Waiola Shave Ice

My pops used to live down the street from Waiola Shave Ice when he was a little boy (he is now in his 70s). He said it’s as good as it was back in the day. His only complaint is that the price went up. lol

this was the fluffiest and smoothest shave ice we’ve had so far. We went to the famous place on the north shore which was too icy and crunchy. Waiola is a family business in a quiet area and they make great shave ice. Avoid the crowds and get the real deal!

This place was just ok. The portions were small but the flavor was good. They only give you two flavors, when most other places give you three. They aren’t the most personable employees, but I understand that they’re busy. The lilikoi drizzle on top was the best part of the whole thing. I haven’t seen that elsewhere, so that was a unique addition. Bottom line– there’s plenty more places for shaved ice. Don’t make a special trip.

After a horrible shaved ice experience at some random place.
This one by far made me believe in shaved ice again.
Fluffy ice, lots of favors and add ons to choose from.
Store is very much like your small quiet neighborhood store.
I don’t know about the parking situation during busy hours but we got a nice front parking easily in the afternoon hours.

WAIOLA MAKES THE BEST SHAVED ICE! Sorry, I haven’t tried any other place, and I have no desire to try the other famous places. This place is «Old School»! Place doesn’t need to be fancy. It’s been the same for decades! The changes that I do see are more flavors and other fancy stuff for your shaved ice AND the next generation is working and getting groomed to take over. Prices are decent. I’m «old school». I always get the large shaved ice with ice cream and strawberry syrup ($ 3). Bring your cash! They have a parking lot, or you can find street parking. THANKS WAIOLA! \m/

OMG!!! Where do I start with this place??? My taste buds has never experienced such greatness. I got the ice cream and shaved ice combo in a jumbo bowl. It comes with four flavors of greatness plus ice cream on the bottom. A local secret was to put condense milk on top to bring it all together and boy was that the best decision ever made. It was like heaven in my mouth when it all came together. Definitely Check this place out. You can’t miss it with the two Shaved Ice cones out front.

After 40 years I had shaved ice. brought back memories of yester years. Lots of walkin customers. Looks are very deceptive. 1713 Unilocal reviews and a 4.5 star rating. I tried a rainbow flavor with mochi. Excellent.

This is 1 of my top favorite places ever for shave ice! I’ve been coming here since my UH days (15 years already). I try to visit at least once on my yearly trips back. Last month I got to catch up with my UH alumni girlfriends after a day at the beach in Waimanalo. We were coming back into town and caught them before they closed. We were the end of the line and our shave ice was still beautiful and delicious.
The location still looks the same to me. Let’s keep it like that. Simple and how I remember it.
We each got a different style on the menu. We each chose a cup, a bowl, and a cone. Depends on how much you can eat but they have small or large. Friends suggested to get the large.
My choice this last visit was: Large cup with azuki beans on bottom li hing mui, lilikoi lychee, with lilikoi cream topping. The flavors are always so delicious and it’s not like the mainland where it’s icey or chunky and hard to crunch or falls apart… here it is so smooth, creamy, and hold the flavor in every scoop.
Grab a spoon, straw, napkins and a seat on one of their benches and enjoy the coldest treat on a hot Hawaii day. Don’t forget to take some fun pics in front of the shave ice statue!

This truly is the best shaved ice! Small place and the menu is kind of confusing, but just order like you normally do… with vanilla ice cream on the bottom and mango, lilikoi and orange!
And get a spam musubi while you wait! Can’t go wrong!

Probably the softest, almost creamy, shave ice i’ve ever had. Really enjoyed the flavors and authenticity of the location and what they offered. The snow cap is a must regardless of which flavors you choose.
Cash only and the individuals serving the shave ice aren’t very talkative or friendly, but good product and price suffice for many return visits.

Best shaved ice! Totally beats matsumotos and shimazu. Loveee the Thai tea and haupia flavour with condensed milk. Came here twice on our trip… best shaved ice we had comparing to all the places we tried. The one on alamona doesn’t taste the same either even tho it’s the same name.
Prices are totally fair and portions are huge. Cute neighborhood place though could use more seating… can also get a bit chilly if it’s windy.

