Get Back To Basics At This No-Frills Restaurant Hiding Out In Hawaii
By Megan Shute|Published August 12, 2019
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Megan Shute
Author
With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
We all know you should never judge a book by its cover, but the same rule applies when it comes to judging a restaurant’s food by simply looking at the building’s appearance. Whether an eatery features cramped seating, a hard to find location, cheap food, a dated storefront, or prefers to serve their food out of a truck, many of our favorite restaurants in Hawaii could easily be classified as hole in the wall spots —including this no-frills eatery.
Welcome to Ethel’s Grill, a timeless hole in the wall eatery nestled on the ground floor of a cinderblock walkup near the docks in Kalihi.
This bustling neighborhood institution tucked away in Honolulu is may not look like much — from the exterior or once you step inside, for that matter — but is known for their tasty homestyle Asian eats.
Opened back in the 1960s by its namesake, Ethel’s gained wild amounts of popularity in the 1970s when Ryoko and Yoichi Ishii took over: not everyone could pronounce "Ryoko" correctly and called her Ethel instead.
The menu reflects the Japanese-Okinawan-Mexican-local heritage of the owners and is a creative mix of local-style comfort food and unique mashups, like their chicken liver and kimchi stir-fry.
Try their steak with chimichurri sauce, furikake chicken, or the Okinawan-inspired taco rice, made with layers of ground beef, lettuce, shredded cheese, and rice topped with a fried taco shell.
Though this cash-only eatery may not look impressive, the constant lines out of the door will entice you and the homestyle Asian cuisine is sure to keep you coming back again and again.
Ethel’s Grill is open from 8 a.m to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
. They are closed Sunday and Monday. Don’t forget to bring cash! What’s your favorite Hawaiian hole in the wall? Share your go-to gems in the comments below!
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