Best Restaurants in Oahu Local

Rainbow Drive-In has served plate lunches at the corner of Kapahulu and Kanaina avenues since Oct. 2, 1961, when Seiju and Ayako Ifuku opened it. The family-owned drive-in is now run by the third generation, led by CEO Chris Iwamura. Its formula hasn’t changed much: hearty plate lunches with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad, served quickly at reasonable prices. Longtime best-sellers include the mix plate of barbecue beef, chicken and fish, the chili dog and boneless chicken with gravy, with loco moco and shoyu chicken added over the years. Rainbow has two locations, Kapahulu and Pearlridge, at 98-1005 Moanalua Road in ʻAiea, and takes online orders. It marked 65 years this October, and the Pagoda Hotel has said Rainbow will take over its floating restaurant, though no opening date had been announced when Oahu Local checked. Featured in Oahu Local: Kapahulu’s Rainbow Drive-In Turns 65, Still Family-Owned

Leeward Drive-Inn sits at the corner of Pūpūkāhi and Pūpūpani streets in Waipahu’s old West Gate shopping center, where it has served plate lunches for more than 60 years. Brothers from the Yamaki family opened it in 1964, and in 2007 the business was sold to Anthony Kim, who added Korean dishes to the menu, Oahu Local reported. Regulars know it for fried saimin, barbecue chicken and kalbi plates, mac salad, turnovers and soft-serve. The drive-inn’s own website lists favorites like loco moco, kalua pig, chicken katsu and its special fried noodles, and it also offers catering. A kitchen fire early on Oct. 2 has kept the drive-inn closed, according to Oahu Local. Fire investigators ruled the cause accidental, and as of Nov. 2 Leeward Drive-Inn hadn’t announced a reopening timeline. Featured in Oahu Local: Leeward Drive-Inn: Six Decades of Fried Saimin, Turnovers and Orange Picnic Tables in Waipahu