sign glowing, so I turned the car around—and I’m so glad I did!

The food was excellent, full of flavor, and the portions were generous enough to save some for later. We ordered the Seafood Combo and the Rib Combo (I think that’s what it was called), and both were spot-on. Total comfort food after a day in the sun!

The cashier/waitress was incredibly kind and welcoming, making sure we were well taken care of with that warm aloha spirit. It really made the experience even better.

They also serve Loco Moco and breakfast all day, which we’ll definitely be back to try next time.

If you’re in the area and craving some tasty, filling local-style eats, don’t pass this place up—it might just be the highlight of your meal plans!“

“Stopped in for some lunch with my wife. Excellent service, excellent food. Great place.“

“This place was a surprise gem we discovered after a day at Waimānalo Beach Park! The portions are out of this world for the price and the shaved ice was really good as well. Wait is a bit long but it’s all fresh/cooked to order and well worth it! Highly recommend this one!“

“BBQ Porto Sandwich was amazing!“

“Very good food.“

“Everything I have had here is so ono! Love the fresh noodles made with local ingredients can't beat it so worth the wait!!“

“Delicious poke and taka!!! A must try for sure!😋“

“Good food and staff Great service“

“Everything on the menu is onolicious and what makes it even better is the ohana that makes you feel right at home. Well worth the drive from the west side. 😋😉 Don’t forget to pick up a tray of butter mochi too!!“

“Great food and wonderful service!“

“Awesome food and cocktails“

“Make sure you triple check your oder. Today we ate at the Honolulu Bistro for the first time. The guy at the register claims he didn't rung us up for 2 sandwiches. At checking out he did say back our order. The recipe is not detailed either. The amount we paid was definitely for 2 sandwiches. We ended up sharing 1 sandwich and left.“

“The garlic shrimp was the best I've had anywhere! The rooftop lanai had such a relaxing vibe, and the staff was incredibly friendly. Enjoying island-inspired Japanese fusion cuisine in the Hawaiian breeze was an unforgettable experience. I'm already looking forward to coming back to try more dishes!“

“By far one of the greatest experiences from food to extremely exemplary service. We started with the tako escargot, then Mac nut covered fish and steak with frites. It was such an incredible experience we cancelled our Saturday dinner plans and came back for dinner. We come from big island and every time we come to Oahu, about seven or eight times a year, we eat at the merrimans. By far the best of the merrimans on the various islands. Thank you to Jackson for great service.“

“Beautiful venue, fantastic and attentive staff, and amazing high-level food. Highly recommend! Having more plants dispersed through the space could warm it a bit more but other than that we wouldn’t change anything. Amazing all-around. Special thanks to our server, John C, who helped make our dinner experience there exceptional.“

“Definitely the Hawaiian Eggs Benedict with toast, the fried ice cream. the tarot pina colada, etc... you will not be disappointed with anything you order. Also, don't get me started with the service. Plz ask for Jessica. That girl deserves a raise or a promotion.“

“Never had I imagined eating a hot dog with Kalua pig amd onion rings on it or anything else as I eat my hot dogs with only mustard and relish! Decide to give this place a try and must say the hot dog I ordered called "common kings" was very delicious! Definitely gonna go back for more! It isn't a regular bot dog bun that they use either, which make this hot dog so tasty and unique! The only warning is that it is a little messy due to the size, but totally worth the mess!“

“We ate at Hula tonight for the first time and Levin took care of us! He went above and beyond and made the experience for myself, my mom and daughter absolutely wonderful. His suggestions for entrees were on point and his customer service was the best we had since arriving on the island! Thank you so much!“

“Thank you for delicious food and hospitality from three haole’s! Mahalo!“

“Great food and spectacular oceanfront setting! Service was friendly and warm, but a little slow. Recommend!“

“My first time here after seeing them on tv. So glad the worker tied the bag of my 3 plates tightly and that they use strong plastic containers. I took a sharp turn and my bag flipped to the side. My food shifted a little in the container, but at least it didn’t spill out or leak out of the containers. Love the hamburger steak with crispy onions! Omg, the special parmesan chicken was huge!! This was ono too. Will definitely go back there again. ❤️“

“Reasonably priced, great service and they put lots of food in the plate lunch!“

“Ono poi. Looking for Kulolo.“

“One of my favorite places to eat. Always good service & great food.l“

“We had a group of 7 and they had us seated quickly. Service was excellent. Food was delicious—there are menu and bar differences based on time of day so pay attention to that. We had several of the small plates rather than an entree for each of us. The bao buns, sliders and fish tacos were excellent. My companions liked the calamari and margarita pizza. One thing-I had received a notification via open table from the restaurant that alcohol would not be served but when we arrived we found the bar was open and available to us. It would be advisable to plan parking ahead of time- parking in the zoo parking lot was full (we were there on a Saturday evening) and street parking is metered and limited however you can download the app and add more money from there. Smart Parker or something to that effect. Overall would definitely eat there again on a weekday.“

