Musubi Cafe Iyasume is a brunch budget eat in Honolulu.
Editorially verified May 21, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: Daily 06:30-21:00. Pair a teriyaki spam musubi with a bottled matcha for a $7 breakfast.
Address: 2427 Kuhio Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815
Palace Saimin in Kalihi Honolulu sells the shrimp-and-pork-dashi saimin bowl for $6, the cheapest sit-down hot-noodle bowl in the city and unchanged.
Try: Saimin bowl
Tip: Tuesday to Friday 10:00-20:00. Add a BBQ stick at the counter for $3.
Highway Inn Kakaako Honolulu serves a combination kalua pig plate with rice, mac salad and lomi salmon for around $15, the cheapest sit-down Hawaiian food.
Try: Kalua pig combo plate
Tip: Daily 09:30-20:00. Mini plate at $13 feeds one; combo plate at $18 feeds two with leftovers.
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.
