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    Waiola Shave Ice

    4.3 (3.3k reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 6:30 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Closes at 6:00 now
    Lynda S.

    7/15/26 First dessert stop on the island is waiola shave ice of course!!! Large shave ice with sugar syrup for $5 melt in your mouth yum! Service is quick and easy! Mini mart style with goodies to sell avail inside. Always a line but usually quick. Located in a residential area with a small parking space or street parking! Takes CC and cash.

    Gab G.

    Small Hawaii 5-0 rainbow and small POG were both excellent. Amazing texture! 4.5 stars.

    Raspberry and Cherry
    Bryan A.

    Located on Waiola Street in the heart of Honolulu is this gem. Famous for their delicious shaved jce. When ordering don't hesitate to get the ice creams and condensed milk. The service is great! The store is small and has lots of merch. Overall it's a must stop if you plan on staying on the south side of the island.

    "Da Works" - Mango/POG/Lychee, Ice cream center w/ mochi balls, lychee jelly, condensed milk
    Ashley F.

    Waiola Shave Ice has been operating for at least 20 years now, and located in a residential neighborhood away from shopping centers and malls. I remember my father taking me when I was in Elementary School, and for nostalgia sake, I decided to return after work. Open everyday from 11a-6:30p, its rare to see a local mom and pop shave ice shop open that late. The shave ice was as good as I remembered it 20 years ago. Can't wait to get the azuki bean one next.

    Lilikoi + Li Hung Mui with condensed milk and mochi
    June S.

    Really is the best shave ice in Hawaii. The texture of the ice can't be beat and the syrups are not too sweet. Prices are also very reasonable. A small cup (perfect size for me) is $4 + toppings. The service is always quick. Parking is difficult though as it's only street parking.

    Lee M.

    The ice is smooooth and they had good selections of flavor. Service was standard and the establishment had its own parking lot and small seating areas for patrons. .

    Samantha C.

    This is a spot I go to whenever I am in Honolulu. It's a great price with so much flavors! I love their tigers Blood with lychee, ice cream and condensed milk! I would give more but the people serving you are not very friendly. But hey, you're just there for some shaved ice so it's ok! Haha! They also have a little store in the back to get some li hing candies or other goodies! Super small location in a neighborhood. Parking is ok too it all depends how busy they are during the day but they do have street parking and parking to the right of their store if you're facing it. But definitely one of my go to spots! Must try!

    Exterior signage
    Ashley Z.

    I've been going to Waiola's the past 20 yrs and have tried other shaved ice places but...This is best shaved ice in town! The consistency and finely shaved ice makes it my the best. My go to is the rainbow shaved ice with vanilla ice cream. It can get packed at times but parking is super easy, and rarely is it hard to find a spot. Lastly, they have super cute merch. I would put this on top of the list of shaved ice spots to visit when in town in Oahu!

    Donna L.

    We always come here because it remains untouched by all the tourists visiting. It's really inexpensive but how much can shaved ice cost? It's very simple and clean.

    Kevin V.

    This is my favorite place to get shave ice in Hawaii! I usually get lililkoi and guava syrup which is always really fresh tasting! I always get ice cream on the bottom and li hing mui powder on top. If you're not local, you should give that a try. Its s popular crack seed in Hawaii from plum seed so it hint of bitterness with the sweetness of the fruit syrup. Delicious!!! Or ONO we say in the islands ! There are a couple benches out front so you can hang out and eat without making a mess in the car. Also check out the store which has lots of other snacks. The lady and keiki's that work there are always so nice, so be kind back to them!

    mango strawberry
    Keilab A.

    I've had my fair share of shave ice on the Hawaiian islands, and this one was just so disappointing. Yes the ice is soft, but the syrup flavors all tasted the same and was just meh. Also, if you ask for mochi they put it on the bottom so you have to dig it up and save it for your last bites which makes no sense. The service was super strange too. The workers don't greet you they just stare at you and you just have to talk and say your order to them. Not a fan, go to Ululani's (the goat).

    Obama rainbow shaved ice large - pickup order - IG @bougiefoodieboi
    Kyle W.

