Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken has become somewhat of a must stop (for tourists) along with Matsumoto Shave Ice and Giovanni's Shrimp Truck when you go to Hale'iwa. I've had the latter two, but never Ray's. Why? I'm not sure myself, but I finally made it, so let's see what the fuss is all about. This Ray's is only open on the weekends located in Hale'iwa, right next to Malama Market with plenty of parking in a dirt lot. You can watch the chickens rotating over the hot Kiawe coals. $12.50 for a whole chicken, $7 half, $9 for two scoops of rice with a half chicken. Also has Coleslaw, drinks, and grandma's sauce. Since we're here, I might as well get a chicken for the family. We ordered 3 whole chickens. They can chop it for you as well, but I'm really big pieces. Also got a small cup of Grandma's Sauce. The aroma of the chicken was amazing in the car, and the drive home was too long! The first bite was.....super salty. I guess it was a heavy hand on that specific part of the chicken because the rest of the chicken was....also salty, but not overbearing. You definitely get the smoky, sweet kiawe charcoal taste. Other than that, it was decent and unique. You won't find it like this at many places. The chicken was slow cooked, so the breast portion was on the dry side, but the bones were very tasty. As for Grandma's Sauce....the ingredients lists soy sauce, vinegar, and chili pepper. This sauce was more soy sauce, meaning added more saltiness to the already salty chicken, but I did like the subtle spiciness and twang. Overall, similar to Giovanni's Shrimp truck and Matsumoto's Shave Ice, Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken isn't the greatest or all that good, but tourists seem to love it since it's unique to them. I have family friends who visit Hawaii every year, before Covid, and they always go to these places. For me, and maybe most tourists, once is enough. Service was friendly. Be prepared to wait for your chicken if it's busy! read more

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This is a stand selling some delicious roast chicken at very affordable prices. My friends and I came here on Saturday around 2 pm, and there wasn't too much of a wait to order. The four of us decided to share a whole chicken for $12.50, which seemed very reasonable. We also ordered two scoops of rice for an additional $2. The main problem with this place is that they don't offer any seating, not even benches. They suggested we take the food down to the beach to eat, but we also ordered some smoothies from the cafe across the parking lot and they let us eat their in their patio. The chicken was very well flavored and not too dry. None of us were super hungry and we were also trying to save room for Matsumoto's afterwards, so a whole chicken was the perfect amount for the four of us to split. read more

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We stop by Ray's Chicken when we pass through Haleiwa Town and the line is short, which is seldom. You can't miss them, just follow the smoke and the wonderful smells. We stopped by on a Sunday at lunch and the line was short so we picked up a half chicken with Cole slaw to take home for dinner. My wife and I shared a half chicken for dinner that costed us just $7.50, of course we are not big eaters. The chicken was just as delicious as ever and we will again return when the lines are short. Usually the line is too deep for me to wait. read more

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Fucking amazing! DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS CHICKEN! so glad we had the windows down because the smell guided us! So so so flavorful and juicy! There was a huge line and 30 minute wait for chicken and I can say it is well worth the wait!!!! Don't miss this roadside stop, it's legit! read more

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This outdoor spot along the side of the road was a gem. They have the chickens rotating for you to see them get broiled and you can smell the smoke. Super juicy chicken and seasoned well. For around $6 for half a chicken I was left very satisfied with my decision to stop by! read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

Very juicy good chicken! A little difficult to eat out there and very smoky in the parking lot, but definitely worth a stop. Make sure to use the sauce! read more

Listen the food was undeniably delicious. But this review is about their attitude and time management. I had specifically asked the person taking the order how long it would be. She said "30 minutes". I said "hey listen I have an appointment. It's ok if it's more than 30 minutes to get my food. But I need to know so I can make a decision regarding my appointment" She said "it'll be 30 minutes but honestly less". So I paid and I got my food. To no one's surprise reading this review it took a little over 45 minutes. As the clock struck the impending minute I asked "excuse me do you know about how much longer it might be?" Another elder lady said that there was one order ahead of me. Excuse me ma'am. I had asked how long it's might be. Not what order i was in. I got my order about 10 minutes later. But by now I was going to be late to my next appointment. They are pretty disorganized and lacking in honesty and integrity regarding their wait time. But yes. The chicken was delicious. read more

