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    Tapas Kitchen

    4.7 (19 reviews)
    Closed 4:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    Tapas Kitchen Photos

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    Andy F.

    A true hidden gem in Waikiki. It's so hidden that no Yelper discovered it until the same time I went to it, and it's been there for a couple of years! Tapas Kitchen is your typical food truck. It's a one woman show who does all the work, and everything's made to order. Only open from 3-9pm everyday except Wednesday. This food truck is located on a small dead end road, Lauula St. Be careful as this street is separated. You'll take a left onto Lewers St. from Kalakaua Ave., and the next left is where you'll find Tapas Kitchen. There's parking stalls in front and behind the food truck. Pay via QR code. The food here is majority Mexican with a hint of Taiwanese and local food--from birria tacos to Bao Buns. There's tables and chairs set up outside, so there's a street food feel. We started with the Garlic Shrimp. This was quite good. The shrimp was perfectly cooked--soft shell and plump meat. And obviously nice and garlicky. With the shrimp on top, the rice soaked up all the oil and garlicky goodness. The Chicken Wings were fried and seasoned very well. A nice chili kick with a hint of sour from the lime. The meat was tender and tasty. Fried Shrimp was good! It wasn't the flattened style that was pictured on the menu, but the straightened style. I prefer this way a lot more as the flattened style overcooks easily and the meat is too thin to appreciate the shrimp. Next was a treat, a special off the menu sort of treat, fried oysters! Moist and juicy meat. Fried exceptionally! Thinking about it makes me want to go get more! Finished off with an Açaí Bowl to (sort of) balance out the fried food fiesta. Typical ingredients, but they were fresh. Overall, a nice "snack" in Waikiki. It definitely had the street food vibe with hot and fresh food immediately to your table, and a friendly and sociable owner/chef. It was definitely more comfortable away from the busy streets and sidewalks. Can't wait to come back to try more things. It's Waikiki prices for sure, but if it's good, why not?

    Spicy garlic shrimp, chicken nachos

    Only one lady working so might be a little wait but the food was really good, shrimp tasted fresh, flavorful, and the rice also soaked up the spicy garlic oil well tasted really good. Enough salad to combat the butteriness of the spicy garlic butter. The chicken nachos were also good , chicken was seasoned and overall had a great experience! Would highly recommend checking out

    Oh my god, how can it be so delicious? This beef is so fresh and delicious. The service is also very good

    Laura T.

    Very convenient spot in the Waikiki area. Super friendly staff and very helpful with questions on the menu. The sitting area is ample and not hot since you get a nice breeze yet not windy. I had the coconut fish, serving size perfect. The rice had a nice taste, but slightly dry.

    Hidden gem. Took a bit of sleuthing to find. Follow your ears (loud music) to the taco truck in the alley next to the gated park. Take the short cut through the walkway next to Skin Deep tattoo parlor. We ordered the garlic shrimp, pork belly bao and carnitas nachos. The owner was very nice and a one woman show. Food was made to order and we waited about 25min, but it was worth it. It was so scrumptious there were no leftovers. Garlic shrimp super tasty. Nachos were very yummy...didn't taste like your typical LA nachos and I can't put my finger on it, but it was unique and delicious. Just remember to let the steam out or your crispy chips will become soft, but still yummy. The pork buns were tender. Would come back again to try other dishes!

    Spicy garlic shrimp. Delicious.

    So good! The shrimp has a lot of flavor. We loved it!!!! If you come to Hawaii, everyone will be so satisfied

    Birria chimichanga
    Mellowie L.

    Oh man, the shrimp is large! Fresh green salad on the side. You don't need to go to the North Shore to queue up; you can also find garlic fried shrimp in Waikiki! Just walk to the back of busy Kalakaua Ave, down a small alley, it's only 1 minute away. There are tables where you can dine. Right next to the food truck, there is a park where you can enjoy your meal in a peaceful environment away from the busy streets. As a local, I will definitely visit this food truck again for their delicious garlic shrimp. The owner is super kind. Highly recommended! Meter parking lot is right next too

    I think everyone should try out this place! This place is like a secret, hidden in the wall, paradise for food. The shrimp plate I got was .... INSANE! Definitely comparable to my favorite at north shore. This is equivalent! Awesome food! Chill vibes. MUST TRY!

    Birria Tacos

    The birria tacos were very tasty and portions were generous. The owner was super friendly too.

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    2 years ago

    Wow the tacos and garlic shrimp were delicious! We've tried the restaurants here and this food truck has been the best.

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    Waikiki Garlic Shack - Coconut Shrimp plate

    Waikiki Garlic Shack

    4.4(154 reviews)
    0.6 miWaikiki
    $$

    *This comment is noted for the general seating area and unrelated to the business: The public…read moreseating area for all of the food trucks has roaches around the area. There are the tiniest baby roaches in the crevices of the picnic table due to the buildup of gunk and I saw them crawling around the table and larger ones on the ground which made me gag. Just be cautious if you choose to sit there.* Food 5/5 This is actually the best spicy garlic shrimp I've ever had. We had the "highly rated" North Shore shrimp three years ago and the way they serve it to you isn't very appetizing. However, this shack, chef's kiss. The presentation and the flavor was all there. My partner's platter was half short rib and half garlic shrimp. (Fries/drinks from a different location.) Service 5/5 The staff are friendly and very hardworking. They were very quick to get me a plastic bag when I asked. 100000% coming back.

