I became obsessed with finding the best Hawaiian food in Seattle after I fell in love with Maui. I visited the first time about 8 years ago and have made it a point to visit every year since because I can’t get enough of classics like loco moco, malasadas, and my beloved poke.
The Hawaiian islands were first inhabited around 400 C.E. by Polynesian wayfinders. They brought most of the crops that we associate with Hawaii today, such as coconut and sugarcane. In fact, taro is the only Indigenous crop commonly found today.
While present day Hawaiian food is full of traditional ingredients from the early days, the cuisine we know and love has been heavily influenced by the various people who settled in paradise throughout history: Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Filipino, Samoan, and other Polynesian cultures.
Given our proximity to Hawaii, we have a ton of great Hawaiian food in Seattle. To help you discover the cuisine from the volcanic islands without leaving home, I’m sharing a roundup of the best places in Seattle to get Hawaiian food.
Best Hawaiian Food in Seattle
Here are my favorite Hawaiian restaurants in Seattle. I’ll add more as I discover them, so pin this for later!
Kauai Family Restaurant
website | neighborhood: Georgetown | get directions | best for: plate lunch
This Hawaiian-owned restaurant serves authentic Hawaiian dishes from an unassuming strip mall location in the industrial section of Georgetown. You’ll find plates with classics like Kalua pork, mac salad, poi, saimin and more. It’s the food I always seek out on my annual Hawaii trip on my constant hunt to discover where locals eat in Maui.
What to order: My go-to order here is the loco moco and crispy ginger chicken plate. I love how the chicken is sweet and crispy, and the loco moco is the best I’ve found so far in Seattle thanks to it’s complex combo of gravy, onions, burger, and egg.
Cakes of Paradise Bakery
website | neighborhood: Georgetown | get directions | best for: tropical desserts
Cakes of Paradise is hands down my favorite spot on this list of the best Hawaiian food in Seattle. It’s one of the many Black-owned restaurants in Seattle that also serves some of the best desserts in Seattle thanks to their ability to create the moistest cake I’ve ever had.
The cakes come in tropical flavors like guava, pineapple, coconut, lime, and lilikoi (passion fruit) and you can order them by the slice at the walk-up window or full sized with advance preorder.
What to get: While this bakery offers a bunch of yummy desserts, the must get here is the cake. My go-to flavor is the guava with supple buttercream and addictive curd, but sometimes I’ll switch it up and get the rainbow cake with all their tropical flavors. The latter makes for beautiful photos!
The mango cheesecake is also quite good, and I’ve heard their coconut chantilly cake is also a must get.
Fun fact: They’re next door to Kauai Family Restaurant and the owners of both are related!
Ono Poke
website | neighborhood: Edmonds | get directions | best for: poke
Whenever i do my annual 5 day Maui itinerary, poke is pretty much on the menu everyday. Ono Poke makes the poke most similar to the type you’ll find in Hawaii.
The menu changes daily depending on what’s fresh. You pick pre-made poke mixes from the case to take away in pints, quarts, or as a bowl with rice. If you get a bowl you can also add two sides, choosing from seaweed salad, mac salad, and spicy cucumber.
What to get: The poke bowl is a must. I typically always get their spicy pokes because the flavors are always top notch, but really get whatever looks good!
45th Stop N Shop & Poke Bar
website | neighborhoods: Wallingford (get directions) & SLU (get directions) | best for: poke
This is another spot making some of the best poke in Seattle. The original location in Wallingford is inside an unassuming convenience store, with a long line of customers being the only hint that something else is going on.
Similar to traditional-style poke, this isn’t a “Subway-style” pick and choose bar. All bowls come with rice, fish, and mix-ins like seaweed salad, imitation crab, masago, and other staples.
However, you can ask to skip some of the mix-ins, add-on some items like avocado, and choose the type and amount of fish you want. You can also swap rice for salad or do half-and-half. So if you want to have authentic sushi with a few customizations, this is a good spot.
What to get: My go-to order is a 3-fish poke bowl with two salmon, one spicy tuna.
Buddha Bruddah
website | neighborhood: North Beacon Hill | get directions | best for: plate lunch
This is another spot serving some of the best Hawaiian food in Seattle. What I like about Buddha Bruddah is their menu includes classics you don’t often see in Seattle.
For example, mochiko is one of my go-to orders in Hawaii. It has bite-sized fried chicken with yummy sauces and furikake on it. You’ll also find garlic shrimp, huli huli chicken, and mahi mahi.
What to get: I enjoy Buddha Bruddah’s loco moco. It always comes with a beautifully runny egg that elevates the comfort factor of the dish.