    A fairly popular shaved ice place recommended to many. You can get an affordable shaved ice for $4-8 depending on the size and topping. As we wanted to get to another place quickly, we opted to pay a little more for DoorDash pickup which came by pretty fast, but you lose a lot on the presentation as it is like an ice plate instead of shaved ice pile on top. This won't be my first and last time trying shaved ice, but it is something worthwhile to consider if you want the presentation. As for the shaved ice, I wish the texture was more smooth. I bit several chunks of fairly large ice and the liquid syrup tasted a bit artificial. We got the Obama rainbow which had cherry, lemon-lime, and passionfruit, and the passionfruit was my favorite while the lemon-lime tasted like cleaning liquid.

    Ariana V.

    I can see why this shave ice is so well loved and rated very high. Waiola is in a residential area but has a parking lot and some street parking. Theres also a cute store inside with tote bags, stickers, and tee shirts, and some other snacks too. As for the shave ice, the ice is really fine and soaks up all of the syrup. I got a small POG and lychee with condensed milk. My boyfriend and I ordered really quick and got our order within 5 minutes. Even though the ice is really good, I felt like their syrups were a bit lackluster and it tasted more artificial to me. My boyfriend really liked his, since he tried their melon and Thai tea flavors, which I thought were decent, but I couldn't help but notice the artificial taste for all of the syrups. I like how affordable this place is, and maybe I should've tried something else, but POG and lychee were one of their popular flavors.

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    Page 9 of 83

    Waiola Shave Ice Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Waiola Shave Ice

    Do they have any sugar free things?

    They have sugar free syrup for their shave ice.

    Do they sell the syrups?

    I don't believe they do.

    Are the syrups made of actual fruit?

    I don't believe so. The syrups don't taste like the fruits they are supposed to resemble.

    What are the prices for sizes?

    Keiki $6 (Kid's size) and Small $6.75. They currently aren't serving other sizes due to low supply of ice.

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    I love Pipeline Bakeshops Malasadas! I have been to several Malasada places in Hawaii but | love…read morethere's the best for the following reasons: 1. the size of the malasadas: some restaurants tend to make their Malasadas smaller and when places do this it ruins the overall texture and quality of it. The bigger the malasadas size the more airy and fluffy and more bread layers that will be inside. 2. their malasadas always taste fresh and the same quality each time. 3. their malasadas don't feel oily or heavy at all Overall I would highly recommend this place for their Malasadas! I'm so happy to have found them. I can back multiple times on my trip. They also have other desserts too that I have yet to try. They have ice cream, cakes, and other desserts Also tip: if you are ordering a malasada also order a coffee or a matcha drink to go with it. The cinnamon sugar from the malasada just matches so perfectly with a drink this restaurant is also a nice place for walking! There's lot of stores and restaurants to walk around! I'm trying to remember but I think there was a book off that was not too far from here! If you either drive or maybe walk. Service: staff was super helpful and friendly while I was there. I was having an issue with my online order because my phone was being glitchy and they were so nice in helping :) Also wanted to note their branding is so cute!! They even sell merch items too

    Everyone knows to go to Leonard's for freshly made malasadas, and the constant crowds there attest…read moreto their quality and variety (review: https://yelp.to/jaduiZfQRq). However, there are many alternative malasada purveyors throughout Honolulu, so I depended on local vloggers to find the best ones. This one popped up often on YouTube, and as luck would have it, we were dining at The Pig & The Lady on the next block. How calorifically convenient. We took the opportunity to stop by for a pre-dinner snack since they closed at 6PM. It's a cute shop with multiple sweets including quite a selection of housemade ice cream and delectable mouthfuls called Cake Bombs (Photo 10). We decided we would be good and ordered one unfilled Malasada each. Dusted with various sugar flavors, they were just $2.65 a piece. I went for the Coffee, while Jamie chose the daily special, Cinnamon (Photo 6). They were soft and tasty, quite comparable to Leonard's albeit a tad smaller. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing since we had dinner ahead of us. However, we let temptation get the best of us and shared a $5.50 slice of the Ube Haupia Mac Nut Bar, a yummy combination of sweet potato and ube topped with haupia (coconut milk pudding) on a macadamia nut crust (Photo 9). Truth be told, it stole the show from the malasadas. FOOD - 4 stars... the malasadas were good, but that ube dessert was next level AMBIANCE - 4 stars...really a takeout operation with a lot of temptations SERVICE - 4 stars...very calm and orderly TOTAL - 4 stars...yet another spot for sweet Hawaiian decadence RELATED - Exploring Hawaii? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/U7YPblfoMP