“He made the food with so much love and passion delicious food

Kid-friendliness: Plenty of place for my toddler to play and he loved the food we had coconut shrimp delicious and chicken fried rice both were equally delicious“

“Their hawaiian plate was so Ono & the portions were big. Highly recommended.“

“Very authentic Hawaiian food. We loved the owner who wasnt trying to sell things. When we were Going to order a special dish, he gave us some to taste first to make sure we actually like it and not waste it. I really liked this attitude. The prices are reasonable. The combination plate is a good choice to try out the different traditional dishes.“

“Longtime neighborhood favorite with a big menu of local island classics, including beef stew, beef curry, short ribs and much much more. Prices are more than reasonable, you can’t beat the $5 cheeseburgers that are wayyyyy better than any fast food burger. You must also get a side order of fries - fried fresh so they’re super crispy.

The lunch crowd is a mix of office professionals, tradesmen and sometimes sketchy homeless looking guys - but my friend left her purse on the table one time and it was returned with everything - including cash - intact.

There are few tables so plan for carryout unless you get there early.“

“Best Food , sweet Potato Poke Wed/Friday Da Hawaiian Chili Peppa Wata so good“

“Best nachos! Cocktails were nice and very close to the beach“

“Good experience. Brunch on Sunday gives you delicious lobster tails and crab. The service was wonderful, the view was amazing, and I would recommend this restaurant 100%👍“

“Great food, friendly staff, location, location, location!“

“chicken katsu and all rice“

“I order through the app to pickup at the restaurant near my home. The app is super easy and my food is always packaged and ready to go when I get there. The restaurant is super-clean, there’s lots of parking, it’s a great place for in-and-out great food. Definitely will go back 👍🏼“

“Great service and super friendly with great food! Made daily and great choices. Must try it and you’ll love ❤️ it!“

“This L&L got a facelift recently, so it looks a lot better than it used to. Overall the food is decent. They have a lot of special menu items that you can’t get at other locations. I got the Fried Garlic Chicken and it was tasty and extremely garlicky. Bring gum and/or mints for after the meal!“

“Classic Hawaii hole in the wall. This location is the birthplace of the franchise. BBQ Mixed Plate, Chicken Katsu, and BBQ Burgers are my go to. If you have not been to location in a while, feels like new owners. Portions are generous (love it when the Styrofoam container has a hard time staying closed) and reasonably priced. If you haven't yet, give it a try.“

“This is a \\\"condensed\\\" or \\\"Express\\\" version of L\\u0026L with a limited menu. Their hours are 6:30am to 1:30pm. They're located in the First Insurance Company building on the corner of Ward Ave. and S. Hotel St.“

“Ono poi. Looking for Kulolo.“

“Quite honestly it was one of the best food experiences of my entire trip to O'ahu, even though it was just an emergency dinner after a very long hike - I was very hungry. The place has a local climate attached to it with friendly people you can talk to and listen to their stories. Prices are really good for the amount of meat you get and its very tasty. Only the mac n cheese wasn't that great for me but I guess it's just not my thing.“

“They had a lot of things to add to my tofu poke bowl. The sauces were clearly marked and there were several options, and I loved being able to add wasabi, dressings, brown rice, crunchy onions and garlic, edamame, corn, onions, and more. It was a meal that I felt good about ordering and eating.“

“Wonderful experience, Korean Steak entree was amazing and Fresh Fish entree with macadamia nut pesto was delicious. Excellent service and vibe. Highly recommend.“

“Our numerous visitations/food orders from here are hardly disappointing. Food is prepped well with great menu options, poke is fresh & tasty, service is fairly quick and always friendly. We usually order the Saigon Crunch, pasteles or smoked Kalbi plate with extra large shrimps. They do not skimp on their portion size and their tuna-mac salad is excellent! Inside dining may be a tad noisy so we take out, find a table next to the water and ENJOY!“

“I like local restaurants and L&L is good with reasonable price. Chicken Cutlets is a little bit oily but Loco Moco is very good. Don’t expect super clean tables and chairs.The loco moco here is cheap, the amount is so large that you can't finish it (regular), and it's delicious. During lunch time (starting around 11:30am), there are a lot of locals working in the area, so it gets crowded, so the later hours are often empty.“

“Awesome 😎 Grinds will come back for sure and great service the Garlic Chicken was Superb 😋🤙🏽Can’t wait to try other dishes 🤙🏽💯“

“If you're ever looking to grab lunch on campus, I recommend checking out L&L at Paradise Palms. The food was mostly what I expected in terms of standard plate lunch, but the mac salad was especially great. The workers were also very friendly!“

“If you’re a L&L fan, you’ll enjoy using their app to order food prior to your arrival. We are staying in the Hawai’i Kai area and were pleased to find this L&L location. Easy to drive to, food was great as always, and the app made ordering for a group of 7 so easy…just order, drive, and pick up, no waiting! I have this 5 stars for everything except Atmosphere as we did not eat there and I did not want to mislead anyone on that element.“