Hard to get to just because certain locations are open on specific days and they are open until they sell out or 4:30pm in Haleiwa. Since I finally was able to be here on the correct day and time we had to wait a while as it is so popular. The wait really wasn't that bad once you were in the tent. Overall pricing for everything was super good as a plate is $12, a whole chicken is $14, and a half chicken is $7.50. My bf and I both ordered our own plates and thank goodness we did because we quickly devoured it all. First I'll mention the delicious pineapple coleslaw as it was wet and sweet. Grandma's sauce was good but didn't necessarily feel the kick of a spicy flavor, really just was soy sauce and vinegar which is always good. The rice was freshly cooked which is always appreciated! The chicken itself was good but the chicken skin was delicious! Perfectly crisp and salty with a little bit of spice. I wish the flavor would deep into the actual chicken a little more but the chicken was cooked well and devoured easily. Definitely is more of a once in a while place but good overall. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Plate Lunch - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

Seeing a chicken pit and smelling it from afar piqued our interest and decided to try this chicken. Unfortunately, we are not satisfied with it. It was really salty even for my taste. Like, sea water level salty. It's a shame because the chicken was cooked well. It was juicy and tender. I had to tell my wife to stop eating it because she had history of kidney stones and the amount of salt might trigger it. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

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Delicious succulent chicken. Crispy skin and perfectly cooked moist meat. Cheap price yet nice quality food. Love this find in a parking lot. Check the schedule as they are not there everyday. I didn't get to try the coleslaw. The plate lunch comes with 2 scoops of rice and half a chicken. Grandma's sauce is separately charged and it's a slightly sour soy sauce with a hint of sriracha. Highly recommended the super yummy chicken. There may be a wait but it's worth it! read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Delicious plate lunch with half chicken and 2 scoops of rice - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

This place is well known on the island for there famous chicken. I would definitely go here more often but I live on the other side of the island from this place so I only stop by when I'm on this side of the island. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Huli huli keawe broiled chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

The most amazing rotisserie chicken ever !!! I went back and got a whole! lol. I notice reviewer said Costco is better what an idiot lol not even close. Can't wait to visit again it'll be my first lunch spot im coming hot with multiple orders whole. Only thing is you'll got do something about the flys tho it's insane a lot people won't like that lol read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Amazing !!! - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

I hope you like flies... because this location is full of them. Homeless people too... It's just not a very appetizing location. Also, sometimes they put hot chicken in a closed container which basically ensures the skin won't be crispy. So I hope that was enough negativity for you, because everything else in this review will be all superlatives... BEST ROAST CHICKEN ON THE PLANET I think I have at least 100 reviews of JUST roast chicken. I... know... roast... chicken... We eat roast chicken at least (at least) once a week- and have for years. THIS IS THE BEST ROAST CHICKEN ON THE PLANET We went twice... it's a 30 minute drive each way. We pull over in a parking lot and the two of us eat the whole chicken in about 15 minutes, right on the spot. Grandma's sauce and all. Get the damn chicken if you go to the island. But yeah- hope you like flies. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

This chicken was AMAZING! We truly enjoyed this chicken. They seasoned it really well. It's a go to place! It's an outdoor pit so not really a lot of places to sit, and it can get very crowded but definitely worth the wait. We walked over to Jorge's Mexican spot to grab a happy hour margarita to pass the time. Service was really nice you can tell they were working really hard to get the orders out. The only thing I noticed were the number of flies. Flies are expected with outdoor pits but they seemed to have more than I was expecting but not enough for me to doc a point. Overall, a must stop! read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Whole chicken chopped - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

