Best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Hawaii
Our list includes some long-established favorites, as well as some new hot spots from four Hawaiian Islands. These top picks are serving up delicious plant-based foods inspired by essentially every culture. You will find some exciting and new creative culinary plates in addition to many perfected classics. With so many satisfying high-concept cooked and raw plant-based food eateries to choose from, even the most abiding carnivores will be delighted with these vegetarian and vegan gems.
What is what and glossary of terms
Maui Kombucha
Located in Haiku, a charming town on Maui’s North Shore, Maui Kombucha is a raw vegan fusion café and kombucha brewery. This island favorite offers the perfect place to get your booch on! Though you are guaranteed to quench your thirst with Maui’s best fresh brewed Kombucha on the island, you can also fill your tummy up with mouthwatering and delicious raw vegan fusion cuisine.
Choice Health Bar
Choice is a vegan-vegetarian restaurant that sells acai bowls, fresh fruit smoothies, cold-pressed juices, homemade soups, salads, and delicious raw foods. They have three locations on Maui.
Veg-Out
Veg-Out is a quaint, no-frills restaurant with an expansive menu located in the town of Haiku on Maui’s North Shore. Their 100% vegetarian menu is inspired by a variety of cultures including Middle Eastern, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Greek, and Indian. They also have some tasty vegan dishes on the menu.
Farmacy Health Bar
Farmacy Health Bar has three locations on Maui; Wailuku, Pukalani and their newest location on Front Street in Lahaina Town. Farmacy Health Bar’s motto is, “Let food be thy medicine, let medicine be thy food.” The food here is as fresh and locally sourced as it gets. It is hands down, one of the best places on Maui to go for an acai bowl.
Joy’s Place
Conveniently located across from the beach in Kihei, Joy’s Place may be tiny, but its hype is not. Offering delicious vegetarian options for breakfast and lunch, this eatery is very popular with locals and tourist alike. Joy’s Place is the perfect spot to grab some tasty homemade soups, spelt muffins, and sweet treats, all of which are made fresh daily.
Fork & Salad
Fork & Salad was founded by chef-owners Cody Christopher, Jaron Blosser, and Travis Morrin. They have two restaurants on Maui with locations in Kihei and Kahului.
Their mission is: “to redefine the possibilities of farm-to-table cuisine – as healthy, quick, convenient, and affordable, so it can be enjoyed every day by everyone.”
Moku Roots
Moku Roots is the one of the newest additions to Maui’s amazing collection of health restaurants. ‘Local, Wild, and Organic,’ you can find them in the heart of the Lahaina Gateway Center. Here is where you can find a rotating menu full of consciously delicious vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options. Owned by two friends, Moku Roots’ menu is full of tasty living foods from the Island of Maui.
A’a Roots
A’a Roots is one of Maui’s newest vegan eateries. This cute and endearing vegan cafe is located in the Napili Plaza in West Maui.
Upon entering their doors, diners will be instantly infused into an upbeat, cheerful and cozy setting. The decor is definitely unique with vegan and locavore messages throughout. Their indoor seating allows private nooks for personal meals and internet time, and group seating for families and larger groups.
Umeke Market
Umeke Market is offering delicious and healthy bites. Since its reopening in March of 2017, Umeke Market has been creating one-hundred-percent plant-based vegan food. New owner, Robert Daguio teamed up with Mama T’s Ital Kitchen to produce a unique menu that showcases the fundamental staple of the Hawaiian-Polynesian culture, Kalo (taro) and it is used throughout the menu. This is not your average poi!
Peace Café
Peace Cafe in Mo’ili’ili is vegan home cooking at its finest. The concept of Peace Café came from owner-chef Shota Terai’s vision for “peace on earth.” Shota is passionate about creating delicious and healthy vegan food that promotes harmony between man and animals.
The Beet Box Café
The Beet Box Café offers two locations. One on the Beautiful North Shore in Haleiwa and one on the windward side of Oahu, in Kailua Town. Both restaurants have a strictly vegetarian menu with many delicious vegan and gluten-free options. At The Beet Box Café, they aim to keep their food as locally sourced and organic as possible while maintaining 100% GMO-free foods.