Get a scoop of ice cream on the bottom — and the Lilikoi flavor!
Cash only!

Their quality of the ice is really fine. You can choose two flavors and additional flavors cost 50 cents each.
Do not get their mochi balls here. The consistency of it is kinda off.
I’m only giving it four stars as for me it’s about the ice quality

In my opinion, this place is the best place to get shave ice on the island! There are dozens of flavors and they really taste like what they’re supposed to. The best part is how finely shaven the shave ice is. I haven’t found any shave ice shaved as fine as this place.
My upmost favorite thing to get is the Azuki Bowl. Shave ice is covered with azuki beans, milk syrup, condensed milk, and mochi to complete this wonderful treat. My second favorite thing to get are the spam musubis. There is one danger though. Birds love spam, rice, and beans! I’ve had part of my spam musubi stolen by a bird and a couple of beans by another. There is even a sign letting you to know to beware of the birds. If you consume azuki beans or spam musubis here, guard your food with your life! But, if you feel like sharing, I suppose it’s okay.
I find prices to be reasonable. The Azuki Bowl is one of the most expensive items on the menu for $ 4.50. The spam musubi is around $ 2. Great deals to turn your sad stomach to a happy one.
Parking is on the street or in their private lot located right next door. A lot of people just park illegally right in front because sometimes all of the parking is taken up.

This place is as good as it gets. Still the old storefront original and the prices are darn cheap. The shaved ice was like fresh powder that settled a bit. It was delicious and with all the flavors — it was to die for. Thank you for letting me sample the best shaved ice I’ve ever had.
We each got a small shaved ice with two flavors. It was yummy!

I can honestly say! Hawaii have the best of the best shaved ice ever made in history!
I got the Rainbow with vanilla ice cream and condense milk on top
Which I didn’t care to much for but it did make it pretttier lol
The other one was tigers blood, and forgot the other to flavor a but all I can say is amazing
I lobbbbbbe it all!
So if you have a sweet tooth tip it with the condense milk!
Go big or go home

My saving grace on a hot day, Waiola shave ice is my «go to» when the sun is burning all it touches.
My spouse swears by the small lilikoi and strawberry with ice cream– a perfect balance of sweet and tart with a cream slushy ending.
I myself love experimenting, but my go to favorites are thai tea and milk tea with ice cream and a condense milk top or li hing mui and likikoi with cream and a condense milk top.
They’re fast and the ice shavings melt in your mouth. The flavor runs to the bottom and blends perfectly till the end bite. Sometimes I’ll grab a musubi or another snack. This place is nostalgic bliss.

When I used to live on Oahu, this was always my #1 shave ice place. Everyone has their own preference and certain taste, but this one here is so ONO (delicious).
Ok, ok. So their ice is soft and fluffy. Literally, it’s like you’re eating cotton candy and it melts in your mouth! They have a variety of flavors, but I always get the coconut. In HI, it’s typical to get condensed milk, azuki beana, and/​or mochi balls. Their mochi balls are homemade! Big too. Anyways, you must try all three toppings. And if you want, you can add ice cream! Love, love it. Soft on the outside and creamy on the inside.
They also sell spam musibi, candy, drinks on the inside on the store. Also, parking is small here, but you’re able to find street parking in this neighborhood.

As far as shave ice is concerned, this is as good as it gets. In the world. The best.
Forget about the flavors, the difference is the consistency of the shave ice. Is so fine and smooth — not crunchy like a sno-​cone. No other place in the world that I can think of has it this fine and delicious.
Other shave ice places may have marketing tactics to try to get you there, but honestly, the quality of the ICE is what matters most. Waiola is the best.

Yum! My boyfriend has been coming here for over 20 years and since it was recently my first time to Honolulu, he took me here. Great variety of flavors, and you can mix and match whatever ice flavor you want on top of your ice cream. They have a convenience store inside, but it’s your standard candy, chips, gum, etc. A fun treat if you’re in the area, but be warned: it can get super busy at the drop of a hat, and there’s little parking in the area.
Doesn’t hurt that Barack Obama came here at some point during his presidency.

