Food · North Shore
North Shore Food Trucks
Oahu’s North Shore food trucks gather in three places: the roadside lots in Kahuku, the middle of Haleʻiwa town, and the stretch of highway across from Sharks Cove. Most sell the same plate, shrimp over two scoops of rice in garlic butter or a hot and spicy sauce, and the sauce is the whole difference. These are the ten we would stop at, grouped by area, with what to order at each.
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Giovanni’s truck in Kahuku in 2011. Customers have signed it for years. Photo: Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Short List
North Shore Food Trucks by Area
- KahukuGiovanni’s Shrimp Truck · Romy’s Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp · Famous Kahuku Shrimp · Da Bald Guy
- HaleʻiwaGiovanni’s (second truck) · HONOS Shrimp Truck · Big Wave Shrimp Truck
- Sharks Cove & WaialuaPupukea Grill · North Shore Tacos · Surf N Salsa
How we picked: we started with the trucks Hawaii’s food press keeps naming, led by Honolulu Magazine’s 2025 garlic shrimp ranking (a readers’ poll plus a staff tasting), confirmed each truck was operating in September 2026, and covered all three places the trucks cluster. Most trucks don’t publish hours, so every card links the current Google Maps listing. Two names older guides still list are closed: Fumi’s Kahuku Shrimp and Macky’s Sweet Shrimp Truck.
Staying in town and not driving north? Our Waikiki food trucks guide covers the trucks you can walk to. For everything else on this coast, start with what to do on the North Shore.
Kahuku Shrimp Trucks
Kahuku is the northern tip of the island, about 1 hour 15 minutes from Waikiki, and it is where North Shore shrimp started. The trucks sit within about a mile of each other on Kamehameha Highway, and two of them share one lot, so a group can split plates between trucks.
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck (Kahuku)
The truck that made North Shore shrimp famous. By its own account Giovanni’s began in a converted 1953 bread truck, parked for good in Kahuku in 1996, and customers have been signing the truck ever since. Order the shrimp scampi, in lemon garlic butter, or the hot and spicy shrimp, both over two scoops of rice. Honolulu Magazine’s tasting panel called it the classic gateway plate, so start here if it is your first. Kahuku Superette, the poke counter in our best poke on Oahu guide, shares the address.
Romy’s Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp
A Kahuku roadside stand that topped Honolulu Magazine’s 2025 staff tasting, which called it “a dream for garlic lovers.” Order the butter garlic shrimp, served head-on, or the Sweet & Spicy version if you want heat. Romy’s has moved to 56-1030 Kamehameha Hwy, so skip the older address some guides still give.
Famous Kahuku Shrimp
A truck on the Kahuku Food Trucks lot that sticks to one signature: the garlic shrimp plate, which it describes as “fresh, hot, and loaded with garlic.” Order exactly that. Its own site lists it open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Da Bald Guy
Parked on the same lot as Famous Kahuku Shrimp, and the answer when someone in the car is done with shrimp. Order the braised boneless kalbi, or the peeled garlic butter shrimp if you would rather skip the shell work. It serves breakfast as well as lunch; check the listing for today’s hours.
Oahu in a Day: Waterfall, Kahuku Food Trucks and Lookouts
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Haleʻiwa Shrimp Trucks
Haleʻiwa is the North Shore’s main town, about an hour from Waikiki, and its trucks line Kamehameha Highway right in town. Giovanni’s second truck and HONOS share a lot, and Big Wave is on the same road. Grab a coffee first from our North Shore coffee guide, and pair lunch with the honu at Turtle Beach, a short drive up the highway.
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck (Haleʻiwa)
Giovanni’s opened its second truck here in 1997, on what its own history calls an overgrown, swampy field that is now one of the busiest spots in town. It is still known as the truck across the street from McDonald’s. The menu matches Kahuku: order the scampi or the hot and spicy shrimp. Stop here if Kahuku is not on your route.
HONOS Shrimp Truck
Shares the lot with Giovanni’s and cooks with a Korean accent alongside the shrimp. Order the garlic shrimp plate, or the kalbi plate for a change from shrimp. With two trucks on one lot, a group can order one plate from each and compare.
Big Wave Shrimp Truck
Honolulu Magazine’s readers voted Big Wave their favorite North Shore garlic shrimp in 2025, ahead of every other truck on the ballot, and it has been on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Order the garlic butter shrimp, or the peeled garlic shrimp to skip the shells, and add the mac salad. Its own site lists it open every day from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Sharks Cove, Pupukea and Waialua
Past Waimea Bay, the highway runs by Sharks Cove in Pupukea, where the trucks feed snorkelers in summer and surf watchers in winter. Read our Sharks Cove guide before you swim, and in winter pair lunch with the big surf at Banzai Pipeline (our North Shore waves guide covers when it breaks). Surf N Salsa is the odd one out, in Waialua just west of Haleʻiwa.
