GREAT EATS HAWAII: HIGHWAY INN

HIGHWAY INN

HONOLULU, HAWAII

HIGHWAY INN

680 ALA MOANA BLVD, #105

HONOLULU, HI 96813

808-954-4955

HOURS: Daily 8:30 AM - 8:30 PM

www.myhighwayinn.com

I have been avoiding going to the Highway Inn on Ala Moana Blvd for months because I thought it was your standard Hawaiian Plate Lunch place serving only standard Hawaiian food like Lau Lau, Lomi Lomi Salmon, Chicken Long Rice and Poi. Not that any of this stuff is bad, but I just did not want to eat the standard fare. Wow..I was pleasantly surprised to find that the restaurant serves a wide variety of food plus the Hawaiian staples. I liked the look and feel of Highway Inn when we walked in the door. Bright, clean, open and fresh. We were welcomed by one of the waitresses and she quickly sat us at a small table and offered to bring us drinks. I opened the menu and was pleasantly surprised to see items like Poki, Ribs, Burgers and even Fish Tacos. Heck they even had a full breakfast menu too. Me and my guest decided to order a few dishes and share them. We started with the Lychee Smoked Marlin with Uala Chips ($9). The presentation of this dish was amazing the Uala Chips which I think are Taro were bright purple and layered around the smokey Marlin dip. This stuff is addicting and don't be surprised if you sit here a bit longer just to finish it off. We ordered the Fresh Spicy Ahi Poke which was Market Priced. I forgot what we paid for this dish. The Poke was fresh but we did not care for the spicy sauce. There was just too much of it covering the Poke and you really lost the flavor of the fish. We did not finish this. The Ahi Fish Tacos ($14.25) were a huge surprise. The tacos were large and filled with nice cubes of fresh Ahi Tuna that was cooked to perfection. You could taste the freeness of the fish and the flavor was great. These were really good Fish Tacos and I would not hesitate to order them again. Last up was the Flame Broiled Ribs ($14.95). Meaty ribs in a terrific sauce made these a big hit. A bit sweet and a little char on the ends. Served with a macaroni/potato salad that was not too bad. A bit bland but ok. Service here was excellent with our waitress always checking to see if we were ok and had enough drinks. She asked what I thought of the meal and I said it was great except for the Spicy Poke. Told her that there was just too much sauce. She politely explained to me that I should order the dish next time and specify less sauce. I thought that was nice. Really good food, atmosphere and service at the Highway Inn. I will be taking my family here over the weekend and am looking forward to it!