Yes, it's that good. Rotisserie chicken at its finest! I don't know how they do it but the whole chicken is so flavorful. The thick chicken breast is super moist and delicious. Having this chicken with some hot rice was the perfect way to end our visit to Waimea Valley. For years I had this place bookmarked and just never visited because you just assume it's rotisserie chicken, not too exciting but I was wrong. Do yourself a solid and come get this chicken. I didn't really enjoy the pineapple coleslaw but try it out. The grandmas sauce is a combination of vinegar, sugar and shoyu from what I taste but not certain. The chicken dipped in that sauce gives it that acidic kick, yummmm! For covid safety it's not that great as people do tend to huddle up waiting under the little awning for shade, it's all outside so you feel safe regardless. Everyone was wearing a mask when we were there. read more

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I have never purchased from them, the guy always goes out of his way for his huli chix fix. We are definitely huge fans of Huli Huli chicken and have always bought from random trucks wherever we run into them. This one has been consistent over the past couple of years for us. You don't see many of them anymore. I started following Ray's on IG to see where they pop up. I see they visit Kapolei and Waipahu. I'm not sure if its the same truck that travels or of there's more than one location at a time. The price of the whole chicken in a container already cut is about $11-$15. I've never been the some to purchase and the guy isn't that precise with dolla bills y'all. But honestly, even if it was $15-$20 I'd still buy her ya know?! We probably check them out once a month or more. We always MUST buy 3, 2 for us and the keikis, plus one for maw and paw. Good enough for dinner and some lunch the next day. Make some rice and pau! Highly recommend, even if you have to drive a ways. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Can't remember how much a whole chicken is, something like $11-$13 per. Well worth it! - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

Hands down the BEST chicken. We love ordering in advance because the wait time is long. We've also ordered there ignoring the wait time because it is that good. We normally get a full chicken and a plate lunch chicken which comes with chicken, rice, coleslaw, and their dipping sauce It's always cooked to perfection. Staff is nice as well. Absolutely love it here. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

Spit roasting chickens outdoors over a bed of coals, Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken makes some of the best chicken I've had. The chicken is made fresh throughout the day until 4 pm when they put out their fire and sell off what remains. Both times I've been, I shared the half chicken plate with another person. It comes with rice, a delicious coleslaw and "grandmother's sauce" (a tart dipping soy sauce). At $12 a plate, it's hard to beat, especially when the chicken is so moist and flavorful. read more

$16 for whole chicken 3/2024. Pretty authentic flavor - but salty. Da'best is still the Big Island or Hana. But seems like Ray's is the closest on Oahu. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Ray's stand near Matsumoto shaved ice - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

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Costco chicken is better. I don't get the hype. No flavor and the wait time is ridiculous. Can't believe I bought into it. read more

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Note: there are 3 locations, different hours, different phones numbers. Went to the Waipahu location. 94-333 Waipahu Depot rd, across Rockys coffee shop. Thursday and Saturday 930 am to 4 pm Ph. 738-7067 Haleiwa location. 66-190 Kam Hwy. Ph. 753-2756, Saturday and Sunday. 9am-430pm Wahiawa location. 1011 California ave. Ph. 738-7067, Tuesday and Friday. Call ahead to order. Went to Waipahu location. Located across street, Rocky's coffee shop. Ordered: 2 whole chickens, $11.50/each. (Cut up or not cut) Grandma special sauce. .50/each (Shoyu, vinegar, chili pepper) ** Cash only Very moist chicken. Pretty big, about 2.5# First time trying. Free parking in lot. This is a wagon. Friendly service/staff. Highly recommend. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Menu. Waipahu location. 07/03/20. - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

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Rays Chicken should be open everyday! The flavor and tenderness of the food was mouthwatering! Whenever we return to the North Shore we will make this a must have spot! I'm not big on coleslaw but the added pineapple gave it a nice pair with the chicken. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Chicken plate on the beach - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

