Best overall restaurants

ebenmax

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 4, 2006
Our family is planning a June 2018 visit to Aulani for 7 days. We plan to eat in our villa for one to two meals a day, but need suggestions of really great restaurants for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Most meals will be eaten in the Aulani area although we will be in Honolulu for a day or two and the North Shore for a day. Food quality (organic) and ability to accommodate food allergies, atmosphere, value for the money are all important to us, but not essential for every meal. We are not really consumers of alcohol, so that isn’t a factor for us.

What are your favorites or not to be missed places (including any at Aulani itself)?

Thanks so much!
 
We visited Aulani this past June, you're going to have a blast!

On-Site
Within the resort itself we found Ama Ama to be the best dining option for DH's picky palate. We tried breakfast, lunch and dinner there throughout our trip and not a single meal disappointed. Ulu cafe was equivalent to a value/moderate WDW resort restaurant but did have some great flatbreads and lunch options. Off the Hook can be skipped, the wait for food was always excruciatingly long. The Olelo Lounge is a wonderful spot for snacks at night, there is always live music (that echos through the entire waikolohe valley). Mama's Snack Stop has great Coconut Shrimp.

Off-Site
-Roy's (walking distance across the street) was phenomenal and was surprisingly very child friendly.
-Duke's in Wakiki- Sits directly on the picturesque Wakiki beach. Great stop for lunch!
-Leonards Malasadas- Google them. Not to be missed.
-North Shore Shrimp Trucks- Everyone has their personal favorite truck. Ours was Giovanni's. Scampi Shrimp was great, generous portions, cheap, and has a seating patio with roaming chickens.
 
I will second that Roy's is great food and child friendly. We have been going to Roy's through out the Hawaiian islands for years and each location is great with kids. It can be pricey.

Monkeypod across the road from Aulani is very good.

We LOVE Ted's Bakery up in the North Shore area for what is locally known as a "plate lunch". The bakery items themselves are just ok but the hot food from the kitchen is so good. My daughter argues that we are always starving from a solid amount of beach time and that is why we love it.
 
I will second that Roy's is great food and child friendly. We have been going to Roy's through out the Hawaiian islands for years and each location is great with kids. It can be pricey.

Monkeypod across the road from Aulani is very good.

Thanks for the suggestions!

We will also be traveling to Kauai and Maui. Are the Roy’s on these islands the same or do you prefer one over the others?

Does Monkeypod accept reservations?

Thank you!
 


On-Site
Within the resort itself we found Ama Ama to be the best dining option for DH's picky palate. We tried breakfast, lunch and dinner there throughout our trip and not a single meal disappointed.

-Duke's in Wakiki- Sits directly on the picturesque Wakiki beach. Great stop for lunch!
Thanks for such a great list!

I just booked Ama Ama for a dinner and a breakfast!! Very excited! Is the live Hawaiian music during dinner hours intrusive or “dinner music?”
Also, we got a 6:30 pm ressie in hopes of seeing the sunset! (7:00 was gone.)

Do you recommend Duke’s lunch buffet or prefer the menu?

Thank you!!
 
We went to My Cafe for breakfast on our way up to the north shore (it's in kapolei about a 5 minute drive from aulani) and it was so good! The Lilikoi pancakes were yummy. We also love monkeypod especially for happy hour. The mai Tais are the best around and the pumpkin ravioli is my favorite. I also loved the night we at at the olelo room. The live music was so great - you can sit further away for dinner music or up close if you want.
 
Thanks for such a great list!

I just booked Ama Ama for a dinner and a breakfast!! Very excited! Is the live Hawaiian music during dinner hours intrusive or “dinner music?”
Also, we got a 6:30 pm ressie in hopes of seeing the sunset! (7:00 was gone.)

Do you recommend Duke’s lunch buffet or prefer the menu?

Thank you!!

It’s really beautiful soft background music. We had a reservation at 6:30 and were eating desert as the sun set. The view is amazing.

I can’t comment on the buffet since we ordered off the menu however, the food off the menu was very good. The atmosphere really makes Dukes special. Waikiki Beach is like no other place.

I added some pics from Ama Ama. A148B456-F864-415D-92F4-BB55909A54F2.jpegD75A52CC-EABD-40CC-9956-F9B31DCFA31A.jpeg
 
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I wasn’t a big fan of any of the on-site restaurants. A bit of a rundown.
Makahiki - Buffet. Probably the most disappointing of all restaurants. Character interaction wasn’t great and there were flies all over the place.
Ulu - specials were hit and miss. But when they hit it was a good deal and tasted food.
AMA AMA - the best of the on-site restaurants. Good food, great view and pretty high price point.

Off-site -plaza across the street.
Monkey pod -good food, good drinks, very good happy hour deals. One of my favourites.
Pizza place - pretty good, nice price. We ordered in one night when everyone was tired.
Taco place -pretty good, nice price.
Sushi place - pretty good, nice price. Small place hard to fit a big party.
ABC -food inside was pretty decent.
Ice cream shop- ice cream was good. Shaved ice was so so.

Further out
Roy’s - good food. Similar to monkey pod in overall satisfaction.
There are a number of udon and ramen shops on the island that are nice trendy places to go. I really enjoyed this scene. Shaved ice at the north shore area was good too.