Pupukea Grill
A food truck in Pupukea serving Hawaiian street food. Order a fish bowl, or a Hawaiian plate lunch if you want something heavier after a morning in the water. Check the listing for hours before you go.
North Shore Tacos (Sharks Cove)
Parked across the highway from Sharks Cove, with picnic tables outside. Order the Surfin’ Tacos with fresh fish, the truck’s signature, which it says Sunset Magazine named number one. Its site lists it open daily from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., one of the later closings on this list. It takes cards and cash, and suggests carrying cash in case the card reader loses signal.
Surf N Salsa
A family-owned truck in Waialua cooking Mexican and Latin plates to order. Come here when everyone in the car has had enough garlic shrimp. Check the listing for today’s hours before you drive over.
Why Kahuku Has Shrimp Trucks
Shrimp farming came to the North Shore after the state began research into freshwater prawn farming in 1975, according to Wikipedia’s history of the trucks. Farms around Kahuku raised the shrimp, and trucks parked by the road to sell it, which turned a rural stretch of highway into a food stop. Giovanni’s says it spent its early days driving the North Shore and stopping by the roadside for a couple of hours at a time before it parked in Kahuku.
Most trucks still serve the same base plate: shrimp or prawns over two scoops of rice, in garlic butter or a hot and spicy sauce, sometimes with mac salad or coleslaw. The sauce is the difference, which is why Honolulu Magazine’s panel scored the same dish so differently from truck to truck.
Getting to the North Shore Food Trucks
- By car. From Waikiki, Haleʻiwa is about an hour’s drive (33 miles via H-1 and H-2), and the Kahuku trucks are about 1 hour 15 minutes (38 miles via Highway 83). All ten trucks sit along the same coast, so one loop covers them.
- By bus. From Ala Moana, TheBus Route 52 reaches Haleʻiwa in about 1 hour 40 minutes, and Route 60 reaches Kahuku in about 2 hours. That works for one area, not all three.
Rental Car
Compare Oahu Rental Rates
The trucks run from Waialua to Kahuku, and the bus takes about two hours each way, so a car is the only easy way to eat in more than one area. DiscoverCars searches the island’s rental agencies in one go. Compare Oahu rental cars on DiscoverCars.
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Not sure you need a car for the whole trip? Our guide to renting a car on Oahu helps you decide. The Oahu Scenic Drive Map plots the North Shore stops with drive times, and if you would rather not drive, our comparison of a circle island tour vs driving it yourself lays out the trade-offs.
North Shore Day: Waimea Waterfall and Turtle Snorkeling
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The tour above is a full North Shore day from Waikiki with a waterfall and a turtle snorkel. Trip write-ups describe free time in Haleʻiwa town, which is where the trucks in section 02 are; check the listing’s itinerary before you book it for lunch. For a whole eating day on your own schedule, our self-guided Oahu food tour adds shave ice, bakeries and farm stands to the North Shore leg.
North Shore Food Truck Questions
Where are the food trucks on the North Shore?
In three places. Kahuku, at the northern tip, has the original shrimp trucks within about a mile of each other on Kamehameha Highway. Haleʻiwa town has Giovanni’s second truck, HONOS and Big Wave. Pupukea, across from Sharks Cove, has fish tacos and plate lunches, and Waialua, just west of Haleʻiwa, has Surf N Salsa.
What is the best shrimp truck on the North Shore?
It depends who you ask. In Honolulu Magazine’s 2025 ranking, readers voted Big Wave Shrimp their favorite, while the magazine’s tasting panel put Romy’s first for its garlic. Giovanni’s is the original, and the plate most first-timers start with.
Do North Shore food trucks take credit cards?
Some do and some don’t, and card readers need a cell signal. North Shore Tacos, which takes cards, warns that signal can be spotty on the North Shore. Carry some cash as a backup.
How far are the North Shore food trucks from Waikiki?
About an hour to Haleʻiwa (33 miles) and about 1 hour 15 minutes to the Kahuku trucks (38 miles) by car. By bus, Route 52 reaches Haleʻiwa in about 1 hour 40 minutes from Ala Moana, and Route 60 reaches Kahuku in about 2 hours.
What do the North Shore shrimp trucks serve?
Shrimp or prawns over two scoops of rice, usually in garlic butter or a hot and spicy sauce, sometimes with mac salad or coleslaw on the side. Each truck’s sauce and seasoning is what sets it apart.
Are the two Giovanni’s trucks the same?
Same menu, two spots. The Kahuku truck parked there in 1996, and the Haleʻiwa truck, across the street from McDonald’s, opened in 1997. Go to whichever is on your route.
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