‘Ai Love Nalo
Named as one of Honolulu’s Hottest New Restaurants by EATER, ‘Ai Love Nalo is dedicated to preparing delicious vegan dishes that are Hawaiian inspired. You can find this hidden gem in the community of Waimanalo, amongst the picturesque farmlands. They are serving up some of the most amazing plant-based foods that are so good; you can taste the aloha in every bite.
Simple Joy Vegetarian Cuisine
Simple Joy Vegetarian Cuisine is serving up delectable vegetarian and vegan dishes for lunch and dinner in a quaint, casual setting. Don’t let the modest decor fool you. At first glance, Simple Joy may not look like much.
Eat Healthy Kauai
Eat Healthy Kauai is a quaint bistro-style outdoor garden café, Serving up a 100% vegan menu since its doors reopened in 2017. This spot has a welcoming atmosphere, offering cozy patio seating with glass beach pebbles, strung lights, colorful shade umbrellas and witty kitchen sayings on signs.
Papaya’s Natural Foods & Café
Papaya’s Natural Foods grocery has been around for almost 25 years, offering local organic produce, non-GMO cereals and snacks, cooking oils, vitamin supplements, and more. The attached café, “The Kitchen at Papaya’s offers a wide-ranged hot and cold salad bar.
Kauai Juice Company
Kauai is known for being a strong health-conscious and nature loving community. If you are looking for delicious and healthy, fresh pressed juices, elixir shots and Kombucha, Kauai Juice Co is the place for you. Offering three locations around the island of Kauai., you can find them in Kapaa, Kilauea, and Poipu.
Holey Grail Donuts
Holey Grail Donuts is a family run business ran out of a red food truck in Hanalei beside the Hanalei Liquor Store. Through many years of trial and error, the owners and creators have perfected delicious Kalo (taro) dough donuts. These all plant-based vegan donuts are made from locally sourced Kalo (taro) and fried in coconut oil to have the perfect texture with just the right crisp around the edges.
Sweet Cane Café
Sweet Cane Café is a family-owned and operated café that is an accurate representation of the farm to table movement. Serving cane juice based smoothies, elixirs, and gluten-free and vegan baked goods. Salads, homemade soups, and sandwiches are all made with as many organic and locally sourced ingredients as possible. They make all of their sauces and bread fresh daily in house.
Sweet Potato Kitchen and Bakery
Sweet Potato Kitchen and Bakery are serving up vegan comfort food with vegetarian options. Open for breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch, the food here has been described as being “just like grandma would’ve made if she was vegan.” Everything is made from scratch and non-GMO, local, vegetarian and !00% organic and gluten-free, retaining that home cooked appeal.
Under the Bodhi Tree
Under the Bodhi Tree is as authentic and sustainable as it gets. Since their grand opening in July of 2014, the menu intended to showcase the amazing organic produce of the Big Island. The décor has the calming feel of a yoga studio with a similar atmosphere of a Buddhist temple with an amazing mural and Tibetan prayer flags. Their menu varies based on what farmers have available.
Café Ono
Café Ono is one of those rare cases where it’s impossible to decide what is better- the food or the atmosphere. Café Ono is a vibrant eco-friendly vegetarian eatery off the beaten path. Nuzzled in a picturesque atmosphere, surrounded with amazing greenery offering an outdoor patio, greenhouse, and pond.
Where are your
favorite vegetarian
eats on the
islands?
For a complete listing of vegetarian, vegan, and veg-friendly options on the islands, visit Happy Cow.
Mahalo for reading our list of the best vegetarian and vegan restaurants on the islands! Maybe it’s just one vegetarian meal while vacationing in Hawaii, or maybe it’s once a year, a week, a day, or everyday.
You leave full but not weighed down and energized for all your Hawaiian activities. For most of these restaurants, they are not merely running a business; they are passionate about healthy lifestyles.