Next time I go I will get a room with a kitchen. I think the kids would do better with some home cooking after a long day of swimming in the sun. Ordering in from the local shops like the pizza place is nice. Also Costco nearby where we can make some prime rib, pasta, premade Korean meats.

When you go to Maui check out uluani. One of the best deserts I’ve ever had hope you have a great trip.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

We will also be traveling to Kauai and Maui. Are the Roy’s on these islands the same or do you prefer one over the others?

Does Monkeypod accept reservations?

Thank you!

The Roy's have different head chefs which can dictate what the daily or even monthly specials are but the basic menu is almost always the same.

There used to be one in Poipu Kauai that was open air but it has been replaced by Roy's "Eating House" which is supposed to be a little less fusion and more home cooked type of fare but I have yet to eat there.

The Roy's in Hawaii have better food than the mainland ones, imho but we like them all and seriously, you cant really go wrong.

Here is the Hawaii specific Roys website and they take reservations, I would highly suggest them...

http://www.royshawaii.com/


Monkeypod does accept reservations, we really enjoyed this place too,

https://www.monkeypodkitchen.com/


There are lots of dining options in Kapolei, the town that is a 5 minute drive from Aulani,

We LOVED Sushi Bay in Kapolei, it is worth the hype and the poke was incredible

There are places like Applebys, KFC, lots of fast food

There is a great place called Aloha Salads, kind of a heathier fast food option

There is a Cheesecake Factory that just opened in the new mall
 
[What are your favorites or not to be missed places (including any at Aulani itself)?

Thanks so much![/QUOTE]

I second Roy's at Ko Olina, Moneypod Kitchen, and Leonard's Malasadas.

For your day at the North Shore, stop by Kua Aina Sandwich Shop in Haleiwa. Excellent burgers and sandwiches.
 
You NEED to try Hy's, 2440 Kuhio Ave. Honolulu 808-922-5555. Hy's #1 vs Roy's.
Been going to Hi. for 45 years and Hy's is my go to place period!!!!!!
BUT, there is Mama's on Mauii, OH MY.
 
I’m keeping a running list of all of your delicious suggestions!! Already starting to go to all of the individual websites!

Thank you all and keep them coming! I appreciate the ones from Kauai and Maui, as well!
 
if you search this Aulani section you will see there have been a couple of restaurant suggestion threads and there are some great ideas there too
 
Kono's in the North Shore was one of the best things we ate during our whole trip. Casual, hole in the wall type place. Good for lunch. Haleiwa Beach House is good for a nicer dinner.

We did Kauai and Maui as well. We ate at Hula Grill in Maui at the Whaler's Village which was awesome and a great atmosphere. You can make reservations on Open Table. In Kauai, we mostly stuck to restaurants around Lihue and nothing stands out as exceptional, but we did do Captain Andy's Sunset Dinner Cruise around the Na Pali Coast and the dinner on the boat was absolutely delicious! I remember it being relatively inexpensive and it's a four hour ride. Really great value and amazing food, plus the views are second to none!
 
Kono's in the North Shore was one of the best things we ate during our whole trip. Casual, hole in the wall type place. Good for lunch. Haleiwa Beach House is good for a nicer dinner.

We did Kauai and Maui as well. We ate at Hula Grill in Maui at the Whaler's Village which was awesome and a great atmosphere. You can make reservations on Open Table. In Kauai, we mostly stuck to restaurants around Lihue and nothing stands out as exceptional, but we did do Captain Andy's Sunset Dinner Cruise around the Na Pali Coast and the dinner on the boat was absolutely delicious! I remember it being relatively inexpensive and it's a four hour ride. Really great value and amazing food, plus the views are second to none!
Kono's is amazing. Amazing milkshakes too.
 
Captain Andy's Sunset Dinner Cruise around the Na Pali Coast and the dinner on the boat was absolutely delicious! I remember it being relatively inexpensive and it's a four hour ride. Really great value and amazing food, plus the views are second to none!

This sounds wonderful, but how was the actual ride part of this? We have several prone to motion sickness and didn’t want to pay a lot of money to be too sick to eat!:crazy2:
We’ve been hesitant...
 
This sounds wonderful, but how was the actual ride part of this? We have several prone to motion sickness and didn’t want to pay a lot of money to be too sick to eat!:crazy2:
We’ve been hesitant...

The water was a bit choppy for us so probably weather dependent. I'm prone to motion sickness at times, but luckily this didn't bother me. It's a large boat and there were maybe 30 others on board. There's an enclosed area below deck where the bar is that is probably good if someone starts to feel ill. There's a period mid-cruise where they slow up during dinner and so you can take in the sights. There were times where we hit some waves and anyone near the sides or on top where the netting was got pretty wet, and they also have you sail barefoot leaving your shoes back at the port (they lock them up in cubbies), because the deck does get wet from splashing. We got a little wet and the sea spray did my hair in, so we looked like messes but it was such a great experience. I'd see if they could take some Dramamine and drink some ginger ale because it really is worth it!
 
Any other “Not to be missed” restaurants?
We are getting very excited to try some of these suggestions!
 

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