The garlic shrimp run
STOP 1 OF 5
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, Haleʻiwa
North Shore
Giovanni’s second truck, in the Haleʻiwa lot.
30–45 min · About $18–20 a plate
EThe editors
The garlic shrimp run
Five shrimp stops on the road from Haleʻiwa round to Punaluʻu. Pick two; share plates.
5 placesA full dayRead the guide ↓
- 1. Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, HaleʻiwaGiovanni’s second truck, in the Haleʻiwa lot.North ShoreFood & drink30–45 minAbout $18–20 a plate
2. Macky’s Sweet Shrimp TruckSweet-and-spicy shrimp, picnic tables, in Haleʻiwa.North ShoreFood & drink30 minAbout $18 a plate
3. Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, KahukuThe original, graffiti-covered Giovanni’s truck in Kahuku.North ShoreFood & drink45 minAbout $18–20 a plate
4. Fumi’s Kahuku ShrimpShrimp from the farms right behind the stand.North ShoreFood & drink30 minAbout $18 a plate
5. Shrimp Shack, PunaluʻuThe yellow shack in Punaluʻu, coming down the windward side.WindwardFood & drink30 minAbout $18–20 a plate
The guide
How to do it: The garlic shrimp run
Garlic shrimp is the North Shore lunch: shell-on shrimp fried in butter and a lot of garlic, with two scoops of rice. The trucks and stands sit along Kamehameha Highway from Haleʻiwa to Punaluʻu, many fed by the shrimp farms around Kahuku.
Each plate is a meal. Pick two stops, share, and taste the difference between the sweet, the spicy and the very garlicky.
- The order to do it in
- Drive the coast clockwise: Haleʻiwa (Giovanni’s and Macky’s), Kahuku (Giovanni’s original, Fumi’s), then the Shrimp Shack in Punaluʻu on the way back down the windward side.
- When to go
- Late morning to beat the lunch lines. Some trucks close early when they sell out.
- Getting there
- You need a car. Haleʻiwa is about an hour from Waikīkī; the full loop is a day with beaches.
- What to bring
- Wet wipes. The shrimp are shell-on.
- What it costs
- About $18–20 a plate. Some trucks add a fee for cards.
Worth knowing
- Shrimp scampi is very garlicky; lemon butter is the gentler choice.
- Eat at the picnic tables; the shells go in the bins, not the sand.
Started from the pins on Deviating the Norm’s Oʻahu map (the map). Places, notes and the guide checked and written by us; prices and opening times change, so check before you go.