No frills, just perfectly shaved ice and many flavors… we got the strawberry/​bubblegum and cotton candy/​watermelon both with condensed milk… yummmm!

This was our first stop in Hawaii :) Came here when it was about to close but they stayed open until we finished our ice. Super nice people and amazingly fluffy and soft ice. Definitely wanna come back here again :)

My favorite shave ice on the island, must try!!!

Okay, the ice is like super soft… almost amazingly fluffy. So it’s kind of hard to compare to other shaved ice places that have more texture. Just depends on preference. I wasn’t sure if I liked it better, but it definitely was intriguing.
They syrups are good, but aren’t as flavorful as what I had at Matsumoto’s. I’m not sure if it’s because of the texture of the ice or what.
I also had some problems comprehending the menu of flavors for some reason. Luckily there was no one behind me, but the lady was kind of rude about it. Parking is also hard — it’s in a residential area with limited street parking. I heard there’s a small lot though.
If you like super soft ice, then for sure hit this place up.

Looks like a little convenience store and very simple but don’t let that fool you about the shave ice.
The softest shave ice I’ve ever had. I got the azuki bowl which was shave ice, red beans, mochi all covered with condensed milk. $ 4.50 but definitely worth it.

Service: good but there’s always a long line (10 – 15 min wait).
Atmosphere: no place to really sit down but there’s places outside like benches if you want to just sit and eat, otherwise take it to go and eat at the beach!
Price: the price is pretty cheap 2.75 for small and $ 3.00 for large (without toppings).
Food: we got the rainbow, it’s basically a finer snow cone. I’m not the biggest fan of snow cones either so I would say that if you like flavored ice then you’ll love it here!

On a very very hot day my partner and I made our way to this place with hopes that it will save us from the heat. Coming in, we were greeted by a long line. However, it moved fairly fast. I got the coconut and cherry shaved ice and it was amazing! This place is totally worth visiting to if you’re ever craving a summer treat. Only downside is there’s only a couple of benches to sit on and with the line they have, you might have to sit in your very very hot and stuffy car. That or walk while eating your tasty treat. L

Tiny hole in the wall spot (literally-​the window to get the shave ice is a hole in the side wall of the tiny store) serving great shave ice with tons of favors in a variety of sizes at super cheap prices.
We stopped in around 5:15 pm and joined the line after lucking out and getting a parking spot in the tiny lot (holds maybe 10 cars). The line moves quickly and even though there were maybe 20 people ahead of us it was under 5 minute wait-​time you will need for sorting out their somewhat confusing menu and long list of flavors.
Our group of 7 went with the classics-​the normal size of these things elsewhere is what they call the «XL bowl» and with ice cream in the bottom (a must!!) and two flavor costs 3.50 (tax included).
They are located on a residential street that looks a bit run down and are easy to miss. There is some street parking as well.
Bottom line: a great treat and value-​you will want to schedule a visit here. They close at 5:50 pm daily.

After a quick hike on Diamond Head, shaved ice was instantly the first thing that popped into our heads as a necessary refresher. (also just an excuse to eat shaved ice.) I’m glad that we didn’t miss out on the shaved ice from Waiola.
Everyone who went on that particular day seemed to be a local because he or she instantly recognized the man at the counter and struck up a conversation with him. The guy already knew what the locals wanted to order.
I thought that was cool because I respect places that have a strong local following. The guy was just as friendly to us as he was with the locals too. He was patient when I slowly deliberated through my half lillikoi, half haupia order of shaved ice with passionfruit syrup. The combination choices are literally endless but if you’re new to ordering shaved ice like me, I highly recommend getting lillikoi (passionfruit) for starters.
The shaved ice texture was light and «softer» than expected, which I liked. Who wants to have hard pieces of ice scrape the inside of their mouth? The combination that I made was very reasonable too, costing around $ 3.50? I was so satisfied with the shaved ice from Waiola that I didn’t even bother going to Matsumoto’s later, even when I was right in front of the store. I thought Waiola’s shaved ice looked better though when I saw the other tourists with their shaved ice from Matsumoto’s.

