Local favorites

Banyan’s Island Grill, which used to be located at Waialua Sugar Mill, recently relocated to Honolulu. The biz is known for its local-style plates, including Hawaiian barbecue chicken, ahi poke and grilled fish.

“I was actually looking for a location in the North Shore first, but after checking out Shark’s Cove and Haleiwa, my business partner and I decided to make the move to town,” says business co-owner Beau Earnsberger.

“About 2 1/2 years ago, we were looking for a food truck to start making an investment,” he explains. “The idea was for us to buy a food truck and rent it out for catering events to other people who use food trucks. When we went up to see this truck in Waialua, we realized it had an organic following. We saw a lot of people enjoying the food and their experience, so we were convinced to keep it and keep it going. It’s been a journey from there.”

Some of the menu items have been renamed to give shout-outs to friends and fellow business owners in the community, says Earnsberger.

“The Boars Nest burger ($17) is named after Leif Robinson’s jiu jitsu gym on Oahu’s North Shore,” he adds. “It’s a locally sourced, grass-fed, half-pound burger on a taro bun. One of my favorites is the Kenny’s fresh fish wrap ($17), named after this truck’s original owner. He used to put a jalapeño dressing in it, but we changed it to include ginger dressing. Everybody loves it.”

The biz is currently open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays with a late-night service (6 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays to Thursdays and until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays).

“We’re super excited to open in this new location and expand the business,” Earnsberger says.

“We’ll definitely be back to the North Shore, so to all of our North Shore family, we’ll be back up that way. But for now, this is where we’re at; hopefully we’ll have another location up there sooner rather than later.”

Banyan’s Island Grill

1700 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu
Call: 808-426-6176
Instagram: @banyansislandgrill
How to order: In person or via phone or Uber Eats
How to pay: Cash, credit and debit cards, and Cash App accepted