Stay away from your hotel dining room. Just five miles from your hotel you'll find some great inexpensive places with real personality.
Nico's Pier 38 / 1133 N. Nimitz Highway, Honolulu
Price: $6.95 to $10
The seafood here is so fresh, you know it just came off the boat. Actually, the Honolulu Fish Auction is next door; each day, owner Nicolas Chaize chooses what he'll serve that day.
Uncle's Fish Market & Grill / 1135 N. Nimitz Highway
Price: $5.95 to $15.95
Uncle's is the new kid on the pier--open three months. The menu here is larger than at Nico's, offering more types of fish, plus pastas, salads, deli foods, sandwiches, burgers and chicken.
Halena's Hawaiian Food / 1240 N. School St. Honolulu
Price: $2.25 to $15.65
If you're look for aloha spirit, Helena's is the place. This funky hole in the wall is a Honolulu icon. Locals come here for real Hawaiian food....kalua pig ($2.90)..squid luau ($3.15) ..fried butterfish ($3.95)..
Mei Sum Dim Sum / 65 N. Pauahi St. Honolulu
Price: $1.95 to $3.15
Dim sum isn't just for breakfast or lunch at Mei Sum. This popular Chinatown cafe serves it from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Steaming cars make the rounds displaying dumplings ($2.35)...spareribs ($2.35)...barbecued park ($2.35)...spring rolls ($1.95) and baked treats.
Little Village / 1113 Smith St. Honolulu
Price: $4.50 to $16.95
Little Village ranks high on many best-places-to-dine-in Chinatown. The emphasis at this busy noodle house is on healthful, tasty food, with vegetarian substitutes available for all dishes. The menu list more than 100 items, with most dishes priced at about $7.50.
Vino / 500 Ala Moana, Honolulu
Price: $7.50 to $16.95
Wine connoisseurs will raise a toast to this trendy tapas and wine bar on Honolulu's Restaurant Row. The grape is king here, with a menu that's one page of food and three pages of wines. Try the seafood ravioli ($9.95) or gourmet pizza ($9.95).
Side Street Inn / 1225 Hopaka St. Honolulu
Price: $6.50 to $20.00
Side Street is popular with locals. Go there to kick back with a few beers or to watch a game. The bar has 11 TV's and video screens. Food arrives at the table in large dishes meant for sharing. Try the BBQ baby back ribs ($15.00) or the special fried rice ($10.).
Seoul Garden Yakiniku / 1679 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu
Prices: $8.95 to $22.95
Honolulu is known for its Asian cuisines, and if you enjoy Korean food, Seoul Garden Yakiniku is the place. Lunch from $5.95 to $8.95. For dinner try the yakiniku (bit-size morsels of grilled meat), grilled corvina ($14.95) or oxtail soup ($8.95). And if you're a novice, just ask a waitress to explain the cuisine.
Shirokiya / 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu
Prices: $6.70 to $11.00
This Japanese department store in Giant Ala Moana Shopping Center is a giant in its own right and another unusual place to grab a meal. Shirokiya has dozens of things for customers to taste: sliced octopus, seasoned squid with eggs, fried sardines. OK, so maybe none of these appeals. But there's also a snack bar and deli with such things as ramen noodles, sockeye salmon and great tempura.
Well Bento / 2570 Beretania, No 204, Honolulu
Prices: $8.00 to $10.50
Well Bento where healthful meals are the only thing on the menu. Beautiful plates of organic fruits, vegetables, seafood and tofu are produced inside Well Bento. Try the grilled salmon plate, served with salad and brown rice ($9.30) or Zen macrobiotic *$8), a vegetarian plate with boiled root vegetable.
Pane y Vino / 408 Lewers St. Waikiki
Prices: $13 to $24.00
Pane y Vino transports diners to Italy with Roman cuisine and more than 25 wines that can be purchased by the glass. try the caprese ($9), grilled chicken with pesto sauce on a spring salad ($15.) or eggplant Parmesan ($16.)
Halekulani's House Without a Key at the Halekulani, 2199 Kalia Road
Prices: $9.50 to $19.50
Locals recommend sitting down at a table here exactly at sunset for a spectacular setting overlooking the Pacific. The attraction besides the sunset is elegant Kanoe Miler, a former Miss Hawaii who dances a graceful hula every night except Sunday in front of the setting sun. Have a seat and order a glass of wine ($7.50) and appetizers, or a Caesar salad ($10), spaghetti ($12) or dessert ($7.50), and watch Miller wow the audience.
Duke's Canoe Club at the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel / 2335 Kalakaua Ave
Prices: $6.95 to $14.95
Duke's is to pricey for dinner, but try it at lunch (buffet $12.95) or for late-night meals. The view is 100 percent only-in-Hawaii: glowing tiki torches, waves curling slowly along the beach, the Waikiki skyline. Order a mai-tai ($6.75) and a Beachside burger ($7.50).
Fatty's Chinese Kitchen / Miramar at Waikiki, 2345 Kuhio Av
Prices: Most dishes $6.50
Tourists often miss FAtty's, but locals don't. They line up for the Cantonese stir-fry that's cooked as they watch. The restaurant, has been in the same location below the Miramar Hotel for 27 years. Among the popular dishes are chicken and mushroom stir-fry, beef curry over rice and a sea bass plate.
MAC 24-7 / 2500 Kuhio Ave
Prices: $12 to $28
In the mood for a big meal? Take a seat at MAC 24-7, a new Waikiki restaurant in the Hilton Price Kuhio Hotel. Any time of day or night, diners find a diverse, well-priced menu with some special offerings. Choose Mad Daddy pancakes ($12) in combinations such as banana, walnut and chocolate chunk, or the Elvis, peanut butter and bacon. The flapjacks are bigger than a dinner place. In the mood for pasta? Order the white cheddar mac and cheese ($12).
LuLu's / 2586 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu
Prices: $8.99 to $23.95
The casual, open-air diner has an unobstructed second-floor view of the beach. Counters along the beach-facing walls allow customers to belly up to a bar and watch the surf. Lulu's is open 22 hours daily. Burgers are the specialty; try the Magnum P>I> with bacon, cheddar and guacamole ($9.95).
Diamond Head Market & Grill / 3158 Monsarrat Ave., Honolulu
Price: Sandwiches about $6
Five minutes from Waikiki, you'll find one-stop shopping at Kelvin Ro's Diamond Head Market & grill. It's a great place to pick up a picnic lunch. Among the terrific sandwiches are grilled portobello ($5.25) and turkey with cranberry chutney ($6.60).
Farmers Open Market / 4303 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu
The state's best farmers market takes place from 7:30am to 11am Saturdays at Kapiolani Community College, on the backside of Diamond Head Crater. The booths include many stocked with prepared foods. Oxtail soup($), garlic shrimp"scampi"($7), a beef curry bento box ($), blueberry bread pudding with vanilla sauce ($3).
North Shore Shrimp Trucks / Kamehameha Highway, North Shore
Prices: $8 to $11
Scattered along Kamehameha Highway, from Haleiwa to Kahuku, are trucks selling barbecued shrimp, chicken and steak plates, most served Hawaiian plat-lunch style, with steamed white rice and salad. You may run into the crew of the TV show "Lost" here, they film nearby and drop in occasionally for lunch.
Pah Ke's
Prices: $6 to $18
If you're planning to drive around the island, don't miss Pahke's in suburban Kaneohe. Pah Ke's specializes in Chinese-Hawaiian regional cuisine, using as many local ingredients as possible. Pa Ke has an extensive menu --148 items.