The Best Things We Ate in Hawai‘i in 2025
Our team’s personal picks for the most memorable bites of the year.
Photo: Thomas Obungen
Neapolitan-style pizzas, Bocconcino
These appear only on Friday and Saturday nights, though Bocconcino just got a new oven (one that fits more than one pizza a time, hurray!), so I’m promised that they’ll be serving it more often soon. Favorites are the Margherita, Carbonara and Prosciutto. —Martha Cheng, Frolic
978 Kawaiaha‘o St., Kaka‘ako, bocconcinohi.com, @bocconcinohawaii
SEE ALSO: Bocconcino’s New Weekend Pizza and Vino Nights Feature a Champion Neapolitan Pizzaiolo
Photo: Thomas Obungen
Eighty Chicken Sandwiches
I was late to the party—because honestly, it’s not easy to get to Kahuku on Saturdays and Sundays during the roughly two hours before Adam Wade’s 80 chicken sandwiches sell out. And how good can a chicken sandwich be? Months later, I’m still thinking about the juicy, crispy, tangy bites and the triple-cooked fries that chased them, and understanding why friends from town and Waimānalo make the drive to stand in line with fans from across this country and others. That’s how good a chicken sandwich can be. —Mari Taketa, Frolic editor and HONOLULU dining editor
56-505 Kamehameha Highway, Kahuku, @eightychickensandwiches
SEE ALSO: 8 Food Spots Outside Honolulu Worth the Drive
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Tinned fish board, Faria
I scrolled through an entire year’s food photos to verify what I already knew: Faria’s tinned fish board small-kine changed my life. I used to gag when my dad, like many dads, broke out the canned sardines. At Faria, where two tins of Portuguese sardines anchor a board loaded with fresh Portuguese breads, a massive shrimp chip, lemons, chicharron and house-pickled ogo, onions, garlic and peppers, we pile pickles atop fish atop bread and go all in. With a glass of dry wine, this is my new addiction. —MT
306 Ku‘ulei Road, Kailua, (808) 200-4953, fariahawaii.com, @fariahawaii
Photo: Mari Taketa
Omakase, Hide Sushi
After years of trying all kinds of restaurants, dishes, special menus and more, it’s easy to feel jaded. That was not the case the evening HONOLULU/Frolic dining editor Mari Taketa and I met up in Waikīkī to try Hide Sushi’s omakase. Owner Hide Sakurai served us carefully selected traditional and seasonal fish flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market. Fried mehikari, hotaru ika, sawara, madai snapper, Hokkaido uni … That’s just part of what we indulged in that April evening. At $120, the omakase felt decadent and exciting, stirring memories of how enjoyable sharing a memorable meal with a longtime friend can be. —Diane Seo, HONOLULU editor
2270 Kalākaua Ave., 19th floor, Waikīkī, (808) 849-5550, @hide_socialsushi bar
SEE ALSO: Hide Sushi Offers a Notable New $120 Omakase (and Yes, It’s Hidden)
Photo: Andrea Lee
Kalo laksa, Kapa Hale
I crave Keaka Lee’s rich, flavorful curries more than any others around town. I’ve had five versions this year, including khao soi chicken noodles, curried potato samosas and my favorite: kalo laksa. It was a special for Frolic’s Awesome Eats on National Ramen Day, and damn, I wish it was on the menu regularly. Lee made a Malaysian-style curry with roasted kalo, kalo noodles from Sun Noodle, chile, lime, coconut and basil that was so zingy and creamy that of course I tried his laksa poke at Poke Fest the following month, and then the laksa risotto for dinner the month after that. While all delicious, none compares to the first, which is very likely the best vegan dish I’ve ever had. —Katrina Valcourt, HONOLULU executive editor
4614 Kīlauea Ave., Suite #102, Kāhala, kapahale.com, @4614kapahale
Photo: Andrea Lee
Mākaha Mango burrata salad, Kapa Hale
I love Mākaha Mangoes. But I thought it was almost blasphemous when Keaka Lee diluted their preciousness by putting them into a salad, even though it was a burrata salad. Burrata is another of my favorite things. Usually, you’d have this with tomatoes, but somehow this mango salad worked. The sweetness, the richness, all of it. I can’t wait for mango season to come around so he can make it again. —Melissa Chang, Frolic
4614 Kīlauea Ave., Suite #102, Kāhala, (808) 888-2060, kapahale.com, @4614kapahale
SEE ALSO: The Best Things We Ate in Hawai‘i in 2024
Photo: Eric Baranda
Kimbap Plus
Eric Baranda had blogged about this place, but I only got to eat here a few months ago for the first time and was blown away at how delicious and stuffed each roll was. Each kimbap is made by hand, and they’re generously filled with traditional as well as contemporary proteins. I try to go super early so I can get the ones I want. —MChang
1020 Ke‘eaumoku St., Ke‘eaumoku, (808) 392-2363