Local shaved ice is yummy here even though the lady (the only 1) at the window selling the shaved ice was not very friendly.
Lychee w/​custard (only comes in a bowl): 4 stars
Sweet but not as sweet as the mango. Custard was delicious & added an extra yummyiness to this dessert.
Mango w/​ice cream & condensed milk large cup: 3 stars
Ice cream was very little at the bottom of the cup, not worth the e, tea 50 cents for it. Mango was delicious, not very sweet. Condensed milk that was lightly drizzled on top was yummy & not overwhelming. Shaved ice was fluffy & did not have hard chunks of ice at all.

I’ve loved Waiola shave ice since I first had it 20 years ago. This wonderful gem holds a special place in my heart, from sugar-​filled Saturdays with my siblings to refreshing retreats with my grandparents. This will be one of the places I miss the most as I prepare to leave the island for an extended period of time.
Favorite flavors: Li hing mui, cocont, strawberry cream
Favorite order: Azuki bowl
Favorite memory: Walking with the older sister and brother from Kuhio elementary to McCully library to Waiola shave ice to Stadium park, back in the peaceful days where the greatest worry was having enough quarter and making sure the math was right.
10/​10, I hope to see you again!

O.M.G. BEST shave ice ever!!! This place is the best shave ice I have ever had! My boyfriend and I ended up at the original location because the other location we went to was closed due to rain. I’m glad we ended up at this location because I had wanted to go to the original location to start with. The other location was closer and I had not marked which location was the original one.
Anyways, it was a windy cold day in Honolulu and we needed to get shave ice because, well, do you really need a reason?! LOL. We called before coming as the first location we went to closed and someone answered and said they were open. About 10 minutes later, we arrived at this location. It is a very small, older location. There is street parking available and it is located in a neighborhood away from the main street. They also have a small parking lot of their own.
You order shave ice from a window, but they do have a store you can walk in also to buy drinks and other snacks, like a convenience store, but shave ice is at the window facing the street. They had so many flavors that it was hard choosing just a few. You can also order the shave ice with ice cream. They come in different sizes, but even the small is a good amount of shave ice. I had a small with the flavors of coconut, lychee, and passion fruit. My boyfriend ordered the one that came with ice cream, but I do not remember what flavors he ordered.
The shave ice was incredibly soft! It was like eating snow! By far, the best texture and taste of shave ice I have ever had. No other place can compare. Some other places I have tried, when they add the flavors, it hardens up, but not this one. The flavors were amazing and did not taste like sugar water, but the actual flavors of what I chose. I savored up every single spoonful. I wanted more, but I was so full already! They also have a Hawaii Five-​O combo, because the stars came here for a taping of one of the scenes. The combo is passion fruit, lychee, and rainbow. I think this place is really cheap. A small was more than enough to fill me up and it was less than $ 3.
Would I go to this place again? You bet I would! I recommend for everyone to come here when they go to Honolulu. It is for sure a must try place! After having shave ice here, no other place will be the same! I ate at some other places in Hawaii that also had very good shave ice too, but this place would have to be my favorite. I only wish I had more time in Hawaii to go here more than once! No place in California compares to the shave ice here! The best shave ice is only found in Hawaii and Waiola is among the best!!! Just remember to bring cash as it is cash only!!! I can’t wait to be back here!

I had a azuki bowl here.
Well, I have to say I am probably too picky on shaved ice to rate this place because I was grown up with shaved ice in Kyoto (if you’ve ever gone there and had shaved ice at one of those 100+ year old café, you would know what I mean). I have today, I could not even finish the half of it because the flavor was too artificial, and it tastes like me eating a soap. Having said that, it was still nice to have it during the hot day in Honolulu.

