Food · Island-wide
The Best Poke on Oahu
The best poke on Oahu comes from counters, not restaurants: fish markets, family delis and grocery cases that cut fish every morning and sell it by the pound or over rice. These ten are the ones Hawaii’s food writers keep naming, spread from Waikiki to Kahuku so there is one near wherever you are, with what to order at each.
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A poke case in Hawaii, 2018. Photo: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Short List
Best Poke on Oahu by Area
- Near WaikikiOno Seafood · Maguro Brothers · Fresh Catch Kapahulu · Foodland Farms Ala Moana
- HonoluluYama’s Fish Market · Off the Hook · Alicia’s Market · Nico’s Pier 38
- WindwardFresh Catch Kaneohe · Foodland Kailua
- North ShoreKahuku Superette
- West OahuTanioka’s in Waipahu
What Is Poke? Shoyu, Limu and ʻInamona
Poke (poh-KAY) means to slice or cut crosswise in Hawaiian. It began as a fisherman’s snack: raw fish cut into pieces and seasoned with Hawaiian salt, eaten with seaweed and poi. Three styles still show up in the cases on this list:
- ʻInamona poke. The oldest style, seasoned with ʻinamona, a relish of roasted, pounded kukui nut and salt.
- Limu poke. Fish tossed with limu, a native seaweed. Tanioka’s and Yama’s both sell it as a named item.
- Shoyu poke. The most common style today, with soy sauce, sesame oil and green onion, which came with Japanese plantation workers in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Poke moved from snack to menu staple after chef Sam Choy held Hawaii’s first poke competition in 1992, according to the Star-Advertiser. For poke alongside laulau, kalua pig and poi, see our guide to traditional Hawaiian food.
Poke Tips for First-Timers
- Order a two-choice bowl. Two styles over rice is the standard counter order, and the easiest way to taste shoyu against limu.
- Ask what’s freshest. Some of these counters buy at the Honolulu fish auction, and the case changes daily.
- By the pound is for sharing. At Kahuku Superette, Alicia’s and Foodland, a pound feeds a few people; ask for less if it’s just you.
- Eat it today. Poke is made to be eaten the day it is cut. Keep it cold on the way to the beach.
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How we picked: we started with the counters Hawaii’s food press keeps naming (Honolulu Magazine’s poke roundup and its readers’ vote, Frolic Hawaii, Hawaii Magazine and the Star-Advertiser), filled the gaps so every side of the island has a stop, and checked each one open in September 2026. They are grouped by area, starting near Waikiki. We left off two well-known names that have closed, Tamashiro Market in Kalihi and Da Hawaiian Poke Co. on Kapahulu. Hours change, so each card links to the shop’s current listing.
Poke in Waikiki and Kapahulu
You don’t need a car for the first stops. Kapahulu Avenue runs inland from the Diamond Head end of Waikiki, and our Waikiki map shows how close these counters sit to the hotels.
Ono Seafood
The small Kapahulu counter food writers hold every other poke shop against; Onolicious Hawaii calls it the best poke spot on Oahu, and Honolulu Magazine and its readers keep naming it. Order the ahi poke bowl and pick shoyu, spicy or miso ahi. It closes at 4 p.m. and all day Sunday and Monday, so go before the lunch line builds.
Maguro Brothers Hawaii
Two counters: an evening window inside Waikiki at 2250 Kalakaua Avenue, and a daytime counter in Chinatown’s Maunakea Marketplace that Frolic Hawaii singles out. Order the ahi or salmon poke bowl, or the spicy mayo poke with masago. The Waikiki counter opens in the evening; the Chinatown one is a lunch stop.
Fresh Catch
A Kapahulu counter, with a second shop in Kaneohe, that pairs poke bowls with local plate lunches, handy when not everyone in your group eats raw fish. Both close on Mondays.
Foodland (Ala Moana and Kailua)
Foodland bills itself as Hawaii’s home for poke, and its grocery counters are the easiest place to try several styles side by side. Order the hot shoyu ahi poke, made with house shoyu, gochujang, ʻinamona and Hawaiian salt, or the spicy or torched dynamite ahi. Foodland Farms at Ala Moana Center is the easy stop from Waikiki; the Kailua store covers the Windward side.
If you are eating your way down Kapahulu, our Waikiki food trucks guide covers the other side of the street.
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Poke in Honolulu: Worth the Drive
Yama’s Fish Market
A Moʻiliʻili fish market and plate-lunch counter that Honolulu Magazine names for its ʻahi limu poke, ahi tossed with native seaweed. Closed Mondays; open later on Fridays and Saturdays.
Off the Hook Poke Market
A small Mānoa market that says it buys daily at the Honolulu fish auction, and one of the top five in Honolulu Magazine’s 2024 reader vote. Order the classic ahi styles, and ask what came in that morning. Closed Sundays.
Alicia’s Market
A Kalihi family market, family-run for more than 75 years, with about 30 kinds of poke in the case. Order the wasabi-masago poke, or try the lomi ʻoʻio. It is a takeout window in an industrial block, so plan to eat it somewhere else. Check the listing for hours before you go.
Nico’s Pier 38
A fish-market restaurant at Pier 38 on Honolulu Harbor, with its own list of poke selections. Order the poke sampler to try several styles; it added a plant-based poke by the pound in 2026. It has its own free parking lot, which is rare for Honolulu.
Windward, North Shore and West Oahu Poke
Kahuku Superette
A small-town grocery in Kahuku whose poke counter Honolulu Magazine names for its spicy ahi. Buy it by the pound, add a scoop of tako, and take it to the beach. It is the stop to make on the drive around the island; our guide to what to do on the North Shore covers the rest of the coast.
Tanioka’s Seafoods and Catering
A Waipahu institution that Frolic Hawaii calls the best for Hawaiian-style poke. Order the onion limu ahi, or a two-choice bowl with spicy ahi alongside. It is open Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., so it pairs well with a morning at Pearl Harbor, a short drive east.
On the Windward side, Fresh Catch’s Kaneohe shop and Foodland in Kailua are the easy stops; see their cards above.
Rather plan your own eating day? Our self-guided Oahu food tour strings Ono Seafood, Tanioka’s and more than a dozen other stops into routes by area, and our guide to the best food on Oahu covers everything beyond poke.
Oahu Poke Questions
Where is the best poke in Waikiki?
Ono Seafood on Kapahulu Avenue, a few minutes from Waikiki, is the most-recommended counter near the hotels. Inside Waikiki itself, Maguro Brothers runs an evening counter at 2250 Kalakaua Avenue. Fresh Catch, also on Kapahulu, and Foodland Farms at Ala Moana are short rides away.
What does poke mean?
Poke (poh-KAY) means to slice or cut crosswise in Hawaiian. It started as a fisherman’s snack of raw fish cut into pieces and seasoned with Hawaiian salt, seaweed and roasted kukui nut.
What is the difference between shoyu poke and limu poke?
Shoyu poke is seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and green onion, a style that came with Japanese plantation workers. Limu poke is tossed with limu, a native seaweed, and is closer to the original Hawaiian versions.
Is poke better at a fish market or a restaurant?
A fish market or counter, usually. Shops that sell by the pound turn their fish over daily, and you can try two or three styles in one bowl. Poke is at its best the day it is made.
Which poke shops are closed now?
Tamashiro Market in Kalihi closed on July 13, 2026 after about 80 years, and Da Hawaiian Poke Co. on Kapahulu has also closed. Older guides still list both.
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