The Best Plate Lunch Spots on Kauaʻi in 2025
These local restaurants on the Garden Isle serve some of Hawaiʻi’s best mixed plates. Just be sure to come hungry!
Two scoops white rice, a scoop mac salad and a generous portion of a protein like teriyaki beef, chicken katsu or grilled fish—and you have the quintessential plate lunch in Hawaiʻi.
The plate lunch—or mixed plate—is a symbol of the Islands’ plantation era when workers from different backgrounds shared home-cooked meals, resulting in a blend of foods that make up Hawaiʻi’s unique cuisine.
Today, the plate lunch remains a staple dish, and locals and visitors are loyal to their go-to spots for a mixed plate. Some restaurants are famous for perfecting all the classic components, while others are known for creating inventive iterations.
On the Garden Isle, you can find plenty of restaurants preparing a hearty version of the iconic dish—but these are the best plate lunch spots on Kauaʻi, according to HAWAIʻI Magazine readers.
1. Kōloa Fish Market
Known for its uber-fresh fish and poke, Kōloa Fish Market in Old Kōloa Town is a favorite among locals and visitors. While the shop is known for its extensive variety of poke preparations and delicious poke bowls, Kōloa Fish Market also serves top-notch mixed plates. The plate lunch menu includes options like fried chicken and Korean chicken, while you can also grab a classic Hawaiian plate with either kālua pig or lau lau. If you’re really hungry, you can order the Hawaiian combo for both. The restaurant also offers daily specials. koloafishmarket.com
READ MORE: What’s in a Hawaiian Plate, Anyway?
2. Pono Fish Market
Pono Fish Market in Kapaʻa is a no-frills restaurant known for serving generous portions of local Hawaiian food. At Pono Fish Market, you can build your own plate by choosing from the menu of daily entrees, which includes all the local favorites like kālua pig, lau lau and shoyu chicken. ponomarketkauai.com
3. Hanalei Taro & Juice Co.
Since the 1920s, the Haraguchi family has been cultivating kalo (taro) on Kauaʻi’s North Shore. In 2000, the family founded Hanalei Taro & Juice Co., a farm-to-table food truck located on the sixth-generation farm. The food truck serves ‘ono Hawaiian plate lunches, which come with a choice of poi or rice (or both), taro macaroni salad, lomi lomi salmon and a taro-based dessert. hanaleitaro.com
READ MORE: Why Hanalei is One of Hawaiʻi’s Best Towns
4. Mark’s Place
Located in Līhuʻe, just a 10-minute drive from the airport, Mark’s Place is a great first stop once landing on Kauaʻi. The takeout restaurant is popular for its plate lunches that are served with generous portions, desserts and omiyage, too. You’ll find all the classic plate lunch options along with Mark’s famous mixed plate, which is packed with chicken katsu, teriyaki beef, beef stew and comes with rice and potato macaroni salad. marksplacekauai.com
5. Sueoka Snack Shop
The fried fish with chili sauce and mochiko chicken plates.
Photo: Courtesy of Sueoka Market
Sueoka Snack Shop is a bit of a hidden gem tucked on the side of Sueoka Market in Kōloa. You’ll find the shop because there’s often a line of customers at the window. Sueoka Snack Shop serves plate lunches with options like hamburger steak and mochiko chicken, along with fried mahi mahi and chili bowls. The shop also has weekly specials, too. sueokastore.com
READ MORE: Your Guide to Kōloa Town on Kauaʻi
6. Kīlauea Fish Market
Kīlauea Fish Market has been serving poke bowls, ʻahi wraps and plate lunches since 2004.
Photo: Courtesy of Kīlauea Fish Market
Kīlauea Fish Market is located in the historic Kīlauea Plantation Center, and has been serving poke bowls, ʻahi wraps and plate lunches since 2004. From Korean barbecue chicken and Hawaiian chili pepper pork to grilled fish and garlic shrimp, Kīlauea Fish Market is worth visiting. The restaurant even offers a vegetarian plate, which comes with pinto-beans, tofu and local greens. Within recent years, the family-run shop opened a shave ice stand on the market’s patio. After enjoying a plate lunch or poke bowl, grab a shave ice for dessert. kilaueafishmarket.com
READ MORE: Your Guide to Kīlauea, Kauaʻi
See all of the winners of our 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards in our latest issue, which you can buy here. Better yet, subscribe and get HAWAIʻI Magazine delivered to right to your mailbox.
