Waiola Shave Ice, Honolulu HI

A friend highly recommended this place so I was dissapointed. Despite a small line, we waited forever because the server moved painfully slow. It could very obviously have been much more efficient. She also got all of our orders wrong, but luckily redid it fairly quickly at that point.

The actual shaved ice was not very good either (not NEARLY enough syrup) but at least the price wasn’t very high for a small cup.

Would not return or recommend. So not worth the half hour wait

Disappointed with the lack of syrup and hardness of the shaved ice. The mochi was also 6 pieces of small blobs at the bottom.

Wouldn’t revisit.

Both girls working there were incredibly rude. They barely said a word and seemed annoyed when we wanted to add toppings. The shave ice was not impressive. The toppings were at the bottom of our small cups, so we couldn’t get to them easily and the red beans were a little hard and not creamy.

I have tried around 5 shaved ice places in Honolulu and this was one was the worst.if you are visiting the island and trying to get the experience of Hawaiian shaved ice go some where else this literally tastes like a regular snow cone that you could get back home. Not to mention how rude the customer service was they yelled at my wife when she asked if they could add condensed milk to her shaved ice.

Not comparable to Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice. The syrup is very watery which sinks to the bottom and leaving the top of the shave ice tasteless.

The ice is shaved perfectly soft and fine. Always consistent. Parking is available and there’s benches and picnic tables outside to sit.

Their shave ice is very good in fact, unfortunately, their workers attitude impacted on this delicious shave ice, depending on who you are, they add less syrup on your shave ice, which makes the shave ice good looking outside, nothing inside. This has greatly reduced its taste. Most importantly, they were having a bad attitude on me when I was ordering! I hope this never happen again.

Not that great, I was expecting more with the flavors and the fluffiness of the shave ice.

$7.25 for shaved ice is kind of pricy and I asked for a cup after the bowl i was given was leaking and they said only if I paid additional fee for the cup:/ kind of ridiculous in my opinion but it was yummy

It’s really good, there’s a great selection of flavors, but staff are easily flustered by questions. I threw half my order away because it was wrong and wasn’t worth trying again.

Super refreshing on a hot sunny day! I'd recommend choosing some unique fruit flavours. I chose guava and lilikoi (passion fruit) topped with condensed milk. The wait can be long - when we went, there was only one person operating the store.

I’ve been going to waiola shave ice for almost 60 years.this time, when my grandson came to visit, we got up the store 4 times in a week.positives: TONS of flavors and combos to choose from.line moves smoothly.employees are courteous

negatives: nowhere near enough syrup.consistently receive shaved ice with half the syrup needed.this wasn’t a one off.we tried it again and again, very inconsistent amount of syrup.kid size ok.large only ok 1 out of 20 shave ices

prices just ok

only ONE sugar free flavor.come on!

after all this time, gonna go search for a new place.i’m bummed.

Disappointing. Lived in Kaimuki years ago and always came here for shave ice…it was amazing back then. Brought my friend who was visiting Hawaii for the first time and never had shave ice. He wanted to go to Matsumoto’s…heard about it and I told him that was for tourists, this place is way better…drove 39 min to get here and …it was sub par. Not even close to before. Out of the first 5 flavors I asked for as well as out of mochi…which was not the end of the world by any means but…the girl behind the counter never smiled once and looked annoyed that she had customers. Worst is the syrup only penetrated like half an inch so almost all of the inside was just white ice which just means she poured it super quick and barely at all…good shave ice soaks through way more. Barely any condensed milk on top compared to before as well. Just a few lines…Paid $15 for two large and after 3 bites threw mine away. All in all disappointing mostly because it was my friends first shave ice and I know the island has waaaaaay better. Should have just taken him to Matsumoto’s like he wanted. In this case the tourist trap is much better than the local spot.

SOFT & melt in your mouth shave ice!

Locals call it "shave ice"!
Yes it is syrup on shaved ice. Waiola does it right~ it's finely shaved, soft and with a perfect amount of syrup+ ice ratio. Consistent and classic.

A large order is $5.00 and perfect for 1 person.
You can select 2 syrup flavors. And they really have every flavor you can imagine.

I really like the matcha cream and haupia (coconut) mixed together! The flan bowl is a must try if you like custard.

Seating: ample outdoor seating available. Some shaded, some not

Parking: there are 5 stalls along the shop available. People usually don't stay too long. I would suggest walking or riding your bike if you have trouble finding a stall available.

Cute little souvenir shop where you can buy merchandise to remember your visit.

Perfect treat for after hiking Diamond Head now that the much sought after pineapple slushy truck is no longer available in the visitor center's parking lot. There is usually only one worker on weekdays but they are quite efficient and friendly. The ice is shaved wonderfully smooth and syrups are of the right level of sweetness. We visit this location every time we are in Honolulu.

Price has gone up substantially and not to mention the small portions.lol.and first time at this location. I used to live right across from the original Waiola Shave Ice on Waiola Street. Those were the days. I'd go to Shimazu Shave Ice on N. School for the size and pretty much same shaved ice. Shimazu is huge compared to Waiola. Shave ice places losing its touch.

Very soft ice. A lot of different favors. Like the rainbow one and condense milk with grapes. Must go during Hot Summer!

Waiola has the softest, fluffiest ice! They even know the texture is different and they ask you to wait a few minutes so the syrup can soak (but if you can't wait, you can come back and ask for my syrup)! They also have a fun topping called lilikoi cream! Plenty of outdoor seating and a small parking lot! This is a great spot for shave ice!

Best shave ice on island (better that Matsumoto’s). This little shack almost always has a line, but cooling off with this sweet treat is well worth the wait. I recommend the traditional rainbow, since all the flavor options can be overwhelming. A fun place to bring the family when they visit the island