7 Family-Friendly Restaurants – Waikiki, Honolulu

Our Family of 5 went to Waikiki for Christmas! Waikiki is a bustling neighborhood with tall buildings and busy beaches in the city of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.

The restaurants below are all suitable for families with kids of any age. Most of them have high chairs or booster seats available. All but the Monkeypod restaurant, which is about a 45 minute drive from Waikiki, are in Honolulu. The total bill for our meal is included for each one, but keep in mind our family is now comprised of 2 teens who are grown-man-sized, a young adult male, and my husband and me. So a family with little ones won’t need to spend as much for food!
 

 

1. Highway Inn, Waipahu

This link takes you to the restaurant’s website page showing Google’s 360 view of inside their restaurant! This location sits inside a strip mall. We were craving some Hawaiian classics like Loco Moco, a Plate Lunch with macaroni salad, and other combo plate items. It is very casual, cute and bright, with metal-legged tables and chairs, and table service – a waitperson takes your order and serves the food. There is a counter to buy food to go as well. Our total came to $86.97.
 

2. Monkeypod Kitchen

One day we drove around the perimeter of the entire island. We gawked at the tropical lushness, and watched the crowds heading to surf the north side. At some spots, the traffic was stop and go. For dinner, we ate at the upscale Monkeypod, at the location in the Ko Olina Resort, near Aulani Disney Resort. Though the restaurant is set in a small shopping center, the décor is beautiful. The walls are open, letting in the breeze and partial views. The menu includes wood fired pizza, burgers, fish and steak. There were many families, some with little kids, eating here. Our total came to $182.23.

 

3. Side Street Inn

Another local favorite, this eatery has two Honolulu locations. We walked from our rented Waikiki condo all the way around a golf course to get to this one, which is in an office building. We waited for a table on a busy evening. It was worth the wait. The atmosphere is casual and fun, with people of all ages there for some plentiful food. The menu is huge and includes ribs, fish, salads, chicken and much more. Some customers order for take-out. Our total came to $129.50.
 

4. Scratch Kitchen

In the mall complex called Ward Village (previously in downtown Honolulu), this modern, sort of industrial art style eatery, where you may wait for a simple table, each with views of the kitchen, puts out scrumptious food. The restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner. We ate here for breakfast and the flavors were amazing. For just four of us, our total came to $71.78. An expensive breakfast, but gourmet-level food for a nice treat.
 

5. KFC

Borrowing from a fairly new Japanese custom cooked up by KFC itself in 1974 (read this informative Smithsonian magazine article describing the trend) we had KFC on Christmas Day! That’s right, fried chicken and sides from a chain restaurant. The location near our rented condo advertized the Christmas Day option, and we placed our order in the morning for pick up at dinner time. Delicious! Our total came to $53.39. The Waikiki KFC doesn’t have its own website, so the link is from Google, with a photo.
 

6. Frost City

A unique dessert item we tried was snow ice, a mix between shave ice and ice cream that is popular in Taiwan. We drove to Frost City to try it. The area was not great, at least after dark when we were there, but the customer service was wonderfully friendly. The tables are squeezed into the small shop, and there are games available to play and fun things to look at. Our total came to $30.13. There are all kinds of flavors, including chocolate which is always my favorite. Each mound of ice cream comes with candies and fruit placed like garnish on the plate. We all tried the fruity items, but only one of us really liked them. But we definitely all liked the ice cream part! See the photo of the mound of strawberry flavor dessert!

 

7. Home Bar & Grill

This last restaurant is suitable for kids up until just past the dinner hour, when the nightlife scene begins. My husband and young-adult son ate here prior to the rest of us arriving in Waikiki. They always enjoy any grill foods! The two of them had delicious Korean barbecue. The restaurant doesn’t have its own website, so read about it on Yelp or Facebook. The two of them ate for $40, including tip.
 

Compare Prices and Reviews of Family Hotels in Honolulu on TripAdvisor.

(Affiliate link – at no extra cost to you, using TripAdvisor through the link may result in a small commission to Sleeps5.)
 
Aloha!

Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5

Pin This to Pinterest!