Helena's Hawaiian Food, Honolulu HI

The food is just as delicious as when I went 10 years ago! I only wish I had called ahead to check the availability of the Opihi. Service is fast and friendly. Changes due to Covid include QR code scanned menus, payment at the counter, and servers set the tables before calling you to sit down. There's also now a Yelp waitlist on an iPad outside for dine-in. For takeout orders, they will only prepare the food once you arrive.

I had the fried Ahi, mac salad and rice. I had never had fried Ahi but loved it so much, I went back for it 3 times.

Their mac salad was the best I had out of the 3 different places I tried. Rainbow Drive-ins was okay but not as flavorful as Helena's. I wish I could remember the name of the place I tried first for mac salad because it was awful.

Their rice was perfectly cooked. The rice at Rainbow Drive-in was a little undercooked in my opinion.

Helena's service was awesome, too! Very friendly and they explained what to do with the onions and salt lol

So glad we stopped here! They move really quickly so although we had quite a few people waiting in front of us we were seated in about 15 minutes. Make sure you check in on the iPad!

The food was awesome! We got the Menu C - Kalua Pig, Lomi Salmon & Pipikaula Shortribs with Mac salad. Everything was delicious but I think the short ribs were my favorite, they had so much flavor but weren’t overly seasoned. My husband really enjoyed the Mac salad as well. The chili oil, salt and onion all helped to enhance the flavors of everything even more, so definitely try those. The chili oil isn’t too spicy just added enough heat. We enjoyed mixing and matching to find new combinations of flavors and really enjoyed it.

Best hawaiian food I've had! It's so delicious and tastes very homemade as if my grandma cooked it just for me. Our waitress was so cheerful and she was also very attentive to our needs. Totally a "must go to" place if you're looking for authentic hawaiian food that would leave you feeling happy!

Not pleased at all. Rude and food we got was only ok. Honestly the only food we got the whole two week there that we were not impressed with.

Authentic Hawaiian food in a great restaurant. Everything was great and very tasty. A true taste of the local delights.

The girl taking our order was very helpful and very nice. Food was great especially the salmon and ribs. We love her.

There was another server who was very rude while putting the food on the table. This person wore a mask so we couldn’t see the face of the person. You can actually here the plates banging on the table.

Im pescatarian, so I love the butterfish with watercress and fried butterfish. Parking is hell, line is long but I go there anyway because I love the food.

Top notch Hawaiian food. The short ribs was sooooo good and the kahlua pork was also amazing. I don’t think I can enjoy short ribs normally anymore even though it’s a bit pricey. Will definitely be back next time in town!

Great simple classics, delicious. Take our is quick and easy. Go in off hours to sit down.

Short ribs and pork and cabbage and beef and watercress.

Food is delicious, short ribs are bomb. The luau chicken and beef stew are great too. If you are a tourist, come support this business it's delicious and it's great Hawaiian food. The service is great too. If you are short in time and don't want to wait take it to go and eat it while it's warm.

Local Hawaiian food! Had the large short ribs, cabbaged pork mac salad and rice! Everything was fantastic, freshly prepared! We arrived early before opening (1040) and the line was already forming! By the time we left the was a line waiting to enter! Come hungry, and try what Helenas has to offer!

First of all, there’s a line to get in. That’s a good sign. It meant that we had to order takeout. The pair that took our order took their time to explain the dishes, as it was clearly our first time.
I got the Luau chicken with rice; it was delicious!
The ribs were good - we shared those.
My husband got the butterfish. He enjoyed it.

This is always on our must-do list when we visit every year. Customer service is great, get a variety of plates! Parking is limited, be prepared to wait at peak lunch times.