After making the trek to Haleiwa for shave ice we came across this gem. If the bright yellow letters and tour buses don't catch your attention the stream of smoke and smell of kiawe broiled chicken will. Park on a patch of dirt, grass, or at the farmers market next door. This location takes cash and cards. We ordered a whole chicken and side of sauce. This outdoor rotisserie style chicken is smoked to perfection, flavorful, tender, juicy, and worth the wait. No bathrooms, tables, or designated seating area. read more

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This will always be my GO TO Huli huli chicken spot family owned, beautiful service, fast to get orders out! The pineapple coleslaw is the best coleslaw. Perfect sweet and refreshing. read more

Wow... this as an example experience to never forget. We waited awhile for our food but several other people did too...... yep it's just that busy! However, it's worth waiting for. To my understanding this food truck only is here on Yelp he North Shore of the island on Saturday during certain hours. If you in Hawaii on Oahu island, check it out or ask the locals if they know where the truck will be. They serve several different areas on different days. Aloha! read more

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Certainly the best chicken on the Island ! Always a treat specially when mainland visitors come ONO ! read more

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One thing I miss about Oahu was Ray's Kiawe Broiled chicken. I stopped here on a random afternoon for lunch because we were starving after hiking and swimming all morning. We smelled something AMAZING over by Long's Drug Store and realized it was Ray's! Oh how long it had been since I had had some really amazing broiled chicken. There is always a line for a reason; this is some of the BEST food you can get on the North Shore. We did two plate lunches (1 for each of us) and I had a heck of a lot of trouble finishing mine. You get a lot of food for $9.75 -- it's well worth the money if you are pondering it over. Especially if you love chicken that tastes like homemade heaven! The line went by really quickly; they have quite a few people working behind the register. Everyone waits patiently off to the side while the crew calls off your order numbers! Super awesome. I would love to go back to Oahu just for this chicken lol. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

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This place is not easy to find online unless you do some additional Googling for huli huli chicken. I recommended my son to another huli huli chicken place called Mike's huli chicken as that was the only result that kept surfacing in my search. We've had fresh huli huli chicken before in Kauai and it was awesome, so really wanted the same experience. My son told me that Mike's huli chicken was cold and was served from a food truck with no BBQ pit in sight, so that was enough for me to search for the real deal. Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken was the one I found, and it delivered. Call them first to make sure they are open or you maybe disappointed. They are very busy and may run out of chicken so go early. When you arrive on site, you'll see the smoke and smell the chicken roasting and it's was awesome. The system they had in place was very efficient, someone takes your order and you are given a receipt number. There's a crew of 2 placing and taking chicken off the grill, one person pulling the roasted chicken off the spit for another person to chop them in half. A staff of 3 then prepares the final packaging for each customer and calls out their number. You may need to wait 20-30 mins for your order if it's busy as the chicken is literally packaged as soon as they come off the spit, but it is so worth it. It's piping hot, juicy and flavourful. Ray's has the best chicken on the island that I know of and I wish my son could have experience the real deal. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Huli huli chicken on the BBQ pit - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

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We went here on a weekend afternoon after seeing this place couple of times when we were driving around Haleiwa town. The huge bbq site with full chickens on a stick rolling over fire definitely draws your attention. We took a half chicken plate. It comes with half chicken, one scoop rice, pineapple cole slaw, and soy sauce. The chicken was perfectly grilled with crispy skin and juicy meat. Meat inside was little bland for my taste. Overall, we enjoyed our meal here and definitely recommended when you are in the area. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

Half chicken plate $13 good deal!! Chicken is tasty and the slaw is refreshing!! The sauce taste so good with chicken. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