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    Interior during Malasada Day / Fat Tuesday, 2/17/2026
    Interior during Malasada Day / Fat Tuesday, 2/17/2026
    1/2 dozen malasada
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    After having Chinese food and some beers, we wanted dessert…read more Usually it's very tough to find parking anywhere on Kapahulu Ave. We were kinda lucky. I guess cause it was a little later after dinner time. I'm just happy we got parking so we could try Cha to Gelato Zen. The ice cream is probably the best I have ever tasted. The green tea is very creamy. There's no pieces of crystallized ice in it. I also tried the Kinako ice cream. It tasted so good. How good? I bought a pint of each to take home. Our server's name was Yuzu. She was very nice and friendly. She also told us she works next door at Aburiya Ibushi. That restaurant is on my list of places to try and eat at. If only parking were easier. There are so many good eateries on Kapahulu Ave.

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    Inside seating
    Inside seating
    Tea leaves with some shoyu topping
    Tea leaves with some shoyu topping
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    I needed to occupy myself after I dropped hubs off for his first cataract surgery…read more After doing some retail therapy at NR I had half an hour to spare. Hubs had to fast from 6 am for his 2 pm surgery so I thought he would probably be starving and would enjoy a delectable salt and butter roll from here. At $4.50 a piece I consider this a luxury for us. I found a close stall in the parking structure. A very cheerful polite male employee took my order. I had seen two occupied tables as I walked into the shop. Both had matcha drinks. Why not? I asked the young man assisting me, what's the best matcha drink? He said his favorite was banana matcha with extra banana foam. Okay I'll try it. He repeated it to the cashier. So popular there was a wait for beverages to be prepared. Soon enough mine was ready. I think Doc would enjoy this drink. This shop is a working bakery. Many yummy pastries displayed. Menu is posted high up above to choose from. Rather tiny shop with room for customers to stand in line to order and wait for drinks. Clean, busy with a few tables and chairs outside but pretty much in direct sun.

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    Island Vintage Shave Ice

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    Island Vintage Shave Ice completely lived up to the hype and served one of the most memorable…read moredesserts I had in Hawaii. Located just outside the Royal Hawaiian Center, the shop almost always has a long line, but it moves surprisingly quickly thanks to the convenient self-order kiosks. Despite the steady stream of customers, the staff handled the crowd with impressive efficiency, and our order arrived sooner than expected. With its vibrant layers of color and fresh toppings, the shave ice created a breathtaking first impression. Better yet, it tasted every bit as incredible as it looked. **Hawaiian Rainbow: 5/5** The Hawaiian Rainbow was the perfect sweet treat on a blazing hot day. Layered with housemade coconut spirulina, strawberry, and mango syrups over incredibly soft shave ice, it offered a bright medley of tropical fruit flavors. The shave ice itself was exceptionally smooth and delicate, with a texture reminiscent of fluffy snow that dissolved almost instantly on the tongue. Hidden beneath it was a layer of rich, soft ice cream that provided the perfect creamy contrast to the refreshing flavors. The finishing touches were a generous drizzle of condensed milk and fresh strawberry chunks, whose subtle tang balanced the sweetness beautifully. Homemade mochi added a soft, pillowy chew, while the lychee popping boba contributed subtle floral notes evocative of rosewater. Every element complemented the next, making each spoonful just as enjoyable as the last. Island Vintage Shave Ice more than lives up to its well-earned reputation. From the stunning presentation to the handcrafted syrups, silky-smooth shave ice, and a texturally diverse assortment of toppings, every component came together to create a phenomenal dessert that's every bit as delicious as it is visually captivating. If you're visiting Waikiki, Island Vintage Shave Ice deserves a spot at the top of your must-try list.

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