Stopped by this location on a Monday before our flight back to San Francisco and SO glad it opened at 10:30am
This spot looks like a time capsule! The staff must’ve kept it exactly. as. it. was. when they first opened the place. I can totally see it. It gives it character though
Got a small cup with lychee, milk tea, and condensed milk here
And it was exaaactly what I needed
It was delicious and reminded me of a frozen lychee milk tea P:
Almost reminded me of my childhood enjoying shaved ice
This isn’t something I can get at home since it’s mostly ice cream in SF

My family and I have been patrons here for as long as I can remember (maybe 10 years?) and leaving a 5* review is the least I can do. When I vacation here every summer we go every day (consecutively. For at least a week.) and service is unbelievably fast. The guys who run this place can somehow remember your entire order and take orders from the next customer from the tiny little window.
Matsumoto has good flavors, but it’s very icy and the ice has a crunch to it sometimes. Waiola ice is so fine that you can barely tell that it’s ice.
The texture of the ice is amazing and incomparable to anywhere else I’ve tried in HI/​CA, and Waiola is one of the few businesses ever that I can wholeheartedly and enthusiastically stand behind their shave ice and service.

Others before me have raved about the texture of their shaved ice and they speak the truth!
The texture is lo light and fluffy! I tried their rainbow sundae which was yummy! I would recommend adding ice cream and condenced milk to it.
My husband got their azuki bowl which is red beans with mochi balls. It was delicious. I’m not a fan of the red beans in halo-​halo as its often textured a bit too hard (so i opt out when I get halo-​halo) but the beans on this one is textured perfectly. The mochi is such an awesome addition!
The male staff were nice but the young lady made us feel rushed. At one point she kind of zoned out and yawned which probably means she’s just extremely tired. No biggy.
There’s a parking lot on the side. Not much spots though.
2 benches on the side. Also, this place is attached to a small convenience store.

I have to say, this is probably the best shaved ice location on the island. I have been to Matsumoto’s twice and am a huge fan, but Waiola has won my heart.
The location is really tiny and parking can be difficult. Luckily, my family and visited when it wasn’t too hot outside and therefore wasn’t too busy. But I could definitely see how parking can be difficult and how the line could get long. There aren’t a whole lot of places to sit at, so you might have to stand to eat your shaved ice which can get a little messy.
However, despite the small location, the shaved ice is AMAZING. I ordered the POG and coconut shaved ice and my sister ordered the rainbow one. While the flavors are just as good as Matsumoto’s, the shaved ice itself is on a totally different level. The ice at Waiola is shaved so finely. It’s not as crunchy as Matsumoto’s and it really just melts in your mouth. The ice was shaved to perfection. Also, I highly recommend adding vanilla (the only ice cream flavor they have) ice cream to your shaved ice. It makes it even better (if that’s possible.)
Bring cash and enjoy!

Good Hawaiian Shaved Ice!
Parking was difficult to find, but eventually we found a spot along the street. Fortunately, it wasn’t super busy when we visited. Service was quick and friendly. It’s a mini mart/​shaved ice place. Perfect snack joint. I appreciate the affordable prices. Their ice is so pillowly soft. After trying a few shaved ice places around Hawaii, I’d say that they have some of the most fluffiest ice out there. Ice perfection.
I was slightly disappointed in the serving size of the syrups. The syrups were flavorful and tasted homemade, but they could have been a bit more generous with it. There were some parts of the shaved ice, towards the middle, where I was just eating plain ice. I believe the syrup could have been a bit more evenly distributed throughout. I appreciate the quality of their syrups though, none of that high fructose corn syrup stuff. Only the best, fresh fuits. No seating and no frills. Just grab your cool treats and enjoy while standing in front of the store or go back to your car.
Keep up the quality shaved ice but improve upon the syrup serving and you’ve got a real winner here.

Hawaiian shaved ice at its near best. I rate Shimizu, Lins and Waikele shaved ice truck the same.
The shaves are always at the finest setting. The ice is smooth and soft. There are lots of extras to choose from to include condensed milk, snow cap, ice cream, li hing muni and powder, azuki bean, Mochi balls. Lots of flavored to choose from too.
Parking is always good. There are seats to relax on. However, one one tip is to ask for extra flavoring. Nothing is more annoying, for me, besides a bad shave, when here is white ice that didn’t get enough syrup.