Helena's Hawaiian Food

This is definitely a must try when visiting Oahu. We have been eating here for over 20 years and the food taste and quality has been the same. Prices obviously have gone up but the food is so ono (delicious). Since I’m pescatarian I opt in for the fried butterfish collar and squid luau. The significant other gets the pipikaula (short ribs). The dry aging is a game changer. You can see it above the cooks in the kitchen. Don’t forget the haupia! It use to be long waits but ever since they expanded it’s a short to no wait unless you have a large gathering. Service is fast and friendly! Parking can be tough to find.

I was traveling in Honolulu for 1 week and have been eating out at a lot of amazing restaurants. Helena’s have beat it all. The moment you walk in, you feel like you are at home. The food here are nourishing to the soul. Loved every bite I had here. Was almost mad I couldn’t be here for longer. Thank you Helena’s for a memorable meal!

Highly highly recommend fried butterfish collar! It melts in the mouth. The texture of the fish is perfect.

Real Hawaiian food! Great value and tastes amazing!

The Japanese food or seafood are pretty good here but you can find them elsewhere, not this.

Must try the short ribs and pulled pork, the tuna and coconut cake are also fantastic.

If you come to Hawaii you should absolutely give this a try.

This restaurant is certainly off the usual beaten path for tourists, however, if you're in the area, it's certainly worth the trip. We stopped in for lunch prior to going to the Bishop Museum. The atmosphere inside and outside is nothing fancy. The service was excellent and friendly and the local Hawaiian food was exactly with my wife and I were looking for on our visit. If only we had more time to try the different dishes.

Local favorite for authentic Hawaiian food. Be sure to order the beef short ribs! Menu D recommended for a first timer sampler.

It’s my first time here, and I must say it was great!

The staff was so nice and offered such great suggestions.

We ordered the Menu D which included the Short Ribs, Lomi Salmon, Kalua Pork and the Luau Squid, rice and haupia.

We added the tripe stew, small short ribs, Laulau, long rice chicken, fried butterfish collar and small poi.

Was enough for 5, but we weren’t stuffed so I would recommend ordering more options so you can taste everything. We genuinely enjoyed everything. Tasted very homey, comforting and delicious! It was also our first time trying poi and we really liked it with the squid!

Thanks for such a great experience!!

Definitely my favorite Hawaiian food on the island! The fried butterfish came out super hot and crispy, the squid luau was great, the beef shortribs thick and flavorful - everything super good! Service is super fast and friendly, and we got lucky on a weekday for late lunch - had tables immediately available and parking outside.

What to do when in Hawaii and you’re looking for authentic Hawaiian food that’s made from airhead ingredients, passion and a love of food. The answer is short and straight to the point, you go to Helena’s Hawaiian Food.

Let’s get the obvious out in the open. If you were to pass by Helena’s, you might not give it a second thought and keep it moving but Yelp and Google reviews suggest that you need to give them a try and we’re glad that we did.

Sometimes there can be a line but we came at the right time and were seated promptly. Our waitress quickly greeted us and helped us navigate the menu since we weren’t familiar with Hawaiian cuisine.

We tried the short ribs, the LauLau, beef stew, Fries ButterFiah Collar. Everything and I mean everything was delicious, my favorite however was the short ribs. They were so delicious that we order three servings.

The atmosphere is very welcoming, warm and simple. Helena’s focuses on the food not the decor so what you see is what you get and that is a deep dive into Hawaiian cuisine at a reasonable price.

I highly recommend Helena’s and a word of advice before you go is to check out their menu and understand what food is what. That will help you make the best decision possible but honestly you can’t go wrong. Aloha!

The service was quick and friendly. We ordered off the set menu. MENU B - Kalua Pig & Pipikaula Shortribs with 2 Scoops Rice for $24.95. Added a Mac salad. It was under $30 for two people. The white raw onion and pink salt were interesting. The chili water on the pork was awesome!

Two of us went on a Friday at around 1pm. The wait was only 30 minutes, and they provided cups and ice water for everyone waiting outside. We tried many items and absolutely loved the short ribs and the Kalua pork and cabbage. Service was efficient and they keep our waters filled. Great place for no frills and really yummy local comfort food.

Excellent. Do not let the outside fool you. Amazing food, clean dining room, and great service. We beat the rush, 10 minutes after we arrived, there was a line formed outside to get in! Local hotspot.

The food here is absolutely amazing! I got the kalua pork and spare ribs, my wife got the luau chicken. I would absolutely eat here again!
The staff was friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Definitely worth checking out!