My brother wanted to go here to get the chicken because he said it really good. My brother got out to order for us while Mom and I waited in the car. The chicken smelt good cooking just like huli huli chicken. We got sushi from Shiro's to go with our chicken. Everything was delicious. I was amazed the chicken was actually really good and tasty. I really enjoyed it and will definitely return. Highly recommend you try the chicken from here read more

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LEGENDARY CHICKEN! "Taste so good, make you wanna slap yo mama". I just finished a long run and needed some protein. I smelled the hulihuli from the road. Ate 1-1/2 chicken with rice. I wish I ordered more. I'll give my left nut for another bite. Definitely coming back for more next weekend! Oh and the prices are super reasonable read more

We drove from town to buy a few whole Huli Huli chicken to take out. So flavorful! Service was good. Parking was convenient.

It is yummy! Prepare the wait in the line. Don't buy the sauce as the chicken is favor enough! read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

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Phenomenal!Ray you need more servers . It took more than 30 min.One person cutting chicken . One person at the register. One person preparing the boxes to go. read more

Saw this place when we went grocery shopping at the Malama Market in Hale'iwa. We can't help to be drawn to it by the smoke and BBQ smells. It is the best huli huli chicken I have so far. The skin is crispy and lean with right amount of salty and sweetness from shoyu and honey The meat is very moist and tender. We got 1 whole chicken at $11, 2 scoops of rice for $2 each, 2 orders of pineapple coleslaw for $2.75 each. Pineapple slaw is very tasty and refreshing. I never thought of putting pineapple in slaw but it is kinda work. For about $20, we were full and even have left over. The chicken is still good even later but much better when it is hot. I am very surprised that they have some not-so-good reviews. If you are travelling this way and looking for some cheap good eats, check this place out. For $20, you can feed 2-3 adults. Make sure to bring cash though since they take cash only and only open on weekends. There are plenty of parkings around the area as well as at the market. read more

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Some of the best roti chicken on the island! When the right cook is there the bird is roasted just right and the skin gets crispy, the meat is juicy and kiawe smoke is perfect. I'm not a fan of coleslaw in general but I think theirs is one of the better ones, not drowning in liquid and not too much sauce. The real star is the chicken sauce, kind of a toned down finadene with (shoyu, chilies and vinegar-from what I can taste). Goes well with the smokey flavor. Never been to the Haleiwa location but been to the others. Wait is long and they do sell out, so be patient and wait for the goodness! read more

No can beat huli huli chicken!! Always a staple when going to the North Shore. Lines can get long but chicken is always moist and flavorful.. read more

Once again, "I'd agree with you but then we'd both be wrong". The sweet smell of kiawe (mesquite) smoke, the crackle and spit of the fire, the sight of golden brown split chickens slowly spinning sets up an expectation that isn't met. Short and sweet, it's nothing special. The chicken: - Salty. The brine consist of only salt (no sugar) and too strong. - Rubbery skin. Grillers know, either keep it wet (soft and fall apart tender skin), keep it oiled (crispy skin), keep the fire HOT (blistered cracklings). Spit roasting on a cool fire and doing nothing to the skin equals rubber. - Over seasoned. Is this old bay SEAFOOD boil seasoning? Does not compliment the chicken (it would if some sugar was used in the brine). One dimensional, spicy and salty. $11 per whole chicken. Chicken plates also served. A good following of regulars so expect a wait (15 minutes at 9:15am). Very friendly family service. They are careful to fill orders as the chicken comes off the fire. Tip: Parking in the dirt and gravel parking lot fronting the pit and tent. It get's muddy when it rains. Beware of the chicken and dog droppings. Do not park in the neighboring businesses paved lot. I don't wanna hate on the efforts of a family business but if the only thing to consider is the food, you can do better elsewhere. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Whole chicken (rubbery skin) - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii

I will forever love Ray's. I've been lovin Ray's for the last 6 years. I will always come back from the mainland for you!!!! The quality is always there and the chicken always tastes amazing. read more

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken - Food Stands Near Me - Haleiwa, Hawaii