SEE ALSO: Go to Kimbap Plus for Elevated, Lovingly Crafted Rolls
Photo: Martha Cheng
Char siu croissant, Local General Store
The glaze over the pastry really makes it taste just like char siu. —MCheng
3458 Wai‘alae Ave., Kaimukī, (808) 777-2431, thelocalgeneralstorehi.com, @thelocalgeneralstorehi
Photo: Gregg Hoshida
Fish tacos and elote, Miguel’s Cocina
In my middle-age years, simple and easy have become huge factors in my food choices, and I find myself seeking clean flavors that deliver in a big way. Nothing has fulfilled that more this year than the fish tacos and elote at Miguel’s Cocina food truck. From the freshly caught marlin stacked generously on house-made flour tortillas to the tart tomatillo salsa seeping into every bite and dripping down my chin, this is a taco to write home about. Paired with a sweet, crunchy, creamy elote, it ticks all the boxes for this middle-aged dad. —Gregg Hoshida, Frolic
1011 Ala Moana Blvd., Kewalo, @miguels.cocina
SEE ALSO: Roll With It: Amazing Fish Tacos at Miguel’s Cocina Food Truck
Photo: Mari Taketa
Canh bi do epaulettes, The Pig & the Lady
Two of our food writers jokingly nominated the new Pig & the Lady as the best new restaurant of 2025. Its 12-year history aside, the James Beard Award semifinalist’s move to Kaimukī comes with an outstanding menu refresh. This stuffed pasta is at the top, its truffly pork nestled in creamy kabocha in a silken pasta envelope. Brown butter and a jus of charred onion marsala complete the autumnal effect. Also up there: chestnut-shiitake patê and a washugyu steak drizzled with anchovy chile satay. Like nearly all of Andrew Le’s greatest hits, these will almost certainly disappear the next time he updates the menu, usually every season. —MT
3650 Wai‘alae Ave., Kaimukī, (808) 585-8255, thepigandthelady.com, @pigandthelady
SEE ALSO: O‘ahu’s Best New Restaurants of 2025
Yamashiroll, Pitch Sports Bar
Pitch chef Jon Yamashiro will probably kill me for mentioning this. During omakase service, if he has time, he makes a dashimaki tamago that is a super umami bomb. I love dashimaki tamago anyway, but he adds cod roe, cheese and truffle to this one. —MChang
685 Auahi St., Kaka‘ako, (808) 818-7642, pitchsportsbar.com, @pitchsportsbar
Photo: Andrea Lee
Watercress Ginger Lime Sorbet, Please Come Again
A limited-run collab with Sumida Farm, the watercress ginger lime sorbet remains the most unique thing I’ve tried at Please Come Again, which is saying something considering the shop constantly innovates. The watercress gave the sorbet its beautiful minty hue and a distinct herbaceous flavor balanced by spicy ginger and tangy lime. Pretty sure I said something like, “This tastes like eating the leaves in pho.” It doesn’t sound like it would work in a frozen dessert, yet it did, and it was addictive. If this flavor returns, I will drive to Kailua in a heartbeat. —Andrea Lee, HONOLULU digital editor
322 Ku‘ulei Road, Kailua, pleasecomeagainhawaii.com, @pleasecomeagainhawaii
SEE ALSO: Sweet Treats: Kailua’s New Ice Cream Parlor Has One Request
Photo: Andrea Lee
Crab, Cream Cheese and Tomato, Restaurant Suntory
Restaurant Suntory’s 45th anniversary celebration was a feast for the eyes and stomach. Much of the food was prepared right in front of us, from steak grilling on the teppan to tempura frying to beef swished in boiling broth. Amid these flashier dishes, what stood out the most was simple: a dollop of cream cheese and a generous helping of shredded crab meat atop a tomato wedge. Sweet and rich, creamy and refreshing, it was my favorite bite not only of that night, but this entire year. Sadly, I don’t think this is something Suntory offers regularly. —AL
2233 Kalākaua Ave., B307, Waikīkī, restaurantsuntory.com, @restaurantsuntoryhnl
Photo: Thomas Obungen
Colin’s Classics, Side Street Inn
The best thing I ate in Hawai‘i isn’t new. It’s not chic or trendy. In September, we celebrated my father’s life at Side Street Inn on the Strip with 30 close friends and family. We ordered a few sets of Colin’s Classics prix fixe menu, which includes edamame, the Farmer’s Salad with shrimp, the Signature Fried Rice, Garlic Chicken, Pan Fried Pork Chops and sizzling Boneless Kalbi. Every item was so fresh, deliciously executed and overflowing. I could feel my Dad’s presence among us as we ate and ate until we couldn’t possibly take another bite. Everyone left with doggie bags, full bellies and smiles. It was a meal I will remember for life because it did what Side Street’s comforting food does best: It satisfied our stomachs and our hearts. —Thomas Obungen, HONOLULU special projects editor
Multiple locations, sidestreetinn.com, @sidestreetinn
SEE ALSO: Foodflash: Get Ready, West Side—Side Street Inn Is Opening Next Month
