It’s so tasty, you won’t be-leaf it’s vegan!
Hey there, I hope that you are doing well! This is the first post that I am uploading to my re-designed blog, and I could not be more excited. I have always loved eating in Hawai‘i—from my grandma’s cooking to my family’s go-to restaurants, there is such a unique blend of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipino, and Korean culture—but this is the first year that I’ve spent time here as a vegan, and I really enjoyed trying out new places. Here is my guide to plant-based eating in Honolulu!
Restaurants
As a quick disclaimer, I did not eat in-person at any of these restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic; instead, I ordered take-out and enjoyed them at home. The hours may also be different when you are reading this because many restaurants changed their operation times during the pandemic.
TANE VEGAN IZAKAYA
Tane Vegan Izakaya is an upscale, fully-vegan Japanese restaurant. The brainchild of Chef Kin Lui, Tane’s menu is very similar to that of Lui’s other restaurant, Shizen, in San Francisco, California. The menu features innovative sushi rolls and nigiri, ramen, gyoza, grilled small plates (yakimono), tempura plates (agemono), and speciality sushi rolls. I ordered the Half Moon roll, a tempura roll with sweet potato and smoked bean curd topped with pickled mango, tomato, jalapeno, onion, and yuzu, as well as the tempura vegetables. This was the first time that I had tempura, as I’m allergic to eggs, and I was so excited. All of the food was delicious, and I hope to try the San Francisco restaurant, too.
Address: 2065 South Beretania St., Honolulu, HI 96826
Hours: 4:30PM to 9PM (Tues. to Sat., closed Sun. and Mon.)
PEACE CAFE
Located a mere 0.2 miles away from Tane Vegan Izakaya, Peace Cafe is a small, fully plant-based restaurant in the McCully – Mōʻiliʻili neighborhood of Honolulu. The cafe has smoothies, lattes, desserts (mochi cake, ice cream, etc.), rice plates, noodle dishes, and sandwiches (which can be made into rice plates or salads). Popular menu items include the Katsu Plate, with crispy breaded tempeh, the BBQ Tempeh Plate and Sandwich, and the Popeye Sandwich with miso tahini tofu. The staff is accommodating for allergies, too! I tried the Peace Sampler Plate, which included red rice, tofu poke, tofu scramble, textured vegetable protein, hijiki seaweed, and an assortment of vegetables (sesame kale, carrots, cucumber, onions, and a mixed green salad).
Address: 2239 S King St., Honolulu, HI 96826
Hours: 10AM to 8PM (Mon. to Sat.), 10AM to 3PM (Sun.)
JUICY BREW
Juicy Brew is a vegan restaurant with locations in Kaimuki and Hale Pawa‘a. The menu is incredibly innovative and changes almost daily, so you can check out their Instagram to see daily specials. I legitimately think I had the tastiest bite of my life at Juicy Brew with the Lemon-Yuzu Poppy Chick’n Hirata Buns—the flavor and texture of the “meat” was perfect, the vegetables and pickles were refreshing and crunchy, and the buns were fluffy and soft. I’ve also tried the ube haupia pie and the pumpkin stew, which were excellent as well. I could not recommend this spot more!
Address: 3392 Waialae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816 (Kaimuki location)
Hours: 9AM to 3PM (Sat., Sun.), 11AM to 6PM (Tues. to Fri.)
LEAHI HEALTH
With locations throughout O‘ahu, Leahi Health is a favorite among locals and tourists alike. It serves fresh, tasty, healthy smoothies, salad bowls, tacos, and more. It’s fully vegan and the only nut used in the kitchen is almonds, so I can literally eat anything on the menu, which is such a rare experience for me as someone who’s vegan and allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts except almonds, fish, and shellfish. I absolutely loved the Surfer Bowl which had a delicious ginger tahini dressing and chickpea tuna topping. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, they have a special deal where you can get an order of tacos and a smoothie for $15 (instead of $11 and $8, regularly!).
THE RIPPLE OF SMILES
While The Ripple of Smiles’ menu is not completely plant-based, there is a dedicated “vegan” section of their menu. The restaurant serves vegan pho, vermicelli noodle dishes, salads, soups, and more. I really enjoyed the vegan summer rolls (marinated tofu, cucumber, lettuce, pickles, lemongrass, and basil) served with house soy sauce and hoisin sauce to accommodate my peanut allergy.