    I'm hoping tonight was just an off night. I've had this garlic shrimp now 3x. I was so excited to…read morehave garlic shrimp again today but this was not the same spicy garlic shrimp I had the past couple times. This was more chipotle ish with maybe some sort of minced onion than the spicy garlic shrimp I had the past two times. I didn't eat here when it was Angry shrimp because they mixed onion and mushrooms with shrimp or something and I was looking for Garlic shrimp. I have the picture from last weeks garlic shrimp. Last week it tasted like it had fish sauce in it with spices and garlic, etc...tonight it literally tastes like bbq seasoning mixed with chipotle seasoning and chili onion. I'm not writing this review to bash this shrimp truck because I think they are very nice but more so as constructive criticism...to hopefully keep their recipe consistent. People want the flavor of Garlic shrimp without having to go to the north shore. These other seasonings just didn't cut it for me:(

    Photos
    Waikiki Garlic Shack - Food truck "court" including the angry shrimp!

    Food truck "court" including the angry shrimp!

    Waikiki Garlic Shack - #1 Angry Shrimp

    #1 Angry Shrimp

    Waikiki Garlic Shack - Miso butterfish with braised mushroom and onion sauce, arugula, and rice

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    Miso butterfish with braised mushroom and onion sauce, arugula, and rice

    Chee Hoo BBQ - Kalbi Shortrib Plate with beans, mac & cheese, and cole slaw.

    Chee Hoo BBQ

    3.6(86 reviews)
    0.3 miWaikiki
    $$

    There is special four meats and three sides. I decided to get double garlic fried rice. Fried rice…read morehad just enough garlic flavor, very subtle which I loved because then it didn't take away from the flavor of the barbecue. Sausage I was really in love with Kalbi ribs are my favorite brisket was good especially with the barbecue sauce and the ribs.

    They're located in Kuhio's food hall. This place was popping at 8PM on a Saturday night…read more I ordered the Chee Hoo combo which came with beef brisket, baby back ribs, smoked sausage, and short ribs. It was ~$30 and easily shareable with 2-3 people. Everything tasted great and I loved the smokey flavor and bbq sauce. Beef brisket and short rib were kinda tough and chewy. It came with three sides so I got cole slaw, potato salad, and Mac and cheese. Cole slaw and Mac and cheese were solid; Potato salad was just alright. They also gave one warm bun too. The reason I gave 3 stars was because service was extremely slow. It seemed like they were short staff and had one person at the cash register AND getting the food. He would take a few orders, and then grab the food. When I arrived, he was grabbing food for multiple folks so then I stood there waiting like 15 just to place my order. Then when he restarted and took my order, he took like 5 more orders before grabbing the food so then I waited even longer for another 15 min. That's 30 min of waiting! Also he wasn't serving food in the order that orders were received so it felt actually felt even longer. There needs to be a better system! Surprisingly he did a employee discount on my order. Not sure if it's because it was close to closing time. Btw they charge extra if you order to-go because of the supplies for packaging. I think food is alright but wouldn't return and wait that long for bbq.

    Photos
    Chee Hoo BBQ - Varios Options

    Varios Options

    Chee Hoo BBQ - Combo Platter

    Combo Platter

    Chee Hoo BBQ - This is the sign inside the International Shopping area.

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    This is the sign inside the International Shopping area.

    Waikiki Chicken In Paradise - Chicken Loco Moco!

    Waikiki Chicken In Paradise

    4.6(18 reviews)
    0.5 miWaikiki

    Nothing against Waikiki Chicken in Paradise, but I'm not going to lie - I had no idea the mini food…read moretruck park they're located in even existed, let alone had them on my list of bookmarks. However, after having to abandon our original dinner plans, we were no less intrigued after randomly stumbling across this place. While they may not have been our first choice for dinner, coming here was far more appealing than eating fast food or at the nearby IHOP! Although seeing so many folks at this mini food truck park may have been what caught our attention, it was the boxes of fried chicken on nearly every table that swayed us to try Waikiki Chicken in Paradise in particular. After skimming the menu, it wasn't hard to see why they were such a popular choice - everything on it sounded great. Granted, that's not overly difficult when there are only eight items to choose from, but tough to argue with the likes of fried chicken loco moco, fried chicken curry rice, fried chicken sandwiches, chicken & croffle, and fish & chips! Since we saw how big the portion were and didn't want anything too heavy (read: sadly, no loco moco or Japanese curry), we opted to split a FRIED CHICKEN RICE PLATE ($16.95) which came with a Fried Chicken Cutlet over White Rice with Mac Salad & Green Salad. Funny enough, despite already having a sense of how much food they give, I was still surprised by the generous portion size. As for how it all tasted, this was great. The breading on the chicken reminded me of Popeye's (though, without the spice), the batter was crispy, and the chicken itself was rather moist. As for the sides, the mac salad was pretty good, but the salad was a little heavy on dressing. If there was one thing I could change about our order, I think I'd want to see how it would taste with a sauce or glaze. At the very least, I'd definitely go with a different dipping sauce, like their Pineapple Ginger, Lilikoi Mayo, or Guava BBQ, as the Honey Mustard we went with tasted a bit generic. Of course, we could've solved both problems if we had gone with the Fried Chicken Loco Moco or Fried Chicken Curry Rice instead! I guess I'll just have to wait until the next time I'm in Waikiki!

    We got the Fried Chicken Meal and it was pretty solid! the chicken was so crispy and wasn't dry at…read moreall! fries were great and the mac salad was solid. the service was good, they were super nice and patient. this place is tucked in with a couple other food trucks/stalls and it's in such a cute area! there's seats and tables outside and it feels lively especially at night! definitely a place to check out if you're craving a somewhat filling meal!

    Photos
    Waikiki Chicken In Paradise - Outside

    Outside

    Waikiki Chicken In Paradise - Fried Chicken Sando

    Fried Chicken Sando

    Waikiki Chicken In Paradise - Fried chicken, fish, and taters

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    Fried chicken, fish, and taters

    Tapas Kitchen - foodtrucks - Updated August 2026

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