These 10 Hawaii Restaurants Are Among The Best In The Country
By Megan Shute|Published March 13, 2016
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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.
Last month, Yelp released their annual Top 100 Places to Eat in the US for 2016, and while most of the restaurants featured on the list can be found in California, Hawaii is home to ten of Yelp’s greatest restaurants. For a state with less than 1.5 million residents, housing a tenth of the country’s greatest restaurants is quite impressive. This probably has something to do with the fact that Yelp is used most commonly while on vacation, but we’d like to think that the only explanation is the top-notch cuisine found in our beautiful state.
This casual Japanese eatery specializes in noodle soup, and there is almost always a line out of the door. It was even rated as the 10th best restaurant in America in Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat in the US.
Rumor has it that the best poke in Honolulu comes from Ono Seafood. The seafood is fresh, and the poke is made-to-order instead of sitting all afternoon in a big container. There’s got to be some truth to the rumor, since Ono Seafood landed the fourteenth spot on Yelp’s list this year.
There is no way to make a list of the best restaurants in the country without including Kailua-Kona’s Da Poke Shack. It once claimed the number one spot on Yelp’s Top 100, but has since been demoted to No. 15. Still not bad for a seaside eatery nestled in a condominium complex known for their takeout poke, as well as local specialties and salads.
With a 4.5 stars on Yelp and more than 3,500 reviews, Mama’s Fish House is definitely doing something right. Combine fresh and delicious seafood with a picturesque oceanfront location, there is little better than this Paia eatery that scored the No. 35 spot this year.
This contemporary bistro serves up a variety of new American cuisine – including seafood – using only the freshest ingredients from Maui farms, dairies, and surrounding oceans. Lahaina Grill not only landed in the No. 56 spot on Yelp’s Top 100, but the eatery has also been recognized by Honolulu Magazine as Maui’s best restaurant for more than 20 years.
One of the state’s oldest Hawaiian restaurants, Helena’s Hawaiian Food scored the No. 63 spot, and is well-known for using secret family recipes. Be sure to order "Menu D," a tasting menu that comes with kalua pork, lomi salmon, dried beef short ribs, and luau squid. Don’t forget about the haupia dessert!
Located within the Aqua Pacific Monarch Café in Honolulu is Musubi Café Iyasume, an adorable shop with an impressive selection of musubi – and affordable prices. Be sure to try the bacon, egg, spam and avocado musubi at this eatery that came in at No. 76.
Coming in at No. 84 is this charming eatery in Lahaina that has recently made the switch from food truck to actual storefront. Sourcing from local, organic farms on the island, owner Chris Mahon serves up some of the best Asian Fusion around.
For poke bowls and Hawaiian plate lunches in Kailua-Kona, look no further than Umeke’s. This modest deli-style eatery serves up the freshest seafood around, and comes in on Yelp’s Top 100 list at No. 89.
Rounding out our Top 10 list at No. 92, and serving up some of the most delicious pies on Maui is Leoda’s, a café that is all about fresh ingredients, and hand-crafted specialties. Their chocolate macadamia nut pie is heaven for any chocolate lover, and the bananas in the banana cream pie are harvested from the restaurant’s own farm.
How many of these restaurants have you been to? Who else is adding these ten eateries to their Hawaii restaurant bucket list? Check out the rest of Yelp’s Top 100 eateries here.
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