Address: 3040 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816
Hours: 11:02AM to 2:32PM, 5:02–8:32PM (Wed. to Mon., closed Tues.)
KAIMANA CAFE & FARM
Kaimana Farm Cafe + Deli is an eatery that offers all-natural food products grown by local farmers. Its menu is not completely vegan, but all options—including a vegan hamburger steak, a couple of salads, and a variety of side dishes like yuzu carrots, soba salad, and kale salad—are clearly delineated on the menu. A lot of the vegan options have nuts, unfortunately, but I enjoyed my order of Japanese lotus root salad (which had marinated lotus root, kidney beans, carrots, hijiki, and edamame) so much that I went back twice to get it.
Address: 845 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816
Hours: 11AM to 2PM (Wed. to Sun., closed Mon. and Tues.)
OTHER RESTAURANTS
Honolulu has so many vegan restaurants in close proximity to each other, but I unfortunately didn’t get to try them all. Here is another other highly-rated vegan spots that you might want to check out:
– Blondie’s Food Truck: Blondie’s is a 100% plant-based, woman-owned business that serves breakfast sandwiches, burgers, tacos, barbecue, and more. You can also purchase their premixes for vegan eggs, cheeses, and meats.
Snack & Dessert Shops
WAIOLA SHAVE ICE
A trip to Hawai‘i is not complete without shave ice, and luckily, this treat is vegan-friendly! As long as you order the non-cream flavors (cream flavors include haupia, strawberry cream, and others that are marked on the menu) and don’t get dairy-based add-ons like ice cream, chocolate, or condensed milk, your shave ice will be vegan. Adzuki beans, mochi balls, and lilikoi cream (it’s actually like a fruit sauce with passion fruit seeds!) are all vegan at Waiola. There are tons of shave ice places in Honolulu, but this is my family’s favorite, and we’ve been going since I was a young child. If you visit Waiola, note that they are cash-only.
Address: 2135 Waiola St., Honolulu, HI 96826 or 3113 Mokihana St., Honolulu, HI 96816
Hours: 12PM to 6PM (Mon. to Fri.), 10AM to 6PM (Sat. and Sun.) for the Waiola Street location; 12PM to 6PM (Mon. to Sun., closed Tues.) for the Mokihana St. location
ANU ISLAND SOFT SERVE
Anu Island Soft Serve is a small shack that has plant-based soft serve ice cream and acai bowls. Their soft serve flavors rotate, and I’ve seen ube (purple sweet potato), peppermint mocha, pina colada, orange dream, strawberry, and more. I tried the ube soft serve, and it was delicious! You can also add on a variety of toppings, including hemp seeds, banana, goji berries, granola, strawberries, li-hing powder, Oreos, and coconut condensed milk.
Address: 737 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816
Hours: 1:30AM to 6:30PM (Tues. to Sat.), 12PM to 5PM (Sun.)
VIA GELATO
Via Gelato, an ice cream shop in the Kaimuki neighborhood, has a number of innovative vegan flavors that are always delicious. As of today, the options include lilikoi sorbet, dark chocolate sorbet, Okinawan sweet potato ice cream, and green tea Oreo ice cream, if that gives you an idea of the type of shop they are! Last time, I absolutely loved the Okinawan sweet potato, which was delectably sweet and coconut-y, and green tea Oreo, which was more earthy but complemented perfectly by the cookies. I’ve also had soursop sorbet and seen banana cream pie ice cream, black sesame ice cream, and strawberry ume. The flavors are locally-inspired, and the shop emphasizes sustainability; during non-pandemic times, you would be served with a use ceramic bowl and metal spoon if you chose to dine-in (now they use wooden spoons and paper cups as they are takeout/outdoor dining only). If you visit Via Gelato, check in on Yelp for a free sticker!
Address: 1142 12th Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816
Hours: 11AM to 10PM (Sun. to Thurs.), 11AM-11PM (Fri., Sat.)
NIU SOFT SERVE
Niu Soft Serve has delicious vegan ice cream with rotating flavors such as ube, coconut, milk tea, pandan, chocolate, and orange. It opened its storefront in 2022 and can also be found at farmers’ markets. I ordered the Kalo Me Back sundae which had a delicious pa‘i‘ai (taro) base, ube and coconut swirl ice cream, coconut condensed milk, and Oreos (instead of toasted nuts). It was just divine! I highly recommend checking this spot out for a tasty treat. It’s located on S. King Street, near Peace Cafe!