Heard this was a must try in Honolulu. It seems like a staple for locals! Absolutely delicious food. We ordered a few things, small sizes, and it was perfect. ribs, mac salad, kalua pork, poi, chicken long rice, fried butterfish collar We weren't too full after. The service was excellent, everyone was so nice and quick. Cute mom and pop place that I'd definitely recommend if you ever want real local food in Honolulu. Plus, it's pretty inexpensive.

Top notch Hawaiian food. The short ribs was sooooo good and the kahlua pork was also amazing. I don’t think I can enjoy short ribs normally anymore 😂 even though it’s a bit pricey. Will definitely be back next time in town!

Please do yourself a favor and come try Helena’s if you haven’t had Hawaiian food. It’s seriously so delicious and feels like home. The short ribs was our favorites. We ordered it twice while we were there. We also ordered the fried butterfish collar, watercress soup with beef, beef stew, laulau and luau squid. The coconut jelly was a really nice dessert that comes with the meal. Highly recommend Helena’s for local food. The only issue is the parking situation. There is very limited parking space so you may have to wait for someone to leave and park in their spot. We waited about 15 minutes and were able to park. Once parked, make sure to put your name and party size down at the kiosk in the front by the door. The wait was really short too. Enjoy and we can’t wait to be back!

I love coming here and was the food we craved the most for after leaving Hawaii. You do not want to miss the Short ribs Pipikaula style, eat it with a piece of raw onion. And to top off the meal Haupia is good too.

We usually order take out because lines are long and it's quick and easy online. Usually sneak a few bites in the parking lot before leaving while everything is off the grill

They are closed on weekends(+Monday) and parking is always a pain around here.

A local restaurant in the neighborhood, that serves its specialty meals. We tried the meal D with some very unique items tasting so well when all combined to be eaten together.

Personally I would recommend the Poi over the scoop of rice in the meal just to even out the taste and easier for mixing. There is limited parking at the location and it shouldn't get too busy with quite some reason number of seating available

I dream of Helena's ever since I was here 8 years ago. I dream about their Short Ribs Pipikaula Style. It is the best I have ever had. This was one restaurant I was really looking forward to coming back and I am so grateful, we got to meet my sweet friend and her family here. We didn't have to worry about a thing. Our server told us she would order everything for us. We got the very famous Short Ribs Pipikaula Style, Lau Lau, Kalua Pork, Squid Luau, Lomi Salmon, Poi, Rice, Haupia. Everything we ate was absolutely delicious. I loved the Hawaiian Chili water as well. My 5 year old and my friend's 4 year were a huge fan of Kalua Pork that we ended up placing a second order for them. The service was super fast and extremely friendly. The food was delicious and the company was even better. Highly recommend.

When I asked people who've gone to Hawaii about where to eat, Helena's was the most common answer. Having eaten there now, I can see why! The restaurant is small and unassuming but holds the best short ribs I've ever had!

The pipikaula short ribs may just have ruined all other short ribs for me for the rest of my life! I can't begin to explain the flavor but I just know that it was amazingly good! A must have item! I wish I had eaten more of it! I also had the luau chicken! The chicken was so tender and moist! There was a lot of coconut flavor too! And lastly I ordered the poi. I had heard what poi was like before coming and I had an idea of how I'd think of it. After eating it, I'd say it wasn't for me! Didn't taste bad, just not for me but I'm glad it tried it out!

I'm going to be like all my friends and say that Helena's is a must visit spot when going to Oahu! The food, especially the ribs, was so good! The service was also quick and the servers were friendly and explained carefully each dish we ordered. Do not miss out on Helena's!

When I was younger my family had moved to the mainland. Luckily, I often spent most summer’s in Hawaii. When I got older and I visited the island, my cousin had always taken us to Helena’s. He always told us to go find a table and he did the ordering. Unfortunately, my cousin passed a couple of years ago. It was hard to come back to Helena’s without thinking of him and goodness, what was I supposed to order. But I do know that the pipikaula (short ribs) is a must, fought myself between the lau lau or the kalua, went with the latter. The wait was about 45mins so my partner and I decided we would order to go, we had just landed and boy we had things to do. Got the Menu B about $25 out the door. If you are unsure of how to eat it, do it however you like just remember to just enjoy it. I prefer the shoyu (soy sauce) on my rice and the ribs dipped in chili water and if you like raw onions, I would suggest taking a bite of the ribs or meat then eating a raw onion. It was sooo good and it was more than enough for both of us leaving us extremely content and satisfied! Don’t skip the dessert comes with the combo, its so good! Support small local business!