Highway Inn Kaka'ako

This is a great spot in Honolulu for some authentic Hawaiian food!

I’ve been numerous times and usually for breakfast and breakfast meetings. My go to is the Kama’aina breakfast with Portuguese Sausage and eggs, over medium; you can’t go wrong! Coffee is good and strong, and endless.

The restaurant is in the SALT complex, so parking in the lot can get difficult, so be aware of that. The restaurant itself is very casual and offers table seating or bar seating. Both areas are good.

Service has always been great and welcoming. You be nice, they be nice!

Traditional, excellent quality. Best in town. I like the Plantation mixed plate with fried rice. Ribs are very tender and juicy, chicken is perfect and grilled fish taste fresh and delicious.
Parking at front and structure exiting to the right. One hour free parking +validation on both.

If you feel like authentic Hawaiian food, THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!!
Value for money: 10/10
Food quality: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Me and the wifey got a shared platter (thinking it wasn’t going to be enough) but trust me it’s enough! We accidentally over ordered.
The quality of the food was amazing, the flavouring was WOW and the service was amazing!
Parking right out front of the location was full ($3.00 per 30 minutes), but if you drive down Keawe Street, there is a parking complex there that’s free (first 1 hour free). Don’t forget to take your parking ticket with you because the restaurant can validate your ticket. Unsure about the bars in the same complex.
Overall I would highly recommend this restaurant!! Mahalo 🤙

This is the place I take my out of town visitors when they want to try typical Hawaiian food without Luau dinner and show price. The sampler has the best of Hawaiian dishes I also like their plate lunch. I have tried it with Michiko chicken and butter fish. The restaurant is very casual, open and vibrant. An easy bus ride from Waikiki too.

Probably one of the best way to discover and learn about Hawaii traditional food is the Highway Inn Tasting Plate (chicken or pork lau lau). Excellent experience.

Wonderful Hawaiian food. Had to wait; it was a holiday. Be aware: They add a 5% tip automatically to all checks. Still, good time was had by all!

Good place to get Hawaiian food, the main dish I chose was the deep fried butterfish collar n' stew gravy combo. The "Highway Inn Tasting Plate" is also a good choice to try out the different Hawaiian traditional dishes. Great service and atmosphere.

This is exactly where you need to go for some true Hawaiian flare. Kind staff, and excellent food all the way around.

If you like a drink, for brunch or feeling festive, the Lili-Coco is now a personal favorite that won't leave your gut hurting later. It tastes like another!

Kailua pork ANYTHING!

Supa Ono! Broke da Mouth Grindz!

Enjoy😘

The tasting platter was fantastic and a great introduction to anyone not familiar with Hawaiian food. Their lomi salmon was also the best I had on the island.

The fish tacos on taro tortillas are a delightful fusion dish! Lomi salmon as a salsa for it is perfect. The portions are very generous, but you’ll want to eat it all because it’s so tasty. Highly recommended!

Amazing presentation and taste! My first comprehensive introduction to authentic Hawaiian food! Everything tasted so great! The server is friendly and helpful. My only complaint is you can’t make a reservation for parties less then 6! You have to stand outside of the restaurant to wait for your seat. They need a more robust reservation system given their popularity!

Overall, the food tasted very good. Kalua pig was very flavourful and I highly recommend pipikaula (beef) as well which was my favourite. I thought Poi was also well made and it went well with the rest of the dishes. I recall eating Poi several years ago at another location, which was not as good.

This place was recommended by our Uber driver and we were glad we stopped by. We wanted authenticity and this was as close to a home cook as it could get. Everything we ordered tasted great. Good portions with decent prices. The only thing i didn't care for was my bloody Mary drink. I'm so use to the usual celery, jalapeño, olives, and other garnishes, i wasn't expecting it to be plain and the garnish to be a salsa that i had to eat with it. And a bit on the salty side. We kinda disappointed we couldn't try their Poke. They were out by noon that day. Other than that, awesome experience

This is where the locals come to eat. Always a sizable crowd but this place has lots of seats. Food is made fresh and always hits the spot. For any out of town visitors you must come here once!

Kitchen was a bit slow today but the food is as excellent as ever. We enjoyed our Mimosa flight while we waited for food.

The servers are excellent. I spilled sauce on my shirt and Andrew ran to grab me a cup of soapy water and a pile of paper towels to dab my shirt and it really helped reduce the stain. Actually, by the time we left the restaurant, my shirt looked like it was washed with barely a shadow of the sauce.

This place was unexpectedly modern, and portions were appropriate. The food items were as described but elevated. The poi had the perfect consistency, flavor, and texture. One area for improvement was the non-alcoholic POG drink. I love passion orange guava juice, especially freshly made but the drink was imbalanced - way more orange than passion or guava - I think. Not sure about reason for imbalance but it was off. Still drinkable but did not meet rest of quality!

10/10 Head here if you’re looking for authentic Hawaiian food with friendly staff and a welcoming vintage atmosphere.

Truly one of Honolulu's best, I used to work right down the road and fell in love with Highway Inn. Definitely in the running for best locomoco! Hand made hamburger patties, delicious with fried rice!

We have been gone for several years and if possible they have gotten even better!

Great food! Seems to be a spot where many locals go. It can get very busy. Their poi is the real deal - all travelers should try it at least once.

The food is a amazing. It's a local Hawaiian place. We came before the dinner rush around 430. The host and server were very kind and warm and inviting. The food came out quick to within a few minutes of our ordering. I have plantation mixed grill and side of beef stew regular portion and we also had the squid 🐙 Lau Lau from Hawaiian combination selection. Everything was tasty and food. For drinks we the homemade iced tea.

We highly recommend you try this spot