HI Shack, which features a mix of Hawaiian, American and Filipino flavors, is celebrating its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 1 from 2 to 5 p.m. Customers can look forward to live entertainment, along with a 20% discount on food.
Located on Kalākaua Avenue, the eatery took the place of Rock Island Cafe. It soft opened about two weeks ago, and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
For business owner Glory Escal, having this restaurant space is a dream come true. She says HI Shack has several other locations — a food truck at Ohana Hale Waikīkī; a location on Lemon Road near Honolulu Zoo; and a spot in Royal Hawaiian Center’s Pāʻina Lānai Food Court.
“Before this, the most recent (opening) was the location on Lemon Road,” Escal says. “This is my dream that I’ve been chasing since 2007.”
Escal says she chose the name HI Shack to represent her menu, which she describes as “a mixture of everything.”
“Since we are in Hawaiʻi, everything wants different things,” she says. “I want to focus on all different kinds of dishes that people love most.”
The breakfast menu is served from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. It includes dishes like croffles, or croissant-waffles ($18.99), ube pancakes with ube cream cheese ($18.99), breakfast burritos ($15.99) and steak and eggs ($23).
Breakfast entrees also include local favorites like loco moco ($15.99) and adobo loco moco ($15.99), along with Filipino dishes like Longsilog ($14.99), or Filipino sausage, garlic fried rice and fried egg, and Tapsilog ($17.99), which features marinated fried beef.
The lunch and dinner menu also features Filipino staples like lechon kawali ($17.99), pork adobo ($15.99) and pancit ($18.99).
“I offer authentic Filipino classics; (they symbolize) where my roots came from,” Escal says.
The lunch and dinner menus feature an extensive assortment of burgers, tacos, specialty pastas, lobster rolls and Filipino classics.
Appetizers include dishes like wings and fries ($15.99)., seafood bruschetta ($18.99), and caprese ($14.99).
The latter features bite-sized toasted baguettes topped with fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, pesto and balsamic drizzle, with an accompanying salad.
“The caprese is one of my favorites,” Escal says.
The eatery features four different lobster rolls. If you want a traditional, East Coast-style roll, opt for the Connecticut lobster roll ($27). It comprises 3 ounces of Maine lobster meat — complete with knuckle and claw — with warm butter on a toasted, buttery hoagie roll.
The Maine lobster roll ($27) is similar, but includes mayo.
Escal is partial to Glory’s spicy lobster roll ($27) — which is how she prefers to eat it — with a spicy mayo lobster sauce. Meanwhile, the Cali lobster roll ($27) includes three ounces of Maine lobster meat, coleslaw, bacon, avocado and tomatoes on a buttery hoagie roll.
“I like it (the lobster roll) spicy,” Escal says. “I make all the sauces here from scratch.”
Burgers and sandwiches are served with fries or tossed green salad with house dressing. Customers can choose from the HI Shack cheeseburger ($13.99), truffle Swiss mushroom burger ($17.99) and spicy Hawaiian burger ($18.99), but Escal recommends Glory’s smashed burger ($18.99) — which, of course, she designed.
The grilled double smashed burger is topped with onions, American cheese and housemade truffle sauce. We couldn’t get enough of that umami truffle sauce.
Escal also recommends the Philly cheesesteak sandwich ($18.99). The unique option features shredded rib-eye steak with sauteed onions, mushrooms, bell peppers and white American cheese on a nine-inch Amaroso hoagie roll.
“Not many restaurants offer Philly cheesesteaks; this is an authentic one,” she says.
Specialty pastas range from crab and lobster tail (market price) and squid ink seafood (market price) to bacon carbonara ($25.99) and chicken pesto alfredo ($29.99). If you’re a seafood afficionado, Escal recommends the crab and lobster tail pasta (it was $35 during our visit).
“It has fresh lobster tail with a tomato cream base,” she explains.
The dish features a generous amount of seafood, and we loved how the crab flavor was prevalent throughout the entire dish.
Desserts include tiramisu ($11.99), coconut and mango panna cotta ($10.99) and banana lumpia with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel ($9.99).
The eatery also offers specialty lemonades ($5.99 each) in flavors like mango, pineapple, passion fruit, honeydew and pomegranate, along with lava flow freezes, which are made with fruits and ice cream.
HI Shack is currently BYOB.
The restaurant will partially validate customer parking at the Waikīkī Monarch Hotel, which is located across the street from HI Shack.
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CONTACT
HI Shack
1958 Kalākaua Ave., Honolulu
Instagram: @hi.shack
Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