Address: 2320 S King St, Honolulu, HI 96826
Hours: 1PM to 8PM (Tues. to Thurs.), 1PM to 9PM (Fri., Sat.), 1PM to 6PM (Mon.)
Stores (with Food)
DOWN TO EARTH (Not the Zac Efron documentary!)
Down to Earth, a grocery store that offers baked goods, prepared foods, skincare products, and more, is within walking distance of both Peace Cafe and Tane Vegan Izakaya. While Down to Earth has a place to buy freshly-made sandwiches, burgers, wraps, and smoothies, I was also drawn to its robust hot food section, which has everything from lasagna to teriyaki tofu to purple sweet potato salad to split pea soup. The dessert section also caught my eye—it had vegan cookies, donuts, cheesecake, muffins, scones, and more! I picked out a large slice of vegan ube (purple sweet potato) cheesecake, which had a graham cracker crust and was topped with a coconut haupia-like pudding. I went back and got a slice of ube bread as well as a vanilla glazed donut and gluten-free matcha donut for my sister; all of the treats were happily consumed. There are also pre-packaged items that are great to take on the plane. I had a curry “chicken” (tofu) wrap, which was really tasty!
Address: 2525 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96826
Hours: 6AM to 10PM every day
KOKUA MARKET NATURAL FOODS
Kokua Market, which prides itself on being Honolulu’s first and only natural foods cooperative, carries a number of fresh, local, and organic products. It has many vegan staples in its bulk, frozen, and grocery departments, as well as a “Grab N Go” station and a deli station. The deli serves animal-based products but it does have a number of vegan options. I really enjoyed the roasted vegetables (which had kabocha squash, brussels sprouts, and mushrooms) and the curried lentils with tofu. There are also rotating daily soups, but I didn’t get to try them.
Address: 2643 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96826
Hours: 9AM to 7PM (Mon. to Sat.), 10AM to 5PM (Sun.)
GROCERY STORES
Your good old grocery stores are excellent places to find vegan options. Hawai‘i has some of its own supermarket chains, like Foodland (and its Whole Foods-esque counterpart, Foodland Farms) and Times Supermarket. While most of the packaged/shelved food is more expensive than it is on the US mainland, tropical fruits like apple banana, dragonfruit, mango, papaya, rambutan, and pineapple are not, and I would definitely recommend taking advantage of that! You can also usually find prepared vegan food, like Japanese soba noodles and avocado hosomaki sushi, at grocery stores.
Eating at “Normal Restaurants”
To clarify, I define “normal” as restaurants not advertised as vegan or providing vegan options. I’m vegan, my cousin is pescatarian, and my mom doesn’t eat red meat, but my other family members are very much omnivores. However, I didn’t feel like I was missing out when we ordered food because restaurants can be very accommodating. Also, because Honolulu has a considerable Asian population, and much of its food is influenced by Asian cuisine, finding food with ingredients like tofu is relatively easy. Here are some of the restaurants that my family ordered from, along with what I got:
– Cafe Maharani: We had Indian food for my grandma’s birthday, and I ate the vegetable jalfrezi masala (considered a “house specialty”) and yellow basmati rice.
– Gina’s Barbecue: This is one of my family’s favorite Korean restaurants, and I have always loved eating here. As a vegan, I had vegetarian bibimbap without the egg. The banchan sides and marinated vegetables are the best.
– Choi’s Family Kitchen: This is another one of our favorite Korean restaurants, and the tofu spinach salad is amazing—it sounds underwhelming (tofu + spinach?!) but the sauce is so good that we bought a pint to take home.
– Hale Vietnam Restaurant: Hale Vietnam has a number of vegan options, including a Vietnamese tofu dish and a green papaya salad, but I tried the tofu and vegetable pho, which was great.
– Kozo Sushi: Kozo is a great place to get food quickly and conveniently. My go-to orders are the veggie hand roll without the mayonnaise and the inari sushi (sweet fried tofu pockets with rice), but they also have a tofu bowl and udon noodles that look really good.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to find vegan options in Honolulu! A lot of the vegan restaurants are near the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, which is pretty easy to get to. If you aren’t vegan, I hope that this post inspires you to try some plant-based food in Hawai‘i. Thank you so much for reading!
