Korean immigrants started arriving in Hawaiʻi in 1903 to work the sugar plantations, and their food never left. Today Korean barbecue sits right next to teriyaki and katsu as a plate-lunch staple. Most locals don't think of it as "Korean food" at all. It's just the BBQ mix, and every drive-in has its own.

What to Order

  • Kalbi: beef short ribs, cut thin across the bone, marinated in shoyu, sugar, garlic and sesame, then grilled. The default.
  • Meat jun: thin slices of marinated beef, dipped in flour and egg and pan-fried. Comes with a vinegar-shoyu dipping sauce. Very Hawaiʻi; you won't find it like this in Seoul.
  • BBQ chicken: the same marinade on chicken thigh, grilled.
  • Mandoo: fried dumplings, usually beef and vegetable.
  • Bi bim bap: rice bowl with namul vegetables, meat and an egg, gochujang on the side.
  • BBQ mix: some combination of kalbi, chicken and meat jun on one plate. Order this the first time.

The Sides Are the Point

A Korean plate in Hawaiʻi comes with rice and four little sides instead of mac salad: kim chee, bean sprouts, spinach or watercress, and fishcake or seasoned potato. Every shop's banchan is a little different, and regulars choose a spot by its sides as much as its meat.

Oʻahu

Soon's Kal Bi Drive In near the airport is the straightforward version: kalbi, meat jun, rice, banchan. Kalihi Bar-B-Q Drive Inn is the Kalihi counter for the same order. Both are a short drive from Pearl Harbor and the airport, which makes them easy first stops.

Maui

In Kahului, Pearl's Korean B-B-Q is a dedicated Korean counter. Tin Roof isn't a Korean restaurant, but it puts kalbi in its rotation alongside mochiko chicken, and the line tells you it works.

Big Island

Hilo has the deepest bench: Koreana Restaurant and Lounge and Cham Cham Korean BBQ. In Kona, try Manna Korean B-B-Q. Up in Waimea, Hawaiian Style Café serves kalbi as part of its giant local breakfasts.

Kauaʻi

Korean Bar-B-Q Restaurant in Kapaʻa covers the east side and Yum Yum Korean BBQ the west side in Waimea. In Līhuʻe, Mark's Place is a plate-lunch counter with kalbi on the board.

Hours change; check each listing before you drive over. Know a Korean spot we're missing? Tell us.