Barkada
website | neighborhood: Edmonds | get directions | best for: garlic shrimp
This spot is low-key one of the best restaurants in Edmonds. It’s a Filipinx-American restaurant that really highlights the marriage of Filipino and Hawaiian cultures on a plate.
For example, you’ll find dishes like pancit, lumpia, and adobo that are often associated with Filipino cuisine alongside Hawaiian staples like musubi and garlic shrimp.
What to get: I love their garlic shrimp. They’re big and extra garlicky, and the way the butter sauce seeps into the rice is heaven!
Kona Kitchen
website | neighborhoods: Maple Leaf (get directions) & Lynnwood (get directions) | best for: breakfast
This is probably the first Hawaiian restaurant I went to in Seattle almost 20 years ago before poke shops were a thing. It’s a family-run spot tucked in a quiet neighborhood, so it feels like a hidden gem.
What to get: While they have a ton of lunch and dinner classics, I love coming here for breakfast. The banana nut pancakes remind me of all the places in Hawaii to get macadamia nut cakes and I’m here for it!
Bobby’s Hawaiian Style Restaurant
website | neighborhoods: Lynnwood | get directions | best for: laulau pork and cake
Bobby’s reminds me of the Hawaiian grindz restaurants I frequent on my regular trips to Maui. You’ll find all the classics like musubi, kalua pork, teriyaki, saimin, and more. While I find the portions a touch smaller than what you typically get in Hawaii, I appreciated it because then I can try more. I also love how they have side orders of popular dishes so you can mix and match.
What to get: I’m picky when it comes to loco moco, but love how Bobby’s version is well seasoned and has deeply flavorful gravy. The laulau is my other favorite dish because the pork is tender and plentiful, plus the taro leaves ae so earthy and comforting. And the guava cake? Ohmygodz. It’s so fluffy and delicious. Save room for this!
Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max
website | neighborhoods: Hillman City (get directions) & Redmond (get directions) | best for: poke
Sam Choy is a James Beard-winning chef dubbed “The Godfather of Poke”. He hails from Hawaii where he’s credited with bringing poke to the US in the 80s. It all started as a food truck in Seattle, but now you’ll find brick and mortars too in Tacoma and California.
What to get: While you’ll find a bunch of Hawaiian classics on the menu, the must get is the poke. It reminds me of the style that I like to pick up at the food store in Hawaii before heading out on one of the best easy Maui hikes. The spicy options have a similar consistency and bring back a lot of fond vacation memories.
Pro tip: You can also find them in Tacoma, the Sea-Tac Airport, and roaming around Seattle in their food truck.
Patrick’s Cafe & Bakery
website | neighborhood: White Center | get directions | best for: baked goods
This is an under-the-radar restaurant serving some of the best Hawaiian food in Seattle for people who have a sweet tooth. Similar to Cakes of Paradise, their bread and butter is a host of baked goods.
What to get: You’ll find savory items like loco moco, fried rice, and more, but I recommend sticking to the sweets. Their scones are a great choice, as they’re moister than the harder British-style ones. I’m also obsessed with their coconut cookie. It’s huge and has a really pronounced and addictive coconut flavor.
If you’re in need of something savory, my favorite item is the kimchi fried rice with egg!
Marination Ma Kai
website | neighborhoods: West Seattle | get directions | best for: views
If you’re looking for Hawaiian food from somewhere that also happens to be one of the best restaurants in Seattle with a view, Marination Ma Kai is for you. They have a beautiful outdoor space overlooking the Puget Sound where you can get yummy Hawaiian dishes, which feels very on brand with the gorgeous setting.
What to get: I love their tacos, particularly the kalua pork! They also have some of the best fish and chips in Seattle.
Pro tip: They also have locations in Columbia City and South Lake Union with a similar menu, but no views. Check them out when making the rounds visiting the best South Lake Union restaurants.
More Seattle Hawaiian restaurants to try
There are a few places serving Hawaiian food in Seattle that are still on my list to try. I’ll update this article with my thoughts once I do!
- Mike’s Shave ice (roaming) – Seasonal food truck that’s wildly popular
- Aloha Plates (C-ID) – Inside the Uwajimaya food court
- Little Tin Goods & Apothecary Cabinet (Ballard) – Tiki bar with a limited menu of Hawaiian classics
- Saimin Says (Renton) – Hawaiian plate spot with an emphasis on soup
- The Donut Lab (Renton) – Malasadas available for pickup after pre-order
Other restaurants in Seattle to try
Once you’ve had your fill of the best Hawaiian food in Seattle, check out these other restaurants.
