Highway Inn Kakaako is a hawaiian budget eat in Kakaako, Honolulu.
Editorially verified May 21, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: Daily 09:30-20:00. Mini plate at $13 feeds one; combo plate at $18 feeds two with leftovers.
Address: 680 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96813
Ted's Bakery on the North Shore an hour from Honolulu sells garlic shrimp plates and a slice of chocolate haupia pie for $14 total, the most essential cheap.
Try: Garlic shrimp plate or chocolate haupia pie slice
Tip: Daily 07:00-20:00. Plate lunches sell out by 16:00; pies hold all evening.
Maguro Brothers Hawaii in Chinatown Honolulu sells fish-auction-fresh poke bowls for around $12, the city's strongest sashimi-grade fish to dollar ratio.
Try: Poke bowl
Tip: Monday to Saturday 09:00-14:00. Sells out by 13:00; bring cash or card. Closed Sunday.
Rainbow Drive-In in Kapahulu Honolulu has slung budget plate lunches since 1961, with mix plates of loco moco, BBQ beef and boneless chicken averaging $11.
Try: Plate lunch with two scoops rice
Tip: Lunch peak 11:30-13:00. The mix plate at $14 is the most expensive plate and feeds two.
Marukame Udon Waikiki in Honolulu pours kake udon for around $6 a bowl from a cafeteria-line counter, with tempura sides at a buck each making a full meal.
Try: Kake udon
Tip: Daily 10:00-22:00. Average bowl plus tempura runs about $9 to $12. Cash and card.
Ono Seafood in Kapahulu Honolulu fills a two-scoop poke bowl with shoyu ahi and rice for around $12, the most affordable sashimi-grade poke in the city.
Try: Two-scoop poke bowl
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Eat at Ala Wai Park; sells out by 16:00 weekends.
Leonard's Bakery in Kapahulu Honolulu sells the canonical Hawaii malasada for around $2 each at the counter, the lowest-cost taste of Portuguese-Hawaii sweet.
Try: Original sugar malasada
Tip: Daily 05:30-19:00. Order half a dozen sugar plus a custard; box stays warm for 30 minutes.
